Mae S. Bruce Library

Advisory Board Meeting

Minutes of April 3, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 12:30 pm by  Kim Holliday.  The following board members were present:

Library Director Brenda B. Cheatham was also present. 

There were no changes or comments regarding the January 9^th minutes.  The motion to accept these minutes was made by Sharon and seconded by Linda.  The minutes were approved by all.

Treasurer’s Report

The quarterly transactions include:

Director’s Report

1. Brenda has reviewed 4 applications for the security position.  She has selected a candidate and the background check is under way.
2. Brenda received an email from the coordinator of the Galveston County Reads program requesting that she participate in the committee that organizes the program.  Brenda is unable to commit to the committee but offered it to the board members.  Sharon is very interested in being a part of the committee and will contact the coordinator.  They are currently reviewing 3 books for next years program.
3. HALS is offering a workshop about library board and friends groups.  The workshop is May 4^th in Lufkin.  Kim would like to attend with Brenda and will begin making plans.
4. The TLA convention is at the end of next week and the library will be closed so that the staff can attend.
5. The Parks board has begun the setup of the new park next to the library.  Stakes have been put up for the new public restrooms.  Brenda would like the board to get involved with the Parks board meetings so that we can be present to discuss possible conflicts with our plans for expanding the building.  The board meets the 4^th Thursday of every month at 6pm at City Hall.  We all agree that our participation is important.  Linda and Kim will come up with some questions for the board chairman and request a discussion time at the next meeting.

Old Business

1.                  The Galveston County Reads materials that the board purchases have been a big hit.  In fact, one of the health teachers is using the Supersize Me movie to show to his classes.

2.                  Sue gave us a lot of information regarding the donor recognition items that she has been researching.  Here are some of the items she found:

a.       Metal artwork similar to the leaves that the Friendswood library uses.

b.      Have donors participate at the ground breaking ceremony.

c.       Crystal artwork with engravings.

d.      Newspaper ad identifying donors.

e.       A walk of fame outside that includes stars of the big name donors

f.        T-shirt giveaways for smaller size donations

3.                  Linda read through the PR Kit from the TLA website.  The focus of the material is to keep the library in the public eye by using the library website, flyers and brochures put up around the city, and newsletters.  The material also suggests keeping the library logo, symbol, font, and color the same on all printed materials.  This makes the public identify the library with those colors.  The kit was full of useful information that we will definitely want to utilize.

New Business

1.                  The SRP is coming up.  Kim had sent out an email requesting the use of tarps for the patrons to sit under for outside events.  We just don’t have the tarps that are big enough.  Instead, the board discussed purchasing personalized paper fans and drinking cups that would promote the need for expansion.

2.                  Now that the park is being put together, we need to start looking for a memorial bench in honor of Jack Long.  Kim showed a few benches that she found on the internet.  Barbara suggested talking to the man that makes cedar rockers on Hwy 6.  She will check with him for some pricing.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 pm. The motion was made by Linda and seconded by Barbara.  The next meeting has been set for July 10^th at 12:30pm.