Monthly Meeting
                                                                                       of the
                                                               Columbus Public Library Board

                                                                           November 10, 2005
 
The regularly scheduled meeting of the Columbus Public Library Board was called to order at 4:30 PM on Thursday, November 10th by the President of the Board, Jerry Jirka. Other Library Board members present included Carol Keller, Craig Neid, Lynne Rambour, and Jim Schaefer. Also in attendance was Joe Mangiamelli, the City Administrator, Brad Hruska, the Children’s Librarian, and Robert Trautwein, Library Director.

Notice of this meeting was given in advance with a copy of the agenda posted at City Hall, the County Court House and in the Public Library. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was open to the public.

The Minutes of the October Board meeting were reviewed and allowed to stand as presented with a motion from Jim Schaefer and a second from Lynne Rambour. The motion passed by voice vote.

The Library Director distributed the November Financial Reports for the City Library, the County Library Service, and the Library Foundation. He noted that November is the second month of the 2005-06 budget year. Craig Neid asked how it is determined what books are purchased with Foundation money and what books are purchased with City money. Trautwein said, that for the first three months of the budget year, he generally submits the Ingram bills to the Foundation. Those three months of book- purchases generally amount to around $15,000---the amount requested from the Foundation each year from the endowment fund. Over the course of the year, book plates are put in books determined by the cataloguer to be suitable “foundation” books. Whenever a donor requests a specific book or type of book be purchased with the donor’s money, the purchase is charged directly to the Foundation. A motion was made by Jim Schaefer to accept the financial reports. This motion was seconded by Craig Neid. The motion passed by roll call vote: Jirka-aye, Keller-aye, Schaefer-aye, Rambour-aye, and Neid-aye.

Regarding the Director’s Report, Trautwein said that there was nothing more to add to his written report.

There were not Committee Reports.

There were no items of Correspondence

Under Old Business, Trautwein said that at its November 11th meting, the City Council voted to accept the Library Board’s recommendation of Mathews Specialty Vehicles as the manufacturer of the new bookmobile. The bid was awarded to that company. Trautwein said that he had sent a letter to Mathews to inform them of the City Council’s action. Trautwein said that he hopes to have the vehicle delivered in mid-to late-June. Jim Schaefer asked about working with the vendor in designing the vehicle. Trautwein said that in his letter to Mathews, he specified that he and the bookmobile librarian, Karen Hake, would like input into the design and layout of the interior space of the vehicle.

Under New Business, Trautwein asked that the Library be closed on Saturday, December 24th. He said that as the Library is open only from 1:30 to 5 PM on Saturdays, and as Christmas Eve day is generally a very slow day for the Library, he would like to see the Library closed that day. When asked about New Year’s Eve Saturday, Trautwein said that he would like the Library to remain open that day as he would expect more traffic on New Year’s Eve. The Board voted by voice on Trautwein’s recommendation. The vote was positive. The Library will be closed on Saturday, December 24th.

The next item of business was a discussion of the “Trustee Fact Sheet” on “Grant Writing Basics”. Trautwein led off the discussion by reviewing the history of the Library’s efforts to secure grants. He noted that between the mid-80’s and mid-90’s the Library had been particularly successful in obtaining literacy grants from the federal government. Six grants were awarded, totaling $163,400. In 1992, the Library obtained a $57,000 United Parcel Foundation Grant which was matched by a Peter Kiewit grant to begin a 4-year “Family Literacy” program. Other grants, especially for automation, had been received. In the case of the automation project the granting organizations included the Nebraska Library Commission, the Peter Kiewit Foundation, the Nebraska Information Technology Commission, and the Library Foundation. It cost around $127,000 to automate the collection and the circulation system. In 2001, the library migrated its circulation system to SIRSI. Again, grant funds and city money were used to pay for this $35,000 project. Since the 1990’s, the primary source of grant funds for library-related functions has been LSTA funds (federal) administered by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Library has applied and received winning grants from these funds to partially pay for a new microfilm reader-printer, the “thin-client” computer lab and computers for the Children’s Room.

Trautwein said that most granting agencies, particularly the Kiewit Foundation and the Nebraska Library Commission, require a matching amount—a 50/50, 40/60, etc. Because this Library has been blessed with a substantial Foundation, the Library has been able to use Foundation funds to secure matching funds from these other entities.

Regarding a “Technology Plan”, Trautwein said that the Library has on file at the Nebraska Library Commission a “Plan” that outlines the technology progress the Library Director envisions for the next five years. This plan is about three years old at this time and will need to be updated in the near future.

Regarding future projects that might entail grant funding, Trautwein said that he could see money spent remodeling the ceiling in the Children’s Room. The panels and lighting need to be changed as well as a skylight added to brighten the room. To do such a project, the Library could apply for a building and construction grant from the Nebraska Library Commission. This grant could be matched through a Library Foundation grant and city money. Joe Mangiamelli recommended that the Director visit several libraries in Omaha to see how those buildings have been remodeled to bring in light and update the décor.

Another grant opportunity that Trautwein said he envisions is the installation of a “wireless” Internet node in the Library so that persons with laptops with wireless cards could come to the library and get on Internet without going through the Library’s computers. Craid Neid asked about the library’s advantage on such a project. Trautwein said that such a service would attract more people to the library. Jim Schaefer asked about the Library’s filter for such a wireless system. He said that he would be concerned that some would use the system to access pornographic materials. Trautwein said that he didn’t know if the library’s filter would prevent that from happening.

Trautwein referred back to the “Trustee Fact Sheet”, he noted that the Library has the latest copy of the “Nebraska Foundation Directory” which is used regularly by organizations in search of funding sources for special project.

Jim Schaefer asked about the future of public libraries in the digital age. Trautwein said that since the introduction of computers and Internet, the role of the public library has greatly changed. Libraries the size of CPL no longer need large reference book collections as much of the information in those books can now be found in electronic format. The conversation moved to college libraries. Craig Neid said that he is now working on an MBA program through Wayne State College. He said that much of his research is on line on proprietary databases such as EBSCO-Host and Lexus/Nexus where he can research and print full-text articles from electronic versions of journals. Jim Schaefer said that he is learning from his two college-age children that they no longer need to go to the college library to do their research. They can do this research in their dormitories or in other areas of the college that have computer access.

Jerry Jirka asked about visiting with other public libraries to learn how they are using grant funds. Trautwein said that he does that at the quarterly “Public Resource Library Meetings” he attends. He said that the Nebraska Library Commission also publishes a listing of all the grants awarded and the purposes of those grants.

A motion to adjourn was made by Jim Schaefer and seconded by Craig Neid. This motion passed by voice vote.