HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-23-2021 Library Board Minutes Special Session
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY
3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421
BOARD OF TRUSTEES: SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021
Approved
8/4/2021
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 832 1433 7849 and passcode 654514 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 special meeting was called to order in the Library Community Room by Chair Tricia Conway at 5:31pm.
Members physically present: Tricia Conway; Teresa Eisenbise; Carrie Mesrobian; Gerri Moeller. Members remotely
present: Christopher Polley. Also present: Renee Dougherty (Library Director); Nick Olberding (Recording Secretary).
Members Absent: Nick Novitsky (Council Liaison).
1. The Minutes of the June 2nd, 2021, Board Meeting were moved and approved unanimously via roll-call vote.
Old Business:
2. Change to Proposed 2022 Library Budget: After looking over the proposed budget at the last meeting, it was
brought to the Library’s attention that the patron thin-client workstations need to be replaced in 2022, and
several maintenance agreements relating to them and the virtual platform that they run on needs to be renewed
(3-year maintenance agreements…paid up-front). The patron thin-clients were purchased in 2015 (6.5 years-old);
they were designed for Windows 7, so performance is degraded on Windows 10 (and would be even more -so
when Windows 11 is adopted). The Board agreed that the upgrades should be done, but strongly suggested that
a replacement schedule be implemented; each year we could pre-budget a few thousand dollars to allocate
towards the next replacement cycles (every 5-6 years). Due to the unexpected additional expenses, this will be
the first time our budget will be submitted as unbalanced (expenditures exceed revenue); as a property tax
funded institution we are required to maintain a 45% reserve fund balance, the library fund balance is
approximately 60%, so a portion of these costs could be covered by these funds.
3. Consider Changes to "Guidelines for Accepting Donations of Collection Materials": See Item #4.
4. Consider Changes to "Use of Personal Electrical and Communications Equipment in the Library": Not much
discussion needed on either of the two policies; they had not been revised for 14 and 18 years; each just
requiring minor modifications. A Motion to Approve Both Updated Policies was made; it was moved, seconded,
and approved unanimously via roll-call vote.
5. Promotion and New Member Orientation: The Library will be working with Will Rottler to produce a
promotional/orientation video with a synopsis of what’s available, and what people should know. Renee will be
working with Cortni (Adult Librarian) and Bri (Youth Librarian) to put together an outline/script.
New Business:
6. Planning for August Meeting/Board Goals for 2021: The Community Survey will be the starting point; Board
Members will be submitting questions to Nick (Recording Secretary) to compile…along with questions to ask Ben
Sandell, the Library Friends, and the Library Foundation. Other areas of interest for the Board will be a dedicated
Library website, E-Resources, youth community engagement, communication channels/platforms available, and
the possibility of City provided Board E-mail addresses for public engagement/communication.
7. Discussion of Fines and Fees: The Board would like some up -to-date detailed stats on fines/fees owed by
Columbia Heights Library patrons. Elimination of Library fines creates more community equity and equality; fines
create a barrier for a number of patrons that identify as lower -income (making the Library inaccessible to those
who may need the Library services the most). It is not the Library’s place to teach people responsibility (teaching
responsibility is one of the arguments of pro-fine advocates), according to the Board. Based on a graph that
Renee presented, fine revenue has been steadily decreasing for the past 10 years, partially due to ACL accepting
credit card payments through their website (of which Columbia Heights does not receive anything, even if
payments are for our items or from our patrons). Fine revenue accounts for a very small part of the total. Other
systems who have eliminated fines have seen material circulation increases of 10 -15%. It is the intention of the
Columbia Heights Library Board to wipe -out and eliminate CHPL overdue fines as of January 1st, 2022.
For Your Information:
Library Board Meeting Guests: After the July hiatus and additional work on the survey/orientation opportunities,
the Board will invite some guest attendees.
a. August: Ben Sandell (City Communications Coordinator) to discuss communications/promotion
strategies, and other possibilities.
b. September: CHPL Foundation to discuss collaboration opportunities and understand what special
projects/programming options they are willing to fund in the future (i.e. contributing to the build -out of a
dedicated CHPL website, providing funds for late fee elimination, or following through on a public art
installation).
c. October: Friends of the Library to discuss collaboration opportunities and possibilities of expanding
membership, participation, and responsibilities of the group.
There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made at 6:59 pm, and seconded. Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Nicholas P. Olberding
Recording Secretary, CHPL Board of Trustee s