HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2024 0312 LB REG ITEM 07A ITEM: 7.A.
Moorpark Friends of the Library (MFOTL)
President’s Quarterly Update
for Moorpark Library Board
March 12, 2024
The current Board of the MFOTL comprises the following members:
President Rosalie Barili
Vice President and Bookstore Manager Diana Fowler
Secretary Bernadette McDowell
Treasurer Carmen Jerome
Membership Lou Langkusch
Membership Assistant Eleanor Villanueva
Publicity Teri Glazier
Parliamentary Consultant Dona Pugh
Member, Special Events Chair Lori Preciado
Member, Special Events JoEllen Hilliard
Elections will be held in April to select a new President, Vice President, and Secretary. Upon their election,
they will appoint a Treasurer. These four will constitute the Executive Committee, which will appoint the other
members of the Board of Directors for a two-year term. The new Board will assume its duties at the May 21,
2024, meeting.
Important contributors to our work also include: Eleanor LaBarbara, newsletter editor; Grace Hernandez,
website editor; and Larissa Gurrola, grant research and Instagram outreach.
Moorpark Friends of the Library Board General Information
➢Bimonthly meetings are held in the Conference Room at the Ruben Castro Human Services Center, the most
recent held on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, and the next scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Members
of the Library Board and all Moorpark residents are cordially invited to attend meetings with a prior request
to attend.
Outreach and Promotion
➢We continue to receive volunteer offers through Volunteer Match and have had contacts resulting in two
new bookstore workers and three others interested in general volunteer work.
➢MFOTL president is the designated liaison with the Moorpark Women’s Club (MWFC). Articles in the
newsletter and presentations at the monthly general meeting promote our activities, membership in the
Friends, and mutual interests.
➢We receive regular book donations at the MWFC monthly meetings.
➢MFOTL newsletters are sent bimonthly via email to MFOTL general members and are also linked on our
website.
➢Our website is now routinely updated with information from appropriate board members.
➢We have intensified our Publicity through social media and Acorn articles, displays at the library and local
businesses, and liaison with other Moorpark organizations. Coverage of the Library and Friends of the
Library in the Acorn has been very good, up to this point, but we notice that there seems to be less interest
in library-related matters.
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MFOTL President’s Update March 14, 2023 Page 2 of 3
➢Our members staff a booth at such events as Country Days and Earth Festival, and when appropriate at
library events. We plan on participating in the Earth Festival on April 27, at the library’s Kid Fest on May 4,
and on attending the City’s Apricot Festival on May 11, assisting at the library’s booth inside the High
Street Arts Center.
➢Membership and donations continue to grow.
➢The Ad Hoc Committee activity has been suspended until significant physical evidence of progress for the
new library has occurred.
➢Most recently, under the leadership of Councilmember Tom Means, there is a movement towards
establishing something similar to the “Sunshine Club” as described to me by Laura Burnett and from me
then to Mr. Means. Basically, it consists of regular luncheon meetings of representatives from nonprofits in
Moorpark, who endeavor to share information and enthusiasm about their activities in a collegial way, to
minimize duplication and/or cross-purposes. One of the possible outcomes can be the publication of a
calendar of events.
Bookstore
➢Our new workspace is working well for us, with space allotted for various book-processing activities, along
with some new shelving that helps get boxes off the floor!
➢We now have seven volunteers, each of whom spends at least two hours one designated day a week,
processing donated books, plus, of course, our Book Store Manager. Destinations of the books include the
City trash receptacles (the messy, the moldy, and the mouse-chewed!), then the income-producing ones: the
bookstore, online sales of nonfiction to SellYourBooks, EBay, special bargain book sales, and finally books
which heretofore went to Goodwill, now to Discover for a by-the-pound payment.
➢We initiated, in a very small way (just a two-book set that was sold at $20), a program that we would like to
enlarge. It’s a silent auction of books that have some special value, with a defined minimum bid. The
books will be displayed with a bid sheet, for a defined period. The highest bidder gets the book. We will
encourage donations of books from anyone who would be interested in supporting this effort!
➢With the blessing of a break in our wet-weather year, we had a good parking lot book sale on February 24,
with the added benefit of several people new to our library who shopped in the bookstore as well as
outdoors. We garnered some new Friends members and made our first (timid) foray into digital sales via
Square and PayPal.
➢Fundraising
➢As you may remember from my few minutes as a speaker at your January meeting, the Letters From Santa
program was successful.
➢The Night of International Dance and Culture is just a few days away, with two new acts, Ka Hale Hula and
Megill and Company (modern dance) complementing return engagements by Ballet Folklorico and
Bollywood Beyondancing and the O’Shaughnessy Academy of Irish Dance to herald in St. Patrick’s Day.
➢Two restaurants, M on High and Freda’s, kindly agreed to support the event, M’s with a 10% donation to
MFOTL of all sales from 5 to 9 PM on Wednesday, March 6, and Freda’s a 10% discount to theatergoers on
the night of the show.
➢Finances remain in good shape with sufficient reserves maintained for operating expenses.
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MFOTL President’s Update March 14, 2023 Page 3 of 3
➢Our current Vanguard account, designated exclusively for interior enhancements at the new library, is now
at $72,854.29, having recovered from last year’s stock losses, and without our having added anything to it
in 2023. We are reviewing our funds management to make sure we are in accord with best fiscal practices.
Finances
➢A yearly financial audit is conducted by an independent reviewer.
➢At our January meeting, the Board of Directors approved a motion by a financial committee, to commit to
the City Library $13,000 for the fiscal year 2024-2025 based on the following information:
Net Income $18,358.89
Less deposit to investment account $ 2,393.90 *
Net available to commit $15,974.99
Less Commitment $13,000.00
Funds available for contingency use $ 2,974.99 **
*Previous agreement by the Board to add the net income from the Comedy Event to our investment fund.
** Held in reserve against possible special needs by the library for unanticipated programs.
MFOTL priorities for 2024
➢Increase membership and volunteer activity among members.
➢Increase membership attendance at library events.
➢Increase membership revenues, reward programs, and upgraded donations.
➢Continue to develop creative fundraising efforts.
➢Continue a strong community and school outreach.
Rosalie Barili
President, Moorpark Friends of the Library
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