HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board Minutes 11.08.2020MINUTES
CITY OF LAUREL
Library Board
11/08/2020 06:00 PM
Laurel Public Library
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT:
X Dixie Feller, Federation Representative X Arthur Vogele, Board Chair
X Bill Hanson, Vice -Chairman Samantha Barnhart
X Nancy Schmidt, Secretary X Clair Killebrew — Foundation Liaison
OTHERS PRESENT:
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 October 2020 were presented for approval. Dixie motioned the
minutes for October 2020 be approved, Bill seconded the motion; motion
passed.
b. The library received two items of correspondence this month: a donation from
the Schmitt family in honor of Leo Schmitt that passed away on December 18,
2019 and a donation of $50 from Ray Wells. The Schmitt family donated $1,000
to the library in Leo's name.
c. Circulation Report - Traffic: down 24.8%; circulation: all items circulated totaled
3,865 (including 488 eBooks), book circulation was down 7.7%, media circulation
was down 37.1%, eBook checkouts for this month was 14.3% of total book
circulation, we circulated 844 items to partners and 163 items from other
libraries; computers: internet use was down 7.2%, children's use was down 85%,
wi-fi use : up 1%; patron cards: city registrations made up 55.1% of library users,
county patrons 41.3% and non-resident registered patrons 3.1%. There were 44
tech assists in October.
3. New Business
a. Library standards have been completed with the exception of adopting the
personnel policy. The State Library now requires a formal adoption of a
personnel policy for library staff. We can either adopt the City policy or create
one specifically for library personnel. Dixie motioned that we table the adoption
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of a personnel policy until library staff are officially part of the Union Local 316
and we adopt their policy. Bill seconded the motion; motion passed.
b. The Library Use Policy was revise to include the cost of printing 3D items. Dixie
motioned the revised policy be adopted by the Board of Trustees. Bill seconded
the motion; motion passed.
c. It is time for the annual statistics required by the State Library. We will add the
costs of items spent out-of-pocket by staff and trustees, amounts spent from the
Foundation, and costs of donated items from patrons such as books or other
materials.
d. The Montana State Library has put funds toward providing technology supplies
to public libraries. We have been provided with 8 hotspots (3 Verizon & 5 T -
Mobile) with data plans included, 4 iPads, and 2 HP Pros. All of these items will
be cataloged and allowed to circulate to patrons just like our regular materials.
e. Bethany has reached out to Nancy about having the Board Chair approve the
Director's timesheets. Arthur has agreed to the timesheets with the
understanding that technology needed to approve the timesheets needs to
come out of the City funding since they are requiring the Chair's approval. Arthur
has stated that the library does not have the funds to pay for any new
technology for him to use.
4. Old Business
a. The library was closed for deep cleaning after the book sale November 2nd _ 7th,
2020. Library staff spend much of their time disinfecting all surfaces in the
library, shampooing the carpeting, cleaning and hanging historic pictures, and
cleaning returned books. We used an extension ladder to clean the tops of the
cross beams, remove the quilts, and hand the pictures. The library not only looks
cleaner, but also brighter and smells better.
b. The book sale was very successful for us. The final amount received was
$4,162.36. We had generous donations provided by Mary Kasner, Ray Wells,
Mary Kay Kimmet, the Miranda Fenner Foundation, and Kate Morton. Thank you
letters will be sent out to each of them for their donations.
c. Under Foundation business, we have over $8,000 in the account. We used some
of these funds to pay for the community table that was requested by Mary
Freund. It was suggested that a plaque be put on the table to express that it is a
memorial in Margaret Freund's honor. Dixie suggested something that could be
placed upon the table but moved if the full surface area was needed.
d. The Board vacancy hasn't been filled yet. When I asked about the status of the
letter of interest from Clair Killebrew, I was told that I turned in the paperwork
but there hasn't been any response. It sent an email to the Mayor asking about
the status with all Council members cc'd but there is still no response. The Board
feels that since there hasn't been any action of filling this vacancy, non -action
has determined that Mrs. Killebrew has become the new Board member.
5. Other Items
a. Upcoming Items:
Do we close for Thanksgiving weekend or stay open? Library staff can decide
what they want to do.
b. Christmas and New Year's fall on Friday this year so library staff will have the
option to stay open on Saturday if they choose to work. If they want a long
weekend, we can close for a three-day weekend.
c. We would like to plan a staff/Board pizza party for Tuesday, December 22nd,
2020. We will schedule it for the hours of 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm so all staff and
Board members can attend at their convenience. Dixie suggested that we do
individual sub sandwiches so we aren't allowing for possible cross -
contamination. We will of course, make sure COVID precautions are in place.
6. Announcements
a. Next regular meeting is Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the
Community Room of the Laurel Public Library.
Dixie motioned the meeting be adjourned at 7:02 pm. Bill seconded the motion,
meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
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.
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