Friends of the Mission Hills/Hillcrest Library
April 20. 2024
The meeting was held in conference rooms of the Mission Hills/Hillcrest Harley and Bessie Knox Library. The meeting was called to order at 10:02 A.M. by Anne Box, President. An attendance list is at the end of the minutes.
Minutes: The minutes of the March 30, 2024, meeting were approved as submitted.
Financial: Don Rudesill reviewed the March financial report. Bookstore sales in cash were $1,057.00. Square credit card sales were $641.15, Amazon sales were $569.53, Abe sales were $174.70, book cart sales and donations were $72.00. Memberships totaled $14.41. The odd amount reflects the credit card fee. We also had interest income of $493.41 and a direct donation of $65.66. We received a one-time repayment of $2,200.00 from a loan we made to help open the Central Library store. The loan was made in 2011. Our income totaled $5,307.86.
Expenses included $483.00 for admission to the ALA Convention to be held at the end of June, $281.86 for bookstore supplies and advertising, $331.48 for programs at the branch, and $956.99 for garage shelving. Our total expenses were $3,254.67
Our total in all accounts at the end of March was $167,413.23. Our total the previous month was $163,731.52. Without the one-time repayment, our total would have been $165,213.23.
Budget: Sue Eubanks is working on a spreadsheet for budget items. She will have more information at the July meeting.
Librarian’s report: Steve Wheeler presented upcoming programs:
Book Talk by Jason Perez, San Diego Poet Laureate, Monday, April 22, at 6:30 P.M.
Tinker Tuesday, Dia de los Tinker, Tuesday, April 23, 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.
Harp concert by Chiara Capobianco Tuesday, April 30, Noon. Presented by Villa Musica designed for seniors.
Garden Swap, Saturday, May 4, 11:30 to 2:00 P.M. “Bring what you can, take what you need.”
Anxiety Workshop, Monday, May 6, 6:30 P.M. presented by Brain Balance.
Tinker Tuesday, Mother’s Day Jewelry, Tuesday, May 7, 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Ages 8 to 17.
Vaccine event. Wednesday, May 22, Noon to 6:00 P.M. Covid 19, MPX, and flu vaccines.
Steve reviewed fund balances. Contracts/Performers has a negative balance of $2,295.00, Equipment and Supplies $4,532.17, Library Materials $18,741.15, Pool distribution $5,959.37 and the unmatched Library Trust Fund $9,796.72.
Expenses were mainly for performers and a few supplies.
Steve said that the cost for Summer Reading Programs is less than estimated. The total will be $5,190.00. We approved this amount. We also approved the purchase of a new computer for the Children’s Library which includes software and a warranty. The total is $3,800.00.
Steve requested $100.00 for the Seed Exchange and the Seed Library. Anne approved the expense.
Sue Eubanks will get an estimate for cleaning the rug in the Children’s Library.
Steve said that due to budget cuts and hiring freezes by the city, we will lose some part time , Assistant One employees, leaving the branch with two instead of five.
Bookstore: Pat Littell said that we still have a small problem with items being shelved without prices. We will remind volunteers if it continues.
Holly Murten reported that Susan Chenven will take over oversight of Amazon and Abe for the month of May while Holly is out of town. She said that March on-line sales were low, but they are picking up now. She also told the group about an odd request from a woman who claims to have a 1,000 year old Hebrew Bible to donate. Sue Eubanks suggested we ask for a photo and more information before doing anything. We agreed that this is likely a scam.
Jean Stein said that Blackout Poetry went very well. We had 60 entries this year. The winners read their poems, and the event was “fantastic.”
Jean reminded us that we have a great group of volunteers and have not had an event to show our appreciation for a long time. We agreed to have a luncheon in the meeting room on June 15 from 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Elaine Kalin and Mary Rose Mueller will co-ordinate the event. We approved a maximum of $750.00 for the event.
Chuck Leib said that triage of donations seems to be working. He was able to sort donations to eliminate unsuitable material and still had time to do some book processing. Chuck will also check on purchasing shelving for more sorting space.
ALA Convention: Steve said that staff can go for one day at no charge. All branches will be closed July 1 for this. Central will be open, and those who do not want to attend can work at Central that day. Don Rudesill said that he had attended the Corporate Friends meeting, and that Corporate is giving $50,000 to the ALA Convention.
Website: Al Hoefer said that there was nothing new except for the “1,000 year old Bible” which was discussed earlier.
Membership: Chuck Leib said that there was nothing new.
Wrap Up: Elaine asked about linking our newspaper ads to our website. After checking the ads, we were able to link them as printed using the QR code.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:25 A.M.
Attendance: Steve Wheeler, Anne Box, Al Hoefer, Jean Stein, Dob Rudesill, Mary Rose Mueller, Elaine Kalin, Sue Eubanks, Holly Murten, Chuck Leib, Pat Littell
The next meeting will be May 18 at 10:00 A.M.