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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8-09 Minutes, Library Board of TrusteesBozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Library Board/Staff Conference Room Bozeman Public Library Wednesday, August 19, 2009 4:00 P.M. ATTENDANCE Present: Trustees: Ron Fanner, Chair; Holly Brown; Judy Mathre; Jacki McGuire; Donna Swarthout; Paula Beswick, Foundation; John Gallagher, Friends of the Library; Lois Dissly and Terri Dood, Staff; and Alice Meister, Director. Absent: Jeff Rupp, City Commission; and Claris Kukulski, City Manager. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 4:01 p.m. by Chair Farmer. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The .Tune 17 and July 15, 2009 Library Board minutes were approved as submitted with the correction of a word that needed to be added. CORRESPONDENCE A letter of application and acceptance from the Commission was read, which introduced new Library Board Trustee Donna Swarthout, who is a thirteen year patron of the Library and currently works as a college instructor and serves on the Bozeman Planning Board. Meister received public continents which included one from a person who said there were no changing tables in the Library's rest room; however, there is a family rest room with a changing table and another one in the children's library. Another patron requested happier librarians! A patron wrote to say that she loved the downloadable books as she could listen to them everywhere. Another wrote to say they loved the big foam letters in the children's library and would Help to purchase other large props for toddlers. A patron requested larger and more prominent "No Smoking" signs outside the Library, as the new outside table has been taken over as a smoking spot. Another suggestion said to "send your kids to Camp Agape." Several DVD and book recommendations were made. A patron complained about the circulation staff s unwillingness to help her with her problem of writing a suggestion due to the lead poisoning in her hands; her suggestion was to have paintings available for checkout. Meister said her previous library offered this service, but it was an expensive service due to the cost of the paintings plus a storage problem due to their size. A patron noted that the air conditioner shuts off 20 minutes before the Library closes and wanted to know why. A patron suggested a bench be placed perpendicular to the building in the area which is paved to the curved drive near the building, as she needs to park in the handicapped parking but finds it difficult to walk up all the way to the building without resting. A patron requested that the call number show up on the first computer screen so one didn't have to wait for the next page to load. Someone suggested upgrading the computers. Another person requested a system that incorporates non -county libraries such as Livingston. A patron does not like the concrete -wooden piece of art on the west entrance to the building and also suggested rotating the piece of art on the north side so that children would not run into it. However, all of the art is bolted into place. An email suggested adding a directory, but it is probably from someone who works for that company. A person emailed with concerns about the handicapped parking and was told that the current layout meets the City's requirements. A Texas visitor requested pictures of the Library's interior as their community is building a new Library; she noted that she was impressed by the building and the whole operation. A woman wished to start a community writer's group through the Library and was referred to the Foundation. A patron wanted to know why parking spaces were so limited, why it takes so long to receive the Billings and Helena newspapers, and why it was taking so long to get a large print book. Meister responded to him; McGuire asked about on-line newspaper subscriptions and was told that many patrons still prefer paper copies. Chair Fanner and Meister had recently attended the August 3 Commission meeting to defend the amount of money paid for the Library's cleaning contract; an individual sent a note to the Commissioners saying that Ile was disappointed in a lost opportunity to re -price the cleaning contract. A Columbus, Montana orthopaedic surgeon sent a copy of her book " A Lea to Stand On" and offered a program on her work of changing the face of trauma and injury treatment internationally. Aide Amy Benjamin and Substitute Sharon Curtis submitted letters of resignation. An individual who attended a Friends book sale wrote about an objectionable person at the sale who stockpiled books without regard to other buyers. Meister received a thank you from a Kalispell architect who had toured the Library. She also heard from the State Librarian who thanked her for submitting the Library's Public Library Standards 2009 Certification For n and said the per capita/per square mile state aid check should be arriving shortly. The Library received a compliment horn a patron through the Dear Reader Online Book Club subscription. Meister had submitted a letter of interest to serve on the Humanities Montana Board; Fanner had written a letter of recommendation. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY Gallagher said that the Friends met on August 12 and accepted the REPORT resignation of Board Member Mary Doyle. He noted that the number of volunteers and attendees at the July sale was low though the Friends made approximately S11,000 instead of the expected $8,000. There was discussion about moving the dates of the book sale and getting volunteer labor to help move the materials, such as from the MSU Office of Community Involvement. More collectible sales were reported though there were some problems with people who hoarded materials as described in a recently received letter. There was discussion about book sale rules with behavioral expectations, which Meister is researching. The Friends are also working on a Library postcard which would be sold in the book store. Their next meeting is Tuesday, September 15 at 6:15 p.m. FOUNDATION REPORT Beswick said she tried to get the Obama family to come to the Library on August 14 while President Obama was in town, but it was to no avail. A large television screen was set up in the Montana Room for the President's Town Hall event, which attracted 94 people. For the One Book -One Bozeman (OBOB) event, Beswick wrote and received a $1,000 opportunity grant from Humanities Montana to help bring author Steve Lopez to town. Lopez will hopefully be interviewed by KEMC's George Cole, who will also do an interview with Kelly Roberti to be aired before Lopez's visit on September 9. Rachel Rockafellow interviewed Gallatin County Mental Health Center Director Scott Malloy about mental illness, which will air August 26. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle is donating all of its ads for One Book -One Bozeman and probably the Children's Festival of the Book for its $5,000 pledge. Beswick met with Dr. Rob Watson, the new Bozeman High School principal, and lie has arranged for "The Soloist" to be the school -wide read in Bridger Alternative School in September with all the teachers and students reading the book. An English class at the High School will also read the book. There will be an all -school assembly on September 4 when Kelly Roberti will perform. Sola Caf6 has named the Foundation as the 10 Cents for Charity recipient for September, and there will be a benefit for OBOB on September 13 with the Bourbon Street Players and Take Fleming. Posters and bookmarks, with printing donated by Insty Prints, will be available soon; the web site ivwvv.onebookonebozeman.ora has a complete list of activities. There will be a photographic exhibit at MSU Renne Library. Also VIP seating is available for the September 9 Convocation with Lopez; Beswick needs to have names submitted by August 20. The Children's Festival of the Book, which will take place September 19, will have publicity available soon. A Humanities Montana representative will attend the Festival. There will be a reception on September 18 from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Cindy Christin will write an editorial and guest column about the literary aspect of Bozeman. Beswick is meeting with Bozeman Schools Superintendent Kirk Miller, Assistant Superintendent Marilyn King, and Hopa Mountain's Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer about an integrated system of serving the kids in the coimnunity. Beswick is also the current president of the Bozeman Cultural Council. Laura Prindiville has been a great help with the Creative Workshops, especially as one of the children's library staff is on maternity leave. The Program Committee is meeting on August 25 at 10 a.m. The flagpole project is back on track and hopefully will be completed within a few months. It will go in the Atkins Memorial Grove area, and the high school student who initiated the project is getting all the work and materials donated as part of her service project. Beswick and a Foundation Board Member Heather Jernberg are working with the new Merrill Lynch staff on the draft of a new Investment Policy Statement to take to the Finance Committee and then onto (lie full Board for approval. Several people have expressed interest in joining the Foundation Board, including school principal Rob Watson. Beswick continues to work on the KEMC partnership for the Gallatin County forum series. There were 106 people at the last Monday jazz program with Kelly Roberti, averaging 100 people a night. "Exploring the Arts" series has been booked through the first part of 2010. The next Foundation Board meeting is Thursday, September 24 at 1:30 a.m. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Meister noted that the July statistical report showed a 9.29'%u increase in circulation along with a 112.38% increase in InfoTrac Database usage and a 66.71 % increase in website visits. Meeting room attendance is up 44.24% For FY09 spending, the Library has approximately $10,727 left in its budget. Meister welcomed Swathout as the Library's newest Trustee, whose term runs through June 2014. City Manager Kukulski gave Meister permission to fill the 35 hours vacated by Amy Benjamin but is hoping to upgrade the position to a Library Aide 11 position in order to have more flexibility, The management staff has also suggested a Library Substitute position, which would allow the employee to work every department and every desk rather than in one particular department. There will be three possible author visits in September in addition to the children's authors at the Children's Festival of the Book. There will also be a workshop on papermaking on September 16 and a workshop on "Protecting Library & Archives Collections: Disaster Preparendness, Response && Recovery" on September 16 and October 14, State Law Librarian Judy Meadows and Reference Librarian Susan Lupton will be doing a WestLaw training session on September 30 since WestLaw will be available on the Library's computer. Beth Boyson and Cindy Christin will be teaching workshops at the Montana State Library's Fall Workshop held in Great Falls September 11-1.2. The Library will once again be participating in Catapatooza at MSU on September 26-28, The Library's table will adjoin the MSU Renne Library table, so that materials can be given out to students. There will be an all -staff meeting on August 28"' when Kukulski will discuss the City's hiring practices. Also on the agenda are the strategic plan, guidelines on what to do when law enforcement comes, and reader's advisory. The next all -staff meeting will be December 4. The Library has started Wii Wednesdays from 3-5 p.m. for middle school students and 6-8 p.m. for everyone. Currently the Library owns Wii Sports, Mario Kart, and Guitar Hero. The Library has entered into a contract with Unique Management for return of overdue materials. Currently there is an amnesty period to encourage people to return overdue items, for which no fines will be charged. Starting September 15, the Library will begin using Unique Management to help recover materials that are six weeks overdue. Computer Services staff had an incident with a patron who was rude about the use of the computers. A patron with a dog was approached about having the animal in the Library; he reacted by saying that it was a service animal and he was in the process of getting documentation for that. The building ADA Coordinator could have been brought into the situation earlier than what she was. Two people came to the Information Desk and identified themselves as U.S. federal Marshals; they showed a picture of a person and wanted to know if that person had been in the building. They then asked for computer records but were told they needed to see Meister; they did not follow through with her. There have been several incidents involving racist flyers on the bulletin board, which have been reported to the police. ITEM FOR DISCUSSION: Mathre moved that Ron Farmer be elected as Chair of the Library Action ANNUAL ELECTION Board and Jacki McGuire as Vice -Chair through June 2010, Brown OF OFFICERS seconded, and the motion passed 5-0. BOARD MEMBERS' AND CITY OFFICIALS' REPORTS There was none. PUBLIC COMMENT There was none. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5:01 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Wednesday, September /,6, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Board/Staff Conference Room.