Town of Granby
Granby Library Board
Meeting Notes
January 12, 2009
held at Cossitt Library
Call to order: A quorum was not present. The meeting started at 7:40 p.m.
Members present: Chairman Lynn Lochhead, Dick Lydon, Lisa Blessis (arrived at 7:45 p.m.), and Marty Council (arrived at 7:50 p.m.)
Members excused: Bob Donna, Carol Bressor, Shawn Ball, and Judy Goff
Staff: Joan Fox
Visitors: Bruce and Bobbie Sullivan
Minutes
Approval of the December 8, 2008 minutes is tabled to the February meeting.
Public Comment: None.
Expansion Committee Update
Roger Hernsdorf, a member of the Library Expansion Study Committee, attended this meeting to update the Board on their progress. Six Architect firms were interviewed and the committee has narrowed the choice down to two firms. References are being looked into now. The committee’s goal is to choose the architect at their second meeting in January. A six-month timeline seems feasible to have the architect complete the plans. The estimated cost for an architect will be between $25,000 and $40,000. The request for funds will be brought to the Board of Selectmen for their approval and it will also need approval from the Board of Finance. Mr. Hernsdorf stated that the fees from all the firms were within $7,000 of each other. If the firm chosen to do the preliminary plans is the same one chosen
to be the project architect, then this cost will go towards the total architect cost.
Mr. Hernsdorf went on to briefly explain CPPAC, how debt is paid, fall off within the next two years, and addressing new projects.
Director’s Report
Statistics for December Granby Cossitt Total
Circulation 11,571 1,269 12,840
Programs / attendance 26/324 4/46 30/370
InterLibrary Loans Loaned: 87 Borrowed: 183
Connecticard 2,522
Lost books money collected (quarterly): $226.82
Joan Fox reported on miscellaneous items:
- Regarding the Long-Range Plan: we are keeping up with the schedule.
- The Long-Range Plan says to survey patrons to see what types of programs they might like to attend. This would give some ideas for planning programs. The survey will be done with the people attending programs, to start. This will be less costly than a mailing.
Shelf signage has been improved at GPL.
A people counter will be installed, by Public Works, at the library.
Staffing: An all day staff meeting was not held last year. Staff members attended off site conferences.
The Library page on the website is being worked on.
- Sunday, February 1st is Super Bowl Sunday. Snacks and games will be put out at the library.
- Big Read 2009 – To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2009, 2:00 p.m., at the Town Hall Meeting Room.
2009 is the Bicentennial year of Lincoln’s birth and a book display will be created.
March is a big month for programs. They include:
- 3/1 – Winter Blah’s program
- 3/10 – At Cossitt Library, a book discussion in honor of Margaret Vastoff. The book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert will be discussed.
3/15 – Pre-diabetes program, by Stacey Monroe.
- 3/15 – Kids book talk – Matty’s War by Carroll Thomas. This is a Civil War historical fiction book. Good for children ages 8 – 12 years and for home schooling families.
3/24 – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle program at Holcomb Farm.
3/29 – Spring Cleaning, Spring Organizing program.
Old Business
Expansion Committee: L. Lochhead commented that the Library Expansion Study Committee seems to be doing an excellent job.
Board Vacancy: Dick Lydon and Carol Bressor need to be reappointed. There is one vacancy, created by Duncan Rowles’ resignation. The board discussed purchasing books to honor Mr. Rowles. Some ideas included books about the Navy, history, parades, or the military.
2009-10 Budget: J. Fox has submitted the budget to the Town Manager’s office. Changes include asking for one new full-time staff person, opening at 9:00 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and adding Sunday hours for the month of April. Copy machine fees are up because of paper and ink cartridge prices. A new copier will be purchased this year. A donation from the Lions Club provided two new computers for the Children’s Room. A vote to approve the proposed budget is tabled to the February meeting.
New Business
No new business was discussed.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
The next meeting will be Monday, February 9, 2009, 7:30 p.m., at Granby Public Library.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Christian
Recording Secretary
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