REPORT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Mathews Memorial Library
Bette Dillehay, Director
October 8, 2013

This report is intended to provide the Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees with a report of activities during the period ending September 10 – October 8, 2013. It is my pleasure to introduce Mary Bull who has accepted the position of Head, Teen/Adult Services. Mary was formerly employed as an interpreter at Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and began employment at the library on Monday, October 7.

Financial Report
Operational expenses for the period totaled $4,472.75, of which $2,145.68 was for the purchase of books and related materials. Year-to-date unencumbered funds total $92,179.17, including budget appropriation and grants/donations.

Through September, salaries and related benefits total $50,211.62. The total for the latest period ending September 27th ($16,588.03) showed an increase of $168.89. This increase reflected increased staff time required to maintain longer hours on Saturday during Mathews Market Days.

We have received confirmation from the Library of Virginia that the estimated State Aid for Mathews is $60,003 for FY2014 and $61,359 for FY2015. This amount is sent directly to the office of the County treasurer and is a contributing factor in the library budget.

Staff Update
Greg Lewis and Carol McCormack are conducting a Basic Computer Training Course in Essex County on October 10 and 11. In November, they will be presenting the Tech Zoo in Lancaster County.

Patron Update
With 32 additions in September, the total number of patrons is 10,332. During the same period, patrons and visitors made 5,270 visits to the library and checked out a total of 1,553 items. Included in the number of items checked out is the number of checkouts for "downloadables," a figure that includes ebooks, magazines and music, all of which are available through the library. Library computers were accessed a total of 579 times which does not include use of the wireless network.

Plans for Occupying Renovated Area
The staff is beginning the organizational process of occupying the renovated space to be available. This includes identifying and re-assigning the library YA items (books, tapes, movies, periodicals) as well as computers and other equipment to be housed in the new Teen Territory. The staff is also considering how the existing youth and staff space is to be used and what work must be done to facilitate its use most effectively.

It is planned to move the work spaces for archival staff to half of the current staff space. The business collection will be removed from the Chesapeake Room and placed in the remaining half of the area. A recent meeting was held with the library vendor representative, Jason Green, who will assist in re-utilizing existing equipment and furnishings as well as determining what will need to be purchased. At the same time, the decision has been made, based on usage patterns, to discontinue storage of VHS tapes and audio cassette books. Periodicals will be moved to the Adult Computing and Reading Room in the renovated area, thus creating the availability of additional shelving for adult books. The estimated cost for this work is $12,000.

September Programs
The library hosted Dr. James Robertson on September 26. Dr. Robertson, professor emeritus of history at Virginia Tech, is nationally recognized as a Civil War historian. He drew more than 100 people to his presentation. A tea dance was held on the 29th and was a welcome return of a popular event.

Plans for Autumn
Adult Programs. October is Archives Month in Virginia. The Mathews library is a center of enthusiastic users of archival and genealogical material. To celebrate our appreciation for this resource, we are planning a field trip to the Library of Virginia for a guided tour of Virginia's largest documentary history repository. The tour will provide a chance to view rare and interesting materials which are part of the archival collection. A fee of $30 will be charged to cover transportation. Lunch will be available at the Library, but is not included in the cost of the trip.

Youth. The youth staff, in partnership with Mathews Main Street, will be repeating last year's Pumpkin Party on Main on Saturday, October 26th. Activities will include pumpkin carving, trick or treating on Main and a ghoul party at the library. Pumpkins will be available at the library for carving. Prizes will be given for the funniest, scariest and most creative pumpkins. To add to the event, there will be a merchants' window decoration contest.