CALL TO ORDER AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The regular meeting of the Rochester Public Library Board of Trustees was called to order by President Chris Colby.
Members Present: Jerry Balm, Chris Colby, Ed Haskell, Tyler Hoecker, Farhan Hussein, Lisa Lundquist, Tom Sherman, Judith Taylor, Mary Tigner-Rasanen and Deborah Westerland.
Staff Present: Audrey Betcher, Library Director; Kim Edson, Head of Readers Services; Carrie Farrow, Communications Manager; Jean Jahn, Automation Services Manager; Louise Moe, Head of Reference Services; James Rentz, Head of Technical Services and Purna K Gurung, Administrative Services Coordinator.
Others Present: Al Dollerschell.
CONSENSUS AGENDA
Kathy Olson is working on separating the circulation of dvds and video. The new figures should be reflected in the April monthly report.
Motion by Jerry Balm, seconded by Lisa Lundquist to approve the minutes from March 21, 2007, the monthly bills, and the monthly report. Motion carried.
PRESIDENT'S BUSINESS
FOUNDATION REPORT
The Foundation is planning for the Amuzing Race fundraiser to be held on Saturday, June 9th. Adamson Motors has agreed to be a sponsor at the $2,500 level and we have commitments from 10 leg sponsors at the $500 level and one at the $250 level. Sponsorship at the $500 level does include registration for one team. There are still leg sponsorships available.
Total donations of approximately $58,000 were received from the 2006 fund drive. $9,500 was designated to the Book-A-Year Endowment, $16,284 to the Endowment Fund, and the remainder to materials. After expenses, $26, 366 will be turned over to the library for materials.
The Foundation will be doing a presentation to Mayo in April. The matching grant commitment from Mayo ends after 2007. We want to keep ourselves on their radar as a candidate for future funding.
Library tours continue. Please remember to invite people to attend. The tours are scheduled several times per month and the dates are noted on the Events Calendar on the library's web site.
FRIENDS REPORT
Al Dollerschell reported that the Friends are spring cleaning and planning a book sale on April 20th. Due to the large amount of donations coming in, the Friends are also boxing some books and sending them to the military in Iraq. Jerry Balm suggested that this would be a good topic for a possible news article.
SELCO
We have received a response from the Department of Education about Regional Library Telecommunications Aid (RLTA) funding. Deborah Westerland asked how the Board wanted to move ahead. Audrey Betcher has sent a copy of the letter to Stevan Kvenvold who has agreed to set up a meeting with Denny Hansen, Mayor Brede, and Ken Brown to discuss the City's next step.
The Library Board reviewed the cost benefit analysis as suggested in the response letter. Audrey noted that at the last SELCO Advisory meeting, SELCO talked about conducting a survey on how to spend Regional Library Basic System Support (RLBSS) funds if they received the increased funding. A discussion ensued.
Audrey updated the chart that shows RPL's share of the SELCO region by tax liability, circulation, population, and amount spent on services to RPL. She used only the revenue from RLBSS in the last figure. The Board agreed that it is evident from the chart that SELCO is not spending much on services to RPL.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Nominating Committee: No report.
Finance: No report.
Personnel: No report.
Policy: The Policy Committee discussed Board member recognition. The consensus was to recommend a similar recognition to the Foundation's Book-a-Year Endowment. A label will be produced annually to be placed in a new book in recognition of a Board member's contribution.
A higher level of recognition for extraordinary service in the form of a dinner gift certificate (at the discretion of the Library Director) was deemed by at least half of the committee to be unnecessary and/or a burden to the Library Director. The Board decided that they could use this option in the future if deemed necessary.
The Library Board approved the recommendation to place a label each year in a new book in perpetuity for recognition of a Board member's contribution.
Planning: The Planning Committee met on April 4th and reviewed the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan is on the agenda as a separate item.
Young Adult: Tyler Hoecker reported that judging will be starting soon for the Logo Contest. May will be Tyler's last meeting. Audrey Betcher reported that there are 3 candidates who have expressed interest in this position. Tyler offered to help transition the new person in.
NEW BUSINESS
STRATEGIC PLAN
The Planning Committee met on April 4th and reviewed the Strategic Plan. The two main issues discussed were safety in the library (both employee and patron safety) and ensuring terms used in the plan have basis for measurements to track progress towards a goal. The safety discussion included physical safety as well as rights and freedom of selection of books.
The Committee also changed the format of the plan to make it more effective and moved the narrative of the core values to the front. The Committee's intent is to review and update the plan on an annual basis. After the Board approves the plan, the Administrative Team (AT) will use the plan as a framework to draft the 2008 Action Plans.
Tom Sherman noted that the Committee also reviewed the plan to ensure that library activities are aligned with our goals.
Motion by Jerry Balm, seconded by Lisa Lundquist, to approve the Rochester Public Library's Strategic Plan 2007-2032. Motion carried.
PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS
All contracts go to the City Attorney's office for review. Many of the performance contracts for programming are for small amounts and often timing is an issue. The City Attorney has stated that library staff may sign these contracts with prior Board approval.
Motion by Ed Haskell, seconded by Mary Tigner-Rasanen, to authorize library staff to sign performance contracts. Motion carried.
DIRECTOR'S INFORMATION ITEMS
2006 METRICS
Audrey Betcher stated that there are no huge jumps and that RPL is keeping up with the population growth. The Board suggested including the data in the presentation to City Officials. There were some questions about registrations. Tom Sherman suggested that the data in the Staff Increase vs. Circulation would show better in a line/flow chart. Audrey will look into it.
Jerry Balm asked if the Foundation could use data from the metrics in their presentations to potential donors. Audrey replied that she will send a copy of the document to the Foundation Board.
BOARD BOOKS
Please bring them in for Purna Gurung to update.
AUTOMATED MATERIALS HANDLING
Vendor responses are due on the system on May 4th. We are getting questions from some vendors. We are still on track for installation by the end of year.
MLA LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
Andy Stehr will be participating in the MLA Leadership Institute. Audrey Betcher will be a mentor for a director of a public library in central Minnesota.
OTHER NEWS
Chris Colby presented Ed Haskell with a Certificate of Appreciation for 10 years of service on the Board. The Board thanked Ed for his service and wished him and his wife the best in their future endeavors.
Chris Colby asked how the Board should respond to the patron who had the question about County Law Library. The Board agreed that they should acknowledge receipt of the document and thank the patron for keeping them informed about the ongoing issues. Chris Colby and Audrey Betcher will draft the response.
Judith Taylor asked if there were any plans to replace the aging bookmobile. Kim Edson replied that she has started the conversation for purchasing a replacement in the next few years. She added that there aren't too many bookmobile vendors in the market. Our requirement for a new bookmobile is unique as the vehicle is highly used by patrons. RPL's bookmobile circulates more than any other bookmobile in the State.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.
Tom Sherman
Secretary
The next regular meeting of the Library Board will be Wednesday, May 16, 4.30 p.m. in Meeting Room B.