The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About01-08-2020 Library Board Minutes COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY 3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, January 8th, 2020 Approved 2/5/2020 The meeting was called to order in the History Room by Chair, Catherine Vesley at 5:30pm. Members present: Catherine Vesley; Patricia Sowada; Tricia Conway; Stephen Smith; Christopher Polley; and City Council Liaison, Connie Buesgens. Also in attendance: Renee Dougherty (Library Director), Nick Olberding (Recording Secretary), and visitor, KT Jacobs. The Minutes of the December 4th, 2019 Board Meeting were approved. Bill Lists dated December 4th, 18th, & 25th, 2019 were reviewed. Each was moved, seconded, and approved. Questions and discussions based on Bills and Accounting: • 21st Century Grant: Did we expend all funds? This grant is administered through the school district and follows the academic calendar, so we are currently closer to the middle of its fiscal year. The UMN TechWizards program was underfunded, so we opted to continue this program with the 21st Century Grant (cost for Sep-Dec was $922). • 883 (Donation Account): Mostly funded by CHPL Foundation (current expenses were for the Early Literacy Play Space furnishings and toys in the Youth Area). • Large Print: Are they in demand? Yes. Some people have trouble adjusting to them due to the size and limited margins, but it was mentioned that they make you feel like a speed reader. We have a standing order of popular titles each month, and then place a special order for additional titles at the end of the year. • Tea 101: This program was well attended and received good feedback. Funded by the CHPL Friends, and hosted by TeaSource in St. Anthony Village, the class covered types of tea, history, process/procedure, and provided samples and scones as a treat. The caffeine did unfortunately delay sleep for at least one person that night… • Accounting: 87% spent at year-end (closer to 93% after utilities, personnel, and ILS costs are finalized). Some lines were overspent and some underspent; even with a few unexpected costs (eg. maintenance/upgrade of the Automated Materials Handler of ~10,000$) we will come out under-budget, and the remainder will transfer into the library’s operating reserve account. Old Business: 1. Staffing Update: The Library had posted a Page position from November 6-27, and received 6 applications (quite a few less than from previous postings). Posting the position right before the holidays limited the number of applicants, so in speaking with the City HR Director, Renee had the posting deadline extended until December 27th. In the end, we had 13 applicants, 5 of which were selected for interviews (occurring this week). Renee Dougherty (Director) and Cortni O’Brien (Adult Services Librarian) are performing the interviews, and will make their recommendations next week. We will likely make an offer to two of the applicants, and anticipate a start date of February 3rd (pending acceptance, paperwork, and background checks). Those not selected will have their applications held by HR for 6 months; if another position is posted they may contact the City and have their application pulled and considered again. 2. Policy Revisions: The Library Policy Book contains 21 policies, most of which are out of date, and are overdue for review. Renee thought they could work through a few per month in alphabetical order (need to start somewhere); we will be forwarding redline copies of the first two (Art & Bulletin Boards) for Boardmembers to review by the February meeting. We may find that some policies no longer apply, or can be combined with other policies. Since we are an affiliate library of Anoka County, it would be best for us to stay somewhat in-line with their policies, although we may find that not all will make sense for us. Ideally, in the end, we want our policies trimmed down to a more concise and digestible document that can be kept more up-to-date and reside on the library’s website for more transparency and ease of access. New Business: 1. PC Management Software: Both us and Anoka County have had the same system (Cybrarian) since around 2000, and over that time it has evolved very little, has major inadequacies, and has become problematic. Anoka County Library set up a task force and put out a Request for Proposal which garnered 4 responses (Cybrarian did not submit a proposal even though they were invited to). Select employees, IT, and management team members attended the four software demos; based on price (ranging from $60,000 to 100,000), features, functionality, and ease of use (for both staff and patrons), there was a strong consensus on TBS (Today’s Business Solutions, Inc) being the best option. For Columbia Heights it makes the most sense to sub-contract with Anoka County, rather than setting up a contract of our own; our system will still be separated on our own server (preferably two for redundancy) on the Columbia Heights network. The cost for us is anticipated to be $8,600 for initial set-up and first year, and then $2,000/yr maintenance going forward (~$13,000 + $4,500/yr on our own contract). We did not budget quite enough to cover the cost this year, but we have options to supplement the budgeted amount with money from the 883 Donation Account and/or the Reserve Fund. Anoka County and their Library Board have preliminary agreed to the terms of the contract, yet there is some uncertainty as to whether they need approval from the Anoka County Board. In the end we should have a system that is user friendly, flexible, and more closely resembles a personal PC experience, plus wireless/mobile printing, credit card service, fax (optional), reservation ability, better support, and robust reporting. 2. Fine Read-Down Approval: Successful in the past, the Library would like to again offer fine read-down options for both adults and youth. Anoka County has assembled a task force to investigate fine forgiveness/elimination; it’s possible that there won’t be the need for a youth read-down in the future, we would like to be proactive in getting approval for read-down this year. Cortni O’Brien would like to offer read-down for adults in February as part of the Winter Reads program, and Bri Belanger would offer it to youth in June/July and October (read-down only applies to overdue fines, not DVD rental fees, earbuds, flash drives, or lost/damaged item costs. Tricia Conway motioned to approve adult read-down in February and youth read-down in June, July, and October; Pat Sowada seconded; all were in favor. Items from the Floor: • Public Art: Catherine Vesly will be meeting with VEIT in regards to the Scroll Sculpture previously from the downtown Central Library. • City Pages Article: Many took offense to the misinformation about the Library in the City Pages article about the 40th Business Center/future City Hall. It was mentioned that a correction was made to the online article, but will most likely not be printed in the following issue. Catherine had drafted a letter to send to the editor, which she still intends on sending. • KonMari Class (Jan 15th): Hosted by a KonMari licensed instructor and has a lot of interest. • Steve Smith: Anticipates instructing a class in March on organizing personal records/accounts for forward thinkers interested in estate planning, and easing the stress on relatives due to death. • Board Liaison: Connie Buesgens last meeting as liaison (she is rotating to the Planning Commission), and Nick Novitsky will be taking over in February. Connie, thanks for a great year, and all your work, strength, and advice. • March Absence: Tricia will not be able to make it to the March meeting. • City Expo: February 8th, 11am-1pm, Library Community Room There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made at 6:41pm by Catherine Vesley, and seconded. Respectfully submitted, Nicholas P. Olberding Recording Secretary, Library Board of Trustee