CALL TO ORDER AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA
The regular meeting of the Rochester Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting was called to order by Dave Nelson.
Members present: Jerry Balm, Chris Colby, Betty Hutchins, Ed Haskell, Dick Hall, Tyler Hoecker, Tonya Holt, Steve McMaster and Dave Nelson.
Staff present: Audrey Betcher, Library Director; Tom Dyer, Head of Communications; Kim Edson, Head of Reader Services; Carrie Farrow, Head of Circulation Services; Louise Moe, Head of Reference Services; Rebecca Splittstoesser, Head of Technical Services; Beth Warfield, Head of Children's Services; Purna Gurung, Office Services Coordinator.
Others present: Al Dollerschell, Friends of RPL.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ed Haskell moved, Dick Hall second to approve the meeting minutes from March 17, 2004, as submitted. Motion approved.
APPROVAL OF BILLS
Ed Haskell moved, Dick Hall second to approve the bills as submitted. Motion approved.
MONTHLY REPORT
Ed Haskell moved, Dick Hall second to approve the March monthly report as submitted. Motion approved.
FOUNDATION REPORT
The Foundation Board is meeting at 5:30 pm after the Library Board meeting. They will be kicking off the fundraising campaign after this meeting. On April 20th, the Foundation was recognized by Mayo Clinic at their annual Community Update breakfast. Chris Colby and Tom Dyer were in attendance. During the last Board meeting, Laurie Ward led the members through the basics of soliciting donations. A subsequent overview will be held tonight for absent members.
SELCO REPORT
SELCO has surveyed Board members and Directors as part of updating their strategic plan. Audrey will be attending a strategic plan meeting in May as part of this process. Audrey noted that the SELCO survey included a query about a possible merger between SELCO and SELS. Dick Hall informed the Board that his term on SELCO's Executive Board is ending in July 2004. He added that the Board should consider appointing a replacement candidate for the position. Ed Haskell stated that the candidate did not have to be a Library Board member and asked Dick to consider remaining on the Executive Board. Dick will consider this proposition.
Dave Nelson noted that the Board should be thinking about replacement candidates for Board members whose terms are up in 2005.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Finance Committee: The Committee did not meet. Audrey informed the Board that she does not anticipate further cuts for 2004 and that it was too soon to know about 2005. Audrey believes we will know more after the legislative session is complete.
Planning Committee: The Planning Committee met on April 14th. They have seen the Action Plans for 2005. The Administrative Team will use these Action Plans when developing the 2005 budget. Steve McMaster asked for Board feedback. A discussion ensued. Dick Hall noted that some of the measurements did not have objectives. Betty Hutchins expressed concerns that the plan did not address the needs for the growing minority community. Audrey replied that part of this issue is covered under "Maintaining Existing Services" but she will create a separate action plan. Audrey disclosed that RPL is working towards applying for a grant to create library orientation videos in multiple languages. Jerry Balm asked about Chamber membership for the Library. Audrey replied that AT is considering this option for the 2005 budget. Ed Haskell suggested that we approach the Foundation to fund Chamber membership as it can also serve to raise visibility for the Foundation's efforts. Dave Nelson asked for a motion to endorse the plan, with the recognition that the plan is a working and evolving document.
Chris Colby moved, Jerry Balm second to endorse the Action Plans for 2005 as submitted, subject to revisions. Motion Approved.
Policy Committee: The Policy Committee will be meeting on April 27 to discuss the following: Code of Conduct, Trespass Policy, and Duplicate card fees.
Personnel Committee: None.
Youth Advisory Board: None.
BUDGET
We should be able to maintain our current 2004 budget. The LGA cuts expected for Rochester will have an impact on our 2005 budget.
LSTA
We intend to submit one LSTA grant application for federal money. The guidelines arrived today and the turnaround time is very short. Our grant is in the area of "Target programming for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency". We will be asking for a grant around the $20,000 - $25,000 range. Audrey requested a Board action to approve sending in the grants.
LDS is looking for grant reviewers for the LSTA grants.
Ed Haskell moved, Betty Hutchins second to authorize staff to draft and submit the LSTA grant. Motion approved.
NEW "STATE LIBRARIAN"
Although her title isn't State Librarian, the Department of Education finally hired Suzanne Miller to be the head of the library agency at the state level. She started work on April 5th. She was the State Librarian in South Dakota.
MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE
We have attached a summary report of the revenue generated from miscellaneous sources such as beverages and plastic bags.
MNLINK AND FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING
Audrey briefly explained the premises for the memos that were sent out to HESO and LDS. We have not heard back formally from either organizations. Audrey will be attending a meeting of Gateway sites the first week of May. We should hear back from the two organizations by summer. Audrey will keep the Board posted of any developments.
BENEFITS & DRAWBACKS OF STANDALONE AUTOMATION
As per the Board's request, this document was revised and distributed to City and County officials. We also completed our updated analysis of the cost comparison of staying on SELCO vs standalone. We estimated $75,000 savings per year and our estimates were very close. Dick asked that political impact be included under "Drawbacks" in future versions of the document.
TECHNOLOGY PLAN
We updated the Technology Plan to meet E-rate requirements. No substantial content changes were made.
ANNUAL STATISTICS
Audrey reported that the annual statistics were sent to the State.
METRICS
Tabled. This document will be reviewed during the May board meeting.
CHARTER COMMISSION
Audrey reviewed the March 9th minutes of the Charter Commission meeting. She added that the Board needed to be aware of this discussion as it could have a large impact on the library. The Charter Commission's notion is to disband governing public boards.
PHOTOS FOR REGISTRATION
We will begin a procedural change this summer; we will begin requiring a picture taken at the point of registration. We will not be putting the picture on the ID, but it will be available in the user record so staff can verify the identity of the person using the card. The main costs involved is staff costs since the Sirsi software already accommodates this feature. We hope to decrease card and material theft with this procedure.
COLD STONE CREAMERY
Al Dollerschell reported that the Cold Stone Creamery promoted their grand opening by giving the Friends of RPL 50% of the proceeds for that day, which came up to $2,120. He added that Cold Stone Creamery was very community minded and recommended that staff and the board frequent the establishment.
OTHER NEWS
The Post Bulletin will be running an article featuring the Top 10 Hidden Treasure at the Library on April 24th. After reading about potential budget shortfall for 2005 in the March 25th edition of Post Bulletin, Jerry Balm expressed concerns about cuts. Jerry Balm reported that an article in the Post Bulletin listed the Library as the 3rd ranked downtown draw for residents.
Respectfully submitted,
Tonya Holt
Secretary
The next regular meeting of the Library Board will be Wednesday, May 19, 2004, at 4:30 pm in Meeting Room B on the second floor of the library.