Meeting

of the

Columbus Public Library Board 

January 10, 2008 

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Columbus Public Library Board was called to order at 4:30 PM on Thursday, January 10, 2008 by the President, Jim Schaefer.  He read and signed the “Certification of Compliance” regarding the “Open Meeting” law.  

Other Library Board members present included Craig Neid, Carol Keller, Sharon Farritor and Joie Taylor. Joe Mangiamelli, the City Administrator, Mike Oglevie, from the City Human Resources Department, Brad Hruska, the Children’s Librarian, Jill Owens, the Reference Librarian, and Robert Trautwein, Library Director, were also present. Richard Miller, Director of Library Development at the Nebraska Library Commission, was the special guest and presenter. 

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 December Board meeting were reviewed and allowed to stand as submitted with a motion from Carol Keller and a second from Craig Neid.  The motion passed by voice vote. 

The Library Director distributed the January Financial Reports for the City Library, the County Library Service, and the Library Foundation.  He noted that January is the fourth month of the 2007-08 budget year.  A motion was made by Craig Neid and seconded by Joie Taylor to accept the expenditures. The motion passed by roll call vote: Schaefer-aye, Neid-aye, Keller-aye, Farritor-aye and Taylor-aye.

The Director’s Report was reviewed.  There was a brief discussion of the “Overdrive” downloadable talking book program soon to be initiated and partially funded by the Nebraska Library Commission. 

Under Committee Reports, Carol Keller said that the Personnel Committee, composed of Joie Taylor and herself will be meeting on Tuesday the 15^th of January to discuss the annual review of the Library Director. 

Regarding the Building and Grounds Committee, the Director said that he had not called a meeting of the committee to decide on the colors of the tile and sink base as he has received only one of two requested bids.  Originally, for budget purposed he had asked Wise Buys Carpet for an estimate for tearing out and replacing the floor and wall tile in the 1^st floor restrooms .  That figures alone with an estimate for new sinks were incorporated into the budget request.  Since the budget was approved, he asked both BK Flooring and Wise Buys Carpet for bids.  BK Flooring has submitted a bid but not Wise Buys.  He said he would be contacting Wise Buys early next week if he had not received a response.  Mr. Neid said that he understands that Trautwein did the preliminary work of getting an estimate for the budget but the décor will be the responsibility of the Building and Grounds Committee.  He questioned how an exact estimate can be determined if it is not know what tiles and colors are being specified. Mr. Neid asked about the specification.  He questioned if the Committee had decided on the specifications prior to the presentation of the budget.  Trautwein said that he had not shared the specifications with the board prior to submitting the budget.  Trautwein said that he wants to leave the color selection to the committee. Trautwein said that when he receives the second bid, he will call the committee together to review them.  Generally, the lower bid must be accepted unless a strong reason for selecting the higher bid is voiced. 

Under Correspondence, Mr. Schaefer read a letter from the Library Director of  his intent to retire on his 65^th birthday on July 29, 2008. (attached to minutes).  The letter of intent was accepted with a motion from Joie Taylor and a second from Sharon Farritor.  There was a role call vote: Schaefer-aye, Neid-aye, Keller-aye, Farritor-aye and Taylor-aye. 

Under Old Business,   Trautwein said that the revised contract between the Library Board and the Friends of the Library regarding the book sale has now been signed by Marilyn Zehring, the president of the Friends.  A copy of this contract had been forwarded to board member for their review.  It was noted that the year and the name of the Library Board president were now different.  It was decided to cross out those items.  Joie Taylor made a motion to accept the contract as amended.  This motion was seconded by Craig Neid.  The motion was passed by a role call vote: Schaefer-aye, Neid-aye, Keller-aye, Farritor-aye and Taylor-aye. 

Under New Business, Trautwein reviewed with the Board the library’s “Schedule of Fines and Services Fees” policy as last reviewed on March 14, 2002.  Trautwein said he was bringing this policy before the Board as he had a complaint from a patron who believed the daily fine for overdue videos/cds was excessive.  Trautwein explained that the videos/cds are checked out for a week.  Each media case has a label on it that says it is a “7-Day Check Out”.  Also, he said that the receipts given to patrons lists what they check out and when the items should be returned.  Trautwein said he had reviewed the circulation and fine policy with the staff and learned that they feel the current circulation period and fine policy should remain.   The newest videos/dvds receive the most check out.  If the loan period were increased and/or the fine reduced, there wouldn’t be as great a turnover in that collection.  Mr. Neid asked why there wasn’t a maximum charge for video/dvds.  Trautwein said that the cap on books is to encourage people to return even long over-due books.  He said that the continuation of the fine on videos/dvds recognizes the fast turnover in that area and the need for a quick return. Jill Owens noted that there is a policy that if a person pays for a lost item, he is not charged the overdue fee. Trautwein asked if board would like to hold this item over until the February meeting.  Mr. Neid said that he would like to have the Board discuss the issue of there not being a maximum fine for overdue videos/dvds.  Mr. Hruska said that persons with overdues receive reminder phone calls and letters in hope of keeping the fine as low as possible.  Joie Taylor suggested that perhaps a $30.00 cap might be realistic price as it would generally be more than the cost of the item. 

Following the listing of announcements, the meeting was adjourned with a motion from Craig Neid and a second from Sharon Farritor.  This motion passed by voice vote. 

Mr. Miller lead the Board in a discussion related to chapter 9 of the “Nebraska Library Trustee Manual.

The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.