REPORT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Mathews Memorial Library
Bette Dillehay, Director
March 10, 2020
This report is intended to provide the Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees with a report of activities during the period January 14 - March 10, 2020.
Financial Report
Current Reporting Period
The current financial report is a statement of resources and expenses for a two-month period ending March 10, 2020. Operational expenses for the bi-monthly period totaled $11,858.84. Year-to date expenditures total $66,838.59, representing a 12.44% increase over the same period a year ago. The increase reflects the addition of two new genealogy online services at a cost of $4,000. Operating expenses to date are 49.07% of total budget with unencumbered funds totaling $69,421.41. This amount includes funds held for C4K totaling $16,717.00
Salaries and Related Expenses
The amount budgeted for salaries and related benefits for FY 2019-2020 is $275,184, or $22,932 per month. For the first eight months of the current year, expenses totaled $179,551 or 65.25% of budgeted amount, averaging approximately $22,444 per month.
Patrons
The number of patrons now stands at 9,927. The number of new patrons added during the report period totaled 17.
Collection Review
A study has recently been conducted to determine the ratio of circulation to investment in acquisition of materials procured by the library. The analysis reveals that, for the most part, the amount spent by category is within reasonable range of circulation. The most obvious deviation is in the category of adult non-fiction where the amount invested significantly exceeds circulation. Based on the outcome, the level of investment to readers in adult fiction is .745 while non-fiction is .688. Overall, circulation is, as expected, higher for adult materials than for juvenile and young adult. A final observation that has some bearing on youth circulation is the lower investment in easy fiction compared with circulation.
Programs/Library Events
Visits to the library by patrons and others during the report period averaged 92 persons a day. There were 14 library sponsored programs with 254 in attendance. In addition, approximately 263 individuals attended 14 events sponsored by other organizations.
AARP is again using the library facility to assist citizens with tax preparation. Although the number osf sessions is reduced from previous years, to date more than 150 individuals have secured assistance from AARP volunteers. Three additional sessions are planned – March 13, 20 and 27.
An arrangement similar to that provided for tax assistance is being created for citizens to complete the census collection. To facilitate this, we have made a request to the Census Bureau to partner in spreading the word to have everyone counted and providing secure access to the digital census form. This is the first year that such a collection has been online.
February was celebrated as Black History Month with several events taking place. A reception held on Saturday, February 15 was attended by 52 individuals who, in addition to viewing exhibits and enjoying refreshments provided by the Friends, viewed the recently released film, Harriet.
March is designated Women’s History Month. The library is observing this along with recognition of 2020 as the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving women the right to vote. A reception recognizing Mathews women, both past and present, who have served in leadership roles is scheduled for March 19th.
March is also the month when we acknowledge the importance of encouraging young people to read. Again this year on Thursday, March 5th, the library sponsored a “Read Across America” event at Lee Jackson School. Organized by staff member, Carol McCormack, 20 6th grade students read to approximately 240 children in grades kindergarten through 3rd grade.