Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting
Library Director’s Office
Bozeman Public Library
November 14, 2001
8:00 A.M.
ATTENDANCE Trustees: Brenda Davis, Chair; Jerry Bancroft; Holly Brown; Bob Gutzman; Al Kesselheim; Molly Richardson, Foundation Board; Steve Kirchhoff, City Commission; Lois Dissly and Liza McClelland, Staff; and Alice Meister, Director. Guests:
Nancy and Bob Ross and Chris Aasem, Bozeman Women’s Club.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Davis at 8:11 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the October 17th meeting were approved as submitted with the correction that the dates at the top of the first page and under “Approval of Minutes” should read October 17th instead of September 19th.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Chair Davis revised the agenda in order that the representatives of the Bozeman Women’s Club could make a special presentation. President Nancy Ross reported that the Club, which is over 90 years old, was disbanding, and the members had decided to donate $500 to the Library Foundation. She requested that Montana history books be presented to the Library in memory of the Club. Davis thanked the representatives for their gift, and they left the meeting at this time.
CORRESPONDENCE
Meister reported that she had received a thank you from the NorthWest Building Operators for the use of our meeting room. A letter from Senator Conrad Burns was received with informational assistance on locating organizations to whom the Library could apply for funding. Comments from the public included: suggestions for a coffee bar in the new building; a request to fill the large hole in the west parking lot; and a request for more computers. One patron had written several comment slips about John Gilstrap’s books being inappropriate for middle school age children, which she was currently challenging within the school system. However, his books are already cataloged in our adult section rather than our young adult or children’s collections. McClelland responded to a patron who was
concerned that people couldn’t sign up the previous day to use the computers saying that it would limit patrons who walk into the Library, as all the computers could already be taken through previous sign-ups. Reference librarian Katie Biehl responded to a patron who requested more books-on-CD, saying that currently we are limited by budget constraints and availability of titles. An e-mail from the State Library indicated that there is no conflict between the anti-terrorism law and Montana statutes.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT
On behalf of the Friends, Meister reported that the Friends Annual Meeting on October 18th went well with approximately 55 people in attendance. The new officers will assume their positions in January. The book sale is scheduled for Saturday November 17th through Monday, November 19th.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Richardson said the October 27th Live! @ Your Library benefit went exceedingly well with over 100 people at the cocktail party at the Carnegie Library building. Then people walked the book brigade path to the present Library and met the authors, with some staying until 10:30 p.m. The event only netted $3,000 but the visibility was excellent. Mike Wheat, a lawyer whose offices are in the Carnegie Library building, will join the Board. An Events Committee has been started which meets semimonthly to plan next year’s event and other donor cultivation events. Davis complimented the Foundation Board on its success. The Executive Committee will meet before the next Board meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, December 5th, at 8:30 a.m. Bancroft
asked about the possibility of volunteers to write grants; Meister believed that the capital consulting firm would help write those. Richardson will share Bancroft’s idea with the Board.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Meister reported that the October circulation increased over 4%. Children’s program attendance is up nearly 19%. The financial report shows the Library has 63% left in its budget, which is where it should be after four and a half months into the new fiscal year. The Broad Valleys Federation Fall Meeting on Saturday, October 20th , was quite successful. Meister and Bancroft spoke at the Exchange Club luncheon on October 22nd, and Meister and Davis attended a Business and Professional Women’s luncheon on October 24th to hear the candidates for City Commission. McClelland worked on the Chamber of Commerce BusinessExpo October 23rd and 24th, and she and Liz Babbitt staffed a table at the MSU Well Check with
library health resources and spoke to over 140 people. A building permit has been issued for the KEMC studio in the meeting room. The “Understanding Islam” program on October 30th attracted 55 people, and the Bill Rossiter program on October 8th brought in 20 people. November 12th-18th is National Children’s Book Week, and patrons will write down their favorite children’s classic.
Dissly worked on the Community Technology Festival, which was held Saturday, November 3rd, where McClelland and Terri Dood presented a workshop on InfoTrac. All five Gallatin County libraries were represented at the County Commission meeting on October 23rd to give annual reports. Congratulations are in order to Belgrade and Three Forks Libraries on passing their bond referenda. There were three incident reports filed: 1) A man gave a staff member an inappropriate note marked “confidential.” This patron is no longer welcome in the Library. 2) A patron reported that another patron was viewing questionable Internet sites but staff could see nothing objectionable. 3) A woman called to say that her daughter had been followed to her car by a man who was
leering at her. Staff was unaware of the incident until the day after it happened.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: STORY DISTRIBUTING PROPERTY
Brown reported that her contract revisions are with Doug Alexander’s attorney regarding the purchase of the Story Distributing property, and that she is waiting to hear back from the attorney.
BOARD MEMBERS’ AND CITY COMMISSIONER’S REPORTS
Building Committee Chair Bancroft reported that the choice of the environmental engineer should soon be recommended to the Trustees by the Environmental Remediation Subcommittee, as the members are reviewing seven submissions now. Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) have been sent to nearly 220 architectural firms, and an advertisement was placed in a library publication. Bancroft stated the need to hire a firm that can find the balance between a very contemporary building and a historic building, one that fits our context. The Building Committee will eventually recommend an architectural firm to the Trustees. Kirchhoff commented that there was some architectural competition money from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which Bancroft will pursue.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:29 a.m. The next meeting will be Wednesday, December 19th, at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Director’s Office.
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