July 16, 2002 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of July 16, 2002
Present: Board Members Virginia Dambach, Betty Kerns, Jean Rayl, Prakash Mathew, and Helen Levitt
Library Director Charles Pace
Staff Members: Edie Discher, Monique Andresen and Friends Liaison Bob Mason
Order of Agenda
Betty Kerns made the motion to approve the order of agenda with the Registration Service Policy added to New Business. Prakash Mathew seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Minutes
There are no additions to the minutes at this time. Jean Rayl moved to approve the minutes of June 4 and June 18. Betty Kerns seconded the motion; motion carried.
Staff Reports
There are no staff reports at this time.
LSSI Management Report
The ODIN Steering Committee held another meeting in Valley City on June 26. Two finalists, Triple I and Ex Libris, have been chosen. The next Steering Committee meeting is planned for Minot on July 23. At that time, a final recommendation will be presented to the ODIN Advisory Council. The Advisory Council will consider the recommendation on July 29. The current timeline calls for a contract to be signed in October/November with implementation to begin the following spring. Migrating to the new system is scheduled to be completed by December 2003.
The June 28 meeting with the Mayor and budget team went well. Frank Pezzanite, LSSI President, Tom Hehman, Virginia Dambach, and Charles Pace attended this meeting with the Mayor and other city officials. Charles Pace feels that together they made a strong case for the budget needs of the library.
The American Library Association (ALA) conference was held in Atlanta on June 14-19. This is one of the largest Library conventions in the country. Last year the San Francisco convention had 27,000 in attendance. This year attendance was down to approximately 21,000.
Library Newsletter:
The Friends of the Library Book Sale is scheduled July 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A $2 bag sale will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. A Friends 'members only' preview sale will be held on July 18 from 4 to 8 p.m. Memberships may be purchased at the door.
The bookmobile is currently visiting the Southpointe Branch on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5 to 7 p.m. Story time will be held every Thursday beginning July 11 and lasting until the Southpointe Branch opens its doors to the public.
Storefront Library Status:
Construction of the branch has been completed and most of the shelving and furniture is in place. The first anticipated delivery of books will be July 22 or 23, with another shipment to follow about one week later. The opening date for the Southpointe Branch has been set for August 6. The grand opening celebration will take place August 24, with an invitation only reception to be held before.
Gates Grant:
The computer lab is up and running and opened to the public July 1. During the past year our grant funding has allowed us to go from a total of 12 public access internet terminals to 30.
Library Public Relations Campaign:
The campaign is in full swing. Look for advertising on billboards, banners, and the backs of grocery receipts. In addition, a television commercial is scheduled to start airing later this week.
Staff News and Reports:
Erin Halvorson and Rodney Nelson resigned from our staff to pursue other career opportunities. We wish them all the best.
Sierra Scheet has joined our staff as a shelver in the children’s department.
Ann Sheldon has joined our circulation team on the adult side.
Statistical Reports
Our statistics continue to show steady growth, although our growth rates have slowed somewhat from the very high levels that we witnessed last year. With the addition of the Gates computers, we have seen very strong increases in internet signups. Our program attendance and door counts have significantly increased compared to the same time last year. Levels of materials added and withdrawn are leveling off as we complete the great weeding project.
May circulation statistics indicate an overall increase of 10% over the same time last year. Non-print circulation increased 28% compared to last year. June leveled off, but we still maintained an overall increase of 2%, including a 13% increase in non-print circulation.
Friends of Fargo Public Library Report
Sorting books continued last week in preparation for the book sale. There was good attendance to help sort. The Friends are concerned about traffic patterns in the new area. It will be a learning experience for future sales. The book sale is July 18 and 19.
The last meeting of the Friends was held June 11. Six new board members were elected at that time.
Continuing Business
A. Review Television commercial to be used in public relations campaign.
The commercial will air on channel 11. A radio ad will run on the Clear Channel network.
B. Update on status of Opening Day Collection for the branch.
The first shipment of books will arrive July 22 or 23, with most of the collection arriving by August 6.
New Business
A. Creation of LSSI contract renewal/negotiating team.
A copy of the current LSSI contract will be included with next month’s packet for discussion at that time.
B. Registration Service Policy.
Prakash Mathew moved to approve the Registration Service Policy as presented. Helen Levitt seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Public Comment
There was no public comment at this time.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting will be held immediately after adjournment.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Monique Andresen