Sedona Library Board Looking for New Trustees

By Sheila Hoffmeyer, Member of the Library Board of Trustees

Sedona AZ (February 28, 2012) – Share your experience, your vision, your energy.  As a Board Trustee of the Sedona Public Library (SPL), you’ll make an important contribution to the community and be engaged in an active position of library governance.  We are especially looking for new members, who have financial/accounting or board treasurer experience, architectural/building systems and space planning background, or have library experience and a familiarity with issues facing libraries today.  However, since we strive to have a Board comprised of individuals from diverse backgrounds, if you have an interest in our library and want to contribute your time to help it grow and prosper, you are encouraged to apply for Board membership.

Before I provide information on applying for Board membership, I’d like to tell you about the Board of Trustees and what the Board does, so you’ll have a better idea of what Board membership entails.

SPL is a private 501(c)(3) corporation and, as such, its Board of Trustees is a governing Board.  Instead of being owned and administered by a city or county library system, SPL is one of the few private public libraries in the country. The land on which our beautiful library sits was donated, and the library building was constructed with private funds and is entirely debt free.

Our Library was started by volunteers in 1958 and was incorporated in 1966 — more than 20 years before the City of Sedona.  Today, the City of Sedona and both Yavapai and Coconino Counties contribute a portion of the operational costs, but our library relies heavily on volunteers’ in-kind donations, the Friends of the Library and other donations and bequests for all the other costs of sustaining and preserving our Library. Volunteers provide almost half of our staff hours.

Our current Board has 11 members:  President Anne Uruburu; Interim President Elect Annette Lustgarten,; Treasurer Roger Shlonsky; Past-President Sheila Hoffmeyer; Secretary Sandy Immerso; and Members-at-Large Jan Aranoff, Harvey Bershader, Pat Jansen, Laura Lawrie, Gary Rubin, and Pat Whitfield.  Any of these individuals would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about their experiences on the Board.

Since it is a governing Board, the following are some of the more important duties that the Board executes:

• Make and enforce all policies, rules, regulations and bylaws necessary for the administration and government of SPL and all Library property.
• Exercise and administer any trust declared or created for the Library.
• Employ a Library Director, determine compensation, and empower the Director to administer the policies of the Board of Trustees.
• Authorize the sale or purchase of books, journals, publications, real estate, equipment or other property or services of the Library and pay for same.

The Board of Trustees holds monthly meetings, scheduled on the third Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m.  In addition to Board members, these meetings are generally attended by a City Council Liaison (currently Dan McIlroy), an Officer from the Friends of the Library and the Library Director.

The Board’s annual meeting in June is an open meeting, at which installation of new trustees takes place and annual reports of the President, Treasurer and Library Director are submitted for approval.  New members of the Board also are elected at the annual meeting.

The Board of Trustees conducts much of its work through Committees.  Board members serve on one or more Committees, and each Committee has a program of work established at the beginning of the fiscal year.

• The Executive Committee consists of the Board officers and has the power to transact Library business between regular meetings of the Board.
• The Budget, Public Funding and City Contract Committee provides advice and guidance to the Library Director and the Director’s staff in the preparation of the annual budget. This Committee also works to reinforce relationships with Yavapai and Coconino Counties and the City of Sedona to ensure that sources of public funding for Sedona Public Library will be maximized.
• The Nominating Committee reviews the applications from Trustees seeking another term, manages the selection process for new Trustees for approval by the Board. The Nominating Committee also selects people to fill interim vacancies.
• The Strategic Planning and Policy Committee is responsible for reviewing and suggesting revisions or additions to the documents that provide a framework for Library operations, including the mission statement, strategic plan, policies and bylaws.
• The Marketing and Publicity Committee develops effective marketing and public relations strategies that will benefit the Library, our Library users, our staff and volunteers, the Friends of the Library, and the community at large.
• The Sedona Public Library In the Village Committee monitors the success of the Library’s Village location and works on fund raisers for Village operations.  It interfaces with the Big Park Library Committee and the Big Park community to assess their library needs and strives to fulfill those needs based upon available funding, the Library’s management capabilities and the Board’s competing priorities.
• The Building and Grounds and Space Planning Committee works with the Library Director to oversee maintenance of the Library building and grounds, including rental property, parking lots and planted areas.
• The Bequests and Large Grants Committee investigates additional sources of funding and grants.

Now that you know more about the Board of Trustees, please consider becoming a member.  Individuals who have a commitment to the Sedona Public Library, its values and its importance to the community, and an interest and/or experience in one or more of the areas mentioned in the Committee descriptions, may send an e-mail requesting an application packet to: splboardapplications@gmail.com.   Application packets are available at the Reference Desk of the Sedona Public Library’s main site, 3250 White Bear Rd., Sedona, and at SPL In the Village, 7000 State Route 179, Tequa Plaza, Suite C102.