Fargo Public Library Board - October 16, 2018 Minutes
Regular Meeting: Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Board Members Present: Rachael Steenholdt, Scott Beaulier, Carrie Peterson, Jan Ulferts Stewart, Carlos Hawley Jr.
Board Members Absent: Mary Dickson, Mary Batcheller
Staff: Tim Dirks, Dacotah Qualley, Betsy Dauer, Jason DeShaw
Others Present: Present for part of meeting: City of Fargo Attorney
President, Rachael Steenholdt called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM, and a quorum was declared.
Order of Agenda
Director Dirks recommended changing the order of the agenda to have the “Old Business” go after the Directors Report. A motion was made by Carlos Hawley Jr. to approve the recommended Order of the Agenda. Jan Ulferts Stewart seconded the motion; motion carried.
Minutes of September 18, 2018 Regular Meeting
Scott Beaulier made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 18, 2018 meeting. Carlos Hawley Jr. seconded the motion; motion carried.
Staff Report
Staff updates and Staff development activities:
• Cheryl Lackman and Lori West are reviewing applications for the LAI position at Main.
• Oct. 19: Mike Mitchell from the City HR dept. will be providing Active Shooter Civilian Response Training to library staff.
Programming:
Upcoming Events & Programs (a partial and incomplete list):
Childrens
• Oct. 20 - Members of the NDSU Herpetology Club and staff from NDSU’s Geosciences Dept. will help us celebrate The Age of Reptiles – More Than Just Dinosaurs for National Fossil Day. Kids can meet some reptiles, explore fossils, and complete a themed activity. No pre-registration is required for this all-ages event.
• Friends from the North Dakota School for the Deaf will be our special guests and teach us what it’s like to use American Sign Language to communicate and share stories using signs. This event is open to all children ages 3 to, and will take place Monday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. – Main Library, Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. – Northport Branch, and Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. – Carlson Library
Teens
• Oct. 18 - Book Tasting event where people will be able to “try out” a variety of books.
• Oct. 22 - Sewing 101: Learn how to make simple repairs in this basic hand sewing class.
Adults
• Jazz Into Fall concerts every Sunday afternoon in October at the Main Library.
• Oct. 25 - Author P.S. Duffy will visit as part of the One Book, One Community reading project and share her book The Cartographer of No Man’s Land. Her event will be held at the Knutson Center Centrum on the campus of Concordia College and is free & open to the public. This event is generously co-sponsored by the Friends of the Fargo Public Library.
• Oct. 26 - We’re offering our first murder mystery, with Behind the Books: A Library Tour (And Murder Mystery). There are two afterhours sessions. Registration is required
Notable Past events & programs (again, a partial list):
Childrens
• Crafternoons has started up again at Carlson AND has expanded to Northport. Both sessions are very well attended. In the last month, Crafternoons has brought in over 500 kids and their families.
Teens
• We held a board game night on Oct. 3 to highlight the library’s board game collection. Folks from Paradox Comics and Cards were there to assist. It was well attended and fun.
Adults
• The Pakistan culture event was Sunday, Sept. 16, at the Main library. 31 people attended this event. This event was in partnership with Cultural Diversity Resources and was part of the 2018 FM Welcoming Week series of events.
Director’s Report
Director Tim Dirks referred the Board to his written report in the Board Packet.
Old Business
Community Service Workers:
Present to assist in the discussion of court ordered community service in regards to the Volunteer Program Policy was Kelsey Tesky with RESTORE Inc., Nancy Morris with the City Attorney’s office and Jill Minette with the City of Fargo Human Resources office.
After thorough discussion Jan Ulferts Stewart made a motion to leave the Volunteer Program Policy as written. Carlos Hawley Jr. seconded the motion; motion carried.
Statistical Reports
Usage
The library had 38,698 registered patrons for the month of September. Attendance was up 3% year to date. Program attendance was down 1% year to date. Volunteer hours were down 10% year to date. Internet signups were down 2% year to date. Print circulation was up 3.23% year to date. Nonprint circulation was up 2.42% year to date. Total circulation year to date is 782,471 circulations.
Financials
There was $627 in incoming donations. Expenditures of donations totaled $449. The year is 75% lapsed while the budget is 74.51% expended. Revenue is at $61,097.73 year to date.
Friends of the Library Report
There was no Friends report.
New Business
Material Challenge Review:
Jason DeShaw, Collection Development/Technical Services Manager, directed the Board to the Collection Development team’s recommendation in the Board Packet regarding the material challenge of Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu by Anshel Pfeffer. The recommendation was to retain the item.
Jan Ulferts Stewart made a motion that the item Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu by Anshel Pfeffer remain in the collection per the recommendation of the Collection Development team. Carrie Peterson seconded the motion; motion carried.
Circulation Policy Draft:
Director Tim Dirks referred the Board to the Circulation Policy Draft in the Board Packet. The changes recommended include increasing the limits of Music CD’s, Audiobooks/Readalongs and DVD/Bluerays to 20 instead of 10, adding “acceptable picture identification per the registration policy” to the first bullet point of the Borrower Agreement section, and removing Video Games from the first bullet point of the Fines and charges section.
President, Rachael Steenholdt recommended changing the word “established” to “establish” in the first paragraph.
Carrie Peterson made a motion to accept the Circulation Policy draft with all recommended changes. Scott Beaulier seconded the motion; motion carried
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
Next Board Meeting
The next regular Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 4:00 PM.
The meeting adjourned at 4:55 PM.