Library planning meeting on incorporation

1/23/09

Hans & Deirdre's house, 3717 Quartz Road 

Present: Kate Billington, Nancy Burnham, Deirdre Helfferich, Hans Mölders, John David Ragan

Agenda:

• lallapalooza
• proposal to ECA: mission statement, goals, main immediate objective, repayment plan
• nonprofit incorporation

The lallapalooza was scheduled for Sunday, March 1, 1 to 6:30 pm, to take place at the Annex. This was so as not to inconvenience the artists that show in March, which has been a problem before. As a result, we will have much more time to set up and take down the event, but much less time to organize it. Publicity will need to start in the next two weeks, which means that the lineup will need to be determined in the next couple of weeks. Hustling will be necessary.

Proposal to the ECA

The proposal to the ECA for separation will include the following:

• a repayment plan for the money used to buy the land: proposed at $250/quarter, or $1,000/year, plus interest at a rate which would have been earned had the money remained in ECA accounts/Certificates of Deposit
• an outline of the mission, goals, and bylaws of the new nonprofit organization

Incorporation

The group came up with a draft mission (based on the original created by Billington, Helfferich, and Rogers) and organization goals, and ideas for officers and board.

Draft mission statement:

The John Trigg Ester Library is a home-grown community library that provides a welcoming and intellectually stimulating environment where local residents can meet and share ideas and information. The library will strive to instill a love of reading and learning, to showcase Ester history and culture, and to provide resources that will enrich the whole community.

Draft goals (long-term visions):

1. promote use of the library
2. provide a comfortable, functional workspace for patrons
3. promote literacy for all ages
4. encourage the local development of the arts and sciences
5. provide recreational and educational reading resources, media materials, and programs
6. provide a welcoming meeting space
7. provide a performance/practice venue for musicians
8. provide collections that include literature, culture, and history of the Ester area
9. provide display opportunities to showcase Ester history, industry, art, and other local endeavor

Draft objectives to achieve goals (only those discussed: not at all complete):

• Promote use of the library:
i. construct a library building
ii. reading/lecture series
iii. fundraisers
iv. articles and announcements about the library

• Provide workspace
i.  construct building

• Promote literacy
i. reading/lecture series
ii. Read-A-Thon for kids as fundraiser

• Encourage arts & sciences
i. reading/lecture series
ii.  time set aside for musicians to practice/perform
iii. music & performance in fundraisers
iv. auction items in fundraisers that focus on arts & sciences

• Provide resources
i. reading/lecture series
ii. keep library accessible/clean for patrons to use existing resources

• Performance venue
i. construct library building
ii. finish gazebo

• Ester collections

• Display opportunities
i. construct library building

Organizational sketch:

The library would be organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit if possible, with at minimum a president, secretary, and treasurer, with a 5-member board serving staggered terms consisting of two librarians, a grantwriter, a bookkeeper/financial type, and a construction specialist. In addition, there would be two nonvoting spots of one-year terms, which would be filled by kids (1 boy and 1 girl) of high school age, who would serve in an advisory capacity.

Some discussion revolved around how many officers and board members to have, with minimum being 8 (3 officers and 5 voting board members) and maximum being 15 (4 officers and 11 board members). Having a working board big enough to handle the work, and accommodate interested community members, was important.

See also meeting of 2.22.2009 with ECA members.

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