REPORT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Mathews Memorial Library
Bette Dillehay, Director
April 9, 2013

This report is intended to provide the chairman and members of the Board of Trustees with a report of activities during the period March 12 – April 9, 2013. We are delighted to join Board members in welcoming Col. Steve Wilson to the Board of Trustees.

Financial Report
Operating expenses for the report period totaled $5,003.35. Year-to-date, expenditures total $59,662.95, a 9.15% increase over the previous year. It is believed that with three months remaining in FY2013 and unencumbered operating funds totaling $34,466.24 ($11,489 per month), the library will end the year within budget. A determination will be made in late May if a request for carry-over funding should be initiated.

Information maintained by the Office of the County Administrator regarding salaries and related benefits was received for the period ending March 2, 2013. Total expenses to date are $156,370.96 or 68.1% of total budget ($229,726), with $73,355 remaining. The average monthly total is $17,375; however, expenses for the current period totaled $15,726, 1.6%.less than the previous month.

Personnel
Head, Adult/Teen Services Position. To date, the library has received 14 applications for the position. The following ad seeking an individual to serve as Head, Adult/Teen Services is listed on the Mathews library website and is also included in the job listing of the Virginia Library Association. In addition, the ad recently appeared in the Virginia Gazette, which resulted in the majority of applications received. The application period closes on April 15th, and it is planned to choose a successful candidate by June 1st.

Mathews Memorial Library is seeking an innovative, patron-oriented individual to function in a leadership role, providing traditional and evolving support in a technology-rich environment. This position is intended to link the learning needs and interests of adults and young adults. As part of a team, the individual will identify community needs and interests and assist in the planning, development and implementation of programs that benefit the community. The ideal candidate will understand and be able to articulate what an adult/young adult user experience should be and have the ability to translate that knowledge into practice.

Youth Wing Staffing. The current staffing arrangement for the youth wing of two part-time positions continues to prove most successful. Carol McCormack brings a high level of expertise and professionalism to the position and is ably supported by Michael Fisher, whose enthusiasm and high degree of dependability is outstanding.

Historical Research. Becky Barnhardt, Head, History and Genealogy, recently undertook to learn more about the history of Fort Nonsense, a local historical site. The Fort, located at the County line, is under development as a public park by the County; however, until Becky's recent efforts, questions regarding its construction and establishment remained unanswered. Her work has revealed that the Fort was indeed part of a Confederate fortification system and was built by members of the 61st Militia in 1861-1862.

Patron Update
The total number of patrons as of Friday, April 5thth was 10,087, an overall gain of 565 patrons over the same period in the previous year. Patrons and others visiting the library totaled 4,639 during the report period, slightly down from the same period 2012. While fewer juveniles used the library computers, the number of them attending programs/activities at the library increased by 142%, nearly tripling the previous year's attendance.

Patrons signing up for access to eBooks now totals 325. In March, 2013, 132 titles were checked out compared with 175 in March, 2012. The number has not reached the high of 243 which occurred in February during the first month of availability. It is the consensus that more effective marketing needs to be done to justify the investment made by the library. Consolidating the various e-services and promoting these as a unit is planned.

Programs
Adult Programs. The celebration of National Women's History Month at the library proved to be a great success, recognizing and celebrating the Women of Mathews, past and present, for their accomplishments in all walks of life. Twenty-seven individuals were recognized, and much interest and discussion was generated by the program. As planned, a luncheon will be held on May 2 bringing the celebration to closure. Dr. Sandy Treadway, Librarian of Virginia, has accepted our invitation to be present and discuss the role of women in leadership in Virginia. Invitations will go out to those living women whose names were submitted along with invitations to those who submitted the names. The Board of Trustees is also invited to attend.

Dean King, an author appearing previously at the library, has offered a return engagement on May 20 to discuss his latest book about the Hatfields and the McCoys. Titled, The Feud, the book documents the turbulent period in West Virginia history when two families made headlines.

Other programs on the schedule include a workshop on May 22nd from 10 a.m. until noon, held in conjunction with Virginia Cooperative Extension. The topic is Small Steps to Health and Wealth, a program designed to help motivate participants to improve both their health and their finances. The presenter will be Glenn Sturm, a Virginia Tech graduate with a B.S. in Finance.

Moving to June, we will feature a Brown Bag Lunch event featuring Richmond Times Dispatch political journalist, Jeff Schapiro, on the 20th. Jeff has covered Virginia's Capitol and campaigns for nearly three decades. His columns are published on Wednesdays and Sundays with a video column each Thursday. He can be heard each Friday at 8:33 a.m. on WCVE radio. Jeff's insight into Virginia politics and knowledge of State government promises to provide an informative and entertaining event.

In concert with planning for the youth program in July, we are also working on Soothin' Summer Sounds which, this year, will feature "Sounds of the World." We also hope to plan a Tea Dance sometime in May or June.

Youth Programs. Not enough can be said of the success of the Fantasy Trip to Italy. Under the direction of Carol McCormack, everyone enjoyed the transformation of the library into an Italian setting. Numerous members of the community joined to help make it a success. Special thanks go to the Sheriff's Office for providing deputies who assisted as "airport security." Particular treats were the gondola constructed by Peter Hall (it can be seen in the Youth Wing) and David Gussman, accordionist from Williamsburg. Doug Hibbs of the Courthouse Players was a commanding Julius Caesar as was Mike Fisher who ably portrayed a gladiator. Jan Mohr, a library volunteer, prepared a delightful Italian feast and the 36 young people participating learned a great deal about Italy.

Coming up in June are the Highland Games, which are always very popular. Plans are underway, as well, for the summer program in July in 2013. This year's theme will be "Wonders of the World." The program will explore both man-made and natural wonders, concluding with the creation of our very own list of wonders (perhaps more than seven).