Sedona Library Board Seeks New Trustees

By Anne Uruburu, Library Board President

Sedona AZ (March 8, 2013) – Do you have life experiences to share?  Do you have a vision for improving our community resources?  Do you have energy to devote to a treasured community asset?

Each spring, the Board of Trustees of Sedona Public Library (SPL) actively recruits for additional trustees.  We are seeking new members, especially people who have marketing, fund-raising, and/or business operations experience. 

Information on applying for board membership may be found at the end of this article. As an introduction, I’d like to tell you about the Board of Trustees and what the board does, so you will have a better idea of what board membership entails. 

Instead of being owned and administered by a city or county library system, SPL is a private 501(c)(3) corporation, and, as such, its Board of Trustees is a governing board.  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 Yavapai and Coconino Counties all contribute to the operational costs, but our library relies heavily on volunteers, in-kind donations, funds from Friends of the Library, and other donations and bequests for all other costs of sustaining and preserving our library. Volunteers provide almost half of our staff hours.

Our current board has eleven members:  President Anne Uruburu, President-Elect Pat Jansen, Past Interim President-Elect Annette Lustgarten, Treasurer Abbie Denton-Lander, Secretary Sandy Immerso, and Members-at-Large Jan Aranoff, Harvey Bershader, Carolyn Daugherty, Cliff Hamilton, Laura Lawrie, and Gary Rubin.

The following are some of the more important duties that the board executes:  1) Make and enforce all policies, rules, regulations and bylaws necessary for the administration and government of SPL and all library property.  2) Exercise and administer any trust declared or created for the Library.  3) Employ a Library Director, determine compensation, and empower the director to administer the policies of the Board of Trustees.  4) Authorize the sale or purchase of books, journals, publications, real estate, equipment, or other property or services of the Library and pay for same.  5) Accept or reject donations to the Library. 

The Board of Trustees holds monthly meetings, scheduled on the third Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m..  These meetings are also generally attended by a City Council Liaison (currently Dan McIlroy), a liaison from the Friends of the Library, and the Library Director.  A simple majority of the members of the Board of Trustees, including at least one officer, constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order Revised is the parliamentary authority adhered to at meetings.

The board’s annual meeting in June is an open meeting, at which annual reports are submitted for approval, new members are elected, and installation of new trustees takes place.

The Board of Trustees conducts much of its work through committees.  Board members serve on two or more committees, and each committee listed below has a program of work established at the beginning of the fiscal year. 

• The Building and Grounds Committeeworks with the Library Director to oversee maintenance of the library building and grounds, including rental property, parking lots, and planted areas.

• 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 the Sedona Public Library will be maximized.

• The Fundraising Development Committee is charged with developing, implementing, and monitoring a process to assure adequate capital funds to maintain SPL building, grounds, and assets in perpetuity.

• The Investment Committee develops, implements, and monitors prudent investment management of the Library’s capital assets.

• The Marketing Committee develops effective marketing and public relations strategies that will benefit the Library, our patrons, our staff and volunteers, the Friends of the Library, and the community at large.

• The Nominating Committee reviews the applications from board members seeking another term, manages the selection process for new board trustees, and presents to the board at its May meeting a full slate of board members and a slate of officers for the coming year. The Nominating Committee also selects persons to fill interim vacancies.

• The Sedona Public Library in the Village Committee monitors the success of the Library’s Village location.  It interfaces with the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council 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 Strategic Planning and Policy Committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending revisions or additions to the documents that provide a framework for library operations, including the mission statement, strategic plan, policies, and bylaws.

The Board of Trustees seeks individuals who have a commitment to 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 above.  

To apply for board membership, send an e-mail requesting an application packet to: splboardapplication@gmail.com.   Application packets are also available at the Reference Desk of Sedona Public Library’s main site, 3250 White Bear Rd., Sedona, and at SPL in the Village, located in Tequa Plaza.