June 2011 - Board Minutes
Owatonna Public Library Board Minutes of June 21, 2011
The Owatonna Public Library (OPL) Board of Trustees convened their monthly meeting on June 21, 2011, in the Gainey Room at the Owatonna Public Library. The meeting was called to order at 4:40 pm by President Eric Mattison. Also attending were Don Overlie, Angela Sager, Library Director Mary Kay Feltes, Assistant Director Renée Lowery and Gail Plathe. Russ Dunn-Foster and Jill Holmes were absent.
The minutes of May 17, 2011, were approved on a motion by Overlie, seconded by Sager. All aye.
The financial report for May was reviewed. Feltes briefly outlined the program budget and reported we are on track at this time, midway through the year. Brad Meier of the Chamber of Commerce will give a presentation on program budgets and contingency plans at the City Council meeting tonight.
The May report for Children’s Services was presented. Lowery recapped some of the highlights, including a jump rope demonstration by students from Washington Elementary School. Staff began shout-outs at local elementary schools on May 31st, in anticipation of the June 10thkick-off of the Summer Reading Program. About 1200 students and teachers received the message about One World Many Stories @ Your Library! on that day alone. Children’s Services Report is attached.
Board reviewed library use, comparing May 2011 numbers to May of 2010:
Number of items checked out at the Owatonna Public Library in May 2011 increased by almost 4%. The number of visitors for May 2011 was up almost 2% compared to May of 2010. Staff issued cards to163 new borrowers in the month.
At the Blooming Prairie Branch Library, (BPBL) circulation increased by 4% in May 2011. The number of people visiting BPBL during the month was up over 20%. Nancy Vaillancourt, BPPL Manager, had arranged several class visits. BPBL added 61 new borrowers in April.
On Summer Reading Program Kick-Off Day Lowery noted that an average of 299 items per hour were checked out. An average of 166 items per hour were checked in. A total of 2388 items were checked out on that very busy Friday. Children’s Services staff noted approximately 900 children visited OPL on Kick-Off Day. Accompanying adults brought the total to 1,400.
Use of electronic media was also reported. During the month of May, 297 customers downloaded 1856 songs from 27 genres using Freegal, the downloadable music service. Lowery reported use of Freegal is leveling off as expected. Owatonna Public Library customers are the heaviest users of OverDrive within the regional system, Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO). Ninety-five patrons downloaded 259 e-books and 42 e-audio books. In the near future, Lowery will conduct another workshop for people new to the format.
In old business Feltes talked about the decaying bricks on the third floor wall discovered by workers who were repairing copper gutters. The library is on the National Register of Historic Places and is historically significant. Options for replacing crumbling brick are new brick or re-using old brick.
Board members expressed deep concern about previous years’ cuts in the library’s capital budget. Maintenance costs increase each year and the building deteriorates further as repairs are postponed. Board members emphasized the 1900 building should be the cornerstone of the site, whatever additions and changes are made in the future. Maintenance of the building is critical.
The Steele County Safe and Drug Free Coalition (SCSDFC) will pay library staff to present a teen (12-14 years of age) volunteer program at the library. Teen volunteer programs were cut from the budget in 2009. Thirty youngsters are participating in the program.
Feltes announced a retirement party for city technology coordinator John Pfeifer who retires at the end of June. The party will be hosted by library staff on June 30thfrom 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the reading room at the Owatonna Public Library. Board members recognized with gratitude all of John’s efforts since February of 1997. John has kept up with new developments in technology and has successfully managed updates in technology throughout all city departments. His good humor and willingness to help both coworkers and the public with computer issues will be missed.
Feltes has recommended Ryan Brown, assistant technology coordinator, for the post of technology coordinator. Ryan has been with the city for three years, working closely with John, and is very capable of stepping into the position. A consultant from Northfield will be hired by the city to formulate a three-year technology road map. The City administrator will sign the contract soon.
Outdoor sculpture/bike racks have been installed on the south side of the library. Comment cards are available at the check-out desks for the public. The unique structures were designed by local artist Wil Natzel. The outdoor sculpture for Blooming Prairie Branch Library has also been installed. Blooming Prairie City Manager Mike Jones and Mayor Harold Peterson were on hand to help position the piece on its concrete landing pad. The two remaining structures will be installed before the end of June. One will be placed near the Owatonna Arts Center and the other on the north side of the West Hills Administration building.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 pm.
The next meeting will be held at 4:30pm on Tuesday, July 19, 2011.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail Plathe