FRIENDS OF THE ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
MEETING MINUTES
THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026
CALL TO ORDER/ESTABLISH QUORUM
President William McLean called the meeting to order at 7:06. A quorum was present to conduct business.
Board Members Present: Lisa Cawley, Diane Decker, Grace Johnston, Diane Kelly, Melora Leiser, William McLean, Melissa Bourbon Ramirez, Meg Stouffer, and Laura Sumrell.
Also present were Assistant Library Director Jody Smith, and visitors Nerys Levy and Daphne Morrell from the Carrboro Friends group.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The May minutes were approved unanimously.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Total bank balance is $49,737.44, up $864.08 since our last meeting. Cash in is $750.00 in donations and memberships, $207.00 from the ongoing book sale, $57.61 in interest, and $16.51 from online shirt sales. Cash out is $134.38 for the library water cooler and $32.66 in processing fees.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
195 active members. Since last meeting, 31 gifts totaling $1,260.
LIBRARY REPORT (E-mailed prior to meeting by Nancy Crews, presented by Jody Smith)
Main Library
Wild Tails NC – Monday, June 22 @ 5:30 – 6:30 pm
- Teens (parents/guardians) are invited to meet live animals and learn about them in the interactive program.
Local Author Talk: Nancy Peacock In Conversation With Nora Gaskin – Wednesday, June 24 @ 6:30 – 8:00
- Discussing her new book Wildwood: A Memoir with fellow local writer Nors Gaskin.
Dino Academy – Saturday, July 11 @ 10:30 – 11:30 am
- Step into a prehistoric adventure with Dr. Sarah Tops for an action-packed theatrical performance that brings dinosaurs to life.
Southern Branch
Mesozoic Murder: A Mystery Solving Game - Journey to the dino-infested jungles of an abandoned theme park and solve puzzles to uncover the sinister truth behind your mission! – Sunday, June 28 @ 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Learn Local: Archaeology at Ayr Mount (held in the Southern meeting) - UNC graduate and undergraduate students are learning to reveal more of the property's deep history through archival research and archaeological fieldwork. In this talk, they will present preliminary findings from their work, including ground-penetrating radar and archaeological excavation. Register to attend. - Saturday, July 11 @12:00 – 1:30 pm
BUSINESS
Lisa Cawley reported that the Summer Reading Kickoff was a big success with lots of positive energy. William McLean noted that the kids enjoyed digging for fossils, which gave the Friends an opportunity to speak with their parents about the Friends.
The recent proposal by the County Board of Commissioners to cut library funding was not approved. The Friends received hundreds of comments that were presented to the Board of Commissioners. Many more wrote directly to the commissioners. Notes from children were likely very effective, as well. Board members recognized William for his exceptional leadership in advocating for the library at such a critical time.
President William McLean proposed offering tiered corporate sponsorships, beginning at $250. The board discussed possible benefits to corporate sponsors, including being noted on the website and in newsletters, as well as on a banner displayed at book sales and/or bookmarks.
The board voted unanimously to approve $300 to renew the membership in the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce.
The board also voted unanimously to approve $958 to renew the liability insurance currently with Philadelphia. However, prior to renewal, Diane Kelly will explore other options to determine if a cheaper provider is available.
An additional $793.71 was unanimously approved to cover costs related to the Carrboro branch book drop, including a cart to transport books from the drop into the library.
To avoid potential pitfalls with the appearance of the Friends endorsing products, a decision was made for the Friends to partner with third parties only for sales of books at the library, not for sales of other items.
Melora Leiser noted that she is in the process of working with the arts council and others in the community to put on a literary festival on a weekend in 2027. The board is in support of the event. Authors and events will likely be spread across Hillsborough for the event.
A meeting was set for July 9th at 7:00 for a subcommittee to review and discuss the Memorandum of Understanding with the library.
William will send out a test for website applications once they are ready.
Diane Decker noted that hotspots have been reserved for the Friends’ use during the upcoming September book sale to ensure that we have good connectivity for processing credit/debit card sales. She will contact Extraordinary Adventures (the successor to Community Worx) to determine whether they would be interested in picking up the leftover books. If not, we can use McKay’s as a backup plan.
Nerys Levy, who served on the Carrboro library Friends board, requested that those who paid for lifetime membership in the Carrboro group be recognized as life members by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library. The board agreed to recognize these members. A plan for dissolving/merging the Carrboro group will need to be hammered out. The possibility of holding Friends meetings at the Carrboro branch was also discussed.
Nerys Levy was unanimously voted in as a new board member.
The meeting adjourned at 8:19.
