2021

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the
Berkshire Free Library Association
January 19, 2021

Meeting held by Zoom was attended by John Stoughton, Nancy Lohmann, Carol Cox, Carol Kania, Fran Miller and Janice Merrill. Members of the public were Carol Leigh and Graeme Brilliant. The meeting was called to order by President John Stoughton at 7:03 PM.
Secretary’s Report: The Minutes of the 2020 Annual Meeting were read and there being no changes, Carol Kania made a motion to approve the Minutes, which was seconded by Carol Cox and unanimously approved, so the motion carried.
Old Business
Trustee replacement: Voting was as follows:
Carol Kania nominated Graeme Brilliant to take the vacancy left by Dick Harrington, term Jan. 2021 to Dec. 2023. Nancy Lohmann seconded the nomination, and the motion passed unanimously
Carol Kania nominated Darlene Wait to fill the remainder of the term left by Emilie Stuhlmiller who passed away last month, term ending Dec. 2022. Janice Merrill seconded the nomination, and the motion passed unanimously.
Carol Kania nominated Carol Leigh to replace Elaine Knapp, term ending December 2021. Nancy Lohmann seconded the nomination and the motion passed unanimously.
Carol Kania nominated Janice Merrill who had replaced Kathy Hartman in Jan. 2020 for a term ending Dec. 2023. Graeme seconded the nomination and it passed unanimously.
Janice Merrill nominated Nancy Lohmann who had replaced Karen McNally in August 2020, for a term ending Dec. 2023. Carol Cox seconded the nomination and it passed unanimously.
Library Assistant: Lena Sherwood resigned last month, and works 7 hours per week for the Library as Assistant. Her daughter Marcie Sherwood has some training already and has expressed an interest in the position. The Library cleaner, Irene Monte has also indicated she would like to pick up more hours and was interested in training for the position of Assistant. Fran suggested we hire both of them for a total of 7 hours a week through the next few months on a trial basis. After discussion, the Board approved the hirings.
Community Hall Donation for 2020: After discussion, Nancy Lohmann moved and Carol Cox seconded a motion to donate $300 to the Berkshire Community Hall Association for the year of 2020. All approved and the motion was carried.
New Business:
Annual Report Status: Fran reported that the Annual report portal was not open yet. She noted there are a lot of questions regarding what we did during the COVID shutdowns. Carol Leigh and Fran will do the report when available.
Adjournment: There being no further business, Janice Merrill moved adjournment of the Annual Meeting and Carol Kania seconded the motion. All approved and the motion was carried.
Respectfully,
Janice Merrill, Secretary

Berkshire Free Library
2021 Trustee Reorganizational Meeting – January 20, 2021

The Reorganizational meeting was called to order at 7:39 PM via Zoom, attended by by John Stoughton, Nancy Lohmann, Carol Cox, Carol Kania, Fran Miller, Janice Merrill, Carol Leigh and Graeme Brilliant.
Agenda additions: Carol Kania requested the following be added to the Agenda’s New Business: election of officers, vote on adherence to minimum wage, New York Library Assn. and Library Trustee Assn. membership dues, vote on which officers have access to bank accounts, revised deadline to update online policies and procedures, and Cares Act update.
Reports:
Secretary’s report: Minutes of the Dec. 14, 2020 Trustee meeting were reviewed. Carol Cox moved acceptance of the minutes as presented, Carol Kania seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
Director’s report: Fran’s report was distributed by email, and after discussion, Carol Cox moved acceptance of the report, Janice Merrill seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.
Treasurer’s report: Reports prepared by Elaine Knapp were reviewed. After discussion, Nancy Lohmann moved acceptance of the report as presented, Janice seconded the motion and it was passed with Carol Kania abstaining.
Old Business:
Overdrive cost update: Because the FLLS actually used more service from Overdrive than last year, our range of shared cost is closer to $346 where last year we paid $241. After discussion, the Board agreed to the increased payment.
New Business:
Election of Officers: Carol Kania nominated Carol Leigh for Treasurer and Carol Cox seconded the motion. Existing officers: John Stoughton, President; Carol Cox, Vice-President; and Janice Merrill, Secretary were presented with no opposition. Nancy Lohmann moved the slate of officers by accepted, Carol Kania seconded and the slate was passed unanimously.
Bank account access authorization: Access to NBT Bank and Visions Credit Union accounts including the Patch Trust currently include Judy Barrett and John Stoughton. Janice moved that Carol Leigh be added to the access authorization, and Graeme seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Committee assignments: After discussion and unanimous approval, assignments are:
Buildings and Grounds Committee – Carol Kania, Darlene Waite and Graeme Brilliant.
Finance Committee – Carol Leigh, Judy Barrett and Carol Cox.
Policy Committee – Janice Merrill, Judy Barrett, and Nancy Lohmann.
Adherence to minimum wage: NYS required minimum wage at $12.50 an hour. Cleaner and Library Assistant wages
were adjusted accordingly. Finance Committee may make an equitable change to wage of Director in the future. Janice moved the wages be brought into compliance, Nancy seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously. Note: Pay and Leave Policy must be updated to reflect these changes.
Library Trustee Assn and NY Library Assn membership: Carol Kania explained that each Trustee has access to the online services of these associations, newsletters and conferences. After discussion, Nancy moved the BFL pay a maximum of $85 for the two associations. Carol Kania seconded the motion and passed unanimously.
Deadline for placing Policies and Procedures online was extended by the FLLS to December 2021, but Carol Kania urged the Committee to get started sooner rather than later.
FLLS Cares Act will reimburse us for Zoom Pro at $199.90 per year, hopefully in place for future meetings. Also two women had asked Fran for help in starting a book club, which could also use Zoom. With an order Fran just placed for more masks and hand sanitizer to fight Covid, we should not need any more.
Round Table Janice reported that Sandra Negus may be coming home soon but will still require nursing assistance.
There being no further business, at 8:33 PM a motion to adjourn was unanimously accepted.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Merrill, Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
February 23, 2021

Present at meeting via Zoom:Fran Miller, Graeme Brilliant, Nancy Lohmann, John Stoughton, Carol Kania, Carol Leigh, Carol Cox, Janice Merrill. Meeting was called to order at 7:19 pm by President John Stoughton.

No corrections or additions were made to the Minutes as distributed via email.
Director ‘s report – Fran had distributed the Annual Report to FLLS along with questions and answers to those questions earlier via email. Fran said she had spoken with Kristi and got questions answered. There were no further questions on the Annual Report.
Carol Leigh had distributed the Treasurer’s report earlier via email. She further reported that the Towns of Richford and Berkshire had sent in their donations which would be deposited the next day. She is still working on the Patch account access, although John thought is was already done so will double-check that proper signatures are on all accounts.
Nancy moved that all three reports be approved as presented. Graeme seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.
Old Business:
Annual report – Nancy moved and Janice seconded a motion that the Annual Report be accepted as presented. The motion was unanimously carried.
Library Assistant Update. Fran reported that both are doing well, both have had customer service training and both are satisfied with the current working arrangements. Graeme also reported that his recent interactions on phone and in person were well given.
New Business:
The 990EZ filing must be done in April. Elaine said she had had problems with the IRS last year but they finally agreed that they had received the filing. Carol was not anxious to be involved with IRS but will review last year’s 990EZ to see what is involved.
Because of the need for more than one scheduled free Zoom meeting to accomplish the Trustee business monthly, and because there is public interest in using Zoom to hold book clubs, and because the Cares Act award for Zoom will eventually be sent to the BFL, Carol Kania moved that the higher version, about $180, be purchased now and a reimbursement be made when the Cares Act funds arrive. Nancy seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Fran will take care of that purchase.
Carol Kania noted that FLLS has a class March 1, 2 or 3 to learn how to be an effective Trustee. This will help fulfill a required number of hours of training for each Trustee annually.
An amendment to the Zoom vote was presented by John to purchase the version at a cost not to exceed $200. Janice moved, Graeme seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
The Helping Hands Food Pantry gave a number of flyers for Fran to distribute to spread the word about signing up for Easter food boxes.
Janice reported that there will be a Bicentennial of the Richford Congregational Church and Town this year, with a history of the preceding 100 years being put together and help needed. Several suggestions were given. Janice also reported that Sandra Negus was home and recovering. Cards will certainly be appreciated.
There being no further business, Carol Kania moved and Nancy seconded adjournment.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Merrill, Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

March 16, 2021

Present at meeting via Zoom: Fran Miller, Janice Merrill, John Stoughton, Carol Leigh, Darlene Wait, Nancy Lohmann, Carol Kania, Graeme Brilliant, Carol Cox, Judy Barrett. Meeting was called to order at 7:12 PM.

President Stoughton called for any additions to the Agenda, with Carol Kania adding Lawn mowing plans, and the need for a raffle basket for former volunteer’s father, Butch Partridge benefit in April.

Reports:

Secretary: Minutes of February’s meeting were distributed via email and previously read by all. No questions or corrections were noted.

Director: Fran noted that book checkouts are greater than last year at this time, and a couple of days they’ve actually been busy! The $4075 Storytime grant was read over by Nancy Lohmann prior to submission and it looks good for the grab and go items and storytime support. The ALA grant for $3,000 which would cover our paid-for version of Zoom and other Covid-related items was submitted but no word yet. Fran also reported that there will be a tech meeting for FLLS (Falcons meeting). Mini grant for FLLS is available and Fran is thinking about requesting support for a student-led group in technology topics or something for middle schoolers. The Dollar Store grant is open and being worked on, maybe kids books. Also, Summer program needs to be planned, likely reading sheets for credit by kids, more grab and gos, and planning to use all the stuffed animals we had donated as reward for reading.

Treasurer: Carol Leigh had distributed Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss reports via email earlier. There were no questions on the reports. Carol Cox thanked Carol for a good job in figuring out all our accounts. She is still planning to update the budget line for salaries to reflect mandated increases.

Motion by Nancy Lohmann to approve all the Reports as given, seconded by Judy Barrett and passed unanimously.

Old Business:

990 Tax Filing: Carol Leigh did not feel comfortable doing the 990 for the Library and so Jan Knowles of Owego has been asked to do the filing. A request for extension of time to file has been filed already.

Conflict of Interest forms were reviewed, with the 3-page form being required to be signed by new Trustees, and the one-page for continuing Trustees. A modification of the one-page was noted and will be edited and resent via email.

FLLS Training: Janice, Judy, Carol Cox, Graeme and Nancy attended the Zoom training held to fill a likely pending New York State requirement for library trustees, and all agreed it was a good training, interesting information learned.

New Business:

Lawn mowing: A new person to mow is needed since Eddie will not be able to do it any longer. Carol Kania suggested Dave Michaud.

Raffle item for Butch Partridge: Carol Kania suggested using the array of items donated for the Blueberry and Book Festivals and she will make up a basket for this cause. All agreed it would be a fine idea.

Round Table:

Fran is making up bags for those registered for the SAPpening to be held in Rawley Park this year with a crafts show at the West Creek Roadhouse and the Sugar Shack at SweeTrees. She noted that again SweeTrees will make a donation for every purchase made there that day to support the Berkshire Free Library and other non-profits.

Graeme is working with Carol Kania to bring our website up to date, much thanks given!

There being no further business, Judy moved and Carol Cox seconded adjournment. Unanimously passed!

Respectfully submitted,

Janice Merrill, Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

April 20, 2021

President Stoughton called for any additions to the Agenda, and added Policies and Procedures under Old Business and Carol Kania’s report under New Business.

Reports:
Secretary: Minutes of March’s meeting were distributed via email and previously read by all. Carol Kania requested the Minutes be changed to include her as attending the FLLS Training. No further questions or changes.

Directors: Fran’s report had been distributed via email and she further reported that the American Libraries Association (ALA) Grant which was only given to 300 rural libraries, and the Community Foundation of Tompkins County grant (Story Time) both had been awarded to us. ALA grant will be used to pay for expenses of Fran meeting with various local organizations and telling them about the library programs of today, and the Story Time grant is about $4,000.

Fran said the Summer Program will be different – lunch program will consist of family drop-off lunches and she has not heard back from Frasier if we can use the Community Hall for any inside programs. The Tioga Art Council has a few ideas for program, and the Cornell Cooperative – 4H will offer grab and go bags only. Carol Kania suggested maybe the fire hall could be used in some way.

Fran reported that we could purchase Ancestry.com for $1,448 per year for the library version. She is talking with the company rep, and maybe the price could be based on the number of library patrons and be lower. Maybe the towns would contribute or a grant can be used. She is checking on a 30-day trial period version. There were no further questions on the report.

Treasurer: Carol Leigh had emailed the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss statements and they were reviewed. She noted that she is trying to get a dead check off the financial statements. She also offered to take the dead computers that are taking up considerable space in the library. She can take up to 220 pounds to a site. This could make room for the library model which is currently in the museum. We talked of a chain style work group to be scheduled to get them down the stairs and out the door. There were no further questions on the report.

Judy moved and Janice seconded her motion to accept all the reports as amended. Motion unanimously carried.

Old Business:
990 Report Status: Carol has to get financial records to Jan Nolis, the accountant.
Lawn mowing: Brett Welch will mow for $30. He already mowed once. John will contact Brett regarding his billing plan.
Raffle basket: Carol put together a basket for the Butch Partridge raffle this coming weekend, consisting of 2 puzzles, a mug, cookies, tea and coffee sample packs, and gave it to the Northern Tioga Chamber of Commerce for transport to the event.
Policies and Procedures updates: The committee presented 5 policies for consideration. The Materials Selection Policy was approved with the proviso that the Note to thank the Peck Memorial Library be omitted. The attached form, Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials was also approved. The Children in the Library Policy was reviewed with no changes, so it also was approved. The committee suggested that the Digital Camera and Printer Policy be eliminated since these items could not be found and had not been requested in years. Carol Kania said she knew where they were and we should hang on to the policy. The Building Use Policy was reviewed, and the only change suggested was that the first line should omit the words in parenthesis “(max. 25 people)” so the actual size of a small group was not set. Carol K wanted more time to review the policy. The Application for Use of Meeting Room was reviewed, with proposed changes on the “need to use” list deleting the VCR/DVD player and TV and deleting the Projector screen. It also added Zoom access since we have it available and possibly helpful to patrons. Carol K suggested we should have a separate Zoom Access Policy before that was changed.

Darlene moved approval of the Materials Selection Policy including the attached Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials, and the Children in the Library Policy. Nancy seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

New Business:
Newark Valley Garden Club: There are 5 Berkshire members of the group and they requested access to our facilities that they might take care of planting and caring for our gardens. This was gratefully granted! Carol will help find plants and generally be involved.
Ebay: Fran reported that a patron had volunteered to sell older books on her Ebay account, and bag and mail them with no cost to us, within reason. There may be a printing cost depending on size. The Board agreed to selling books on Ebay and appreciate the patron’s offer!
Ancestry.com: covered in the Director’s report section.
Carol Kania’s report: In addition to her printed report, we talked about having a modified Blueberry Festival. We need permission from the Fire Department to use their bay first. We agreed to start planning for a Festival July 17 with limited vendors since we would not be using any indoor space, just the fire hall bay and outside spaces. Carol K said she could put up a paperback book sale within a couple of hours. Maybe the firemen would do a barbecue, and Lambert’s Attic has a food truck that may be willing to come. We would have to have a blueberry bake sale, but no pancake breakfast, no printed program, and no game truck. We may be able to have a DJ play music instead of having various groups perform. It would all have to be held outside. Darlene will ask the Fire Department about using the bay at their May 4^th meeting. Janice moved and Judy seconded the motion that the Trustees proceed with planning a so modified Blueberry and Book Festival. The motion carried with Graeme abstaining as a potential conflict of interest. Carol will send Janice a list of vendors to be contacted by email regarding their interest in participating, local vendors having priority.

Roundtable:
Carol asked if we wanted to be in the Newark Valley Summerfest parade this year. The consensus was not this year.
Fran reported that she will do her first ALA grant funded speaking engagement on May 17.
John reported that he had repaired the upstairs hall window, no small feat, thank you!
There was no further discussions, so a motion to adjourn was made by Carol Cox, seconded by Judy Barrett and it was unanimously approved.

Respectfully submitted,

Janice Merrill, Secretary

Report April 19, 2021

Thank you to Church volunteers for lawn clean up and bringing out picnic table.

Barrett Vaughn will schedule work on building soon.

I am working on the library inventory of furniture and equipment.

Nancy will be doing the summer mailing.

Graeme is starting to work on the website.

Carol Cox will be doing the deposits and thank you notes for the memorials and gifts.

Proposed Modified Blueberry Festival as a bridge to possible returning in the future:

Bill Morris has been contacted and he thinks it would be OK to use the Fire Station Truck Bay.

Blueberry Bake sale or just Blueberry sale by growers

Paperback & Puzzles sale

Raffle using items already in the attic

No pancake breakfast

No ads or printed program

No art or music

No game truck

Possible allowing outside vendor & author spaces on library lawn???

Newark Valley Summerfest is planned end of July with vendors.

Library display planned for August celebration of Richford’s 200^th anniversary.

Carol Kania

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
May 18, 2021

Present at meeting via Zoom: Fran Miller, Janice Merrill, John Stoughton, Carol Leigh, Darlene Wait, Nancy Lohmann, Carol Kania, Graeme Brilliant, Carol Cox, Judy Barrett. Meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm.
President Stoughton called the meeting to order at 7:07 PM There were no additions to the Agenda.
Minutes of the April meeting were reviewed. No corrections requested, Judy moved and Nancy seconded approval; unanimously passed.
Director’s Report: Fran must record the meetings as the host since others cannot record. She noted actual stats on her report emailed earlier. Story hour attendance has been increasing. Summer Reading activities are coming together. Ancestry.com is being applied for in a grant on behalf of the Library by Penny Magnus. Fran would like to purchase a few more picnic tables for the area from funds available. Books are being gathered for the book sale. There being no further questions, Janice moved and Judy seconded approval of the report.

Treasurer’s Report: Carol’s reports had been emailed earlier and were reviewed. She reported that she has to transfer funds from NBT to Visions and was told to write a check on NBT and take to Visions to accomplish that. Scott Smith & Sons is no longer auto-billing $100 a month for fuel oil. We must either write a check or get a debit card. New bill comes June 1 and we can save money by paying all at once. There being no further questions, Darlene moved and Judy seconded a motion to accept the report. It was unanimously approved.
Old Business:
The 990 is still being processed.
Blueberry * Book Festival: Melinda Russell reported to Carol K that the Auxiliary does not want to do the Pancake breakfast. Carol could ask the Fire Dept if they would be able to do a chicken bbq. Email to vendors will be going out soon. Carol K. encouraged Board to attend the FLLS webcast on Covid and Libraries update, as emailed.
Garden Club worked at the Library last week and wondered if we could get a window box? A big iron kettle?
Place curtains halfway up in the front windows. There followed the saga of the previously removed curtains. Issue was tabled. Carol will return the old curtains meanwhile.
Ancestry grant must be signed by John and reviewed by the Board or it should be submitted under the Town.
Policies and Procedures: This effort has been tabled until after the Blueberry Festival.
New Business:
Book donation: Christopher Andersen on Blackman Hill, Berkshire, donated 200 new books. He is a retired lawyer from Rochester. We just have to come pick them up. They may be sold at the September sale. Fran will go through the books for any that can be added to the library’s holdings. She will pick up and take to Carol K’s house.
Haefle – We can save $20 by purchasing yearly. We use the phone line only since we get internet for free from the Town. Graeme moved to pay yearly, Judy seconded, and all approved the motion, passed unanimously.
Roundtable:
Fran is planning a vacation.
No further business, Nancy moved and Graeme seconded a motion to adjourn. Unanimously approved!
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Merrill, Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

June 15, 2021

Present at meeting in person at the library: Judy Barrett, Fran Miller, Graeme Brilliant, Carol Cox, Nancy Lohmann, Darlene Wait and John Stoughton. Present on Zoom: Carol Kania and Barbara Schwartz.

President John Stoughton called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. There were no additions to the agenda.

Director’s Report: Attendance for the month was average to what it usually is. ALA Grant: We purchased a new Chromebook. It can be used as a supplemental computer to the circa computer so that we can use the new LEAP (online) system to check out books from a remote location. The cost of the Chromebook was approx. $368.

CFTG Grant: (Story Time) We did receive the grant to continue Story Time. We will switch to Tuesdays, at 10:30 am on July 6^th, to coordinate with the “summer lunches.

Thank you, Nancy for creating the flyer for the Summer Program. Fran is working on getting the flyer to the school system.

Fran went to visit the Tioga County Senior Citizens Foundation and gave a presentation. She shared a letter that she received from them in appreciation for that visit.

Penny (The town Historian) has received a grant that will enable us to have ancestory.com for a year. The plan is to have people from the community to come to the library to research their family history.

Old Business: The 990 is still in process.

Blueberry * Books Festival, Carol Kania asked if we would like to continue with the festival or wait until next year. There was a discussion, and a motion was made to continue with the festival by Darlene, seconded by Nancy. 1 abstained, 6 voted yes. Motion accepted.

Currently we have 20 vendors and 5 authors that are coming. Have contacted 15 out of town vendors, a few of them have replied. Maurice Stoughton has informed us that the antique car club has disbanded but he would be willing to invite others to come. Lena and Carol have been working on the raffle baskets, puzzles and paperback books to be sold. Nancy suggested that the people that are usually a part of the art show could have their own tents to sell their art.

Policies and Procedures, Tabled until after the festival.

Christopher Anderson book donation, nice books, mostly about history. Fran will go through them and keep some to put on the library shelves, and then we will put the rest in our September book sale, the remainder will go to the Finger Lakes book sale.

New Business:

The mailer for the festival will be going out in the mail this week. A motion was made by Carol Kania and seconded by Graeme to pay to cost of mailing should be taken from the summer program and the festival, each paying ½ of the cost. Motion accepted unanimously.

Mask policy, we discussed this, and it was decided that people who have been vaccinated can go without. People and children should wear masks.

The Garden Club has planted zinnias, geraniums, and peonies. John stated that he repaired the raised beds.

No further business, Nancy moved, and Graeme seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting, unanimously approved. Meeting closed at 8:20

Respectfully submitted,

Darlene Wait (took minutes for Janice Merrill in her absence)

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

July 20,2021

Present at meeting in person at the Berkshire Fire Hall: Janice Merrill, Judy Barrett, Fran Miller, Carol Cox, Carol Kania, Nancy Lohmann, John Stoughton and various community members of the Fire Department, Fire Police and Fire Auxiliary.

President John Stoughton called the meeting to order. The Agenda was to finalize plans for the upcoming Blueberry Festival.
Director’s Report: Fran handed out her report to the Trustees.
Minutes and Treasurer’s reports were distributed earlier via email.
Old Business:
The Blueberry Festival was discussed and plans finalized.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully
Janice Merrill, Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

August 17, 2021

Present at meeting in person at the library: Fran Miller, Graeme Brilliant, Carol Cox, Darlene Wait, Carol Leigh and Janice Merrill. Attending via Zoom: John Stoughton and Nancy Lohmann. Barbara Schwartz and Brenda Yaples attended from the community.

President John Stoughton called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm. Additions to the agenda included the book sale in August and the Potato Festival book sale.

Director’s Report: Fran handed out copies of her report. She noted Summer program went well with 225 people total attending. Ancestry.com acquisition is on hold until September. The FLLS Annual meeting will be online, October 15^th. Boscov’s offer to include the Library as a non-profit fund raiser was mentioned. October 20 is the shopping date during which the $5 coupons we sell can save shoppers 25%. The Library keeps the $5. The “Old Mill” newspaper out of Brooktondale/Caroline will cover Library events, and our address and hours. The Speedsville store carries this paper. Fran will give a presentation to the Berkshire Senior Citizens in September. Crafts time is on hold until after school starts. Fran is busy trying to enter books into the FLLS system.

Secretary’s Report: Minutes of the July meeting were not available but will be emailed later.

Treasurer’s Report: Carol Leigh had emailed her report. She had a question on the P&L regarding postage expense of $13.73 and after discussion, the topic will be continued offline. Blueberry Festival breakdown was as follows:

Used Book Sales 597.33

Raffles & Bake Sale 1649.50

Blueberry Vendors 410.00

$2656.83

Less Expenses 487.97

Net Income $2171.86

Old Business: The Blueberry Festival was a success, and next year we may wish to do an advertising paper with the events listed, requiring we sell ads.

The required FLLS Airborne Infection Disease Exposure Prevention Plan was reviewed and modified for Berkshire Free Library. Janice moved and Carol Cox seconded that the Plan be added to our Policy Book. Unanimously approved.

New Business: Shutters are in the scarey attic over where the books are stored. When they are moved for the book sale we can then access them and assess their condition. Barrett Vaughn and son will hand when they have new hangers. No money is left over from painting since Barrett still has to replace a window and some other work yet to be done.

Pie and Ice Cream Social was discussed. Janice moved tabling it until next year. Darlene seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.

Postage and Printing – Nancy Lohmann will head the Fund raising letter to be sent out next month. We have a big book sale September 3 and 4 and 10 and 11 in the Berkshire Community Hall. Setup starts August 30 through September 2 with take down from September 12-15. Carol Kania requested help from Trustees and friends. A percentage of books leftover are taken to the FLLS sale in Ithaca. The Potato Festival in Richford will include a Library book sale with the tent being set up Saturday September 18^th along with tables and books. Help is requested at that as well. Local authors will also sell their books at the Festival and we receive a percentage.

Roundtable: Graeme noted that Covid19 cases in Tioga County rose to 53 cases last week and that vaccination rates are about 53% so mask wearing is recommended.

There being no further business, Carol Cox moved and Graeme seconded her motion to adjourn. Unanimously approved.

Respectfully,

Janice Merrill, Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
September 21, 2021

Present at the Library and via Zoom were Carol Kania, Fran Miller, Graeme Brilliant, Carol Cox, Carol Leigh, Janice Merrill and Nancy Lohmann.

The meeting was called to order by VP Carol Cox at 7:09 PM. Agenda items to be added to that emailed to Trustees were repainting of the Library sign (Carol K), the fund raising
goal for the upcoming year (Nancy), and adding a Policy on Zoom (Janice).
Secretary’s report was distributed electronically and read. No changes requested so Nancy moved and Graeme seconded a motion to approve the Minutes.
Treasurer’s report was distributed electronically and reviewed. Carol L reported the 990 has been electronically filed and $365 paid for preparation. A copy will be
kept in the office.
Carol C asked the Board to vote on placing the entire donation from the Balls into the Capital Reserve. Carol Kania moved same, Carol Cox seconded and the motion was passed unanimously. There being no further questions on the Treasurer’s report, Graeme moved, Janice seconded the motion for acceptance and it was unanimously passed.

Director’s report. Fran posed to the Board that the FLLS Free Direct Access Plan for 2022 be agreed with and noted that we are in compliance with it. Janice made motion that the Board agrees with the Plan, Graeme seconded and the motion was unanimously passed. The Hero’s Act has been signed by all staff and it will be posted in the Library.

Old Business – Book sale proceeds of $486 (rounded) was reported on by Carol L: $277 – 9/3/21, $92 – 9/4/21, $76 – 9/10/21, $41 – 9/11/21
The Potato Festival book sale proceeds were $116.25, with $25 in donations. Carol L thanked everyone who helped. She noted half of the books left after the Sept 3-11 sale went to the FLLS sale, along with half of what was left after the Potato Festival. She suggested we may want to do a paperback and puzzle sale in February or March next year in the Community Hall downstairs.
Fund raiser letter is being reviewed by Fran and Nancy and will be sent to the Board in the next few days. There will be a mailing “party” to get it out, details soon. After discussion, we decided not mentioning a specific fund raising goal in the letter was best.
Repainting of the Library sign that used to hang over the porch door and which was taken down during building painting. It has a mold problem but Heidi said she’d be willing to paint it if we bought the paint. Cost for same can come out of capital reserve. Carol L moved, Nancy seconded and the motion to buy paint and give to Heidi to paint the sign was unanimously approved. Boscov’s is having an October 20th opportunity to help us gain $5 from each coupon sold to customers to use on merchandise at the store at 25% discount on that day. This was appreciated, and Fran is selling some from the Library but no one was inclined to set up a table at Boscovs on that day to sell coupons.
Social services letter to us was read by Fran. They need sites to place those who have to work a certain number of hours in order to keep their benefits. After discussion, we agreed that we could not be a work location to help in this endeavor during Covid.
There being no further business to conduct, Nancy moved to adjourn, Janice seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

October 19, 2021

Present at the Library and via Zoom were John Stoughton, Carol Kania, Fran Miller, Carol Cox, Carol Leigh, Janice Merrill, Nancy Lohmann and Darlene Waite. The meeting was called to order by VP Carol Cox at 7:03 PM. Agenda items to be added to that emailed to Trustees were Tioga County Operation Green Light, Northern Tioga Chamber of Commerce Christmas trees, the Berkshire Reading Club for Christmas, and the Zoom policy.

Secretary report: Minutes of the September meeting were distributed via email and reviewed. Carol K suggested changing “the Ball’s” to “the Ball family” in the Treasurer’s report.

Treasurer report: Report having been distributed earlier, Carol L noted that $5,200 had been made as of September! Carol C reported $1,065 in donations had been received to date.

Director report: Fran reported attendance has been steady and new library cards are being issued since they can be requested online and picked up in person. The card is used to access Ancestry.com and Penny will be doing workshops in November on how to use the program.

High School seniors from Berkshire will be volunteering to hold a Craft Club on Thursdays starting at 11 AM. Exact plans are evolving.

A recent survey of older adults revealed the desire to have an exercise class, something like chair yoga. Janice suggested a program like Northern Tioga Neighbors Network held before Covid in the spring and fall at the Richford Community Hall. Janice will send that information to Fran.

Fran also had a request for Consumer Reports online, possibly through ABSCO. Fran has reviewed Sarah’s notes from the FLLS Annual meeting, emailed to all Trustees. Fran recommended we all check out the front book room which has been rearranged for a more welcoming format with new books in the back.

Motion was made by Darlene Wait, seconded by Carol Cox, to accept all three reports as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Old Business:

The sign repainting has not yet begun. Heidi, Graeme and Carol have been raking leaves at this point.

Zoom Policy suggestions were discussed and the Policy Committee will meet to formulate.

New Business:

Budget will be impacted by minimum wage increasing 70¢/hour. The Town is working on their budget so need ours which John and Carol are working on. Taxes may also increase. The amount asked of the Town will be increased commensurately. Budget Committee needs another member since Judy’s term will be up in December.

Operation Green Light is Tioga County legislature’s support of Veterans, and they ask that businesses in the County put in green lights outside to show support as well. Carol K has green bulbs and candlesticks for the windows which we can use. All agreed that would be very nice and appreciated.

Northern Tioga Chamber of Commerce asked if Berkshire buildings would like to purchase trees through their fundraiser and have a community display of them decorated like Newark Valley and Richford do. Maybe the Church has more space than the Library. More information can be gotten from Janet Gordinier who is the NTCC secretary.

The Berkshire Reading Club is not going to be decorating a tree in Newark Valley this year but instead would like to decorate the Berkshire Free Library! This was agreed upon and appreciated! We have decorations from past years if they would like to use any of them.

Roundtable: Fran noted Halloween decorations will be up and trick or treat at the Library will be giving out books on Friday and Saturday before Halloween.

Darlene Waite was asked to keep track of keys that have been given to Board members. Carol Cox will give her the book for that information. Carol Leigh lost a key somewhere in the Library and hopefully it will turn up.

There being no further business, Nancy moved and Carol Cox seconded for adjournment. Unanimously passed.

Respectfully,

Janice Merrill
Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
November 16, 2021

Present at the Library and via Zoom were Graeme Brilliant, John Stoughton, Darlene Waite, Carol Leigh, Fran Miller, Carol Kania, Nancy Lohmann, Carol Cox and Janice Merrill, along with Barbara Schwartz. The meeting was called to order by John at 7:02 PM. No Agenda items were added to that which was emailed.

Secretary report: Minutes of the October meeting were distributed via email and reviewed. No changes were requested.

Director’s report: Fran reported on attendance, computer use, new cards and total checkouts and renewals. Old Business – Lights outside had been off because the breaker was off. The key is in the desk drawer and labeled Electric box by bench” so Fran will lock the box. Crafts in the morning on Thursdays, and Eating Healthy on a budget starts Nov. 18. The Reading Club and Tillers and Toilers will be putting up decorations at the Library for Christmas. Note, the green lights planned for the windows did not work out, but the porch light is now a green bulb.

New Business

Plans are being made for Library gifts to Richford and Berkshire kids for Christmas. Fran is exploring exercise classes with Barbara Schwartz since the Owego chair yoga lady said it’s too far for her to go for a class. January starts Book Club, both in person and on Zoom, with “Sold on a Monday,” a book passed to us by the Dryden Library’s book club.
Treasurer report: Report was distributed earlier, including the fundraising campaign of $4,520 total. No further discussion.
Motion was made by Graeme to accept the 3 reports as presented, seconded by Nancy, and upon vote it was passed unanimously.

Old Business: Fund Raiser update was done by Carol Leigh in the Treasurer’s report.

Policy review – The policies updated by the committee were sent earlier by email and reviewed by Trustees. The Zoom policy was amended to remove quotes regarding the ALA’s Bill of Rights quote, and some wording to ”working support dogs” in the Animals in the Library policy. Motion by Graeme to approve the policies as submitted and amended, seconded by Darlene, and approved unanimously.

Budget – Items 6005 and 6006 are off the budget until we receive them. Item 6205 will be left in hopes of having, 6301 includes Memorials, and noted $500 will be moved from 6401 to 6402, and noted that $1,488 was spent for Ancestry.com. Overdrive expense to FLLS is not part of Polaris, but was added since we will be billed for our share of it. CDs/DVDs were left on but blank since we don’t purchase much old technology but instead rotate them with other libraries. 7403 and 7404 will be left on but blank. Will add $325 to 6205 in hopes of having the Ice Cream Social to make budget balance on positive side.
Motion to accept the budget with changes noted was made by Janice, seconded by Graeme, with unanimous approval.

Sign repainting – Heidi has the sign in process with paint in hand for that sign and will repaint the outside sign in the spring.

New Business:

Snow removal – John will check with Peggy Davis is she is willing again.
Emergency lighting – Will Simmons has checked it and it needs to be replaced. He may have replacement soon.

Round Table:
Barbara gave history of NTNN’s exercise class. Up to 2019 9-weekly classes were held in spring and fall until the pandemic shut it down. Barbara urged the Library to compliance with CDC regulations. Fran will check with NV fitness center as to their procedures. Having a waiver to hold the Library not responsible for injuries was suggested. Barbara led the classes with Ann Pringle Burnell DVDs. Classes also provided social interaction, healthy habits, small incremental changes. Gift certificates were given to those who had most points, like doing exercises at home, drinking more water, eating more vegetables and fruits, doing brain exercises like puzzles, etc.
Carol K suggested the Community Hall or Fire Hall would accommodate people 6’ apart, and will know more on schedules next month. Barbara said she would be willing to loan her DVDs to the Library. Fran and Barb will be in email contact, Barbara’s address being changed to frogwitnessnews@yahoo.com.
Carol Cox said that she was very surprised that responsibility for keeping the keys list was just handed over to Darlene without Board discussion. Carol K reported that she had the key list and just asked Darlene to take it over to track who has what keys.

There being no further business or discussion, a motion to adjourn was made by Janice, seconded by Carol Leigh, and unanimously approved.
Respectfully,
Janice Merrill Secretary

Berkshire Free Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
December 21, 2021

Attending: John Stoughton, Caror Leigh, Carol Kania, Fran Miller, Carol Cox

Zoom – Nancy Lohmann, Graeme Brilliant, Barbara Schwartz

Meeting called to order by John at 7:20

Secretary’s Report – no changes

Treasurer’s Report – no changes

voted to accept both reports

Directors Report – Library will be closed

Dates closed for next year – 2022

November 25 & 26 Thanksgiving

November 11 – Veterans Day (Friday)

All the other holidays are weekends or Monday

Berkshire Auxiliary Christmas party – 25 families attended

Richford Library sent books for Christmas party.

Story Hour will not be held until 1/12/22

meeting adjourned at 8:20

Carol Cox, acting secretary