October 2010 - Board Minutes

Owatonna Public Library Board Minutes of October 19, 2010

The Owatonna Public Library Board of Trustees convened their monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010. The meeting was called to order at 4:30PM by President Don Overlie. Also present were Russ Dunn-Foster, Jill Holmes, Eric Mattison, Mary Kay Feltes and Gail Plathe. Angela Sager and Renée Lowery were absent. A student from Owatonna High School was in attendance to fulfill his SCIP (Student Community Involvement Project) requirement for social studies class.

Jill made a motion to adjust the agenda so Storm Water Manager Matt Durand could address the board at the beginning of the meeting. Russ seconded the motion. All aye.

Matt attended the meeting to answer questions library board members had about various issues. One question concerned the new parking lots at the corner of Grove and Broadway. Matt reported a city storm water management ordinance effective in 2008 requires a plan for drainage and run-off of storm water be submitted for new construction projects. Every applicant for a building permit must submit a storm water management plan. However this is not retroactive so existing parking lots are not affected by this ordinance. In a case where changes have been made to an existing parking lot, only the new construction would be affected by code. Regarding the lots at the corner of Grove and Broadway, Federated Insurance installed an underground retention/detention system by StormTech which, as Matt explained, is essentially a sponge allowing gradual release of stored storm water. Storm water is stored underground in a holding system. Water collects in three catch basins along the north curb, and drains into the holding system where it is gradually released into the storm sewer.

Also, Matt said a storm water utility fee will pay for the demolition of the house at 239 East Vine. In order to alleviate flooding in the area the lot will be landscaped into a swale to direct the overland flow to a catch basin in the center of the lot. Storm water will be directed to Grove St. and the storm sewer. Last year Matt applied for but did not receive a grant to redesign the parking lot east of the library which usually floods in a heavy rain.

Mary Kay discussed the house at 240 E Broadway Street which is located across the alley from 239 E Vine Street. The current plan is to tear down both houses at the same time.

This year Matt was awarded a Green Corps worker, Dustin Demmer, whose service proved invaluable during the recent flood crisis in Owatonna and Steele County. The GreenCorps is an AmeriCorps program, a statewide initiative to help preserve and protect Minnesota’s environment. This program coordinated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, places members with local governments, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations around Minnesota. Their service is focused on environmental projects. Grants for 2011 GreenCorps workers will be awarded in December of this year. Board members thanked Matt for attending the meeting.

The September minutes were approved on a motion by Jill, seconded by Russ. All aye.

The September financial report was reviewed. Mary Kay explained the program budget format. The budget is divided into these areas: administration, circulation, site, information services and off-site. Expenditures fall into one of these programs.

Darla’s report on Children’s Services for September was presented. Highlights include a group of 29 people who came to the Just Ducky library program on September 23rd, the night of the flood. Past experience has shown that even if a program is cancelled due to inclement weather, some people will still show up for the program. For that reason, programs are rarely, if ever, cancelled. Darla applied for and was awarded an Early Childhood Reading grant from Target Corporation. The $2000 grant was used to bring in author/illustrator Derek Anderson for an afternoon program at Washington Elementary School where he spoke to a group of 180 students and teachers. Anderson also presented an evening program at the library where 127 parents and children were in attendance. Children attending each presentation received a book. The illustrator of the Little Quack books was a hit. Please see attached report for more details.

Library Use Report: Comparing September, 2009, to September, 2010, the number of check-outs at Owatonna Public Library increased over 1%. Blooming Prairie Branch Library circulation decreased somewhat. In September over 19,000 people came into the Owatonna Public Library, and 1350 at Blooming Prairie Branch Library. An average of 667 library users entered the library on any given day. In September, 170 new borrowers registered for library cards at Owatonna Public Library, and Blooming Prairie Branch Library had 8 new borrowers. Eighty five percent of Owatonna residents possess a library card.

Bookmobile News: The library board declared the bookmobile excess property and authorized Mary Kay to sell the bookmobile by whatever means possible, and the City Council in turn authorized Mary Kay to sell the vehicle. Specialty Vehicle Services who will broker the sale has contacted MK with information about a possible buyer, a bookstore in Florida. They have asked for more photographs of the bookmobile, both inside and outside.

Jill commended Owatonna Public Library Director Mary Kay Feltes and Library staff for their role in disseminating critical information during the flood crisis beginning September 23rd. Through twitter feeds and FaceBook postings, the community was kept informed on a timely basis of rapidly changing conditions, road closures, where to go to volunteer, who to call, how to get around town. Constant updates with great back up from the rest of the staff proved helpful to the community. The library is set up to inform the public. That is the mission of the library. It is the logical center for disseminating information to the community. In addition city technology staff, John Pfeifer and Ryan Brown, put in long hours during the crisis, troubleshooting phone and computer connections throughout city offices particularly at the Emergency Management Headquarters and Volunteer Operations Center. During the flood crisis, John Pfeifer, technology coordinator for the city of Owatonna, volunteered the library lobby for use by the Owatonna Public Utilities customer service department. A temporary office, including a drop box for payment, was set up with dedicated phone lines for their use. Customer services representatives remained at the library until October 15th, when renovation of their offices was complete. All in all, it was a job well done by library staff. Board members unanimously agreed.

Library Building: Russ made a motion, seconded by Jill to authorize Mary Kay to explore hiring a library building management consultant. All aye. Self-check machines will be ordered and paid for with gift funds. In addition, reorganization of the circulation area in adult services is badly needed.

Mary Kay reported results of a current survey regarding Internet availability for Minnesota state residents. Twenty-six and one-half percent do not have Internet service. The survey area included mini, multi urban areas which includes counties with a population center of 10,000 and up in a separate category. Board members talked about the growing popularity of mobile and handheld devices. SELCO is encouraged to get mobile applications up for Aquabrowser.

Art Exhibit: Mary Kay expressed regret about not hosting Easel, the traveling art exhibit put together by Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO). Five artists from Steele County have pieces in the collection. Since space is an issue at the Owatonna Public Library, it is difficult to find an appropriate display area for such an exhibit.

New Service: Renée recently subscribed to Freegal, a downloadable music service. For an annual fee to the library, music like iTunes can be legally downloaded. All that is needed is your library card. With access to the Sony Music Entertainment catalog, Freegal offers hundreds of thousands of songs, over 100 genres of music, and more than 50 record labels, all without having to download special software or have any digital rights management (DRM) issues to deal with. Access to Freegal will be limited to residents of Steele County. Library users will be able to download music at home or at the library. A question was raised about OverDrive, the downloadable audio program which will be provided to SELCO members in January 2011. Information about the electronic book devices can be found on the library website. Nooks from Barnes and Noble and Sony e-readers are compatible with OverDrive. Renée will purchase five of each device for library users to check out.

Mary Kay outlined her approved official goals for 2011. They are as follows:
provide opportunities for volunteers,
provide service for job seekers and businesses, and
use new technology more effectively.

The board decided to hold the November 16th library board meeting at Blooming Prairie Branch Library if it is convenient for the branch manager, Nancy Vaillancourt.

With no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 5:40pm on a motion by Jill, seconded by Eric.

Respectfully submitted,    
Gail Plathe

November 16, 2010