MUSSER PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRESTEES MEETING
WEDNESDAY, APR. 15, 2009 – 4:30 P.M.
LIBRARY CONFERENCE ROOM
PRESENT:
Durham, Johnston, Koehrsen, Lande, Martin, Nus, Ward.
STAFF:
P.Collins, Derbin, Warschauer.
ABSENT:
Drake, Stelzner.
M I N U T E S
I.
CALL TO ORDER:
Pres. Durham called the meeting to order at 4:35 pm.
II.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
The Kindle report was postponed until the next
meeting. A closed session was requested after the Director’s Report to discuss
the director’s vacation options. Nus moved to approve the amended agenda.
Second by Johnston. All ayes. Motion carried.
III.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Lande moved to approve the minutes of the
February 2009 meeting. Second by Nus. All ayes. Motion carried.
IV.
BILLS FOR PAYMENT:
Collins requested that Rotary Club meals and
donations be paid by her, and only dues paid from the Library Operations
budget. Koehrsen moved to limit Rotary payments to dues only. Second by
Nus. All ayes. Motion carried. Nus moved to approve payment of the
following bills:
3/3/09
$1,471.75
3/17/09
11,433.40
3/31/09
2,590.33
4/14/09
25,649.67
Second by Lande. All ayes. Motion carried.
V.
CITIZENS SPEAK:
Trustees commented on the article from New York
Times about the legality of libraries checking out Kindles.
VI.
COMMUNICATIONS:
A.
Staff Liaison:
The staff has been very busy with noticeably more kids
and teens. Because of problems with the computer lab, Justin has not
yet had time to set up the computers for job seekers. Various activities
are being planned for Fine Free Week, including amnesty on fines for
items returned, and demonstrations of various computer programs, and
sign up for summer reading.
B.
Friends Report:
Collins reported that the Friends authorized release
of $25,000 for the children’s area refurbishing and $3,000 for summer
reading expenses. Assistant children’s librarian Tina Miksch visited
with Neal’s Sewing Center about an idea for starting a sewing lab for
teens to learn how to create, repair and embellish clothing. Friends
would help staff it. Neal’s willingly agreed to donate ten refurbished
portable sewing machines, including their maintenance and the
training of the lab managers. The staff is very excited about this
donation and they’re going forward with plans for classes and lab
hours. There will be newspaper coverage of the “grand opening”.
C.
Director’s Report:
A written report was received. 1) Collins
explained current staffing positions and job descriptions. There is a
part time position open. 2) The new Overdues collection system will
not be coming until after summer reading ends. PALS is still
negotiating the price with Searcy.
D.
Closed Session:
At 5:08 p.m.Nus moved to go into Closed Session.
Second by Johnston. Motion carried. At 5:27 p.m. Nus moved to
return to Open Session. Second by Johnston. Motion carried.
VII. COMMITTEES:
A.
Long Range Planning/Refurbishing:
There was brief contact with
the new Allsteel designer via email. She is working on it, but since she
is new, we are clearly not at the top of her list. There is progress in the
children’s area with the assistance of Kim Kietzman of Southeast
Library Service. We should have costs by the next meeting so that we
can begin to order furniture. Moving things around in the library has
only generated one complaint. For the most part is working very well
and people don’t mind coming upstairs.
VIII. OLD BUSINESS:
A.
Board Membership:
Johnston will stay for another term. Martin will
also continue. Ward has fulfilled his term and will be leaving. Drake
has not decided. Ward asked trustees to fill out additional information
on the Board Profile sheet. They discussed the categories listed, noting
that ethnicity and age issues are currently at issue. Trustees were
encouraged to sit down with people interested in the library and talk to
them about what the job is about.
IX.
NEW BUSINESS:
A.
Fine Free Week (May 9 – 15):
A flyer was circulated describing
Fine Free Week. Koehrsen moved to approve having Fine Free Week.
Second by Ward. All ayes. Motion carried.
B.
Enrich Iowa Funding:
Collins explained that all Enrich Iowa monies,
totaling $20,246, have been deposited into the Library Trust. She
would like to use it to purchase the two new microfilm readers and a
disc cleaner (to clean our own CD’s and DVD’s). Lande moved to
approve using Enrich Iowa funds to buy those items. All ayes. Motion
carried. With the $2,246 remaining, Collins would like to put it toward
the Brain Teasers Traveling Exhibit being rented from Oregon
Museum of Science and Industry for the summer. Lande moved to
approve use of the remaining Enrich Iowa funds for the Brain Teasers
exhibit. Second by Koehrsen. All ayes. Motion carried.
X.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m. The next meeting
will be Wednesday, May 20 at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
Eugene Johnston, Secretary
/iw