Board Minutes - May 21, 2009

Call to order at 4:02 p.m. by President Fuchs

Present: Derouin, Eisen, Enos, Fuchs, Stanke, Werley, Wicihowski

Absent: Nebel

Also present: Director Saecker, J. Bongers (Head of Adult & Technical Services), K. Seefeldt (Administrative Assistant)

 

1.      Motion to authorize payment of the May list of bills from the 2009 budget by Werley, seconded by Wicihowski, and carried unanimously.

 

2.      Approve minutes from the Board meeting of April 23, 2009.

Motion to approve minutes from the Board meeting of April 23, 2009 as presented by Eisen, seconded by Stanke, and carried unanimously.

 

3.      Statistics. Monthly statistics for April 2009 were par with those from the previous year. The adult department saw an increase of 11.8%, while the children’s department fell 12% after last year’s record increase of 32%.   We continue to see an increase in usage of our meeting rooms.

4.      Endowment. An Endowment report for the first quarter was distributed to the Board. Community Foundation investments continue to be down due to the economy. We recently merged two smaller CDs into a larger one totaling $11,418. This will come due in March of 2010. 

5.      Investment Committee. The Investment Committee will meet following this Board meeting to discuss our Endowment investments.

6.      Finance Committee. The Finance Committee will meet in May or early June to discuss the future needs of the library and determine what parts of the Long Range Plan will need funding. Budget issues for 2010 will also be discussed.

7.      Fox Cities Reads.   The 2009 Fox Cities Reads was a tremendous success. Events were very well attended, some with standing room only. 

8.      Diversity Committee. Our new staff Diversity Committee is made up of a group of employees eager to find ways to meet the diverse needs of our community. They have already gotten library newsletters onto Meals on Wheels deliveries, contacted the local Fox Cities Arc to arrange to have special needs children participate with Library staff in the Memorial Day parade, and are working with Banta teachers to arrange to have children in special and regular education classes participate in a craft project after story times. The group is currently working on distributing library newsletters directly to a variety of groups and agencies in our community that serve diverse segments of our population.

9.      Game Computer in the Children’s Room. We now have educational games installed on a computer in the Children’s Department. The games are primarily for reading, but may also include art, math and other educational subjects.

10. May Staff Meeting. A staff meeting was held on May 19. Todd Drew, Sanitarian for the City of Menasha, conducted a safety course for staff on the correct way to lift boxes, push carts, and move heavy items.

11. Trustee 101 Workshops. Winnefox is offering three workshops for library trustees. Those interested in attending may contact Kris Seefeldt or the director to register.

12. WAPL. Three library staff members, Cassie Payne, Vanessa Taylir and Director Saecker, attended WAPL this year in Wisconsin Dells. Cassie Payne and Director Saecker each presented programs as well. The conference provided many good ideas to those who attended.

13. State of America’s Libraries Report. The Public Libraries portion of the recent State of America’s Libraries Report was distributed to Board members. Director Saecker summarized the main points of the report.

 

14. Trustee Essentials #8. Ros Stanke reviewed Trustee Essential #8 Developing the Library Budget. Discussion ensued.

 

Jill Enos volunteered to review Trustee Essential #9 Managing the Library’s Money at the Board’s June meeting.

Director Saecker made Board members aware of a controversial topic currently being reviewed by the West Bend Public Library Board regarding a request they received to restrict access of young adults to sexually explicit books and materials in their library. Board members requested that Director Saecker provide them with a brief summary of what is occurring in West Bend.

 

Motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:25 p.m. by Werley, seconded by Enos, and carried unanimously.

 

The next regular board meeting will be held in the Gegan Room on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Eisen, Secretary

Kris Seefeldt, Recording Secretary