Meeting of the
Columbus Public Library Board and
The Bookmobile Advisory Subcommittee
March 11, 2010


The regularly scheduled meeting of the Columbus Public Library Board was called to order at 4:30 PM on Thursday, March 11, 2010 by Carol Keller who read aloud and signed the “Certification of Compliance,” regarding the “Open Meeting” law. Other Library Board members in attendance included Jim Schaefer, Joie Taylor, Sharon Raimondo, and Craig Neid. Bookmobile Advisory Board members present were Carol Rosendahl, and Sandy Wegener. Liz Young was excused. Karen Hake, Bookmobile Librarian, Jill Owens, Library Director, Brad Hruska, Youth Services Librarian, and Larry Brenner were also present. Heather St. Clair, Reference Librarian was present for the proposed Internet Safety and Use policy review. Notice of this meeting was published in advance. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the meeting was open to the public.

The minutes were reviewed. Jim moved to approve the minutes of the February 11th and 24th meetings and Joie seconded. The motion carried unanimously with no discussion.

Jim moved that the Bookmobile Advisory Board related business be moved forward in the agenda with the Internet Safety and Use policy item to follow. Craig seconded. The motion carried unanimously with no discussion.

Karen Hake reported that she had a new shop vac for the bookmobile and it is really helping with everything that has been tracked in this winter. She also said that her husband expanded the cupboard, and her brother fixed the air conditioner which was loose. Karen also noted she’s working on some ideas for National Bookmobile Day which will be April 14th. If the schools give permission she would like to invite the County Supervisors out to Platte Center where she’ll be that day. She also is going to ask the Telegram for some coverage that day.
Carol Keller asked Sandy Wegener and Carol Rosendahl if they had anything to bring before the board. They didn’t. Carol thanked them for coming. Karen, Sandy, and Carol R. excused themselves. The board requested that Jill send something to Karen’s relatives for their help. Jill will ask the Friends if they will supply gift certificates for the thank you letters.
During the discussion of the Internet Safety and Use policy draft, the board members had some questions. Jill will investigate whether our WiFi access is affected by the filter, and if not, whether this is a problem. She will also ask the city attorney to review the policy after a few minor changes are made, including asking whether we need a disclaimer. The board members and Jill thanked Heather for her work on this policy.
Jim moved that the board return to the listed agenda order. Sharon seconded. The motion carried unanimously with no discussion.

The financial reports were presented and a few questions were discussed. Jill noted that expenses for the new computer lab will be billed to the project. When the new lab is completed, the board will be given a copy of the accounting. Jim moved to accept the financial reports. Sharon seconded. The roll call vote passed as follows: Keller, aye; Schaefer, aye; Raimondo, aye; Neid, aye; and Taylor, aye.
The director’s report was presented. Jill noted the lab project work had started. She also noted that the library has to supply staff for the Mayor’s Roundtable program broadcasting and recording. Because pulling someone out of the upstairs is difficult, it is likely that she will be working a lot of these. Staff is considering the best way to handle this additional duty and looking for places to trim hours those weeks. Jill was asked to come up with some talking points about staffing. Also during the director’s report, Brad’s outreach was briefly discussed.
During the committee reports section of the agenda, Larry Brenner, along with Craig and Joie, talked about the Quality of Life initiative. Both Craig’s Third Place presentation and the overall project were covered. Jill will talk with Steve Fosselman, the Library Director in Grand Island to arrange a trip to talk about their library’s building project. We’ll also see if there is time to fit in a stop at Central City for comparison.

Correspondence – Jill received word from the City Attorney that open meeting laws will apply if a quorum of board members make the trip to Grand Island. It will be treated as a special meeting. Jill also passed around an ad for a conference on fundraising.

Carol would like staff to visit board meetings and share about five minutes about what they do. Brad volunteered to make a sign-up sheet.
The policy “Circulation Periods of Library Materials” was discussed. Jill recommended that the words “video” and “cassettes” be removed. She also noted (per circulation staff preference) the check-out limits for DVDs should be changed so they are uniform and not tied to the age of the patron as this is not always easy to determine at check-out. Also, sometimes parents send children to the counter with their adult cards. Instead of three DVD check-outs per adult card and one check-out per juvenile card, everyone will be allowed to check-out two at a time. It was suggested the family limit be raised. Jim moved to accept the recommended changes to the “Circulation Periods of Library Materials” policy. Joie seconded. The motion passed with no further discussion.
Announcements -- The Grand Opening for the new computer lab is tentatively planned for April 15th during National Library Week.
The meeting was adjourned by Carol Keller.