ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA - REVISED
4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19, 2009
Gegan Room
 (If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
 
CALL TO ORDER:
 
PUBLIC COMMENT:
 
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
 
  1. List of bills for March 2009.
 
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
 
2.    Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting February 19, 2009.
 
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
 
3.    Statistics.
4.    Gates Grant.
5.    Tornado Drill.
6.    Self-Check Usage.
7.    Diversity Committee.
8.    Service Animals.
9.    Winter Reading Program.
 
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
 
  1. Green Scene and Found (Green Scene 2009)
  2. Changing Time of Board Meetings.
  3. April Board Meeting.
  4. Annual Report.
  5. System Effectiveness.
  6. Trustee Essentials #5.
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
           
16. ADJOURN
 
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
·        Library Board Meeting – April 16, 2009 at 4:30 pm.
·        Fox Cities Book Festival – April 14-19
·        Michael Perry Presentation at the library – April 15 at 7:00 pm
·        Mystery Writers at the library – April 18 from 10:00 am -3:00 pm
·        WAPL Conference – Wisconsin Dells – May 6-8
 
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 – MARCH 2009
REVISED
 
 
1.    Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for March 2009.
 
 
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
 
2.    Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting February 19, 2009. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
 
 
INFORMATION ITEMS:
 
3.    Statistics.    We have had another great month! February saw our overall circulation increase by 12.4%. Our children’s books increased by 15.9% and children’s DVDs by 20.5%. Adult books increased by 5%, periodicals by 6.8%, Books on CD by 12%, music CDs by 13% and DVDs by 27.6%. 
 
4.    Gates Grant. Up until just a few weeks ago, we thought we were going to receive a 2nd Gates Grant. That will not be happening. Out of the six libraries in Winnefox thought to be eligible only one (Wautoma) is receiving a grant this cycle. Because we had been following this process for a couple of years, we are behind in replacing our computers.   The public computers are starting to fail and we have staff computers that will not work with an upcoming update to the circulation system software. So, this year we will be replacing four of the public Internet computers, several aging staff computers, and upgrading RAM in others. This will come from our technology funds in WALS. 
 
We will have to do similar replacements of public Internet computers for the next two years. We will replace the worst first and work our way through. Those that are still functional will be held as backups or used to replace our truly old catalog computers. We will save money by not replacing monitors, only the computers themselves.
 
5.    Tornado Drill. The library will be doing its first tornado drill in many years this April as part of Tornado Safety Month. We will be conducting the drill during open hours. The City will be providing a chance to win a prize for those staff who complete the drill correctly.
 
6.    Self-Check Usage. Our patrons are actively using the self-check machines, as you can see on our statistics sheet. Young children seem to especially enjoy the process of checking their own books out, though adults use them frequently too. The usage accounts for about 25% of our circulation on any given day. I had hoped to reach 30% by the end of the year, so this bodes well for reaching that goal. This directly impacts the workload of our circulation staff, allowing them to shoulder the other burdens of the increases in library usage. I don’t think we could have done it without the self-check machines taking part of the load.
 
7.    Diversity Committee. We have a new staff committee that has met once and will meet again in the next month or so. The Diversity Committee works to meet the needs of our diverse community by bridging gaps in communication and services. Our first meeting focused on new English speakers and people with special needs. We are looking at opportunities for marketing our existing programs and creating new programs for people in our community with special needs who may live in group homes or have caretakers. We are also exploring bilingual story times for families.
 
We have several other staff committees: Programming, Website, Customer Service/Marketing, Newsletter, and Green. All levels of staff from throughout the library serve on the committees, allowing us to get the best ideas from everyone and also to have everyone able to share ideas. It works well for us.
 
8.    Service Animals. There have been questions in the Wisconsin public library community recently about service animals in libraries. Of course people with disabilities are allowed to have service animals with them under ADA. The question is about “comfort animals” that are not trained service animals but offer their owners comfort and often have a positive behavioral effect on the people who use them.  Final details are still coming from the DPI, but there is a recommendation that libraries cover this issue in their policies. I will probably be bringing the Board a policy to consider in the next few months. 
 
9.    Winter Reading Program. 252 children participated in Warm Up with a Good Book this year. Over 375 children attended programming during the winter reading program as well. Programs such as the Bikini Bottom Bash SpongeBob party, Beach Blanket Bingo and the Soda Pups brought a touch of sunshine and summer on those wintry days. Children were asked to read on a least three separate days of the week and check out books once during the week. This year was consistent with previous participation numbers.
 
The library held another successful winter reading program for adults during the month of February. Patrons were invited to enter the weekly drawing, known as the Reel Meal Deal, each time they checked out material. The weekly prize was a pair of tickets to the Fox Cinema and a gift certificate to the Third Street Diner. The library paid for half of the prizes at each business with the other half generously donated by the businesses themselves. Total participation in the program was 578 entries.
 
 
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
 
 
10. Green Scene and Found. John Nebel requested this item be placed on the agenda.
 
11. Changing Time of Board Meetings. There was discussion at the February meeting about perhaps changing the time of board meetings. 
 
12. April Board Meeting. I am wondering if we could move the April Board Meeting later by one week to the 23rd. Otherwise the meeting is during Spring Break and smack in the middle of the Book Festival. 
 
13. Annual Report. At this point, I am hopeful that I will get the numbers from the City to complete my annual report. The figures have been delayed by the City converting to a new financial software system in January. The state knows of the situation. If I do not have the numbers yet, I will still ask the board to approve the remainder of the plan and will bring the figures to the board at the next meeting. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve Annual Report.
 
14. System Effectiveness. One piece of the Annual Report is whether Winnefox provided us with effective service during the year. Last year the board voted to say “No” because of the dual directorship.   It is time to make a determination about this issue again. 
 
15. Trustee Essentials #5. Kathy Wicihowski has agreed to present this Trustee Essential to the group. I will need a volunteer for Essential #7.

 

Board Agenda