Press release:
Voters who turn out for the Richmond Memorial Library’s annual budget vote and trustee election this year will see something new on the ballot: two vacancies. The current board authorized the creation of a sixth trustee position at its February meeting.
Now they seek candidates to fill it in the election to be held Thursday, May 2.
“They don’t only want to grow in size, but in skill and in diversity,” Library Director Bob Conrad explains. “We have always needed people with legal training and financial training, [and] people who are big readers, obviously. That hasn’t changed.
"But now libraries need people with IT skills and A/V skills, and people who watch movies and play video games.”
Library trustees are publicly elected volunteers who provide fiduciary oversight of the library’s spending. They also advise the Library Director on operations and in setting long-range goals.
“We’re lucky to have an HR professional on our board,” Conrad gives as one example. “But we have this beautiful old building, and nobody from the building trades on our board.”
The Richmond board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday almost every month. Meetings last about two hours, and a single term is for five years, starting at the July 8 meeting.
A full description of the duties and responsibilities of a public library trustee in New York is available in a handbook published by the Division of Library Development: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/trustees/handbook.
To qualify for the ballot, candidates need to have lived in the library’s service area – the Batavia City School District – for at least three years preceding the election. They must also file a petition with the library, signed by at least 25 other residents, by 5 p.m. on April 2.
Blank petitions are available at the library now, during regular hours. The library is located at 19 Ross St. in the City of Batavia.
After the May 2 election – which also places a library budget increase of $25,350 on the ballot – the library’s bylaws permit the board to continue growing annually, through election and appointment, up to 15, the maximum allowed by charter.
For more information, contact Library Director Robert Conrad at 585-343-9550, ext. 7, or at rconrad@nioga.org
Richmond Memorial Library continually provides access to physical and virtual resources and services that meet the educational, informational and recreational needs of its diverse community in a safe and comfortable environment. Learn more at www.batavialibrary.org
