Hubbardston Public Library trustees voted to increase the library scholarship fund from $1,000 to $1,500 and to award scholarships to all three applicants who applied this year.

The trustees said scholarship applications closed the night prior and reviewed three applications during the meeting. Trustees discussed rubric scores for organization, personal essay, library use and alignment with the application prompt. Several trustees said applicants 1 and 2 scored higher on the rubric, while applicant 3 showed strong personal engagement with books even if the essay was less polished.

Trustees debated timing of the application cycle and whether to move the annual announcement earlier in the year. Several trustees suggested opening applications in January with a March 1 deadline and deciding at the April meeting to better align with students' decision timelines; no formal vote was taken on changing the schedule at this meeting.

After discussion about the donations account and upcoming renovation costs, a motion to increase the scholarship promotion fund from $1,000 to $1,500 carried. Trustees subsequently moved and approved funding scholarships for all three applicants.

Trustees recorded that the library typically awards at least two scholarships and that the library’s donations account supports the awards; one trustee noted approximately $14,000 remains in a line item identified in the financial report as related to library repair/pointing funds. Trustees also noted that the library-funded scholarships have previously been $500 each; with the fund extended to $1,500 the trustees approved all three awards rather than restrict payments to two recipients.

The discussion included repeated clarifications that some library activity (for example, use of ebooks or electronic resources) can be difficult to verify from circulation statistics alone unless a patron holds a town library card, and that volunteer service may be weighed when applicants lack card-based circulation records.

Trustees directed staff to process the awards from the donations/scholarship account and to document award amounts and recipients in library records.

Ending: The trustees closed the scholarship item by confirming the vote to extend the fund and to award all three applicants. No follow-up motions were recorded about changing the deadline at this meeting; trustees asked staff to bring timing-change proposals back for later consideration.