JOHNSTON LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

MINUTES

July 21, 2011

The Johnston Public Library Board of Trustees met for a regular meeting at 5:30 pm on Thursday July 21, 2011 in the East Meeting Room. Present were Alex Johnston, Taena Fowler, Heather Schmitz, Shirley Weuve, Director Willona Goers, Assistant Director Maurine Myers and citizen Steve Johnson.

Approve Agenda

Heather Schmitz moved approval of the agenda.  The motion was seconded by Taena Fowler and unanimously approved.

Citizen Comments

• Information about the Public Safety Facilities referendum on August 2 was presented by Police Chief Bill Vaughn, Fire Chief Jim Krohse, Mayor Paula Dierenfeld, and City Administrator Jim Sanders.
• Steve Johnson, former board member, complimented the library on the diversity of the magazine collection.
• A number of positive comments have been received about the summer library program.

Meeting Minutes 

Heather Schmitz moved approval of the meeting minutes.  The motion was seconded by Taena Fowler and unanimously approved.

Approve bills

Library claims for the month total $28,578.57 with city back charges of $7,946.91.  Heather Schmitz moved approval of the bills.  The motion was seconded by Taena Fowler and unanimously approved.

Meeting Room Policy Revision

Heather Schmitz moved approval of the Meeting Room Policy as revised.  The motion was seconded by Taena Fowler and unanimously approved.

Budget and Finance

• As of June 30, 2011, total expenditure was $1,065,249.06.   With 100% of the year having passed, spending represented 98.28% of the operating budget (all but $2,000.00 of the unspent money was related to personnel costs that was held in reserve to ensure coverage of payroll and benefits).
• As of June 30, 2011, assets in the Library Trust totaled $37,357.68.

Monthly Statistics

• June circulation was up 2% over last June, making this our highest ever monthly circulation at 32,499.   Total circulation for the year was 309,405 or 6.3% higher than FY09/10.
• June’s traffic count of 16,087 was slightly less than last year.  The total door count for FY110/11 was 148,135 or 7% less than last fiscal year which calculates out to about3 fewer visits per hour.
• Open Access, Access Plus (ILL) and Direct State Aid reports were all submitted prior to the July 31st deadline.

Director’s Report

Strategic Plan Highlights

• Discussion on the accomplishments of last fiscal year was postponed until the August Board meeting.
• Focus areas for FY11/12 will include: Improving Process Efficiency/Cost Effectiveness and Using Technology to Enhance Accessibility.

Programs:

• The Summer Reading program has been very successful with a total of 1,236 youth and 124 adults participating.   Youth Services saw an 11% increase in their summer reading participation.  Adult signups were down this year (attributed to the vacant public services position during initial signup) but those adults who signed up actively participated.
• Beth Stevens, new part-time Public Services assistant, assumed responsibility for the adult book discussion in July.
• Approximately 350 braved the heat and attended Jazz in July on July 17.  Kids’ activities were provided by the Library.
• The Teen summer finale will be July 22 while younger kids will enjoy ‘Jason the Juggler’ on July 27.
• There will be a programming hiatus in August as staff prepares for the fall.

Building & Grounds:

• There have been a number of issues related to the irrigation system this summer.  $500.00 of the repair costs were paid by the Foundation while some $700.00 has been taken from the Library’s operating budget for replacement of the backflow preventer, a keypad controller and a number of irrigation heads.
• The exterior security camera was replaced and several annual inspections (fire extinguishers, boiler, etc.) have been completed.
• It is anticipated that Architectural Arts will be removing the Circulation desk bump-outs in August.

Marketing Public Relations and Networking:

• Beth Stevens will begin submitting a regular monthly column to ‘Johnston Living’
• Jazz in July – see above under Programs.
• Cheryl Heid and other city staff continue planning for the ‘Night Out with the Neighbors’ event scheduled for September.
• Willona and Maurine resumed monthly meetings with the Urbandale Library administrative staff.
• John Lerdahl and Willona met with Kim Keitzman, incoming Polk County Library Association President, to provide background on the Polk County contract.
• Cheryl Heid and Willona met with representatives of the Senior Citizens Advisory Board to discuss potential adult programming options.
• The ‘Summit After School’ summer students assisted with grounds cleanup prior to the Jazz in July event.
• The Library will celebrate the building’s 10th anniversary in October – what might be done in recognition of the 2001 grand opening?

Staff & Training Update:

• Ananya Kumar has resigned her shelving position effective July 15.
• Riley Svec, library clerk, will be leaving for college at the end of July but will remain on staff with a ‘substitute’ status as potential fill-in for holiday and summer coverage.
• With recent staff changes, we have begun reviewing overall scheduling needs and are investigating the use of ‘When to Work’ scheduling software.   The schedules of existing staff will likely change for better utilization of staffing during hours the library is open to the public.

Technology, Telecommunications, Networking:

• We continue to work with the Urbandale Library staff to create ‘new item’ reports that can be used to “push” information out to the public and to revamp some existing staff reports for better efficiency.
• The current technology infrastructure is working well.   We again plan to use the November 11 holiday when we are closed to the public for system upgrades and enhancements; Dreama and Mark Kacmarynski have been scheduled to assist that day.
• In cooperation with the Urbandale Library, we are investigating an e-commerce solution that would interface with the integrated library system to allow customers to pay fines and fees electronically.
• Willona and Maurine met with a representative from Brodart to discuss services they could provide as a book jobber.

Foundation & Friends Report

• The Friends’ fundraiser ‘Art in the Barn’ will be held Friday September 16 from 5:30-8:30 pm in the Simpson Barn.  Wine and cheese tasting and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided by Hy-Vee, and local artists will have their artwork for sale.  Tickets are available for $20.00 each and may be purchased at the Library.

Other Business

The December Board of Trustees meeting was rescheduled for Wednesday December 21, 2011 at 5:30 pm.

There being no additional Trustee Comments, Heather Schmitz moved adjournment of the meeting.  The motion was seconded by Taena Fowler, unanimously approved and the meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm.

Taena Fowler, Secretary

Last update: August 19, 2011