Trustees

Meeting Agendas & Minutes

Board of Trustees – January 18
Personnel & Policy Committee – February 2
Board of Trustees – February 15
Personnel & Policy Committee – February 22
Facilities Committee – March 1
Board of Trustees – March 15 – no meeting
Personnel & Policy Committee – March 29
Board of Trustees – April 19
Personnel & Policy Committee – April 26
Facilities Committee – April 28
Facilities Committee – May 10
Board of Trustees – May 17
Facilities Committee – May 26
Personnel & Policy Committee – May 31
Facilities Committee – June 7
Board of Trustees – June 21
Personnel & Policy Committee – June 28
Facilities Committee – July 12
Board of Trustees – July 19
Facilities Committee – August 2
Board of Trustees – August 16
Budget Committee – August 28
Personnel & Policy Committee – August 30
Board of Trustees – August 30
Facilities Committee – September 6
Board of Trustees – September 13 (originally September 20)
Facilities Committee – September 20
Personnel & Policy Committee – September 27
Finance Committee – September 27
Facilities Committee – October 2
Board of Trustees – October 11 (originally October 18)
Personnel & Policy Committee – October 25
Board of Trustees – October 25
Facilities Committee – November 1
Personnel & Policy Committee – November 8
Work Session (Focus Group) – November 11
Board of Trustees – November 15
Personnel & Policy Committee – November 29
Finance Committee – December 6 – DRAFT MINUTES
Facilities Committee – December 12
Facilities Committee – December 19
Personnel & Policy Committee – December 20
Board of Trustees – December 20

January 16
February 20
March: no meeting
April 17
May 15
June 19
July 17
August 21: no meeting
September 18
October 16
November 20
December 18: no meeting

January 16
February 21
March 19
April 18
May 16
June: no meeting
July: no meeting
August 15
September 19
October 17
November 14
December 19: no meeting

January 16February 20
March 20
April 17
May: no meeting
June 19
July 31
August: no meeting
September 17
October 16
November: no meeting
December 4

January 19
February 23
March 15
April 19
May 17
June 21
July 19
August: no meeting
September 13
October 18
November 15
December: no meeting

Upcoming Meetings

Board of Trustees Meetings are currently held in the Meeting Room at the Library on the third Wednesday of the month at 5 pm, unless otherwise noted.

Next Board of Trustees Meeting: April 17th @ 5:00pm
Committee Meetings occur as needed. 

Agendas for all upcoming meetings will be posted on this page in accordance with NH state laws.

Current Board

Joanne Palmisano (2026)
Steve Solomon (2026)
Gerald Coogan (2025)
Jennifer Cross (2027)
Judith Fox (2025)
Eula Kozma (2027)

Thomas Carley (2027)

 

About the Trustees

Gerald Coogan
Board position – Trustee, Finance Committee, Facilities Committee

Brief educational history & current occupation
BA, History, University of Scranton
Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Pittsburgh
Town, city and regional planner; a specialist in community planning, zoning, economic development and local land use policies.

Why did you want to serve on our board?
I enjoy serving on local boards (budget committee, recreation commission and member of New London Rotary) and wish to help the library with strategic planning, the budget, building maintenance and communications.

What is your favorite library memory?
Bringing our children to the library and see them experience the joy of learning.

What early life lesson do you still live by today?
Life’s downs and ups make us stronger and resilient. Learn from the past and look forward.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Tuscany and Umbria, Italy. Italians enjoy a pleasant and relaxed lifestyle.

What would surprise people to know about you?
After a cross country road trip, I worked as a US Forest Service ranger in Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington State.

What is your all-time favorite book?
Favorites change over time. Enjoy historical biographies by David McCullough, Ron Chernow, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Evan Thomas and others. At present: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Judith Fox
Board position
– Trustee, Facilities Committee, Liaison to the Garden

Brief educational history & current occupation
Bishop Brady HS 1980 Connecticut College 1984
Boston University School of Law 1987 Elder Law Attorney, sole practitioner.

Why did you want to serve on our board?
I have come to appreciate libraries as more than sources for information. Libraries, and the people who care for them, are critical to our communities. I hope to support the current efforts to ensure this important resource continues to be available to New Londoners, and, hopefully, to help the board explore the many ways the our library might maximize its impact.

What is your favorite library memory?
This is hard to pin down. I loved the “bookmobile” in grade school. I was proud of myself, when, eventually, I ceased to experience anxiety as I entered the massive, imposing, library in Law School. Perhaps my favorite memories are those of my three children – who felt very comfortable being themselves when they visited our local library, despite the shushing and clicking of tongues!

What early life lesson do you still live by today?
I must say this stumped me. I’ve just returned from Ireland so looked up some old Irish sayings. This one seems to encapsulate the Fox/O’Brien family motto: “Thinking will not do the ploughing for you.”

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
As mentioned, I just returned from Ireland. I can’t wait to go back. And, of course, there are many other places I have dreamed of visiting. However, I can’t help but feel I should explore more of my own country before I die. I think this will nag at me for a while!

What would surprise people to know about you?
Accomplishments: Co-winner, with Vickie Whitten, of the calculus award, Bishop Brady HS 1979; Brushes with Greatness: Letter from Justice Souter (on Supreme Court letterhead!) regarding the Memorial Society of NH, when I served as president.
Recent adventure: Diving into the ocean, in Ireland, in early March. The Atlantic is cold there too.

What is your all-time favorite book?
COVID has made me an avid reader. Each book I read seems to become a favorite. However, I will credit Lilly King’s “Euphoria” (shared with me by a friend at just the right time) and Barbara Kingsolver’s “The Poisonwood Bible,” for nudging me back to my love of reading . . . once the everyday demands of motherhood had eased.

Eula Kozma
Board position – Trustee, Chair, Facilities Committee, Finance Committee, Personnel & Policy Committee

Brief educational history & current occupation
BA Franklin and Marshall College, 2004
JD and MSELP Vermont Law School, 2008
Development and Fundraising professional. I am currently the Development Director at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic in White River Junction, VT.

Why did you want to serve on our board?
I am very passionate about all things related to reading, books, and libraries. Tracy Library was one of the first places I visited when I moved to the area. The staff really made me and my family feel welcomed to this community (they still do!).

What is your favorite library memory?
Getting my very first library card.

What early life lesson do you still live by today?
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Oh… everywhere! Iceland and a tour of the Nordic countries if I had to choose. I love traveling so visiting new places, learning about the culture, and trying new things are what I want most out of a trip. Being able to explore the outdoors is a must as well.

What would surprise people to know about you?
I worked and studied on a tall ship from Alaska to San Francisco after I graduated from college.

What is your all-time favorite book?
I am one of those people that finds this question so hard to answer! In recent years I would have to sayLife After Life by Kate Atkinson, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Where’d You Go, Bernadetteby Maria Semple all left a lasting impression on me for completely different reasons.

Joanne Palmisano

Board position – Vice Chair, Personnel and Policy Committee, Liaison to the Friends

Brief educational history & current occupation
Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, MD 1979 – specialist in Endocrinology/Diabetes
Academic Medical faculty positions at SUNY, Harvard Medical School, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston – 1979 -1998
Executive leadership positions in human drug development and regulatory affairs for chronic and rare diseases, at Merck, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelhiem, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals– 1998 – 2022 (retired)

Why did you want to serve on our board?
Literacy is a key element in participatory citizenship, personal development, and wellbeing. I believe that Libraries are a critical part of our communities, fostering community and literacy at all educational levels.

What is your favorite library memory?
Introducing my two boys, now in their early 30s to our community Library when they were even too young to read – picking out picture books and joining story time. The library was our treasured weekly family outing. They learned to love books and developed life-long habits of reading through Library programs.

What early life lesson do you still live by today?
My father was a school teacher for over 40 years. He taught me to never shy from hard work and personal commitment in the service of others.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I have traveled the world extensively in my career, which has given me an appreciation for the beauty of other countries, their people and their cultures. Nevertheless, I will always embrace the chance to travel to Italy where my family originates. I can never get enough of the food, the people, the art and culture.

What would surprise people to know about you?
I am an obsessive home cook and baker, and I collect and read cookbooks for pleasure – in fact that is how I “traveled the world” during the pandemic. My collection is over 200 now and I love the stories they contain, as well as learn from the recipes.

What is your all-time favorite book?
I love reading books by women authors. Two of my many favorite authors are Elena Ferrante who wrote the Neapolitan Quartet and Alice Munro, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. I was thrilled when Italian television produced a film of the first book in the Neapolitan Quartet, My Brilliant Friend. I have a goal to read at least one book by every woman who has won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Steve Solomon

Board position Trustee, Facilities Committee 

Brief educational history & current occupation
University of Chicago, A.B
University of Michigan Law School, J.D.
I practiced real estate and business law and related litigation in New Hampshire from 1972-2016. I am currently retired from the practice of law but am a commercial arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

Why did you want to serve on our board?
I served as a Trustee of the Manchester City Library for ten years and found the work important and rewarding. I believe libraries are essential community resources. I recently moved to New London and wanted to contribute to the Tracy Library.

What is your favorite library memory?
I spent many enjoyable hours browsing the shelves of my town’s library when I was growing up.

What early life lesson do you still live by today?
There’s no success like failure, and failure’s no success at all.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I have been fortunate to visit many places and found South and Southeast Asia very interesting, so my choice would be Sri Lanka.

What would surprise people to know about you?
During the weekend of the Woodstock festival I stayed in Bob Dylan’s house. He wasn’t home.

What is your all-time favorite book?
War and Peace

Jennifer Cross
Board position – Trustee, Personel & Policy Committee

Brief educational history & current occupation

Why did you want to serve on our board?

What is your favorite library memory?

What early life lesson do you still live by today?

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

What would surprise people to know about you?

What is your all-time favorite book?

Thomas Carley
Board position – Trustee, Treasurer, Finance Committee, Facilities Committee

Brief educational history & current occupation
Undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in Classics and Economics
MBA from University of Chicago with concentrations in Accounting and Finance
Currently COO of Urth Agriculture, a manufacturer and distributor of organic fertilizer.

Why did you want to serve on our board?
I wanted to serve on the Board as I saw my experience and skillset complementing that of the other Trustees.  I believe that I have an obligation to give back to the community.

What is your favorite library memory?
My favorite library memory was the four years I spent in Sanborn Library as an undergraduate at Dartmouth.

What early life lesson do you still live by today?
My father drilled into my three siblings and me at an early age that a job worth doing was worth doing right.  That mantra holds true today.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I would visit New Zealand as it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

What would surprise people to know about you?
Most people would be surprised to learn I played one year of college football at Dartmouth.

What is your all-time favorite book?
Homer’s Odyssey.  Would you expect anything less from a Classics major?