HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-10 Library Board of Trustees Minute
Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Library Board/Staff Conference Room
Bozeman Public Library
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
4:00 P.M.
ATTENDANCE Present: Trustees: Ron Farmer, Chair; Jacki McGuire; Donna
Swarthout; Paula Beswick, Foundation; Lois Dissly and Terri Dood,
Staff; Sean Becker, Deputy Mayor; and Alice Meister, Director.
Absent: Holly Brown; Judy Mathre; and Chris Kukulski, City
Manager. Guest: Jamie Johnston, Friends of the Library.
CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 4:03 p.m. by Chair Farmer.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES McGuire moved to approve the March 17, 2010 Library Board minutes,
Swarthout seconded, and the motion passed 3-0.
CORRESPONDENCE Meister received public comments which included a request for Sunday
hours throughout the
popular place and valuable resource for any and all Bozeman residents
s room as water currently splatters and
that the water temperature be reduced from scalding to hot; all of this
has been done and relayed to the patron. Someone thought it would be
nice if there was a trash bin next to the changing table in the family
bathroom, as the current one is too small for diapers. A patron
suggested putting the Library telephone number under library hours on
has been added to give that information.
More biographies on certain people were requested, probably due to
school assignments. A ten-year-old patron wanted art kids her age
would like. A patron wrote a compliment about Terri Dood saying,
grand helpsuper lady! What an asset to our
An individual complained that the
Lindley Perk Coffee Shop wanted to charge 25 cents for a cup of ice;
after frequently giving tips for coffee, this person found this charge
collection. Several people emailed recommended websites to add to
person recommended a film to buy plus a book of local interest. A
woman whose grandson was yelled at by another patron wrote to thank
Cindy Christin for her concern over
Friends Board
Facebook Coordinator, responded to several inquiries about setting up
the page and other logistical questions. National Renewable Energy
Laboratory arranged an environmental tour of the Library and thanked
Meister for working with them on setting up the tour. A Montana
library is, especially the views from the window. It is so cool to find a
A former Foundation
Board member sent an article about Portl
cannot imagine any library does any more or better than our Bozeman
Dissly emailed that she had visited the Substitute Solutions
booth at the Public Library Association Conference in Portland, and
using that company would not be cost effective unless the Library
employed about 75 people. There is always a possibility that the Library
could partner with another local employer to share the cost, but there is
no one currently in the state using this business. Meister mentioned an
email about virtual reference service called AskMontana, which will no
longer be funded by the State Library. The cost is high ($16,000+), and
the statistics do not justify continuing the service. Local patrons
initiated chat questions through AskMontana on the average of two per
month, and Reference Librarian Katie Biehl is answering about two per
month. Weaver Tracy Penfield wrote to thank Meister and the Library
staff for their help during the time she was resizing the tapestry.
Barbara Therous, who chaired the Montana Book Awards, wrote to
thank the Library for hosting the reception. Wallace McRae, who
received one of the Awards, wrote Meister to thank her for the personal
tour of the Library and to thank everyone who made the Awards
Ceremony possible. A patron asked about downloadable electronic
books, and Meister responded that the Library does offer a collection.
Nancy Stiner thanked the Board for the floral bouquet she received for
s Day. A patron asked about creating an
on-line calendar for meeting room sign-up; however,
Information Technology Department is not allowing the Library to offer
the meeting room calendar to the public due to lack of ADA website
compliancy. Meister received many congratulatory cards and notes on
her Librarian of the Year Award; one person who wrote to congratulate
her inquired about help with an international library project he is
undertaking. Meister met with him to discuss his situation. A patron
inquire about donating a book kit to the Library, and Boyson gladly
accepted. Meister noted that sadly Beverly Knapp, who used to be a
City Commissioner and Library Foundation Board member died on
March 25. The Library was designated as the recipient for her
memorials. Meister attended her funeral and helped serve refreshments
at the reception which followed the service. Meister also said that a
Public Assembly Permit for a march planned for April 15 from the
Library to the Courthouse said that participants may not park in the
Library lot nor may they congregate in the Library. A thank you from
the County Homemakers was read.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY Meister reported that the Friends met on Tuesday, April 13 and
REPORT conferred with consultant Terry Profota about the role of the Friends
group. Bruce McLeod was voted in as a member of the Board. Jamie
Johnston happened to stop by the meeting and gave a report on
Facebook page , which she has instigated and developed
(www.facebook.com/BozemanPublicLibrary). She noted that nearly
500 people have signed up for it
can post comments but cannot post links, pictures, and/or videos. She
explained that there are tabs for the Friends, Lindley Perk Coffee Shop,
and the Foundation along with usage guidelines. She has only taken
one post off, and that was due to a user encouraging Library fans to
become fans of another non-profit, which would set a precedent for
allowing similar comments in support of other groups, some of which
the Library might not support. Becker asked about being notified by
Facebook. Johnston thanked the Trustees for their interest. The next
meeting is Tuesday, May 11 at 6:15 p.m. in the Board Room.
FOUNDATION REPORT Beswick reported that there were approximately 150 people at the
Cornerstone Event this past Saturday, which featured authors Gatz
Hjortsberg, Kent Davis, and Chrysti the Wordsmith and emceed by Al
Kesselheim. George Cole received the Cornerstone Award for his
contribution to literature, libraries, and learning. Sweet Pea
Landscaping donated a landscaping item for the silent auction and will
plant a tree this week (weather permitting) in honor of Earth Day and a
On May 13 Jennifer Morrical and
her realty firm Keller-Williams will help clean up the grounds.
Beswick will take a group on a LEED tour next Monday. On May 19
there will be Bozeman Cultural Council luncheon, which delivered a
long-range plan.
Beswick will be going to Red Lodge to represent the Foundation at a
community forum. There was a SAT essay writing workshop last
evening with the PowerPoint presentation posted on Hawk TV.
people to the performance. Creative Workshops are being organized
for August. On June 5 there will be an art opening/reception for
MThe High,
Wild Country: A Celebration of Waterton-Glacier International Peace
ParkThe next Foundation Board meeting is April 29 from 1:30-3:00
p.m. in the Board Room.
Meister noted that the April statistical report showed a 2.05% increase in
circulation along with a 71% increase in website visits and a 27%
increase in c% increase in
door traffic and a 74.4% increase in interlibrary loan transactions. At
79.16% of the fiscal year completed, there is 25.9% left in the budget.
The MLA Conference went well with nearly 400 attendees, who seemed
to especially appreciate the addition of the Technology Round Robin
and the author readings. The Thursday night Montana Book Awards
were a highlight with appreciation to the Foundation; thanks go to the
Friends for co-sponsoring the Wednesday night reception. Meister
greatly appreciated the support of the Trustees, Staff, City Manager, and
two Commissioners who attended the Awards Luncheon, when Meister
received her Award. April 11-17 was National Library Week with the
planned during the week, and food was collected in lieu of fines. The
week culminated with the Cornerstone Celebration. Beswick and
Meister gave a Library program to the Business and Professional
Women on April 14. The Library was asked to be a drop site as part of
the statewide Courier Pilot Project, where the State Library would
provide funds through June 30, 2011 to underwrite this project. The
concept is to start and maintain a courier service between 12 potential
drop sites, where each served library would make arrangements to move
their materials between their libraries and the drop site. Meister will be
attending the Montana Shared Catalog meeting in Billings on May 6-7.
She has been asked to serve as a panelist on an Institute of Museum and
st
Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21 Century Librarian Program
Overview Panel on May 17 in Washington, DC. Mary Jo Stanislao,
Dood, and Dissly attended the Public Library Association meeting in
Portland, Oregon March 24-27. Pam Henley attended the Mountain
Plains Library Association Conference as the MLA representative.
Meister has been communicating with LucaLight about the stack lights,
which should arrive by the end of April or beginning of May. Ron
Davis at Tyler Electric will be responsible for installing the lights.
Meister has been working with Martha Joh Reeder on the
Nomkhubulwane (elephant sculpture) project, which will promote local
sustainability during August through mid-September. Meister met
with Gallatin Art Crossing about plans for 30 Main Street sculptures this
summer; last year there were 18. The Sculpture Park Board has
secured its 501(c)(3) status and is fundraising in anticipation of summer
sculpture exhibit in 2011. There will be a meeting on April 22 to
discuss progress. April 19-25 is Screen Free Week, which involves
going without television, videos, or computer games for a week.
Events throughout Bozeman offer a variety of activities for kids and
families. For those who are able to do without, there will be a
sleepover at the Library on Friday, May 7. RFID is getting close to
functioning as it should; checkout receipts can be emailed, and patrons
can pay their fines on-line. There was an incident where an elderly
patron was abandoned at the Library by a man who drove off in her car.
He eventually returned, though Meister had notified the police by then.
ITEMS FOR There was continued discussion about establishing a Library
DISCUSSION/ACTION: Depreciation Fund, as set forth in MCA 22-1-305-307. Meister had
DEPRECIATION FUNDdiscussed the concept with other library directors who had attended
MLA, and all were in favor of doing so. She distributed a PowerPoint
presentation about the topic. Becker had discussed the topic with
Finance Director Anna Rosenberry, who seemed amenable to the idea as
it would carry over funds from one year to the next. Becker said
Rosenberry wondered about its impact on the Foundation, and Beswick
responded that it would only be positive and a selling point for the
Foundation. It was decided to discuss this as an action item at the May
Board meeting.
There was none.
REPORTS
PUBLIC COMMENT There was none.
Swarthout questioned how to fill out the extensive City evaluation form
EXECUTIVE SESSION RE: and was told to consult with Human Resources Director Pattie Berg.
Trustees felt the form was overly long and onerous. The appraisal was
APPRAISALpostponed to the May meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:04 p.m. The next regular Library
ADJOURNMENT
at 4:00 p.m. in the
Board meeting will be Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Board Room.