March 23, 2004 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of March 23, 2004
Present: Betty Kerns, Helen Levitt, Prakash Mathew, and Virginia Dambach
Director: Charles Pace
Staff Representative: Nancy Giere
Staff members: Maxine Hilburn, Edie Discher, Beth Postema, and Cindy Wray
Friends of the Library Representative: Carol Sawicki
Guest: Jim Gilmour, City of Fargo Director of Planning
Absent: Jean Rayl
Order of Agenda
Helen Levitt moved to approve the order of the agenda, adding six month evaluation of director to New Business. Prakash Mathew seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Minutes
Helen Levitt moved to approve the minutes of February 23, 2004 as written. Prakash Mathew seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Director of Planning
Jim Gilmour, City of Fargo Director of Planning, presented prospective sites in the downtown area for a future library. Several warehouse buildings have been purchased and projects are underway. These sites, once plausible, are no longer available. With the space and parking requirements, almost a full block is needed for the library project.
The leading alternative is the existing space with the connection to the Civic Center. Parking is a large issue that would need to be addressed. Other sites mentioned include Interior Lumber properties in the proximity of the Plains Art Museum and NDSU; Lark/Cinema Grill development; Elders Communication/United Automotive block redevelopment; and north of the bus terminal as possible redevelopment sites. All sites would need to be negotiated with current owners, but these areas would provide enough space for this size project.
Land in the southwest part of the city was also discussed for a future expansion in that area.
Staff Report
Nancy Giere reported the Winter Reading Program was a success. 1,500 children, 95 teens and 117 adults participated this year. Activities for National Library Week are planned April 18-24. Monday Mark Ryan will speak about restoring the prints in the Adopt-A-Print campaign. The local band Frog Point Landing will provide poetry melded with jazz and country music on Tuesday. Tales, Tunes and Trails story time will be at Southpointe Wednesday. A childrens printmaking craft will be held Thursday. The week will end with the Friends of the Fargo Public Library used book sale Saturday.
Maxine Hilburn, Edie Discher, Cindy Wray, Beth Postema, and Charles Pace attended the Public Library Association conference February 24-28 in Seattle, Washington. All attendees were very appreciative of the opportunity and enthusiastic about implementing the ideas they brought back.
Maxine Hilburn reported she attended multicultural programs including reach out and read pertaining to pediatricians distributing library donated books to children in need.
Edie Discher attended technology related programs including materials handling systems, and managing materials shuttling between branches.
Cindy Wray concentrated on childrens programs, including a baby lap sit program for mothers with infants. Another program involved therapy dogs brought to the library for children to interact and read to the animals. Emergent literacy, childrens spaces and food avenues in the library were other programs she attended.
Beth Postema focused on staff development, leadership development, and front line motivation. A recurring theme throughout the sessions was the importance of food in any motivational program.
Charles Pace attended building and funding programs. One was labeled First class library, 2nd class building, which sums up the Fargo Public Library. One to one appeals were targeted as the most effective method of fundraising.
Directors Report
Charles Pace reported a reception is planned for all those who donated to the Adopt-A-Print project Saturday, April 24, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Training sessions for the new Aleph system will take place March 16-18 at North Dakota State University. Inventory on the adult side is complete. Inventory will next be conducted in the childrens area.
Charles Pace volunteered to serve on the web committee which is involved in the redesign of the city web site.
Pat Wagner of Pattern Research presented a workshop for the staff March 9. She targeted ways to better market the library in the community and what type of image the library would like to project. She also presented many handouts which were distributed to all staff.
Southpointe will be open Mondays starting in April. Many customers have expressed their excitement and enthusiasm regarding the added hours.
Another candidate is scheduled to visit March 26 for the Young Adult Librarian position. The community Relations Specialist position has been posted and will close March 26.
Statistical Reports
Overall, total circulation increased 12% for the month of February and 11% year to date. The library has collected over $14,000 in fines and fees this year. With approximately 17% of the year complete, the library expended approximately 11% of its operating budget.
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Report
The book sale will be April 23-24, with members-only sales on April 23 and public sales on April 24. A membership letter was recently distributed. Currently membership through February is at 165. Last year there were 221 memberships for the year.
Continuing Business
A. Facilities Planning Process
The facilities planning focus groups were held March 18 and 19. Everyone appeared to be in agreement that expansion was needed. Some favored a north side branch. Consensus seemed to be a larger facility on the south side. There was much discussion of expansion on the existing main library site or a new location downtown. Partnerships with parks or schools may be a solution for future outreach possibilities.
The Fargo Public Library was ranked lowest among peer libraries analyzed with comparable population and coverage area in spending, staffing, parking spaces, and seating. The focus group findings will be available in April with the final report available in May.
New Business
A. Library card campaign
Members of the library card campaign committee will invite graphics people from the community to bid on a request for proposal. The committee will target elementary aged children with a goal of 95% participation in selected schools.
B. Director six month evaluation
Betty Kerns distributed the critical competencies of the library director which were compiled with the Human Resources Director previously. The evaluation form will be edited and discussed before the next monthly meeting.
Public Comment
Diane Briggs announced Sue Dockter is completing an internship at the Fargo Public Library. She will receive her bachelors degree in information services upon completion of the internship.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 at 4:15 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Monique Andresen