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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-24-2013 Library Board of Trustees Minutes Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Board Meeting Room Bozeman Public Library Wednesday, July 24, 2013 Minutes Attendance Present: Board Chair Ron Farmer; Trustees Judy Mathre, Jacki McGuire, Jennifer Pawlak; Bozeman Public Library (BPL) Director, Susan Gregory; BPL Department Heads Terri Dood and Cindy Christin; BPL Friends President David House; BPL Foundation Director Paula Beswick; City Superintendent of Facilities James Goehrung. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Farmer at 4:02 p.m. Approval of Minutes Trustee Jacki McGuire moved that the minutes of the June 26, 2013 meeting be approved. Trustee Judy Mathre seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes. Correspondence BPL Director Susan Gregory shared correspondence from library patrons. Terri Dood received a thank you note from Kristine Armstrong from Healthy Gallatin for distributing transportation surveys. Someone suggested the Library offer key chain size library cards. We did have that option before but the barcode wore out very quickly. Susan suggested that we investigate alternative vendors. Someone wrote that two weeks was not long enough to listen to an audiobook from MontanaLibrary2Go. Susan will share this comment with the consortium. Someone wanted multiple notifications that their card is expired – by phone, email, and by postcard. Currently patrons are notified that their card is expired when they check out materials. A number of people have asked why we moved the chairs away from the big open area where the Most Wanted display is now located to the area by the new books where it is very crowded. The wooden display was moved to draw attention to the new Most Wanted collection. There is probably some furniture re-arranging that can be done to fix this. A patron who normally comes to the Jazz program before 7:00 but arrived at 8:10 found all the exterior doors locked because the Library was closed. There was no way to enter without interrupting the performance and the patron wondered if our locking policy needs to be looked at. The doors will continue to be locked at closing regardless of what program is going on in the Meeting rooms as this is a safety issue but patrons arriving late could be let into the meeting rooms by a participant who is already in the program. Director’s and Staff Reports Gregory reported $19,000 remaining in the FY2013 budget with some invoices still outstanding. Personnel budget was very close. Appropriation comes from Finance. The Library had four staff members who left in May, and one more this month, and had to pay out their Annual and Sick leave, which would impact the personnel costs. Circulation statistics went up during the past month. The new browsing collection of bestsellers, the Most Wanted collection, is a likely boost. A request was made for statistics for the Most Wanted collection on the new statistics sheet. A meeting will be held soon to finalize the new statistics sheet. Gregory discussed attending the American Library Association Conference in Chicago. Gregory and Paula Beswick attended an all day workshop presented by the United for Libraries committee made up of Library Trustees, Friends, and Foundation members. Gregory took Most Wanted bookmarks for distribution and it drew interest by other Friends groups. Gregory and Beswick presented at a meeting on Public Library architecture. The PIE committee decided to hold the Staff Training day on November 11 in the Baxter Hotel ballroom in the morning and then meet in small groups at Library in the afternoon. The staff holiday party will be at the Story Mansion on Friday, December 13. The South Wallace alley turn-around is finished. Greg Sullivan wanted the Board to know that the final reading of the ordinance that disclaims the City’s interest in that piece of land will be at the August 12 City Commission meeting. The staff met to discuss the Strategic Plan in small groups. Department Heads will meet every Tuesday to discuss the five focus areas to develop a work plan and time line. Cindy Christin – Creative Workshops sponsored by the Foundation will be held in August instead of regular programs. Christin would like to get a counter for door traffic in the Children’s Room, and maybe upstairs, to track where people are going once they enter the Library. Terri Dood – Starting August 5 the MSU library will join the Statewide Courier service. They will send books to us to be distributed throughout Montana. MSU will use Gallatin Courier to move their books back and forth to our Library. City Facilities Report City Superintendent of Facilities James Goehrung presented a report on his department’s activities. The alley turn-around is done. Harrington property owners have given permission for people to park on the grass during the Farmers Market and Sweet Pea. Lights along the trail were turned up. Some trees were replaced along Main Street. James is working with the City Parks Department and other parties to try to resolve the ongoing problem of dog station maintenance on Library grounds. Benches will be installed soon. James will get a bigger dumpster for the Weed Pulling Party August 7. Friends of the Library Report President David House reported that the book sale raised $12,249, including $1,090 in memberships plus around $1,000 for collectibles, which is good for a summer sale with expanded sale hours Saturday and Sunday. There were quite a few books leftover but there is a buyer who takes whatever is left at the end of the sale and he is able to find a home for most and then recycles the rest. House mentioned a possibility of special sales throughout the year during other events. Cindy mentioned giving donated books to kids who have completed the Summer Reading program. The Friends board will be meeting with Sue Hall for 2 hours on August 26 to continue working on their Strategic Plan. Three board members terms will be up soon if anyone knows of people who would be interested in joining the Friends board. Foundation Report Foundation Director Paula Beswick shared the draft of the Foundation’s Development Plan which she hopes will be approved July 29. The main goals include: reducing the amount of programming and marketing done by Foundation staff to allow for greater emphasis on fundraising and advocacy, expanding the Foundation’s capacity to conduct fundraising activities by increasing number of board members and hiring a development person, shifting the focus from programming to fundraising in preparation for the launch of a capital campaign in 2014, and creating an advocacy program to encourage local officials to maintain strong public funding for the Library. Beswick discussed various programs she attended at ALA and the Bookmobile parade. Upcoming programs include: Day on the Green with Pinky and the Floyd on July 28 and the Hooligans on August 18. Jazz & More will run through August and Yoga for All will resume in September. Community Writing Contest based on The Life of Pi ends August 15. Yann Martel will be at the Library for a community discussion of his book on September 6 from 9:00 -10:00 a.m. Heebs BBQ fundraiser will be held on August 16 11-1:30. Denise Malloy did a reading at Aspen Point and Toby Thompson will do a reading there on August 8. The Camera Obscura hut will be installed August 1. The Flying D Ranch tour, donated as a prize for the Foundation’s Cornerstone event by the Turner group, was a success. Thanks to Susan for representing the Library. Beswick met with John Shafer, an energy conservation consultant, who is working with the City and Bozeman Climate Partners on an Energy Smack Down event for the purpose of getting homeowners to pledge to reduce their carbon footprint. The Library will house a display and host several programs to promote this event. A question was asked regarding the Foundation’s open position and how the hiring process was going. Beswick stated that the Development Plan needs to be finalized before a job description can be written and she can move forward with hiring someone. Executive Session There being no further business, the Board went into Executive Session at 5:13 p.m.