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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-16-14 Library Board of Trustees MinutesBozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Bozeman Public Library—Board Room Wednesday, July 16, 2014 Minutes Attendance Present: Board Chair Ron Farmer; Trustees Judy Mathre, Jacki McGuire, Jennifer Pawlak, John Gallagher; Bozeman Public Library (BPL) Director Susan Gregory; BPL Department Head Lois Dissly; City Superintendent of Facilities James Goehrung; Friends President David House; Library Foundation Director Paula Beswick Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Ron Farmer at 4:02pm. Approval of the Minutes Trustee Jacki McGuire moved that the minutes from the June 25, 2014 meeting be approved. Trustee Judy Mathre seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes. Public Comment There was none. Correspondence BPL Director Susan Gregory shared correspondence from library patrons. A leaflet containing hate speech was found in the 330s in a book that has not circulated for several years. A patron complimented the customer service he received from staff member Jason Greenwald. Another patron asked that the DVD watching carrel be moved so that the bird watching area could be more accessible. As a germ-reducing measure, a patron requested waste cans near restroom exits so that patrons could open restroom doors with paper towels instead of with clean hands. Gregory received an email from a patron thanking the Library for the Maker Movement kickoff celebration, and reported that the event hosted approximately 200 hundred people. Director’s Report Director Susan Gregory reported that there is no news from Brit Fontenot about the pedestrian walkway. Gregory presented the Library monthly statistics. The June door traffic (35,878 visitors) was an all-time high. Gregory distributed a revenue report from FY2014, and noted that the Library’s contribution to the city’s general fund was at an all time high. The Board discussed how the flow of funds between the Library to the city’s general fund and from the city to the Library works. Gregory reported on her trip to the American Library Association (ALA) Conference in Las Vegas, June 27-July 1, along with Foundation Director Paula Beswick and Reference staff members Terri Dood and Hannah Vidrich. Gregory, Dood and Vidrich attended a preconference on Serving the Homeless in Academic and Public Libraries, which highlighted the growing role of libraries across the country in providing a safe place for the mentally ill and homeless. A growing homeless population is that of LGBTQ teens, and Gregory will chair a pre-conference on this topic at next year’s ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. Gregory and the other attendees also saw a speaker from the national library of Singapore, where there is a new library staffed entirely by volunteers as well as a library exclusively for 18-35-year olds. Gregory attended a panel on bookmobiles, and was able to tour a bookmobile from Park City, Utah, to discuss weather considerations, routes, and service locations with their bookmobile librarian. The Park City bookmobile program has an emphasis on outreach, making home deliveries for those who cannot make it to their library, as well as visiting jails and teen incarceration centers. Also of interest to the Bozeman Conference attendees was a marketing fair, from which they brought back samples of publicity and marketing materials produced by libraries all over the United States that the Library could use as inspiration. Director Gregory is the elected Montana Library Association Chapter Representative on the ALA Governing Council. As such, she represents Montana librarians and libraries nationally at the four Council sessions held at each ALA Conference. She attended these sessions, as well as a Chapter Relations Forum with representatives from each state, at the Las Vegas Conference. Network neutrality, equal access to information, broadband inequities and censorship issues were among the issues brought forward at this summer’s Council. Library staff attended a city-wide staff appreciation picnic on July 10th, and the Library staff picnic is on July 25th after work at Bogert Park. On July 14th, 26 educators and faculty from the University of Kazakhstan visited the Library after being connected through Gary Gullickson, who is involved with an international exchange program at Montana State University. Gregory toured the group through the Library so that they could observe our activities and have the chance to talk to our staff. The Kazakh Prime Minister is trying to foster early childhood education programs in Kazakhstan, and the visitors were impressed with the Library and our children’s programs. The visiting faculty members were particularly eager to talk with Cindy Christin, our superb Children’s Department Head, about early literacy programs that they could replicate at home. Staff Report Head of Technical and Automated Services Lois Dissly reported that her team is working closely with IT to implement a new time print management system to manage the computers and printers that the public uses. This project will cost approximately $15,500, and funds have already been encumbered for this purpose. The new system will be an improvement for staff and the public. City Superintendent of Facilities Report City Superintendent of Facilities James Goehrung reported that his team is continuing to do landscaping work on the grounds, and did some repair to the area on the roof where birds have been getting in, with more work to be finished with an aerial lift when the ground dries completely. Trustee Pawlak asked about the progress of pathways from the center of the front lawn to the sidewalk, and Goehrung replied that he will check back on this once Cindy Christin holds a meeting on July 22nd about improvements to the front area of the Library grounds. Trustee McGuire asked about bicycle parking at the Sweet Pea festival this August and Goehrung confirmed that this will take place east of the Library parking lot in the native vegetation area, which will be mowed and prepared prior to the festival. Friends Report The Board commended FOL President David House on the Bozeman Daily Chronicle article about the recent Friends book sale. House reported on the sale, and noted that while the sale is the principle fundraising event for the Friends, it is also an important community event going back to at least the 1970s, thanks to top notch donations from the community and a stellar team of volunteers. The collectibles table at the sale continues to be a popular attraction. Volunteers research the value of these books and write up descriptions explaining why they are highly valued items. This year collectibles brought in $1,700. In response to a request from the June Board meeting, House reported on what the Friends have funded for the Library so far in 2014. There have been $23,283 in requests approved so far, funding the following items: discretionary funds for Children’s, Reference, Circulation, Tech Services, Teen Services and the Director; the Children’s summer program; the Makerspace program; the mobile app for smart phones; the Most Wanted collection; parenting workshops; Ready to Read activities; and the annual BPL volunteer brunch. The Friends group continues to consider new requests on a monthly basis. The Friends are looking for a new treasurer to start in September. Foundation Report Foundation Director Paula Beswick reported that the Foundation’s summer appeal has been mailed, and there is already a good response. The Foundation will begin instituting small scale donor lunches and evening events, with the first lunch on July 31st, one of the goals being is to introduce Susan Gregory to those donors who may not have met her, and to keep donors apprised of all that is going on in the Library. At the ALA Conference, Beswick attended sessions put on by United for Libraries, for which she serves on two committees. Beswick is up for election to their board, and will write newsletter articles for them as part of her committee work. While at ALA, Beswick also made contact with Candlewick Press, and asked several of their authors and illustrators to come to Bozeman next year for the BPL Children’s Festival of the Book. Beswick met with Elk River Books to discuss creating a speaking circuit for authors coming to Montana. She explained how the July 6th B.J. Novak speaking engagement came about. She asked Novak during a Q&A at the closing session of the ALA Conference to come to Bozeman and he said that he happened to be planning to come to Bozeman the next day, on his way to a vacation with friends in Livingston. Beswick and Gregory talked with him at his book signing after his speech to coordinate a special story time with him at the Library the following weekend. On the day of the event, over 250 people packed into one of the public meeting rooms before the Library opened to watch Novak read from his children’s book and answer questions from children and adults. Grammy- winning musician John Mayer was also in attendance, as he was Novak’s host for his trip to Montana. Mayer said that he was very impressed with the Library building and the event, and might be interested in helping with Library fundraising in the future. The Foundation has put together a proposal that would provide marketing, PR and community outreach assistance for the Library for one year only. $20,000 is in place to fund this campaign, which would be run by the Foundation and would produce publicity materials as well as collect data for a future Library community relations position. Upcoming concerts include Day on the Green featuring Ten Foot Tall & 80 Proof on July 20th, Jazz and More featuring Jake & Jeni Fleming on July 21st, and Montana Manouche performing on the side lawn on July 22nd. The Heebs barbeque fundraiser will take place on August 15th. Other Business Trustee Pawlak asked about parking lot flow issues and the planned pedestrian walkway from Wallace Street through the Library parking lot. Gregory will follow up with the appropriate City personnel to get an update on the situation for the Board. Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Farmer adjourned the meeting at 5:22 pm.