ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MEETING MINUTES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library
Company E Room
August 23, 2022


Called to order at 4:00pm by Chair Halverson
Present:     Trustee Eisenach, Trustee Franzoi (arrived at 4:02pm), Vice Chairman Golz, Chair Halverson, Secretary Lane, Trustee Turner, Superintendent of Schools VanderHeyden and Teen Rep. E. Lane
Absent:      Trustee Stojanovic and Trustee Witt
Also Present: Director Kopetsky, Moore-Nokes, Raschke (arrived at 4:29pm) and Business Manager Dreyer

Public Comment/Communication
None

Consent Business
A motion was made by Franzoi, seconded by VanderHeyden to approve the Library Board of Trustees meeting minutes from July 26, 2022 and accept the Policies & Personnel Committee meeting minutes of August 8, 2022.  Motion carried unanimously.  

Authorization of Bills
A motion was made by Franzoi, seconded by Turner to authorize payment of the August 2022 list of bills from the 2022 budget and endowment fund.  Motion carried unanimously.  

Unfinished Business
501(c)3 Update
We are waiting to hear from one more person so that we have 3 directors to complete the 501(c)3 paperwork.  

New Business
Director’s Report

  • Winnebago County will be putting in the county budget amount as requested for our library.  We are also working with the county on a possible public/private partnership opportunity that would enhance our fall reading program.
  • Tracey Koenig, Executive Director of Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, thanked us for our work with the Reserve and in the community.
  • Our summer programming with the City of Menasha Park and Rec Department is complete.  We held pool side story times and cohosted three outdoor movies at three different parks in the community.
  • A patron wrote a grant though the Thrivent Foundation for a soldering program in SMITHworks in October.  
  • The used book sale area has been redesigned to allow more space for books and other materials.  
  • YOUmedia is in the process of working on a grant to fund a conference next summer in Chicago.  The learning lab coordinator’s completed work on a sharing platform where staff from the various locations can share their programming materials with other members of the network.  Currently, there are 37 projects for tweens and teens hosted on the site with more to come.  

July Statistics
Overall, statistics are consistently increasing except for DVD’s.  Young adult circulation and programming has increased above pre-COVID levels.  Compared to last year, our programming is up almost 300%.  Comparing July 2019 to July 2022, there is more than a 50% increase in adult program attendance.  Attendance for children’s programs is also tracking higher with a 250% increase over last year and a 25% increase over 2019.  The use of our meeting and study rooms is also trending upward.

2022 Budget Status and Endowment Report
Trustees reviewed the 2022 budget status and endowment report.

Recommended Changes to the Personnel Policy
Trustees reviewed the recommended changes to the personnel policy as noted in the Policies and Personnel Committee meeting minutes of August 8, 2022.  These changes will be voted upon at our next meeting.  

MPL YOUmedia Site Designation
SMITHworks is modeled after what YOUmedia is doing to engage teens and others to gain expertise in various fields so that they can then become mentors to others.  The library would be a named site and part of the YOUmedia Learning Lab Network which provides programming materials and grant opportunities.  Motion made by VanderHeyden, seconded by Franzoi to move forward with the library becoming a YOUmedia site designation.  Motion carried unanimously.  

Eisenach left the meeting at 4:54pm.

Staff Reports

  • The new self-checkouts are up and running.
  • The redesigned book sale area has been well received.
  • We are hiring a casual library assistant since another library assistant requested a reduction in hours.
  • We had a successful summer reading program.  There were 115 teens that participated, over 308 children and 94 adults.
  • We are gearing up for fall programming.
  • EUA will be here on September 13 and 14 to meet with staff.  The Project Leadership Team will be meeting with EUA on September 14.  

Our next board of trustees meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at 4:00pm

Adjournment
Motion to adjourn made at 5:00pm by Lane, seconded by Franzoi.  Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, Recording Secretary

 

Board Minutes