July 17, 2001 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of July 17, 2001
Board Chair Virginia Dambach called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm
Present: Board members Virginia Dambach, Betty Kerns, Ryn Pitts, Prakash Mathew, Jean Rayl
Library Director Charles Pace, previous Acting Director Lynn Wheeler
Staff members Edie Discher, Rhonda Roesler; Friends Liaison Bob Mason
Order of Agenda
There was no change in the order of agenda.
Minutes
There were no additions or corrections of the minutes. Kerns made the motion to accept the minutes of June 5, 2001. Rayl seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Staff Report
Beth Postema and Diane Briggs presented the board with information regarding the adult and youth summer reading programs.
LSSI Management Report
Pace highlighted items from the written management report. He announced that Mayor Furness officially appointed Dambach for another term on the library board. Dambach agreed remain chair of the library board. Pace thanked the Friends of the library for their gifts and support of the library.
Statistical Reports
A. May Statistics
In the LSSI Summary of Expenses for May (page 203) there was a misunderstanding in the planning grant line item, which should not have shown any reduction because it is part of the long-range plan. This was corrected in the June expenses report.
B. June Statistics
Print circulation was up by 10% and non-print circulation was up by 27%. Pace noted that almost all sub-categories had double-digit increases and that the total circulation gain is 13% over the totals of 2000.
Friends of the Library Report
Mason informed the board about purchases that the Friends have made on behalf of the library. The Friends funded new coffee urns for public use in September; an 8-station computer table and 2 new computer monitors for the adult Internet computers; new outdoor banners replacing the centennial banners; a refrigerator, TV, and VCR for public use in the meeting room; and canvass bags for Outreach services.
Continuing Business
A. 2002 Budget Update
Wheeler reported that the Mayor stated that he wanted the library to be a priority for this year within the limitations of the budget. The board discussed where the branch library would fit into the budget. Rayl stated that it was too early in the budget process to know about funding a branch library.
B. ALA conference reports
Postema and Briggs gave reports about their experiences at the ALA conference in San Francisco, California.
New Business
A. Reciprocity with Grand Forks
Grand Forks Library Director Dennis Page requested his board’s approval of a reciprocity agreement with the Fargo Public Library. Pace suggested to the board that a reciprocity agreement would strengthen the relationship between the Fargo and Grand Forks libraries, which may be helpful when selecting a new integrated library system to replace PALS. Mathew made the motion to institute a reciprocity agreement with Grand Forks. Kerns seconded it; the motion carried.
The board discussed existing reciprocity agreements with West Fargo, Moorhead, and Detroit Lakes, but no action was taken.
B. Request for revision of fines policy
Kerns made the motion to suspend Bookmobile fines for a 90-day trial period with the understanding that if excess revenue is lost, bookmobile fines will resume. Rayl seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Mathew said “The Fargo Library is thankful for the wonderful service of Lynn Wheeler and it will reap rewards of her service for years to come. We’ll miss her in Fargo very much.”
Next Meeting
The next board meeting will be on Tuesday, August 21, 2001, 4:00PM in the meeting room.
The meeting adjourned at 5:45 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Rhonda Roesler