Swanton Public Library
Board of Trustees
March 8, 2017
The regular meeting of the Swanton Public Library Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. In attendance at the meeting were:
Rebecca Rupp, Chairman
Kathy Kneebone, Secretary
Paul Foisy, Trustee, via phone
Michelle Beaulieu, Library Director
The meeting was called to order at 7:05
1.The first topic of discussion was the wonderful news of our budget passing by a very strong vote of 537 to 236, as well as the approval to move our children’s librarian position from part time to full time status. We are very excited about the opportunities this brings the library and our community.
2. Motion to accept the February minutes (KK/PF motion and second) motion passed.
3.There was no treasurer report, with the absence of Kathy Messier.
4.Director’s Report: 1660 patrons visited the library this month with more than 700 items checked out or renewed. 151 patrons accessed the library computers, and 24 library cards were issued in February. Story hour continues to have a strong attendance. Extension Thursday at the elementary school continues and we reached 75 children through this outreach program. While our focus has been on STEM activities during extension Thursdays, discussion was had to move to book themes to make a stronger connection to the library. Harry Potter Night had the library packed full with 54 children and 20 adults. Valentine crafting had 20 in attendance. Animal Tracks with Mr. K was well attended and the Lego Club had 5 children and 1 adult attend. Michelle is going to change the “Lego Club” to “Lego Night”. Vision Boards with Kris had 3 in attendance, although more had signed up. There was discussion of how to get more of a commitment from those that sign up for programs to actually attend. The Writer’s Group has 5 attending, and Dungeons and Dragons is still well attended on both nights they meet. Reader’s Theater begins again on March 16th. Other coming events are Build a Leprechaun Trap on March 11, Missisquoi River Basin will have their annual meeting from 2 to 4 on March 12th, The stuffed animal sleep over will be March 17th, Story time Yoga with Ms. Liza on April 7th, Easter Crafts on April 8th, and there will be a Book Sale / Art Hop on April 22nd. Michelle’s priorities are Maker Space organization (Volunteers needed to get organized, Becky will request this be on the SAC agenda on 3/20). Organizing an event through a VDL grant to work together with the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge to bring a musical instrument event “Songs and Stories for Saving our Planet” by Steven Coronella. Additional collaboration with the Wildlife refuge this summer, as Dave Frisque has contacted Michelle regarding a group of butterfly trackers would like to offer a program as they track the Monarch butterflies.
5. Grant Updates: The History Camp has a grant through the VHC, and Becky will look into a mini grant to use with our Fairy Garden Programs.
6. Goals: Looking ahead, our building goals are to have the flashing on the front of the library looked at. Becky will email David or Neal to find someone to get a quote on this. Discussion of other building needs included carpeting / flooring in the library as the carpets are torn in areas and stained. Consideration of noise upstairs and how to decrease it with the proper flooring was talked about. With the success of Harry Potter and other programs, Becky suggested creating a list of Standard Operating Procedures for these programs. This would help with the planning process of events that take much time to plan and prepare for. Michelle spoke highly of Danielle’s “lesson plan” notebook for story hours, and it is agreed that we will ask Danielle to take charge of this project.
7. 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten: This is a program to encourage families to read with their children. We will continue to look into how to present this and track it at our library
8. Discussion was had regarding summer meals. After careful consideration of the numbers of meals that were given, compared to the early opening of the library and traveling to get the meals, we will not be doing summer meals this year.
9.The meeting was adjourned 8:47
The Next scheduled Board meeting is April 12, 2017.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy Kneebone, Secretary