Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Meeting Room 1B &1C
Tom Bunger, Antonia Matthew, Nancy Schmidt, and Will Murphy.
President John Walsh called the meeting to order at 5:46 p.m.
The consent agenda (minutes of March 25, 2009 Board meeting; minutes of April 8, 2009 Board work session; monthly bills for payment; monthly financial report; personnel report; Board calendar) was presented for approval. Sara Laughlin noted that one addition has been made to the board calendar: April 22, public hearing on the 2010-2012 Capital Projects Fund Plan.
Fred Risinger moved; Steve Moberly seconded approval of the consent agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously (Dave Ferguson absent for vote).
Sara Laughlin reported that March was another record-breaking circulation month. Sara reported that the format of the Quarterly Report is being revamped to more closely align with the Strategic Plan and will be distributed at the May meeting.
Sara Laughlin presented the contract and pointed out revisions: 1) Bloomington Community Radio WFHB (the legal name of WFHB) has been substituted; 2) clarification that library funding will come from the Special Revenue Fund; 3) final editorial authority will fall to CATS General Manager Michael White; and 4) a waiver of subrogation clause added. Attorney Tom Bunger has reviewed the latest version.
Steve Moberly was pleased to see a much-improved version with Michael White having final editorial authority.
Fred Risinger moved; Randy Paul seconded approval of the agreement between CATS and WFHB as presented. Motion carried unanimously (Dave Ferguson absent for vote).
Sara Laughlin presented a brief background on the $907,268 budget shortfall for 2009 income along with proposed budget reductions. The shortfall is due to an error in estimating county assessed valuation. The library will file an appeal as part of the 2010 budget process and is optimistic about recovering at least half of the shortfall.
The Debt Services Fund shortfall will be made up from available cash in that fund. The Capital Projects Fund shortfall will require a motion to reduce the amount allocated for main library renovation. Administration recommends the following reductions in the 2009 Operating Fund budget to cover the shortfall:
Remaining shortfall will be covered by:
Total savings—$520,000
The board discussed the proposed reductions.
Steve Moberly moved; Fred Risinger seconded a resolution to reduce the Capital Projects Fund budget for 2009 by $55,481 as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Adjusted Capital Projects Fund budget for 2009:
Fund total—$426,594
Fred Risinger moved; Randy Paul seconded approval of the proposed Operating Fund reductions in the amount of $520,000 (copy attached to minutes). Motion carried unanimously.
Pam Wasmer presented the revised Collection Development Policy. The current policy was adopted in 2006. The policy assists the staff in building collections that are responsive to community needs. Revisions include strengthening the statement regarding providing materials with different viewpoints; adding self-published and print-on-demand materials as materials to be considered based on same criteria as other materials; discussion of formats; description of graphic novels; and clarification of de-selection policy.
Following discussion, Kari Isaacson moved; Fred Risinger seconded approval of the Collection Development Policy as revised. Motion carried unanimously.
Sara Laughlin presented the grant agreement with the Indiana State Library in the amount of $21,132.00 for a digitization project. The grant period is 13 months (May 1, 2009 thru May 30, 2010). Funds will be used to purchase equipment and to hire two temporary employees to digitize materials relating to the Matthews Brothers Stone Company (precursor to Bybee Stone Company). The project will be conducted in conjunction with the Monroe County Historical Society and will be linked to the Indiana Memory Project.
Steve Moberly moved; Kari Isaacson seconded approval of the agreement with the Indiana State Library as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
Randy Paul reported that he had received many positive emails from staff in response to an email he had sent asking for thoughts as to whether there is more the library can do to help the community in this time of economic stress. Comments included the need to publicize more widely the programs that we already offer as the community might not be aware that the library is such a good resource and the addition of more adult programming beyond computer classes. Suggestions for adult programming included do-it-yourself home repair classes, personal finance classes, low-cost meals/smart shopping classes. Randy thanked the staff for their positive feedback.
Randy Paul mentioned that the Herald Times had recently published an article on how to keep kids in school and asked how the library might become more involved in this area.
Sara Laughlin announced that the library has received a $26,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for public computers. The grant requires a match in contribution from the library which will be met through the Capital Projects Fund which annually funds new computer equipment.
None.
Meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
Contact
Us Monroe County Public Library, Monroe County, Indiana ° (812)349-3050
Updated:
June 9, 2009
° http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/board/200904min.html
