Meinders Library
October 2, 2024 Board Minutes
The meeting was called to order by Gerald Brockberg at 5:14 pm. Present were Gerald Brockberg, Mary Ann DeGroot, Dan Wildermuth, Sharon Wolff, Emily Williamson, Emily Blaeser (filling in for Jody Wacker), and Jacque Swanson. Danielle Thompson and Taylor Spronk were absent.
Introductions were made since Jacque Swanson is a new member. The agenda was approved with a motion by Swanson, a second by Wildermuth, and passed unanimously. For community concerns, we discussed one patron concern. Prior minutes from the May and August meetings were distributed for approval. There was no quorum to approve May’s meeting minutes at the earlier meeting. One adjustment will be made on the August meeting minutes to reflect the correct wording for the Rock Valley Public Library. Both meeting minutes were approved with a motion by Wildermuth, a second by DeGroot, and passed unanimously.
Blaeser started the director’s report by discussing staff training on intellectual freedom and privacy. Blaeser and Wacker are completing three-week and eight-week courses on management; these trainings are through the School Library Journal provided free of charge. Next, Blaeser passed out an informational “resume” handout which Wacker provided to the county as an update on the library including its remodeling, programs, and resources. Wacker asked the county for a 3% cost of living raise. On December 8th, they will find out if this is approved.
Additionally, the library got a marketing grant which is being used for stickers and to send letters out to the community reminding them about the recent move. One of the library’s goals is to expand outreach programs which they are continuing by branching out to other organizations through acts such as reading to preschoolers, partnering to help with daycare, and conducting crafts at the senior center. Another goal is to better define patron library use by figuring out, for example, how to quantify digital materials or electronic devices. This is an ongoing process.
Blaeser passed out a statistics report regarding the past several years of active patrons, library visits, conference room use, overall circulation, and program attendance. (Wacker created these visuals to share with the Meinders family at a recent visit.) The active patron use was compared to Windom and Edgerton’s libraries. The overall active patron use is up, and adult programs from 2023-2024 is up significantly. Blaeser also passed out the September data with numbers for overall usage and the number of attendees at events and the revised budget through September 22. Wacker will check on item #2221 repair and maintenance when she returns to make sure these numbers are accurate on the budget report.
Blaeser discussed upcoming programs: October 12 a local author is coming to discuss the orphan train, October 21 a local Minnesota author is coming as part of the Community Read program, and Gladius, an upcoming flamenco guitarist, will be the last event in the summer’s music series. Finally, Delores Runge gave a generous donation of $18,000 upon her passing. This money will be used to update the patron computers which are 7-8 years old. Brockberg inquired how many will be purchased; they plan to buy 5-6 new computers and possibly one staff laptop. $5,000 will also be used to digitize and archive library materials.
There is still discussion about having an Open House in November once the final remodeling is finished. There would most likely be a ribbon cutting and coffee and refreshments provided.
Next there were policies to review for old business. Policy 307 was tabled for now since a location has not been set for bulletin boards yet. Policies 304, 305, and 306 were approved with a motion by Wolff, a second by DeGroot, and passed unanimously.
New business started with a review on all members’ term status. Members can serve a three-year term and can stay on up to three times. Right now, there are eight members and only seven members can vote. (When Brockberg’s term expires and he goes off next year, then Danielle will be a voting member again.)
| Year Expires | Type of Term | Member(s) |
| 2027 | One Year Terms | Taylor Spronk (2nd); Sharon Wolff (1st); Emily Williamson (2nd) |
| 2026 | Two Year Terms | Mary Ann DeGroot (1st); Jacque Swanson (1st) |
| 2025 | Three Year Terms | Jerry Brockberg (1st); Dan Wildermuth (1st); Danielle Thompson (1st) |
Blaeser discussed the remodeling status. The bathrooms and all interior work are almost finished. They are still going to install a pergola on the patio and complete landscaping work outside. They did complete the bike racks for patrons.
Next the board discussed policy reviews. Policy 402 no longer exists since it is combined with another policy using Plum Creek’s wording. One of the few changes included the maximum number of DVD boxed sets that can be checked out (it was one maximum but is now five maximum) and the ILLN’s check out limit is now limited by MNLINK since these materials are out of system. After some discussion, it was decided to table Policies 400-406 for the next meeting to allow some time to look them over. Wacker will rework the policy schedule to accommodate the new meeting schedule where the board meets every other month. Lastly, Wacker was also wondering how often the board would like to review policies. Wildermuth and Brockberg discussed how it’s best to review some policies each meeting to stay on top of it.
The meeting adjourned at 6:00 pm.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 5:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted by Emily Williamson, Secretary