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 at 4.30 PM.
Members Present: Chris Colby, Farhan Hussein, Lisa Lundquist, Judy Ohly, Mary Tigner-Rasanen, Tom Sherman and Deborah Westerland.
Staff Present: Audrey Betcher, Library Director; Kim Edson, Head of Readers Services; Carrie Farrow, Communications Manager; James Rentz, Head of Technical Services; Andy Stehr, Circulation Services Manager; Beth Warfield, Head of Children's Services and Purna K Gurung, Administrative Services Coordinator.
Others Present: Theresa Friedhoff, Friends of the Rochester Public Library (RPL).
CONSENSUS AGENDA
Add Tom Sherman to the Members Present list.
Motion by Farhan Hussein, seconded by Lisa Lundquist to approve the revised June 20, 2007 minutes, the monthly bills, and the monthly report. Motion carried.
PRESIDENT'S BUSINESS
FOUNDATION REPORT
Dave and Lois Marris have requested that she replace Dave on the Foundation Board.
Motion by Mary Tigner-Rasanen , seconded by Deborah Westerland to approve replacing Dave Marris with Lois Marris on the Foundation Board.
Carrie Farrow reported that the Finance Committee has met and is investigating opening an interest earning disbursement account. These funds are currently being held in a checking account. She added that KTTC has agreed to be the publicity sponsor for the 2008 Wit, Wisdom and Wine which will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2008.
FRIENDS REPORT
Theresa Friedhoff reported that the Friends made about $4,200 from the RochesterFest Garage Sale. A non-profit organization from Minneapolis took all the books that didn't sell at the sale. The organization will use the proceeds from the book sales to plant trees throughout the world. Therese added that they are planning to have a book sale every other month as they are getting a lot of books.
SELCO
Deborah Westerland noted that SELCO has not responded to the letter sent from City/County officials. She added that Audrey Betcher and she sent a letter to State Librarian, Suzanne Miller, asking her to review the procedures that require a regional library to file e-rate in order for a public library to receive Regional Library Technology Aid (RLTA). No response has been forthcoming as of yet.
Deborah noted that they will continue the dialogue with SELCO. Audrey and Deborah are also working to put together a document that lists our options. Deborah reported that an option is for her to resign as the County representative to SELCO's Board and replace Jerry Balm as RPL's representative. Judy Ohly has agreed to take over as the County's representative. Audrey will file the necessary paperwork to submit Judy's application to serve as the County's representation on SELCO's Board to the County Board.
Motion by Mary Tigner-Rasanen, seconded by Judy Ohly to approve Deborah Westerland as RPL's representative to the SELCO Board. Motion carried.
Audrey will send a letter to SELCO informing them about Deborah Westerland. Mary thanked Deborah for all her work during her tenure as the County representative to the SELCO Board.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Nominating Committee: No report.
Finance: No report.
Personnel: No report.
Policy: The Policy Committee met via e-mail and recommends an updated Internet Safety Policy. Mary Tigner-Rasanen reported that most of the updates involved cleaning up old language.
The Board voted unanimously to approve the updated Internet and Internet Safety Policy.
Mary Tigner-Rasanen volunteered to serve as the Chair of the Policy Committee.
Planning: No report.
Young Adult: No report.
NEW BUSINESS
MID-YEAR REPORT ON THE 2007 ACTION PLANS
The Library Board reviewed the mid-year report on the progress of the 2007 Action Plans submitted by the Administrative Team (AT).
Tom Sherman asked about the measurement for Action Plan 1.1.A: Increase per capita holdings from 2006 to 2007. Kim Edson replied that we are changing the measurement in the 2008 Action Plan to reflect more emphasis on relevance vs. size of the collection. She added that the timing of weeding and inventory can skew the numbers from year to year.
Tom noted that he is pleased that the Library is looking at securing its collection and lowering the video fines. Audrey Betcher replied that we do not want fines to be a barrier especially for children. She also talked about the possibility of doing a pilot project in the future, possibly with Foundation funds, to evaluate how lowering/canceling fines on certain types of materials (e.g. children's materials) would effect circulation and other key factors. There was a concern from the Board that it would be difficult to do such a pilot project because people would not want fines to be reinstated.
Lisa Lundquist inquired about GASP principles. Audrey replied that GASP principles govern how libraries want to be perceived both physically and in terms of customer service.
Mary Tigner-Rasanen asked why there was no update for Action Plan 2.1.I: Continue planning for long-range library building needs in Rochester and Olmsted County and Action Plan 2.2.A: Explore additional material drop-off and pickup locations in Olmsted County. Audrey replied that Action Plan 2.1.I is in a holding pattern as there are no feasible products in the market for Action Plan 2.2.A. She added the City understands that staffing a branch is an expensive option and we need a meaningful yet cost effective approach to providing additional drop-off/pickup locations.
Audrey noted the Marketing Plan update has also been attached. Lisa Lundquist commended AT on the thoroughness of the progress report.
BEQUEST
The library has been notified that it will be receiving a gift from an estate. In the past, the Board has taken action to move undesignated gifts given to the library to the Foundation.
Motion by Farhan Hussein, seconded by Lisa Lundquist to approve moving the bequest to the Foundation when it arrives. Motion carried.
Chris Colby noted that there would be no need for formal Board action if a policy was in place that stated undesignated gifts go directly to the Foundation. A discussion ensued. The Board agreed on the merits of such a policy and discussed having the Policy Committee look into it.
Motion by Deborah Westerland, seconded by Mary Tigner-Rasanen to direct the Policy Committee to recommend a proposal to deal with undesignated gifts. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
AUTOMATED MATERIALS HANDLING (AMH)
Andy Stehr made a presentation about the Automated Materials Handling. He showed video footage of some of the site visits. The best and final bids are due on July 20th after which the Selection Team will meet to discuss the finalists. A discussion ensued about the check-in process and its impact on the online catalog and holds.
Audrey Betcher asked if the Board wanted to wait until the August meeting to review the details of the best and final bids or if they would rather receive updates via e-mail. Audrey added that she would bring the contract for Board approval before taking it to City Council so members will know the final costs. The Board agreed that the latter approach will help expedite the contract negotiation process.
DIRECTOR'S INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
MARKETING UPDATE
We are planning to put banner ads in the Post Bulletin (PB) from July to December. The PB will be able to provide data on hits and clicks on the links.
We will also featuring Kim Edson as one the Pig Skin Pick'em contestants to promote the databases and the events. The cost is $2,500 and includes ads and promotions for 21 weeks.
ROCHESTERFEST PARADE
The Rochester Public Library had an entry in the RochesterFest parade. Our entry highlighted characters from the Harry Potter series.
OTHER NEWS
Audrey Betcher reported that Phil Wheeler will be giving a presentation about Olmsted County population estimates and demographics at the August Board meeting.
Audrey added that some of our patrons were interviewed about the new Harry Potter movie.
Tom Sherman noted he recently visited the British Public Library and handed out bookmarks from this library. He added he was proud to be a part of the Rochester Public Library Board and the establishment.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:37 PM.
Tom Sherman
Secretary
The next regular meeting of the Library Board will be Wednesday, August 15, 4:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B.