JOHNSTON LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

MINUTES

January 16, 2008

The Johnston Public Library Board of Trustees met for a regular meeting at 5:30 pm on Wednesday January 16, 2008 in the Archive Room.  Present were Shirley Weuve, Steve Scott, Ellen Jessen, Taena Fowler, Director Willona Goers and Assistant Director Maurine Myers. 

Approve Agenda

Steve Scott moved approval of the agenda.  The motion was seconded by Ellen Jessen and unanimously approved.

Citizen Comments

Comments in the Patron Comment/Suggestion notebook included a customer’s appreciation for brightening the lights in Study Room #2, suggestions for purchases by specific authors and a comment that the paging chime is too loud.  Several letters were received from the Horizon 3rd graders in response to a class project that discussed the library as part of the city’s jobs.

Meeting Minutes

Ellen Jessen moved approval of the minutes as revised.  Taena Fowler seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.

Approve bills

Library claims for the month total $33,169.03 with city back charges of $1,219.59.  Steve Scott moved approval of the bills, Ellen Jessen seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.

Bylaws change

Steve Scott moved approval of the proposed bylaws changes as reviewed at the December board meeting.  Ellen Jessen seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.

Library Accreditation Report

Willona presented the completed Library Accreditation Report packet which is due January 31, 2008.  The packet includes the completed Accreditation application, Library Bylaws, Policy Manual, Personnel Manual, Community Survey, Strategic Plan 2008-2011, Review of the 2005-2008 Strategic Plan, a Business Community Guide, Library Annual Report and statistics.  Ellen Jessen moved approval of the Library Accreditation Report as discussed.  The motion was seconded by Steve Scott and unanimously approved.

Budget and Finance

• As of December 31, 2007, expenditures total $453,652.46.  Spending represents 47.56% of the budget with 50% of the year having passed.
• The 1st amendment to the operating budget has been submitted.  This amendment reflects the amount of money to be received from Polk County, shows where these additional funds will be expended and will be approved with the FY08/09 operating budget. 
• City Council will continue the review of the FY08/09 operating budget on January 21, prioritizing decision packages and budget requests.
• Open Access and Enrich Iowa payments have been received from the State Library.
• The Polk County Association met October 18.  Saul Amdursky, Des Moines Public Library Director, was elected President and Willona was elected Secretary.  Saul Amdursky was directed to continue negotiations with the Polk County Supervisors; Willona presented a subsequent communiqué from him regarding his most recent efforts in this regard.
• Balance in the Library Trust was $69,386.49 as of December 31, 2007, balance.  The Board discussed the Trust.

Statistics

• December’s inclement weather affected this month’s statistics.  While the average daily circulation was up compared to last year, the number of days open was actually less.  Circulation and card registration was comparable to last year rather than showing an increase.
• We continue to show a consistent increase in the number of Johnston items pulled to fill “hold” requests.  We have averaged between 200-300 more per month than in the comparable months last fiscal year.  This is partially due to the increase in holds overall and partially due to our focus on collection development and speedy technical processing.

EnvisionWare PC Reservation & Print Management implementation

• Willona presented an implementation plan for the EnvisionWare software with a disclaimer that the timeline is dependent upon several factors outside of library control.
• 10 new PCs have been purchased with Foundation funds and 2 with library funds – Dreama is completing setup of the new PCs.
• The Foundation has approved the purchase of a centralized color laser printer and a second coin/bill changer unit.  Library staff is in the process of completing these purchases.
• Public computer use will be suspended for approximately 3 days at the time of conversion to the new software.  We will provide advance notice to our users and area libraries and will be publicizing the changes as these are significant upgrades and improvements for our library users.

City Council Liason Appointment

Gerd Glabaugh has been appointed as City Council liaison to the Library Board of Trustees.  A letter was sent to Paula Dierenfeld, past liaison, on behalf of the Library Board and staff.

Director’s Report

Building and Grounds:

• We are continuing to have some maintenance issues with the dividing wall in the Meeting Room.  A crew from Johnston Public Works will come this week to grind down a section of the concrete floor which appears to be contributing to the problem.  If operation problems continue, Skold Door will be called back for another maintenance visit.
• The new custodial service seems to be doing well and library staff is pleased with the supervisory follow-up.  The evening cleaning timeframe seems to be working well.
• The painter will be here painting the meeting room and some public areas on February 18 when the library is closed to the public.

Public relations and networking:

• The Library has had good coverage recently in the Johnston section of the Des Moines Register with features on the American Girl party, a children’s story time and the Iowa Stars program.  The Library’s calendar of events is also included in the monthly Johnston Living publication.
• Willona worked with Lucas Casey from the City to implement an email sign-up and notification from the library’s website.  We were able to utilize the City’s license without additional cost and it will provide an efficient method of “pushing” selected messages about the Library.  The 1st message has gone out.
• Mary Jane Paez, Johnston Historical Society, submitted the grant for filming and digitizing Johnston newspapers in January.  The Library will be a participant and if the grant is approved, we will then have an archival record of our newspapers and a searchable database of the complete run of newspapers since Johnston’s incorporation as a community.  The library’s portion of the cost will either be taken from our operating budget or requested from the Foundation.
• Willona is serving on the Bylaws Review Committee for the Polk County Library Association.
• Willona and Maurine will be meeting with the Urbandale Library administration on January 22 for a quarterly meeting.
• Willona attended an Iowa Library Association planning meeting in January as a member of the Editorial Committee.

Technology, Telecommunications & Networking:

• The email spam problem seems to have been resolved.
• The EnvisionWare project and replacement of the public PCs will be a major focus for the next two months.

Staff & Training Update:

• A number of library staff will attend a Violence in the Workplace training session from Employee and Family Resources (EFR) sponsored by the City.
• Several staff members plan to participate in an online session for the “All Iowa Reads”.  Other staff will participate in another online session on Web 2.0 which covers extended uses of the Internet (social networking sites, etc.)
• Willona is finalizing details for her attendance at the Public Library Association meeting in Minneapolis in March.  Because of scheduling and travel issues, Maurine will not attend the meeting but is investigating the possibility of virtual participation for a couple of the sessions.
• Jen Mudge has resigned effective the end of February.

Foundation Report:

• The Foundation Board met January 2, 2008 and the Foundation’s annual meeting will be in February.  Mary Miller’s term is expiring; Sherryl Viars from Polk County Back will be joining the Board in Mary’s place.
• The Foundation members appreciated the thank you letter that was received from the Library Board of Trustees.
• The Foundation’s annual report will be approved and distributed to approximately 200 recipients in February.
• Members of the Lions Club moved a number of book sale donations to their temporary storage facility.  Donations continue to arrive and we will be contacting them again soon for pickup up of these additional items.

Other Business

The March Board of Trustees meeting has been rescheduled for Monday March 24 at 5:30 pm.

Trustee Comments

Ellen and Shirley reported on the upcoming Foundation/Staff/Trustee event.  The event will be February 22 in the Library’s meeting room from 5:00-6:00 pm with remarks by Shirley and Willona scheduled for 5:40 pm.

Adjournment

Steve Scott moved adjournment of the meeting.  Ellen Jessen seconded, the motion was unanimously approved and the meeting adjourned at 6:50 pm.