Friends Of Milborne Port Library 2019 (FOMPL 2019) Charity Trustees Report Wed 8 Oct 2024
Current Trustees are: Rick Jones (Chair, FOSL rep, membership sec, Hub Sub Committee), Andrew Perks (Hub Sub Committee, room maintenance), Roz Barrett (Treasurer & school liaison), Barbara-Ann Jones , Mary Clothier (Communications, Hub Sub Committee), Jane Vaughan (book sales).
Current Library Staff: Millie Furby (Edwina Stirzaker retired Aug 2024)
Departed: Martin White. Many thanks and we hope he might rejoin later.
1. Background : A brief history
a. Friends Of Milborne Port Library 2019 (FOMPL 2019) is run by a group of trustees. We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and are the village part of a Community Library Partnership with the County Council; This was set up in 2019 to run the Village Library.
b. In October 2018 Somerset County Council (SCC) announced it's policy of transferring many of the Library roles and costs to village level under a "Community Library Partnership" (CLP), SCC working in partnership with the village. The Parish Council (PC) was unable legally to be the village part of this CLP but FOMPL could if it became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), a Charity with a new Constitution. This was done over a period of months. and FOMPL changed it's name to FOMPL 2019 (or F19 for short) to distinguish the difference.
c. In 2019 the PC were negotiating with a housing developer to create a Community Hub which could be used by the Library and other village organisations. F19 were involved with the internal layout. However in the meanwhile SCC offered the village an outgoing elderly Mobile Library, to be transferred to F19 ownership to act as the building for the Library and this was delivered in August 2019 then sold on in February 2023 when we moved into the downstairs room in the Town Hall.
d. The Town hall location was chosen, as opposed to the Village Hall and we had to plan our way around a collection of issues: WI and Library shared space use, humidity, heat, lighting, the state of the west end walls, other WI stores in the hall being some of the issues. An assortment of meetings were held involving WI, PC, F19, Library Staff and the Library Service at local and county level
2. Ongoing Issues
a. F19 continue to attend Community Library Partnership meetings at Taunton. b. Library equipment from the original building and vehicle is spread between the SCC, Town Hall storage and individual homes. Rick Jones keeps a record of what is where.
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3 . Our continuing Objectives at Village Level
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a. Adequate funding of the service by the County Council.
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b. Extensive opening hours which provide adequate access for users.
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c. The widest possible selection of books, newspapers, magazines, DVDs, and
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audio media.
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d. An attractive building and layout.
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e. Active promotion of the library service.
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f. The Maintenance of national services.
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g. Resisting reductions in opening hours and staffing needs.
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- h. Do all such other things as may be necessary to further the objectives. i. Supporting Out Of Hours (OOH) and in Hours activities in the Library.
4. Funding & Membership.
a. The main use of our funds until 2019 has been in support of the Court Case which halted the closure of 14 static libraries and 4 mobile libraries. However when in 2019 SCC transferred most costs to Village level our costs increased though reduced when we moved into the Town Hall. Since 2020, the Parish Council have been paying for Library Staff salaries. Trustees recently have used funds we hold for random stationary, fittings and insurance. Our income is from charges made by Library staff and sales. As we approached our 3rd year of insurance costs last year, we recovered funds we had loaned in 2011 to FOSL (Friends of Somerset Libraries, a consortium of threatened Somerset Libraries) for the court case. When the Library moves to a Community Hub, other costs may include replacing consumables, tax and cleaning charges. Fund raising was done for a year and we are very grateful to an assortment of local organisations for their financial support. In return we use the village magazine Library article to express our gratitude. Also the Spirit of Milborne Port have funded 2 purchases. In 2024 we have not restarted "Friends memberships" as our current costs are low.
6. Other Library Events run or supported by FOMPL 2019 Trustees and Library Staff :
a. Monthly Articles in Milborne Port Village Magazine, social media and online
sites
b. Library initiatives: Summer Reading Challenge, Lego Club and saturday reading. Children's activities saturdays, seed swap.
7. With Gratitude
a. Andy Perks has dropped in on the Town Hall regularly to keep an eye on things and maintain physical contact, proposing and making modifications where needed and draining dehumidifier water levels.
b. Communications: Village Magazine monthly article: Mary Clothier who has covered the task with wit and meticulous detail. Roz has kept Library items on facebook up to date with Millie covering current activities on facebook.
- c. Finance; Roz has kept a close eye and given a lot of time to this.
d. Cleaning: The Town Hall cleaning is covered by the Parish Council. e. Our Library Staff; ever enthusiastic, innovative and helpful, and much loved and valued by the public. Many initiatives.
f. Village Fete, 2024 had a gap year
That concludes this report.
Rick Jones, Chair. October 2024
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Financial Statements for the Period Ended 5 April 2024 for Friends of Milborne Port Library 2019
Registered Charity Number: 1183786
Financial Statements
for the Year Ended 5 April 2024
Accountants' Report to
Friends of Milborne Port Library 2019
In accordance with instructions given to me I have prepared, without carrying out an audit, the annexed Income and Expenditure Account from the accounting records of the Friends of Milborne Port Library 2019, and from information and explanations supplied to me.
Roz Barrett Accountancy Services 61 Prankerds Road Milborne Port Sherborne Dorset DT9 5BX
Date: 28th September 2024
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Friends of Milborne Port Library 2019
Registered Charity Number: 1183786
Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 5 April 2024
| 5.4.24 | 5.4.23 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| Income: | ||||||||
| Membership | - | - | ||||||
| Library takings | 705 | 498 | ||||||
| Donations | 307 | 500 | ||||||
| Fund-raising | 266 | 1,140 | ||||||
| 1,278 | 2,138 | |||||||
| Expenditure: | ||||||||
| Printing & stationery | - | 15 | ||||||
| Items for the library | 113 | 57 | ||||||
| Insurance | 96 | 677 | ||||||
| Repairs & renewals | - | - | ||||||
| Travel & subsistence | 22 | 2 | ||||||
| Mobile phone | - | - | ||||||
| Advertising | - | - | ||||||
| Fundraising expenses | - | 108 | ||||||
| Sundry expenses | - | - | ||||||
| 230 | 859 | |||||||
| EXCESS OF EXPENDITURE OVER INCOME | 1,047 | 1,279 | ||||||
| Opening Balance @ 6 April 2023: | 3,217 | 1,938 | ||||||
| Less: Excess Expenditure over Income: | 1,047 | 1,279 | ||||||
| Closing Balance: | 4,264 | 3,217 | ||||||
| Represented by: | Bank Current Account | 4,205 | 3,124 | |||||
| Cash in hand - Float | 59 | 93 | ||||||
| Legal Challenge Pledges held by FOSL | - | - | ||||||
| 4,264 | 3,217 |
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