Ever serve on a library board?

[Common Sense Party]

I'm a brand-spanking new board member, and I'm not even clear yet as to what my duties/responsibilities will be.

If you've ever been a trustee before, please share your wisdom:

What were your responsibilities?

What good things did the board accomplish for your library?

What was the most frustrating thing?

Any other tips or suggestions????

Thanks

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. I haven't, but congrats! This is the political ground floor and it's great to have DUers getting in.

[Common Sense Party]

9. Thank you!

[Tikki]

2. Yes...many different jobs and it was a...

similar experience to any other of my volunteer positions.
Seems like we aimed high when it came to gathering funds for the library but this was a while ago when
the economy wasn't so tough.

If you are secretary...notes taker, be sure to ask for exact clarification. What you repeat incorrectly or omit may
come back and bite you.


Thank you for being an important part of your community.



Tikki

[Common Sense Party]

10. I don't think I'm the note-taker...I hope not, as my handwriting is atrocious

But I am going to push for having our minutes posted online.

[Old Troop]

3. Congrats for taking a thankless, but essential position

[Common Sense Party]

7. Thanks. I love our library--it's small, as we're a small community, but

I want to make sure we're providing everything we can.

[mcollins]

4. I made out in a library once.

but that doesn't help, does it?

[Common Sense Party]

8. Not so much, but congratulations, anyway.

[Jersey Devil]

5. Sort of

I wasn't a member of the library board of trustees but I was my town council's liaison to the library board while I served on the town council and attended all the library board meetings.

I would say your main functions are to hire and fire library staff, set salaries and to monitor and approve all expenditures for the library, assuring that it functions within the confines of its budget.

You'd also be expected to prepare an annual budget to submit to the governmental authority funding the library and to perhaps attend their budget meeting when the subject of the library is discussed to answer any questions about the budget.

[murielm99]

11. It depends on what kind of library it is.

Is it a township library, a library district, a city library? That determines who levies for tax money to run the library.

The board hires the library director. The director hires and fires his or her own staff. They do set salaries, monitor expenditures and make a budget, with major input from the library director. They have to be sure that the budget is presented to the correct taxing body so that the taxes can be levied.

Also, at least where I live, all meetings must comply with the Open Meetings Act. Any taxing body has to be sure that the public knows in advance when and where meetings are being held.

The board does not run the library. Especially in small towns, officious board members think that they run the library, not the library director. I quit my last librarian job because there were too many strong willed board members who thought that they were allowed to do my job.

[Common Sense Party]

15. It's a county library. My understanding is we hire/fire the library director

and we set the budget that we ask the county for. We already have a great Library Director, and I'm hoping to give her the support she needs.

[murielm99]

17. You sound like you are going to be a great trustee.

Most libraries have some professional materials for trustees/board members. It is helpful to read these to see what your duties should be.

People serve on boards for a variety of reasons. Some are building resumes to run for higher office. Some want status. Some are bored and need something to do. Some actually want to be of service.

Good luck with your position.

[Common Sense Party]

18. Thank you very much. I hope I grow into the position.

I'll be honest and admit that some of those alternate reasons you listed ARE secondary or tertiary considerations. I do think it will look good on a resume, and I want to know more people in the community, especially if I seek to start a business here in a few years.

But, mainly, I want to help the library be the best it can be. I've always been a library junkie.

And, yes, our state has some training materials. I've just started looking through them.

[Jersey Devil]

23. Yes, thanks for the clarification

I really didn't mean the trustees hire or fire individual staff except for the director. She/he does that but I found that in our town at least she would always come to the trustees and explain her actions so they'd know what was going on.

Our town library was kind of a hybrid. The library was funded by the town but the library building was part of a private trust that allowed the town library to use the building free ($1 per year) of charge forever as long as the main building is kept historically accurate (a colonial sandstone) and maintained. So part of the duties of our trustees was also dealing with the trustees for the foundation that actually owns the library

[mnhtnbb]

6. My aunt, who died in May, was an ardent supporter of the library and member

of the Friends of the Pasadena Library. She served as its first President, and served as President more than once. Here's what the Friends' page says

http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/support_library.asp#Friends

[WolverineDG]

12. My dad was & he was so good, they kept asking him back

even had him sit out a term (term limits) so he could be on the board longer. He served until 1998, when he passed away.

The two things I remember he had a hand in were:

getting a books on wheels program going & starting to look at branches/expansions (still being carried out---there will be a *NEW* main library in the next year at an old Walmart; thanks to the planning my dad made sure was in place, they've been able to add branches all over the city & were able to jump when Walmart offered the property for a library.)

telling law enforcement to go pound sand when they asked the board to pass a resolution allowing the librarians to take down names & addresses of those who checked out certain books (this was shortly after OKC); funny thing is, they pitched it all to him because he was (a) white male (b) member of the Rotary (c) had a business degree, & (d) likely voted Republican. Ok, he did, but he also believed the Bill of Rights mean exactly what they say. :evilgrin:

So take a look at what your community will need & start building a plan to meet those goals. And be on the look out for requests from law enforcement to keep track of who checks out what book.

dg

[Common Sense Party]

16. I'm not sure if our law enforcement knows we have a library.

Just kidding...but I'd be surprised if they tried something along those lines.

Your dad sounds like he was a great guy.

From Wal-Mart to a library? Kind of like turning swords into plowshares... That's a good use of a big box.

[WolverineDG]

19. It's going to be extraordinary when it's done

A lot of work is going to have to be done to the parking lot. Much of it will be turned into green space. The library will all be on one floor, free wifi, areas available for people to plug their laptops in, but there will be computers there for patrons to use too, reading rooms, etc. Almost makes me want to move back there just so I can use the library. :rofl:

Took years of working on the plan adopted back in the 90's, but it's paying off spectacularly.

dg

[csziggy]

13. My Mom did and the board got lot done

The previous boards had raised most of the money to build a new library building but had not done any planning, talked to the town or county about a site, started any evaluation of what the community needed, or anything.

While Mom was on the board they got the evaluations done, had a site donated (by a business that was leaving the community), got the county and town clearance, got bids from the architects and got the whole thing on track. She was no longer on the board by the time they dedicated the new building, but she was specifically invited to the opening and honored for her work.

It is hard to make recommendations without knowing what your community needs. Talk to your librarians and see what they want. Talk to some of the patrons about their needs.

[Common Sense Party]

14. Definitely, I will, that's good advice.

I was planning to speak with all the librarians. I'll try to figure out a good way to talk to patrons.

I'm hoping to get put in charge of some sort of Hispanic outreach program, since I speak Spanish, and since I think many of our immigrant population is not being served by the library, or they're not taking advantage of what the library has.

[WolverineDG]

20. oh yes, get in good with the librarians

they'll have a Dear Santa list for sure. :)

dg

[HEyHEY]

21. My Mom has for years, which is odd considering I've only ever seen her read Danielle Steel

She even got the coveted provincial "Library Board Member of the Year" award once, which included an all expenses paid trip to Nelson, BC. Odd, cause it is also a town in which much of her family history lays.

[KansDem]

22. As a 20-plus-year librarian, this is what I have to say...

Listen to the staff...I mean, really listen to the staff...

[Z_I_Peevey]

24. +1000!

Listen to the underlings!