Scottsbluff Public Library

Board Meeting

April 14, 2004

Minutes
  1. Roll Call

    2. President Clark Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Present were Clark Nichols, Karon Harvey, Marj Mandujano, and Library Director Bev Russell. Rita Brown arrived later. Absent: Steve Viessman.

  2. Notice of changes in the agenda. (Additions may not be made to this agenda less than 24 hours before the beginning of the meeting unless added under item 3 of this agenda.)

    3. There were none.

  3. Citizens with business not scheduled on the agenda. (As required by state law, no matter may be considered under this item unless the board determines that the matter requires emergency action.)

    4. There were none.

  4. Approve regular board meeting minutes of February 11, 2004.

    5. Marj moved that we approve the minutes. Karen seconded. Motion carried. There was no meeting in March.

  5. Petitions, communications, public input:

    6. There were none.

  6. Reports and recommendations from the Library Director and/or library staff:
    1. Statistical reports: February and March 2004. (board packets)

      2. Bev distributed the statistical report for April. Clark pointed out that the figures for annual number of cardholders did not seem to be aligned in the correct column. Bev said that it would be corrected in the next report.

    2. Library activities for February and March 2004.

Bev reported on the following February and March activities.
    1. Library budget reduction – FY3-04

      2. Bev reported that all departments had been advised that they must reduce their budgets by 2% this fiscal year in order to make up increased costs of health insurance. For the library this means a reduction of $4,516. Bev has proposed a plan that will reduce library hours for the summer for a savings of about $1,125. Additional reductions will come from juvenile cassettes, CDs, magazines, and from the adult reading program, magazines, CDs, videos, and books.

    2. Overview concerning Pat Wagner’s meeting with the board and staff on Tuesday, April 20, 2004.

      3. Bev briefly discussed the tentative outline for Pat’s presentation on April 20. She will cover the various responsibilities of the board, director and the library staff, logistics, market research, strategic plan, advocacy, politics, and timelines for all of this.

    3. Board members’ reports on library visits and investigations during the past two

months.

Marj reported on her visit to the Albany County Public Library in Laramie and Southeast Regional Library in Arizona. She handed out floor plans for the two libraries and discussed the differences between the two. The University of Wyoming used the Laramie library for a project in their School of Architecture so this library had the benefit of some free architectural advice. She also distributed her observations about the Laramie library and a Leed Project checklist, regarding energy efficiency and environmental quality at the library. The Albany County Library has a large, messy basement with workroom space and storage for their annual book sale.

Clark visited a library in Austin Texas, which had formed its own library district. The area has a population of 30,000 and is surrounded by other political divisions so does not expect any population growth. $2 ½ million was raised through sales taxes for a library in the district. They had not had a public library before this. Only part of the district is in Austin. The second floor has the workrooms and meeting area with moveable glass partitions for better supervision. Also, on the second floor is an area for the book sale and a coordinator of volunteers.

Karon visited the Bess Dodson Walt Branch of the Lincoln City Libraries. This branch is one of the two new branches in Lincoln. Both it and the Eisley Branch are identical. Some of it is carpeted and some not, specifically the high traffic areas. This leads to a "colder" feeling to the building. Computer workstations are set lower in the tables, and the computer lab is glassed for better supervision.

Rita reported that she had surfed numerous library web sites to investigate their buildings. She will e-mail the board those web sites.
  1. Actions items:

    2. There were none.

  2. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 6:16 p.m.