HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board Minutes 10.17.2023MINUTES
CITY OF LAUREL
Library Board
10/17/2023 06:13 PM
Laurel Public Library
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Katie Fjelstad X Arthur Vogele, Board Chair
X Kate Manley X Lela Schlitz — via Zoom
X Nancy Schmidt, Secretary X Mary Nelson
X Clair Killebrew —Foundation Liaison
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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 2023 and September 2023 were presented for approval. Lela
motioned the minutes be approved as presented, Mary seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
b. Correspondence — 2-$50 donations from Ray Wells, $95 in memorials for Connie
McCullough, a letter from LPS thanking us for helping collect school supplies during the
month of August for distribution to those students that need them most, and a $200
donation from someone connected with CHS using the BlackBaud Giving Fund using
YourCause to donate to the library.
c. Circulation Report — (compared to the same time period as last year) Traffic: up 14.7%;
circulation: all items circulated totaled 4,033 (including 609 eBooks), book circulation
was down 20.6%, media circulation was up 1.9%, eBook checkouts for this month was
19.8% of total book circulation, we circulated 992 items to partners and 262 items from
other libraries; computers: internet use was up 12.8%, children's use was up 185%, wi-fi
use down 38.8%; patron cards: city patrons make up 63.7% of registered users, county is
27.8% and state/out of county has 8.8% of our registered patrons. There were 33 tech
assists in August.
3. New Business
a. The Small Business Alliance of Laurel has asked if they can use the library as their yearly
fundraiser. They want to do an 80s Prom on December 30, 2023. Tickets will be $25
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each along with other fundraising during the night. They sold out last year and raised
about $3,000 for the splash park. The Palace has opened their meeting space for the
fundraiser. More details will follow next month as plans are solidified. The library will
help with flyers, planning and other necessary items. Information will also be on
Facebook so we will link to their announcement.
b. With the expected funds from the fundraising, we should start looking at which shelves
should be replaced first. Library staff would like to see the new shelves in the fiction
section. Mike has stated that we have reached the limits of how much we can weed in
that section so we definitely need new shelves. Board members decided that they
would follow the staff recommendation of placing the new shelves in the fiction section
of the library.
4. Old Business
a. Our fall book sale is scheduled for Monday, October 23rd through Saturday, November
4th. We are looking for volunteers to help with setup and working the sale. Some setup
has already been done but the bulk of it will be on Friday and Saturday before the sale.
The question about using the book sale funds for new shelving also. It was agreed upon
by all board members present.
b. Kate and Nancy reported on their participation in the Fall Workshop in Great Falls. Both
stated that they found the training interesting and informative. Training for the Talking
Book Library, ASPeN accounts, BlueCloud Analytics, Statewide Resource Sharing, Legal
Reference sharing, creating value in your community, policy development and updating,
disaster preparedness, and genealogy research were some of the topics covered.
c. The Federation meeting was held on Saturday, September 30th at the Laurel library.
Arthur and Kate reported on the meeting. After the business part of the meeting,
training was provided by MT AARP called "Prepare to Care". It was very interesting and
helpful to those that may be experiencing caregiver burnout. Nancy stated that this may
be the last year that she remains the Federation Coordinator. Once the MSL Commission
makes their final decisions on how the federation is run, Nancy will make her final
decision on being the coordinator.
d. The Fall Retreat held in Chico was attended by Arthur and Nancy. They stated that it was
one of the lowest attended retreats that has ever been held but it provided them with
the opportunity to share information with other library directors, one-on-one. They also
stated that they were the only attendees from South Central Federation and none of the
state librarians were in attendance either. The State is also looking for alternatives to
the problem with the courier, as well as IT help, legal services and arbitration training
for libraries, and improving shared resources across the state. We also shared
information on banned books.
e. West school had their second classes come over for tours of the library. We had 7
classes come over that had a total of 123 students and 10 adults attending. Mike gave
the tours and answered questions from the students. We updated their cards if they
had one or signed them up for new cards if their parents filled out the application.
f. The roof has been completed and looks much better than it was. Kate asked about the
soffit and fascia. These items weren't part of the roofing bid so will have to be
completed at a later date. The roof was completed fairly quickly and is holding well in
the current winds. We've noticed a decrease in the instances of the doors blowing open
when the winds were of a higher velocity. We are all pleased with the new roof and it is
great to not to have to worry about the library flooding because of missing shingles and
other damage to the roof.
5. Other Items
a. Upcoming Items:
The library will be closed Saturday, November 11th for Veteran's Day. This will
give everyone an equal chance of getting their holiday off closer to the original
day.
6. Announcements
a. The next regular meeting is November 14, 2023 at 6:00 pm in the library community
room. A Zoom link will be added to the next agenda.
Arthur motioned that the meeting be adjourned, Mary seconded the motion. Meeting
adjourned at 7:23 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
r
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.
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