November 2011 - Board Minutes

Owatonna Public Library Board Minutes of November 15, 2011

The Owatonna Public Library (OPL) Board of Trustees convened their monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, in the Gainey Room at the Owatonna Public Library. The meeting was called to order at 4:25 pm by Vice President Jill Holmes. Also attending were Russ Dunn-Foster, Don Overlie, Angela Sager, Library Director Mary Kay Feltes, Assistant Director Renée P. Lowery, and Gail Plathe. President Eric Mattison arrived a few minutes later.

The minutes of October 19, 2011, were approved with corrections, on a motion by Dunn-Foster, seconded by Overlie. All aye.

The October expenditures report was reviewed. Feltes briefly outlined the program budget, noting added insurance premiums will increase the expenses for 2012. Postage expenses and building repair were cut substantially from the library budget. All department budget presentations with the City Council have been completed except for the Finance/Administration presentation and Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) presentation. The 2012 proposed budget will be approved at the December 20th City Council meeting.

At this point, Mattison conducted the meeting. Lowery presented the October Children’s Services report as submitted by Darla Lager, librarian in charge of Children’s Services. One of the highlights was “Read for the Record” sponsored by the Pearson Foundation and the Owatonna Public Library. Mayor Tom Kuntz read a proclamation and a llama in pajamas made an appearance. Councilman Les Abraham provided security. Another highlight was the “Pumpkin Party” on Family Fun Night, a family story time hosted cooperatively with Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE). One hundred eighteen children and adults listened to Halloween stories and participated in pumpkin activities. Children’s Services report is attached.

Board reviewed library use for the month of October.

At the Owatonna Public Library (OPL) in October, 2011, library users checked out 21,740 items. The number was down 8.5% compared to October, 2010. Customers visited OPL more than 18,000 times in the month, a decrease of 21% from the same month in the previous year.  Library cards were issued to 144 new borrowers. Library users at Blooming Prairie Branch Library (BPBL) checked out 2,523 items, an increase of about 6% compared to October, 2010. Customers visited 1,593 times, an increase of almost 6%, and BPBL added 8 new borrowers. OPL continues to lend more materials to other libraries than borrowed from other libraries for Owatonna patrons. The library was open on Sundays throughout October. The number of patrons using the library on Sunday ranges from 120 to over 200 in the four-hour time period from 1:00 pm to 5:00pm.

Library use includes electronic media. Lowery reported 269 customers downloaded 1703 songs in 30 genres using freegal, the downloadable music service. The average of daily downloads is up over September. Lowery reminded board members that November 1st is the first anniversary of freegal being implemented at OPL. OverDrive gives library customers access to electronic books. One hundred fifty patrons downloaded 439 e-books and 72 e-audio during October. This is an increase over September. Owatonna continues to lead other libraries in numbers of downloads. Twenty-three e-audio books were downloaded using the OneClickdigital service. Electronic usage continues to increase each month.

Old Business

No report from Loren Lovhaug, the technology consultant.

It is expected the 2012 budget will be approved at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 20th.

New Business

Washington Elementary School was in charge of the library garden for the 2011 season. Attempts to meet with administration at the school to discuss the garden for next year have been unsuccessful. Feltes contacted Shari Mensink at the Alternative Learning Center to offer the garden to their students for the 2012 growing season. They are interested and excited for the opportunity. OPL staff member Dawn Sorensen will serve as consultant for the gardeners.

OPL staff are exploring other ways to serve local teens. Use in the teen internet room has decreased as handheld devices have become more accessible and more popular. Technology coordinator Ryan Brown, Lowery and Feltes have been experimenting with a flat screen, i-pads with keyboards, and an Apple TV connection. This is an innovative approach to providing library services to the teen population of Steele County. Revamping the teen room is a priority for 2012.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm. The next meeting will be held at 4:30 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2011.

Respectfully submitted, 
Gail Plathe