Dear Friends,
It’s a new year! We hope 2024 will be a wonderful year for you.
New Meeting Day:
With the new year comes a new meeting day. Starting this month, the Friends board meetings will now be held on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00. All Friends members are welcome to attend. The meetings are held in the library’s community room and via Zoom.
New Board Candidate:
We have a new board candidate. Hooray!
William McLean moved to Hillsborough with his family in 2021 from Durham. He is a librarian, information specialist, and web developer. He has also worked for the Manuscripts and Rare Books Department of the Walters Art Museum, Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, the Health Sciences Library at UNC Chapel Hill, and the David M. Rubenstein Library at Duke University. Growing up, time spent in the library or visiting the bookmobile, discovering books that inspired and expanded his interests, played a pivotal role in his decision to pursue librarianship.
As a passionate advocate for literacy, education, and community engagement, William hopes to serve on the board to actively contribute to enriching our community’s access to knowledge, resources, and lifelong learning opportunities. He is enthusiastic about joining the board, to actively engage in listening, learning, brainstorming, and connecting with the community to effectively promote and support the mission of FOCPL, the library, and the needs of the community. His commitment to promoting literacy, supporting diverse programming, and enhancing library services aligns with the board’s mission to create a vibrant, informed community centered around the library.
Update From December Meeting:
Elections were held at the annual meeting in December, and all board members were re-elected.
The board includes: Mark Alexander, Diane Decker, Grace Johnston, Diane Kelly, Marc Miller, Melissa Bourbon Ramirez, Wendy Scott, Meg Stouffer, Tess Tessier, Jen Tolliver, and Shannon Turlington.
Officers for 2024 will be:
Diane Kelly – President
Shannon Turlington – Vice-President
Grace Johnston – Treasurer/Membership
Jenn Tolliver – Secretary.
At the meeting, we recapped our many accomplishments in 2023:
Added Meg Stouffer, Jenn Tolliver, and Tess Tessier to the board
Increased our membership
Bought more tables and new signs to make book sales more profitable and efficient
Held two very successful book sales, both of which earned over $6,000
Manned a table on Take Action for Libraries day and during the library’s Juneteenth celebration
Hosted a staff appreciation luncheon
Attended author events
Hosted NaNoWriMo write-in
Began discussions with library staff and parks & rec dept on a StoryTrail
Funded:
Summer learning – $5,600 performers, giveaway books, individual weekly prizes, raffle baskets, Juneteeth celebration, teen and adult activities
Professional Development – $3,500
Library Speakers Consortium – $3,500
Five new Kindles
Voted to fund furniture for neurodivergent youth
Bought books for the prison book collective
Thanks to everyone who volunteered and/or financially supported the Friends in 2023! You made all of this possible. We’re looking forward to another great year!
2024 Book Sale Dates:
Be sure to mark your calendars for our 2024 book sale dates:
Friday, April 5–Sunday, April 7 (members-only sale 5:00-7:00 on Thursday, April 4th)
Friday, September 20–Sunday, September 22 (members-only sale 5:00-7:00 on Thursday, September 19th)
Volunteers are especially needed for setup and takedown on the Wednesday right before book sales and on Sunday right after the sale closes, so please consider volunteering on those days.
January 18 Th Meeting Agenda And Zoom Link:
We hope you can join us in person or via zoom at 7:00 pm on Thursday, January 18th for our next meeting.
January 18Th, 2024 Meeting Agenda
1) Call To Order/Establish Quorum
2) Approval Of Minutes From Last Meeting
3) Treasurer’S Report
4) Membership Report
5) Library Report
6) Old Business
State Friends membership has been submitted
7) New Business
Vote on William McLean for board
Signing of Conflict of Interest Policy by each board member
Establish audit committee – 3 members
Establish bylaws review committee – 3 members
8) Adjourn
Zoom Link
Diane Kelly is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: FOCPL BOARD MEETING – THURSDAY, JANUARY 18TH 7:00 PM
Time: Jan 18, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84671357462
Meeting ID: 846 7135 7462
—
One tap mobile
+16469313860,,84671357462# US
+19292056099,,84671357462# US (New York)
—
Dial by your location
• +1 646 931 3860 US
• +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
• +1 305 224 1968 US
• +1 309 205 3325 US
• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
• +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
• +1 360 209 5623 US
• +1 386 347 5053 US
• +1 507 473 4847 US
• +1 564 217 2000 US
• +1 669 444 9171 US
• +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
• +1 689 278 1000 US
• +1 719 359 4580 US
• +1 253 205 0468 US
Meeting ID: 846 7135 7462
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/k5bOtNaD
As always, thank you for being a Friend!
Sincerely,
Diane Kelly, President
