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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board Minutes 04.09.20241 MINUTES CITY OF LAUREL 04/09/2024 06:02 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 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 March 2024 were presented for approval. Arthur motioned the minutes be approved as presented, Lela seconded the motion. Motion passed. b. Correspondence – the following were received this month: a $25 donation from Ray Wells, we received a $1,000 grant from Town Pump for the summer reading activities this year, and a $100 gift card from Donohue Roofing for posting a review on their website. The gift card will be used by staff for items needed at the library. c. Circulation Report – (compared to the same time period as last year) Traffic: up 2.2%; circulation: all items circulated totaled 5,056 (including 716 eBooks), book circulation was up 13%, media circulation was down 8.9%, eBook checkouts for this month was 15.6% of total book circulation, we circulated 933 items to partners and 312 items from other libraries; computers: internet use was down 18.7%, children’s use was down 30.8%, wi-fi use up 107%; patron cards: city patrons make up 62.6% of registered users, county is 28.5% and state/out of county has 8.9% of our registered patrons. There were 48 tech assists in March. 3. New Business a. Just a quick reminder that there is a trustee training being held in Billings this year. It is Tuesday, May 14th at the Billings Public Library. Nancy will email the link to the registration page so everyone has a chance to register for the training. There is no cost to attend since the federation has paid for the trainer. b. The annual Montana Library Conference is being held in Butte this year. It is scheduled for April 17th to 20th. Arthur will ride with Nancy either in the city car if it is available for her personal car. We will share our workshop information with the rest of the board at our next meeting. 4. Old Business a. The Federation meeting was held Saturday, April 6th in Billings. Clair, Nancy and Arthur reported that it was a very interesting meeting from the start. Clair attended as the liaison for Kate, our 2 board chair, since she has another meeting to attend that day. The main decisions made during the meeting where that the book kit weeding would be done under the collection management policy of the Laurel Public Library until Gavin, Alysia, and Nancy could create a policy specific to the federation book kits. After some discussion, it was determined that book kits have significant value to the federation members. The federation members decided that the coordinator stipend should be increased to $1,750 and $750 would be paid out to library staff that deal with the book kits the most. Members have asked for a monthly report on the circulation of the book kits. The bylaws discussion was tabled until a committee consisting of 2 trustees and 2 library directors could create an updated bylaws for adoption at the fall meeting. Nancy has been voted as the continuing coordinator for two more years. The trustee from Lewistown, Mary, is the temporary chair and Arthur will be the vice-chair for the next meeting. The Plan of Service was discussed, monies were decided upon for each library, and regional trustee trainings were planned for those that can’t attend the semi-annual meetings. Billings Public Library respectively declined their share of the extra $4,000. The next federation meeting is Saturday, September 28th in Roundup. b. Nancy stated that she received the resolution and ballot information from the civil attorney concerning the library mill levy. There is a statement that will accompany the resolution directed to the council members with information as to why the board feels a permanent mill levy should be placed upon the November ballot. The amount being requested is 45 mills, or $466,000. There was discussion about asking for the 45 mills on the ballot but only requesting that a smaller amount be levied and increased incrementally each year as needed. Arthur stated that we won’t know if a mill levy will pass unless we try. Library staff have received a number of inquiries about funding for the library and how to increase our budget. After extensive discussion the board members voted unanimously to move forward with a mill levy request. 5. Other Items a. Upcoming Items: 1. Board concerns – only had questions about the mill levy and how it was progressing. What did we need from the members to help move this forward? We discussed this earlier at length. 6. Announcements a. The next regular meeting is May 14, 2024 at 4:30 pm in the library community room. A Zoom link will be added to the next agenda. Kate adjourned the meeting at 7:25 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nancy L Schmidt 3 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. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81873158498?pwd=zpwR85eU1wFSuOb0NeXntgr8ZIsxYp.1 Meeting ID: 818 7315 8498 Passcode: 551579