THE NORMAN WILLIAMS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Annual Meeting of the Members of the Library Corporation
September 29, 2014
Meeting Called to Order: Jack McGuire, President
President Jack McGuire called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. The president
welcomed the corporators and visitors and asked everyone to be sure to sign in to
record their presence. He thanked everyone for their support of NWPL and
reminded them that they are both ambassadors and advocates for the library to the
town and the community at large. He indicated that the meeting would show that
Norman Williams has had “a very good year.”
Approval of the Minutes of the September 26, 2013 Annual Meeting
The Minutes of the 2013 meeting have been published on the library website and
are available in the room. As there were no corrections or additions to the Minutes,
a motion was made and passed to accept the Minutes as submitted.
Election of Members and Trustees
Ann Debevoise, Chair of the Nominating Committee, introduced the proposed slate
of new Corporators. The slate was moved and passed:
Laird Bradley, Rachel Cox, Margaret Edwards, David Fraser, Jennifer Falvey, Gary
Horsman, Beverly Regan, Paul Regan, Lorissa Segal, Sam Segal, Linda Smiddy and
Suzanne Wooten,
Ann then introduced the new Trustees, whose bios have appeared on the website.
The slate was moved and passed:
Jennifer Falvey (1st term); Karen Gilmour (1st term); and Gary Horsman (1st term).
Executive Director’s Report – Jen Belton
Jen Belton thanked everyone for helping to make this “good year” happen through
their gifts and their public advocacy for the library. Expanded services have been
particularly apparent in three areas: digital literacy and outreach with our new IT
guru, Dave Sullivan; partnerships in the community with other non-profits; and a
greatly expanded collection of audio books which are being widely circulated.
We have a ratio of 60% town users to 40% other patrons, with our base of the
nearby town users growing again. We have broadened access to 70,000 patrons and
visitors; circulating 44,000 books, DVDs and periodicals, of our collection of 54,000
items. There have been 700 downloads of e-books in just one year. On average 15
diverse Programs entertain or inform nearly 500 attendees each month. An additional 20 monthly Children and Youth programs are attended by 200 children,
parents and care givers. This has grown so much that NWPL is hiring a part time
program coordinator, Heidi White, to keep the momentum going. The Art
Committee has held monthly showings of individual artist’s work.
Grants from Rotary and Mascoma Bank have paid for the new, bright, historically
appropriate lighting fixtures that have been installed in the front of the building.
Building and Grounds issues appeared over the winter with the appearance of Lake
Normy, which will shortly be under remediation, supervised by our volunteer
committee of experts. Thanks to Jack Rossi, Don Olson and George Helmer, along
with board member, Peggy Fraser.
The Children’s and Youth librarian, Melissa Slayton, has entranced all her Storytime
listeners, both inside the walls of NWPL, and outside, as she travels on behalf of
NWPL to outreach programs in the area. Keeping the afternoon influx of older
children entertained and challenged in their reading, both during the summer and
into the fall has been a particular success.
Volunteers are part of the life of NWPL and we could not survive without them. Our
wildly successful Foyer book sales, overseen by Mac, have become a serious item on
the Income side of our budget; circulation, shelving, clean windows…everything is
thanks to our Volunteers. One in particular, Joan McGee, is retiring after 17 years
(the last 4 as a Volunteer) in Book Processing.
Lastly, the Town of Barnard has committed to pay for library cards for all their
students in the town. With NWPL reaching its 130th birthday this year, we will
celebrate this milestone during the month of November by giving free library cards
to area residents that month.
Development Committee Report:
Chris Lloyd and Ann Sadowsky co-chaired the committee this year, leading a very
successful Annual Appeal and developing some Leadership gifts and recognizing our
Legacy Society donors during the year. Karen Shea with the help of board member
Andy Caffrey and the committee held the most successful Gala Ex Libris event in its
more than 10 year history. Upcoming Raffle of two $250 Shopping Sprees at Yankee
Bookshop and the Online Auction will round out the Fall events.
Chris announced that the success of all these efforts have allowed the library to
forego any drawdown from the Endowment this year, and NWPL has, in fact, repaid
the Endowment a significant sum to build for future stability. All of this is thanks in
large measure to the hard work of our librarian, Jen Belton and her team, as well as
to the many folks who have led smaller, but significant fundraisers (T. Belisle’s
Christmas musicale; the Tag Sale; Bookstock events; the Shred Event; and the rental
of our venue).
Treasurer’s Report – Garfield Goodrum
Garfield said that all are welcome to review the budget, balance sheet, profit and
loss statement and all other details with the Treasurer. Please contact him to do so.
Highlights of the Financial report: the present balance of the Endowment is
$1,498,000, an increase of $230,722 from the previous year (after costs and fees);
the $37,000 budgeted to be drawn from the Endowment was not needed, and was
not taken; there is cash on hand at TD Bank and at Morgan Stanley, in the amount of
$57,000, which is enough for the next month and more; Leadership gifts totaled
more than $160,000 during the past fiscal year.
Other specific INCOME items of note: Foyer and Bookstock book sales brought in
$24,000 in 2014 (up $9,000 over previous year); grants for 2014 totaled $21,000,
well above the $11,000 budgeted (thanks primarily to Jen’s efforts); Fundraising
was very successful, but will need to be maintained at this rate to continue to our
efforts toward stability. The 2015 budget of $457,000 posits fundraising of
$164,000, which is a high bar.
On the EXPENSE side: The library has held a tight rein on expenses, but some
building issues needed attention (in the Children’s area), as well as needed upgrades
for IT, telephone and website. Savings by not providing Healthcare has been
significant, but the board will continue to visit this issue. In the new budget there is
$49,000 allocated to purchase books, DVD’s and other materials.
On the Investment side, Garfield reported that our portfolio is mainly in Managed
Funds with Morgan Stanley, with a equity to fixed income ratio of 80%:20%. This
may seem high, but the Funds are quite conservative.
The proposed Budget for 2015 was moved and passed.
Recognition of Departing Trustees – Jack McGuire
Susan Morgan completed two terms as a Trustee. As owner of Yankee Bookshop
she was invaluable on the many Galas, and with Bookstock, during her tenure.
helping to identify and arrange for our speakers and donating many books.
Bobbi Dagger also completed two terms as Trustee. One of her main contributions
was building our relationship with the local business community, especially in their
sponsorship of the Gala and other giving.
Townsend Belisle served one term, was the board Vice President, but contributed
immensely with good ideas, counsel in the IT realm, and with his signature
Christmas musicale with “the Ten.” It was T. Belisle’s initiative for the “Naked Picnic Tables” with Charlie Shakelton, which have been in fairly constant use by patrons,
visitors and children after school.
Questions from the Floor – Jack McGuire
1. A question was raised about the status of the Endowment Campaign that had
been mentioned at the previous Annual Meeting in 2013: Jack explained that
the board has met with a Consultant, and that we are laying the groundwork
to build a more consistent giving record with our donors; revitalizing the
Legacy Society; and stewarding our donors better. All this will precede any
further work toward a campaign.
2. A question was raised about considering investments in “indexed funds”
which might be more cost effective: Jack discussed that there is a 3-year
cycle within MS investments, and that we are just approaching the end of our
first three years with them. This can be brought up now as a possibility.
Motion to Adjourn
Motion was made and passed. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Roberts, Secretary