The Ainsworth Library Board held its regular monthly meeting on July 10, 2019 at the Ainsworth Public Library. This meeting was advertised in the local newspaper, radio, and posted at the Library. President Traci Ganser called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. Notice was given on the posting of the Nebraska Open Meeting Law. Roll call showed all members present (Pedro Bordes, Todd Flynn, Traci Ganser, Phyllis Leach, and Alana Lentz). Library director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.
Alane Lentz moved to approve the minutes which Phyllis Leach seconded. All members voted in favor of. Traci Ganser made the motion to approve the claims for payment. Todd Flynn seconded this with all members voting in favor of. The Monthly Library Report for June and the list of titled purchased was shared with the Board.
A review was given on the Summer Reading Program held in June with the Toddlers, Preschool, and K-4th grade. Staff was pleased with the number of Bingo Reading Sheets turned back in for prizes. Board members had heard good things on the program from various people in the community.
Plans were discussed for the S.T.E.M./S.T.E.A.M. events to be held in July for the Middle School Students. A full S.T.E.A.M. ahead day will be held on July 16th from 2-4 p.m. for ages 10 and up. It is planned to have six sessions of twenty minutes each for the students. It was noted that an Escape Room will be held soon.
An update was given on the Library Landscaping Project that the Library Foundation is working on. It was noted that grass has been planted and starting to grow. A fall seeding will be done in areas where the grass did not take. Olberdings Tree Service from Stuart will be removing tree stumps in the area of the landscaping. Digger’s Hot Line has been notified. Wettlaufers in Atkinson drew up a plan and provided cost estimates which the Foundation approved. After the stumps have been removed, they will start to work on it. The Foundation also approved the concrete curbing with tint to match the bricks.
The proposed budget for 2019-2020 was discussed. It was noted that the Brown County Commissioners have acknowledged our budget request and will try to work it in their budget. The City Clerk has our budget proposal and will start to work on the budget with city council in the near future.
Some upcoming fundraisers were discussed by the Board. It was noted that the “Build An Alien Workshop” would be held on July 17th at 5 p.m. We have 50 alien to sell. We will read a story to the group; they will make their alien, and share some space food/treats. It is estimated that this will last around one hour. Proceeds will go towards S.T.E.M. item purchases. There was no new update on the Book Basket Auction with the Grand Theater.
It was noted that staff member, Donna Rudnick, only worked several days the 1st week of June due to her hip being damaged. She is set for surgery on July 10th with an estimated six week recovery time. Due to the Summer Programs going on we need extra help right now. Laurie Goodloe has been helping when she can but she will be going on vacation soon and then back to school. Donna wants to work as a substitute helper when she is well. The part-time library aide position was discussed. It was noted that a number of applications have been handed out and only few returned so far. Last date to take application will be July 15th.
It was noted that staff has been doing the training to brush up on the NebraskAccess statewide databases with new training videos. Traci Ganser attended the NCompass Live: Pretty Sweet Tech-Enhance Your Online Security with Password Management Tools on the 3rd of July. One hour continuing education credit will be applied to Board Certification. Todd Flynn will be attending the Central Plains Library System Annual Meeting on July 12th so a few more CE hours can be added to the certification process. The Library Director will be attending the State Advisory Council online meeting on July 19th.
Several items of correspondence were share with the Board. It was noted that the Book Systems Atriuum had just released a new update. Several people have stated that they no longer are getting the texts/email reminders on when their books are due. Technology support has been contacted. An email from Nebraska Overdrive was received with changes in Overdrive consortium purchasing and lending models from publishers connected to Overdrive ebooks/audiobooks. Changes will be made in purchases to handle the increase prices. The participation fee will remain the same for this year but raising the amount will be discussed for 2020/2021. Articles of interest from various library newsletters and journals were shared with the Board.
The next meeting date was set for August 7, 2019 at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m.
