The local guild I belong to has gone through a number of options. When
I joined, we met in the meeting room of a local organization, and we
paid them a weekly fee, negotiated prior to the onset of the "rental".
I can't remember why that no longer worked for us (probably the fee was
higher than we could afford?). At any rate, we then moved to the dining
room of a "Bed and Breakfast" which was something of a drive for all of
us, but the hostess was willing to cut us a "deal" because she wanted
her home-schooled daughter to have an opportunity to explore bobbin
lace. As a matter of fact, the lighting in the room was atrocious
(think: candlelight dinners...), and our carted-out lamps and miles of
extension cords were a nuisance to all of us. That situation came to an
end (still can't remember why - lack of enthusiam on the part of the
daughter?), and since I was President of the guild by that point (an
obligation, not an honor...), and happened to be on the Board of a
non-profit organization, _and_ they had the luxury of a large and
well-lit boardroom, I was able to finagle an arrangement with them for
our weekly meetings. We had a key to the building, and were expected to
send a "donation" to the non-profit twice a year. This arrangement
worked out really well for us for a number of years. There have been a
number of changes in our arrangement over the years, but we continue to
meet in the board-room of a local non-profit, (a different group from
our original non-profit, and the arrangement is equally satisfactory for
both parties,) and make twice-yearly donations to their funds. We are
using space that goes empty at night, and even though our donations are
not enormous, they are still better than "nothing". So tapping into the
un-used space of local non-profits is a very real option.
Our Library has continued to grow, and the Secretary of the guild is
also the Librarian. Unfortunately, there is no provision for storage of
our Library in our arrangement with the non-profit. So, our
Secretary/Librarian either had to load up the entire library every
meeting (we meet once a week), or... as has been a far better
arrangement, if someone wants a book on the list, she lets the librarian
know prior to the meeting so that it will be available to her at the
meeting.
I love the idea of a folding/closing/rolling/locking library!!! How
nice it would be to have our library secure, wherever it is!!
Unfortunately, I know that books that I donated in the past have "gone
walkies" because the librarian in charge at that particular time was
not attentive to checking items out and in again. It's important to
assign the role of Librarian to someone who can keep track of things!!
Hoping this is helpful for you!
Clay
Clay Blackwell
Lynchburg, VA, USA
[email protected] wrote:
I am looking for ideas on where a lace guild could meet. The Ottawa Guild of
Lacemakers meets twice per month from Sept to June. One meeting is to discuss
guild business, show and tell, presentations, etc. About 25 of 40 members
attend this evening meeting. The other meeting is on a Saturday all day and
that's for getting together and making lace or learning a new lace. Usually no
more than 15 people attend this Saturday get together/course.
These meetings are in two different locations and although both venues have
served us relatively well, they have their challenges: parking is a pain and
finding permanent storage for our library would be ideal. Cost is another
consideration. Like most guilds we would rather spend money on books and
teachers than on rent. We even thought that if we found the right tenant, we
would offer lace course in exchange for free rent.
The search is on. We are looking into alternative venues, preferably one
location, that would serve both purposes and I thought it would be fun and
insightful to brainstorm with the rest of the lace world.
Looking forward to your ideas,
Francoise Parent
Ottawa, Canada
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