MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
September 20, 2007
Call to order and roll call at 4:30 p.m. by vice-president Stanke
Present: Eisen, Enos, Stanke
Absent: Eckstein, Englebert, Foth, Fuchs, Werley
Also present: Director Saecker, J. Bongers (Head of Adult Services), M. Loch-Wouters (Head of Children's Services), K. Seefeldt (Administrative Assistant)
Per State Statute 43.54(1)(e), the meeting proceeded with a lack of majority quorum.
Authorization of Bills
1. Motion to authorize payment of the September list of bills from the 2007 budget by Enos, seconded by Eisen, and carried unanimously.
Consent Business
2. Approve minutes from the Library Board meeting of August 16, 2007.
3. Receive minutes from the Long Range Planning Committee meeting of August 29, 2007.
4. Approve minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of September 10, 2007.
Motion
Motion to approve the minutes from the Library Board meeting of August 16, 2007 and the Finance Committee meeting of September 10, 2007 by Enos, seconded by Eisen, and carried unanimously.
Motion
Motion to receive the minutes of the Long Range Planning Committee meeting of August 29, 2007 by Eisen, seconded by Enos, and carried unanimously.
Director's Report/Information Items
5. Statistics. Overall, lending for August remains even with last year. Adult lending increased 5.3%, while Children's declined 5.8%.
6. Gift. We received a gift of $90.00 to the Endowment from Helen Koloski in honor of her sister's 90th birthday.
7. Endowment CD Investments. We have renewed two of our certificate of deposits at 5.15%.
8. Staff Training. Kathy Hannah and Ann Hardginski renewed their CPR and First Aid certifications. Karen Drechsel and Director Saecker were certified in CPR for the first time. Kathy Hannah attended a Spanish immersion class to improve her Spanish so that she can converse with patrons who speak that language.
9. Combined Circulation Desk & Entryway. Changes to the configuration of our circulation desks have been made. The circulation point in the Children's room has been eliminated and we have moved to a single circulation point in the Adult Department. We have also moved book shelves at the entrance to the library to create a better inward flow and more efficient path between the Children's and Adult Departments. We will move Internet computers to improve monitoring by staff.
10. Library Programming. There will be an increase in the number of programs offered by the Children's and Adult Departments this fall.
11. WLA & Kidslitosphere Conference. Director Saecker will be speaking at the WLA Conference about the Library 2.0 movement in mid-October. She will also speak at the first Kidlitosphere Conference in Chicago on children's literature blogging.
12. LSTA Grant. We've applied for an LSTA Grant in the Innovative Uses of Technology category. Our application is for Podcasting Studios which will allow patrons to create podcasts using equipment purchased by the grant. The grant totaled $3799 for two studios.
13. Finance Committee Meeting. The Finance Committee met and recommended approval of the draft budget.
14. Investment Committee Meeting. Director Saecker will contact members of this committee to establish a meeting date.
15. Long Range Planning Meeting. The Long Range Planning Committee met in August. A decision was made to use focus groups to solicit information from the community. The focus groups that were established were 1) Diversity, 2) Children, and 3) Special Needs (including the disabled and seniors).
16. Intellectual Freedom Information. Board members were given information about Intellectual Freedom, also known as the Right to Read. Books can be challenged at libraries and trustees need to know what their role and responsibilities are if that should happen.
Discussion/Action Items
17. Budget. The 2008 budget drafted by Director Saecker met the mayor's recommended target amount. Increases from Calumet County and the City will allow us to reinstate Sunday hours, purchase new equipment, and increase the materials budget. Director Saecker stated there was an additional increase of $15,000 in the materials budget that was made by Mayor Laux. There was a consensus to table this item until the next board meeting.
18. Staff ID's. Library staff members will continue using recently purchased name tags as a means of identification.
19. Director's Evaluation. Stanke will arrange for a meeting of the Personnel Committee in October to begin the process of evaluating Director Saecker.
20. October Board Meeting. There was a consensus to keep the October Board meeting scheduled for October 18. If a conflict develops for Director Saecker, she will let the Board know via e-mail and another date will be set for the meeting.
Director Saecker announced that the Menasha Public Library's website received two Webbie Awards. The site won Best Site for Kids and also Best of the Best for the superior quality of the entire web site.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:59 p.m. by Eisen, seconded by Enos, and carried unanimously.
Future meeting dates
The next regular board meeting will be held in the Gegan Room on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kris Seefeldt, recording secretary
