[Missouri-l] Friends of Wolfner Highlights

[Chip Hailey]

Delivered-To: chiphailey at cableone.net
Date:         Tue, 19 May 2009 07:41:46 -0500
Reply-To: wolfner at SOS.MO.GOV
Sender: Wolfner Library Announcement List <WOLFNER_LIBRARY at LISTSERV.SOS.MO.GOV>
From: "Smith, Richard" <richard.smith at SOS.MO.GOV>
Subject: Friends of Wolfner Highlights

FRIENDS OF WOLFNER HIGHLIGHTS

Volume 4-2: Spring, 2009

A Message from the President

Greetings Friends,

Well I am back again and I always look forward to the opportunity 
this space provides to share thoughts and information with you.

On April 25, 2009, the Friends of Wolfner Library had our membership 
meeting in Jefferson City. It was an upbeat gathering.  There were a 
number of highlights and I want to share some of them with you.  Our 
keynote speaker was Michael Mellor.  He gave a very informative talk 
about his book, Louis Braille a Touch of Genius.  I had the 
opportunity to chat with him during the travel to Jefferson 
City.  Mr. Mellor is a very
friendly and interesting person and shared a number of things about 
his experiences writing his book.

Dr. Richard Smith updated the membership on the delivery of the first 
500 digital players and the upcoming testing by readers.  Other 
highlights of the meeting included the presentation of anniversary 
awards and gifts to Wolfner Library staff.  Both Cheryl
Hassler and Cheryl Schreiman have 10 year anniversaries.  Carol 
Matthews has been with the library for 40 years and was presented 
with Cardinal baseball gifts.  Elections were held for 5 Board 
positions.  We have two new Board members whom you can meet elsewhere 
in this newsletter.  We discussed by-law amendments which members 
received copies of earlier this year.  Proposal 1 failed.  And 
Proposal 4 was withdrawn.  Proposals 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 all passed 
with a 2/3 majority.  Proposal 8 passed after the
words "President or" were deleted.  We also had 3 lucky members who 
won drawings.

Other meeting activities included a Wolfner Library tour, Friends of 
Wolfner Library sweatshirt sales, an opportunity to sign up for 
online digital books, sales of Louis Braille a Touch of Genius in 3 
different formats and enjoyed delicious snacks.

After the membership meeting, the Board met and among other things 
elected the officers.  In addition to myself as President, the 
officers are Judy Redlich Vice-
President, Frances Benham Treasurer and Karen Skender 
Secretary.  Debbie Musselman will continue as newsletter editor.  To 
begin work on one of our goals for this year, a Membership Committee 
was set up.  The committee members are Chairperson Judy Redlich, Chip 
Hailey and Willa Patterson.  If you have any thoughts on this very 
important subject, contact one of the committee members.

There has been a short survey sent by email to all members who 
attended the membership meeting.  Those who do not have email are 
being contacted as well.


Anyone who did attend the meeting, wants to respond to the survey, 
but does not get a survey; let me know prior to May 31, 2009.

I cannot finish this article without commenting on our departing 
Board members.  I wish to acknowledge Debbie Wunder.  Also after 
many, many years of service on the Board, Stan Rock decided not to 
run.  As most of you know he has made significant contributions to 
the Friends.  I do not have enough space to list his many 
contributions.  I will just say among many things the Board will miss 
his sense of humor.

Our next Board meeting is July 21, 2009.  If any Friend's member 
wishes to have an agenda item included on the agenda, contact me by 
July 7, 2009. Have a great spring!

Barbara Sheinbein

Membership Recruitment Challenge from Barbara Sheinbein
Our primary mission is to assist Wolfner Library with funding or 
services.  Our major goal for the Friends of Wolfner Library 
organization this year is to increase our membership.  I am confident 
that if the word gets around, that many others would be interested in 
joining.  This is also an opportunity for members to make a 
difference.  During the membership meeting on April 25, 2009, I 
announced a Membership Recruitment Challenge.  Below are the terms of 
this contest.

The contest period begins on April 26, 2009 and ends on March 31, 
2010. Each current member who recruits 2 new members will get a free 
1 year individual
membership beginning with the membership period of April 1, 2010. Any 
member who recruits 5 or more new members during the contest period 
will also receive special recognition to be announced at the 2010 
membership meeting.

The new member must not reside in the same household with the current 
member. Recruitment of a Family membership will be treated as 2 new 
members as long as both spouses are new members.

Current members are responsible for attaching a short note to the new 
member's application with their name and telephone number for this 
contest.  The Friends of
Wolfner Library will not be held responsible for any missing 
recruitment information.

If you have any questions, contact any Board member.  Take up the challenge!

Meet the New Friends Board Members

Chip Hailey
Chip started work at the Joplin Independent Living Center in 1996 
and  currently is a Consumer Directed Services Specialist there. But 
that is not where his service to the blindness community ends! He 
also serves on the Wolfner Advisory Council; is the
current Chair of the Missouri Assistive Technology Advisory Council; 
and is very active in the Missouri Council of the Blind where he is 
now the Education and Welfare chairman. He also works on legislative 
issues affecting persons with disabilities. Chip is married and in 
his spare time enjoys listening to NLS books, old time radio shows on 
XM radio, and is a big time sports enthusiast.

Karen Skender
Karen Skender, our newly elected Board Secretary, is Coordinator of 
Volunteer Services and Public Relations for the St. Louis Society for 
the Blind and Visually
Impaired. She is well known in St. Louis for her participation in 
services for the blind and vision impaired community. She has held 
leadership roles in several organizations over a long service career. 
A military wife (now retired), Karen has lived in several
countries and has traveled widely. She especially enjoyed her time in 
Germany. Her husband, Dan, flew helicopters in Vietnam. In retirement 
he also works for the St. Louis Society, serving those with vision 
problems. In addition to their four children, they have
nine foster care children, and as Karen says, a dog plus a family of 
eight opossums who have taken residence under their garage.

Wolfner Library Summer Reading Clubs, 2009
Wolfner Library invites children and teens to explore their 
creativity as part of the summer reading club, running from June 8 to 
July 31, 2009. The theme for kids ages 2-13 is "Be Creative @ Your 
Library", and teen patrons ages 13-18 are invited to "Express 
Yourself @ Your Library". Youth Services Librarian Elizabeth Lang has 
organized reading lists to help participants find reading material on 
artsy topics, although reading materials on any topic will count 
toward total reading time! The six young patrons in each group who 
report the most reading time will earn a tote bag, and
all readers who reach their reading goals will win small rewards, as 
well as a chance to win a big prize in the grand prize drawing at the 
end of the program. This year, as in the past, money for the reading 
incentives is provided by the Friends of Wolfner Library! Invitations 
will be mailed to Wolfner's young patrons in May, and we hope that 
many of them will join us for some creative summertime reading fun! 
Please be sure to
encourage their participation.

Trivia Question: In what year did children become eligible for 
Wolfner Library Services? Answer on page 4.

New Digital Machines and Books Arrive at Wolfner Library

Wolfner Library distributed 436 standard and 82 advanced digital 
players and 960 digital books during the first week the items were 
available. Initial reports from patrons are they relish the ease of 
use and love the sound quality of the new players.

The player to the left is the standard player. It is about 6 by 9 by 
2 inches and weighs just over two pounds The body is dark charcoal 
gray for maximum contrast between the background of the case and the 
colors of the buttons. The mailing container is blue. The cartridge 
is about the size of a cassette with a round hole on the left side of 
the carrier.

The Friends of Wolfner Library have budgeted over $50,000 to help 
purchase digital cartridges and mailing containers.

Treasurer's Report from Fran Benham
Our fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. During our annual membership 
meeting, the Friends financial activities were shared. The financial 
statement provided is included in this issue. It shows that we have 
greatly increased support for Wolfner patron services. It also shows 
that we lost investment earnings for the first time in many years. Our
investment in bonds protected us from losses so typical of 
investments this year until the last six weeks of the calendar year 
when bonds lost substantial value. We decided to hold the few bonds 
remaining in our portfolio on the understanding that as the economy 
recovers, these bonds should regain value.

The FDIC increased bank insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 per 
account. This meant that half of our holdings in one bank were not 
covered by FDIC insurance. We moved funds to another bank to gain 
FDIC insurance coverage since so many banks
have experienced financial problems. We will continue to monitor our 
assets carefully to protect our long-term ability to support Wolfner 
patron services.

Trivia Answer: In 1952, the Pratt-Smoot Act, which established the 
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 
was amended to include library services to children by deleting the 
word "adult" from the language.


FRIENDS OF WOLFNER LIBRARY
ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT
April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009

ASSETS (as of 3/31/09)

Cash

Checking
Subtotal $6,004.15

NOW Account
Subtotal $1,042.20

Total Cash $7,046.35

Investment Values

CD Subtotal $300,000.00

Money Market Subtotal $96,821.11

Fixed Income Securities Subtotal $3,581.68

Fixed Income Accrued Interest Subtotal $3.70

Mutual Funds Subtotal $88,390.43

Total Investments Total $488,796.92


TOTAL ASSETS $495,843.27

INCOME BREAKDOWN
Received from Public

Membership Dues Subtotal $3,185.00

Donations Subtotal $6,952.00

T-shirt Sales Subtotal $120.00

Total Public Total $10,257.00

Received from Investments

Interest NOW Acct Subtotal $1.73

Dividends Money Market Subtotal $3,022.25

Income Fixed Income Securities Subtotal $4,699.10

Fixed Income Accrued Interest Subtotal $3.70

Mutual Funds Subtotal $5,903.61

Total Investments Total $13,630.39

TOTAL INCOME $23,887.39

LIABILITIES

Operating Expenses

Printing Subtotal $309.73

Postage Subtotal $265.99

Telephone (Chorus Call) Subtotal $986.29

Office Supplies Subtotal $45.15

Reporting Fees Subtotal $25.00

Travel Reimbursement Subtotal $82.55

Annual Meeting Subtotal $772.43

Insurance Subtotal $180.00

Professional Services:

Audit, IRS back tax returns Subtotal $750.00

Office assistants Subtotal $1,560.00

Miscellaneous (Post Office Box) Subtotal $54.00

Bank Charges Subtotal $47.00

Total Operating Expenses Total $5,078.14

Contributions To Wolfner
Summer Reading Program Approved $3,000.00 Spent $1,503.93

Volunteer Recognition Dinner Approved $3,000.00
Spent $1,731.06

Wolfner Staff Appreciation Approved $1,000.00
Spent $492.50

Conference Support Approved $500.00 Spent $649.27

Staff Recognition Approved $50.00 Spent $0.00

Library Outreach Approved $4,000.00 Spent $2,359.05

D. Stroup Volunteers Approved $500.00 Spent $168.19

Graphic Embossing Equipment Approved $2,000.00
Spent $1,535.00

Wolfner Magnets Approved $1,500.00 Spent $0.00

Children Books on Tape Approved $1,000.00 Spent $0.00

Tactile Maps Approved $2,400.00 Spent $0.00

Digital Reading Machines Approved $1,000.00 Spent $0.00

Digital Cartridges, 2008 Approved $50,000.00 Spent $0.00

Digital Cartridges Mail  Containers Approved $5,000.00
Spent $0.00

Book Recording Program Approved $500.00 Spent $470.47

Digital Recording Equipment Approved $5,000.00
Spent $0.00

Total Contributions Approved $80,450.00
Total Contributions Spent $8,909.47

TOTAL EXPENSES $13,987.61
NET INCOME (Income Minus Expenses) $9,899.78

Friends Board of Directors

Friends' members may  contact any Board member through our official 
e-mail address or at the e-mail addresses or phone numbers listed below.

Barbara Sheinbein , President
314-965-8006 or <mailto:homeplate9 at sbcglobal.net>homeplate9 at sbcglobal.net

Judy Redlich, Vice President
314-577-6330 or <mailto:jredlich6292 at att.net>jredlich6292 at att.net

Karen Skender, Secretary
314-968-9000 or <mailto:kskender at slsbvi.org>kskender at slsbvi.org

Frances Benham, Treasurer
314-963-9153 or <mailto:napestlouis at sbcglobal.net>napestlouis at sbcglobal.net

Debbie Musselman, Newsletter Editor
573-761-5794 or <mailto:jcmomusselman at juno.com>jcmomusselman at juno.com

Melinda Cook, New Boston
New Boston, MO

Joe Dobbs
573-556-6559 or <mailto:j.dobbs at mchsi.com>j.dobbs at mchsi.com

Raymond (Chip) Hailey
417-781-6728 or <mailto:chiphailey at cableone.net>chiphailey at cableone.net

Willa Patterson
816-923-9252


IMPORTANT NOTICE: Subscription requests and address changes should be sent to:

  Friends of Wolfner Library
  P.O. Box 1671
  Jefferson City, MO  65102-1671

OR send an e-mail to <mailto:FriendsWL at gmail.com>FriendsWL at gmail.com

Yours,

Richard J. Smith, Director
Wolfner Library
Missouri State Library
P.O. Box 387
Jefferson City, MO  65102
Phone:  573-522-2767
In Missouri: 800-392-2614
Fax:  573-526-2985
Email: <mailto:richard.smith at sos.mo.gov>richard.smith at sos.mo.gov
Web Site: <http://www.sos.mo.gov/wolfner/>http://www.sos.mo.gov/wolfner/

Not sure what to read next? Find a good book by listening to an audio 
bibliography at 
<http://www.sos.mo.gov/wolfner/adult.asp>http://www.sos.mo.gov/wolfner/adult.asp


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