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, Ed Haskell, Tyler Hoecker, Betty Hutchins, Steve McMaster, Dave Nelson, Tom Sherman and Debbie Westerland.
Staff present: Audrey Betcher, Library Director; Tom Dyer, Head of Communications; Jean Jahn, Head of Automation Services; Louise Moe, Head of Reference Services; Carrie Farrow, Circulation Services Manager; Beth Warfield, Head of Children's Servies; Purna Gurung, Office Services Coordinator and Rhonda Lorenza; Reference Librarian.
Others Present: Al Dollerschell, Friends of RPL.
NEW BOARD MEMBERS
The Board welcomed Deborah Westerland and Tom Sherman to the Libary Board.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
The Nominating Committee proposes the following slate of officers for 2005:
Steve McMaster, President
Jerry Balm, Vice President
Tonya Holt, Secretary
Ed Haskell moved, Jerry Balm second to approve the proposed slate of officers for 2005. Motion approved.
At this point, Steve McMaster took over the running of the meeting.
FRIENDS PRESENTATION
Al Dollerschell, President of the Friends, presented a check for $40,000 to the Rochester Public Library. This gift is the proceeds from Friends Bookstore for 2004. Steve McMaster thanked the Friends for their continued support of the Library.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ed Haskell moved, Dave Nelson second to approve the meeting minutes from December 15, 2004. Motion approved.
APPROVAL OF BILLS
Ed Haskell moved, Dave Nelson second to approve the bills as submitted. Motion approved.
MONTHLY REPORT
The Library Board reviewed the December monthly report. They noted that circulation has increased from 2003. They asked if there was a way to measure the impact of internet terminals on circulation. We currently measure the number of sessions and the length of each session. The Board suggested creating a voluntary survey for patrons to indicate how they use the internet e.g. access email, pay bills, do research etc.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Wit, Wisdom and Wine was a succesful event with about 145 paid attendees. Tbe preliminary estimates indicate proceeds of $9,000.
FRIENDS REPORT
Volunteer hours are up 10% from last year. The Friends are planning a special book sale on February 15th. Steve thanked the Friends for all their support.
SELCO REPORT
SELCO may be dropping bookmobile services. They have an aging bookmobile and declining circulation. The Diane Mayo study is not yet complete. They expect the result to be that SELCO will break out costs more. Instead of a blanket fee, libraries will be able to select and pay for modules. SELCO will be refinancing its balloon payment due in March.
Dick Hall's term is up in June. Audrey will verify if he can serve another term. The Board discussed the issue of representation once Dick leaves his post. They agreed that we need a Board member to represent RPL on SELCO's Executive Committee if possible.
BOARD COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Purna will e-mail the 2004 Committee Assignments and Committee Responsibilities documents to the Board. Members will e-mail Steve about their preferences for the 2005 Committee Assigments.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Finance Committee: None.
Planning Committee: None.
Policy Committee: None.
Personnel Committee: None
Nominations Committee: See Election of Officers.
Youth Advisory Board: Tyler Hoecker reported that the following events are scheduled for the coming months: Caroline Stevermer author program, Dystopia Film Festival and a Comic Book program.
OLMSTED COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
We have long worked cooperatively with the Olmsted County Historical Society. We often direct patrons to their collection when appropriate. The challenge has been to know what they have in their collection.
We have worked through a "Statement of Understanding" which will host some of their databases on our servers so that we may provide access to the information to our patrons. Some of their titles would also be loaded into our database. We think it is a fair balance and win/win/win for the public, RPL, and OCHS.
Audrey has spoken with the city attorney, and he agrees that the statement of understanding is sufficient.
Ed Haskell moved, Dave Nelson second to approve proceeding forward with the Olmsted County Historical Society project. Motion approved.
FOUNDATION ALLOCATION
The Foundation has allocated $21,944 for the library this year. All of the projects that the Administrative Team (AT) are recommending meet the goals established by the Foundation and will make a difference in the lives of the citizens of Olmsted County. AT recommends the disbursement for the following projects:
We have received very positive feedback on the storytime kits and want to continue to grow this project. We will use a professional marketing company to conduct a comprehensive survey once we identify the factors we want to measure. The Planning Committee will be consulted in this project. The Board briefly discussed the recommended projects and allocations.
Ed Haskell moved, Jerry Balm second to approve the disbursement of funds for all of the AT recommended projects. Motion approved.
WABASHA COUNTY
As discussed last month, Wabasha County has not increased its library funding in a number of years. We have received a formal request to restrict rural Wabasha County patrons to 2 checkouts at a time. SELCO will be sending us a list of patrons who will be affected. We will need to change the user profile of these patrons. The librarians in Wabasha County are working with SELCO to develop a communication plan to provide to their patrons.
Audrey will inform Richard Devlin about this situation.
Ed Haskell moved, Chris Colby second to approve honoring the two checkout limit for rural Wabasha County residents as the rest of SELCO is doing around Feburary 1st. Motion Approved.
PER CAPITA COMPARISONS
The state is currently going through an analysis of per capita support and maintenance of effort of every city and county in Minnesota starting with 1994. The data should be ready for the February board meeting.PERSONNEL UPDATES
James Rentz has been hired as the Head of Technical Services. He comes to us by way of Rockford, IL. He has many years of experience. He starts on February 3rd. Carrie Farrow has been hired as the Communications Manager. She officially starts on February 3rd as well. The position of Circulation Manager will be posted on January 19th. Tom Dyer's retirement party is scheduled for Friday, January 28th. It is an open house in the auditorium scheduled for 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm. The Board thanked Tom Dyer for his service to RPL and congratulated Carrie Farrow on her new position.MnLINK
MnLINK has placed the call for libraries who are interested in participating in the MnLINK Gateway. We will be submitting a letter of interest. If approved, it will facilitate interlibrary loan with all types of libraries in Minnesota. We intend to apply as a Category One library (libraries serving multiple institutions). Category One libraries have a higher priority for being added than Category Two libraries. Ed Haskell suggested that Audrey and Steve Kvenvold meet with Ann Hutton to get SELCO's endorsement of RPL's application. The Board asked that Audrey consult with Dick Hall.
MnLINK is going through a transition. On July 1, 2005, it will become part of the Minitex organization. Audrey is on the MnLINK/Minitex transition team and on the Minitex Advisory Council.
PERMANENT BAN
We have permanently banned a patron from the library for theft. He had over $900 worth of material in his possession without checking them out.
STRAGETIC UPDATE
Steve McMaster disclosed that going forward, the Board would spend some time each meeting to discuss a topic relevant to the strategic position of the library. Please send suggestions for topics to Steve.
OTHER NEWS
Audrey has been asked to serve on the Downtown Development Committee. We are investigating a new initiative by Recorded Books which will allow patrons to download audiobooks to their MP3 players. The company is providing an introductory offer. We may try this feature for a year.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Purna K Gurung
Secretary Pro-term
The next regular meeting of the Library Board will be Wednesday, February 16, 2005, at 4:30 pm in Meeting Room B on the second floor of the library.