MINUTES
MARKETING & RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
March 22, 2018
Called to order at 4:47pm by Englebert
Present: Englebert, Halverson, Hermans, Wicihowski and Witt
Absent: None
Also Present: Director Lenz and K. Dreyer (Administrative Assistant)
Public Comment/Communication: None
Approval of Minutes
Motion made by Halverson, seconded by Wicihowski to approve the Marketing & Resource Development Committee meeting minutes of February 13, 2018. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion/Action Items
Hispanic Community
· Banta Elementary agreed to put informational items about the library in their newsletters.
· Lenz submitted something translated into Spanish, translated by Librarian Ana Maria Acosta, for the city’s spring newsletter, which is distributed to all Menasha residents inviting people to the library.
· Lenz created a bookmark in Spanish highlighting Tumblebooks which offers ebooks in Spanish; Acosta brought hundreds of the bookmarks to Banta Elementary School.
· It was suggested posting that we have a staff member who speaks Spanish and listing her hours with a general phone number.
· To cover additional hours, we could make speaking Spanish a requirement of the next person we hire, give a stipend to a teacher or try to find a teacher, high school student or college student who would be willing to volunteer their time. We could also consider applying for a grant from United Way of the Fox Cities to start this program.
· There may be grant opportunities at United Way to increase our Spanish collection.
· Francisco Cabrera, La Vida Hispana and Hispanic Center of the Fox Valley, is willing to collaborate, hold computer classes at the library and check our social media sites to add information to their sites about the services we offer in Spanish. Witt will follow-up with him and find out his newspaper production schedule and cost of ad space. We would like to begin by advertising the summer reading program in La Vida Hispana.
· On the last day of school at Banta Elementary, the book bike could be there to check out materials or give away books that have been withdrawn. These books would be courtesy of the Menasha Public Library and kids would be asked to come see us to check out additional items.
Influential Community
· A list of influential members of our community has been started.
· Witt suggested developing an annual report to hand out. Funding for the report could come from the general fund or we could seek a sponsor. Fox Valley Technical College also does printing for a low cost.
· Staff needs to come up with a wish list so that when money is solicited it is for a specific program.
Low Income
· To find out the unmet needs in our community and how to attract non-patrons of the library, we could piggyback on another community survey such as the Fox Cities Life Study or one conducted by the UW Extension. Lenz will talk to Rhonda Hannemann, United Way Fox Cities, about the possibility of adding some questions about the library to the Life Study.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 8, at 4:45pm
Motion made by Halverson, seconded by Wicihowski to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 5:55pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, recording secretary
