HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-15-17 BPL Minutes FinalBozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Bozeman Public Library—Board Room
Wednesday, February 15
th
, 2017
Minutes
Attendance Board Chair Judy Mathre; Vice Chair John Gallagher; Trustees Ron Price, Jennifer
Pawlak, Ken Spencer; Bozeman Public Library (BPL) Director Susan Gregory; BPL
Department Heads Lois Dissly, Mary Jo Stanislao, Jason Greenwald and Kit
Stephenson; Administrative Assistant Lauranna Cossins; BPL Foundation Director Janay
Johnson; Friends of the Library Trustee Stewart Mohr.
Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Judy Mathre at 4:02pm.
Approval of the Minutes Trustee Pawlak moved to approve the minutes from the January 25,
2017 Board meeting. Trustee Spencer seconded. The Board voted unanimously to approve the
minutes.
Library Budget Proposal BPL Director Susan Gregory presented the FY2018 draft budget
proposal for materials, operations and personnel. She said that this budget proposal restores the
$17,000 in material cuts from last year as well as a three percent increase. This is the first draft
that will go to the City. We can expect to hear feedback from the City Manager at the end of
March; it is possible that departments will be asked to make cuts at that time. The City Manager
presents a Recommended Budget in May and the final FY18 Budget is generally approved by the
City Commission at the end of June.
Some additions this year include an item in utilities for increasing the Library’s public internet
speed to 100MB (up from 60MB). In order to access higher speeds made available through
Bozeman’s fiber optic project, BPL must go through a vendor and pay a higher cost. There is a
line item for strategic planning this year as the Library’s 2013-2017 Strategic Plan draws to a
close. There is also a $3,250 annual fee for the new website maintenance; the Library is working
with the vendor used by the City for its website upgrade to redesign the Library website.
Other additions include provisions for security cameras and an alarm system, $500 for travel to
conferences, and a major increase (from about $12,500 to about $25,000 annually) for access to
Montana Library2Go, the Library’s very popular eBook and audiobook service. Gregory and Kit
Stephenson explained that the consortium of state libraries that make up MontanaLibrary2Go
decided to charge libraries more in order to purchase more titles from the vendor Overdrive and
make books more quickly available to users. BPL bears a large part of this expense because it is
one of the biggest libraries in the consortium, and costs are determined by library population and
usage. The Board and staff discussed the possibility of BPL going outside the consortium for
eBooks and audiobooks, as well as whether the consortium would go with a different vendor to
get a better price.
Trustee Pawlak asked about personnel requests, and Gregory replied that the Library will be
asking for a half-time communications coordinator, as well as to reclassify an existing position
from Library Assistant to Librarian I, non-supervisory status. Trustee Pawlak also mentioned that
the Library might, during budget discussions, highlight its contribution to the City’s general fund
through the fines it collects.
Security System Update Trustee Price reported that he and Kit Stephenson met with a second
vendor to price motion sensor alarm systems. The quote from the first company was $5,775, and
the quote from the second company was $5,800. Price noted that these estimates do not include
monitoring services. He also said that the first vendor had a better grasp of how to incorporate
key fobs into arming and disarming the system. Gregory said that the amount in the budget
proposal is currently at $6,000 for an interior motion alarm system.
Meeting Room Policy Gregory presented the draft policy and explained that City Attorney
Greg Sullivan had reviewed it and pointed out that there is nothing in the language that legally
binds meeting room users to pay in case of damages. Gregory said that they could charge a
deposit, but that the idea of putting down cash for a meeting room seems to go against the values
of the Library. The current policy simply forbids someone who has done damage to one of the
meeting rooms from reserving a meeting room in the future. The Board discussed whether this
means someone who incurred damages and paid for them could use meeting rooms in the future.
The Board and staff discussed more details of the policy, including the hours of use, expectations
for how patrons should leave the rooms when they are finished, and whether Rocky Mountain
Security could arm the alarm system once they do their walk through to allow meeting rooms to
be used after the Library closes.
Trustee Gallagher pointed out that in the policy commercial activity is prohibited, but that
preference is given to tutors, who presumably are using meeting spaces for conducting their
business. Lois Dissly explained that the idea is to give tutors and students a safe place to meet,
and that tutoring is an educational activity. The Board discussed other commercial activity and
where to draw the line. Business owners might want to give free educational seminars at the
Library, which could be permissible. However, direct selling to attendees or self-promotion
would be prohibited. In addition, a group could pay a speaker a tuition fee, and collect voluntary
donations from attendees, but they could not demand an entrance fee. Gregory emphasized that
individuals conduct business in the Library proper from time to time on an informal basis, and
that BPL cannot violate its patrons’ privacy by asking groups if their purpose is commercial or
not, therefore some of this leeway might be applied to patrons using meeting rooms.
Foundation BPL Foundation Director Janay Johnson reported that the Foundation is hosting a
private reception in the Montana Room before author Craig Johnson’s event in March. She said
that the Foundation is rebranding its Cornerstone event, which will take place October 7
th
at the
Riverside Country Club. She explained the revised thinking on the bookmobile operating fund.
The original thought was to build an endowment to cover operating costs, which would be
$350,000. She pointed out that the bookmobile is a depreciable asset and will have a lifespan of
perhaps 15-20 years. In light of this, it makes more sense to raise enough money to cover
operating costs for the lifespan of the vehicle , rather than have a permanently restricted fund that
will have to be converted to something else once the bookmobile is no longer in operation. She
proposed allotting $200,000 for this purpose ($83,000 of which the Foundation has already
raised).
Correspondence Gregory shared correspondence from the community. A patron said that
Computer Services staff member Dan Heisler was “helpful”, and another said he was
“wonderful.” A patron requested a Windows 10 class. A patron requested tables by the self-
check machines for patrons checking out a large number of books or heavy books. Another
patron requested more large type books. A patron commented that electronic equipment in the
Library is unhealthy, that the books are not stacked correctly, and that libraries are for gathering
information and not hurting people. Mary Jo Stanislao recounted an incident where a patron was
very upset about being asked to fill out a Library card renewal form. Kit Stephenson brought up
a homeless patron who spends a lot of time at the Library and had asked to store an oxygen tank
at BPL. The Board and staff discussed, and decided to talk to the fire marshal about potential
safety issues, if any.
Director and Staff Reports BPL Director Susan Gregory reported that Montana HB 261
(extending termination date for statutory appropriation to public libraries) has passed the House
and has been through its first Senate reading. There’s no update from the state library yet, but
Gregory reported that there is guarded optimism that the state aid will continue. Trustee Pawlak
asked about the parking lot, and whether the City is getting bids for the full project. Gregory
replied that the City is looking into costs and talking to contractors and seeing what the Library
can afford. She said the TIF board is contributing $10,000 and that the City and Library still
hope to begin this summer. Trustee Pawlak asked about the status of the ADA lawsuit. Gregory
said the City Attorney responded to the letter several months ago and has not heard anything
back. Gregory reported that BPL is hosting the National Humanities Alliance next week.
Kit Stephenson reported that BPL will have a marketing intern from MSU. She is studying
business management and is helping to promote events. She also said the bookmobile has been
delayed until June due to production delays.
Friends of the Library Report Friends of the Library Vice President Stewart Mohr reported
that Pam Henley was reelected as Friends president, Mohr was elected as Vice President, Kelly
Pohl as Treasurer and Patricia Dolan as Secretary. He said that the Friends have approved
$30,000 for bookmobile materials, $9,000 for department discretionary funds, $2,000 for the
book group, and $10,000 for the Most Wanted collection. The next book sale is February 24
th
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26
th
.
Adjournment There being no further business, Board Chair Mathre adjourned the meeting at
5:28pm.