Seacoast Library Cooperative

S E A C O A S T L I B R A R Y C O O P E R A T I V E Meeting Minutes January 20 2005, Exeter Public Library Attending: Judy Haskell, Hampton Falls; Pam Schwotzer, North Hampton; Lesley Gaudreau, Stratham; Amanda Cooper, Epping; Catherine Redden, Hampton; Tom Ladd, NHSL; Marilyn Morehead, Brentwood; Tracy Waldron, East Kingston; Mike Sullivan, Greenland; Andy Richmond, Kingston; Hope Godino, Exeter.

I. Upcoming Meetings: Feb. – Brentwood, Thursday 1 p.m. Date TBA//Mar. – South Hampton, Day/Time TBA NEED HOST: September. Please contact Pam @ N. Hampton if you want to host. II. Treasurer’s Report: Judy Haskell Current Balance = $898.60 Recent expenditures: $178.42 for Christmas lunch $82.94 for copies of Snow Island for Seacoast Reads Annual Dues request will be arriving via e-mail.

III. Regional Programming:  “Seacoast Reads”: When: 1st Tuesday of each month from Feb – May 2005 Where: 2/1 – Hampton Falls: Snow Island, Katie Towler 3/1 – Rye: Island Boy, Barbara Cooney 4/5 – Hampton: Buried Dreams, Brendan Dubois 5/3 – Brentwood: Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God, Coomer  PR: Please promote this series within your libraries! Make sure staff know about it, talk it up, display the book, etc. It is very important that we all link to the Web site from our library sites as well (http://www.weekslibrary.org/SeacoastReads.html). Suggest to local book groups that they read one of the books and attend that Seacoast Reads program as their monthly meeting.  Hosts: Refreshments should be arranged for by the hosting library and receipts submitted to Judy Haskell in North Hampton for reimbursement from co-op funds. Hosts should also keep any relevant documentation regarding the program (PR, etc.) and if possible take a few photos or get comments from attendees so that we can have a record of how the programs went at the end of all the programs.  “Well-Versed” When: 3rd Thursday of each month from Feb – May 2005 Where: 2/17–New Castle 3/17–Stratham 4/21–Newmarket 5/19–North Hampton  PR: Please promote this series within your libraries! Make sure staff know about it, talk it up, etc. It is very important that we all link to the Web site from our library sites as well (http://www.weekslibrary.org/WellVersed.html). Additional publicity will go to the usual places as well as to the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program. The English Departments at our local schools should also be notified – especially if you know of a teacher who is actively getting students involved with poetry; this would be a great venue for student readers.  Hosts: Refreshments should be arranged for by the hosting library and receipts submitted to Judy Haskell in North Hampton for reimbursement from co-op funds. Hosts should also keep any relevant documentation regarding the program (PR, etc.) and if possible take a few photos or get comments from attendees so that we can have a record of how the programs went at the end of all the programs. Suggested Format: Emcee Tony Marino will keep things moving. Featured Reader (try to find someone local who might draw a bit of a crowd…) reads for 15 minutes or so, then to an open mic session. Host should provide a sign-up sheet for the open mic time and may want to provide collections of poetry or individual poems for attendees who might want to read but who didn’t bring a poem. IV. Meeting/Discussion: General Discussion: Co-op Discounts: Catherine Redden has updated the information sheet regarding the discounts co-op members get with companies like Demco & Brodart. An e-mail with the list went out over the Co-op e-mail list. If you didn’t receive it and would like a copy, please contact Catherine in Hampton. READS Discussion Groups: READS will be offering discussion groups in 3 areas in the state on the topic of ILL practices, issues and concerns. The discussions are expected to deal with how libraries are handling book group requests, what they do when a requested item is not found in NHU-PAC, individual record- keeping/request forms, and any other issues that come up. The discussions are on 3/28 in Conway, 3/30 and 4/1 (locations unknown….). More information will be available soon. READS Seeks Volunteer Program Info: READS is planning to offer a program at the NH Libraries Conference in May covering volunteer programs in libraries. They are looking for good examples of policies, applications, recruitment tools, or complete programs that they can share with other librarians. Please contact Claudia Mayer at the Manchester City Library. V. State Library Report: Please also refer to “Once and Future Librarian” newsletter available on the Web at http://www.state.nh.us/nhsl/ldss/TSLRheadlines.html. A. NHSL receives “Staying Connected” grant from the Gates Foundation. This is a 3-year, matching grant in the areas of Training and Technical Support. Training: The plan is to continue training sessions that came out of the 1st Gates grants and to add Microsoft product training (ie: MS Word, Excel, Access) at NHSL and Hooksett. The NHSL computer lab will need to be upgraded to allow for this. Technology Support: 1. Hire Technology Coordinator/Consultant (replaces the Field Services Coordinator position). 2. Possibly offer small grants for tech projects in libraries 3. Create WebJunction NH (see CT for example) B. 2003 Public Library Stats Available: http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/ldss/stats.html If you create any Excel spreadsheets that are more focused (ie: comparisons within your county, your population group, etc.), please consider sharing with NHSL so they can make them available to others. 2004 Questionnaire is in the works & will be on-line again. Should be available sometime in Feb., due 3/31 (tentative).

Respectfully submitted, Lesley Gaudreau, Secretary