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Dateline:    May 21, 2011
Headline:    Successful and informational program on Friends of the Library held!

On Saturday, May 21, 2011, the Library held a program on how to create an effective Friends of the Library program.  Co-sponsored by the Empire Friends of the New York Library Association, this program was attended by 41 enthusiastic local residents, Library Trustees and Library Friends.  Welcomed by Pat Samarco, DPL Board President and Judy Jerome, DPL Director, the program provided essential information for Dunham Library to create its own group.

Participants heard presentations from noteworthy and highly successful Friends groups from around New York State.  The agenda included:

Friends of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library: A Success Story
Jo Anne Robbins, President, Clifton Park-Halfmoon Friends of the Library
Jo Anne discussed how an active and praiseworthy public library Friends group organized to support and advocate for their local public library.  Jo Anne Robbins Powerpoint presentation.

Friends Indeed! 
Kathy Adam, Assistant Director/Friends’ Liaison, Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library
An informal presentation which focused  on the value of a Friends’ organization from a Library administration viewpoint and included some tips on how to create a successful organization where roles and missions are clearly understood.

The Legal Issues.
Stephen L. Walthall, Attorney, practicing in Utica, NY
Creating a legally viable Friends group involves choices and decisions as to the form of the entity,such as being a development arm of the library itself or being its own 501(c)3 tax-exempt entity. This presentation examined some of those choices and decisions.

Where the Buck Stops: the Role of the Library Board of Trustees.
Michael Borges, Executive Director, New York Library Association
Guilderland Public Library Board of Trustees, Member, 2005-2010
Guilderland Library Foundation, President, 2001-2005
It is not uncommon for the role of the Friends and the role of the public library Trustees to become confused. This presentation discussed the responsibilities and authority of an elected Library Board and how the relationship between the Board and the Friends of the Library can be created for the benefit of the Library and the Library community.

The Role of Friends of Libraries within New York State’s Network of Library Systems.
Randall Enos, Consultant, Ramapo-Catskill Public Library System
This presentation presented an overview of New York State’s unique program of shared services and how Friends of Library groups can assist in both regional and state-wide advocacy efforts.

Do you wish to be involved in DPL’s Friends of the Library group?  Stay tuned for forthcoming details.

This is the statement of Board President, Patricia Samarco, in response to the public discussion at the Dunham Public Library Board meeting on August 4, 2010.

Address by

Dunham Public Library Board President, Patricia Samarco

Dunham Public Library Board Meeting: 4 August, 2010

Thank you all very much for coming and voicing your thoughts and concerns. We appreciate your attendance at our Board meeting. Dunham Public Library is blessed with many talented and helpful volunteers. We have volunteers who assist with children’s programs, facilitate poetry readings and film discussions, assist in the maintenance of our building grounds, provide staff development activities, shelve books and do many other necessary tasks. However, our Friends of the Library hold a special place in our volunteer pantheon. According to their own bylaws, they exist to stimulate community interest in the services available in the library, and, to support library needs by engaging in appropriate programs and fund raising activities. According to the Friends of Libraries Sourcebook, a primary goal of Library Friends is ‘to promote the library program to the public and serve as advocates for library issues.’

Our Friends have traditionally held very successful semi-annual book sales and we continue to be grateful for their commitment. Nevertheless, they operate under the umbrella of the Library Board of Trustees as do all of our other volunteers. Furthermore, we have been advised by our financial advisers that there are over-riding financial issues which must be addressed in relationship to the Friends.

Firstly about the book sales. They are most assuredly a testament to the hard work and commitment of the Library Friends. Membership in the Friends allows admittance to the sale on preview night. It is a fact that many first night attendees are used book sellers who pay $.50 or $1.00 a book and carry home carloads for re-sale. These retailers come from as far away as Buffalo and Rochester for this. They will take these donated books and resell them for much, much more. Our enlisting the assistance of a specialist intermediary who is willing to provide assistance with selling our donated books for more than $.50 or $1.00 is definitely worth it. This person is providing the same service at Utica Public Library and comes highly recommended by the Library Director there. As a Board, we have been tasked with finding alternative streams of revenue and this is just one way to try and tap another source.

This is all for the benefit of the Library. There is no separate them or us; at the end of the day, we, the Library Board of Trustees and the Friends of the Library as well are volunteers who wish to do our best for the benefit of the community.

Dunham Public Library was granted 501(c)3 status, i.e., not-for-profit status in 1947. This is an Internal Revenue designation which allows people who give gifts or donations to the library to take a tax deduction for their gift. Annually, the library fills out the appropriate IRS tax 990 form for submission to the IRS. Also annually, the library fills out and submits the Annual Update Document (AUD) to the New York State Comptroller. Recently there have been significant changes in both of these documents, but especially the IRS 990. Policies are inspected and questioned. For instance, the 990 now asks for, and the auditor inspects, policies for Board and staff conflict of interest, document retention and whistle blowing. The Library Board and the Director have been working very hard to ensure that these policies are in place.

Furthermore, there is increasing demand for financial scrutiny and accountability. Significant internal financial controls and transparency must be in place. We have been working very hard to bring these up to par and truly our accounting books are open to all and available for even the most detailed examination. We have a full and complete annual audit which is reviewed in detail by the Board. Our auditors are Barone, Howard and Co. We also have an Audit and Finance Committee which oversees the Request for Proposal (RFP) for an auditor and reviews the audit itself and the monthly financial reports. The Audit Committee works with library management and reports to the Board of Trustees. The Board Treasurer and the Library Director serve ex officio on this committee.

It was discovered that the Friends of Dunham Public Library have been functioning under the designated 501(c)3 status of the Library itself. It does not have its own 501(c)3 not-for-profit designation. It cannot provide a tax deductible receipt for contributions. Only the Library can legally do this. Effectively, as the Memorandum of Understanding states, the Friends of the Library is an agent of the library and acting on the Library’s and the Library Board’s behalf. And yet they collect money and maintain financial accounts outside of the Library’s audit trail and inspection. They collect donations outside of the oversight of the Library. This cannot continue. This Memo is an attempt to define and articulate the relationships between the Friends of the Library and the Library Board of Trustees.

We sincerely hope and pray that this dissension will diminish and that the Friends and we, the Board of Trustees, will join together with the Library management and staff to further this community gem which is our Library.

To Dunham Library Patrons, Staff, Friends and Trustees:

The following unsolicited email was received by the Library Board and the Library Director this morning (August 4) in response to the article in that day's Utica Observer-Dispatch. Linda has very thoughtfully articulated the sea of change, which is libraries and librarianship in the second decade of the 21st century. With her permission, we publish it here.

Kindest regards,
Judy Jerome
Library Director

From: "Linda Allen"
Sent: 8/4/2010 10:59:34 AM
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Subject: Library support

Dear Members of the Board of Trustees and Staff of the Dunham Library:

I am writing in response to the story in today’s O-D about the meeting today and the upcoming vote. As a resident of the Town of Marcy (Utica mailing address) and the Whitesboro School District, I am a voter on the Dunham Library Budget. I am a lifelong patron and enthusiastic supporter of libraries. During the winter months, I am also a volunteer at the Sedona, Arizona, library. While I know only what was reported in the paper, I fully support the proposal that donated books are the property of the library and that the library pursue the online sale of books. The library board has a responsibility to maintain as good a collection as possible and using donated items as additions to the collection where appropriate is a reasonable way to do this. The board also has a fiduciary responsibility to insure that all avenues of fundraising are pursued and that the best price possible be obtained for those items sold. On-line sales are a proven way to accomplish this and are an avenue that many, many libraries are undertaking with good results. 

The Sedona Library has a very large group of volunteers who supplement the functions of the library staff such as circulation, and also a Friends of the Library group who run the book sales. The library has in place policies and procedures established by the professional staff for the review and disposition of donated items. The first level of review is to determine if the donated item is appropriate for the collection. Next is a review to determine the market appeal via internet sale with the Friends receiving those items not otherwise distributed. A small group of volunteers under the auspices of the Friends run the internet sales so the library receives the full amount of the sales. However, the Sedona Library is unique in the number, technical expertise and dedication of the volunteers. This is just not available in many library “Friends” groups and so the use of a third party to run the internet sales is perfectly acceptable.  

I can appreciate what seems to be the hurt feelings of some of the Friends members. Change is always difficult. But the library has an overarching responsibility to the community and to the taxpayers to maintain and enhance the collection and the operation of the library in the most cost efficient manner possible.  If a donated book can be put on the shelf, then the collection is enhanced, patrons benefit and the cost of purchasing that book is saved. If a book can be sold online for more than what the book sale might bring, then it should be sold online. If the Sedona Library is an example, there will still be many, many books available for sale by the Friends. And if the Friends has the capacity to manage the online sales, perhaps they could do that. Times change, needs change and libraries are too important to their communities not to also change. There will always be a significant place at the table for Library Friends groups, but they also need to recognize these changes and be part of the solution to the challenges libraries face today. 

Good luck,
Linda Allen