Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLBMinutes_2013_09_10BROOKINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES September 10, 2013 MINUTES The Board of Trustees of the Brookings Public Library met Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. in the Historical Room of the Brookings Public Library MEMBERS PRESENT: Bill Gengler, Mac Harris, Janell Hoffelt, Larry Rogers and Gloria Thvedt OTHERS PRESENT: Elvita Landau, Alice Hayes and Cathy Enlow President Mac Harris called for approval of the meeting agenda. Bill Gengler moved to approve the agenda. Gloria Thvedt seconded. Motion carried. Mac Harris called for approval of the minutes from the August 13, 2013 meeting. Larry Rogers moved to approve the minutes. Bill Gengler seconded. Motion carried. Bills and Salaries: Elvita Landau noted that the fee for Pronunciator is included in this month’s financial report. Maintenance expenses resulted from ants in the children’s area and plugged toilets in the Library. Larry Rogers moved to approve the list of bills. Janell Hoffelt seconded. Motion carried. Financial Report: Elvita Landau noted that we will need to watch the Equipment Maintenance line item. Nita Gill and Cathy Enlow are a bit behind in ordering new adult books and AV materials. There is still plenty of money in the budget for those line items. Fines Account: August was a slower month for taking in fines, since the summer reading program is over. We are doing well with the budget. Gifts Account: The movie license was paid in August. This is an annual fee paid by the Friends of the Library. The license covers use for both children’s and adult programming. Librarian’s Report: Elvita Landau noted that circulation is up slightly. Ebook downloads have also increased. Computer use and the door count are both down. Perhaps this is the result of school starting a week early in August. Elvita invited the Library Board members to attend the digital documents and resources program presented by the State Library on Wednesday, September 11. The training will be held at Briggs Library at 10:00 a.m. and Brookings Public Library at 7:00 p.m. Katherine Eberline got her hair dyed a variety of colors on Monday, following the children’s voting during the Summer Reading Program. She will be going to the schools this week to show the students. Story times start next week at the Library. Katherine also goes gives eight story times weekly outside the Library to Headstart, Gap, Peace Lutheran Preschool, and the Boys & Girls Club. Library staff will receive training in order to help people navigate the Affordable Care Act. Staff can help patrons to locate the appropriate forms on the computer, but the staff is not allowed to fill out the forms for patrons. Interlakes Community Action will be providing support services on this side of the state. Elvita looked in to the cost of converting our existing plumbing fixtures to automatic flush toilets and hands-free sink faucets. To convert the 10 public toilets, it would cost $2350 plus labor ($235 each). To convert the 6 sinks, it would cost $2490 plus labor ($415 each). Total: $4840 plus labor. Elvita calculates that labor would probably be around $60.00 per hour, with an estimated total of $1,000.00 for labor. The Board took no action on the topic. Regarding circulation statistics, the national data collection service have indicated that circulation should include physical items only, not downloads or databases. Larry Rogers commented that this approach is ill-considered and conceptually weak. Other board members commented that it would be good to continue to track downloads and database use, perhaps separating them from physical circulation statistics. Elvita said that, beginning next month, we will separate the physical from the non- physical statistics. The Library has received excellent paperback gifts this summer. Nita Gill has been weeding the current collection to make room for new books. This is why so many paperbacks were withdrawn this month. Survey Results: Library hours: Discussion concluded that there is no real consensus about being open earlier or later, based on comments the in survey. Overall, only a few people commented about hours in the survey. Elvita stated that the hours have been this way for at least 10-15 years. Larry Rogers commented that not having the Library open on Sundays in August is not a life-threatening situation. Mac Harris commented on the opportunity, costs of increasing hours, making funds needed for staffing unavailable for purchasing more books and other materials. The board agreed that there do need to be limits on the availability of the Library. Bill Gengler commented that computer users may want more access, but computer usage is down. Elvita noted that we do not currently track WiFi users, of which there are quite a few. Elvita will check on the hours of other libraries of our size. Janell Hoffelt commented that the hours may not need to be the same every day. There was discussion of being open later certain nights during the week, like Thursday night downtown shopping. Elvita said that the strategic planning committee can also address this issue. Bill Gengler suggested that we could try earlier hours during the summer, such as opening at 9:00 a.m., and see if there is a change in patron attendance. The Board discussed other aspects of survey responses, including the number of people who do not seem to be aware of our ebook offerings. Also, 262 respondents indicated they would like to receive email notification of Library activities and events. Elvita will share this information with the strategic planning committee. Satisfaction levels with the public computers were high, despite our ongoing computer problems. Only 7% of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. Mac Harris asked if the Library would consider partnering with the South Dakota Humanities Council when they launch a new book, and coordinate with them for programming and book signings. Elvita said that we have done so in the past. SDHC provided a grant for author Danielle Sosin’s presentation. We also hosted a presentation by author Fraser Harrison. We regularly apply for SDHC grants. Strategic Planning: Elvita presented a list of committee members. The first meeting will be held on October 1st at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will include an overview of the strategic planning process. They will also be working on vision and looking at roles the Library might play in the community. Holiday Hours: Elvita proposed that the Library close at 3:00 p.m. on December 24 and at 5:00 p.m. on December 31, while being closed on Christmas and New Year’s Days. She also proposed that the Library close at 6:00 p.m. on the night before Thanksgiving. Larry Rogers moved to approve the holiday hours. Gloria Thvedt seconded. Motion carried. Travel Request: Elvita requested approval for her and Katherine Eberline to travel to the Public Library Association conference in Indianapolis March 11-15, 2014. Cost would be approximately $2,600.00 for both to attend. Larry Rogers moved to approve the request. Bill Gengler seconded. Motion carried. Judges for the Scary Story Contest: Elvita asked for volunteers to serve as judges for the Scary Story Contest entries. Entries are due on October 4 and judging would need to be completed by October 15. Gloria Thvedt said she would be willing to judge if she could have the younger group. Larry Rogers also indicated that he would volunteer. Elvita reminded Board members about the Mayor’s reception for volunteers on September 26 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The next Library Board meeting will be on Tuesday, October 8, at 5:30 p.m. Gloria Thvedt moved to adjourn the meeting. Bill Gengler seconded. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elvita Landau, Library Director