ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15, 2008
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Jeff Gilderson-Duwe, Director of Winnefox and Oshkosh Public Library
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. List of bills for May 2008.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting April 17, 2008.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
3. Statistics.
4. Donations.
5. Investments.
6. Fox Cities Book Festival.
7. Fox Cities Reads.
8. COLAND Visioning Summit.
9. Staff Surveys.
10. Library Presentation.
11. Trustee Essentials.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. Library Board Term Limits.
13. Department Head Exemption Letters.
14. Media Rating Policy Draft.
15. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Library Board Meeting - June 19, 2008 at 4:30 pm.
• American Library Association Annual Conference - June 27-July 1
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 -- MAY 2008
1. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for May 2008.
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting April 17, 2008. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
3. Statistics. Our statistics continue to amaze. This month our percentage increase was even larger than last month, which is simply staggering. Our adult book circulation was up 16.8%, DVDs up 31%, and both CD-ROMs and CD-Books came out in the mid-20%. Children's books continue to increase at an incredible rate, with an increase of 45.2%. They also saw increases in CDs, CD-Books, and DVDs. Our overall increase was an amazing 22.7%. Applause and kudos for our hard-working staff who make this all possible!
4. Donations. We received $25 for children's materials in memory of Tom Ropella. Additionally the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission donated $50 for use of our meeting rooms during a recent move. And finally, we received $100 from the Menasha-Neenah Homemakers for meeting room use as well.
5. Investments. In May, we reinvested three $5,000 CDs. One was reinvested for 12 months at a rate of 2.98%. The other two were invested for 14 and 18 months respectively with a rate of 2.995%. Staggering their maturity dates helps us with flexibility if we need to put the funds to use.
6. Fox Cities Book Festival. The Book Festival exceeded all expectations. We had more people, larger press and events, and success at almost every turn. It was a fulfilling project to be part of and I look forward to working on the 2009 Festival. My personal mission is to bring larger name authors to Menasha, hopefully with a focus on children's literature.
7. Fox Cities Reads. The 2008 Fox Cities Reads concluded on April 17th and 18th with appearances by author Alice Hoffman at the Neenah and Appleton public libraries and Kaukauna High School with a total attendance of more than 500 people! The planning committee for Fox Cities Reads included representatives from all of the public libraries in the Fox Cities and began work on the event in June 2007. Staff from the Menasha Public Library were very involved in the planning process and the library itself was an active participant in the event. The library promoted the event extensively and purchased additional copies of the book which circulated extremely well - Blackbird House circulated approximately 100 times and Green Angel circulated 50 times. Planning has already begun for the 2009 Fox Cities Read
8. COLAND Visioning Summit. I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the top 100 library leaders in the state to attend the Summit which happens every ten years and leads us to explore new opportunities for all types of libraries across the state. Not only was the visioning very interesting, I got to network with librarians who inspired me. The Summit was a large recharging of my librarian battery and I suspect I will be implementing ideas here in Menasha directly from the Summit for years.
9. Staff Surveys. During the month of April, I conducted a survey of the entire library staff to better gauge what our needs and areas of concern are. Several areas emerged:
1. Library board concerns
2. Management consultation about staffing needs & changes
3. Morale
4. Relations between department heads and employees
5. Spirit of cooperation among employees
We reviewed these areas of concern at our staff meeting in April, and I will continue working on them with staff. The board may want to consider how to repair the rift between board and staff.
10. Library Presentation. Also at the staff meeting, I reviewed the status of our library in Menasha compared to other public libraries in the state. Our library compares very well, especially to libraries larger than us. We excel over most of the libraries in the state in terms of circulation per capita, hours open per week, material expenditures per capita, and collection size. We not only have a lot to be proud of but a wonderful place from which to build into the future.
11. Trustee Essentials. In 2002, the Department of Public Instruction put out a nice booklet of information for library board trustees. I am working to get copies of the complete booklet for all of you, and hope to use it to discuss issues faced by library boards. It is often best to talk about situations before you find yourself dealing with them. I used it with great success in Green Lake where we did a chapter a month for several years because of the discussions it evoked. Expect to see Essential #1 on the agenda in June so we can start with our new board members.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. Library Board Term Limits. Our library policy has a section on the library board in Chapter VI. In that chapter, you will find information on the membership of the board, particularly 3c. We need to amend this policy to bring us into compliance with the state. We are not allowed as a library to have policies that limit the terms of our library board members. That is decided by the mayor or other appointing body, such as the County. It is up to them to set term limits, though most libraries I polled do not have any term limits for library board members at all. REQUIRED ACTION: Amend Chapter VI, 3c to read:
Members serve terms of three years on a staggered basis. Partial terms of less than three years resulting from mid-term appointments shall count as a full term.
13. Department Head Exemption Letters. In order to legally declare our department head positions as exempt, the Board must provide a letter explaining how the positions fit into exempt laws. My recommendation is that we cite Administrative Exemption:
The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week;
The employee's primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer's customers; and
The employee's primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve citing Administrative Exemption in letters for City and Department Heads.
14. Media Rating Policy Draft. In response to the public comment from March, the library board expressed interest in adding music CDs to our policy on check out for minors. In reviewing the library policy, it appears that our procedure of stopping minors from checking out R-rated DVDs and videos was never in writing. Here is my recommendation for wording for Chapter II, 3c which is entirely a new addition under Library Materials Restrictions:
Patrons 17 or younger are prohibited from checking out R-rated movies, music CDs with parental advisory labels, or M-rated video games.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve language to restrict materials according to rating and patron age.
