Minutes
Board of Trustees
Mathews Memorial Library
Date February 12, 2013

CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson, Carolyn Taylor called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m.

ATTENDING: Joanna Brown, Kristen Fauber, Doreen Folzenlogen, Charles Ingram, Mary Sampson, and Will Story, also in attendance: Bette Dillehay , Library Director, and Maree Morgan, President of the Friends.

MINUTES: Were reviewed and accepted as written.

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR: Mrs. Dillehay began by reporting that Mr. Ingram has been reappointed to the Library Board for another year.

Financial Report
Operating expenses for the report period totaled $7,537.40. YTD Expenditures total $46,754.02, a 36.7% increase over the previous year. Mrs. Dillehay explained that this does not put us over budget; it reflects the cost of two items that were paid in October that puts YTD higher than it was at this point in the previous year. These numbers will be righted because the annual subscription fee for the online cataloging system ($3,324.00) and the replacement of the cyber security system for the public computers (2,624.92), both of were paid in October 2012. Another reason for the differences in the YTD figure is the grants and donations of the previous year were higher than they are at this point the library has received less from the Friends during this fiscal year then we did in the past fiscal year, a lump sum was received last year that does not appear this year. Mrs. Dillehay pointed out that the unencumbered total is $43,810.10 and we have 5 months remaining in the fiscal year and for 7 months we had $46,000. So she does not believe it is of any concern. Looking at current expenses, $1,515.00 was paid for a subscription for a service called NewsBank, which is a web-site that gives users access to thousands of newspapers across the nation. Baker & Taylor, costing $1,029.15 is where most of the library's books are ordered, is the other expense over $1,000.

Information was received from the Office of the County Administrator regarding salaries and related benefits for the period ending February 5, 2013. Total expenses for the period are $124,659 or 54.3% of the budget ($229.726). The average monthly total is $17,808. With five months remaining in FY 2012-13, it is expected that the total expenses estimated at $89,042 will remain well within budget, it is also expected that the budget will remain viable should personnel additions occur in regard to adult services.
2013-2014 Budget
The proposed budget for the library for FY 2013-2014 was submitted to the Office of the County Administrator prior to the deadline of January 31st. The Board was given a copy of the submission just as it was approved along with a revenue projection from fees and services that figure was increased by $600 from last years budget.

State Aid
In the current General Assembly Session, both the Senate and House of Delegates introduced amendments to the budget proposing increases in funding for State Aid to Public Libraries. The Senate included $1,000.000 in increased funds for FY14 and the House included an increase of $250,000 for State Aid.

Financial Comparison of County Services
Mrs. Dillehay explained to the board the action taken regarding the article that appeared on February 7th in the Gazette Journal that made reference to the "amount the Mathews Library receives from the County. " In addition to contacting the Board and the County Administrator, she contacted Ron Lambert in order to provide him with the information regarding Library Funding and how the comparison of the Library Funding and Emergency Squad Funding was not valid nor were the figures correct. The newspaper was also contacted to point out the fact that Mrs. Dillehay was not contacted before publication of the article.

Mrs. Dillehay also talked with the auditor who submitted information on behalf of Mathews County to the State Auditor Of Public Accounts. He stated that the figure submitted was "expenses paid by the county of behalf of the library" but the amount in question did not reflect all sources of funding used to pay those expenses."

Mr. Lambert sent an email to Mrs. Dillehay to further explain his position and clarify the statements in his February 7th article.

Personnel
Doris Wohlfort , has been volunteering her services to the library for several years. The work that she does on Saturday is invaluable; sadly Doris has announced that she and her husband, Bob are planning to return to New England. Her departure, when it occurs will be a great loss for the library as well as the community.

Patron Update
The long awaited goal of 10,000 library patrons has been reached and exceeded. The goal was reached in mid-January and the total now exceeds 10,015.

Programs
Adult Programs. The trip to Richmond on February 1st to view the Chihuly exhibit was a great success. Fifty-seven travelers participated in the library –sponsored excursion to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Joint Black History Month Exhibit. Throughout February artifacts from the Antioch Church L. W. Wales, Jr., Museum will be on display in the library.

EBooks, ect. A two-hour Tech Zoo workshop was held on January 23rd with 16 people registered to attend. The library is continuing create an EBranch.

Tutoring and Literati Public. The ad hoc committee interested in advancing tutoring opportunities to Mathews students plans to develop a proposal to fund transportation, Judy Rowe is heading an attempt to create a grant for that project. Literati Public, available through Virginia's public libraries, is a key element of the endeavor to help students take advantage of tutoring at the library and elsewhere.

Up Coming Programs

Bedtime Storytime. The library is planning a second PJ storytime event on February 14th from 6 to 7 p.m. The Valentines program is designed to reach families with children between the ages of 3 to 7 with a format similar to that of the story time event held in December.

Dr. Seuss Day. The library has received approval to celebrate "Read Across America" with students at Lee Jackson School. The program is scheduled for Friday, March 1, 2013. Carol McCormack, head of youth services, is coordinating the program and will present a book to each class for grades pre-K through 3rd grade.

Report from The Friends

Mrs. Morgan reported that $1,076,000 has been raised toward the project. Building Committee: 1. 5 contractors who have qualified to bid came to the library to meet with John Hartke and the building committee where he laid out what was needed to answer their questions, and took them through the building. Their bids must be submitted by February 21. The bids will be reviewed; the committee will make a decision and then negotiate a contract. 2. Ads were placed in four newspapers to hire a construction project manager to work with the building committee and The Friends of the Library. The applicants who are interested are asked to submit resumes by mail by Tuesday 2/25. The building committee has met to create a process for interviewing the construction project manager. John Hartke estimates that the project will be released to the contractor on April 4th. The construction will take from seven to nine months to complete.

The campaign steering committee is meeting on February 13th to begin planning the public portion and they anticipate there will be an event right before the contractor starts his job to celebrate the start f construction.

The Orrell Bookstore is doing very well they have brought in over $14,000 in revenue last year. The store is opened on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The success of the store is due to the hard work and dedication of the volunteers in addition to the public who not only buy the books but also graciously donates books to be sold. The Bookstore has recently purchased used shelves and these shelves will probably be up and installed by the end of March. The sale of bricks is being emphasized because this is another way to bring funds in to support the library.

Old Business: FY 13-14 Budget Submission

A question was asked about the security cameras that were purchased for surveillance of the back of the library. Mrs. Dillehay explained that the installation was not successful because the cameras would not project enough to be useful. It is possible that they will work at the rear of the renovated building.

New Business: There was no new business.

Public Comment: There was no public comment.

Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:58 p.m.

The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 11, 2013

Mary E. Sampson
Secretary