The James Prendergast Library in Jamestown

JAMESTOWN – The board of trustees for the James Prendergast Library will have several new faces the next time it meets in January.

During Thursday’s monthly meeting, the board approved the appointment of four new trustees to the board. They are Karl Holmgren, Linda Larkin, Michelle “Micki” McCray and Lynn Warner. The four were selected from a pool of nine individuals who expressed interest in serving on the board to fill several open seats. In addition, the board also recognized three outgoing trustees – Russ Diethrick , Jim Roselle and Anne Hedin.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the board also received an update on finances from Treasurer Tom Rankin, who said that despite some fundraising challenges, the library’s revenues will exceed expenditures for 2012. He said the library experienced lower costs than projected, and that was largely due to the work of former Executive Director Linda Mielke, along with members of the staff.

When it came to fundraising, however, the library was still well below its goal of $155,000. As for the middle of December, a total of $103,000 had been donated, compared to over $140,000 that was brought in the previous year. Acting Executive Director Tina Scott said that she and her staff, along with the new board, will begin exploring various ways to bring those fundraising totals up when they meet again in January.

The library also discussed looking into possibly splitting the position of Executive Director. Currently, the executive director heads not only the operations at the Prendergast, but also oversees the operation of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System. Trustee Pat Smith said that she and Scott will be looking into that possibility in the coming weeks and may have more information during the next meeting.