Minutes of Regular Meeting
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library Gegan Room
January 24, 2018
Called to order at 4:00pm by Chairman Englebert
Present: Chairman Englebert, Franzoi (arrived at 4:06pm), Vice Chairman Golz, Halverson,
Schwerbel, Witt (arrived at 4:19pm), Superintendent of Schools VanderHeyden, and Secretary Wicihowski
Absent: Teen Representative Genz and Hermans
Also Present: Director Lenz, Support Services Supervisor Brandt and Administrative Assistant Dreyer
Public Comment/Communication: None
Consent Business
Motion made by Halverson, seconded by Golz, to approve the Library Board meeting minutes from December 13, 2017 and accept the minutes of the Marketing & Resource Development Committee from January 10, 2018. Motion carried unanimously.
Authorization of Bills
The bills from Energy Control and Design and Tyco Integrated Security are annual fees. Motion made by Golz, seconded by Wicihowski, to authorize payment of the December(2) 2017 and January(2) 2018 bills as presented from the 2017 and 2018 budgets. Motion carried unanimously.
Director’s Report/Information Items
1. December/YTD Statistics. Circulation in 2017 was up slightly, program attendance was up 9.7%, and public use of the meeting rooms was up 9.5% over last year.
2. Budget Status. Trustees reviewed the 2017 budget status. Year-end remaining funds will be retained by the city and applied toward a 27th payroll in 2020.
3. Endowment Report. Trustees reviewed the year-end endowment report.
4. Staff Reports.
· The Marketing & Resource Development Committee developed a plan which identified Spanish speakers, low income, and influential community members as potential users and supporters to focus on during 2018-2020. They reviewed the assessment of the needs of our community from the 2017 library survey. The committee’s goals are to evaluate how to meet the needs of the Hispanic and low-income community. Gina Cornu Zacharias, Principal at Banta Elementary School, is willing to send materials home, post materials and suggested meeting with the Parent Teacher Organization. The next step is to develop marketing materials and meet with the PTO. Staff is keeping track of what is currently spent on marketing materials to form a distinct marketing budget for next year.
· Cate Brandt, Support Services Supervisor, developed and presented the materials budget for 2018.
· A memo was enclosed from Winnefox Library System Director Jeff Gilderson-Duwe informing us that he is speaking with Bradley Shipps, Director of the Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS), to explore merging the Winnefox Area Library System (WALS) automation network with their OWLSnet automation network.
· Calumet County approved the county plan for library service that allows for a formula for the library for reimbursement for library service to residents of rural areas as it does for other libraries in municipalities that partially lie within that county.
· Children’s Services Supervisor Beson developed a bookmark reviewing the 2017 Children’s Department statistics.
· The Wild Wisconsin Winter Webinar series will be held January 23-25, 2018. Trustees are invited to listen to the webinars; they will also be shown in the Company E room for all of us.
Discussion/Action Items
5. Fine Amnesty. Several studies have recently been released indicating that fines on children’s library cards do not have an impact on whether or not children return library materials and may do more to curtail their access to the library. Motion made by Franzoi, seconded by Wicihowski to offer amnesty on a trial basis for the month of May for students in grades K-12. Motion carried unanimously. Trustees would like an accounting at the June meeting of the amount of fines waived.
6. 2018 Plans.
· This year, the Public Library System Redesign (PLSR) group will develop a recommendation to restructure Wisconsin’s library systems,
· We will focus on reaching our community’s Hispanic, low income, and influential members,
· Work will be done on the book bike trailer and bike hitch to make it easier to pull and withstand the road. The cost projection is about $1,200,
· Our Technology Replacement Plan includes replacing 5 public and 3 staff computers,
· We are rearranging the nonfiction and fiction collections, making space for a larger large print collection, which has growing demand,
· And the Governance Committee will schedule a meeting to address the method we’ll use to develop the library’s next 5-year strategic plan.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn made at 5:07pm by Franzoi, seconded by VanderHeyden. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted by Kathy Dreyer, recording Secretary
