Altamont Library Notes for Tuesday, January 3, 2023
One of the less appreciated aspects of running a library is the role of the board of trustees. The volunteers that make up our board are dedicated volunteers who expend a tremendous amount of time, energy, and creativity to help administer the library and to assist in day-to-day operations.
You may not see them at work all the time, but rest assured that they play an absolutely essential role in all that we do. We literally could not do it without them.
At the beginning of every year, we always welcome one or two new trustees to the board, which means that we have to say goodbye to one or two trustees who have served out their terms of office. This year, I’m sad to say, we’re losing two of the best trustees that I’ve ever worked with.
Rachel Lane has been the board’s secretary for four-and-a-half years, and in all that time we’ve had to make approximately three corrections to her meeting minutes. She has been an eminently reliable, good-humored, supportive, and creative presence on the board for six years, and she will be much missed at board meetings.
Melanie Shatynski will also be tremendously missed. Melanie has filled a variety of roles on the board, from serving on our Sustainability Committee, to serving as assistant treasurer from 2017 until 2020, and as treasurer since then. She has taken on any task that we have asked of her, and has managed our complicated finances with grace, savvy, and good cheer since then.
Both Rachel and Melanie are term-limited by the board’s bylaws; otherwise we wouldn’t let them go for anything. The board and I are inordinately grateful to both Rachel and Melanie for their years of service, and if you love the library, then you should be too.
Of some comfort to us is the fact that we will be joined in the new year by a new trustee who I cannot wait to get to work with. Jeff Perlee is well known to most Altamont and Hilltown residents as our Albany County Legislator and to many Altamont Library patrons as the founder of the Every House Project, which we launched earlier this year, and which seeks to document the history of the built environment in Altamont and the surrounding communities.
Jeff has a wealth of expertise on a staggering array of topics, and we can’t wait to apply his extraordinary faculties to library governance. Welcome, Jeff!
If you are interested in joining our hardworking board, please get in touch with me by email at . The Altamont Free Library Board of Trustees will hold its annual organizational meeting at 6:30 on Monday, Jan. 16, which will be immediately followed by our regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
First Monday
Book Club
Do you love to read? Do you love talking about what you’ve read with other interesting and smart people?
If so, please join us for the next meeting of the First Monday Book Club on Monday, Jan. 9, at noon. (Yes, I know it’s not the actual first Monday of the month, but we were closed on Monday, Jan. 2, in observance of New Year’s Day.)
If you would like to join us for our next meeting, please call us at 518-861-7239 or email us at and we’ll make sure that you get all the details. At that meeting, we’ll be discussing the heartwarming novel “The Story of Arthur Truluv” by Elizabeth Berg. There will be plenty to discuss, so call today to reserve your copy and join us!