Wishing Our Library Board of Trustees a Very Happy National Library Week!

In honor of this week being National Library Week, each day the Langdon Library will spotlight different groups that contribute to our library’s success. Today: The Library Board of Trustees! According to NH RSA 202-A:6, the Library Trustees, have “the entire custody and management of the public library.” Trustees are responsible for the management of all aspects of the library, in partnership with the library director. This includes building and property repair, improvements and maintenance; human resource administration; budget advocacy and financial management; creating policies regarding material selection, membership and borrowing, personnel management, facility usage and more; and compliance with library-related RSAs–of which there are many, some of which are being amended or voted on in the NH Legislative branches right now. We have a 5 member board including a Chair (Jack O’Reilly,) Vice-Chair (John Stone,) Secretary (Alexandra Jacuch,) and Treasurer (Meghann Wayss.) Jon Wendell was recently elected to be our fifth trustee, after serving as an alternate for a year, and Lillian Wilson also serves as an alternate. The Chair (and Vice-Chair in his absence) schedules and runs meetings and sets the agenda; the Secretary keeps minutes of the meetings; and the Treasurer signs off on library expenditures and payroll, handles quarterly requests for the library’s appropriated funds from Town Hall, and makes deposits. The Library Board holds public meetings once a month at the library, more often when necessary. Their meetings are subject to RSA 91-A, also known as the “Right to Know” law, and minutes are kept here: https://www.langdonlibrary.org/about-us/trustees/ and at the library. The work of Library Trustees has a direct influence on the ability of a library to serve its community, from the budget created and advocated for by the Board, to the work culture fostered by the Trustees’ employment practices and policies, and the space designed and maintained by the Board’s decisions and contributions. Jack O’Reilly was one of the Board members who dug and installed an “underdrain” in 2021, to divert runoff from the roof and prevent further erosion of the original 1892 side of the building’s foundation, and is the only Trustee still serving who worked on the library expansion project in 2013. We would like to wish our Board and all Library Trustees a Happy National Library Week, and thank them for the time, expertise and commitment they devote to libraries!