HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-28-14 Library Board of Trustees MinutesBozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Bozeman Public Library—Staff/Board Room
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Minutes
Attendance Present: Board Chair Ron Farmer; Trustees Judy Mathre, Jacki McGuire, Jennifer Pawlak,
Bozeman Public Library (BPL) Director Susan Gregory; BPL Department Heads Mary Jo Stanislao, Terri
Dood, Lois Dissly, Cindy Christin; City Superintendent of Facilities James Goehrung
Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Ron Farmer at 4:07pm.
Approval of the Minutes Trustee Jacki McGuire moved that the minutes from the April 23, 2014
meeting be approved. Trustee Judy Mathre seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously to
approve the minutes.
Public Comment There was none.
City Superintendent of Facilities Report James Goehrung, City Superintendent of Facilities, gave an
update on the proposed pedestrian walkway. Brit Fontenot has been working with the Harrington property
owner, and it appears as if the owner can provide a six-foot wide walkway through the property. The
party responsible for plowing the walkway’s snow is under discussion. The City would assume liability
for the walkway. A gate on the Wallace side of the walkway was discussed in the past, but it will not be
necessary as the purpose is to provide public access. There is a draft easement, and a finalized agreement
will be brought before the Board for a vote. Goehrung also mentioned that the facilities team is looking
into carpeting upgrades for the Library, a more frequent mowing schedule for the triangular piece on the
Library’s south side by the Peet’s Hill parking area, and installation of foam pieces at the roof line to keep
birds from entering the building. Facilities has met with representatives from McKinstry to evaluate the
building's energy usage and to look into possible upgrades. Due to safety concerns, the lights on the east
side of the Library will now stay on all night and the lights along the trail to Peet's Hill will stay on until
2a.m. Facilities is in the process of installing new no smoking signs around the Library exterior.
Circulation policy update Head of Circulation MaryJo Stanislao reported on changes to BPL
Circulation Policies, noting that at the October 2013 meeting, the Board discussed how to make it easier
for people to sign up for library cards. The Board discussed whether it is fair to continue to charge the $45
out of county fee, and to continue to allow Yellowstone National Park employees to use the library for
free. The Board decided to keep the out of county fee and the exception for park employees in place.
Stanislao said that the Library is moving toward a more permissive policy on obtaining library cards in
order for potential patrons (especially high school and college students, and people who have P.O. boxes
listed on their IDs) to have an easier time getting cards. Additionally, in order to comply with other
members of the Montana Shared Catalog, starting in June BPL will begin sharing more materials with
other libraries, including DVDs. Certain policies will change to align with other member libraries, such as
the price of color printing, which will now cost $.50 instead of $1.00 per page.
Action Trustee Jacki McGuire moved to approve the May 2014 revisions to the Circulation Policies.
Trustee Judy Mathre seconded. The Board voted unanimously to approve the proposal.
Correspondence BPL Director Susan Gregory shared correspondence from Library patrons. A patron
suggested the Library create a chess group for adults. Another patron thanked Reference Librarian
Carmen Clark for purchasing a CD he had requested. A patron wrote that he received a ticket from the
city for parking illegally in the Library lot, and Gregory noted that the city is willing to work with the
Library to waive tickets when needed. A retired librarian wrote to BPL to say that while she was
researching Bozeman as a possible place to retire, she was impressed by the Libary but could not find any
information on the Library in the relocation section on the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce's website.
Director’s and Staff Report BPL Director Susan Gregory shared highlights from the Library’s April
monthly statistics. Slightly less than thirty-three thousand people came through the door in April. 92% of
the budget year has lapsed, with 8% remaining; 16-17% of the budget remains and will be encumbered by
the end of the fiscal year. Trustee Judy Mathre asked how much money is currently in the depreciation
fund, and Gregory responded that it is $300,000+. Gregory stated that there are about $33,000 worth of
requests for usage of the depreciation fund this year, which include proposed upgrades to carpeting in the
Montana room, new task chairs, replacements for shades in the community meeting room and Montana
Room, refurbishment of some of the Children’s Department furniture, and potential space reorganization
projects. Gregory said that funding for a 40-hour Community Relations Coordinator position, which was
to be shared with the City, was not included in the City budget due to pressing city needs this year such as
storm water management. The Foundation looked into the cost of hiring a marketing firm to do piecemeal
work, but the Library would still need a person to coordinate that work. Since this position is part of the
Library's strategic plan, Gregory will request funding again next year. Gregory announced that she and
staff members Terri Dood and Hannah Vidrich, along with Foundation Director Paula Beswick will be
heading to the American Library Association conference in Las Vegas at the end of June.
Children's Services Supervisor Cindy Christin reported on summer programming. The summer reading
program, Explode Into Summer, starts on Saturday, June 14th. Other summer programs include Maker
Mondays for middle schoolers, Wii Wednesdays for younger children, math club for grades 1-3 on Friday
afternoons, a STEAM- (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) themed story time, and Young
Scientists on Fridays. A local McDonald's is offering free meals for kids that read six books this summer,
and has partnered with Christin to create a local media ad spot promoting the summer reading program.
The Gallatin Valley United Way has agreed to fund the opening of school libraries at Morningstar,
Meadowlark and Emily Dickinson elementary schools on July 11th and August 11th for two hours each.
Families can return these school books to BPL.
Head of Reference and Adult Services Terri Dood reported on the adult summer reading program. Adults
can fill out a reading log with six titles they have read for a chance to win passes to Museum of the
Rockies and other prizes. She stated that reference librarian Camille Jackson is retiring and that her last
day is June 4th. Camille worked at BPL for 13 years. The Gallatin Genealogy Society is working in the
Montana Room on indexing the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. They have completed all of 1979.
Head of Technical and Automated Services Lois Dissly reported that staff member Trevor Gahl has
resigned to take a full time summer job. There is one internal applicant for an 11-hour opening at the
Information Desk, and the Library recently hired a 20-hour employee from the Experience Works
program. The volunteer brunch was a success, and 87 people attendeded. Staff member Josh Andrews
will be working on implementing the new time print management system. Dissly and Reference Librarian
Beth Boyson will be attending a cataloging workshop in Helena on June 13th which will address RDA
(resource description access), a new set of cataloging rules which were designed to incorporate new
material formats.
Head of Circulation MaryJo Stanislao reported that staff member Luc Broadhead's last day was Sunday,
May 25th. He will enter law school at the University of Montana this fall. Interviews for this vacant 40-
hour position begin on Wednesday.
Foundation Director Paula Beswick reported that the One Book One Bozeman press release is
forthcoming, and that the book this year is I Am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai. Events this year will
include a library discussion on August 26th with Shiza Shahid, CEO and co-founder of the Malala Fund.
The book for the Bozeman Schools Foundation giveaway for first graders will be decided at an upcoming
meeting. Jazz and More starts on June 16th and continues on Mondays through the end of August. There
are several outdoor programs at the library this summer, including three Day on the Green concerts,
concerts by Montana Manouche on the east side of the library, and a possible drumming program. Other
programs include a talk on barn quilts on June 17th, and a cooking demonstration about growing and
preparing local foods. Beswick also reported that the Bozeman Sculpture Park and the Gallatin Art
Crossing are close to merging.
Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Ron Farmer adjourned the meeting at 6:05pm.