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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLBMinutes_2025_01_16BROOKINGS PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES January 16, 2025 MEETING MINUTES The Board of Trustees of the Brookings Public Library met on Thursday, January 16 at 12:00 pm in the Historical Room at the Brookings Public Library. MEMBERS PRESENT: Brittany Shaw, Kathy Miller, Mark Binkley, Allison Schmitt OTHERS PRESENT: Ashia Gustafson, Shane Andreasen 1. Call to Order Brittany Shaw called the meeting to order. 2. Approval of Agenda Brittany Shaw approved the meeting agenda with no changes. 3. Election of Officers Mark Binkley was nominated for Brookings Public Library Board of Trustees Chair and Allison Schmitt was nominated for Vice Chair. Kathy Miller moved to accept the nominations. Brittany Shaw seconded. Motion carried. 4. Approval of Minutes 4.1 December 12, 2024 Library Board Meeting Minutes Brittany Shaw approved the meeting minutes from December 12, 2024. 5. Old Business 5.1 Continuing Education Record Ashia Gustafson reviewed the continuing education record with the Library Board members. Mark Binkley attended a webinar which will add 1.5 additional credits, bringing the total to 42.5 credits. 6. New Business 6.1 Approval of Bills The Library Board members reviewed the December 2024 bills, budgets, and expenditures. Kathy Miller moved to approve. Mark Binkley seconded. Motion carried. 6.2 Library Board Bylaws Ashia Gustafson reviewed the Brookings Public Library Board of Trustee Bylaws with the board. A conversation around the possibility of beginning board meetings at 11:30am instead of 12:00pm was tabled until next month so all board members could discuss. Kathy Miller suggested updating Article V, Section 3, regarding the standard meeting sequence. Mark Binkley suggested moving the Librarian’s Report to an earlier place in the meeting sequence. Allison Schmitt moved to update and approve the Board of Trustee Bylaws. Mark Binkley seconded. Motion carried. 6.3 Meeting Room Policy Ashia Gustafson reviewed the Meeting Room Policy with the board. Kathy Miller shared feedback she received from the public regarding the room reservation charge. The board requested a report at the end of 2025 demonstrating possible changes in public use of the rooms with the newly implemented fee, as well as the total dollar amount collected for the year’s room reservations. Mark Binkley moved to approve. Allison Schmitt seconded. Motion passed. 7. Other Items & Reports 7.1 Financial Report Ashia Gustafson presented the review of the 2024 budget through December to the Library Board members. 7.2 Librarian’s Report Storytime with Santa was well attended. The Library has begun a partnership with the Children’s Museum with a loan of the Lunar New Year exhibit which features celebrations from four different Asian countries. The children’s summer reading program is in the process of being completed. Eight teens participated in the Glowforge shaker ornament workshop. Teen book club returned in January. The teen hang zone, vision board collaging, and mystery game are all planned for January. The Speed Friending event was well attended with 16 participants. Self-Care Night was a success with 40 attendees of all ages including many male college students which is a rare demographic at the Library. 2024 showcased 221 adult programs with 4,366 participants. Payments for public use of the meeting rooms has begun. Everything is set up in Libcal and staff have been informed on how the process works. The newly required filtering hardware was installed on January 1, 2025. The Library lights have been updated to LED fixtures. AMESCO was hired to install lighting and HVAC updates for various City buildings. The Cooper Room dimmable lights were removed during the process but are scheduled to be reinstalled by the end of January. 7.3 Comment on items not on the agenda Ashia Gustafson will send her performance assessment to the board for review. Kathy Miller requested an update on the strategic planning process. The Library’s strategic plan will mirror the City of Brookings’ plan in that it will be laid out with achievable goals to allow staff to meet final objectives in a step by step manner. Kathy Miller provided feedback from the United Way representative attending the strategic plan meeting. The representative suggested adding flyers to the Brookings Backpack Project to promote Library offerings and events. It was also suggested that Library flyers be placed in the United Way offices and the Brookings Food Pantry. Library events could be added to the United Way events calendar as well. It was also suggested that the Library could look into teaming up with Brookings County Mentoring. Kathy Miller asked about ways to raise awareness about the proposed South Dakota State Library budget reduction. Ashia Gustafson suggested reaching out to local representatives and offered the South Dakota Library Association as a resource on how budget cuts would affect Libraries throughout South Dakota as well as how patrons can advocate for their position. Kathy Miller requested that information be sent to the board members as to how it will affect the Brookings Public Library. Two Legislative Coffee sessions are scheduled in Brookings on February 1, 2025 and February 22, 2025, in which the State Budget issues can be further discussed with state representatives. 8. Next Meeting: Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM in the Historical Room of the Brookings Public Library. 9. Adjournment The Library Board meeting adjourned at 12:45pm. Respectfully submitted, Ashia Gustafson Director of Library Services