Board Agenda
The Elisha D. Smith Public Library Board of Trustees meets once a month on the third Tuesday of the month at 4:00 pm. Agendas will be posted here the week before the scheduled meeting.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 19, 2008
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. List of bills for June 2008.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting May 15, 2008. read more »
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15, 2008
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Jeff Gilderson-Duwe, Director of Winnefox and Oshkosh Public Library
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. List of bills for May 2008.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting April 17, 2008. read more »
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, February 21, 2008
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. List of bills for December 2007.
2. List of bills for February 2008.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
3. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting January 17, 2007. read more »
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, January 17, 2008
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. Reimbursement for conference costs in 2007
2. List of bills for December 2007.
3. List of bills for January 2008.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
4. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting December 20, 2007.
5. Minutes. Minutes of Personnel Committee meeting December 20, 2007.
6. Minutes. Minutes of Long Range Planning Committee meeting December 19, 2007 - for record only, not approval.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
7. Meeting Room Policy.
8. Long Range Goals.
9. Director Goals for 2008.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
10. Statistics.
11. Donations.
12. 3rd Quarter Endowment Report.
13. Sunday Hours.
14. LSTA Podcasting Studio Grant.
15. Audio System for Co E Room.
16. Head of Technical Services.
17. 2009 Hmong National Conference.
18. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Library Board Meeting - February 21, 2008 at 4:30 pm.
• Library Legislation Day - January 22, 2008
Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY
DIRECTOR'S REPORT -- JANUARY 2008
1. Reimbursement for 2007 Conference Costs. Earlier in 2007, the Board approved using left-over funds in the travel section of the budget to reimburse staff who attended national conferences. In 2007, we had one staff member attend both ALA Midwinter and ALA Annual. The costs were $702.02 for both conferences. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve reimbursement of 2007 conference costs.
2. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for December 2007.
3. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for January 2008.
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
4. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting December 20, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
5. Minutes. Minutes of Personnel Committee meeting December 20, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
6. Minutes. Minutes of the Long Range Planning Committee meeting December 19, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Accept Report.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
7. Meeting Room Policy.
8. Long Range Goals. The Long Range Planning Committee has developed a series of goals for the next five years. At this point, these goals do not include objectives. Those will be developed by the library staff offering input in the next month and then compiled by the Committee. Please see the attached document for the draft goals for the library. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve draft goals.
9. Director Goals for 2008. I have seven items as goals for 2008.
1. Complete the Long Range Planning Process and start implementing the goals and objectives designated for the year.
2. Work to reinvigorate the Friends of the Library.
3. Implement the 2008 LSTA Podcasting Studio Grant.
4. Complete Winnefox Long Range Planning process where I serve as chair.
5. Attend PLA, ALA and WLA conferences and serve on various boards and committees within them.
6. Continue to serve on the Fox Cities Book Festival Board, the Fox Valley Library Council Board, the Hmong National Conference Planning Committee, and pursue other partnerships in the community.
7. Continue to refine the library's online presence.
REQUESTED ACTION: Approve Director goals for 2008.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
10. Statistics. As you can see, our circulation in December rose a healthy 4.4%. We lent an average of 120 items per hour. We had a total of 19 programs in the library in December with 264 people attending.
Along with the regular monthly report for circulation, I am also enclosing the 2007 Circulation Report that reflects the total percentages of all of the libraries in the Winnefox System. You will see there that our circulation increased by 1.13% in 2007 over 2006. Interestingly, two of the other larger libraries in Winnefox had similar increases: Oshkosh at 1.82% and Fond du Lac at 1.31%. This is also one of the first years I have ever seen so many libraries statistics fall so drastically. It seems that the leveling we saw in our circulation throughout the year is what other libraries in Winnefox are experiencing as well.
11. Donations. We received a gift from Mowry Smith III for $1470.00 in stock. This has been added to the general Endowment fund. We also received an anonymous donation of $1000. The donor cited the new library sign as her reason for donating to the library.
12. 3rd Quarter Endowment. I am including the 3rd quarter Endowment Report, showing the balance in our various accounts at First National and the Community Foundation. Once we get our final December figures, I will report on our annual results.
In other Endowment news, we rolled over our two CDs that came due in January. They have been reinvested for 12 months at 4.5%.
13. Sunday Hours. Our first Sunday, we had 544 circulations, averaging 136 circulations per hour which is a very healthy figure especially with the thick fog we had that day. We were steadily busy throughout the afternoon. We do plan to have programs on Sundays in late January and in February to boost usage and awareness. We get constant feedback about people noticing our signs announcing the new Sunday hours.
14. LSTA Podcasting Studio Grant. In 2007, we applied for an LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) Grant which would allow us to offer podcasting equipment to the public. The grant was fully funded and we scored first in our category of Innovative Uses of Technology. From the grant we will receive $3799 which we will use to purchase two iMacs, software, microphones and headphones. The staff will work on three podcasts focused on local history throughout the year and we will offer classes to people on how to use the new equipment.
15. Audio System for Co E Room. We budgeted in 2008 for a new audio system for our main meeting room. We are in the process of getting two bids on the equipment and installation, and will be moving ahead in the first quarter of the year to get it fully installed.
16. Head of Technical Services. Previous to Joe Bongers becoming our Head of Adult Services, that position had also managed Technical Services. In the last year, I have served as Head of Technical Services, but now I am sure that Joe is more than capable of managing both departments. Starting in January of this year, Joe will begin to manage both Adult Services and Technical Services. (Technical Services is the department that orders materials chosen by our selectors and processes the materials to get them into the computer and ready for use by the public.)
17. 2009 Hmong National Conference. I will be serving on the planning committee for the 2009 Hmong National Conference which will be held in Appleton. I believe it is important for our library to have a place at the table, especially with one of our potential goals for the new long range plan being diversity in our community.
Service Responses with Long Range Goals and Objectives
January 2008 Draft
Celebrate Diversity
Goal: Increase participation in and number of cultural programs at the library that represent our community's diversity.
Goal: Increase visibility of cultural diversity within the library.
Goal: Increase participation by special needs groups, such as senior, homebound, mentally ill, homeless, physically challenged and mentally challenged people, in library programs and services.
Express Creativity
Goal: Provide a website that allows patron creation of content as well as equipment and tools that promote the creation of multimedia content.
Goal: Provide classes and programs to create creativity.
Goal: Provide the community with a space to display their creative endeavors.
Satisfy Curiosity (Lifelong Learning)
Goal: Do outreach to better serve underserved community members, such as minorities and the poor.
Goal: Create library programming for all ages to promote lifelong learning.
Goal: Provide information of local interest.
Create Young Readers
Goal: Create online content for young patrons.
Goal: Create programs that encourage reading by young patrons.
Goal: Increase usage of the library by young readers in upper elementary school through high school.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, December 20, 2007
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. Lists of bills for December 2007.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting November 15, 2007.
3. Minutes. Minutes of Personnel Committee meeting November 26, 2007.
4. Minutes. Minutes of Long Range Planning Committee meeting November 14, 2007 - for record only, not approval.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
5. Statistics.
6. Donations.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
7. Easter Sunday Closing
8. Donations to Fox Cities Reads and WLA Foundation
9. Additional Hours for Two Staff in 2008
10. Public Faxing
11. Premium Saturdays and Sundays
Adjourn into closed executive session pursuant to WI Statute 19.85(1)(c) for the purpose of considering promotion, compensation or performance evaluation of employees.
12. Salary Steps.
13. Performance Recognition Step.
14. Director Evaluation.
15. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Library Board Meeting - January 17, 2008 at 4:30 pm.
• Library Legislation Day - January 22, 2008
Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY
DIRECTOR'S REPORT - DECEMBER 2007
1. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for December 2007.
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting November 15, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
3. Minutes. Minutes of Personnel Committee meeting November 26, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
4. Minutes. Minutes of the Long Range Planning Committee meeting November 14, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Accept Report.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
5. Statistics. Our circulation statistics have fallen again. However, our reference questions were up and our programming continues to be very strong. We are doing everything right and I believe we are seeing settling after the high of our new building.
6. Donations. We received $100 from the Apple Knitters Guild this month that will be put towards purchasing knitting books. The teachers at Butte des Morts Elementary have given $100 in memory of Laurie Scheibel. We also received two memorial gifts. One is in memory of Patrick J. Clifford and the other in memory of Genevieve Nemick.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
7. Easter Sunday Closing. When the Board approved closings for 2008, we were not sure we would be open on Sundays. Now that we will be, we need to add Easter Sunday as a closed day. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve Easter Sunday as a day the library will be closed in 2008.
8. Donations for Fox Cities Reads, Fox Cities Book Festival and WLA Foundation. The library is going to be participating in both Fox Cities Reads and the Fox Cities Book Festival in 2008. In both cases, we have staff members involved in the planning process. Both programs are sustained by the libraries and organizations who are participating. Additionally, the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation does good work for libraries around the state. The library donated $1000 to the Foundation a year ago. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve $500 for each of the programs to be taken from the Endowment Fund.
9. Additional Hours for Two Staff in 2008. In early 2007, we had someone retire from the Children's Department. Because we had certain retirement payouts, we could not use all of the available funds for new staff in 2007. Without the payouts in 2008, we can now use those funds to increase the hours of two positions. I suggest one Librarian II position in the Children's Department be increased from 18 hours per week to 20 hours per week. Also, I suggest one of our Aide positions in the Circulation Department be increased from 8 hours per week to 14. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve recommended increases in staff hours.
10. Public Faxing. We have had many requests for public faxing at the library. Joe believes that his staff can handle the extra duties of sending and receiving faxes. We need to change the library policy to reflect that we will now be offering public faxing. Additionally, we need to set the rate for the faxing. My recommendation after asking other libraries what they charge and looking at other faxing services is that for sending a fax we charge $2.00 for the first page sent and $1.00 for each additional page. For receiving, we can charge the same rate as our copiers, 10 cents per page. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve public faxing as a new service at the library and approve rates charged for sending and receiving.
11. Premium Saturdays and Sundays. The board has expressed concern over our offering premium pay on summer Saturdays and winter Sundays.
One clarification I need to make is that this is not overtime pay, but premium pay. The board has previously set summer Saturdays and winter Sundays as premium days where staff will receive time and a half no matter how many hours they work during the week. The premium hours are in addition to their regularly scheduled hours in a given week.
I firmly believe that we should continue to offer this benefit to our staff. First, the winter Sundays at a premium rate are standard in area libraries. To no longer offer this, would make us the sole library in the region without that benefit. It has been mentioned that perhaps we should lead the way to a new way of doing things in libraries, but I believe that not offering premium pay on Sundays makes us look backwards rather than progressive. The premium summer Saturdays are indeed unusual in libraries. We may be one of the only libraries who offer this. However, I would point out that the benefit only cost us $1600 in 2007.
I could see the library being forced to change this policy in a tight budget time where dropping Saturday premiums might be necessary. However, in this budget year we are not facing that situation. A major concern of ours has to be how to retain the quality employees we have and how to make our library of interest to new applicants. These benefits do that. I respectfully request that the benefits continue as they currently are.
12. Salary Steps. In 2008, we have several staff members moving ahead steps on the salary scale. These steps are not merit based, but are given for each year worked at the library. Employees who are part time receive steps on a pro-rated schedule. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve salary steps for staff.
13. Performance Recognition Step. This year we have one staff member eligible for Step 11 on the salary step schedule, which is a merit-based step. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve performance recognition step for eligible staff member.
14. Director Evaluation. The Personnel Committee will be evaluating the Director and recommending a level of compensation. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve evaluation and level of compensation for Director in 2008.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, November 15, 2007
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. Lists of bills for November 2007.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting October 18, 2007.
3. Minutes. Minutes of Long Range Planning Committee meeting October 15, 2007 - for record only, not approval.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
4. Statistics.
5. Library Budget.
6. Long Range Planning Meeting.
7. Library Legislation Day.
8. Boys & Girls Brigade Christmas Giving Program.
9. Recent Speeches.
10. Letters about Literature.
11. WLA Secretary.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. City ID Badges
13. New Library Copier.
Adjourn into closed executive session pursuant to WI Statute 19.85(1)(c) for the purpose of considering promotion, compensation or performance evaluation of employees.
14. Director Evaluation.
15. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Library Board Meeting - December 20, 2007 at 4:30 pm.
• Library Legislation Day - January 22, 2008
Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY
DIRECTOR'S REPORT - NOVEMBER 2007
1. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for November 2007.
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting October 18, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
3. Minutes. Minutes of the Long Range Planning Committee meeting October 15, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Accept Report.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
4. Statistics. Our circulation has gone up 8% over last year for the month of October. This is very good news, and I hope reflects the results of our new programming efforts for children, teens and adults. As you can see, attendance at our adult programs has reached new heights and children's programs have been very well attended as well. We had over 200 people attend programs for adults in October which is more than double any previous month. For children, we had nearly 1000 people attend programs! I send a huge thanks to all of our staff who do programming for their renewed efforts to bring new faces into the library and entertain and educate new and seasoned library users.
5. Library Budget. I meet with the Common Council on Thursday, November 8th. The city budget is not finalized until November 19th. We do have good news from Winnebago County, where the library budget request was passed with no changes. This was in a confusing year with Act 420 and reimbursement of library uses across county lines for the first time. We will have to wait and see if the city budget funds Sunday hours.
6. Long Range Planning Meeting. The Long Range Planning Committee has completed its focus groups during the months of October and November. We are now working with the results from the groups to decide where our attention and efforts are best focused on in the years to come. The committee will be selecting several service roles for the library to focus on in the next five years. Then goals and objectives will be written. I hope to have the plan complete by the early to mid part of 2008.
7. Library Legislation Day. I encourage all of you to attend Library Legislation Day on Tuesday, January 22nd in Madison. It is a day where we meet with our state legislators and build support for library funding and legislation that helps libraries across the state. We first are fully briefed on the issues at a morning meeting, and then will head over to the meetings with documents in hand. I am happy to put together a carpool for everyone to travel together, saving gas. You should have a registration form in your packet. If you return that to Kris, the library will cover your fees.
8. Boys and Girls Brigade Christmas Giving Program. The library staff is collecting money from the public for those families registered for the Brigade's Christmas program who are not adopted by anyone. The money will be spent to purchase books for the children in those families.
9. Recent Speeches. I spoke at WLA on Library 2.0 and got great feedback from the audience in their evaluations. It was standing-room only and the group was positive, laughed at my jokes, and obviously enjoyed themselves. I also did a blogging presentation for Winnefox on using blogs in public libraries. This group was more subdued, but I hope I convinced some of them to start blogs for their libraries. Time will tell!
10. Letters about Literature. I have been asked to serve as a judge for Letters about Literature, a Wisconsin Center for the Book program where students in elementary school through high school write letters about literature. I will be helping judge the high school category which will have been narrowed down to 30 letters at the state level.
11. WLA Secretary. I did win the WLA Secretary position and will be spending two days in early December at meetings to learn about my new duties. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to work for libraries at a state level.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. City ID Badges. As discussed at a previous meeting, the City is going to be requiring employees to wear ID badges while at work. They will also be requiring volunteers, temporary workers and vendors to wear generic badges as well. The Library Board decided to move ahead with using the existing name and department badges rather than switching to photo IDs. Now, the City will be using only first names on their badges along with a photo, so it was requested that this issue be returned to the Library Board for further consideration. I will have copies of both the new City policy and acknowledgement of receipt of ID form so the Library Board can consider them. REQUESTED ACTION: Review previous board decision and consider Photo ID policy.
13. New Library Copier. The library needs to replace the two aging copiers on the first floor of the library. I propose we replace the two copiers with a single one by the Reference Desk. I have looked at several copier models and bids and am recommending we purchase the Kyocera KM-2050. It prints 20 pages per minute, has two 300 sheet paper drawers, network printing, document feeder, duplexer, and a stand for $2252.75. We will also have to have a coin-op connected at $850. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve purchase of new copier for public use at Reference Desk.
14. Director Evaluation. Last month the board charged the Personnel Committee with evaluating the Director. REQUESTED ACTION: Report on progress of Personnel Committee with possible motion to approve evaluation.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, October 18, 2007
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. Lists of bills for October 2007.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting September 20, 2007.
3. Minutes. Minutes of Long Range Planning Committee meeting September 19, 2007 - for record only, not approval.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
4. Statistics.
5. Gift.
6. Book Sale.
7. Target Grant.
8. Digitization Grant.
9. Library Sign.
10. Staff Evaluations.
11. Long Range Planning Meeting.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. Budget.
13. Director Evaluation.
14. Conference Costs.
15. Sunday Hours and Extended Friday Hours.
16. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Library Board Meeting - November 15, 2007 at 4:30 pm.
• Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference - October 16-19
Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY
DIRECTOR'S REPORT - OCTOBER 2007
1. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for October 2007.
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting September 20, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
3. Minutes. Minutes of the Long Range Planning Committee meeting September 19, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Accept Report.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
4. Statistics. This month shows a decrease in circulation in both adult and children's, totaling a 4.5% drop. We are doing many new programs for all ages that we hope will help the circulation go back up. I do believe that this is the settling after an amazing increase in circulation last year. But that doesn't mean we won' t keep working at getting more items into people's hands.
5. Gift. Prospera Credit Union has donated $75.00 to the Friends of the Library.
6. Book Sale. In our September book sale, we took in $2035. This was more than we earned in June and quite a bit less than in February. We are looking at returning to two book sales a year rather than three.
7. Target Grant. Months ago the Children's Department applied for a Target Grant. In late September, we found out that we had received a grant of $1,000 in support for our upcoming 1000 Books Before Kindergarten endeavor. We are also working with the Rotary and the public schools for support and funding. Please see the information sheet on the program.
8. Digitization Grant. This year we had an LSTA grant to help us digitize our collection of historical photographs as well as some historical texts. The project is now up and running. You can visit the Menasha Local History Collection at http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.MenashaLocHist. Huge thanks to Pattie Stanislawski for taking on this project and shepherding it to fruition.
9. Investment Committee Meeting. I will be contacting the members of this committee to set up a time for us to meet in September/October.
10. Library Sign. You may have seen our new library sign on Racine Street. I am pleased to say that it looks even better than it did on paper. We are working on getting the lighting to be on from dusk to dawn.
11. Staff Evaluations. We will be doing staff evaluations in October and November in order to have them completed by the December Board Meeting. While the evaluations are not shared with the Board in detail, they are necessary for the library to move people up in their salary steps and receive their salary increases.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. Budget. This was held over from the September meeting in the hope that more board members would be present to approve it. The 2008 budget that I have drafted meets the mayor's recommended figure. We have received an increase in funding from both the City and the County, which will allow us to restore Sunday hours, take care of some equipment issues, and increase the materials budget. There has been one change since the September meeting and that is the rate of salary/wage increase which was going to be 3.25% and is now 2%. I will be meeting with the Common Council in November about our budget. The exact day and time has not been set. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve draft budget.
13. Director Evaluation. Last month the board charged the Personnel Committee with evaluating the Director. REQUESTED ACTION: Report on progress of Personnel Committee with possible motion to approve evaluation.
14. Conference Costs. I would like the Library Board to consider reimbursing for my attendance and participation in ALA and PLA. Both are national level library organizations. I am now a member of two PLA Committees (Small and Medium Sized Public Libraries and Technology in Public Libraries). Any reimbursement for my attending conferences could be postponed until the end of the budget year so that my travel expenses do not hinder other staff from attending conferences. Library department heads would also receive the same consideration for funding, so any remaining funds in the travel and training sections of the budget at the end of the year would be divided among us.
Also, we need to encourage staff to be a part of WLA. Right now the library pays for half of any staff members dues to WLA. I propose that for any staff member willing to serve on a committee at the state level, we pay their full WLA dues.
Additionally, I would request that any time spent at a conference be considered work time. Right now only missed work days are considered work time, so conferences held on Saturday and Sunday are done on personal time, which seems wrong to me.
REQUESTED ACTION: Approve the reimbursement of attending national conferences within budget restrictions. Approve the payment of 100% of WLA dues for staff serving on WLA Committees. Approve the use of work time to attend weekend conferences.
15. Sunday Hours and Extended Friday Hours. Part of the 2008 budget is the reinstatement of Sunday hours at the library. From the day of my interview and throughout my first few months here, everyone I met told me how important it was to restore Sunday hours at the library. Because it is a change in policy the Board needs to vote to implement Sunday hours in 2008. I would also like the Board to consider extending our Friday hours from 8:30-5 to 8:30-6. This additional hour will not add much cost to the budget but will serve our community better. We can cover this additional hour with no increase in staff. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve Sunday hours and extended Friday hours for 2008.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, September 20, 2007
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. Lists of bills for September 2007.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting August 16, 2007.
3. Minutes. Minutes of Long Range Planning Committee meeting August 29, 2007.
4. Minutes. Minutes of Finance Committee meeting September 10, 2007.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
5. Statistics.
6. Gift.
7. Endowment CD Investments
8. Staff Training
9. Combined Circulation Desk & Entryway
10. Library Programming
11. WLA & Kidslitosphere Conference
12. LSTA Grant
13. Finance Committee Meeting.
14. Investment Committee Meeting.
15. Long Range Planning Meeting.
16. Intellectual Freedom Information
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
17. Budget.
18. Staff IDs.
19. Director Evaluation.
20. October Board Meeting.
21. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Staff In-Service - September 21, 2007
• Library Board Meeting - October 2007, exact date to be decided.
• Kidlitosphere Conference - October 6
• Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference - October 16-19
Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY
DIRECTOR'S REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2007
1. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for September 2007.
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting August 16, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
3. Minutes. Minutes of the Long Range Planning Committee meeting August 29, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
4. Minutes. Minutes of Finance Committee meeting September 10, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
5. Statistics. We continue on the roller coaster ride of library circulation statistics. This month we end up basically even at the end with adult items increasing in usage by 5.3% and children's materials decreasing by 5.8%.
6. Gift. We received a $90.00 gift to the Endowment from Helen Koloski in honor of her sister's 90th birthday.
7. Endowment CD Investments. We renewed two of our certificates of deposit at 5.15%. One CD was renewed for 12 months and the other for 14 months to help stagger when they come due.
8. Staff Training. This summer several of our staff were involved in training. Kathy Hannah attended a Spanish immersion class to help her improve her Spanish to a level where she can use it to speak with our patrons who speak Spanish but no English. Kathy Hannah and Ann Hardginski renewed their CPR and First Aid certifications while Karen Drechsel and I got our certification for the first time. Our emergency response team now numbers five, which is a much healthier number than before. I send a huge thank you to those staff willing to take on the responsibility.
9. Combined Circulation Desk and Entryway. I am writing this on the very first day of our children's circulation being done at the main desk. There have been small issues, including a critical piece of equipment that we thought we could move ourselves requiring professional aid. We have also changed the shelving at the entrance to the library to create a better inward flow as well as a nicer path between the children's department and the circulation desk. There will also be some moving of Internet computers to improve the way that our computers can be monitored by staff.
10. Library Programming. The library will be doing many more programs this fall. The Children's Department alone is tripling the number of programs they are offering while the adult department in increasing theirs tremendously as well. You will see story times, film showings, computer classes, musical events, and special programs. There are far too many programs in September and October to list here, but you can see them all on our website: www.menashalibrary.org. This is exactly what combining the circulation desks was for, to allow our talented staff to provide additional programs for our community.
11. WLA and Kidslitosphere Conferences. I will be speaking at the Wisconsin Library Association about the Library 2.0 movement in mid-October. I have also been asked to speak at the first Kidlitosphere Conference in Chicago in early October. It is specifically for children's literature bloggers, of which I am one of the longest running.
12. LSTA Grant. The library has applied for an LSTA Grant in the Innovative Uses of Technology category. Our application is for Podcasting Studios where patrons will be welcome to create podcasts using equipment purchased by the grant which include 2 iMacs, mics, and podcasting software. The grant totaled $3799 for two studios.
13. Finance Committee Meeting. The Finance Committee met on September 10th and recommended approval of the draft budget, which will be discussed later in the meeting.
14. Investment Committee Meeting. I will be contacting the members of this committee to set up a time for us to meet in September/October.
15. Long Range Planning Meeting. The Long Range Planning Committee met on August 29th. The committee decided to move ahead with focus groups rather than doing a survey. We are looking at three focus groups at this point: Special Needs (including the disabled and seniors), Diversity and Children. We hope to complete the focus groups within the next two months and then move ahead with developing the plan.
16. Intellectual Freedom Information. In your packets, you will find information about Intellectual Freedom, also known as the Right to Read. I always think it is good to know that books can be challenged at libraries and what your role as a Trustee would be in that situation. It is especially helpful to learn about it long before you are in that sort of situation.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
17. Budget. The 2008 budget that I have drafted meets the mayor's recommended figure. We have received an increase in funding from both the City and the County, which will allow us to restore Sunday hours, take care of some equipment issues, and increase the materials budget. I had been scheduled to meet with the mayor, but the meeting had to be postponed. The draft budget may be changed to meet the needs of the City. If that happens by the day of the Board Meeting, I will provide those numbers as well. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve draft budget.
18. Staff IDs. The City is going to start requiring city employees to wear ID tags. The IDs will have a photo plus information on their position at the City. The library recently purchased name tags for all staff members. Administration and department heads have their full name on theirs, but other staff only have their first name because so many of the staff members requested it. The board needs to decide if we want to have full IDs like the City or name tags.
19. Director Evaluation. My evaluation was postponed until this fall, so that I would have a full year at the library first. Now it is once again time to evaluate my time here as director. I would be comfortable with you speaking or surveying staff as well, if you like. REQUESTED ACTION: Assign evaluation to Personnel Committee to be completed this fall.
20. October Board Meeting. I am running for WLA Board Secretary and won't know if I have been elected until early to mid October. If I am on the WLA Board, the Board meeting conflicts with our library board meeting in October. However, if I am not there is no conflict. My guess is that I will not win election due to the reputation of my counterpart. But it is a slim possibility. REQUESTED ACTION: Decide when to hold October Board meeting.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
4:30 p.m. Thursday, August 16, 2007
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
1. Lists of bills for August 2007.
CONSENT BUSINESS (Motion to approve all unless separate consideration requested):
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting July 17, 2007.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR'S REPORT:
3. Statistics.
4. Website Statistics.
5. Summer Reading Program.
6. Children's Room Changes.
7. Staff Meeting.
8. Gegan Room Chairs.
9. Finance Committee Meeting.
10. Investment Committee Meeting.
11. Long Range Planning Meeting.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. Board/Staff Social
13. Appointment of Committee Chairs
14. Fine Limits
15. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
• Library Board Meeting - September 20, 2007.
Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY
DIRECTOR'S REPORT - AUGUST 2007
1. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for August 2007.
CONSENSUS ACTION ITEMS:
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting July 17, 2007. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
3. Statistics. Our statistics are looking up! We had a 13% increase for the adult collection. Happily, books increased by 16%, periodicals by 10%, books on CD by 5.6% and DVDs by 31%. Our children's department did not fare as well with almost no change over 2006. We have changed things around in the children's department, which we hope will lead people to discovering the wealth of items we have available.
4. Website Statistics. Our website usage will now be reported along with the other monthly statistics on your statistical report. We are using Google Analytics to count usage on our new website. Google purchased Urchin which is the program we used to use and has entirely changed the way that statistics are counted. Because the figures are so different, we can't compare between the old site and the new site, but will be able to compare month to month.
5. Summer Reading Program. In your packet this month, you will find the reports from Marge Loch-Wouters and Barb LaFontaine on our summer reading programs for children, teens and adults. The numbers for our programs are slipping, and we will be looking at how we can try to improve participation for next summer.
6. Children's Room Changes. With the change to a single circulation desk coming in early September, changes were made to the service desk in the Children's Department. Now the desk is lower for ease of use by our youngest patrons. If you enter the department, you will also see how we reused the tall part of the desk as a display unit for the new children's materials. In our first day with the new display, a third of the new items were checked out!
7. Staff Meeting. Our next staff meeting features a guest speaker, Pat Wagner, who focuses on customer service, merchandising and being more responsive. She will be joining the staff on Friday, September 21st for an afternoon of ideas. The library will be closed that day for the inservice.
8. Gegan Room Chairs. Months ago, the Library Board decided to move ahead with the library sign and delay the repair and reupholstering of the chairs in the Gegan Room. Now with the sign not taking up the full Building Fund, we are able to move ahead with redoing the chairs in the Gegan Room. The project was already approved by the Board at up to $3000, but I wanted to make everyone aware that we are moving ahead with it.
9. Finance Committee Meeting. The Finance Committee will need to meet in late August or early September to approve the budget proposal I will present to the Mayor and City Council. This year we were again given a target number by the city which we are to hit. It gives us an increase of $25,651 over 2007. Our county funding (subject to approval by the counties) increased by $23,168. I am hoping to use the county funding increase to fund Sunday hours again, starting in 2008.
10. Investment Committee Meeting. The Investment Committee needs to meet in the next month or so to look at our investments and the Endowment. I am hoping to do a letter campaign this fall to generate some growth of the Endowment.
11. Long Range Planning Meeting. The Long Range Planning Committee will meet on August 29th at 5:00 pm. The committee is made up of library staff, current and previous Board members, and community members. We will be looking at the community itself at this first meeting and deciding what steps we want to take to get community input on the plan.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
12. Board/Staff Social. The Board and staff are planning a social get-together on Friday, August 24th at 5:30 pm at the Vault. At the meeting we will provide cost information for the event. REQUESTED ACTION: Motion to approve expense for event.
13. Appointment of Committee Chairs. At the last meeting we formed committees, but neglected to appoint a chair for each one. Each committee chair is responsible for running the committee meeting. REQUESTED ACTION: Appoint committee chairs.
14. Fine Limits. Due to our proximity with the Neenah Public Library, we have always tried to keep our fines very close. Last month, the Neenah Public Library decided to raise the fine limit on their library cards. The fine limit is how much money a library card can have on it without being blocked. Our current limit is $5.00. Neenah increased theirs to $10.00. At the same time, Fond du Lac increased theirs to $25.00. Both Neenah and Fond du Lac are doing this to encourage usage of their self-check machines. For us, it will be problematic having a lower limit than Neenah because we would be turning people away who would be able to use their cards in Neenah for both checking out and accessing the Internet. REQUESTED ACTION: Increase fine limit.