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Bozeman Public Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Library Board/Staff Conference Room
Bozeman Public Library
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
4:00 P.M.
ATTENDANCE
Trustees: Ron Farmer, Chair; Holly Brown; Marilyn King; Jacki McGuire; Judy Mathre; Heather Jernberg, Foundation; Lois Dissly and Terri Dood, Staff; and Alice Meister, Director. Guests: City Manager Chris Kukulski and City Superintendent of Facilities James Goehrung.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 4:01 p.m. by Chair Farmer.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The July 16 and August 20, 2008 Library Board minutes were approved as submitted.
CORRESPONDENCE
Meister received public comments which included one about a DVD a patron had requested previously and s/he wanted to give an update on how to purchase it. Another patron noted that the new trees at the south end of the trail were dry. An individual requested the Library stay open until 8:00 p.m. on Friday night. A patron who suggested that the volume on the check out machine be lowered wrote that he appreciated Meister’s follow-up phone call and that the reduced volume is now much better. Another patron requested non smoking signs outside the Library (they are currently posted on the door). One person questioned the point of the lights going on and off, which is distracting to all and still a problem. An individual who had traveled all over the west using computers in different
libraries complimented the Library on being “a beautiful and welcoming space. Congratulations.” A patron suggested dividing the DVDs into three categories: foreign; classics; and other. Another was critical of parents bringing their babies to the quiet sections of the building and requested the staff enforce the silence in those areas. A patron wondered why the blinds could not be left up during the day as it feels like a dungeon. Another patron questioned why downloading takes so long on the Library’s wireless service. Someone requested Massage magazine or a similar one. The A.W.A.R.E. staff sent a thank you for a tour given them. Doris Armstrong of MCIV sent a thank you for the special program planned for the visiting Algerian students and their American counterparts. A patron wrote to commend Nancy Hatfield for her tremendous help with a research project she was doing. She felt the Library and
community were lucky to have such a knowledgeable and helpful person as Hatfield. Meister received a thank you from the individual who presented the Will Rogers program. She also received a thank you from the Heart of the Valley for driving its float in the Sweet Pea Parade. A thank you from the State Library was received for the help given their staff during a continuing education conference held in Bozeman with a program and tour at the Library. An individual wrote to thank the Library and Foundation for the very successful Children’s Festival of the Book on August 23. She felt Paul O. Zelinsky was the perfect featured speaker. Just that day the Foundation was notified of an individual who had died and left a cash sum of $20,000 to the Library to purchase new books and/or CDs. It will take some time before any distributions can be made. She also mentioned the State Library’s legislative revision to the Information Access
Montana statute as recommended by the Fulfillment Task Force and the Network Advisory Council, which would change the current method of reimbursing interlibrary loan to a broader statewide resource-sharing program. Meister said she is in favor of this legislative change.
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY REPORT
Meister reported that the Friends met September 15 and are planning their annual meeting for Thursday, October 30 at 7 p.m. The speaker will be Landon (Lanny) Jones, former editor of People and Money magazines, who has written a book on Lewis and Clark. His topic will be a trip F. Scott Fitzgerald made to Montana in 1915. The Friends plan to change their by-laws to allow up to eleven people on the Board due to the many responsibilities they currently have. Plans are underway for the November 14-16 used book sale. Vicky York approached a used book store about selling the Friends collectible books; the owner was receptive. The Friends will be selling a 2009 Book Lover’s calendar in Wild Joe’s for $10. They also finalized a travel grant form for staff continuing
education opportunities. The Friends plan to grant more funds for the Library at their November meeting, including possibly helping with some new and needed audio-video bins.
FOUNDATION REPORT
Jernberg said that Beswick had been accepted into Leadership Bozeman and thus is missing today’s Trustee meeting along with some other future ones. Jernberg is on the Foundation Board and will occasionally replace Beswick when she has to be absent. More than 350 children and adults attended the first Children’s Festival of the Book on August 23. On September 5 the One Book-One Bozeman photographic exhibit opened with 140 people in attendance. Plans are already underway for next year’s book choice and program. Beswick is working with the Downtown Bozeman Association on bench purchases and working with the City on bench placement. There were 63 people in attendance at the September “Exploring the Arts” program. The “Exploring the Arts”
schedule is now set through next March. The first Artist in Residence will be Jerolyn Dirks, who will be giving classes from now through December. There will be a reception for artist Karina Yager, who does colorful batik on silk, on October 3. The Foundation is currently placing weekly ads about upcoming Library programs and events in the Friday This Week section. Some upcoming programs include author and actress Katie Goodman on October 10 and author Karen Stevens, author of Haunted Montana, on October 18. There is an upcoming State Library workshop on fund-raising, which Beswick will attend. The Foundation is interviewing three new prospective Board members, who will attend the next meeting. Jernberg and others on the Board are very interested in doing long range planning, including a board retreat. The Board has also contracted with a financial planner for assistance. The next Foundation Board meeting will be
September 25 from 8:30-10 a.m.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Meister noted that the August statistical report showed a .10% increase in the circulation of materials as well as a 69% increase in attendance at public meetings, 97.44% increase in children’s and YA programs, and a 89.21% increase in attendance at these programs. Adult programming increased 175%, while attendance at these programs increased 312%. She reported that at 100% of last fiscal year completed, the Library was .16% in the red though there are more payments to be made to the City. At 20.8% of the current fiscal year completed, the Library has 82.47% left in its budget. The City Commission allowed the Library Assistant to go through at its meeting on September 2, which Meister attended. Plans are to advertise as soon as possible for this full-time position, so that this
person can start as quickly as possible. The Library budget increased 19.1% over last year’s budget primarily due to personnel raises, a new position, a new copier, and the Capital Improvements Program items being included in the budget (a self-check machine and LCD projector). There was a Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Commemorative program on September 13, which 145 people attended. A survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb spoke about her experiences as part of the September 12-30 Commemorative Experience, and a reception followed the program. MSU Assistant Professor Tomomi Yamaguchi coordinated the program, which included a photographic display. The Montana State Library workshops will be held in Livingston on September 19-20 with a motel room provided by the State Library. Several staff are planning to attend. Meister will attend the National Book Festival in Washington, DC September 25-29. She will be representing Montana at the
Pavilion of the States tent. There was an all-staff meeting on September 5 to discuss the disaster plan and evacuation procedures. A new Library ADA brochure is available. City Manager Kukulski addressed the staff. Reference staff met September 16 and discussed “Learning @the Library” classes, which will start again in October. Many audio-video material have been donated to the Library with quite a few from former City Commissioner Joe Frost’s collection. The Circulation Department and the Technical and Automated Services Department met on September 12. Incidents involved an individual who slammed a door into the wall in the men’s restroom on the second floor. There was some slight damage which was repaired. There were several incidents involving obscenity on the public computers. There was an incident involving a female youth sending threatening e-mails; her mother wanted information released to her
but Dissly explained that a court order would be required. There was an incident involving a stolen bike. An individual attempted to cut his wrists while sitting at the outdoor picnic table; he called police who came into the Library to see if he had used the public phones. No blood was found on them. He recovered and has been sent to the state mental hospital. Library staff suspect that an individual is using the Library for nefarious reasons; police have been notified and will advise staff on procedures to follow.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION:
CASH-IN-LIEU DISCUSSION; LONG-RANGE PLANNING
Meister mentioned the City Commission meeting on September 4 that several current and past Trustees (Brown, McGuire, and Kesselheim), along with several Foundation Board members (Jernberg and President Susan Quarles), attended to discuss the cash-in-lieu payment received by the Library in 2005 from the Village development but no land was ever designated in return for the $272,000 received by the Library Construction Fund. The Statement of Guiding Principles regarding the Library property and adjacent lands was also discussed at that meeting, but since it did not need Commission approval, there was no action taken on this Statement. However, the dedication of parkland does need to be resolved. The concern with the dell property on the east side of the Library, which was the property originally discussed in
2005 by the City/Library Lands Task Force as the most suitable property to be dedicated, is that it is only six-tenths of an acre (26,130 square feet). At the amount paid by the Library in 2001, an acre was worth approximately $150,350, making this property worth $90,210 in 2001 dollars. The City suggested taking 30 feet of the Library trail system as well in order to bring the total of dedicated property to at least equal $272,000. There was a letter from a woman who lives near the Village development who felt betrayed and angry when the wetlands at the Village did not get dedicated as a park and the money went to the Library instead. She believed that parkland on the north side of Main Street should be dedicated instead. Brown brought attorney Susan Swimley to the September 4 meeting to speak on behalf of the Library as Brown felt the park dedication state statute (MCA76-3-621) had already been met by the Library. She also inquired about setback
requirements as the Library considers expansion in the future. She felt it was absolutely necessary to have flexibility regarding zoning requirements if there is adjacent development. There was also hesitation about allocating property to the Parks and Recreation Department as the Library is already dealing with the Facilities Department about property maintenance, so the Library would then need to coordinate with two departments, instead of one. Goehrung said that there was movement to turn over the outside maintenance to Parks and Recreation, while Facilities would only be responsible for the indoor maintenance of buildings. The Trustees did not have time to discuss any of this in advance of the September 4 meeting and questioned if land did indeed need to be specified. The concern is about flexibility for expansion of the Library as well as the possibility of rebuilding the depot on the property. It was suggested that any neighboring
development would need parkland, so perhaps that would offset this issue. There was then discussion about dedicating the Peets Hill parking lot, a suggestion Mayor Jacobson had made at the September 4 meeting. Meister noted that the parking lot and surrounding area is 105,454 square feet or 2.41 acres. There was a question if the improvements made to the parking lot count into the $272,000 amount. Also there was a question of who would then maintain it. Goehrung said that area is sufficiently protected with setbacks. Meister asked if a public vote would be needed to undo a parkland dedication; Kukulski said that under self-governing authority, the City would not need to take a public vote as the City Commission could undo a parkland dedication. The Trustees felt there were advantages to holding onto the dell property. The suggestion was made to continue consideration of a response to the City Commission and request a
further consideration of land values and improvements in order to respond appropriately. The Trustees are trying to identify property that would be most suitable. Meister will work with Brown on a draft motion after getting some further information such as a separate legal description and improvement costs. Meister then mentioned that she and Beswick had discussed long range planning and thought it would be best to begin this strategic planning process next January when the Foundation and Friends Boards have added their new board members, some of whom have expertise in this area.
BOARD MEMBER’S AND CITY REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORTS
There were none
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was none.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:54 p.m. The next regular meeting will be Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
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