The regular meeting of the Rochester Public Library Board of Trustees was called to order by President Paul Barton. Also attending were Dick Hall, Ed Haskell, Frank Iossi, Ann Larson, Naomi Lipsky, and Jeanne Parker.
Absent with notification: Susan Lee and Amit Raikar.
Staff present: Audrey Betcher, Kim Edson, and Kathy Olson.
Ed Haskell moved, Ann Larson second to approve the meeting minutes from February 9, 2000. Motion approved.
There were no unusual bills.
Bookmobile circulation is down for the month since the bookmobile was off the road a week for repairs.
Dial-in usage continues to decrease as more people use the Internet.
Usage of the storyline as been added to the report on page 3.
The Executive Committee is meeting with Tim Burchill from The Metanoia Group to discuss what the Foundation has accomplished and future direction. He will also be at the March 22 Foundation Board meeting.
The move to the new building went very well. The computer system was back up on Sunday.
Dick Hall reported that the Personnel Committee has met twice since the last Board meeting to discuss the proposed restructuring of the Adult Services division. There are several concerns with this proposal. If we do a major restructuring before a new director is hired, will that limit what a new director can do. Also, the Board has expressed a desire to do a organizational assessment of all library operations. The Committee asked Audrey to look at solving the needs of the division using people inside the organization without going outside to hire and whether the restructuring could wait until an organizational assessment is completed.
After review, Audrey indicated to the Board that the needs might be able to be met through the summer when we have shorter hours, however once we return to long hours it becomes very difficult since the division would then have three position openings, since another staff member has indicated she will be retiring at the end of the summer.
The Personnel Committee is also interested in starting on restructuring the job description for the director and will work on this over the next several months.
Audrey stated that we need to define what we are trying to do in terms of a study. Does the long- range plan really state the Board's priorities?
Dick Hall moved, Ed Haskell second to state the Board's intention to undertake preliminary efforts to determine what a participatory organizational assessment would encompass, alternatives to accomplish such a study, and an estimate of cost.
The Board discussed the concept of an organizational study. All were in agreement that In order to obtain useful results, all Board and key staff must be heavily involved and participate in the study. It will be a relatively time intensive process, but the results may be startling.
There are a quite a few things included in the library's mission and vision statements; a lot of things the public expects the library to do. We can either do all of them mediocre, we can do some of them well, or we can do some not at all. Knowing what the Library Board's priorities are can help with the organizational assessment process and helping to decide the best allocation of resources.
Motion approved.
Paul Barton appointed Dick Hall, Ed Haskell, himself, Audrey Betcher, and another library staff member to be recommended by Audrey, to review the options and facilitators available for an organizational assessment and to make a recommendation to the Board.
Jeanne Parker moved, Ann Larson second to approve upgrading the Library Associate I position in Adult Services to a Library Associate II to be responsible for the day-to-day scheduling and operations of the division, and to fill the position, and, if the position is filled from within, the lower level position vacated may also be filled. Motion approved.
The Board reviewed Committee appointments. Ann Larson volunteered to chair the Policy and Planning Committee.
Based on the test survey results, a few modifications need to be made. We plan to survey every time period the building is open.
Kim Edson updated the Board on the outstanding bookmobile issues. The most difficult task was finding someone to accept responsibility for the problems. In the end, the company who manufactured the vehicle accepted responsibility for most of the problems. As of March 7, everything has been resolved except the rear door and progress is being made to resolve that problem.
The most difficult problem has been the suspension related to the tag axle. Nobody wants to accept responsibility for the problems or give a clear answer on how to resolve. The end solution may be that we not have the tag axle on year round but put it on in the spring and take it off when the road weight restrictions lift. Another issue Kim was just informed about is that the tag axle may be failing and may need to be replaced at a cost of $4,000-$10,000.
The Board suggested that Kim contact the professional engineers association in St. Paul to see if they can recommend someone with credentials to review the problem.
The Board voiced their support for doing whatever needs to be done to resolve the bookmobile's problems.
Ed Haskell moved, Naomi Lipsky second to approve the change to the meeting room policy. Motion approved.
We have received preliminary word from the state that most of our grant request will be approved. Steve Kvenvold has given preliminary approval to pay the local share from the City's Contingency fund. The project could begin in late May and take approximately one month to complete.
Library staff have begun planning activities for National Library Week, April 9-15. The kickoff Sunday afternoon will be a program with reptiles. There are various other programs scheduled throughout the week. Staff will coordinate publicity and displays.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Olson
Secretary Pro Tem
The next regular Board meeting will be Wednesday, April 12, 2000, at 4:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B on the second floor of the library.