Minutes

1. Roll Call

President Teresa Clark called the meeting to order at 8:33 a.m. Present were Teresa Clark, Kristin Wiebe, Eric Vath, Carol Holyoke, Marg Dredla, Library Director Bev Russell and Librarian Jana Kehn, who took notes.

A notice of the meeting had been published on November 13, 2009, in the Star Herald, a newspaper published and of general circulation in the city. The notice stated the date, hour and place of the meeting, that the meeting would be open to the public. Anyone with a disability desiring reasonable accommodation to attend the library board meeting should contact the Library Director’s office. An agenda of the meeting, kept continuously current, was available for public inspection at the office of the Library Director. The Library Board could modify the agenda at the meeting if it is determined that an emergency so required. A similar notice, together with a copy of the agenda, also had been delivered to each Library Board member.

2. For public information, a copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted by the doors in the library meeting room.

Teresa announced that a copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act was posted by the meeting room doors.

3. 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.)

There were none.

4. 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.)

There were none.

5. Approve regular Library Board meeting minutes of October 14, 2009.

Carol Holyoke moved the approval of the minutes. Eric Vath seconded.

Yes – Holyoke, Vath, Dreda, Wiebe and Clark No – None

6. Correspondence: There was no correspondence.

7. Library Fundraising update: Bev reported that Regional West Medical Center made a $30,000 donation to the building project. Foundation members have been bringing in a number of other donations over the past month. Half of the Kiewit grant has been received with the other half will be paid at the completion of the project. The Abbott grant has been mailed. We have also received a portrait and brief history of Ethel S. Abbott, which will be on display in the Heritage Room in her honor.

8. Library building project:

¨ Bidding Process Reopened

Because a sub-contractor rescinded a bid 12 hours after the bids were opened, several of the general contractor bids were impacted. The architects and city attorney’s office felt this had tainted the bid process. They recommended that bids be resubmitted in order to maintain a fair and open bidding process for all contractors. The new bid opening will be November 24, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.

¨ Ground-breaking delay

Board members felt it was best to wait until after the contractor had been selected to begin planning for groundbreaking.

9. Reports and recommendations from the Library Director and/or Library Staff:

a. Library statistics and activities for October 2009 (See Board Packet)

October is the start of the fiscal year so the library begins its statistical year October 1. Statistics continue to show a drop because of the reduction of library hours as well as the poor weather in October.

b. Discussion regarding volunteer program

Marg Dredla researched the volunteer programs at RWMC and the Hastings Public Library. She reported the following about running a successful volunteer program:

¨ A volunteer coordinator is necessary to run a successful program. This should be a paid position because if it is not then the coordination just does not get done.

¨ A formal application and interview process is necessary and background checks should be run.

¨ Staff must identify tasks in the library that a volunteer could be trained to do.

Bev noted that with the library’s current budget no money is available to hire a volunteer coordinator. In her opinion hiring a volunteer coordinator is not a possibility for the foreseeable future.

c. New employees at the library

Two new employees have been hired at the library. Jim Pauley is now working in public services, and Roberta Boyd is working in technical services.

d. Opportunities for cooperation with the Gering Public Library – Meeting of department heads with City of Gering, Scotts Bluff County and City of Scottsbluff on November 4, 2009

The mayors of Gering, Terrytown and Scottsbluff recently held a meeting of department heads for their communities as well as the county. The object was to increase cooperation between all political subdivisions. Bev and Diane Downer, Gering Library Director, will be meeting once a month after the first of the year to discuss cooperative efforts. Margie Harrison, Panhandle Library System Coordinator, will also be included in the meetings.

10. Action Items: There were none.

11. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m.