January 25, 2005 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of January 25, 2005
Present: Betty Kerns, Helen Levitt, Prakash Mathew, Jean Rayl, and Herb Snyder
Staff: Edie Discher, Jake Fejedelem
City Commissioner: Linda Coates
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Liaison: Robert Mason
Director: Charles Pace
Order of Agenda
Herb Snyder moved to approve the order of the agenda. Prakash Mathew seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Minutes
Jean Rayl moved to approve the minutes of November 23, 2004 . Herb Snyder seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Staff Report
Edie Discher reported that circulation and cataloging in Aleph were fully operational, and progress was being made in serials and acquisitions. The Interlibrary Loan modules should be ready to be used by Spring. She also reported that the staff had a holiday party, and the winter read-a-thon was under way.
Jake Fejedelem reported that hardware replacements were scheduled to begin the 1st quarter of 2005 to replace obsolete staff machines. He also mentioned that the library was getting a wireless network and were working to solve existing technology-related issues during the migration.
Directors Report
Charles Pace reported that the library card campaign was a huge success, but regrettably the Fargo Public Library did not win the John Cotton Dana Award. He also said that 8 new Gates computers have been purchased for public use, and should be installed soon. On another technical note, receipt printers will be installed on the circulation desks.
The parking ramp leading to the staff entryway is now completed. Charles also reported on the holiday party, saying that a good time was had by all. At the party, Edie Discher was awarded employee of the year honors.
Statistical Reports
The statistical picture is still not completely clear as we are trying to extract all the necessary data from ALEPH. Some data such as the total number of registered borrowers and borrowers added and dropped is not yet available. As far as the financial picture is concerned we ended 2004 with a slight deficit. The final financial report for 2004 will be forthcoming at a later time.
Friends of the Fargo Public Library Report
Bob Mason reported that the friends had money to spend on library services (approximately $13,000). He also reported that the Friends had discussed reducing the number of booksales per year to 2.
Continuing Business
A. Update on Architect selection process
The number of architectural firms vying for the Fargo library projects has been narrowed to six. Interviews with these six firms will be conducted on Friday, February 11.
B. Board workshop update
The Board workshop will be conducted on Friday, January 28 and Saturday, January 29. The workshop will be facilitated by Pat Owens. Pat is the former Connecticut State Library and President of the Bradford Pennsylvania Public Library Board of Trustees. Copies of the agenda for the workshop were distributed to the board members.
New Business
A. Discussion of possible strategic plan update
The board requested that copies of the existing strategic plan be sent to them. The issue of possibly updating the strategic plan will be discussed at a future board meeting.
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting will be held February 22, 2005 , at 4:00 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jake Fejedelem