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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-16-11 Library Board of Trustees MinutesBozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Library Board/Staff Conference Room Bozeman Public Library Wednesday, March 16, 2011 4:00 P.M. ATTENDANCE Present: Trustees, Ron Farmer, Chair; Judy Mathre; Jacki McGuire; Holly Brown; Lois Dissly and Terri Dood, Acting Co- Directors; and Guest: Hannah Vidrich. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 4:04 p.m. by Chair Farmer. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Dood noted a correction to the Director’s Report section of the minutes which should read: “Two Experience Works participants were recently assigned to new job sites so we are short the 40 hours they contributed each week.” McGuire moved to accept the February 16, 2011 minutes as amended, Mathre seconded, and they were approved unanimously. SPECIAL PRESENTATION Hannah Vidrich, who is interning at the Library, presented the results of a survey on Library hours. Patrons were asked to complete a brief survey either online or on paper asking first, if they would be willing to increase funding to keep the Library open additional hours and second, if yes, which hours they would prefer. Out of 243 responses (118 print and 125 online) the overwhelming choice was to have the Library open on Sundays throughout the year. Vidrich also reviewed comments patrons had included with the survey. CORRESPONDENCE Dissly and Dood received public comments which included the suggestion to paint the statue in the parking area bright colors. The Library’s plants need water according to a patron. Another patron asked that the closing announcement be louder. Everything is perfect according to a patron. Three kid’s titles were recommended. One of the toilets in the second floor Men’ Restroom was not working. A patron complained that the Library was extremely noisy. Another patron said she enjoyed the art displays and appreciated the variety. A patron suggested that perhaps in the future the online catalog could have a feature where users could create a want list. A parent requested more Internet computers in the kid’s area for parents to use. Jane Basile was thanked for purchasing the BBC’s The Beggar’s Opera for the collection. Two different patrons complained about the time limits on the computers. A subscription to Blackbelt Magazine was suggested. A drive-up book return would save cars from idling and be better for the environment according to one patron. Another would like more senior parking. A woman liked the new arrangement of chairs in front of the Circulation Desk. Correspondence included a letter from Minot Public Library requesting information for a salary survey it is conducting. Dood received an email from Parmly Billings director, Bill Cochran thanking her for the tour she gave. Jane Basile received a thank you for assistance she provided to a library student who spent time observing the interactions at the Reference Desk. Dissly reported that pieces of hate literature are once again turning up in library material. Two incidents were reported. One involved an individual who Dissly had to suspend from the Library for 6 months because he was disruptive and abusive to staff. The other involved a man who was behaving inappropriately to female staff and patrons. He was warned by police. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT Dissly reported that Friends met March 1, 2011. They approved Dood’s marketing strategy for the Tell Me More language database and Cindy Christin’s request for funding of early learning environment activities. They want follow-up on both projects in 6 months. They also want more funding proposals at the April 19 meeting. Priscilla Dolan and Sharyn Anhalt joined the Board and Julie Hergert will be joining shortly. Jamie Johnston was hired as the part-time assistant to the Friends’ Board at approximately 40 hours per month. FOUNDATION REPORT Dood reported that the Foundation will be sponsoring two workshops for students to help them prepare for college. The first, on SAT essay writing will be April 20 and the second, on college prep will be April 27. The Foundation’s third annual Cornerstone Celebration: Honoring Arts & Ideas will be held April 16. Alan Kesselheim is the 2011 recipient of the Cornerstone Award. The gala will include author Tim Cahill, playwright Kent Davis, poet Christy Stillwell, comedienne Cara Wilder, and Bozeman High’s Humorous Speech team. Celebrity bartender will be author Kevin Connolly and the evening’s emcee will be Eric Funk. Exploring the Arts series continues with performances by the Duplikates, Chrysti the Wordsmith, and dancers Zak and Kara Grosfield on April 18. Project Wet’s Water Sculpture will be installed in the traffic circle for a six- month stay in Bozeman which will coincide with an international conference to be held in September. Gary Bishop and Loren Acton joined the Foundation Board. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Dissly reported that with 29% of FY2011 remaining there was 42% left in the budget. Statistics showed that circulation was up almost 16% and website visits up 48% while door traffic continued to be down by almost 8%. Library staff met with City Manager Chris Kukulski, City Finance Director Anna Rosenberry, and Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn on February 18 for an informal discussion related to the FY2011-2012 budget. Parmly Billings Public Library Director, Bill Cochran and Will Bruder, design architect for the new Billings downtown library, toured our Library March 2. Paul Bentley, sponsored by the Library Foundation, facilitated staff training at the quarterly all staff meeting March 4. Staff discussed institutional and missional qualities of the Library as well as the customers we serve. Each service desk was charged with identifying its major customer service issue and working to resolve it. Dood and Dissly attended the Broad Valleys Federation meeting in Butte on March 4-5. Pam Henley, Katy Chambers-Lowder, and Gail MacMillan represented the Library in the Bozeman schools 4th Annual Spelling Bee on March 5. MacMillan attended Interagency Council on March 8. The speaker was Jessica Byerly, Adult Case Manager and Case Specialist for the Gallatin Mental Health Center. The Library hours survey conducted by Hannah Vidrich, library intern, ended March 14. Staying open year round on Sundays received the most votes. The Library is seeking proposals for a professional photographer to provide a variety of images to be used in promoting the Library as well as updating the Library’s web page. The City’s Information Technology Week was March 8-10; staff attended a variety of training. Plans are being made by staff to create a twitter account. Dissly traveled to Helena March 15 for a Montana Shared Catalog Content Management Committee meeting. A SIRSI/Dynix representative will meet with Library staff March 22. Teen Tech Week was March 5-12. The Bozeman History Series continues March 20 with a presentation by John Russell, director of the Pioneer Museum. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: The FY2012 budget was presented by Dissly and Dood. They FY 2012 BUDGET; GROUNDS MASTER have requested a half-time maintenance worker, .15 additional PLAN; LIBRARY DIRECTOR SEARCH Library Assistant hours, and .04 additional Librarian I hours, and .125 additional Library Aide II hours in the event the Library could remain open on Sundays during summer months. They also requested a 12.7 % increase in the operating budget including: $8,150 (13.6 %) increase in supplies; $12,700 (9.8 %) increase in materials; $1,648 (75.9 %) increase in maintenance; $50 (6.7 %) increase in utilities; $18,502 (26.2 %) increase in contracted services; $25 (.05 %) increase in the Other category. The travel and training budget decreased $674 (-10.5 %) because the MLA Conference will be at Big Sky next year. Action After discussion McGuire moved to accept the FY2012 Proposed Budget and Personnel Request as presented; Mathre seconded, and the motion passed 3-0. Dissly and Mathre attended the March 2 Library Grounds Master Plan meeting and asked the Board for input on the draft action plan. Brown wanted to know if the list was in order of preference. Mathre and Dissly did not believe it was. Discussion included what would happen if changes were made to LEED items. Would our LEED status be affected? Patron complaints about the lack of close parking have been consistent since the Library opened. Should additional parking options be pursued? Finally, the general consensus was to have one public meeting and include the general public as well as stakeholders and specific user groups. Mathre gave an update on the library director’s search. Three new applications had been received. The Board approved the expenditure of $100 to advertise the director’s position on the American Library Association’s JobLIST. Two headhunting firms, one large and one small, had submitted RFPs. The larger firm’s proposal was significantly more than the Board was willing to pay. In addition, it also wanted to do extensive interviews of the Board, Foundation, Library staff, and City staff. McGuire did not believe that in- person interviews were necessary and wondered about using Skype. Brown said she wanted the Board to have direct contact with the chosen firm. Action Mathre moved to hire the firm of Hartzell-Mika Consulting, LLC, McGuire seconded, and the motion passed 3-0. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m. The next meeting will be Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Board/Staff Conference Room.