July 17, 2007 Library Board Meeting Agenda

ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA

CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL:

PUBLIC COMMENT:

1. ELECTION OF BOARD OFFICERS

AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:

2. Lists of bills for July 2007.

CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):

3. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting June 19, 2007.

INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:

4. Statistics.
5. Gifts.
6. Orientation for New Board Members.
7. 2nd Quarter Endowment Report.
8. Grant from Community Foundation.
9. Staff Meeting.
10. Accomplishments in First Year.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:

11. New Meeting Time
12. Board/Staff Social
13. Formation of Committees
14. ADJOURN

UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Library Board Meeting - August 21, 2007.

Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY

DIRECTOR'S REPORT - JULY 2007

1. Election of Board Officers.

2. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for July 2007.

CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:

3. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting June 19, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.

INFORMATION ITEMS:

4. Statistics. It looks like our circulation continues to fall, though at a lesser rate than last month. We are working on ideas to better promote our collections and hopefully entice our customers to browse a little more. We will see how they work in the months to come.

5. Gifts. In June, we received a $25.00 donation from Jewelers Mutual in memory of Mary Swanson. We also received a $500 grant from the Omicron Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma for bilingual books for children and young adults.

6. Orientation for New Board Members. I would be happy to do an orientation with the new board members that will help explain your role at the library, how our funding works, and other details. If new members could bring dates that would work well for them, it would be a help. Thanks!

7. 2nd Quarter Endowment Report. As you can see, we have a healthy Endowment balance. Part of the balance under the Building Fund (see First National Facilities Fund) will be spent on our new signage for the front of the library. The remainder of that fund has been specified for redoing the chairs in the Gegan Room. I am planning on starting an annual fund raising effort that will start with sending letters out requesting donations. I hope to start this by October or November of this year.

8. Grant from Community Foundation. Our Endowment Fund with the Community Foundation has $4800 available this month. This is an annual grant that allows us to move funds from Foundation investments into our general accounts. We will be accepting the full amount this year, because we are purchasing a sign and refurbishing the Gegan Room seating.

9. Staff Meeting. We will be having the third of our four quarterly staff meetings on Saturday, July 14th. This meeting will focus on positive changes we can make to better serve our community. I enjoy discussing these big issue topics with all staff so that we can get input from across all staffing levels.

10. Accomplishments in First Year. I started this position a year ago in late June and wanted to take a look back at my first year and see what has been accomplished. The list is entirely due to my wonderful staff here at the library. I could not have done it without them and their skills and willingness to try new approaches and new ideas. (If viewing online, please scroll down for document.)

DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:

11. New Meeting Time. I am wondering if a later meeting time might not be easier for some of our members. I know that it is often a squeeze for some of you to leave work and get here on time. Is there a time or day that would be preferable? REQUESTED ACTION: Motion to move board meeting day/time to a preferred one.

12. Board/Staff Social. The Library Board and library staff used to get together for an informal gathering that would allow everyone to get to know one another better and in a more casual setting. I have heard from staff that they don't know the Board members anymore, and I think that a social would be a nice way to solve this, especially with three new members joining us this year. REQUESTED ACTION: Motion to move ahead with planning social for Board and staff.

13. Formation of Committees. The Board has four standing committees and one ad hoc committee. Board members need to serve on at least one library committee, but each committee cannot have more than three members due to open meeting laws. The four committees are Finance, Policies and Personnel, Building and Grounds, and Investment. The Investment Committee is unique in that it is made up of the Board President and Vice President and the library director. The ad hoc committee is the Long Range Planning Committee. There are no current library board members serving on the committee, so you are welcome to volunteer for that committee as well. REQUESTED ACTION: Board President to place members into committees.

I wanted to highlight all that has been accomplished in my first year here. This is written with full appreciation of how much the library staff has helped with accomplishing these goals. I certainly could not have done it without the skills they bring to their positions and their willingness to try new things.

1. New Website - up and running in June as our main site. It offers patrons the ability to contribute reviews, comments, rate books, and much more. We are trying to have a more interactive site and be responsive to the input we receive from our community.

2. Renegotiated Agreement with Calumet County resulting in a $20,000 increase in county funding in 2008 with similar increases expected for 2009 and 2010.

3. Internal Blogs for Staff - each department has one, plus we have one for the library staff as a whole as well as one specifically for department head concerns.

4. Staff Committees were created that allow for all levels of staff to contribute ideas. We have several standing committees that include customer service and programming.

5. Staff Meetings were held on a quarterly basis this year, allowing staff to give input and be part of conversations and decision making.

6. Converted Endowment from Excel to QuickBooks, creating a more easily maintained financial record.

7. Committee Work - Serving on Fox Valley Book Festival and Book Fair Committees, as well as President-Elect for the Fox Valley Library Council. I serve on the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) We Lead Committee which is a mentoring program for librarians. I chair the Winnefox Strategic Planning Committee. I am also running for WLA Secretary.

8. Speaking - I have spoken on Library 2.0 at a Winnefox Workshop as well as contributing articles for Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS) and Winnefox Trustee Tales. I spoke at the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) as part of a panel on cool new websites. I will be speaking at the annual WLA conference in October about Library 2.0 theory and may be speaking on websites again with the same panel. I am also presenting a blogging for librarians program for Winnefox in the fall.

9. Hired New Head of Adult Services by involving staff in that department in the process and looking for someone who would focus on teamwork and bring technology knowledge.

10. Single Circulation Desk for the entire library - currently in the planning stage - will be implemented in September of this year.