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 150th 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 150th 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 21st. 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 18th 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. 6th at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m.
