The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About11-04-2020 Library Board Minutes COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY 3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 Approved 1/6/2021 NOTICE THAT THIS MEETING WAS CONDUCTED BY A COMBINATION OF IN -PERSON AND ELECTRONIC MEANS Following a determination by City Manager Kelli Bourgeois, and emergencies declared by the United States, The State of Minnesota, and the Columbia Heights Mayor & City Council, this meeting did, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 13D.021, occur by a combination of in-person and electronic means. In all meeting formats whether solely in-person or a combination of in-person and electronic means, members of the public who wished to attend could do so by attending in-person or by calling 1-312-626- 6799 and entering meeting ID 972 4084 9927 and passcode Wffdi0 at the scheduled meeting time. If there are any questions about this notice or attending/calling in to a future meeting, please contact the City Clerk at (763) 706-3611. The meeting was called to order in the Library Community Room by Chair, Catherine Vesley at 5:30pm. Members physically present: Catherine Vesley; Teresa Eisenbise; Tricia Conway. Member remotely present: Christopher Polley. Also present: Renee Dougherty (Library Director); Nick Olberding (Recording Secretary ). Absent: Nick Novitsky (Council Liaison); the late, great, Pat Sowada. The Minutes of the October 7th, 2020, Board Meeting were moved and approved unanimously via roll-call vote. The Bill Lists dated October 7th, and 21st , 2020, were reviewed; All were moved, seconded, and approved unanimously via roll-call vote. Questions and discussions on Bills and Accounting:  Mayo Health Letter: This is a monthly newsletter put out by the Mayo Clinic, and a popular reference item.  Hex Bugs (pictured): Programmable robotic bugs; Brianna Belanger purchased these for a future youth STEAM program; Teresa was curious because they were also on her children’s Christmas wish list.  Book/CD Set (2187): These are youth Read-Along -CD/Book combo sets.  Computer Equipment (2011): Currently overspent, and will see more overspending in this line. When the new Library opened we were chosen for an IT pilot program to test virtual thin -client workstations as an alternative to standard computers. Over 4 years they have proven to be effective for use by patrons for lightweight tasks like internet and word -processing. For staff, they are slow to boot up (10-30+ minutes), they struggle to handle multi- tasking (and heavier tasks like photo/video editing and virtual meetings), and don’t work consistently with peripherals like RFID pads, printers, and other accessories . City IT is now in the process of replacing staff thin - clients with computers; Public workstations will remain as thin-clients. Old Business: 1. Update on E-Cards for Columbia Academy: Brianna Belanger created an informational handout for parents, but the school asked if they could be translated into Spanish/Somali; the Library does not have translation capability, so it was asked as to whether the school district would be able to help out with this. Principal, Duane Berkas, has made a school-wide announcement about the E-Cards, but we don’t currently know the status of distribution. The E-Cards consist of a Library Barcode (not physical cards), and do not contain any personal st udent information; they grant access to all digital resources that the Library offers, some of which (like CloudLibrary) have the option to change languages if desired. If students then wish to get a full library card for physical material, they are able to stop in the Library with their parent/guardian to apply for one. 2. Update on Proposed 2021 Budget: Renee had recorded (due to COVID) a budget presentation for the Monday, November 2nd City Council Work Session. In the hours leading up to the work session, Mayor Schmitt also send Renee a series of questions to answer in addition (under normal circumstances these would be asked in person during the work session). Some of the questions lead the Library Board to believe that City Administration may not fully understand all the work that goes into running a library, or the level of devotion and service it provides patrons and the community (and surrounding community members), and the value it provides. It was determined that the Library should be represented more often at City Council meetings in the future (not solely at budget time) to promote programs and services, communicate victories/challenges, request feedback, and impart knowledge. The budget and budget-related questions will be discussed further at the next Board Meeting. New Business: 1. 2021 Library Holiday/Closed Dates: Closed Days and Holidays mirror those of previous years, although dates shift slightly from year-to-year. Most dates are dictated by City of Columbia Heights closed dates, with the exception of Staff Day (which is chosen by Anoka County Library, and consists of an all-staff training day for ACL/CHPL). A motion to approve 2021 Library Holiday and Closed Dates was made , seconded, and approved via roll -call vote. 2. 2021 Library Board of Trustees Meeting Dates: All proposed meeting dates were set for the first Wednesday of every month, with none postponed for holidays this year. The Board had no objections to any, but discussed cancelling one during summer to make way for busy vacation schedules; July was chosen to be cancelled. A motion was made to approve the 2021 Library Board Meeting dates, with no July meeting; the motion was seconded, and unanimously approved via roll -call vote. 3. 2021 Fine Read Down: ACL/CHPL usually holds a winter Fine Read Down, but this year it took a little persuasion by Renee for ACL to participate. Read Down will occur for the whole month of February (during some of the Winter Reads reading program), and will have rules similar to previous ones : $1 off fines for every 15 minutes of reading; will not cover DVD rental fees, damaged/lost materials costs, or purchase of taxable items; patrons in Collections are ineligible. This year patrons will be allowed to read at home due to the pandemic, and ACL may be using the Beanstack app (used for the Summer Reading Program) for tracking read-down reading time. A motion was made to approve a February Fine Read Down for All Ages, it was seconded and approved via roll -call. 4. Policy Review: Guidelines for Accepting Donation of Used Books and Magazines: Renee had determined that this policy is unnecessary due to it being more of an internal procedure, and that it should be replaced with a more comprehensive policy that covers all donations, whether it be books/materials, monetary gifts, equipment/furnishings, art, or memorials. The Library Board agreed with this assessment, and decided to table this policy until proper research and discussion can be performed. Tabled. Items from the Floor:  Comprise: The Public PC Management Project is moving forward; a c omputer lab has been set up in our small meeting room for testing, staff training is planned to start in mid-November, and the system should launch in early December.  Pat Sowada “Citizen of the Year”: Catherine Vesley, with the advice of Margo Ashmore, and other community members (like former Library Director, M. Rebecca Loader, former Board members, and other associates of Pat Sowada) have posthumously nominated Pat Sowada for the 2020 Citizen of the Year Award. The B oard members were flabbergasted that she hadn’t won it already with all the volunteering and service she had provided th e community her whole life; she deserves to win, and wished she had received the honor in life! (CV)  Be well, and stay safe . There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made at 6:13pm by Catherine Vesley, and seconded. Respectfully submitted, Nicholas P. Olberding Recording Secretary, Library Board of Trustee