February 28, 2023 - Board of Trustees | Menasha Public Library

ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MEETING MINUTES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library
Gegan Room
February 28, 2023

Called to order at 4:04pm by Chair Halverson
Present: Trustee Eisenach, Vice Chairman Golz, Chair Halverson, Secretary Lane, Trustee Stojanovic, Trustee Turner (arrived at 4:20pm), Superintendent of Schools VanderHeyden, Trustee Witt and Teen Rep. E. Lane
Absent: Trustee Franzoi
Also Present: Director Kopetsky, Library Services Manager Raschke, Programming Services Manager Moore-Nokes, and community member Robert Erickson

Public Comment/Communication
None

Consent Business
A motion was made by Golz, seconded by Lane to approve the Library Board of Trustees meeting minutes from January 24, 2023 and February 5, 2023. Motion carried unanimously.

Authorization of Bills
A motion was made by Lane, seconded by VanderHeyden to authorize payment of the February 2023 bills from the 2023 budget. Motion carried unanimously.

Updates
Planning Process Update
EUA provided their final report along with large format renderings. The Project Leadership Team had their final meeting of this phase of the project on February 14th. Our next step will be to develop the contents of the report into a proposal document to determine public support for a renovation project.

501(c)3 Update
Documentation for the reincorporation of the Friends group and the formation of an IRS recognized 501(c)3 have been reviewed, signed, and sent back to the attorney for transmission to the IRS.

New Business
Director’s Report
Library Collaboration: The library is collaborating with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab to host a hybrid librarian training program on the 15th and 16th of March.

Gegan Room: The Gegan Room has received a fresh coat of paint which has brightened the space up tremendously.

Creative Writing Group: The first book of stories from our creative writing group will debut in March with a launch reception scheduled for March 21st.

Winter Reading: We had 224 people sign up for our winter reading program which was co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Herd.

New Collections: In addition to the Library of Things, we have launched our Lucky Day collection. This is new books that have a long wait list in the library system. These extra copies can’t be placed on hold and are only available to our patrons in the library.

Library of Things: The Library of Things has been launched and has proven to be quite popular.

Scheduling Software: We have contracted with LocalHop for meeting room and scheduling software for use in programming and meeting room bookings.

January Statistics
January statistics showed a slight dip from last year’s numbers for the checkout of physical materials. However, use of all on premise library services saw significant increases. This was led by a 30% increase in meeting room use (over 100% for use by community based groups), and a 38% in door count.

2022 Budget Status
Trustees reviewed the 2022 budget status. The 2022 budget is close to being fully closed out, with one final account needing a year-end update.

2023 Budget Status
Trustees reviewed the 2023 budget status.

2022 Annual Report
The 2022 Annual Report was presented to the board for approval.

Motion for approval was made by Witt, seconded by Lane to state on the annual report that in 2022 the Winnefox Library System did provide effective leadership and adequately met the needs of the library. Motion carried unanimously.

Addendum to the Meeting Room Policy
There was discussion about adding an addendum to the Meeting Room Policy. The consensus was that any changes made to the policy should follow the typical process of going to committee and then being presented to the board, prior to final voting at a second board meeting.

Volunteer of the Year
Samara Lance was presented as our 2022 Volunteer of the Year for Trustee approval. Samara Lance, a 6th grader from Maplewood Middle School, has been volunteering nearly every week since the spring of 2022. Her volunteer accomplishments include making project samples for teen programming. In addition, Samara created materials used for marketing and visual aids at Time Machine Tuesdays.

A motion was made by Witt, seconded by Golz to approve Samara Lance as Elisha D. Smith Public Library Volunteer of the Year. Motion carried unanimously.

Tabard Inn Library
The Menasha Historical Society has asked us to loan the Tabard Inn Library display shelving to them for the Menasha Sesquicentennial celebration.

A motion was made by Golz, seconded by Lane to approve loaning the Tabard Inn Library to the Menasha Historical Society. Motion carried unanimously.

Staff Reports