HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board Minutes 01.14.2020MINUTES
CITY OF LAUREL
Library Board
01/14/2020 06:05 PM
Laurel Library
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
X Dixie Feller, Board Chair
X Bill Hanson, Vice -Chairman
X Nancy Schmidt, Secretary
Emilie Eaton
OTHERS PRESENT:
X Arthur Vogele
X Samantha Barnhart—via phone
X Clair Killebrew— Foundation Liaison
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. No one addressed the Board.
2. General Items
a. Arthur motioned the Library Board minutes for December 2019 be accepted as
presented, Samantha seconded the motion; motion passed.
b. The library foundation received a letter of appreciation from Yellowstone Boys
and Girls Ranch about the books donated to them in the past couple years.
Arthur explained that YBGR staff are using the donations to create a library for
residents/students and as life experiences information. Those books that haven't
sold after 3 or 4 sales will continue to be donated to YBGR.
c. A letter from AFSCME Local 316 was delivered to the library by Hannah Nash,
AFSCME Field Representative. Library staff have unanimously voted to join the
union. A meeting will be scheduled later to discuss changes to the collective
bargaining agreement (CBA).
d. Circulation Report -Traffic: down 17.6%; circulation: all items circulated totaled
4,4366 (including 510 eBooks), book circulation was up 3.4%, media circulation
was up 18.1%, eBook checkouts for this month was 13.9% of total book
circulation, we circulated 916 items to partners and140 items from other
libraries; computers: internet use was down 37.1%, children's use was down
37.5%, wi-fi use: unavailable because of software issues; patron cards: city
1
registrations made up 60.5% of library users, county patrons 36% and non-
resident registered patrons 4.1%. There were 52 tech assists in December.
3. New Business
a. With the quick approach of the 2020 Census the State Library is offering training
for library staff to help deal with issues that may come up when patrons use the
library to fill out their census information. Library staff will be setting up two
specific computers for census participation.
b. OFFLINE Conference is being held in Helena this year. After reviewing the
training being offered, Nancy decided that most of the topics have already been
offered at either the Chico Fall Retreat or were being offered at MLA in April.
c. MLA Annual Conference is being held in Missoula this year April 111_4tn Trustees
and staff that want to attend need to let Nancy know soon so that she can
reserve the motel rooms at the conference rates.
d. Just a quick reminder that the spring Federation meeting will be held in Laurel on
Saturday, March 141h at the library. Lunch and snacks will be served. All staff and
trustees are encouraged to attend.
e. There have been many changes around the library in the last few weeks. We are
experiencing growing pains because of lack of space. One area that has changed
the most is where we have our copier. Mike's workspace was being crowded
with patrons using the extra computer, so we moved that to the southwest
corner of the circ area and we moved the copier to the wall next to the movies.
The circular shelf with music is now over by the YA section. Don't be surprised if
we make more changes in the future to help accommodate our growing library.
f. Community Room use has also increased significantly over the last few years. We
now have guitars lessons scheduled 4 days per week, violin on Mondays, Moms
Group on Thursdays, book club meets on the second Tuesday, Bunco groups
meet on the third Tuesday and Thursday of each month, Library Board on the
second Tuesday, and various patrons request the use of the room for private
meetings. Homeschool groups or Christian schools bring students to the library
regularly as part of their studies. It may be time to start thinking about
expanding the library to include a couple small study/activity rooms, a medium
meeting room, a storage room, and a staff break room.
4. Old Business
a. Nancy presented the latest statement for the Foundation to Clair Killebrew for
her approval. Any items purchased through the foundation will be included in
the statistics of expenses for the next year.
N
b. Invoices were reviewed for December 2019 expenses. There were no questions
concerning the current expenses.
c. The library needs a new network key to count traffic on the Wi-Fi. One has been
ordered and will be installed shortly after we receive it. Next month we should
have a count of WIFI users.
5. Other Items
a. Upcoming Items:
There are three library staff that have too many vacation hours accrued
for this year. We will be working hard at taking time off before the end of
March, so we don't lose our time. Personal time will need to be
scheduled and taken by the end of June.
6. Announcements
a. Next regular meeting is Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the
Community Room of the Laurel Public Library.
Bill motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:20pm, Arthur seconded the motion; motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
w
Nancy L Schmidt
Secretary for the Board
NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of
listed agenda items.
3