October 2008                                                       Minutes of the Meeting Of the Columbus Public Library Board October 14, 2008 The meeting of the Columbus Public Library Board was called to order at 4:30 PM on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 by Carol Keller, acting President, who read aloud the “Certification of Compliance,” regarding the “Open Meeting” law. Mr. Mangiamelli pointed out that we hadn’t yet moved our Open Meeting Act sign to the room we were in. The director will acquire more copies so we don’t have to carry the sign around the Library. Other Library Board members present were Sharon Raimondo and Craig Neid. Mr. Schaefer had given notification that he would be running late, and did arrive after the meeting was opened. Also present: Joseph Mangiamelli, City Administrator; Jill Owens, Library Director; and Brad Hruska, Youth Services Librarian. Notice of this meeting was given in advance with a copy of the agenda posted at City Hall, the Courthouse, and in the Public Library. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was open to the public. The Minutes of the September Board meetings were reviewed. There was a clarification as to whether a decision was made about the cappuccino machine during the September 11th meeting. A general agreement had been reached to let the supplies run out but no vote had been taken. The September 11th minutes were allowed to stand as presented with a motion from Craig Neid and a second from Sharon Raimondo. This motion passed unanimously with no further discussion. The proposed mission statement was briefly discussed. Craig moved to accept the September 17th minutes. Sharon Raimondo seconded. The minutes were unanimously accepted. The financial reports were reviewed. Mr. Schaefer arrived. Craig moved to accept the financial reports. Sharon Raimondo seconded. This motion passed with a unanimous voice vote. The Director’s Report was presented. It was noted that the grand total of check-outs for the fiscal year that just ended exceeded the grand total for the previous year. [The grand total for last FY was 197,416 and the grand total for this FY was 200,805.] Also noted: 32% of last month’s total check-outs were done by patrons who do not reside in city limits. Karen Hake will give a report on her conference when the Board meets in December, as that is when the Bookmobile Advisory Board will be present. At that time she will introduce her new Board member, Sandy Wegener. It was discussed whether information had been gathered yet on who uses the Library’s meeting rooms. A Friends of the Library volunteer is taking our past pages from the schedule book each month to do a tally. After further discussion on what kind of information was being asked for, Jill said she’d send out the standing reservations list to the Board members. The Board wishes to come up with a position/philosophy in regard to our “permanent” guests. The Board Members will invite the Library’s two main guests (PVLA and CAAC) to informally and briefly explain what they do, and to discuss their plans and expectations of the Library for the future. Jill will draft an invitation which will be discussed at the next board meeting. Discussion on this topic was suspended so the Board could vote on the mission statement before Craig had to leave. A motion was made to go out of agenda order by Carol Keller. Sharon Raimondo provided the second. There being no further discussion, the motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The mission statement crafted during the September 17th meeting reads as follows: “The mission of the Columbus Public Library is to serve our diverse communities as a vital resource center for information, culture, and entertainment.” After Jim Schaefer read the statement, Craig moved to accept the statement. Carol Keller seconded. There was no further discussion and the motion passed by unanimous roll call vote. Craig excused himself. Brad Hruska reported that Accelerated Reader is really taking off since all the tests have been purchased; so far he has over 40 students signed up for the program. Because it is done online, tests and disks no longer have to be continually updated. Jill reported that PVLA contributed $650 for two years. They felt they could do this while they had the Taste of Columbus income. The cost is approximately $1,800 per year. Also, AR must be purchased by a school and PVLA’s LiBEARy School qualifies. Testing at the library means more access to tests because we have all of the tests, and we can test during evenings and weekends not available to schools. There were no Committee Reports. In the category of Correspondence, Jill Owens reported that CPL has been awarded a Continuing Education and Training Grant from the Nebraska Library Commission (NLC). Mr. Trautwein had written the grant request earlier in the year. The award is for up to $2,100 for two people to attend the American Library Association (ALA) meeting in Chicago in 2009. It was decided that there is time to talk at a later date about which board member will attend. Old Business: There was discussion about whether the Board had to vote at this time about whether and how much to contribute to a Quality of Life study. This discussion will be tabled for when more than three Board Members are in attendance. Next, the Board discussed whether to name the Library’s representative for a steering committee for the Quality of Life Initiative. No representative was selected. The last item of old business went back to the name badges. Jill Owens reported that the staff committee selected a name badge design. The badges have been sent and will be arriving any day. There are two spare badges which say “Staff” to be worn in the event someone forgets his/her badge, or in the case of a new hire who doesn’t yet have a personalized badge. New Business: The NLC NebrasKard program was discussed. It will be mentioned in the next Director’s Report that this is being considered so that any interested people or entities may comment. The final item in the New Business category was a request from the Director that the library is allowed to close at 5:00 on the eves of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s days. Sharon Raimondo so moved. After brief discussion Carol Keller provided the second. There was no further discussion and the motion was approved unanimously. Announcements were made about upcoming meetings. There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Carol Keller and seconded by Sharon Raimondo. The “ayes” were unanimous. The meeting was adjourned. The Library Board next meets Tuesday, November 18th at 4:30 in the Video Conference Room because the Constitution Room was already booked at the time of the date change. After adjournment Mr. Schaefer stated a preference for the Video Conference Room, so that is where the Board will meet henceforth. Respectfully submitted, Jill Owens Library Director