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, Tyler Hoecker, Farhan Hussein, Lisa Lundquist, Judy Ohly, 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; Beth Warfield, Head of Children's Services and Purna K Gurung, Administrative Services Coordinator.
Others Present: Al Dollerschell, Friends of the Rochester Public Library (RPL).
INTRODUCTION
Judy Ohly was introduced to the Board as Ed Haskell's replacement. Other Board members and staff introduced themselves to Judy.
CONSENSUS AGENDA
The bookmobile has been getting major repair work done on it as reflected in the bills paid. The radiator repair was the biggest ticket item. We are hoping that this work will get us through the end of its life. Kim Edson explained that there is a lack of good service centers around town who really understand bookmobiles.
Farhan Hussein noted that he was present at the April meeting. Judith Taylor asked that acronyms be spelled out (e.g. RLTA, RLBSS etc).
Motion by Jerry Balm, seconded by Mary Tigner-Rasanen to approve the minutes from April 18, 2007 with the revisions stated above, the monthly bills, and the monthly report. Motion carried.
PRESIDENT'S BUSINESS
FOUNDATION REPORT
The Foundation Board is finalizing its plans for the 1st Annual Amuzing Race which will run the morning of June 9th. We have 13 teams registered to date and have procured $6,500 in sponsorships.
Foundation Board members met with representatives from the Mayo Clinic on April 23rd to give a progress report. Chris Colby noted that Mayo normally does not fund endowments but had made an exception for the Library. They are also open to receiving future program funding requests. A discussion ensued. The Board agreed that it is necessary to differentiate funding for budget relief from funding for new pilot programs. They also noted the aggressive 2008 Action Plans.
FRIENDS REPORT
The Friends had a book sale on April 20th during National Library Week and raised $895.00. They are planning a 3-day garage sale for RochesterFest.
The Friends are holding so many book sales now to keep up with donations that they are forming a new Book Sale Committee.
SELCO
Audrey Betcher and Deborah Westerland met with Mayor Ardell Brede, City Administrator Stevan Kvenvold, County Commissioner Ken Brown and City Council President Denny Hanson. They discussed Regional Library Basic System Support (RLBSS), Regional Library Telecommunications Aid (RLTA) and other issues. The consensus at the end of the meeting was to arrange a sit down meeting with SELCO. Judith Taylor asked how RLBSS aid is appropriated. Audrey replied that the funding formula is based on population, geographic area served, and equalization.
Sirsi and Dynix have merged and the company is working on a separate Integrated Library System (ILS) product called Rome. Rome is much closer to Sirsi's Unicorn, thus there are fewer ramifications for RPL. SELCO's ILS Horizon 8.0 enhancements have been scrapped, and they are currently looking at alternative vendors. Both Horizon and Sirsi will have migration paths to Rome.
The Board asked if this merger will make searching of the different catalogs more seamless. Audrey replied that this is less of an issue with MnLINK.
SELCO is using RLBSS funding for school libraries. Farhan Hussein asked if RPL can apply directly for state funding. No, as state funding for libraries goes through regions. Audrey replied that if we are not a member of the region, we would lose state funded databases. She further noted that there would be more accountability if libraries had a choice in the regional systems they wanted to belong to. A discussion ensued. Mary Tigner-Rasanen noted that RPL should also focus on the relationship that isn't measured monetarily.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Nominating Committee: No report.
Finance: No report. The Committee will be meeting next month.
Personnel: No report.
Policy: No report. Jerry Balm noted that the SELCO Board is reviewing all of SELCO's policies.
Planning: No report.
Young Adult: Tyler Hoecker announced that today's meeting is his last. The Board thanked Tyler for his service. Audrey Betcher noted that a bookplate will be placed in a library book each year in perpetuity in recognition of his service.
NEW BUSINESS
2008 ACTION PLAN
The Board reviewed the 2008 Action Plan recommended by the Administrative Team. This plan is based on the Strategic Plan that was approved by the Board last month.
Motion by Jerry Balm, seconded by Lisa Lundquist, to approve the 2008 Action Plan. Motion carried.
BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES
This document was updated to show the Foundation Board responsibilities.
Motion by Farhan Hussein, seconded by Judith Taylor, to approve the revised Board Responsibilities document. Motion carried.
DIRECTOR'S INFORMATION ITEMS
REVISED 2006 METRICS
The Board reviewed the revised staffing/population growth graph.
AUTOMATED MATERIALS HANDLING
We have received 7 proposals for the automated materials handling system. We will be narrowing it down to two finalists by the end of the month.
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.
Purna Kumari Gurung
Secretary Pro-tem
The next regular meeting of the Library Board will be Wednesday, June 20, 4.30 p.m. in Meeting Room B.