December 13, 2005 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of December 13, 2005
Present: Betty Kerns, Herb Snyder, Richard Zeck, Suzanne Morrison, Helen Levitt
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Liaison: Carol Sawicki
Staff: Maxine Hilburn
Director: Charles Pace
Others: City Commissioner Linda Coates, David Baker of Hodge Cramer and Associates
Absent: Leo Wilking, Prakash Mathew
Order of Agenda
Helen Levitt moved to approve the order of the agenda. Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Minutes
Suzanne Morrison moved to approve the minutes of November 15, 2005. Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Staff Report
Maxine Hilburn reported our programming has been successful again with 75 participants at the Trim a Tree program and 52 participants at the Tips for Teachers program. Upcoming events include a Hanukkah program in December, Winter Read-a-thon, and a Chess program in January. In conjunction with adult programming every second Monday of the month, MAT has agreed to provide rides for free to the library by presenting a library card. The staff had a holiday potluck on Monday and Friday will be a cleaning day for the building. Zachary Packineau has been hired as a new Library Associate I.
Directors Report
Charles Pace reported the request for proposal for radio frequency identification technology has been approved by the City Commission. The lease agreement for the south side branch library is in the hands of the Park Board who will first vote on the agreement before it is presented to the City Commission. The north side branch schematics are under way. The job kiosk in the entry area will be removed and the Forum will have a new one installed. To date, there have been 472,636 visits to the library.
Diane Briggs reported the status of the survey that was conducted earlier based on the report of an increasingly older population in the community. The Friends of the Fargo Public Library funded the survey and tabulation. 850 responded and the political science department of Minnesota State University Moorhead analyzed the data. It started with a focus group in March and the results of the survey were back in November. Two of the major issues reflected in the comments were parking and transportation. As a direct result of the survey, it has been arranged for MAT to provide free rides the second Monday of every month for adult programming. The park board also agreed to provide senior rides to the library on the second Monday of the month.
Statistical Reports
At this point the registered borrower count is accurate. The expenditures for the year will be under budget. To date, 96% of the materials budget has been spent.
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Report
Carol Sawicki gave the Friends report in the absence of Bob Mason. The November book sale raised approximately $1,600. Currently there are 220 members. The Barnes and Noble fundraiser did not do as well as was expected. They will continue the fundraiser with gift wrapping at Barnes and Noble Friday.
Continuing Business
A. Update on fundraising feasibility study
Currently everyone scheduled for an appointment has kept it. It has been a good effort thus far. There have been no big surprises. Perhaps there is more philanthropic competition in the community than was first thought. In keeping with the tight time frame, the final report may be a week later than originally planned. Some follow up interviews will be held in January.
B. Library Director performance evaluation
The staff was surveyed at a staff meeting regarding the directors performance. Other surveys were collected from employees who could not attend the staff meeting. The evaluation will be formally approved at the January meeting. Helen Levitt is to write a summary.
New Business
A. Review and approve 2006 holiday closing calendar
Helen Levitt moved to approve the Holiday closing schedule of January 1 and 2, February 20, April 14 and 16, May 29, July 4, September 4, November 11 and 23, and December 24 and 25. The library will be open November 10 and observe Veterans Day on the actual holiday November 11 if permissible by the City. Richard Zeck seconded the motion; the motion carried.
B. Review and approve 2006 board meeting calendar
Suzanne Morrison moved to approve the Board meeting schedule of January 17, February 21, March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19, October 17, November 21, and December 12. The July 18 meeting will be immediately followed by the Annual Meeting. Helen Levitt seconded the motion, the motion carried.
C. Review and approve revised registration policy
The key change to this revision is the nonresident fees based on per household revenue from property taxes as opposed to per capita revenue. The nonresident fee has been suspended through June 2006 for North Dakota residents.
Herb Snyder moved to accept the revised registration policy with the change to the paragraph that starts Holders of LARL cards to the following. Residents of the 7-county area served by Lake Agassiz Regional Library and West Fargo residents must present a valid local library card in addition to a picture I.D. and proof of address. Helen Levitt seconded the motion; the motion carried.
D. Discussion of transition planning
Internal transition planning to reorganize and cross train staff will be handled by the director. External transition planning regarding where will books and staff go, what will happen to collection, what type of presence will we have downtown, what services will we replicate, leased space, in the Civic, depend on branches? Charles Pace, Pat Zavoral, Linda Coates, and Helen Levitt will work as a transition team to address these transition issues. They will research what other libraries did in similar situations. Possibilities for staff use may be to include more librarians in outreach situations. Staff may be more mobile. Branches may be overstaffed for a time. Communication of progress to the community is important as decisions are made, whether through a regular press release, a place on the web site, or an ever changing display in the lobby.
Public Comment
There was no public comment at this time.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting is scheduled for January 17 at 4:00 in the City Commission room.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Monique Andresen