Friends of the Alameda Free Library

Minutes of Meeting, March 20, 2006

President Molly Skeen called the meeting to order at 7:35pm in room 360 of City Hall. Members in attendance were Molly Skeen, Honora Murphy, Gertrude Woods, Peter Woods, Marilyn Ng, Jane Chisaki, Richard Kolberg, Lynda Graham, Beth Sibley, Liz Rogers, and Chris Christopher.

Minutes of Previous Meeting

Copies of the February 2006 minutes were unavailable, so approval was deferred to the April meeting. The next meeting will be April 17, 2006.

Treasurer's Report

John Quick (Treasurer) could not attend this meeting, so the March treasurer's report will be combined with the April report. Molly Skeen reported that she and John are still investigating the insurance issues that were summarized at the previous meeting. Molly also reported that she and Richard Kolberg have agreed to serve as an Audit Committee for the Friends, and will meet soon to determine how to proceed.

Membership Report

Peter Woods (Membership Chair) reported that the Friends have a total of 245 members, with 170 paid through 2006 or beyond.

Book Sale

Gertrude Woods (Book Sale Co-chair) reported that plenty of donated books are on hand for the May sale. There are still some 200 boxes of books stored at Alameda Point that should be disposed of soon as the storage is not secure and may be at risk for pests and mold.

The sale of sealed boxes of books deemed not good enough for the sales has been steady at the drop-off location on Oak Street. Gert reported that some of the book dealers have been notified of the availability of these books and have taken advantage of the opportunity.

A large quantity of vintage records--especially the older 78s--were donated. There was a discussion of various was to offer these for sale. They will be made available at the May sale, and a special mention of their available will be inserted into the presale publicity.

The next book sale is scheduled for May 5, 6, and 7, 2006.

Library Building Team Report

Honora Murphy reported that she attended a meeting of the Library Foundation members involved in planning the opening Gala. The theme and price are still being evaluated. "Evening attire" rather than black-tie will be specified. Dramatic and musical components are being worked on.

Jane Chisaki (Interim Director of the AFL) reported that construction progress for the new library is still on time and on budget.

Visit web cam: http://www.ci.alameda.ca.us/library/webcam.html

Newsletter Report

Marc Lambert was not present, but advised members by email that the March newsletter deadline is Friday, 3/24/06.

BALIS Report

Marc Lambert is on vacation. Molly Skeen gave details of the upcoming workshop sponsored by BALIS and PLS SAB (Peninsula Library System System Advisory Board) entitled "Booksales and Beyond--Winning Ideas for Library Fundraising." The workshop will be held Saturday, April 29, 2006 from 9am to 11:30am at the San Francisco Public Library in the Latino Hispanic B Room (100 Larkin St.--enter through Grove St. door). Please RSVP to Kathy Krause (krause@plsinfo.org).

Library Director's Report

Jane Chisaki (Interim Director of the AFL) reported that the two-week closure of the library for the purpose of preparing books for the implementation of the new RFID (radio frequency identification) system went smoothly with no complaints. The branch libraries successfully handled the increase in library patrons diverted from the main library.

Jane gave us some interesting details about progress in the new library, including the fact that the insulation in the walls is made of shredded blue jeans.

The Grand Opening for the new library is currently scheduled for November 2, 2006 at 11:00am.

Old Business

Recording Secretary Position: A motion was approved to elect Chris Christopher to the position of Recording Secretary for the remainder of the current term.
Tote bags: A motion was approved to order 250 of the new tote bags in August for the fall book sale and to set the sale price at $10. It was decided that the approved logo design should be applied to the bags by the silk screen process (rather than the iron-on process) and that the color of the logo should match the green of the trim on the bags.

Web Site: Chris reported that the new version of the Friends web site has been uploaded and is linked to the original URL that is included on the main Library web site. Check it out: http://eonweb.com/library/index.htm.

Author Night: Molly reminded us of the upcoming Author Night event at Books, Inc. on April 7th at 7:30pm featuring Eleanor Wylie discussing her book, There Are No Mistakes: Becoming Comfortable with Life As It Is, Not As It Should Be. Books, Inc. will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Friends.

Café in the Library: Molly reported that members who volunteered to develop a plan for the café in the new library will meet April 6. Molly will report on progress at the next meeting.

Grand Opening: Molly reported that a meeting of volunteers is scheduled. A report will be given at the next meeting.

Letter Supporting Permanent Library Director: Molly reported that, as approved at a previous meeting, she wrote and delivered a letter to the City Manager urging them to proceed as soon as possible with recruitment of a permanent Library Director.

New Business

Molly reminded us that election of new officers is scheduled for May. A nominating committee is needed to present a slate of officers at the April meeting. Please contact Molly if you can serve on this important committee.

Respectfully submitted,
Chris Christopher
Recording Secretary