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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 07/20/2017Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting July 20, 2017 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, July 20, 2017 in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, 515 Douglas Avenue. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. with Acker, Barchman, Butler, Glatz, Kluesner, Marshall, and Rohret in attendance. Trustees Briese and Linch arrived a few minutes later. Library Director Carey, Adult Services Librarian Justin Armbruster, and Information Services Client Support Technician Julie Hanson were also present. Consent Agenda: Moved by Rohret, seconded by Marshall, to approve the following items on the consent agenda: 1) Motion approving minutes of the regular meeting of June 15, 2017 2) Motion approving payment of claims 6/1/2017 – 6/30/2017 Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion carried unanimously. Public Forum: None. Financial Reports: Preliminary year-end reports for fiscal year 2016/17 (FY17) were included in meeting materials, but Carey noted that the final reports might not be ready until September. Carey was asked about the amount of unspent funds and she stated that the Library has agreed not to dip into funds designated for personnel expenses. Some of that money will remain unspent because there has been an open position. Trustees Briese and Linch arrived at 7:02 p.m. and 7:03 p.m., respectively. Trustee Briese said the Budget and Finance Committee is now focusing less on the general fund and will be looking more at the monies directly controlled by the trustees. He said the committee will continue dialog with Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) representatives and will be coming to the board with ideas for spending gifts and donations. APLFF Report: Trustee Butler spoke about Development Director Liz Beck’s goals and written report. She said APLFF held $178,000 in unrestricted donations at the end of the fiscal year, after receiving $50,000 more than anticipated in that category. Butler said the Board approved the 2017/18 Memorandum of Understanding and a Gift Acceptance Policy. The Sales Committee reported raising $8,379 at last week’s book sale and $3,600 last month in Literary Grounds, bringing the sales total for the fiscal year to $58,232—well over the goal that had been set. A new member, Colleen Hamilton, has been added to the fundraising team. Upcoming APLFF activities include Pub Fiction (a literary-themed pub crawl) on August 17 and the Teen Advisory Group’s (TAG) Storm Trooper’s 5K fundraiser on September 16. Art Committee: Acker said committee had not met, but pointed out the new lighting that had been installed above the artwork in the Dale H. Ross Board Room. Administrative Staff Report: Carey related information about the following: • APL was voted the “Best Kid Friendly/Family Place” in the Ames Tribune’s Best of Story County 2017 survey. She extended special thanks to the Youth Services staff for creating such a welcoming, inviting environment. 2 • The Iowa Library Association’s annual conference will be held October 18-20 at Coralville, with the theme “Seeking Inclusion, Finding Success.” Trustees are welcomed. • Sponsorships are available for APLFF’s upcoming Pub Crawl fundraiser. Tickets are available online or at the Welcome Desk for $10. She said five or six establishments will have themes and games focused on literary works and characters, and the event is an attempt to reach out to a new audience (millennials). • Registrations for TAG’s 5K run are open and sponsorships are available, as well. • A complaint was received earlier in the day from a community member who is unhappy that the Library Board meeting is being televised in lieu of the Ames Municipal Band Concert, and the same thing happened in June. The citizen felt more people would be interested in the concert. Multiple issues are involved and Carey suggested that the matter be discussed next spring. • APL decided to enter into a contract with the vendor that won the State Library’s bid for electronic resources and purchase the add-ons needed to keep the appearance of the on-line catalog. Librarian Justin Armbruster added that customers will see different products, but the new ones are very similar to what was offered before—Auto Repair Reference Center will be replaced by Chilton Auto Repair, for example—and most people will probably not notice much difference. There was brief discussion about making it easier for customers to find and access APL’s the electronic resources. • Hoopla, a digital streaming service, was made available to customers as of July 1. Armbruster said the service seems to be easy to use and intuitive. Once a customer clicks, the item is borrowed and there are no extra steps. Materials can be downloaded or used on line. Hoopla offers audio books, e-books, comics, music, and videos. • Small Talk classes will be offered in Marshalltown and Boone this fall. APL will handle administration and collect the data, parent educators will go out to the communities, and the classes will be run through ISU Extension and the local libraries. Two courses will also be offered at APL, so there will be 4 cohorts running at once. • In June, 1,798 meals were served through the Summer Food Program—1,712 of them to children. Carey reported that conversations are going on at the tables and folks are engaged. She complimented the efforts and enthusiasm of APL’s youth volunteers and said she has heard good feedback about the program and everyone’s behavior. • Nathaniel Pleasants and Jehan Faisal have been hired as new half-time library clerks. • Two managers will be out during the month of September, so strategic planning initiatives will slow down until October. Board Education – 2017 American Library Association (ALA) Conference: Carey said that three librarians attended the full conference and four other employees attended exhibits only. Librarian Armbruster said that he focused on trends and found that APL already has things in place that many larger, urban libraries are just starting to offer. These include offering streaming options, using library spaces as a means of social impact and inclusivity, and emphasizing community engagement. Armbruster said the conference validated that APL is doing a lot of things correctly, but he also brought back many new ideas for his work group to consider. Client Support Technician Hanson said that she concentrated on computers and audio-video equipment and soon realized that many of the items APL is using are the best available. She found some document scanners that offer minor improvements and some newer model microfilm readers feature higher resolution, but felt a very good job had been done in choosing new hardware and software during the building project. 3 Trustee Barchman indicated that she had spent most of her time with Friends and Foundation members. She learned that most libraries have separate organizations and many of them are interested in consolidating. Barchman said she realized that “APL is awesome”-- it doesn’t have the kinds of problems others were reporting and others were impressed with what she told them about our library. She received a signed copy of The Simplicity of Cider from author Amy Reichert, to donate to APLFF for fundraising. Barchman also related two recommendations made by a lobbyist: that trustees start to establish relationships at the state level now, in case the time comes when the libraries need to press the case for sustained funding; and to adopt positive terminology such as “community funded opportunities” in lieu of the word “taxes.” Expressions of Concern Policy and Statement of Concern Form: It was suggested that the first bullet point in the complaint form should refer to “library resources” rather than “material,” since the same form is used for feedback about programs, displays, and services. The trustees indicated that they would like to know what had and had not been addressed with the complainants in earlier stages of the process. They felt it would be helpful to have written comments from staff members explaining how they had tried to address the concern. The trustees also requested a reminder that if the Statement of Concern went to the Library Board, it would be discussed in an open meeting where the concern and complainants’ names would be made public. Public Participation Policy: There was some discussion about the time limit. Carey related that it was helpful to have the time restriction in place, even though it had only been an issue in a couple instances in the last 20 years. It was noted that the policy also empowers the President to suspend the rules at his/her discretion. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with APLFF for Fiscal Year 2017/18 (FY18): Moved by Glatz, seconded by Marshall, to adopt a resolution approving the Memorandum of Understanding with Ames Public Library Friends Foundation for Fiscal Year 2017/18 as presented/amended. Acker noted that the APLFF Board approved this MOU earlier in the month. Vote on Motion to approve as presented: 8-0. Resolution No. 2017-L022 approved unanimously and adopted. August Regular Meeting: The Board discussed changing the date and/or time of the regular meeting, since the APLFF Pub Crawl will take place on the same date at 6 p.m. It did not appear that a quorum was available for any of the proposed alternatives. Carey said she was not aware of any pressing matters. Moved by Barchman, seconded by Rohret, to cancel the regular August meeting and resume again in September. Vote on Motion: 8-0. Motion carried unanimously. Trustee Comments: Barchman reminded invited listeners to visit the library to get out of the heat. Briese said that he was pleased to hear reaffirmation of how awesome this library is . 4 Acker related that she had visited the Summer Meal Program the previous day. She was very impressed at the number of people there, the diversity, and how smoothly the program was being handled by the youth volunteers and intern. Butler said she had observed the same thing a few days earlier and was amazed at how calm the atmosphere in the Library remained, even with so much activity going on. Adjournment: Agreed by consensus to adjourn at 8:09 p.m. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, September 21, 2017, at 7:00 p.m., in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue.