September 17, 2002 Minutes
Board of Trustees
Fargo Public Library
Minutes of September 17, 2002
Present: Board Members Betty Kerns, Prakash Mathew, Virginia Dambach, Jean Rayl, and Helen Levitt
Library Director Charles Pace
Staff Members: Edie Discher, Monique Andresen, Beth Postema, Sally Fairfield, Nancy Giere
Friends Liaison: Bob Mason
Order of Agenda
Helen Levitt made the motion to approve the order of agenda. Virginia Dambach 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 August 20. Helen Levitt seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Staff Reports
Nancy Giere reported on the summer bookmobile routes in Cass County. Four hundred people of all ages used the bookmobile services, checking out 1,565 books. Eighty-nine new library cards were made and 12 library cards were renewed. The staff received many positive comments to this county outreach, and suggested to the patrons to write their county commissioners for continued service.
Sally Fairfield reported on the events of the Programming and Promotions team. All departments of the library are represented on the team. This is the first year promotions and programming combined forces in one team to undertake the many details that go into the planning and executing of a program. The largest program of the year is the Summer Reading Program. The programming and promotions team added intergenerational programming this year, which was a success. Upcoming events include the Jazz concert series, which started September 15 and runs every Sunday through October 6. Two author events are scheduled for October. Ben Mikaelsen, a children’s author who lives with his wife and an 800-pound black bear in Montana, will be at the Fargo Public Library October 4. Robert Dodd, whose father was in the military at Guadalcanal, will be at the Fargo Public Library October 14. Other projects for the team include revising library brochures, designing a new library card, and banners for next spring.
LSSI Management Report
Charles Pace is currently working on a grant proposal with Pam Drayson of NDSU. This grant would provide money for diversity and human rights collection development and programming. They met on August 20 with representatives of the Otto Bremer Foundation to present the proposal, which would be implemented in collaboration with other area libraries.
The Fargo Public Library is serving as a host site for Emporia State University Master of Library Science classes. Two of our staff, Lori West and Cheryl Lackman, are participating in the program, which will take two and one half years to complete. Lori West also is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the state library. Twenty-one students are participating in this program from as far away as Montana and Winnipeg, with the majority from North Dakota and Minnesota.
The Friends of the Fargo Public Library are funding a reception for the librarians attending the Mountain Plains Library Association (MPLA) Conference. The reception will be at the Fargo Public Library Thursday, October 3 from 9 to 11 p.m. and will have chocolate as a theme. The conference is October 3 through October 5 at the Ramada Plaza Suites in Fargo.
Library Newsletter:
The fall jazz concert series began September 15. These four concerts are every Sunday at 2 p.m. and free to the public.
The bookmobile received a $500 literacy grant from Wal-Mart in August. The bookmobile will use the funds for its home daycare story and craft time programming. We greatly appreciate Wal-Mart’s support of this program.
Well known children’s author, Ben Mikaelsen will be at the Fargo Public Library on Friday, October 4 at 4 p.m. Mikaelsen’s books have been selected as youth favorites by the children of North Dakota in 1999 and again this year. We would like to thank the Friends of the Library for making this program possible.
Preschool story time starts October 7 and runs through December 11.
Storefront Library Status:
The Southpointe Branch grand opening celebration was a big success. Over 1,000 people walked through the doors the day of the celebration. During the first two weeks of operations, we created 515 new library cards. The door counts ranged between 350 and 500+ in our first month of operations. The biggest problem we face is keeping materials on the shelves. We would like to thank Jean Rayl for getting an additional $10,000 in supplemental funds for next year’s book budget. Audiovisual materials have arrived and are in process of being cataloged and shipped to the branch. Technical Services staff have done a heroic job of getting these items processed and out to the patrons as quickly as possible. Based on a survey conducted, we are planning to start story time at the branch on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. beginning in October. The book drop is in place in front of the branch as of Saturday, September 14. In the next few weeks, the Southgate Hornbachers book drop will be relocated to the Northport Hornbachers.
Staff News and Reports:
Jennifer Dahlen joined the library staff as a part time reference librarian. Welcome Jennifer!
Statistical Reports
Total circulation increased sharply for the month of August, as might be expected with the opening of the Southpointe Branch. Adult print circulation increased 19% and youth print increased a tremendous 31% from August of last year. Total non-print circulation increased 24% over August of last year. Total year to date circulation is 11% greater than last year at this time. The door count at the main library shows an increase of 8% and Internet sign ups reflected an incredible 81% increase from August of last year. These statistics help to confirm the opening of the Southpointe Branch has had a positive impact on the operations of the main library as well.
Friends of Fargo Public Library Report
The Friends of the Fargo Public Library had one book sorting session since the last board meeting. Many books have been received. The bank balance currently is approximately $12,000. Discussions are ongoing about how to use the mezzanine space better to provide adequate area for future book sales. The next meeting is in two weeks.
Continuing Business
A. LSSI contract negotiation team update.
The contract needs editing for irrelevant wording. Schedule A, Fargo Public Library Board Priorities and Performance Expectations, needs to be revised, eliminating some paragraphs and rewording others. Virginia Dambach will make changes and e-mail updated versions to the board before the next board meeting. Jean Rayl will ask Kent Costin to attend the next board meeting to answer additional questions regarding the contract.
B. Discussion of branch hours of operation.
There is a high demand for additional hours of operation at the Southpointe Branch. A survey will be conducted to determine what hours should be in place starting January 2003. This information will be reported at the next board meeting.
New Business
A. Request for waiver of non-resident fees for Emporia students.
Helen Levitt moved to waive non-resident fees for Emporia State University students attending classes at the Fargo Public Library. Virginia Dambach seconded the motion; the motion carried.
Public Comment
Betty Kerns thanked Charles Pace and the library staff for the grand opening celebration of the Southpointe Branch.
Jean Rayl introduced Mary Jo Almquist, Forum reporter covering City of Fargo.
Next Board Meeting
The next board meeting will be held Tuesday, October 15, 2002, at 4:00 p.m. in the meeting room.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Monique Andresen