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: Chris Colby, Farhan Hussein, Lisa Lundquist, Judy Ohly, Judith Taylor, Kathryn Ramage, Tom Sherman, 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; Andy Stehr, Circulation Services Manager; Beth Warfield, Head of Children's Services and Purna K Gurung, Administrative Services Coordinator.
Others Present: Shirley Edmonson, Friends of the Rochester Public Library (RPL).
INTRODUCTION
Kathryn Ramage was introduced to the Board as Tyler Hoecker's replacement. Other Board members and staff introduced themselves to Kathryn.
CONSENSUS AGENDA
Judy Ohly inquired about the large number of disbursements to the same vendors. Audrey Betcher replied that the Acquisitions Division orders books daily from the major vendors.
Motion by Judy Ohly, seconded by Deborah Westerland to approve the May 16, 2007, minutes, the monthly bills, and the monthly report. Motion carried.
PRESIDENT'S BUSINESS
JERRY BALM
It is with sadness that the Board discussed replacing Jerry Balm on the RPL Board and on the SELCO Board. Chris Colby noted that the Board needed to give some thought on whether a certain skill set was needed or if a particular group lacked representation.
RPL does not have representation from IBM. A discussion ensued. Chris will call the Mayor's Office to follow-up.
FOUNDATION REPORT
The 1st Annual Amuzing Race was a huge success. We had 35 teams and perfect weather. Chris Colby and Audrey Betcher thanked all the volunteers and sponsors who helped with the event.
FRIENDS REPORT
Shirley Edmonson reported that the Friends are holding a 3 day book garage sale during RochesterFest. She added that the Friends are receiving many donated books and are in the process of sending some of these books to the troops overseas.
SELCO
Deborah Westerland reported that Mayor Ardell Brede, County Commissioner Ken Brown, City Administrator Steven Kvenvold and she met with Ann Hutton and representatives from the SELCO Board. They discussed Regional Library Basic Support System (RLBSS), Regional Library Technology Aid (RLTA) and ways SELCO and RPL can work together to create more value for everyone involved.
SELCO is currently tieing databases to online libraries though there is no technical reason for not providing these resources to RPL patrons. SELCO is diverting funds meant for public libraries to academic and school libraries. Judith Taylor asked if it is illegal to use RLBSS funds for schools. Ann Hutton has stated that the SELCO Board has exclusive control of how funds are used.
Chris Colby inquired if any library our size is on their own. Audrey Betcher replied that no library that is larger than RPL is automated through their region. Duluth and Hennepin both have stand-alone systems. She also noted that federal funds were used to split Carver and Scott County who once shared an automation system. The Board discussed the resolution that the City/County approved that calls for 75% of all new RLBSS funding to go directly to public libraries.
Judy Ohly asked if the increased funding will translate into increased services for RPL. County Commissioners advocated for the increased RLBBS funding but some SELCO libraries are still getting an 8-9% increase in their automation fees.
Audrey Betcher reported that the SELCO Advisory Committee passed a resolution stating that new RLBSS funding go towards interlibrary loan support, online databases and material grants. The Committee also unanimously recommended that these services be made available to RPL.
The Board agreed that it is important to come up with examples of services that RPL would like to receive from SELCO. They also directed Audrey to draft a document that includes talking points that members can use to talk to their legislators.
Audrey Betcher noted that Deborah Westerland and she are meeting with Ken Brown to explore RPL's options. Chris Colby thanked Deborah for all her work with SELCO.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Nominating Committee: No report.
Finance: See 2008 Budget under New Business.
Personnel: No report.
Policy: No report.
Planning: No report.
Young Adult: None
NEW BUSINESS
2008 BUDGET
Deborah Westerland reported that the Finance Committee met last week to review the 2008 Budget recommended by the Administrative Team (AT). She reviewed the highlights of the budget:
Capital Improvements (CIP) request includes:
Deborah noted that the budget request is flat without the new Automation position. Tom Sherman asked if any portion of the 2008 budget was in conflict with RPL's Strategic Plan. Audrey Betcher replied that the budget was formulated with a conscious assessment of the Strategic Plan. A discussion ensued.
Motion by Farhan Hussein, seconded by Tom Sherman, to approve the 2008 Budget as presented by the Finance Committee. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
AUTOMATED MATERIALS HANDLING (AMH)
We have narrowed the field on the automated materials handling systems based on the responses to the Request for Proposals (RFP). We are seeing demos and scheduling site visits to make a final selection.
Andy Stehr and Audrey Betcher are recommending using RMG Consultants to negotiate the contract with the finalist. Patrick McClintock has been very helpful through the entire process, and he was effective in working with Sirsi when we negotiated our Integrated Library System (ILS) contract in 2003. At this point we are unsure whether we will need to negotiate the contract in person or whether we can do this with phone calls and e-mail. The worst case cost scenario for RMG if we need to negotiate in person is $2,035. This would come out of the budget for the AMH system.
Audrey added that we will go for a best and final after the site visits. The Board noted that they would like to see a presentation of the vendor products.
Motion by Judy Ohly, seconded by Deborah Westerland, to approve spending up to $2,035 with RMG Consultants to negotiate an Automated Materials Handling contract. Motion carried.
OTHER NEWS
Tom Sherman reported that he attended an Expo in Toronto and visited a booth that was promoting a very interesting database. He was later informed by his students that RPL has this database on its homepage.
Chris Colby noted the two Book-A-Year (BAY) memorials that RPL received from Jerry Balm's family. Purna Gurung is collecting funds for a BAY memorial for Jerry from the Library Board and the Administrative Team. Audrey Betcher reported that Rita Balm is also giving RPL memorials for Jerry to be used towards a scholarship for the 2008 Public Library Association conference.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.
Tom Sherman
Secretary
The next regular meeting of the Library Board will be Wednesday, July 18, 4.30 p.m. in Meeting Room B.