Minutes of Regular Meeting
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library Gegan Room
August 20, 2015
Call to order at 4:03pm by Murray.
Present: Crawmer, Eisen, Englebert, Golz, Murray, Rollins-Jump, VanderHeyden and Wicihowski.
Absent: Kaminski (teen rep)
Also Present: Director Lenz, Beson (Head of Children’s Services), Bongers (Head of Adult Services), Brandt (Head of Support Services), Moore-Nokes (Young Adult and Media Librarian) and Dreyer (Administrative Assistant).
Public Comment/Communication
• Wicihowski pointed out that there was an article in The Post Crescent, Family Bonding Over Books by columnist Jessica Thiel. It discussed how she wanted to instill the love of reading in her boys and how the Menasha Library, her favorite, still charms and draws her in with its comfort and sense of possibility.
• Lenz will write a letter to Miron Construction from the library board, thanking them for donating the labor, planter, and sidewalk to replace the Veteran’s Memorial.
• Kirk Moore-Nokes was introduced as the new Young Adult and Media Librarian.
Consent Business
Motion made by VanderHeyden to approve the Library Board meeting minutes from July 16, 2015, seconded by Golz . Motion carried unanimously.
Authorization of Bills
Motion made by Wicihowski to authorize payment of the August 2015 bills from the 2015 budget, seconded by Crawmer. Golz asked about the Communications Support invoice for $300.00 which was the annual fee for Criticom Monitoring Services on the Burglar Panel and the DEMCO invoice for $321.71 which was for children’s department supplies, mostly for the fall reading program. Motion carried unanimously.
Director’s Report/Information Items
1. July Statistics. Compared to circulation last July, total circulation was down significantly. Lenz and Children’s Supervisor Kathy Beson met with Menasha Joint School District Librarian Jennifer Peterson to discuss these statistics and strategies for improving them. Lenz has also invited Boys and Girls Club of Menasha Branch Director Stephanie Lehrer to the library to meet with library staff members and discuss collaboration.
2. 2015 Budget Status. The budget shows that 58.1% of the year has passed and 60.3% of the budget has been spent. Lenz met with the Mayor and gave him the draft of the budget for 2016 agreed upon by the Finance Committee and presented to the board at the July meeting. She also distributed a 2015 Annual Report which will go to the city clerk and common council soon. Peggy Steeno, Director of Administrative Services, requested projections through the end of the year—the library may go over budget due to the addition of two employees on the health insurance plan.
3. Endowment Reports. The July monthly report was reviewed. Golz reviewed the reports and suggested providing the board with the monthly report at each meeting and the year-to-date report quarterly. We received $1,690 in donations in memory of longtime patron Nelda Kolosso. The Investment Committee will be meeting on August 26 to discuss plans for the 2015 disbursement from the endowment pool from the Community Foundation.
4. Staff Reports.
a.) Kirk Moore-Nokes started on Monday as the Young Adult and Media Librarian. His previous job was with the Neenah Library.
b.) There was one more teen signed up for the summer reading program than last year and a 29% increase in adult participants. Adult Services is planning another winter reading program.
c.) This fall Support Services will again participate in Menasha High School’s School to Work Program.
d.) Adult Services staff participated in CPR training this month.
e.) About 834 preschool through 5th grade children participated in the summer reading program. Over 200 of them joined in the 30 book challenge.
f.) The used book sale will take place September 10 – 14. The Fundraising Committee met with some of the Friends of the Menasha Library to discuss how to collaborate on behalf of the library and improve the book sale.
g.) This year’s staff in-service will be on Friday, September 18 from 8:00 – 12:30pm. The library will open at 1:00pm. Trustees are welcome.
h.) During this spring, blocked patrons were allowed to use public computers due to a systemwide change. At our request, as well as other libraries, the library’s public computers will be managed by a separate server that will not allow blocked patrons on.
5. 2014 DPI Data. The 2014 Wisconsin Public Library Service Data report compares the library with other libraries in the area. We have 15,408 registered borrowers. About 46% of circulation is children’s materials.
6. Strategic Plan Update. A strategic plan update was reviewed.
7. Succession Plan. So far this year, staff members have completed a total of 193 hours of continuing education.
Discussion/Action Items
8. Fundraising Committee Projects.
• Gary Coopman joined the Fundraising Committee.
• The Friends of the Menasha Library would like to meet on a quarterly basis with the Fundraising Committee to help with fundraising efforts.
• The committee is seeking approval for this year’s fundraising projects:
Selling the donated Theda and Tamblin Clark Smith Family Foundation materials by posting a list of the materials online and asking for bids with a minimum bid of $10,000. If all bids are below the minimum, the board will decide if they wanted to accept the highest bid or sell the collection individually at the used book sale. City Administrative Services Director Peggy Steeno and City Attorney Pam Captain have reviewed the plan.
Exploring the idea of another chili cook off. The chili cook off brought the community together and people seemed to enjoy the event. The baskets added to the event.
Sending out the year-end donation letter.
Motion made by Rollins-Jump to move forward with the fundraising events proposed by the Fundraising Committee, seconded by Englebert. Motion carries unanimously.
Menasha City Attorney Pamela Captain joined the meeting at 4:32 p.m.
Dreyer left the meeting at 4:32 p.m.
9. Adjourn into Closed Session. Motion made by Murray to go into closed session for discussion of a complaint and potential claim against the library/city per §19.85(1)(b), Wis. Stats., Considering dismissal, demotion, licensing or discipline of a public employee and the taking of formal action on any such matter; §19.85(1) (f) Considering financial, medical, social or personal histories of specific persons which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data; and §19.85(1) (g) Conferring with legal counsel for the governmental body who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved, seconded by Crawmer. Roll call vote: all board members voted in favor, none opposed.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:34pm was made by Wicihowski and seconded by VanderHeyden. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, recording secretary
Secretary Kathy Wicihowski, recording secretary
