Minutes of the Meeting
Fitzwilliam Town Library Board of Trustees
4 April, 2022
Present: Trustees Robin Marra, Beth Lorenz, Richard Marshall, Carole Beckwith and Kate Thomas, Library Director; Trustee Pam Troccia via Zoom; Alternate Trustees Brian Doerpholz and Nancy Fey-Yensan.
Robin Marra called the meeting to order at 5:50 pm in the Quick Meeting Room of the Library.
The presiding Chair opened the meeting with the election of officers. Beth Lorenz nominated Robin Marra as Chair, it was seconded by Richard Marshall and the position was approved by all Trustees. Beth Lorenz nominated Richard Marshall for the position of Treasurer, which was seconded by Pamela Troccia and approved by all Trustees. Beth Lorenz nominated Pamela Troccia for the position of Secretary, which was seconded by Richard Marshall and approved by all Trustees. Beth Lorenz nominated herself for Vice Chair, which was seconded by Richard Marshall and approved by all Trustees.
The minutes of the March 7, 2022 meeting were reviewed. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Carole Beckwith and seconded by Richard Marshall. The motion was approved by all Trustees.
The manifest was reviewed and signed by all Trustees present.
The Chair welcomed newly-elected Trustees, Richard Marshall, Carole Beckwith and Beth Lorenz, as well as newly-appointed Alternate Trustees Nancy Fey-Yensan and Brian Doerpholz. The Chair provided a brief announcement that the two warrants pertaining to the Library were approved during the town meeting.
Kate Thomas reviewed the Library Directors report and Expenses to Date. Circulation for March was down 25%, at a total of 1,579. There were twelve adult programs and ten children’s programs presented, with a total attendance of 188. Ben Thomas will install sheetrock around the alarm system and Ben Thomas and Richard Mays have installed the new chalkboard on the outside of the building for public announcements. Once the markers are in there will be an announcement made to the public about the use of the chalkboard. The Library Director requested the Trustees provide a schedule for annual staff reviews. It was determined these will be completed by December of each year. The Trustees will evaluate the Director and she, in turn, will evaluate each staff member. The public computers have been installed and working adequately.
Under Old Business, Kate Thomas will begin work on a Locke Collection report.
Under New Business, the Library Trustee Code of Conduct was reviewed. Robin brought to the Trustees attention that all electronic communications (i.e., email) are subject to the provisions of RSA 91-A (“Right to Know” law). As such, emails should be sent to the group using bcc: so that even if one “replies to all” only the original sender will be the recipient, thereby avoiding the impropriety of shared communications. Robin then motioned to approved the Library Trustee Code of Conduct as it stands, it was seconded by Beth Lorenz and approved by all Trustees. Robin then presented a proposed schedule for 2022-23 for reviewing library policies. Beth Lorenz motioned to approve it, which was seconded by Richard Marshall. Kate Thomas requested that review of the Internet and Social Media policies be moved from August to June. Beth Lorenz motioned to amend the proposed review schedule accordingly, which was seconded by Richard Marshall and approved by all Trustees. The amended schedule was then approved by all Trustees.
Richard Marshall asked if the Library’s Long-Range Plan had been shared with the Board of Selectmen and the Friends of the Library. Brian Doerpholz replied that the Selectmen have received the plan, but had not taken any action on it thus far. Kate said that the Friends had also received the plan, but could not guarantee that they had read it. The Board requested that Richard Marshall and Pamela Troccia remain on the Long-Range Plan subcommittee along with Kate Thomas as well as a potential community member.
Under Ongoing Business, the Chair and Director shared that the Friends of the Library had two ongoing concerns: 1) access to the Library after hours, which led to a discussion amongst the Trustees and Director on the status of existing hours; and 2) how they can help the Library using any surplus of funds they might have.
As no other business or announcements were brought forth for discussion, the next Trustee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, May 2, 2022 at 5:45 p.m., with Zoom access available.
A motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:04 p.m. was made by Carole Beckwith and seconded by Richard Marshall. The motion was approved by all Trustees.
Respectfully submitted,
Beth Lorenz
Vice Chair and Acting Secretary