Library gains from Doodle Day but state cuts grant

The Bettendorf Public Library Board of Trustees met in the Malmros Room at 4:30 p.m. Those members present were Laas, Brandtner, Harrison, Hartsock, Korndorf. Cruise entered at 4:45. Voigt was absent. Staff members present were Clow, Chumbley, Martin, Rosauer, Barrett.

AGENDA

President Laas stated that if there were no additions or corrections to the Agenda, it would stand approved.

MINUTES

President Laas stated that if there were no additions or corrections to the Minutes of the October 12, 2000 meeting, the Minutes would stand approved.



Board members initialed justification sheets and checks were signed for this monthÃŒs Board bills.

PUBLIC FORUM

President Laas asked if anyone wished to speak during the Public Forum portion of the meeting. There were no respondents.

CORRESPONDENCE

The Director passed around a folder of correspondence, pointing out a letter from a patron family that wrote about how appreciative they were of the services provided to their family by staff person Paul Odell. There also was a letter from a person traveling the country in a motor home who wrote about how much he enjoyed the Bettendorf Library.




FISCAL REPORT AND EXPENDITURES

There was no report for the current month.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

COMMUNITY/CITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
No report.

EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION/RECOGNITION


COMMITTEE
No report.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM COMMITTEE
Board Member Harrison reported for the Intellectual Freedom Committee. He noted there has been no response to the Board's letter to Mr. Mathias, who had protested in a letter to the Board about not being allowed to post an item on the public bulletin board.

Harrison also distributed copies of a request for expenses to attend the ALA Midwinter Conference in Washington, D.C., including airfare, hotel and meals for a total of approximately $1,200.

On motion by Hartsock, seconded by Korndorf that the Board approve a projected expense total of $1,250 for Board Member Harrison to attend the ALA Midwinter Conference.

VOTE: Ayes: Laas, Brandtner, Hartsock, Harrison, Korndorf. Nays: None. Absent: Cruise, Voigt.

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Board Member Korndorf reported that the Personnel Committee met with Union representatives on November 8 for the second meeting of negotiations. The next meeting is scheduled for December 6 at 6:15 p.m.

PLANNING COMMITTEE
Board Member Laas reported that the Planning Committee feels that it might be best if the Planning Session scheduled for December 8 be postponed to a later date. The reason for this postponement revolves around the impact of the report from the consultants who are currently working on the efficiency study. Their report is not due to the city until the end of December. Also the hearings from the 2001/2002 Budget will be in February. Without knowing the results of both the consultants' report and the Council's decisions on budget, planning would be very difficult to accomplish. It was discussed that this planning session could possibly be rescheduled for the first part of March.

LIBRARY FUND
Board Member Cruise reported for the Library Fund. Doodle Day was held on Saturday, November 11 and was very successful. To date over $12,000 has been raised. There are still some doodles left and people can purchase them with a minimum $50 bid. He stated that the Fund members would have liked to have had more people attend, but the crowd was still very good.

The Library Director presented copies of the annual Library Fund report from the auditor. Last year the Library Fund assets totaled $604,776 and this year the total is $653,963. This year's donations and contributionÃŒs totaled $59,368 and interests and investments equaled $43,283.

FRIENDS
Staff person Gina Barrett reported that the Friends met on November 7. Library Board Members attended the meeting and presented the Friends with library shirts and treats at the meeting. The Friends asked Barrett to thank the Board for their generosity. They were very surprised and pleased.

The Fall Book Fair was very successful, the second largest ever netting over $3,800. The Holiday Bazaar the first Saturday in November had 31 tables of crafts and gifts and raised $750 before expenses. The Friends agreed to support the entire Wish List of $2,165.00. This included the support of several programs such as Brown Bag lunches, senior day programs, Babies and Books Program, Winter Reading Program prizes and the Family Sleepover in February, as well as 4,000 library card sleeves for new library card recipients.

OLD BUSINESS

DISCUSSION OF PUBLIC POSTING POLICY AND SALE OF MERCHANDISE POLICY AS IT PERTAINS TO ARTIST'S PRICING OF WORKS ON EXHIBIT

The Director stated that with the changes made in the Public Posting Policy at the October meeting, there may need to be clarification for the artists who display their work on the libraryÃŒs art walls. Currently artists are allowed to place prices on the artwork itself, leave a list of prices at the reception desk or have business cards available near their display. The Director felt that the act of allowing them to display their artwork provides a certain kind of library sponsorship and our Sale of Merchandise Policy does allow library sponsored programs to sell items. The library is not involved in any sale of artwork, but merely allows the costs to be displayed or located in the library. The Board determined that the Director look at the Public Posting Policy and Sale of Merchandise Policy in relationship to one another and present any recommended changes at the December meeting.

NEW BUSINESS
DISCUSSION OF OPEN ACCESS COMPENSATION

The Director informed the Board that the library has received the annual Open Access check. The check received is based on the previous year's transactions.

It was noted that this year's check was $6,000 less than last year's even though the number of transactions were more than the previous year. After contacting the State Library the Director learned that there was a ten percent increase in the transaction volume throughout the state, resulting in a 33 cent per transaction rate, compared to the 43.2 cent transaction rate of last year.

The program provides for a 50 cent per transaction rate, but has never been fully funded. The Director also learned that the due to a budget cut of $80,000, the State Library had to cut this amount from areas of the budget. They chose to cut $45,000 from the Open Access funding, resulting in the lower amounts received.

There were also cuts in the Interlibrary Loan Program and the materials budget. The Board determined that the Director should compose a letter to Representatives Millage and Tinsman with copies to the Library Commission and the State Librarian, voicing the Board's concern on this matter.

REPORT ON THE WORK BEING DONE FOR THE EFFICIENTY/STAFF CONSULTANTS
The Director reported that the consultants had asked the library to do a visual that shows the city department's clients and how many people it takes to service these clients. They also asked that this information be based on the City's Vision Statement. It was also asked that the departments take the major program areas and detail them into categories including mandated, choice, unique and services that need to grow. Copies of these exercises were presented to the Board.

Staff person Rita Rosauer stated that one of the consultants had asked her to determine for the library the best practices on technical support, costs for salaries, etc. Then she was to list the benefits that would accrue to both the library and the City's Information Services Department if the library had its own technical support person.

DISCUSSION OF BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR 2001/2002
The Director presented the Board with copies of the proposed 2001/2002 library budget, outlining line item increases and changes.

There are no formulations for the Personnel portion as these are as yet undetermined due to union negotiations.

Within the Electronic Equipment Replacement portion, the library has requested eighteen replacement computers that would allow the library to upgrade the computers to provide the graphical Quad Linc system that you currently see in your homes. The Director has added a line for repairs in the Novel Caf .

The Board asked the Director how the Novel Caf was doing at this point. She stated that prior to the summer months the library had been receiving the maximum revenue percentage. During the June, July, August and September time period, the library was receiving an average of about $450 per month. October and November revenues have been back up again. The owner of the caf who is an intricate part of the business was off during the summer months for maternity leave, so her return will probably provide additional revenues.

On motion by Cruise, seconded by Harrison that the Board approve the 2001/2002 Proposed Library Budget as presented.

VOTE: Ayes: Laas, Brandtner, Cruise, Harrison, Hartsock, Korndorf. Nays: None. Absent: Voigt. The motion carried.

DIRECTOR'S REPORT
The City Council had their annual planning session last weekend to determine their goals and priorities for the upcoming year.

One of their priorities is to determine whether or not the City should consider the purchase of the now available former Eagle building on 18th Street.

They appointed a committee of three Council Members and two staff persons, with Tracey Kuehl as head of the committee. The Director has been asked to determine if the library has any needs or uses for the building.

She stated that at the current time she could say that the library could use a portion of the building for storage of the books received by the Friends for their book Fair. Currently, when the Friends Room becomes too full of donations, they put the extra boxes in the dock area and the City's insurance company points this out as a violation.

BOARD EDUCATION
Staff person Judi Sarafin presented the Board with a brief description of how the library's Fiction is selected and processed. Judi selects most of the Fiction, including books on tape and CDs on tape, with Hedy Hustedde choosing the Science Fiction selections. Selections are chosen from reviews and patron requests. Funding sources for the collection include $20,000 from the budget and $9,000 from Open Access Funding, as well as requests to the Friends of the Library, library memorials and grants.

TRUSTEE FORUM
Board Member Harrison presented the Board with copies of his report from the ALA Conference in Chicago in July. Due to computer problems he had been unable to complete the report prior to this time. He noted that one of the sessions he attended entitled, Strange Bedfellows: Coming of Age, was the best session he has ever attended. He stated that he would like to provide the Board with some of the information from this session at an upcoming meeting.

Board Member Laas stated that she enjoyed attending the Friends Meeting in November. She has been a member of the Friends for many years, but had not attended a meeting. She felt that the organization is wonderful with a very small, but vital group of active members that provide so many opportunities for the library.

She also stated that she has been Board President for about six months and has determined a few changes that she would like to implement. These proposed changes will be presented at the December meeting.

Board Member Hartsock asked what requires the Board to go through all the check vouchers and have three people initial them. She feels that by doing this during a meeting, it can sometimes detract attention from the items of discussion. The Director stated that she will find out if the initialing of the bills is a requirement.

REPORTS FROM STAFF
Staff person Tami Chumbley noted that the Staff Inservice for 2001 is Friday, April 27, if the Board would like to make note of it. Some of the topics include a presentation by Laura Ford on Motivating Yourself and Time Management as well as a presentation by Sandy Bellinger from Trinity entitled Humoring Your Health.

Staff person Marj Martin stated that the Technical Services Department processed a record high of 1600 items in October.