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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-15 BPL Board of Trustees MinutesBozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting Bozeman Public Library—Staff/Board Room Wednesday, July 15th, 2015 Minutes Attendance Present: Board Chair Ron Farmer; Trustees Judy Mathre, Jennifer Pawlak, John Gallagher; Bozeman Public Library (BPL) Director Susan Gregory; BPL Department Heads Lois Dissly and Cindy Christin; BPL Reference Staff Carmen Clark; City Superintendent of Facilities James Goehrung; Library Foundation Director Paula Beswick; Mayor and Library Liaison Jeff Krauss. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Ron Farmer at 4:02pm. Approval of the Minutes Trustee Pawlak asked for clarification about what had been approved at last month’s meeting with regard to the traffic study. BPL Director Susan Gregory explained that phase one improvements were approved, but that the Library will also take a less expensive plan before the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) board as an option, in case the phase one plan is too costly for the TIF board to approve. Trustee Pawlak moved that the minutes from June 17th, 2015 meeting be approved. Trustee Mathre seconded. The Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes. Bozeman Sculpture Park Lease BPL Director Susan Gregory reported that the City’s legal office has made two small changes to the lease after a conversation with Tate Chamberlin: 1) the overage amount was corrected to $1 million per claim and $2 million per occurrence (in keeping with the City’s insurance policy requirements) and 2) because Gallatin Art Crossing (GAC) already has insurance that covers personal property damage, this was omitted from section 8. Gregory said that the GAC president Chuck Peck is reviewing the amended lease and will return it in the near future. The lease has already been edited and approved by the City Attorney. Action Trustee Mathre moved to approve the amended lease agreement. Trustee Gallagher seconded. The Board voted unanimously to approve the amended agreement. Correspondence BPL Director Susan Gregory shared correspondence from the community. She said that she followed up with the patron who wrote last month about the need for more staff in the evenings. The patron wrote back and said she did not have anything more to add on the subject at this time. Two patrons wrote to request additional book returns – one wanted a book return on the west side of town, and the other wanted a drive through book return at the Library. Gregory noted that book returns such as these would fill up quickly and necessitate frequent staff trips to the drop areas. She suggested that the bookmobile may address this issue, and added that a book return system can be incorporated into its design. Library Foundation Director Paula Beswick read a note from the Bozeman Noon Rotary Club thanking Beswick and Gregory for the work they do for the community. Beswick and Gregory had presented to the club about the bookmobile. Staff and Director’s Report Gregory reported that Taylor Lonsdale from the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) has submitted a final report with complete explanations of different proposed parking lot improvements, which addresses the issues of adding more accessible parking spaces, and how to insure proper drainage, among other things. There do not appear to be changes to the cost estimates. Trustee Pawlak asked if Library representatives have met with the TIF board yet. Beswick responded that she met with Chris Naumann, Executive Director of the Downtown Bozeman Project, and he advised presenting the full plan, with priorities identified, before the TIF board. The Downtown Bozeman Project has funded projects ranging from $3,000 to $500,000, so phase one of BPL’s parking lot improvements (approximately $50,000) is within the scope of their typical projects. BPL is on the agenda for their August 18th meeting. Gregory invited Trustee Pawlak to join her and Beswick at the meeting to share the Library Board’s support for the project and Trustee Pawlak said that she would plan to do so. Gregory distributed the Library’s budget report. She noted that the large expenditures in personnel services are likely due to a long-time employee’s retirement pay out last month. Gregory said that a rough estimate is that approximately $30,000 will be left in the budget at the end of the fiscal year, which will go to the Library’s depreciation fund for capital expenditures. Library statistics remained strong in June: there were 33,198 visitors, and over 8,000 questions asked at service desks. Gregory reported that the drafted behavior policy is still being reviewed at the City Attorney’s office. The 2016 fiscal year budget process went well for the Library: the full library materials budget was approved along with both of the Library’s personnel requests. Gregory thanked the City Commissioners and the City Manager for their support of the Library. Gregory, along with Foundation Director Paula Beswick, Friends of the Library Board Assistant Erin Mock, and Library staff members Josh Andrews, Kate Holloway, Emma Keefe and Carmen Clark attended the American Library Association conference in San Francisco from June 25th - July 1st. Gregory and Clark attended two preconference sessions: “Communities in Need: Serving the Homeless in Public Libraries,” and an architectural tour of five San Francisco Library system branches. Gregory spoke with the director of the Madison, WI, public library about their newly renovated library, which includes a police field station. Gregory has been in conversation with Bozeman Police Chief Steve Crawford about doing the same at BPL, and put Crawford in contact with the Madison Police Department to discuss the project. Chief Crawford is an advocate of strong community policing and is very much in favor of working more closely with the Library. Gregory met with various representatives from the City to discuss improving the landscaping in the triangle area adjacent to the alley at the south end of the Library property, adjacent to the Peets Hill parking lot. The group is working with a water conservation specialist who will draft a plan for drought tolerant native landscaping. The Library has received a $300,000 donation for the bookmobile from an anonymous donor via the donor’s attorney. The total project cost is approximately $600,000 ($300-350,000 for the vehicle and the rest for its endowment). Approximately $100,000 has been raised apart from the anonymous donation. Library Foundation Director Paula Beswick, Director Gregory and two City administrators are working with a committee at BPL and a vendor to figure out specifications for the bookmobile. Carmen Clark reported that the job posting to replace retired head of reference Terri Dood closed on July 5th. There were 21 applicants, and candidates are being selected for interviews. Lois Dissly reported that her department has hired two people to replace a vacancy at the Information Desk and a staff member who took a new position at the Information Desk. She said that her department has purchased iPads for each department to be used for a variety of things, including marketing and social media. The Library has purchased a bike which staff may use once they watch a short video and sign a form. Cindy Christin reported that Children’s staff member Sandra Brug is retiring, and that her last day is July 23rd. She has been working at BPL for 25 years. Christin also reported on the Children’s outdoor play space, for which a local foundation has pledged to provide $5,000. The play space will be constructed on the east side of the building and will include a play garden with logs, boulders and stepping stones, a fairy garden, and a planter outside of the Children’s library which will be filled with rainbow-hued perennials. Plans also include a sculpture that will be “play-friendly” and installation of a concrete ping- pong table. City Report Mayor Jeff Krauss reported on a partnership between NorthWestern Energy, the City of Bozeman, and Montana State University to create a community solar energy project. NorthWestern energy has awarded the City $1 million for the solar project, which will likely be based at the waste water treatment plant. Krauss noted that the City has lost 8.9% of its taxable value, which has made budgeting difficult. He said that the new law and justice center that will likely be proposed as a bond measure in 2016 will be three times as big as the one proposed in 2014, and will be a joint venture between the City and county. Public comment A library patron spoke about his wish for the Library to change its Internet access policy. He was unhappy that his teen is able to come to the Library, check out a laptop, and take it to any corner of the building to view any site on the Internet. The current BPL Internet access policy states that it is the parents’ responsibility to monitor their children’s Internet activity. The patron was concerned that any child can access the laptops without parental permission, and that laptops can be taken to areas where the screen is not as visible to others as the desktop public computers, and therefore there is less discouragement from looking at lewd sites. He suggested making parental permission a requirement for those wishing to checkout laptops who are under 18. He also mentioned Internet filters that could be implemented to allow patrons to only be able to access approved sites. The Board discussed the logistics of having separate rules in place for minors accessing the Internet, along with the importance as a public library of maintaining free and open access to information for all patrons. Board and staff members noted that the Library, like any other public library, contains many works which could possibly be deemed obscene depending on an individual’s perspective, and that the Library must weigh the concerns about the extremely small percentage (1-2%) of patrons who use Library computers to access pornography against the majority who do not. Trustee Gallagher suggested that the Board and/or Library staff research other libraries’ Internet access policies, and Chairman Farmer concluded by saying that this issue will go on the Board’s agenda for August. Foundation Report Library Foundation Director Paula Beswick showed the Board a promotional video that will be shown on 14 public screens at the Bozeman airport. There are three more spots scheduled to be filmed, which will promote various programs and features of the Library. Beswick noted that she may also use the advertising space to air a One Book One Bozeman promo the weekend of Montana State University convocation. The videos, funded by the Foundation, are being produced by a local film company headquartered in Bozeman and with offices in Dusseldorf and New York City. Beswick reported that she participated in two sessions at the American Library Association (ALA) conference – she led a breakout discussion at the United for Libraries Division’s Nuts and Bolts preconference, and was part of a panel on library community leadership. Beswick has been appointed to the national board for United for Libraries, and was also asked to sit on an ALA committee which oversees the certification/review process for non-librarians working in libraries. Beswick reported that the fundraiser at Barnes and Noble last month raised, over $1,200 for the bookmobile. She is currently planning this year’s One Book One Bozeman programming, which may include panels on medical ethics, race and poverty, and the medical and legal aspects of the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The author, Rebecca Skloot, as well as two members of the Lacks family will be featured at MSU convocation, and will speak at the Library the next day (August 27th). Beswick reported on new benches that are to be permanently installed on Library grounds, flower baskets, a new memorial tree, and the summer outdoor concert schedule. She said there will be a bookmobile meeting on July 30th with Anton Bekkerman, the MSU economist who is working with BPL to help determine bookmobile routes, and other community members. She reminded the Board of the opening reception for the Gallatin Art Crossing on August 20th, which will be held on the Library grounds in the Bozeman Sculpture Park. Other Business Trustee Gallagher asked about staffing for the bookmobile, and Gregory replied that the formal request for staffing for the bookmobile will be submitted by the Library to the City in February 2016. Trustee Pawlak asked about the appointment of a new Board member. Gregory reported that two candidates have applied, and the appointment will be made by the mayor. Adjournment There being no further business, Board Chair Ron Farmer adjourned the meeting at 5:52pm.