Minutes from the Library Board Meeting held on November 7th

The Ainsworth Library Board held its regular monthly meeting on November 7, 2016 at the Ainsworth Pubic Library.  This meeting was advertised in the newspaper, over the radio, and posted at the Library. President Mark Kovar called the meeting to order at 5 p.m.  Notice was given on the posting of the Open Meeting Act.  Roll called all five members present (Traci Alberts, Todd Flynn, Mark Kovar, Alane Lentz, and Phyllis Leach).  Library director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.

Alane Lentz made the motion to approve the minutes which Traci Alberts seconded.  Vote showed all were in favor.  Phyllis Leach moved to approve the claims for payment.  Todd Flynn seconded this with all members voting in favor of.  A review was done on the budget spending for the past month as well as a review of the 2015-2016 budget spending.  The Monthly Library for October was presented as well as the list of titles purchased that month. 

A yard work night was held on October 10th.  There were four people that cut the bushes and trees down; cleaned out the leaves and pine needles from the front walk and in the front rain gutter.  A City worker came several weeks later and cleaned out the back gutter.

A review was given on Teen Read Week held October 9-15th.  Articles were placed in the newspaper, on Facebook, and the library website to draw attention to this week.  A drawing was held for a t-shirt which Sage Little Elk won. 

An update was given on the Book Discussion Group.  The October title was “My Antonia” by Willa Cather with 9 ladies attending the discussion.  The November title is “Atonement”.  The movie of this title will be shown on Nov. 14th with the discussion being held on the 21st.  There will be no discussion during the month of December.

An update was given on library improvements.  It was noted that the third section of the ADA Check-Out Desk arrived and people like it a lot.   Plans are being drawn up for the top of the island to match the desk.  Material has been selected for the four blue chairs which Pam Theis will be working on for us. It was noted that a second coat of paint still needed to be put on in the old storage room.  Alane Lentz said that she would come in and paint it.

Several fundraisers were discussed.  It was noted that Don & Janet Schulyer did a Haunted House and raised $332 for the children’s section of the library.  Board decided to use the funds for children’s DVD’s and audiobooks for the kids.  The house was open three nights with a free will donation.  Plans were finalized for the Book Basket Auction on Nov. 18th at the Elks.  Traci Alberts/GJW will give 50 lbs. of ground sausage as a prize to a volunteer that stays throughout the event.  Board members were asked to help with food, set up and take down as well as move the baskets to the Elks from the library.

It was noted that the library took part of the Safe Trick and Treat event downtown on Halloween.  The library handed out non-food items such as book and stickers.

The Ainsworth Art Guild currently has on display at the library their “Horse of a Different Color” through the month of November.

The Library was selected to receive the Bill of Rights Exhibit from the National Archives.  It will need to be on display from Dec. 15th to March 15th.  It is a pop-up exhibit containing the simple messages conveying the importance of the Bill of rights, its history and implementation, and its impact today.  This is being done to marks the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. 

A Color to Relax date will be held November 28th at 2 p.m.  We will be doing a fall/Christmas page.

The Director is still working on the new internet policy so the Board did not take any action on it yet. Signs that have been placed on the computers about not accessing porn sites were shared.

Northeast College has assigned Pam Barrow to hold ESL (English as a Second Language) class at our library on Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m.  Traci Alberts shared some fliers with us on this event.

Some exciting news was shared with the Board.  Our library made the America’s Star Libraries list this year with a three star rating from the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service 2016.  The measures used to rate the libraries include circulation, library visits, program attendance, public internet computer use, and circulation of electronic materials.  There were a total of 12 libraries in Nebraska that made the list.  This is the first time for our library to be a star library!

Under workshops and meetings, it was noted that Donna Rudnick and Gail Irwin attended the Online OverDrive Training for Intro to OverDrive on the Oct. 13th.  Donna Rudnick and Wanda Raymond attended the Over Drive Training on Oct. 27th on Downloading OverDrive eBooks and Audiobooks. Gail will attend the Marketplace Overdrive training on Nov. 10th.  It was noted that the Library Foundation Board would be meeting on Nov. 10th at 7 p.m.  A NebraskAccess Database Training Workshop will be held on Dec. 2nd in Kearney. 

Under correspondence we had information on the 2017 Nebraska Library Internship Grant; notice of printer toner scams; and the winners of the NEST 529 College Savings Read to Win Drawing.  Several thank you cards from the Caravan Explorers Class were shared.  Items of interest from library journals and newsletter were shared with the board. 

Closing dates for the December holidays were discussed.  Phyllis Leach made the motion to close the library on Saturday December 24 & 31st as well as the Mondays of December 26th and January 2nd.  Alane Lentz seconded this with all members voting in favor of. 

Since the Board does not usually meet in December, the next meeting date will be January 5th at 5 p.m.  The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m.

 

 

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