Minutes of Meeting March 10, 2015

Friends of the Merrick Library The meeting was called to order at 4:30 PM by Chairperson, Karen Tusa. Present: Karen Tusa (President), Howard Schwartz (Vice President), Diane Christie, (Treasurer), Art Sacharoff (Library Trustee), Joan Sculli (Publicity Chair), Ellen Firer (Library Director), Sandra Mintz. Treasurers Report: Savings 4,236.72 Checking 303.48 March income: Membership 55.00 Raffle 36.00 Tote bags 28.00 Craft fair tables 80.00 Book sales 30.75 Better World Books 77.47 Employee giving 50.00 Spare coins 1.00 Total income 358.22 Expenditures 0 Membership – There are a total of 46 paid memberships to-date for the 2015 year. Ideas were presented for increasing member participation; these included outreach to groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and PTA. The possibility of providing speakers was addressed. Friends participation in in-house activities, such as Kids First, was discussed. Director Firer extended an invitation to come to all library events. Bookmarks – A prototype of a bookmark to be distributed with borrowed books will be developed by the library staff. The front will include the Friends logo and information and the back will contain a membership form. The bookmark will be printed on card stock by April 13th. Brochures – The library has requested more Friends brochures for general distribution and to be included in the folders for new patrons. The library will print 100 and bill the Friends. Craft and Vendor Fair – The fair on May 3rd is sold out. Twenty-five tables are for vendors and two tables will be available for Friends use, i.e., selling bags, raffles, membership, donated refreshments, etc. Public announcements will be sent to the appropriate web based and print outlets 6 weeks and three weeks prior to the fair. We now have a data base of 150-200 vendors to use for outreach should we have more fairs. It was suggested that we consider having two fairs in the 2016 year. It was recommended that craft persons be given priority in the future. Karen thanked the Library for the generous announcements for the fair and membership provided on the back page of the current library newsletter. Advocacy Day in Albany – Karen described the interesting and informative program provided by the Nassau County Library System in preparation for Library Advocacy Day. It was attended by Karen Tusa, David Stayer and Joan Sculli. Joan commented on the issues and the experiences she and David had in Albany. Panera Bread Fundraising Night Monday, April 13th 4-8 PM – The event date was approved by Panera Bread at the 2375 Merrick Road, Bellmore location. Flyers were distributed at the meeting. Flyers will be available at the Library as well for those wishing to participate. Starting with the 20th flyer submitted Panera will donate a percentage of its net sales during the event to Friends of the Merrick Library. National Library Week, Monday, April 13th- Friends may have a presence during this time at the Library. Library Budget Vote, Wednesday, April 15th, 10-8 PM- It was decided not to have a Friends table at this event. The next two meeting dates are Tuesday, April 14th and Tuesday May 12th. The meetings begin at 4:30 PM at the Merrick Library. The meeting was adjourned at 5:29 PM. Respectfully submitted, Joan Sculli, Acting Secretary