It's No Turkey Dinner...

I know it’s not spring – Yet! But it’s coming fast and with it all sorts of stressful demands that libraries face on an annual basis at that time of the year. AGMs, SOFIs, PLSB surveys, summer student applications and the summer students that follow them... By the time summer hits, Librarians are hoping for a breather, only to discover that it’s time to start thinking about budgets and grant reports and fall programming and .... Well, suffice it to say, it’s always something.

At HPL the something we are focussing on is the AGM, scheduled for February 22nd. AGMs are a lot like Christmas dinner; hours of preparation and it’s all over with in about 30 minutes. Then there’s the clean up! More reports to submit and new board members to train before we can settle into a routine. (Not to mention dive into the next something!)

With only ten days before the AGM, I am pretty much ready to go. All that’s left is to arrange for the goodies that we traditionally serve, tweak the agenda and print the Annual Report. It’s always good to be ahead of the game, but that often just means more time to worry about the details – like do I have the right dates on the reports. Last year I didn’t!

The AGM is a requirement for all public libraries. It is supposed to be the time when we tell the supporting public what we’ve done with all those tax dollars that have been channelled our way over the previous year. Unlike some governments (how’s that for diplomacy?), we are held accountable and have to justify our spending. It’s part of the game, one of the hoops we must jump through – there are many others!

I’m happy to report that in 2009, our fiscal responsibilities were handled quite well. We achieved a great deal with what we had and ended with a bit left over. Little by little my vision for HPL is evolving into reality and over the next few years, I believe that we will continue to do well. As long as our funding remains stable and no unforeseen disasters strike! But that is also part of the game; the unknown future on which we all bank to provide us with a good and prosperous return.

So, the date to remember is Monday, February 22nd. The time to remember is 7 p.m. The place to go is the Houston Public Library. The event is the Annual General Meeting. And while it’s no turkey dinner with all the trimmings, it is for a very good cause.