Ainsworth Public Library

The Ainsworth Library Board held their regular monthly meeting on September 6, 2016. This meeting was advertised on the radio and in the local newspaper as well as on the library’s Facebook page and website. President Mark Kovar called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. Notice was given on the posting of the Open Meeting Act. Roll call showed four members present. They included Traci Alberts, Mark Kovar, Phyllis Leach, and Alane Lentz. Member Todd Flynn was absent. Library Director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.

Phyllis Leach moved to approve the minutes which Alane Lentz seconded. Vote showed all in favor. Alane Lentz made the motion to approve the claims for payment. Traci Alberts seconded this with all voting in favor of. The Board spent time reviewing the budget spending for this year. The Monthly Library Report for August was presented as well as a list of titles purchased this last month.

An update was presented on the proposed budget for 2016-17. It was noted that the Library Director attended the City Budget Workshop on 8-24-16. The City Clerk believes that no changes will be made to the request but won’t know for sure until the budget hearing is held. No word has been received from the County at this time on our budget request to them.

The schedule for Little Paws Preschool to visit the library was shared. Their first visit was on September 6^th with one class in the morning and one class in the afternoon. A bill had been sent to the school for books that are still missing from past school years. This was forwarded on to Loup City and we are waiting to hear back from them.

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month.   This will be promoted on the library’s Facebook page and website as well as in the local paper. Library Card Sign-Up Month will be discussed on the radio during the weekly Thursday Library Visit.

The Book Discussion Group has restarted for this year. The first book up for discussion on September 19^th will be The Kitchen House. The group will vote on upcoming selections at this meeting. Eight people have checked out the book so far.

Updates were given on the library improvements currently being worked on at the library. The ADA Door Opener project has begun. The box hole was cut out in the low ceiling and vent work done right above the door. We are now waiting for the door opener box to be installed and electricity connected to it. The ADA Check-Out desk should be installed around the 19^th. The old storage room has been emptied and is ready to be painted. Alane Lentz stated that she would be willing to start painting on the 12^th. Director will make sure that the paint and needed supplies are here.

The Library Director asked if we could do some updating on the Internet Policy. We have had several problems with people accessing questionable sites dealing with pornography.   A list of sites that one person has been visiting will be shared with the Sheriff Office to see if they know if any sites on the list had child pornography involved with them. The board gave their approval to start to work on updating the internet policy.

Information was shared from the Ainsworth Library Foundation Board Meeting on August 18^th. It was noted that election of officers has held with the following election: Marsha Fuchs-President; Mark Kovar-Vice President; Wendy Allen-Treasurer; and Beverly Whitney-Secretary. A Book Basket Auction will be held this fall as a fundraiser for the library. A Fall Work Day is being organized to clean up the outside of the building and to get rid of volunteer trees etc.

Under correspondence, information was shared from the Nebraska Library Commission on the new password for NebraskAccess and their resource databases as well as adjustment of Public Library Accreditation expiration date. The number of public libraries up for re-accreditation was too large a number for their staff to handle efficiently and effectively since evaluation of the accreditation application form and review of the required strategic plan are both time-consuming processes. They are trying to get the number down to 56 libraries each year. They did a random drawing of libraries and will extend each of the winning libraries by one year. Several articles of interest from various library newsletters and journals were shared.

The next meeting date/time was set for October 6^th at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board the meeting was adjourned at 5:58p.m.

AINSWORTH LIBRARY BOARD MEETING

September 6, 2016 @ 5 p.m.

AGENDA

1. Call meeting to order
2. Notice of Open Meeting Act
3. Roll call
4. Approve minutes
5. Approve claims for payment/Budget review
6. Monthly Library Report/List of Titles Purchased
7. Budget Update on Proposed Budget for 2016-17:   City Budget Workshop held 8-24-16 and No word from County yet on funding request
8. Schedule for Little Paws Preschool visits for school year 2016-2017
9. Library Card Sign-Up Month during September
10. Book Discussion Group
11. Update on Library Improvements:  ADA Door Opener;  ADA Check-Out Desk; and Shelving for Local History Room
12. Workshops/Meetings:  Ainsworth Library Foundation Board Meeting-August 18^{th  (}Election of Officers; Book Basket Auction Fundraiser to be held in fall; and Fall Work Day to clean up outside of building)
13. Correspondence:  New password for NebraskAccess and Articles of interest from various library newsletter and journals
14. Set next meeting date/time
15. Adjournment

THIS MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

The Ainsworth Library Foundation Board held their quarterly meeting on August 18^th. The meeting was called to order and roll call showed five members present plus the Library Director. Two members were absent. The Board welcomed new member-Traci Alberts. The minutes were read and approved. The Treasurer’s Report was accepted. The bills from the Garden Walk were approve for payment in the amount of $80.30 for table cloths, plates, cups, silverware, napkins, bottle water, and balloons.

The Gift Transaction List from May to August 2016 was presented. Memorials were received in memory of Mrs. Janice Pennington from Mrs. Eunice Wulf and in memory of Mrs. Betty Stolcpart from the Board of Education and Staff at the Ainsworth Community Schools. Donations were received from Mr. Mick Clapper, Mrs. Shirley West, and Mr. Matthew Kulek. Other revenue consisted of a refund on the tile project, funds from sale of old check-out desk and stand, coffee station sales, Art Guild Card Sales, and the donation jar. The Garden Walk raised a total of $415. The Board is very appreciative of the support given to the Library.

Election of Officers was held with the following appointments: Marsha Fuchs-President; Mark Kovar-Vice President; Wendy Allen-Treasurer; and Beverly Whitney-Secretary. It was noted that the officers will need to go to the bank and sign a signature card.

Phase Two of Library Improvements were discussed. It was noted that the four blue chairs and the 16 backs of the orange chairs will be recovered this fall. Material is currently being ordered for this project. The ADA Check-Out Desk will be installed the first part of September. The ADA Door Opener installation will be done this next week. Library staff is currently clearing out the storage room so it can be developed into our Local History Room. The walls will be repainted and new shelving will be installed later this fall to house the over-sized bound editions of the Ainsworth Star Journal newspaper. A Fall Work Day will be held in September to clean up the outside of the Library and remove unwanted trees.

Fundraising events were discussed. An update was given on the Garden Walk held on July 21^st. We received lots of great comments on the six homes that were on the tour. The evening time during the week seems to work better than the Saturday morning. We raised a total of $415 for the shelving project for the Bound Star Journal Newspapers. The Book Basket Auction will be held this fall. E-mail or a letter will be sent to the people that have donated a basket in the past and let them know we will hold another one. Discussion was held on doing a special volunteer prize at the end of the auction to someone that helped with the event.   They will need to be present at the time of drawing to claim the prize.

It was noted that the 2016-17 Book Discussion Group will be starting up soon. The first title is now available at the library for check-out. The Board members were informed of the Nebraska 150 Books and the Reading Challenge going on to celebrate Nebraska’s 150^th birthday in 2017.

Traci Alberts explained about the bilingual language hour and the Spanish/English books purchased through a gift for the library. There is a need for Spanish to English Rosette Stone software. Gail and Traci will look into this and see if a grant would be available to help purchase.

The next meeting date was set for Nov. 10^th at 7p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.

AINSWORTH LIBRARY FOUNDATION BOARD MEETING will be held on August 18, 2016 at 7 p.m.  The agenda consists of the following items:

1. Call meeting to order
2. Roll call
3. Welcome new member: Traci Alberts is the second Library Board Member on Foundation
4. Approve minutes
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Approve bills for payment
7. Gift Transaction List from May to August 2016
8. Election of Officers:   President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary
9. Officers to sign signature card at First National Bank
10. Phase Two of Library Improvements:  Material for chairs; ADA Check-Out Desk, ADA automatic Door Opener, Shelving to house the Bound Editions of Ainsworth Star Journal, and Paint walls in Local History Room
11. Fundraising Events:  Garden Walk- July 212st and Book Basket Auction in fall
12. 2016-2017 Book Discussion Group
13. Nebraska 150 Books-Reading Challenge
14. Set next meeting date/time
15. Adjournment

The Ainsworth Library Board held its regular monthly meeting on August 11, 2016 at the Public Library. This meeting was advertised in the local newspaper, over the radio, posted on the library website, and posted on bulletin board at the library. The meeting was called to order and notice was given on the posting of the Open Meeting Act. Roll call showed five members present. They included Traci Alberts, Todd Flynn, Mark Kovar, Phyllis Leach, and Alane Lentz. Library Director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.

Phyllis Leach moved to approve the minutes which Alane Lentz seconded. All members voted in favor of. Alane Lentz moved to approve the claims for payment which Todd Flynn seconded. All members voted in favor of. The budget spending sheet will be emailed to members when it arrives from the City Clerk’s Office. The Monthly Library Report for July 2016 was presented as well as the list of titles purchased this past month.

Election was held for the offices of President and Vice-President. Phyllis Leach made the motion for Mark Kovar to be President. Traci Alberts seconded this with all members voting in favor of. Traci Alberts made the motion for Phyllis Leach to be Vice-president. Todd Flynn seconded this with all members voting in favor of.

To celebrate Nebraska’s 150^th anniversary in 2017, a group has released the Nebraska 150 Book List. The purpose is to give Nebraskans a definitive list of titles that represent the state’s literary breadth and culture. The make the list, a book had to meet one of the following criteria:  1.The author was born or grew up in Nebraska 2. The author was educated in the state 3. The author spent most of her productive writing years here. The full list can be found at nebraska150books.org. The Library has a poster up to advertise this project plus a book display featuring some of the titles. Book marks and a Nebraska 150 Reading Challenge entry form are being made available to the public. Prizes will be awarded in three categories: Grand Prize-qualifiers read all 42 books from the list; Gold Prize-qualifiers must read 12 books from this list, Silver Prizes-qualifiers must read 6 books from this list. Patrons will check the boxes of the books they have read and fill out the contact information. Completed book lists received by February 28, 2017 will be eligible for our prize drawings on Nebraska’s 150^th birthday on March 1, 2017.

Budget update on proposed budget for 2016-2017 was given. The city budget workshop will be held towards the end of August. Director will send an email to board members when she is informed of the day and time. No word has been heard from the County yet on their part of the library budget.

A review was presented on the Middle School Lunch Bunch program. While we did have nine readers for both books, some of the readers did not finish the book or attend the discussion/lunch.   Discussion was held on doing the Book Discussions next summer but without holding a lunch and the expensive involved with a meal. It was felt that maybe serving watermelon, ice cream, or root beer floats at a late afternoon or early evening time would work better.

Traci Alberts gave an update on the four sessions of the Bilingual Language Hour held in July and August. Attendance was high and responses from people were good. Staff from GJW Pig Farm helped with the program. Library Director showed the Spanish/English books added to our collections. Traci will be applying for another grant in February to purchase more materials.

An update was given on the Garden Walk Fundraiser held on July 21^st. We sold 41 tickets and raised $415. Other than it being the hottest day of the summer, all comments have been good. We toured the homes of Susan Spann, Sarah Williams, Rita Paddock, Debb Weiss, Marsha Fuchs, and Susan Imm. The next fundraiser will be this fall with the Book Basket Auction.

Discussion was held on library improvements. The ADA Door Opener has been ordered. They had two companies’ present estimates on installation of the opener. Travis Gilliland will do the electrical work when they are ready. It was noted that the old check-out desk was sold and has been removed. Staff is currently working off of tables until the new ADA desk arrives. Rod Worrell hired Roudy Clapper to make the shelving for the Bound Editions of the Ainsworth Star Journal.   Library staff will start to remove items in the room so that it can be painted before the arrival of the shelving.

Under workshops and meetings, it was noted that the Ainsworth Library Foundation should be meeting on August 18^th at 7 p.m. Correspondence included a thank you card from Karen Johnson in regards to the Garden Walk. Several articles of interest from library newsletters and journals were shared with the Board.

The next meeting date was set for Sept. 6^th at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m.

AINSWORTH LIBRARY BOARD MEETING to be held on AUGUST 11, 2016 @ 5 p.m.  This meeting is open to the public.

The AGENDA consists of the following items:

1. Call meeting to order
2. Notice of the Open Meeting Act
3. Roll call
4. Approve Minutes
5. Approve claims for payment/Budget spending review
6. Monthly Library Report/List of Titles Purchased
7. Election of Officers
8. Nebraska 150 Books/Reading Challenge
9. Budget update on proposed budget for 2016-2017
10. Review of Middle School Lunch Bunch
11. Update on Bilingual Language Hour/books added to collection from grant
12. Update on the Garden Walk Fundraiser held July 21^st
13. Library Improvements:  ADA Door Opener,  ADA Check-Out Desk, and Shelving for Bound Editions of Ainsworth Star Journal Newspaper
14. Workshops/Meetings:
15. Articles of interest from library journals/newsletters
16. Correspondence
17. Set next meeting date/time
18. Adjournment