Minutes of Regular Meeting
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library Gegan Room
June 18, 2015
Call to order at 4:00pm by Murray.
Present: Crawmer, Eisen, Englebert, Golz, Kaminski (teen rep), Murray, VanderHeyden and Wicihowski.
Absent: Rollins-Jump
Also Present: Director Lenz, Beson (Head of Children’s Services), Bongers (Head of Adult Services and Dreyer (Administrative Assistant)
Public Comment/Communication
• Introductions were made to our new board member, Jim Englebert.
• Eisen referred to an article he read about 3D printers and asked if this was feasible for our library. Library staff have considered this purchase, but it is still expensive and the capabilities are improving quickly.
Consent Business
Motion made by Eisen to approve the Library Board meeting minutes from May 21, 2015, seconded by Wicihowski. Motion carried unanimously.
Authorization of Bills
Eisen asked who Jim Lenz was and about the Minitex bill for $1,254. Lenz is a magician that will be presenting a program on July 8 as part of the Summer Reading Program. Minitex bill is our supplier of compact disc overlays which are plastic stickers that have a strip on them to set off the security gate if the item is not checked out. Motion made by Golz to authorize payment of the June 2015 bills from the 2015 budget, seconded by Crawmer. Motion carried unanimously.
Director’s Report/Information Items
1. May Statistics. Lenz attended a meeting of the Winnebago County Agriculture and Extension Committee today and heard that other library directors in our county are also seeing drops in circulation of physical materials but double-digit increases in the use of electronic materials. The meeting’s purpose was to request funding for serving Winnebago County residents that do not live in municipalities with a library.
2. 2015 Budget Status. The current budget shows that 41.9% of the year is past and 46.1% has been spent. Sometime in July, the Finance Committee will meet to start working on the 2016 budget. Golz asked if trainings are complete since there is only $22.00 left in the budget. There is still a WLA Conference in November in Middleton.
3. Endowment Reports. The endowment report was reviewed. The Community Foundation funds will show changing percent of total amounts to correspond with the varying allocations.
4. Staff Reports.
- Part-time Library Assistant Lauri Miranda has resigned; Kelly Moran was rehired to replace her.
- So far, we received 15 applications for the Young Adult and Media Librarian position. Interviews will take place soon. One of the priorities of this position will be to collaborate with the Boy’s and Girl’s Club.
- Since the Winnefox Library System’s funding from the state continues to remain unchanged over the last 6 years, they have decided to eliminate the Winnefox Printing and Graphics program at the end of 2015, laying off two employees. A focus group has been selected to explore cooperation between the Winnefox Library System and the Outagamie Waupaca Library System in delivering services to libraries.
- The paperback book sale is on Thursday, June 18, and Friday, June 19.
- The adult summer reading program sign-up has surpassed last year’s numbers, the teen numbers are about the same, and the children’s program has 660 signed up so far compared to 822 at the end of last year’s program.
- The library, the Menasha Joint School District and Chartwells School Dining Services is participating in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) that provides free and healthy meals to Menasha area children all summer long. The library is participating on Wednesdays through July 22 in the Activity Room.
Discussion/Action Items
5. Set Closings for 2016. Lenz provided a list of suggested closing dates for 2016. The library will be open from 9:00-1:00pm the Saturday before Memorial Day and Labor Day. Motion to approve the library closings for 2016 made by Eisen and seconded by Golz. Motion carried unanimously.
6. Appoint Nominations Committee for 2015-2016 Library Board Officers. Murray appointed Crawmer and Wicihowski to the Nominating Committee to appoint officers for 2015-2016.
7. Trustee Essentials Chapter 26. Golz summarized Chapter 26 – The Public Library System Board – The Broad Viewpoint. This chapter addresses background on the creation of public library systems, system services and accountability, and responsibilities of the library system board. Kaminski will summarize Chapter 27 at the August meeting.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:32pm was made by Wicihowski and seconded by VanderHeyden. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Dreyer, recording secretary
