ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:00 p.m. Thursday, August 19, 2010
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
- List of bills for August 2010.
MINUTES:
2.
Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting July 15, 2010.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
3.
Statistics.
4.
WLA.
5.
Mobile Site.
6.
2011 Budget.
7.
VSA Exhibition.
8.
Librarian of the Year.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
9.
ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
·
Library Board Meeting – September 16 at 4:00 pm
·
VSA Exhibition Reception – September 16 at 5:30 pm
·
Staff In-Service – October 1 at 8:30 am
·
WLA Annual Conference – November 2-5 in Wisconsin Dells
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 – August 2010
1.
Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for August 2010.
2.
Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting July 15, 2010. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve minutes of meeting.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
3.
Statistics. Our July statistics are down just slightly from the same month in 2009. Our adult lending remained at about the same level as last year while the children’s circulation fell 3.5%. We saw nice attendance at our teen programs this summer with the movies for teens going over very well.
4.
WLA. The Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference will be held November 2-5 in Wisconsin Dells. The conference always has programs appropriate for library trustees to attend. There is also a WLA Unit specifically for trustees where you can get further involved in Wisconsin libraries. The library will fund your attendance at the conference, your mileage and your lodging and meals.
You are welcome to attend select days or the entire conference. Please let me know if you wish to attend, we will register for you so that it is charged to the library.
5.
Mobile Site. The library now has a mobile version of our website that was quietly launched last month. This month, we saw over 3000 pageviews on our mobile site (it does not count visits in the same way as our full site.) We launched quietly because we are the first to test the software, but intend to promote it in our newsletter and online. The mobile site works by detecting whether visitors are using a mobile device and defaulting to the mobile site when one is detected. So it is automatic for anyone using a smartphone.
In additional website news, we will be launching a newly updated website before the end of the year. We had expected it to come earlier, but a new version of Drupal brought additional issues with what we were planning. Those have now been almost entirely resolved, and we now plan to launch soon. The biggest changes will be to our front page, which will be more compact and modern looking. I will report back when it is launched. Thanks once again go to Jody Cleveland, who works with us to design and implement the website.
6.
2011 Budget. I am currently at work on the 2011 budget. Our county funding has increased this year with more funding coming from Calumet County than in previous years. The Board has already approved a salary increase of 1% for December 31, 2010. At this point, the City is also looking at an increase on January 1, 2011, raising the total to a 2.5% salary increase. Additionally, we will see a 10% increase in health insurance and a 50% increase in dental insurance.
I am waiting for figures from the City for salaries, wages and benefits. Once I have those I will proceed to draft our budget. Expect a draft budget at the September board meeting.
7.
VSA Exhibition. The library will be hosting Creative Power: VSA Wisconsin’s Traveling Exhibition during the months of August and September. We will be having a celebration of the exhibit on Thursday, September 16th following the September board meeting. At 5:30, Jon Wos, VSA board member and artist, will present a slideshow on his life and art. At 6:30, there will be a reception on the main floor of the library and the VSA choir will perform. The entire event acknowledges the creative artwork of persons with disabilities throughout the state of Wisconsin. In your packet you will also find an article from Fox Cities Magazine on the exhibition with a focus on a local student whose work is included in the exhibit. The exhibit is now up and on display, so feel free to visit it at any time. We hope that you will attend the reception in September.
8.
Librarian of the Year. I am very happy to let everyone know that Marge Loch-Wouters has been awarded Wisconsin Librarian of the Year for 2010. This is a lifetime achievement award and is guaranteed to make the Awards Banquet at ALA a very fun event. I will be attending the banquet and sitting with Marge, so I’d be happy to convey any congratulations to her. I also have her email address, if you’d like to email her directly.
