HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board Minutes 09.01.20211
MINUTES
CITY OF LAUREL
Library Board
09/1/2021 06:06 PM
Laurel Public Library
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
X Katie Fjelstad X Arthur Vogele, Board Chair – via Zoom
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 August 2021 were presented for approval by the Library Board
members. Katie motioned the minutes be approved, Kate seconded the motion.
Minutes were approved.
b. The library received a donation from Ray Wells in the amount of $50 and a
$1,000 donation from the estate of Rhea Shoaff.
c. Circulation Report - Traffic: up 9.2%; circulation: all items circulated totaled
3,970 (including 549 eBooks), book circulation was up 42%, media circulation
was down 42%, eBook checkouts for this month was 15.16% of total book
circulation, we circulated 918 items to partners and 173 items from other
libraries; computers: internet use was up 16.6%, children’s use was up 150%, wi-
fi use : up 72.5%; patron cards: city patrons make up 53.5% of registered users
county 42.7% and out of county users make up 3.7%. There were 101 tech assists
in August.
3. New Business
a. Eli Ritterpusch is the only applicant for the tech position that was advertised via
Facebook and the library & City websites. After his interview, he most likely will
be offered the position starting at $17.52 per hour with a one -year probation
period and benefits.
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b. The Federation meeting was held via Zoom on Saturday, September 11 th at 10:00
am. Arthur Vogele and Clair Killebrew attended as Board and Foundation
representatives. The meeting lasted for 3 hours with information from the State
Library and Commission being shared with all members.
4. Old Business
a. The budget has been updated and passed by the City Council. The library is being
allocated 31.30 mills for FY 21/22, an increase of 3.7 mills. We are also planning
on having a book sale at the end of October/beginning of November to help with
library expenses.
b. There were over 1,000 meals served in August through the Summer Lunch
Program. The grand total for the summer (June 4th – August 13th) was 7,996
meals. We are planning on participating in the lunch program again next
summer.
c. There were 92 total participants in the Summer Reading Program. They read a
total of 94,078 minutes (that is 1,567.97 hours OR 65.33 days OR 9.33 weeks)
and earned 267 prizes. Next summer we will use the same type of program of
offer more consumables as prizes.
d. Julia Torna has submitted a letter of resignation from the library. She has stated
that her class schedule at the college is overwhelming for her and she wants to
concentrate on her studies since this is her last year. She also stated that she
moved to Billings recently and doesn’t want to commute during the winter.
Julia’s last day is Saturday, October 16th, 2021. Her position will be offered to the
rest of the City personnel, then the general public if no one bids on the job.
5. Other Items
a. Upcoming Items:
With the resurgence of COVID cases in the state, library staff are asking about
the probability of closing down if the staff are exposed. This de cision will be left
up to the director and Board Chair.
b. Kate asked if we had received the computers that we had been promised. There
have been 10 mini computers ordered/delivered and 1 all-in-one. The computers
taken out of service will be donated to the veteran’s program at MSU-Billings for
study lab.
6. Announcements
a. Next regular meeting is Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 6:00pm in the Community
Room of the Laurel Public Library.
Motion to adjourn: Kate, seconded by Kate. Meeting adjourned at 6:55 PM.
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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.