Board of Trustee Members
Betty Smith, Chair
Pat Vaillancourt, Treasurer
David Coursin, Secretary
Dana Hochgraf, Alternate
Pat Savage, Alternate
Pat Vaillancourt, Treasurer
David Coursin, Secretary
Dana Hochgraf, Alternate
Pat Savage, Alternate
The Chesley Memorial Library Board of Trustees will meet at the Library on the following dates:
Friday, January 9, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, February 13, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, March 13, 2026 @ 9:00am
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 @ 9:00am (work session)
Friday, April 3, 2026 @ 9:00am (work session)
Friday, April 10, 2026 @ 9:00am
Monday, April 20, 2026 @ 9:00am (work session)
Friday, May 8, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, June 12, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, July 10, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, August 14, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, September 11, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, October 9, 2026 @9:00am
Friday, November 13, 2026 @ 9:00am
Friday, December 11, 2026 @ 9:00am
The Chesley Memorial Library Board of Trustees will meet at the Northwood Town Hall on the following date:
Thursday, April 16, 2026 @ 12:15pm (work session)
(Nonpublic session if needed RSA 91-A:3, II)
Northwood Libraries Update September 2025
The Chesley Memorial Library Trustees
share the following message:
The largest version of Chesley Memorial Library is safe for now. It is a state-wide library with the support of state and federal funds administered by the NH State Library. All the books in over 240 NH local libraries effectively become Northwood books through the NH Interlibrary Loan System. All the digital eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines collected by a consortium of over 200 local NH libraries also become our digital resources through the Libby app.
But funding for these essential services has been on the chopping block in the State House and in Washington since March. By June, an amendment to the NH House budget proposed the elimination of all state funding for the NH State Library, just as Congress cut all the funding for state libraries from the federal budget proposed by the US House of Representatives.
Both threats were met with mounting public opposition through emails, letters, phone calls, and testimony. This pushback succeeded in restoring most of the federal funding through September 2027 and a portion of the state funding that will hopefully go to the NH State Library through June 2027.
Libby and interlibrary loans may remain safe well into 2027, but opponents of local libraries have not gone away in Concord or Washington. They may try to claw back the approved funding or make drastic cuts in future budgets.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for informing the public about such threats. It will continue to publish important updates, so supporters know if they must act again to protect their libraries. Otherwise, all of us will be left with small, hobbled versions of what we now have.
The Chesley Memorial Library Trustees
share the following message:
The largest version of Chesley Memorial Library is safe for now. It is a state-wide library with the support of state and federal funds administered by the NH State Library. All the books in over 240 NH local libraries effectively become Northwood books through the NH Interlibrary Loan System. All the digital eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines collected by a consortium of over 200 local NH libraries also become our digital resources through the Libby app.
But funding for these essential services has been on the chopping block in the State House and in Washington since March. By June, an amendment to the NH House budget proposed the elimination of all state funding for the NH State Library, just as Congress cut all the funding for state libraries from the federal budget proposed by the US House of Representatives.
Both threats were met with mounting public opposition through emails, letters, phone calls, and testimony. This pushback succeeded in restoring most of the federal funding through September 2027 and a portion of the state funding that will hopefully go to the NH State Library through June 2027.
Libby and interlibrary loans may remain safe well into 2027, but opponents of local libraries have not gone away in Concord or Washington. They may try to claw back the approved funding or make drastic cuts in future budgets.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for informing the public about such threats. It will continue to publish important updates, so supporters know if they must act again to protect their libraries. Otherwise, all of us will be left with small, hobbled versions of what we now have.
Information Updates from the Chesley Memorial Library Trustees
The 2026 budget for the Chesley Memorial Library is crucial, and it’s our job as trustees to inform people of the issues facing the library. Between now and town elections, the trustees will explain those issues in a series of public posts through our website, social media, and email account.
I. Introduction
Each year, the trustees work closely with the library director to develop the budget for the library. In preparation for our 2026 proposal, the town administration advised us to base our budget on what the library needs, not on a guess about what might pass in the March elections.
We took that guidance seriously because we think our library is at a turning point. To paraphrase a parable, “No one lights a lamp just to cover it up,” yet that is what has happened to our libraries. In addition to the gift of our building, we have an experienced and resourceful director with committed employees who go above and beyond, but the town cannot benefit from all the light the library can generate when it is covered up each year by limited funding.
The director and trustees have identified two specific budget increases that can change that. We will explain the benefits of those increases in the following posts so please review them as they come out.
II. Financial Impact of Default Budgets
Default budgets hold the library in the past, but we have to prepare for the future. Default budgets don’t keep up with rising expenses. As for the library, its operating budget has not kept up with the increasing expenses since 2018. That year produced the last Northwood town budget based roughly on what things cost at the time. One thousand dollars in the 2018 budget could purchase $1000 worth of police and fire protection, electricity, or competitive employment offers.
Those 2018 dollars have lost their purchasing power every year since, forcing the library to operate largely as if it’s still 2018. In the meantime, the library has experienced seven years of increasing costs, from 2019 through 2025. By conservative estimates, the library needs $1250 in 2025 dollars to buy the same $1000 worth of goods and services. Our library will only fall further behind with each future default budget.
III. Don’t Miss the Deliberative Session
The growing dangers of a default budget can be hard for any of us to see because “default” is the wrong word, given the common ways we use it. If I “default” on my mortgage or rent I lose my home, same with a car loan and my car. One minute it’s mine, then someone shows up to repossess and it’s gone. That is sudden and cuts deeply. Default town budgets are very different. They are akin to thousands of tiny cuts spread over many years. It’s hard to pinpoint the consequences on any given day, like trying to tell time by watching an hour hand move.
Voters have many reasons for supporting or opposing any increase in the library budget. The Deliberative Session is where all sides can meet and come away with more information. Without that session everyone loses the biggest opportunity to influence the outcome and understand it. This year the date and time have changed to a weekday evening.
The Deliberative Session will start at 6pm on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The library trustees encourage all town voters to attend and start a new chapter of steadily increasing attendance at the Deliberative Session.
IV. Obvious Consequences of Part-Time Positions
The library has been living within an operating budget that has changed little since 2018. This has undermined our efforts to hire new employees. This limitation has created the most crucial problems facing the library. We can’t afford full-time employees to fill critical positions. Well-qualified candidates expect a full-time salary and benefits when they are applying, and they drop out of the running when they learn our library offers only a part-time salary with no benefits. We simply can’t compete.
Candidates looking for a full-time position are generally in the midst of their career and hoping to develop long-term working relationships they can grow with. They want to participate in building something over time with a team they can learn from. Those are the candidates the director and the library need in order to bring more of the library’s potential to the community. Those are the candidates the trustees want, but we aren’t going to meet them.
The library will rarely see a new candidate who can contribute to the long-term development of the library as long as we can only offer part-time work.
V. Hidden Consequences of Part-Time Positions
New, qualified candidates who are willing to work part-time rarely stay, but they take just as much administrative work to recruit, interview, hire, and supervise. In the first stage, the director has to post the position, recruit candidates, review applications, interview the selected candidates, present them to the trustees, finalize a compensation offer, and orient the new hire.
The second stage starts after all the hiring work is done, requiring as much or more of the director’s time. This is the work of personally orienting the new hire to all the details of daily operations and then supervising the new hire in developing program changes and monitoring their outcomes. These two stages are filled with the hidden costs of part-time hires.
The director loses valuable time that could be spent on strengthening our services and outreach, only to repeat the cycle. Since 2019, the director has already done all the work to refill an empty technology librarian position five times and is now repeating the stages for a sixth time. That’s a waste of the creative and productive abilities of our director, and everyone loses.
Recently, we were lucky enough to find one of those rare people who was well-qualified and content with the part-time offer. The benefits of the new hire were immediately obvious to staff and patrons. The employee was delighted with the new position and intended to stay, but within one month was faced with an unsolicited offer that was too good to pass up.
There is no way out of this hiring trap without the ability to offer full-time compensation. The 2026 library budget proposes changing two current part-time positions to full-time positions without increasing the total number of employees as the way out of this trap.
VI. Benefits of Full-Time Positions Proposed in Our 2026 Budget
The problems of part-time hires will continue until we can change two key library positions from part-time to full-time hires. We proposed changing the status of two current employees without increasing the total number. We are not adding two new employees to the total number of library staff.
Currently, the library director is the only full-time employee. The assistant librarian and technology librarian are part-time. Their contributions will always be undermined by the low compensation that comes with part-time work. The high turn-over rate of the current positions will repeatedly take up the director’s time, better spent elsewhere. The 2026 library budget would enable the director to offer full-time compensation for the existing assistant and technology librarian positions.
Enabling the director to offer full-time employment reduces the problems of recruiting and retaining qualified candidates. It also brings many other benefits, like these two examples.
1) The increased number of employee hours on site that come with full-time employees means the library can be open for more hours during the week. With the director, assistant librarian, and technology librarian all working full-time at 35hr/week, the library could increase its operating hours.
The library is now open 32 hr/week and that could be increased up to 35-37 hr/week. A survey of patrons will help determine how to use those hours in the best ways. The full-time team would then be able to expand desired programming during those hours and broaden the library’s reach into the community.
2) Importantly, three full-time positions will reduce the number of times the library has to close because of unexpected events that left only one available employee. In those times we currently have to close the library on short notice, and this would happen much less often.
VII. A Safer Library with Full-Time Positions
Having three full-time employees resolves a serious problem that can’t be overlooked. At least two staff members must be on site at all times, even over lunch hour. This is critical. No one can afford to have the library open with just one employee on site. This puts the employee and patrons at risk of real, potentially catastrophic, harm. It also puts the town at risk. The town’s insurer recommends two employees on site during operating hours. Otherwise, a lone employee can be accused of a whole range of inappropriate behaviors, and the town is at risk of being sued with no protective witness to counteract the accusation. At times in the past, employees have put themselves at risk to keep the library open with one employee, but that is not right when there are other solutions.
VIII. Specific Benefits of the Full-Time Assistant Librarian
Immediate Benefits
1.The Assistant Librarian will be a trained backup capable of taking over when the Director is off-site to keep the library open, manage daily operations and administrative responsibilities, and supervise staff.
2.The Assistant Librarian will increase the number of regular open hours/week so the library will be open over lunchtime hours, and at other times in the week on a schedule developed with patrons to meet their needs as much as possible.
3.The Assistant Librarian will reduce unexpected closures that arise when unplanned events prevent two staff being onsite.
4.The Assistant Librarian will plan, advertise, and run on site programs requested by the community:
- Early literacy programs
- Family reading programs
- Adult programs
5.The Assistant Librarian will do the same for requested community outreach programs:
- School programs
- Senior housing programs
- Senior programs at other sites.
The Library Director will retire at some point in the future, and the library needs a succession plan. The best way to manage that transition is to have a full-time, prepared employee like the Assistant Librarian already in place.
IX. Specific Benefits of a Full-Time Technology Librarian
Immediate Benefits
1. The full-time Technology Librarian will be the front line for providing digital assistance to patrons, a role public libraries are increasingly being asked to fill. Patrons seek help with tasks like job searches and applications, device troubleshooting, printing/scanning, completing and submitting online forms.
2. The full time Technology Librarian will provide more consistency than part-time staff in the midst of patron needs that are often daily and unpredictable.
3. The full-time Technology Librarian will develop on site digital literacy programs and take those programs into the community as needed.
4. The full-time Technology Librarian will maintain and update the library’s social media presence, create how-to guides for patrons, and apply for technology grants.
5. The full-time Technology Librarian will consult with the library’s IT contractor about more complex problems with our digital infrastructure, computers, Wi-Fi network, website updates, and subscriptions. Part-time staff cannot keep up with the increasing complexity and are not effective consultants.
6. The full-time Technology Librarian will consult with the library’s IT contractor about implementing changes in data privacy requirements and upgrades in data security measures. Regular attention to updates, backups, and changes in compliance practices is essential and more than part-time staff can keep up with.
7. The full-time Technology Librarian will be an internal resource for staff wanting to increase technology skills and troubleshooting abilities.Long Term Benefits
Digital services are a prominent part of what the library currently offers, and these services are expected to grow significantly and involve more complex technologies. The full time Technology Librarian will be the key onsite person consulting with our IT contractors to create the library of the future. In addition, the Technology Librarian may also be a suitable candidate for Director in the event of the Director’s retirement.
X. Save The Town Money At No Cost To The Taxpayer
What’s not to like? In the fall of 2024, the Director of The Chesley Memorial Library went to work on a project that will save the town money without raising taxes. As a result of the director’s work, $95,895 of federal funding is already earmarked for the project, called the Energy Efficiency and Emergency Power Project. Added to ~$30,000 of further rebates and subsidies, it will pay for the installation of solar panels on the library roof, an emergency backup electrical system with battery storage, upgraded insulation and windows, and roofing repairs.
This installation brings immediate and long-term savings to the town without increasing the tax rate and creates a stand-alone, powered community center for emergencies when the electric grid goes down.
The library currently faces a yearly electricity expense of ~$4500/year that will increase by an estimated 3% every year. At that rate, $4500 of electricity in 2025 will increase yearly to about $6000/year in ten years. The yearly increase will be higher since everyone will be paying for the costs of upgrading the regional electrical grid. In addition, the enormous power demands of AI datacenters will drive up the baseline cost of electricity everywhere.
The long term savings arise year-by-year as the installation provides all the electricity needs for the library. That alone saves the town ~$42,000 over ten years, after subtracting the yearly Eversource costs of connecting the new community emergency system to their grid.
The immediate savings come from the battery storage and generation system powered by the solar array. This will cancel out the need for a propane powered generator. The total cost of the generator itself was about $6500 in 2024 and then it would require propane refills whenever used.
Our director is keeping the grant submission on course despite many unexpected barriers, but critical steps remain. The Deliberative Session at 6pm tomorrow at the Northwood Elementary School is the next one.
To benefit from $126,000 of tax-free funding, vote YES to the 2026 Warrant Article #33, entitled “BY PETITION-- Library Solar Project.”
XI. The Warrant Article #33 About The Library Will Not Raise Taxes
The previous update described the Energy Efficiency and Emergency Power Project Grant that the library director has been working on since September 2024. It is moving ahead despite many hurdles. This work has already resulted in $96,895 of federal funds being committed to the project pending final approval of the grant. This sum will be added to about $30,000 in subsidies and rebates to pay for the installation of solar panels on the library roof, an emergency backup electrical system with battery storage, upgraded insulation and windows, and roofing repairs.
This project will not cost the taxpayer a dime, but the opening phrase of the warrant article asks, “Shall the Town vote to raise and appropriate . . .” This sure sounds like the town has to raise money and how else does that happen except by raising taxes? What’s the deal?
Well, the deal is that the town will raise money, but it will all come from grant money, not the taxpayer. The contractors for the job submit bills to the town as the work progresses. The town pays those bills out of its general funds. Grant funds then repay the town. In effect, the town acts as a go between for the contractors and the agency paying out the grant funds. The town will not have spent any of its own money in the end, and the taxpayer will not face any increase in the tax rate because of the solar installation and emergency power backup system.
Approval of Warrant Article #33 creates a win for the town, the taxpayer, the community, and the library at zero cost. It also saves money each year. That’s about as fiscally conservative as you can get.
XII. Come To The Deliberative Session
The updates from the library trustees have covered a lot of ground in order to provide important information. Join the Deliberative Session with any comments or questions you have about that information. It will help everyone be more aware of the different points of view about our library and our community.
Archive of Meeting Minutes
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