Stockport Public Library board meeting minutes
The Stockport Library Board meeting is called to order by President Gloria on April 16th 2026 at
3:05 p.m.
Members in attendance: Gloria Brown, Carrissa Stalcup, Laura Van Winkle, BJ Carter, and
Dena Clark. It is determined that there are enough members present for quorum.
Previous meeting minutes are to be read prior to meeting time. March meeting minutes are
approved by Dena and seconded by BJ.
There is no financial report available at this time. There is no update on the $500 limit credit
card due to the City clerk being unable to work on it. The library board requests that all bills be
sent to the library director prior to payment via stockportiowalibrary@gmail.com. It is determined
during this meeting that the next fiscal year will be July 1st, 2026.
Carrissa is working off of the budget sheet presented by the board to give the board a clearer
picture of what money is spent and where.
Old business:
A strategic planning meeting is set for June 11th at 3:00 p.m. The board will go through the
SWOT analysis at that time.
Nathan chaplain has accepted the job of working on the laptops which are still in progress.
Laura has looked into the kid friendly/closed programming computers. She reports that the cost
of one computer is over $4,000 through AWE learning and feels that this should be tabled for
next year's budget. All members present are in agreement.
Carrissa provides an update on the summer reading program. She has a theme of “Plant a
Seed, Read”. She plans to have Jack Norton and his trains on June 19th at 7:00 p.m. to present
at the Depot here in Stockport. She states that she needs ideas for adult content during the
summer reading program. Some suggested items are a beekeeping presentation, floral
arranging, plant share by Tanya or Evanica, or stepping stones. Carrissa plans to have a
“Hometown Hero” come to read a book for the kids at the library. Examples of a “Hometown
Hero” include the mayor, firefighter, EMT, or police officer. She states that there will be a week
where she plans on planting seeds and would need extra hands to help keep things organized.
Carrissa will let us know when it gets closer to time. She's looking for a farmer to talk about
farming. It was suggested that Tarver Gehrig would come with his animals to talk with the kids
and allow them to pet them. Carrissa would like to have an evening event of an escape room
that would be scheduled outside of library hours.
The countywide annual trustee meeting is taking place April 21st at 5:30 p.m. in Keosauqua, IA.
All board members planning to attend talked with Carrissa to give a head count to Keosauqua
Library.
New business:
BJ provides an update on the library survey. She suggests that the survey be deferred to the
next meeting due to leaving the survey open and allowing for more participation. So far the
survey has only had eight participants.
Library board bylaws are still in progress. It is suggested to have verbiage that states that the
voting of officers takes place during the July meeting and for it to be called our annual meeting.
All members present are in agreement. One hold up in the bylaws being finished is that the city
ordinance needs to be updated online in order for it to be incorporated into the library board’s
bylaws.
Our annual fundraiser soup supper is set for December 11th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Board
members are considering having money for the supper and the auction to go towards the library
instead of having the auction go to “Christmas for Kids” and the supper going to the library.
Further discussion of this will take place during our next board meeting.
The Hoglan grant was discussed. It requires some goals to be stated which include children's
bookcases, obtaining tier 1 status, and establishing an interlibrary loan program. Carrissa states
that the library needs to purchase a program that coordinates better with the interlibrary loan
program and would incur a yearly cost. It was also suggested to include the prices of the
bookcases in the Hoglan grant application. Dena and Laura will continue to work on the grant
application and will let the board know when that's been filed.
Community service day is set for May 1st. Carrissa is going to contact Jasmine Padgett at
Engage Keosauqua to see if there are some students that can do some community service
projects at the library.
Other business:
Library report is given by Carrissa. See attached report.
Laura states that the book club is still going well with 4 to 6 members attending each month.
The book club members have asked to volunteer some of their time to help work through the
nonfiction section. This would include weeding the books and reorganizing them per Carrissa's
preference as Library Director. Carrissa will ensure that there is a Stockport library stamp so that
books can be stamped as property of the library.
Dena motions to adjourn meeting and it is seconded by BJ. All members in attendance agree.
Meeting is adjourned at 4:25 p.m.
The next meeting will be May 28th at 3:00 p.m.
Stockport Public Library board meeting minutes
The March 19, 2026 meeting was called to order at 3:03pm by the Vice President, Shelley Carter. In attendance were Gloria, Shelley, BJ, Laura, Dena, Twila, and Carrissa the librarian.
Corrections to the previous minutes are as follows:
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Shelley’s and Laura’s names were misspelled
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An unfinished sentence was intended to say “The Board opted not to attempt applying this year.”
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The date for the next meeting should have read “March 19, 2026”
The original minutes were posted and approved after corrections.
The financial report brought discussion concerning the record presented by the City. Some bills have been paid late due to the processes currently being taken by the City Counsel. To mitigate this, the Library is going to be given a credit card. The Board unanimously set the credit limit at $500 and stipulated a required monthly report of expenditures.
The Board approved the budget as presented by the budget committee; motion by BJ, second by Twila.
The Hoglan grant application is due June 30th.
OLD BUSINESS
Discussion began on preparing a future planning meeting by gathering ideas in a group document. This will allow us to form a summary of our vision for the future of the SPL. The Board will share thoughts on the library’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Input from the public will also be sought.
The past discussion on the maintenance of the library laptops was brought up. Dena moved to accept the $50 per laptop offer from Nathan Chaplin. The motion was seconded by BJ and unanimously approved by the Board.
The investigation of a pre-programed kid computer has proven to be extremely difficult. Laura has found vague information concerning operation and nearly none concerning pricing, long term fees, or required up-keep. That discussion was tabled for the time being.
NEW BUSINESS
For the Summer Reading Program, Carrissa proposed bringing “Conductor” Jack Norton of the Zinghoppers Show on YouTube in for special entertainment. The cost is a little steep, but can be discounted by scheduling the same day as another local library.
Carrissa will be out of town the week of March 30th, April 1st, and April 3rd. The Board opted to close the Library for the 3rd, being Good Friday; other dates to be filled by board members vollunteering.
NEXT MEETING AGENDA
Go through the future goals
NEXT MEETING
3:00pm on April 16, 2026
Stockport Public Library board meeting 02/19/26
Vice President Shelly Carter called the meeting to order at 3:00pm. In attendance were Shelly, BJ, Dena, Lara, Twila, and Carrissa. In lue of having the minutes read, they were posted on the website and emailed to Board members.
OLD BUSINESS
The Budget Committee discussed recent progress. Projected operating costs from city clerk, Donna, including expected increase of bills for the year, created further discussion. The committee will need to meet once more to finish preparing the budget before presenting for the city counsel for their budget meeting. The committee has applied for a grant from Dollar General, and will attempt applying for another Hoaglin grant.
The Dollar General grant is awarded in May. We have requested $1500 for the Summer Reading Program.
BJ presented a summary of her search for information on how to fulfill requirements for applying to become a Tier One library. Most of the required documents are available on the Bonaparte and Blakeburg library websites. Many of them can be copied and modified for our own needs. The deadline for application is 02/26/26. The Board
Shelly made a motion that BJ take the lead on this project and assign portions to individuals/groups to work on sections for the final project; second by Laura, approved unanimously.
It was decided that the best way to move forward will be to create a shared folder that we can all put documents into for the Tier One project.
The previously discussed key lock box (for after-hours library use) is here and ready to be installed. Petty cash box is ordered and in the mail.
Carrissa shared the Library report.
NEW BUSINESS
Carrissa will need a volunteer to cover for Wednesday, July 8th and Friday the 10th while she is away for Family Camp.
NEXT MEETING AGENDA
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Begin planning for an annual strategic planning meeting.
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Laptop improvement program
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Kid-friendly, closed programming computers
NEXT MEETING
3:00pm on March 19, 2025
Stockport Public Library Board Meeting Minutes
01/15/2026
Meeting called to order by Vice President Shelly Carter at 3:03pm
In attendance were Shelly Carter, BJ Carter, Dena Clark, Laura VanWinkle, Twila Chaplin,
and Carrissa Stalcup.
Minutes were read by Twila, approved as read. Request made to have last meeting’s minutes
emailed to the board members ahead of upcoming meetings so that approval can be made by
email, or at least taking less time in the meeting. Twila will attempt to fulfill this request.
OLD BUSINESS
Soup Supper:
Estimated 90 in attendence. Discussion included adding a small pot of one additional soup to
our offering, pursuing a better donation from State Central, beginning a rotation for business
donations to hopefully cut back the number of baskets and shorten the length of the auction.
Library report read by Carrissa Stalcup. Request made for a lock box for petty cash envelope.
Twila made a motion that we purchase a fixed lock box for the security of our petty cash.
Motion seconded by Laura. All in favor; motion passed.
NEW BUSINESS
Discussion began concerning pursuing Libby services for the SPL. Carrissa reports that she
would need approval to be paid for time to complete training and become accredited. And we
are currently not eligible due to our state tier level. Libby services will be tabled in favor of
focusing time and energy on fulfilling requirements for reaching Tier One.
Concerning the pursuit of Tier One eligibility, Shelly was keen to begin building a binder or
collective document for members to share work on many different small projects.
Dena made the motion to make meetings monthly, third Thursday at 3:00pm. Seconded by
Laura. All in favor; motion passed.
BJ made a motion to form a budget committee consisting of Dena, Carissa, Laura to compete
a budget for approval by the board, to be ready by next meeting in February. Twila seconded
the motion. All in favor; motion passed.
Some discussion ensued concerning what should be included for budgetary expenditures,
including building updates such closing the hole in the wall from the air conditioner,
Board approved the purchase of a key lock box for after-hours events.
Motion to adjourn by Laura. No discussion, all approved.
NEXT MEETING AGENDA
- Budget proposal and discussion
NEXT MEETING
3:00pm on February 19, 2025
Stockport Public Library Board Meeting Minutes
November 6th, 2025
President Gloria calls to order at 10:00 a.m.
Members in attendance: Dena Clark, Gloria Brown, Shelly Carter, Laura Van Winkle, and Twila Chaplin
Previous meeting minutes are read and approved.
Financial reports are approved. See attached. Total ending balance of $26,405.15. Total
expenditures of $594.16.
Old business:
Results of the November election to change the language of the city ordinance for the library
board were passed 28 to 2 in favor of changing the language of the city ordinance. Board
members must have a 52651 zip code to be on the library board.
Soup supper will be December 12th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Set up time will be at 3:30 p.m. on
the 12th. Kids are to sing at 5:30 p.m. with the auction to start at 5:45 p.m., and Santa to arrive
at 6:30 p.m. We are estimating 200 people will partake in the dinner. See attached notes for
assignment details. Laura and Carrissa will collaborate to put together a flyer for the soup
supper. Gloria will talk with the fire department about donating a door prize. Shelly will talk to the
Co-op to request a donation. Dena will talk with the Depot to see about donating a wreath or
other decorations.
New business:
BJ Carter has been contacted and has agreed to join the library board. Dena made a motion to
have BJ Carter added to the library board. This was 2nd by Laura. All were in favor. Carrissa has
the form that needs to be filled out and presented to Stockport City council.
Gloria reports that United Way of Southeast lowa has announced that the Imagination Library is
available to Stockport area residents. She encourages those who are eligible to sign their kids
up
Election of officers:
President - Gloria Brown (motioned by Dena and 2nd by Twila, all were in favor.)
Vice president - Shelly Carter (motioned by Twila and 2nd by Dena, all were in favor.)
Secretary - Twila Chaplin (motioned by Dena and 2nd by Laura, all were in favor.)
Book club reports having five members present at October's meeting.
Library report is read by Laura. See attached library report.
Shelly asks board members whether they would like to be administrators on the Facebook
page. Laura states that she does want to be added as administrator. Shelly will take care of
adding her.
Other business:
Carrissa has been in contact with O.J. Fargo. This is a speaker that will present about civil war
topics. She is wanting to schedule him for February 21st, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Carrissa needs help
with the application and getting sponsors for the event. There is a $50 fee. Shelly motions that
the fee would be paid and that we would pursue the application process. This is 2nd by Laura.
Dena states that she will look into the application and will ask for sponsors as needed.
The next meeting is the soup supper on December 12th.
NEXT MEETING AGENDA
The next board meeting will be January 15th, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. At that time it will be discussed
whether the board will meet monthly or every other month, what steps need to be taken to start
using Libby, and what steps are needed in obtaining Tier 1 status. The board will work on a
budget at that time and have it finalized by March.
Meeting is adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
NEXT MEETING
January 15th, 2026 at 3:00 p.m
Stockport Public Library Board Meeting Minutes
October 16, 2025
The meeting was called to order at 2:23pm.
In attendance were Gloria Brown, Carrissa Stalcup, Laura VanWinkle, Dena Clark, and Twila
Chaplin.
Meeting notes were not yet printed, so we began with the financial report. Discussion of
variation in coding to determine whether and how book purchases were over budget. Concern
that the Library not appear disjointed or as having poor internal communication.
OLD BUSINESS
Election – Tuesday, Nov. 4th
Discussion of how to inform the public of the correct vote!
- Fliers on public boards
- handouts at trick or treat night
- Dena, Carrissa, and Twila plan to organize a door-to-door campaign
Soup Supper discussed. Assignments for contribution are attached.
It was at this point that the previous meeting notes were discovered and read. Some
corrections were made during the reading, and the notes were approved as corrected.
NEW BUSINESS
Some conversation about potential new board members, but it was determined to hold off
concerns for new board members until after the election, a budget is made, and we straighten out a few other things.
Discussion to understand more of the State Library presentation. Primarily, we do not yet qualify for Tier 1, but we are working on those things and about to make a timeline for accomplishing goals. There are services we qualify for before we meet those requirements, and we should begin taking advantage of those opportunities
NEXT MEETING AGENDA
- election results
- election of officers
- Tier advancement plan
- soup supper final planning and organizing
NEXT MEETING
Thursday, November 6th at 10:00am.
Stockport Library Board Meeting Minutes
September 18, 2025 / 2:10pm / Stockport Library
Attendees
Dena Clark, Carrissa Stalcup, Twila Chaplin, Gloria Brown, Shelly Carter, Laura Van Winkle
Agenda Old Business
The Board discussed the results of the parade float. All felt it was a smashing success and Carissa deserved a great deal of credit for time and effort put in on the project. The effect of the Strong Man costume on a walker and the children dressed as super heroes aboard the float was well accomplished.
New Business
A great deal of discussion ensued concerning the results of communication with the City Council on the previous Monday evening (being Sep. 15).
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The current Council is keen to have open communication with the Library and invites a representative to meetings as frequently as desired; probably quarterly.
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The Council also wishes to allow the Library to operate as independently as is legal and feasible.
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The new Clerk (Donna) seems very open, responsive, attentive, skilled with digital tools, and keen to be of assistance where it is needed. Carissa and all board members look forward to a good working relationship with her.
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There is currently no Amazon Prime ordering option as the City’s credit card is in limbo. Purchases made for "reimbursement" require a paid appointment with the QuickBooks staff. The Council prefers to have Purchase Orders (P.O.) made for the time being.
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It was mentioned that the City is not currently
Gloria provided an itemization of the annual budget items and a discussion began concerning what we do and do not need to figure out in the process of making an adequate budget proposal to present to the Council. They would like to have this by January or February of 2026. Further discussion will commence at the next meeting.
Finally, beginning about 2:35 pm, Becky Heil gave a presentation detailing the services offered by the State Library website, the available CE, the programs we are currently eligible for, and an introduction to what needs to be accomplished to meet the next tier.
Stockport Library Board Meeting Minutes
August 13, 2025 / 1:10pm / Stockport Library
Attendees
Dena Clark, Carrissa Stalcup, Twila Chaplin, Gloria Brown, Shelly Carter, Laura Van Winkle
Agenda
Last Meeting Follow-up
Plans for the float for the Stockport Lions Barbecue Days parade were finalized. The Board agreed to place the small table and chairs (and a few other personal seats) on a trailer to be pulled by Browns’ side-by-side, children of board members will ride while “reading” and wearing super hero apparel. A sparkly fringe will be purchased to decorate the front of the vehicle. Gloria will make a poster stating the library's years of operation (1940-2025). A walker (David Stalcup?) will follow behind holding a banner (made by Twila) stating, “85 Years Strong” and wearing a shirt of fake muscles, possibly a white wig.
The Board agreed to avoid throwing candy. Instead, pencils and glow sticks will be distributed.
New Business
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Resolved: all current Board Members shall be retained until the November election when a revised ordinance will be voted on by the public. At which time some may be replaced according to the requirements of the new ordinance.
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Gloria remained President of the Board and Twila became the official secretary, both against their wishes, but in effort to honor the current ordinance requiring Board members to be residents of the City of Stockport. The residences of all other members are outside the city limits.
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A request is to be submitted to the City Council for $100 to establish a refundable Petty Cash for the purchase of incidentals.
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The next meeting is September 18, 2025 at 2pm. This meeting includes a training and discussion with Becky Heil from the State Library. Light refreshments have been requested.
Notes
Action Items
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Posters for parade
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Gloria will make a poster to display the Library’s years of operation.
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Twila will make a poster saying “85 Years Strong”
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Purchase of parade items
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Carrissa is to purchase fringe, pencils, and glow sticks from a Dollar store, afterward requesting reimbursement from the City Council
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A request for a $100 check for petty cash will be submitted to the City Council to avoid any future issues with small purchases being made for the Library.
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Carrissa will provide a drink for the next meeting and Twila will bring cookies. Other members may likewise provide items as desired.
Next Meeting Agenda
We welcome Becky Heil from the State Library to discuss our current issues and help us all to get on the same page.
Library board meeting
July 17th 2025
2:00 p.m.
Members in attendance: Carissa Stahlcup, Dena Clark, Gloria Brown, Shelly Carter, Laura Van Winkle, and Twila Chaplin
Meeting called to order by President Gloria Brown.
President Gloria Brown reports that Secretary Tracy Niederhuth has resigned her position. Gloria appoints Laura Van Winkle as temporary secretary at this time.
Previous meaning minutes were read and approved. Dena motion, 2nd by Twila, motion carried.
Treasures report is not available at this time due to financial not being available.
Old business:
Confirms that library board will have soup supper fundraiser on December 12th 2025. Gloria has paperwork to submit our information to the “Christmas in the Villages” flyer. There is a $15 fee. Motion made that the board pay $15 to have information about the soup supper placed in the Christmas in the villages flyer by Twila, 2nd by Dena, and motion carried.
The window on the north side of the library building, by the librarian desk, is still not fixed. Carissa has been in contact with Fitzsimmons but has not obtained a confirmed date to have the window replaced. Dena states she will follow up with Fitzsimmons to get us on his schedule.
New business:
Gloria discusses meeting with Stockport Mayor Garrett Filson and City Clerk Dani on June 18th 2025. See attached email. Mayor Filson suspended library board meetings at that time until further notice due to the library boards non-compliance with city ordinance. Gloria states she gained approval for today's meeting from the mayor yesterday. She has remained in contact with Mayor Filson to discuss corrections and alterations to the city ordinance. She reports that any changes to the city ordinance must be voted on in the November ballot.
Stockport Library has been an operation since 1935. It has provided services to the Stockport community for 90 years. Dena proposes the library has a float in the parade for BBQ days. A separate group will get together to brainstorm ideas and report back at the next library board meeting. Motion made by Dena, 2nd by Shelly, motion carried.
Due to our recent vacancy on the board it was discussed to check around Stockport for any residence interested in joining the board. It was discussed that meeting dates and times may need to be adjusted to accommodate work schedules. Further discussion on potential board members will be discussed at the next board meeting.
Laura reports that the Stockport library book club met in June and had 3 members in attendance. Book club meeting for July was suspended due to summer activities and will reconvene August 7th at 5:30 p.m.
Carissa presents library report for June 2025. See attached. She presents a receipt for bookshelf repair. She states that money was donated for the repair and labor was also donated. Receipts for book orders are presented and shown as paid.
General budget and book budget are tabled at this time.
It was discussed to have Becky from the State Library District to come and talk about meeting Tier 1 requirements. She would also be able to discuss resources available for library funding. Gloria will ask her to come to a boat meeting on September 18th at 2:00 p.m.
Next meeting will be August 13th, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned by a President Gloria at 3:22 p.m.