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Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting
Library Director’s Office
Bozeman Public Library
October 9, 2003
4:00 P.M.
ATTENDANCE
Trustees: Brenda Davis, Chair; Holly Brown; Bob Gutzman; Charlie Hamp, Foundation Board; Paula Beswick, Friends of the Library; Lois Dissly, Staff; and Alice Meister, Director. Guests: Erica Howe Dungan, Art Committee Chair; Mark Johnson, Resource Technologies Inc.; Wendy Lewis, Foundation Development Director; Jacki McGuire, Foundation Treasurer; and Mike McKenna, McKenna Realty.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Davis at 4:02 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the September 17, 2003 meeting were approved as submitted.
CORRESPONDENCE
Meister read a thank you from the Montana Center for International Visitors (MCIV) thanking her for spending time with visitors from Bhutan. She also received a thank you from a woman to whom she had given a Library tour. Terri Dood had received an e-mail from a man who thanked her for her help in locating his half-sister, for whom he had been searching for fifteen years. Comments from the public included an observation that a Library employee was parking in the Library lot and thus taking up a parking space for patrons; a comment that the librarians could be “a lot friendlier,” and a request that warning labels be placed on videos and DVDs to alert people to graphic and sexual content. It turned out the video to which she was referring was produced before movies were rated.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT
Beswick reported that the Friends will be holding their annual meeting on October 15; it will feature African drumming with guests from Guinea, West Africa from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. with the Friends meeting to follow. The Friends are purchasing 40 board books to distribute to newborns along with a coupon for a library card during Children’s Book Week in November. They are applying for fund raising opportunities through Borders Books, the Community Co-op, and Blue Jean Friday and will also be doing a membership renewal drive next March. There are plans to update the Friends brochure before that time. The upcoming book sale with AAUW is November 15-17. They also continue to sponsor Third Sunday at 3 featuring acoustical music, two book clubs (they purchase 6-8 books for the adult club), and
the international series with MCIV. Beswick was the facilitator for “One Book Montana,”which attracted 20 people. The Friends are also working with the Foundation to make the Library model visible around town through displays at the Library, High School Library, and First Security Bank. They worked with Longfellow students planting willows on the new Library site. They still need one new Board member. Beswick said the Friends might pursue the idea of tee-shirts for Library visibility purposes. The Friends are still interested in having a legacy project in the new Library, perhaps an art piece or sculpture.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: CALA; SALE OF BUILDING
Chair Davis changed the agenda to allow Johnson to report as he was feeling ill. He said that the project remediation was a day or so away from completion; Wallace Avenue right-of-way had to be remediated which should cost $10,000 to $15,000 and did involve some encapsulation. He felt the project costs could be 10% high or low of the original $799,903.40 depending on the bill from Envirocon regarding the delay of the Depot. It will take until December or January for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to delist the property. Nothing has happened with the contamination on Harrington’s, Empire Building Materials, or Story Distributing Property. DEQ has sent P & E (Proper & Expeditious) letters to Pacific, Wiseman, and CMC. It does not appear that CALA
funding will be forthcoming due to the properties which still need remediation, but the Board wanted to continue with the process. RTI and Envirocon were complimented on the complete and thorough job they did with the remediation. Since McKenna had to leave shortly, he asked to discuss the sale of the current Library building next. He is willing to forego his realtor’s fee but will need some money for marketing the property. However, he felt he wanted to wait in order to be certain that the Library will be available for sale before marketing it. Interest rates are currently low but can rise at any time. McKenna also felt that it should not be a lengthy process to sell the building and that the Trustees can dictate the length of the negotiations. The Trustees will need City Commission approval before selling the building. McKenna will talk to the City Attorney before proceeding with the sale of the building. However, he will need
a definite commitment that the Library can be sold before proceeding. When the Trustees are ready to list the property, he will run advertisements in the Classified section of the newspaper and the Trustees will then make a determination regarding the asking price.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Hamp deferred to Lewis, who reported that the General Campaign will begin after January 1, 2004. The Foundation is still engaged in the Major Donor phase, soliciting gifts in the range of $25,000 to $500,000. According to a handout prepared by the capital campaign counsel, titled “Major Sources of Campaign Funds,” gifts from Major Donors will total $3.5 million. General gifts, in amounts under $10,000, will comprise approximately $100,000 to $250,000 in donations. The Foundation anticipates receiving more major gifts in the final quarter of 2003 in the form of appreciated stock. A local ranching family has pledged a gift of $500,000; announcement of this gift will be made at a “House Party,” which is scheduled for October 30. Lewis also distributed sheets which
showed the campaign promotion activities in a chronological sequence. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle has donated three ads for each one purchased. By October 15 a new fundraising brochure with remittance envelope will be mailed. There has been an acceleration of pledge payment. A spread sheet is critical to both the Library and Foundation Board in order to determine cash flow. To date the Foundation has received $8,000 in sponsorships for the Author Party Fundraiser scheduled for December 5. Lewis also received a $1,000 check from WalMart for the new Library building.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Meister noted that the September circulation was down by 1.67%, while web site visits were up 33%, probably due to the contest the Web Site Committee had to promote its usage. The budget report showed that after three months or 25% of the fiscal year, there was 69.37% left in our budget. This is due to the costs for the HVAC system, which were unanticipated at the time of budget preparation and continue to run higher than expected. The amount remaining in our bond account is $621,915. Meister will check to see what amounts are still outstanding for the remediation costs in order to determine when the remainder of the bond funds will be expended. She will also send copies of the DEQ bills to Brown, who requested them. Regarding the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Award
that the Library will be receiving, Meister reported that the public announcement will be made October 21. The Marketing Committee has promoted different Dewey classifications in monthly book displays; statistics show a measurable increase in the number of books circulated. Weeding of materials continues to be on schedule. Beth Boyson attended the Montana Festival of the Book on September 19 and 20 and participated in a panel discussion of “One Book Montana” about Winter Wheat. On September 21 there was a discussion of the book led by Beswick here the Library. The Library has started offering Japanese language classes on alternate Sundays from 1:00-2:00 p.m. which are taught by Yoshinobu Nagatake, a university administrator from Japan. Color printing is now available at the Library for $1 a page; patrons will need to ask at the Information or Children’s Desks for assistance. In response to primary grades being
dismissed early on Fridays, the Library will begin a program for kids K-3rd grade on Friday afternoons starting at 2:30 p.m. Called “Fantastic Fridays: Favorite Fiction & Folktales,” the program features longer picture books for older kids. The Library is sponsoring two new contests: one on how the Bozeman Library has enriched someone’s life and one to promote InfoTrac magazine database. Sue Howe will be offering a program on “New Fall Children’s Books at the Library” at noon on October 22. Teen Read Week is October 19-25, and teens are encouraged to vote for a list of books chosen for teens by teens; there is also a display of these books in the Young Adult area. Jane Basile, Katie Biehl, Dissly, and Meister will attend the Montana Library Association Public Library/Special and Academic Library Retreat on October 19 and 20 at Chico Hot Springs to discuss virtual reference and legal issues that relate to
libraries. Mary Jo Stanislao and Dissly will attend the Dynix Conference in Salt Lake City on November 5-8. The Library will shortly be hiring Renee Meyer as a Substitute Library Assistant II for the Children’s Library. She currently substitutes at the circulation desk as a Substitute Library Aide II. Nancy Stiner, Jack Pollari, and Pam Henley completed Excel training taught by the Great Falls College of Technology. Incident reports included a patron who claimed another patron hacked into the computer he was using and stole his passwords. Another incident involved a professional photographer taking pictures of Library patrons without asking permission of Library staff first. The last complaint involved some young boys who were generally a nuisance in the Library.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: ART POLICY; PROJECT COSTS; COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS
Dungan gave the Trustees the art policies formulated by the Art Committee. They call for an Art Committee appointed by the Library Board of Trustees for staggered two-year terms. The Committee shall consist of a minimum of three but not more than seven members with representation from the following constituencies: architect; interior designer; artist/arts administrator/educator; university; BPL Foundation; Trustees; and Library staff with the Library Director as an ex-officio member. The Art Committee would be responsible for developing and implementing the review and selection process of all artwork within designated permanent and rotation areas in the Library facility and on the grounds. The Trustees would have the final authority for approving exhibits and reserving the right to prohibit any
individual or group from displaying artwork. Chair Davis commended Dungan and the Committee for their good work and did ask Dungan to coordinate the language between the policies. However, since only three Trustees were present, Davis wanted the two absent Trustees to read and review the polices before the next meeting and take a vote at that time. Davis also encouraged Dungan to pursue grants for artwork. Regarding project costs, the Foundation and Trustees have agreed to a $14,000,000 project cost in order to credit the City for its $800,000 in-kind contribution of landfill usage. Davis reported on a meeting that she, Meister, and Lewis had with Ed Blackman, the County Fiscal Officer, about County contributions. Blackman indicated that the County can borrow up to $1,000,000 without a bond referendum but the payback would have to come from the Gallatin libraries’ operating budgets over ten years. This is not feasible, as all libraries
depend on that annual County income. There is a possibility of a full bond issue, which requires all three County Commissioners’s approval, but the likelihood of it passing in the rural areas was poor. Another possibility is to have a mail ballot election to increase the millage the Gallatin County libraries currently receive. This would be costly and time-consuming but would guarantee additional monies each year in perpetuity. On October 1 the Solid Waste Management District did deny the Library’s request for an in-kind contribution of dumping privileges in Logan Landfill to compensate the City for its in-kind contribution of landfill privileges. There is also the possibility of County CIP (Capital Improvements Program) monies in the amount of $50,000, but the county libraries felt this should go for the upgrade of the BridgerNet consortium. However, Blackman suggested the Library request additional monies for the Library project in
the forthcoming CIP requests. The Foundation feels our Congressional delegation could still contribute up to $1,500,000 and will pursue future funding. Davis agreed to write a letter to Senator Max Baucus requesting additional funding. Also she and Brown will meet with City Manager Clark Johnson regarding using James Goehrung as Project Manager.
BOARD MEMBERS’ AND CITY COMMISSIONER’S REPORT
There were none.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was none.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:33 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Thursday, November 20 at 4:00 p.m. in the Library Director’s Office.
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