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, Ed Haskell, Tyler Hoecker, Farhan Hussein, Lisa Lundquist, Tom Sherman, Judith Taylor and Deborah Westerland.
Staff Present: Audrey Betcher, Library Director; Kim Edson, Head of Readers Services; Carrie Farrow, Communications Manager; James Rentz, Head of Technical Services and Andy Stehr, Circulation Services Manager.
Others Present: Mary Tigner-Rasanen.
INTRODUCTION
Mary Tigner-Rasanen was introduced to the Board as a new member who is awaiting approval from the City Council. Other board members introduced themselves to Mary.
Ed Haskell announced that he is moving in May and will be leaving the Board. His last meeting will be April. Chris Colby also announced the resignation of Steve McMaster.
AGENDA
The agenda was amended to add LSTA Library Services and Technology Act grant to the agenda.
CONSENSUS AGENDA
Motion by Ed Haskell, seconded by Jerry Balm to approve the minutes from January 17, 2006, the monthly bills, and the monthly report. Motion carried.
PRESIDENT'S BUSINESS
FOUNDATION REPORT
Additional Library Tours have been scheduled. Tours are scheduled 2-3 times per month. Board members are asked to invite people that might be interested in supporting the library to go on a tour. Many people are unaware of the many library programs and services, and the tours get people excited about what's going on. Many people who attend the tours are getting involved.
Wit, Wisdom & Wine was a big success with over 200 paid attendees and over $15,000 raised. The raffle for the AirTran Airways tickets was a successful new item that raised over $1,700.
The Events Committee is working on the new Amuzing Race fundraiser to be held on June 9th.
Library staff would like the Board to consider asking the Foundation for $600 to purchase extra copies of the last book in the Harry Potter series. It will be published July 21, 2007, and we expect great demand (50 reserves already). The Foundation has $2,000 in discretionary funds, and has funded a similar request in the past.
Motion by Ed Haskell, seconded by Farhan Hussein, to ask the Library Foundation for the funds to purchase additional copies of the new Harry Potter book. Motion carried.
FRIENDS REPORT
The Friends had a very successful book sale during WinterFest. The Friends have agreed to purchase the library a new microfilm reader/printer. They have also approved the expenditure of $5,000 for merchandising in the Children's Area.
SELCO
The SELCO Advisory Committee meeting was held on Tuesday, February 13th. It was a roundtable format and focused on Children's Services.
Debbie Westerland requested that SELCO apply for RLTA funds on Rochester Public Library's behalf. The request is still under discussion.
Jerry Balm reported that at the January 23rd board meeting, SELCO was optimistic about the new release of their ILS software. There was also some discussion about a consulting group where Ann Hutton has been asked to serve as a resource. The board was concerned about a possible conflict of interest. Ann stated that the by-laws did not prohibit her from participating in the consulting group. SELCO is also interested in evaluating the level of stress for library staff in helping the public with new technology. The Library Board asked RPL staff whether that is an issue at RPL. RPL staff emphasized that this function is part of our mission.
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Committee assignments have been made for 2007.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Nominating Committee: No report.
Finance: No report.
Personnel: No report.
Policy: The Policy Committee is reviewing a policy regarding purging of fines and fees. When the library migrated to SIRSI, the library suspended the purging of fines due to the use of the collection agency and issues related to new processes with SIRSI. There was a previous practice for purging fines, but there was no formal policy. The city prefers a written board policy. The committee recommends the policy to purge lost fees 7 years or older, purge overdue fees older than 3 years for patrons who are not in collections, and purge overdue fines for patrons with known bad addresses after one year. Added policy will be examined to address expired cards and additional fee collection efforts and brought back to the Board.
Motion by Ed Haskell, seconded by Farhan Hussein, to approve the fine/fee purging policy. Motion carried.
Planning: No report
Young Adult: Theme for the summer reading program is Let Your Imagination Fly. The library is sponsoring a youth logo art contest. Kim Edson reported on the merchandising activities in the YA area.
OLD BUSINESS
2006 ACTION PLANS
The Board reviewed the progress towards the 2006 Action Plans and discussed the 2006 accomplishments.
NEW BUSINESS
GIFT TO THE LIBRARY
A bequest of $2,000 was received from the estate of Alan & Rose Rich.
Motion by Ed Haskell, seconded by Farhan Hussein, to transfer these funds to the Rochester Public Library Foundation. Motion carried.
LSTA GRANT
The library is applying for an LSTA grant to market online databases to seniors.
Motion by Ed Haskell, seconded by Jerry Balm, to sign the LSTA revised grant application. Motion carried.
DIRECTOR'S INFORMATION ITEMS
VIDEO FINES
Video and DVD fines have been at a higher rate than other types of materials. (50 cents per day vs. 25 or 10 cents per day for most materials). Due to the fact that we are purchasing very few VHS videos any more since the primary format has become the DVD format, we lowered the daily overdue to 25 cents per day.
LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY
Carrie Farrow and Audrey Betcher will be going up to Library Legislative Day on March 28th. The library will pay the registration fee of Board members interested in attending.
A webinar "Library Legislative Day 101" with Elaine Keefe, MLA/MEMO Lobbyist is scheduled for Friday, March 2nd at 2PM those who are not comfortable with the legislative process.
MERCHANDISING UPDATE
Board members are encouraged to take a look at the new displays.
PROMOTION OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Carrie Farrow is working with Think Credit Union and Magic Media on a billboard campaign. Mock up of the billboard advertising was distributed.
SORTING SYSTEM
The library is working on the Request for Proposal for the automated materials handling system. We hope it will be out by the next Board meeting.
OTHER NEWS
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.
The next regular meeting of the Library Board will be Wednesday, March 21, 4.30 p.m. in Meeting Room B.