Meinders Library
January 9, 2019 Board Minutes
The meeting was called to order by Kyle Caskey at 5:19. Board members present were Kyle Caskey, Evan Schiller, Justin Schroyer, Jody Wacker, Pat Weets, and Sharon Wolff. Replacing Tami Taubert from the school board will be Amy Nelson, who was not present at the meeting.
No community concerns were noted, and minutes from the November meeting were not read, as the secretary’s term had been reached and she is no longer on the board. The December meeting was not held due to scheduling conflicts.
The financial report was given by library director, Jody Wacker. Year to date, the library is operating under budget (42%), though Plum Creek Library System bills will be coming due in the next month or so. These will bring the financial statement more in with the budget. Wolff approved the financials, with a second from Weets.
The Director’s report was brief, as December is a slow month for the library as a whole. Of note is a volunteer working at the library due to a work-place injury. He has had a background check and is getting paid for his time by his employer. The situation is working out well. Part-time staff Diane Scotting is currently on extended leave for the winter and will return in the spring.
Quarterly metrics were circulated. In-house use of the library and patron visits increased, with a large uptick in use for each of our public spaces including the STEAM Room, the conference room, and the computer lab. The only decrease in numbers was circulation, which had been predicted in 2017 with the changing of school library staff in January of 2018. The practice of automatic renewals and reissuing long overdue items was discontinued on the school side, thus decreasing the number of circulation transactions. The upside is that this number is a more accurate portrayal of items being deliberately checked out from the library. In addition, Wolff pointed out that the fifth grade class is smaller than previous grades, thus decreasing the number of middle school visits per week.
Wacker reported that she met with John Draper to work on the logo and promotional needs of the library. Discussion centered on the next step in creating/working on literacy tutoring. We continue to come across road blocks from the Minnesota Literacy Council and Community Education, both of whom do not believe that there is a need for this in our community. We will continue to work on getting information on how to best move forward with this project. The strategic plan was tabled due to time.
As part of our policy review process, the board discussed policy 503 (approved by Wolff and seconded by Weets), 600 (approved by Weets as amended by Wacker and seconded by Schilller), 606 (approved by Schroyer and seconded by Weets), and 701 (approved by Schroyer and seconded by Weets). Discussion centered on background checks for volunteers. Wacker stated she had checked with Tonia in Human Resources and was told they didn’t have to have a background check, but that it was best if regular volunteers received one.
The next meeting is scheduled for 5:15pm on February 6. At 6:22, the meeting was adjourned.