Minutes of the Friends of the Mission Hills-Hillcrest/ Knox Library
March 26, 2022
The meeting was held in the meeting room at the Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Harley and Bessie Knox Library. The meeting was called to order at 9:57 A.M. by Anne Box, President. An attendance list is at the end of the minutes.
Minutes: The minutes of the February meeting were approved as submitted.
Programs: Jean Stein reported on activities for April which is Poetry Month. She distributed a flyer and explained each event. Flyers are available at the branch. We approved a $100.00 honorarium for Ron Salisbury, San Diego’s Poet Laureate.
Jean needs more help with “Blackout Poetry.” She needs volunteers to work at a table in the lobby to explain the event and distribute materials. Contact Jean if you are able to help during the week of April 11-15.
Jean said that the winning poetry submission will be judged by Curran Jeffrey on April 15th. The winner will receive a $50.00 gift certificate at the Central Library Shop.
Holly Murten said that “Book Collecting Essentials” will be Saturday, May 7th from 3 to 4 P.M. She distributed a flyer with the details. Holly said that we have already paid for any expenses.
We are looking for volunteers to be one of a rotating chairperson for programs. Contact Anne Box if you are interested. This would involve planning programs for a limited period of time. The position would then pass to the next person.
Financials: Don Rudesill provided the February financial report. Bookstore sales were $1,813.59, Amazon sales were $584.40 and book cart sales were $48.00. Total income was $2,459.98. This included one membership of $10.00 and interest of $3.99. Expenses included Amazon supplies for $17.44 and $832.07 for a new book cart. Children’s program expenses were $120.04 Total expenses were 969.55. Our balances in all accounts are $154,783.03.
Librarian’s report: Steve Wheeler said that we now have more performers approved by the city. This allows us to use matching funds for performances. The usual “Summer Reading Program” will be held this summer. We will have a paid performer each week after June 1st. Events will be on Fridays at 10 A.M.
Steve said that other upcoming large expenses will be for extra security cameras and replacement window film. Steve reported that the matching funds balances are: Materials $30,620.97, Equipment and Supplies $11.113.81, Performers and Contracts $9,269.83. The total in these funds is $51,004.61. In addition, the Trust Fund, which is not matched yet, has a balance of $10,466.93.
Steve said that baby signing time will resume. This is sign language for children who are too young to speak, so it is a way for them to communicate.
There will be an Easter egg hunt on the second Saturday in April. We approved $150.00 for supplies.
On Tuesday, April 5th at noon, Veronika Alter will give a cello concert in the meeting room. The program is designed for seniors by Villa Musica. We previously approved $150.00 for the event.
Steve will check with the IT department to see about purchasing new microphones which are needed for some of the performances.
Bookstore: Don said that we will have a credit card from U.S. Bank for use on ABE which charges a fee for posting materials.
Susan Chenven said that ABE has been difficult to deal with, but now that we have a credit card we will be able to proceed. We previously discussed using the site for books that may be more likely to sell on ABE than on Amazon.
Michele Pieters reported that we have everything we need to start using Square for credit card payments. She will advise future users on the web location of the You Tube video for training. Don and Ruth Rudesill will advise Michele which bank account our credit card sales should be deposited into.
Michele said that we have three new volunteers. This should help with the backlog in processing materials for the bookstore.
Michele and Anne will be trying to use the bar code reader today. A bar code reader will allow scanning books for Amazon instead of typing the ISBN for each book.
Website: Al Hoefer said that once we decide on which account to use for credit card payments, we will use the same one for PayPal payments of membership dues.
The email 92103.org only goes to Al, so it should not be used for group messages.
Membership: Chuck Leib is our new membership chairperson. He said that we have 97 active members, 72 of whom are life members, 8 are family members and 6 have not renewed recently. Chuck just received three memberships in the mail.
Don suggested that we give away books at the concerts in Pioneer Park this summer to raise awareness of the Friends.
Corporate Friends meeting: Anne reported that Corporate has postcards that we can send to City Council members urging support and funding for libraries in the new budget. We will get a supply to send.
Roundtable: Anne reminded us to be aware of safety when working in the store. Recently there was a bicycle stolen from outside of the branch. This is one of a few other events causing safety concerns. Bookstore workers can lock the door if they feel in danger.
Holly said that she will put House of Ukraine flyers in the bookstore. The flyers have information on ways to help Ukrainians.
Future meetings will be held at 11:00 A.M. instead of 10:00 A.M. due to children’s programs in the meeting room.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:52 A.M.
Attendance:
Anne Box, Steve Wheeler, Michele Pieters, Elaine Kalin, Al Hoefer, Sue Eubanks, Holly Murten, Armin Kuhlman, Don Rudesill, Marilyn Harkins, Chuck Leib, Susan Chenven, Jean Stein, Nancy Carol Carter, Leanna Selleck, Kim McDaniel, Sarah Foley (? cannot read on form) and Pat Littell