Friends - Umbrella Meeting - March 2006

Friends Umbrella Group Meeting
Milford Branch
March 2, 2006
Meeting Minutes


I. Welcome from Friends President
Phyllis welcomed everyone to the March 2006 Umbrella Group Meeting. She expressed her appreciation to everyone for coming out.

II. Treasurer’s Report
Wilson passed out the Treasurer’s Report which were specific to each individual Friends’ group and did not include the Umbrella group account. If there are any errors please report them to Wilson immediately so he can correct them. In 2005, over $21,000 was generated by Friends. We did not realize there was a Friends group at Felicity. This will be rectified in the future.

Wilson explained the differences between expenses and donations. For example, an expense is created when pizza is purchased to feed the Friends group at a book sale. A donation is created when the money goes straight to the library. If you have questions about the differentiating between an expense and account please contact him. Wilson asked for questions, there were none.

III. Minutes from Previous Meeting
Tracey, Secretary was sad to report that she has lost the minutes from the previous meeting. Phyllis was reinstalled as President, but Tracey could not remember who motioned and seconded. If any Friends members were in attendance and can help Tracey reconstruct the minutes, please contact her at 735-7188 or email at mcculltr@oplin.org.

IV. Old Business
Wilson asked the Felicity Friends members if we could accept the 2005 audit without the Felicity Friends group included. The Felicity Friends group agreed that the 2005 audit should stand.

V. New Business
A. Tel Tabor

Wilson was asked by Tracey to talk about the Tel Tabor amendment which will be up for election in November. He pointed out that if the amendment passes all government monies and expenditures therewith would be decided by county officials. The upshot of this report was that the proposed amendment would be disaster for all levels of state and local government. In a time of severe financial crisis, it is likely that the library will get even less of the shrinking resources. Wilson brought up that the Friends group are a non-profit entity and therefore as a group under the name of “Friends” could not be involved in legislation. This means that Friends can’t organize and tell people to say “no” or “yes” but they could put on a program with the pros and cons of Tel Tabor spelled out. The library is in the same position. We can inform as long as we lay out the pros and cons. But, when Friends are not on library time and employees aren’t on library time, we are allowed as private citizens to inform individuals that we come in contact with about the effects on Tel Tabor to not only libraries, but fire departments, police departments, schools, mental health agencies, etc.


B. Sale at Old Bethel Branch
Phyllis talked about the potential fundraising that could be made by each individual Friends group by participating in the sale of furniture, shelving, and other miscellaneous items at the empty Bethel Branch building on Main Street in Bethel. The sale will take place May 4,5,6,7 the same dates as the village wide yard sale. Questions arose about what kind of sale it could be, an auction or a tag sale. This matter will be decided by participating Friends groups working in conjunction with one another. There were suggestions about advertising: WOBO, community papers, flyers etc., were all means of advertising that have been implemented successfully in the past.

Phyllis asked that a committee be formed. Devona, Lynn, and Lucy all volunteered. Phyllis asked that they contact her and they will set up a meeting.

C. Book Cart Drill Team
Joann, Branch Manger of Milford and Book Cart Drill Team member, talked about the Book Cart Drill Team and their award-winning performance at the American Library Conference last year. They placed 3rd place nationally. Joann approached Friends as a possible sponsor for 2007. The conference that they will be performing at will be in Washington, D.C., and will be less costly because they will drive to the destination instead of fly. Joann presented a video of the BCDT to the group and asked that they consider sponsoring.

D. Lock Box
This was not discussed at this meeting due to time constraints.

VI. Updates from Friends Groups

NR – Friends group has purchased puppets for the children’s area mostly
through monies generated through book sale carts. They also sponsored a
Diva dress exchange and make-up evening.

OE – Owensville only has one member at this time, but they are very
successful in generating money through book sale carts.

BA – Batavia currently does not have any Friends members but money is
generated through book sale carts.

WM – Friends group has generated money through book sales and auctions.
Posters have been replaced throughout building, chairs have been purchased,
outreach carts have been purchased and also a new vacuum cleaner has been
purchased.

GO – Goshen Friends generate money through book sales but also by renting
space at Live Oaks during an annual craft sale. In turn, they rent out table
room to crafters. This has been a highly successful venture. They also
have bake sales.

MI – Milford Friends generate the bulk of their money through book sales and have purchased a trailer that is used to store books for their sales. They also
purchased two computers for public use for their branch.

AM – Amelia’s big book sale raises more money than their permanent book sale,
but those are their only two sources of money. They have purchased furniture for
adults in the library and the children's area besides supporting a number of other
programs.

FE – The Felicity Friends group generates money through book sales and also
with bake sales and recipe sales. Items are purchased for their children’s area,
programming, and other miscellaneous items.

VII. Phyllis thanked everyone for attending and reminded the group that each branch has the opportunity to host an Umbrella Group Meeting. Wilson reminded the group that food need not be provided. The Library gave each attendee a “thank you” volunteer mug, Friends pins, and tote bags to show their appreciation for all of the hard work of their Friends groups.

VIII. The meeting was adjourned by Phyllis.