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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board Minutes 08.10.20211 MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL Library Board 08/10/2021 06:06 PM Laurel Public Library COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: X Katie Fjelstad X Arthur Vogele, Board Chair X Kate Manley - via Zoom Samantha Barnhart X Nancy Schmidt, Secretary Vacant X Clair Killebrew – Foundation Liaison OTHERS PRESENT: None 1. Public Input Citizens may address the committee regarding any item of city business not on the agenda. The duration for an individual speaking under Public Comment is limited to three minutes. While all comments are welcome, the committee will not take action on any item not on the agenda . a. Addressing the Board - None 2. General Items a. The minutes for July 2021 were presented for approval by the Library Board members. Katie motioned the minutes be approved, Kate seconded the motion. Minutes were approved. b. Geralyn Stevens sent a very lovely thank you card for her excellent retirement party. She stated that she didn’t expect it to be as enjoyable as she found it to be. Vance also sent a card with photos of the cake , decorations, and gifts that Geralyn received at her retirement. Donations were received from Ray Wells ($50), Linda Gourley - $50 in memory of Joe Davis, Virginia Gomer - $250 of which part is to be spent as an honor to Geralyn for her years of service t o the library and Laurel community, Madelon Davis - $225 in honor of her late husband Joe (she would like us to purchase large print books). c. Circulation Report - Traffic: up 45.9%; circulation: all items circulated totaled 4,116 (including 594 eBooks), book circulation was up 10.8%, media circulation was down 29.6%, eBook checkouts for this month was 15.7% of total book circulation, we circulated 795 items to partners and 144 items from other libraries; computers: internet use was up 56.8%, children’s use was up 310%, wi- fi use : up 76.4%; patron cards: city patrons make up 51.2% of registered users county 45.8% and out of county users may cut 32.9%. There were 83 tech assists 2 in July. 3. New Business a. Michael Furman, Jr has accepted the position of Assistant Library Director. His starting day will be Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Per union agreement, he has 30 days to revert back to his prior position without losing his job. Revert will end September 11, 2021. b. The City and Union Local 316 have reached an agreement on wages for City employees. Board members voted to support the agreement reached between the City and Union on wages. The library tech position will increase $2 per hour as of July 1, 2021 with a 3% increase for all union employee s as well as an increase in the FLEX amount allowed per year. This amount will increase to $650 for full-time employees, pro-rated for part-time employees. Katie motioned that the Board accept these recommendations on behalf of library staff, Kate seconded the motion; motion passed. c. There are three job descriptions that still need to be updated. Nancy will send these out in the next few weeks for everyone to read and comment on before the next meeting. d. The next Federation meeting is scheduled for Saturday, September 11, 2021 in Red Lodge. It is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am and end at 3:00 pm. Nancy will keep everyone updated on any changes in the meeting time/venue. 4. Old Business a. The budget has some tentative amounts listed for approval from the City Council. With the numbers agreed upon for union employees, and library personnel as part of this, the library budget needs some changes made to it before it is presented for final approval by Council members. The question presented today was what the Board wanted to do about the Director’s wages/benefits. Kate motioned that the Director receive the same wage increase and benefits that union members (other library staff) are now receivin g, Katie seconded the motion; passed. This will be a 3% wage increase, FLEX increase to $650 per year and 40 hours personal time retroactive to July 1, 2021. There was some discussion about increasing the wage 4% but Nancy declined this amount since library staff were being held at 3% for this year and 2% for next year. b. For the month of July 2021, the Summer food program has served 2,864 meals. The total number of meals served for the summer will be available next month. The program ends August 13, 2021. c. The stats for the summer reading program indicate that we have 92 participants who have read a total of 85,568 minutes read and received 170 prizes. This was a better than expected response for the summer reading program. 3 5. Other Items a. Upcoming Items: Nancy will be attending an Arbitration training in Fairmont Hot Springs scheduled for August 31st – September 2nd, 2021. The library is receiving 10 microcomputers and 1 all-in-one computer from the CARES money. Hopefully, they will be installed before the next board meeting. There should be 10 more computers being ordered for us. 6. Announcements a. Next regular meeting is Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 6:00pm in the Community Room of the Laurel Public Library. Motion to adjourn: Kate, seconded by Kate at 7:00 pm. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Nancy L Schmidt Nancy L Schmidt Library Director Secretary for the Board NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of listed agenda items.