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Home My WebLink About12-06-2023 Library Board Minutes COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY 3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, December 6th, 2023 Approved 1/3/2024 ATTENDANCE INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC Members of the public who wished to attend could do so in-person, by calling 1-312-626-6799 and entering meeting ID 862 5221 5747 and passcode 039390, or by Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86252215747 at the scheduled meeting time. For questions, please call the library at 763-706-3690. The meeting was called to order in the Library Community Room by Gerri Moeller at 5:33pm. Members physically present: Gerri Moeller; Rachelle Waldon; Melanie Magidow; Carrie Mesrobian; Chris Polley. Members remotely present: N/A. Members absent: Justice Spriggs (Council Liaison). Also present: Renee Dougherty (Library Director); Nick Olberding (Board Secretary). Public present: N/A. 1. The Meeting’s Agenda was approved as-is. 2. The Minutes of the November 1st, 2023, Board Meeting were moved and approved. 3. Review 2023 Operating Budget: 91.51% of the year and 80.80% of the budget encumbered; no concerns raised. a. Under for the year and it should remain balanced at the end of the year. Community Forum: Opportunity for public input. No correspondence or members of the public in attendance. Old Business: 4. Project: Website Re-vitalization: Renee and several staff members will be meeting with the City’s IT Director and the Communications Director on December 14th to discuss the options for revitalizing the Library’s section of the City website (as well as the website as a whole), or the possibility of creating a standalone Library website if the existing website is not capable. 5. Project: Strategic Planning: Given the option of hiring a facilitator or taking on strategic planning as a group, the Board feels that they would like to be self-sufficient for the time being. There are a lot of resources available to assist with the process, including framework and procedure documents and videos compiled online; also mentioned was a locally based entity called Adaptive Action. We will also supply the Board with all the notes from the previous 2019 strategic planning session, the strategic plan report commissioned by Anoka County Library, the results of last year’s Columbia Heights City Survey, Library staff input, and any other relevant documentation for the project. The previous plan outlined seven categories of focus (which were somewhat derailed by the global pandemic, but are still relevant), plus Renee and the Board mentioned reaching new and underserved communities, deepening existing connections, being open more hours, and improving our web presence. A MOTION was made to host a Board Strategic Planning Session on Saturday, January 13th, 2024, from 11am-1pm in the Library History Room; it was seconded and unanimously approved. New Business: 6. Staffing Update: Library Supervisor: An offer was made to a prospective Library Supervisor and the offer was accepted; we thought they could already be training at this point, but the process is being held up by the background check. We hope to have them onboard soon. 7. Recommend Adoption: Proposed Fee Schedule for 2024: Annually our fee schedule (price list of fines/fees for cards, retail, replacements, printing, etc) needs to be approved by the Library Board, and then the City Council. There are only minor changes this year; earbuds were reduced from $5 to $2, RFID replacement was updated to $0.50, audio bags were eliminated, and the Community Room Rental fee was removed (as the fee was already cancelled earlier in 2023). MOTION: A motion to approve the Fine/Fee Schedule for 2024 was made; it was seconded and unanimously approved. a. Related Discussion: What was the outcome of eliminating late fees on overdue items? While we do not have concrete data on the effects, outcomes have been positive. Item circulation has increased, and the number of items not returned has not noticeably changed (the number of patrons sent to collections for unreturned items has slightly decreased from month to month). Staff have appreciated not having to bother patrons about fines on their accounts every time they come to the front desk. Our fine-free status should be reflected prominently on a future Library website (Note: fine-free status only applies to items physically checked-out from CHPL—including ACL items, if CHPL items are sent for a request to an ACL Library and checked-out there, late fees still apply). 8. Project: Merchandising: Anoka County Library has started an initiative to help merchandise and promote their collection; CHPL will follow suit. Based on scientific and observational research by bookstores like Barnes & Noble, a set of guidelines and strategies have been developed for displaying, organizing, and promoting a library collection. With only partially implementing this so far there have already been multiple compliments from patrons on the appearance and a noticeable uptick in items being picked up from displays. The strategy dictates straight lines and pyramidal organization of books on display with minimal props and concise signage, and consistent even lines of spine-out shelved books with faced-out books to capture attention (ratio of 2/3 to 1/3). This will be an ongoing project which will take a while to fully implement. 9. Project: Revision of Memorandum of Understanding with Anoka County: The meeting between Renee and the Anoka County Library Director earlier this week was cancelled so there is not much information to share at this time. The agreement between CHPL and ACL has not been reviewed since 2009, so it probably time for a revision. Potential aspects needing attention are costs associated with ILS services, patron notices (eg. hold notifications), Kanopy, E-Book charges, and an upcoming Patron Engagement Sofware (which will also be used for card renewals, address verification, and online applications). Renee would like to discuss how payments for CHPL lost/damaged items are handled via the ACL website, a Digital Library Card option (potentially throughout MELSA), and the possibility of a Lucky Day Collection (a way for in-demand items to be available in-library for a designated amount of time for a lucky patron to find). Director’s Update: 10. October Board Report: Provided as an FYI. 11. From the Floor: a. ESL Family Nights: These have been a huge success; very well attended and a great way to reach new communities and promote our value and services. Valley View Elementary’s Family Night is tomorrow. b. Next Meeting: Include time to prepare for the January 13th Strategic Planning Session. There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made and seconded at 6:46 pm; the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Nicholas P. Olberding Recording Secretary, CHPL Board of Trustees