Library Foundation Meeting August 20, 2008

Minutes

Present:  Marian Brown, Frances Clause, Rebecca Cohen, Curt Fewkes, Carol Fisher, Michelle Longo Eder, Richard Kilbride, Cindy McConnell, Carol Ruggeri; Jennifer Keirans as note-taker.

The meeting was called to order at 5:15.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Treasurer's Report:  Kilbride
The report included two sections: one, a breakdown of last year's cash flow (as compared to last year's budget), and one showing the cash flow of this year so far (since July 1, 2008).  Several members of the Foundation praised the format of the report, saying they liked how easy it was to compare actual amounts to those budgeted.  Kilbride said that by the next foundation meeting he would have a budget for this year. He pointed out that the Oregon Community Foundation Fund lost a bit of money last year, adding, "But didn't everyone lose money last year?"

Librarian's Report:  Cohen
Bridges to Literacy: Focus will be on geology and paleontology.  Cohen has a number of speakers and educators lined up for this; she is still hoping to get someone out from the John Day Fossil Beds, as well.

July Statistics: Most uses were up, including an impressive 13% increase in circulation. The summer reading drew significantly more people this year, too.

DVD System:  The library has implemented its new DVD processing procedure (with security cases), and seems to be working nicely.  No data on losses yet; Cohen plans to do an inventory before the next meeting.

New Hire:  Stacy Johns was hired full time to replace retiring Sheridan Price. 

Library Director:  the search is on; some applications have already been received.

Committee Reports

Fundraising Committee: Eder

The committee had a meeting last week.  During this meeting Brown suggested that they shelve discussing future long-term fundraising (for the building project, etc.).  She said that you need to have a plan for long-term fundraising and that, until we have something of that nature in place, they would be wasting their energy discussing it.

That said, the committee concentrated upon existing fundraising efforts.  They used Kilbride's financial reports to assess the effectiveness of different efforts. Their findings:

Book sale:  works very well.  They'd like to both recognize the efforts of volunteer Selma Patrick and publicize the existence of the book sale.  McConnell volunteered to write a press release for the newspaper.

Honor With Books:  Has not been very effective this past year.  Eder suggests publicizing this service more, with bookmarks, perhaps a mailer. 

Solicitation Letter:  very effective, and should continue to be so.  The president writes it each year, and it will need to be ready by the end of October.  Fewkes asked for volunteers to help him and Cohen; Clause volunteered and Littlehales, though absent, was appointed to this..

"Staff Hustling" - although library staff do no specific fundraising, Eder praised them and said that their positive relationship with the public is a great boon to fundraising efforts in general.

Farmer's Market booth - everyone agrees that this is excellent exposure, if not a great financial draw, and that it is well worth the effort.

Outreach to attorneys and CPAs - Last year the Foundation hosted a meeting with these local professionals to encourage them to remember the library while helping people plan their estates.  The Foundation agreed that focusing, not so much on attorneys and CPAs, but on those thinking about their own estates, would be worthwhile.

Eder read an article about a winery benefit for the Eugene library, and suggested something similar.  There was general discussion about venues (alcohol cannot be served in the library, so it would have to be somewhere else).  McConnell said that the fundraising committee would need to decide if such a party would be for fundraising or for publicity; Brown mentioned that the committee should also think about what kind of image such a party would present.

Newport Reads! 2009 committee:

Those who have read it say that Stubborn Twig is a tough read; general gladness that Bat 8 and Apples to Oregon have been included as well.

There was some discussion about other people who might be involved in the program.

Cohen mentioned requesting grants from the Oregon Commission for the Humanities and the Lincoln County Cultural Trust to help meet costs. 

Brown recommended that the Foundation set aside $7,500 for Newport Reads (up from $5,000 from last year).  Eder said that, since that's a lot of money, she wants to be sure to track attendance vs. expenditure after the 2009 Newport Reads!  She said that it's time to review what the Newport Reads! program has accomplished, who it has reached, and also what it hasn't done.

After some discussion, the Foundation agreed to set aside $7,500 for Newport Reads! 2009.

The meeting adjourned at 6:40.