To the Editor,
Thanksgiving is over and soon we will be celebrating Christmas, and then the New Year will arrive and the Board of Directors of Prairie Community Library, Inc. will be holding their annual meeting to elect officers for the year, and – we hope – more directors.  [What Board Members Need To Know]
Suppose you are interested in serving on the Library Board; aside from our operating budget which the Board discusses every six to 12 months, here are some things prospective directors need to know.  (Please remember that we are a nonprofit organization and must always adhere to 501(c)(3) regulations to maintain charitable-tax-free status.) 
The Board’s purpose is to “promote and foster the growth and development of the Prairie Community Library”; our mission is to continue developing the Library as a sustainable service to the residents of the surrounding area, adapting to community needs as they arise; our vision is to maximize the potential of future generations by providing a solid foundation of learning and knowledge.  We are a group of people who endeavor to promote learning. 
 Our patronage is primarily younger people up to age 18.  We operate a lending library because our greatest hope is to prepare youngsters for ever-improving prospects in the future, and we propose to enhance the development of the Library to fulfill the literary needs of all local citizens.  We are especially committed to helping readers of all ages to love reading every day. 
We support two major programs:  Story Hour every Tuesday morning, and an annual Summer Reading challenge to help students maintain and increase their reading skills.  We provide a wonderland of books; our Library collection has more than 17,000 items recorded in the management program database.  
You don’t have to be a librarian to do the most important work that librarians do:  Promote literacy; fight censorship; provide access to knowledge; maintain collections.  Other tasks we must do are dusting books and shelves, vacuuming the floor, cleaning the front stairs, and keeping our Facebook page updated.  If you can help with any of these tasks, we would be very grateful for your help.  
K. Steinke, Board secretary