The Ainsworth Library Board held its regular monthly meeting on October 6, 2016 at the Ainsworth Public Library. This meeting was advertised on the radio, in the local newspaper, posted at the Library, and posted on the library’s website and Facebook page. President Mark Kovar called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. Notice was given on the posting of the Open Meeting Act. Roll call showed three members present. They included Traci Alberts, Mark Kovar, and Alane Lentz. Members Todd Flynn and Phyllis Leach were absent. Library Director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.
Traci Alberts made the motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Alane Lentz seconded this with all members voting in favor of. Alane Lentz moved to approve the end of year claims and the October claims for payment. Traci Alberts seconded this with all members voting in favor of. The Monthly Report for September was presented as well as the List of Titles Purchased this last month. The history list of porn websites visited on library computers were shared with the Sheriff Office. They had the State Troopers Office look the list over. They said that there was nothing criminal on the sites just bad morals. The new internet policy was tabled due to several board members being absent. The Sheriff visited with me about bank information being hacked on a person that had used a library computer. When the policy is written, we need to stress that the Wi-Fi is open and not protected, and that patrons need to make sure to sign out of their accounts when done. It was noted that Marsha Fuchs is trying to set a date for the Yard Work Night. It looks like Monday, 10th at 6 p.m. will work the best. It was noted that the library will be doing some stress coloring days in the near future.
Board spent some time reviewing the Strategic Plan and updating the action plans/timelines on goals and objectives. It looks like we are keeping on tract and have completed the installation of the ADA door opener, ADA desk, purchasing new DVD titles, and started the Book Discussion Group for this year. Items to be worked on for this fall include the Little Free Libraries. The winter activities will include the four week Preschool Story time in January and the four week Toddler Time in February.
An update was given on the Book Discussion Group. The group did meet in September and discussed the title “The Kitchen House”. The October title is “My Antonia” by Willa Cather. We are doing this to promote the 150 Nebraska Books. The November title will be “Atonement”. We have seen having around 10 people read the book and six attend the group meeting.
A review was given on Banned Books Week held Sept. 26th to Oct. 1st. We did a big display of books that have been banned on a large table complete with paper flames/fire. Above the display was a three section banner made from pages of a damaged book and the ends were burnt. It was very eye catching and many people asked about the display. We decorated the bulletin board with the height chart as in the police lineup. There was a sign at the top that said “Caught reading a banned book”. When people checked out a banned book, we took their photo in front of the bulletin board. The photos were placed on the library’s Facebook page and also on the bulletin board.
It was noted that Teen Read Week will be celebrated from October 10 – 15th with the theme of “Read for the fun of it”. An article will be placed in the local newspaper on this fun week to encourage reading. Director will talk about this on the radio during her weekly library visit on the air. Teens may sign up all week long for special prizes. We will give away from t-shirts, lanyards, etc.
An update was given on the library improvements. It was noted that the ADA door opener has been installed. Two sections of the ADA Check-Out Desk have been installed. The third section was damaged in route when a deer jumped out into of the truck. It should be here with in the week. Progress has been made in the local history room. Alane Lentz and Gail Irwin have painted one coat of paint in the room. It needs to have a second coat. The shelving construction has began and in two weeks he would be able to work more on the project.
The Book Basket Auction Fundraiser will be held on Nov. 18th from 6-8 p.m. at the Elks. We will need to set up tables, move the baskets, and make food for the event. The baskets need to be at the library the first several weeks in November so we have time to wrap up and display them. It was noted that Donnie and Janet Schuyler will be doing their Haunted House again this Halloween. They plan to give the funds raised from it to the children’s section of the library. They suggested using the funds to bring in a special program for the children.
Under workshops/meetings, it was noted that library director had attended the City Council Meeting on September when the Budget Hearing was held. Library staff will be attended three online OverDrive Trainings in October. The next Library Foundation Board meeting will be held on November 10th.
A number of correspondences were shared with the Board. It was noted that our library has applied for the free Bill of Rights Exhibit from the Nebraska Humanities. If we are awarded it, we will need to display it by December 15th. Information was shared on a hearing date of October 26th for LR 538 which examines telecommunications services in Nebraska. Nebraska OverDrive Libraries recently did a ballot on the budget and other issues. The results showed yes to keeping the budget percentages for each budget category (Adult fiction-57%; Adult Non-Fiction-20%, and Juvenile/YA-23%). The group voted no to Axix360 and to adding videos to the collection. It was noted that the Nebraska Library Commission has purchased the Movie Licensing USA Public Performance Site License for our library. It will run from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017. Information was shared on an outlet for weeded, discarded, and donated books titled Thriftbooks.com. Various articles of interest were shared from library newsletters and journals.
The next meeting date/time was set for November 3rd at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.
