The Ainsworth Library Board held its regular monthly meeting at the Library on September 4, 2019. This meeting was advertised in the local newspaper, over the radio, and posted at the library. The meeting was called to order at 5 p.m. Notice was given on the posting of the Open Meeting Laws. Roll call showed three members present. They included Todd Flynn, Phyllis Leach, and Alane Lentz. Members Traci Ganser and Pedro Bordes were absent. Library Director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.
Phyllis Leach made the motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting. Todd Flynn seconded this with all members voting in favor of. Alane Lentz moved to approve the claims for payment. Phyllis Leach seconded this with all members voting in favor of. The Board spent time reviewing the budget spending sheet. The Monthly Library Report for August was shared with the Board as well as a list of titles purchased this month. It was noted at this time that Gail Irwin plans to take vacation time later in September. The Library will be promoting September as National Library Card Sign-Up Month. Plans are in the works to hold a Toddler Time and Preschool Storytime this fall.
An update was presented on the landscaping project. The cement border has been installed and the plants are in. The Library Foundation will pay for the grass seed, cement border, and plants. Still to do: cement by south and north exit doors and plant more grass seed this fall. Marsha Fuchs will be putting the clear stain on to seal the color cement. Many nice comments have been received about the curbing and plants.
It was noted that the Book Discussion Group will be starting up for another year on September 16th. They will vote on upcoming reads and receive the October title of “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Garth Stein. The November title will be the One Book One Nebraska 2019 title of “This Blessed Earth” by Ted Genoways.
Information was shared with the Board on the Smithsonian Institution World War I: Lessons and Legacies for Libraries Poster Exhibition. Our library applied for this free exhibit. If awarded, it would consist of a collection of eight 18”x26” posters, Digital World War I: Lessons and Legacies Educators Guide with discussion questions and resources that align to national teaching standards, and a detailed poster handbook and user guide with display instructions and promotional resources. We will know by November 2019 if our library will receive this or not.
It was noted at this time, that no new information was available from the County or City on the upcoming budget requests.
Phyllis Leach presented information on the Library Foundation Board Meeting held on August 15th. The Foundation is planning on doing a fundraiser with the Grand Theater this fall. It will be a “From Book to Movie Basket Auction.
Under correspondence, it was noted that Staff from U.S. Senator Deb Fischer would be holding a meeting to meet with the public on September 25th. The Library ordered three new public computers. Office 2019 software was ordered for the three computers through TechSoup at a cost of $29 each. Normally the cost would be $588 each. This saved the library a total of $1,764. Articles of interest from various library newsletters and journals were shared to keep the board informed of topics happening in libraries across the nation.
The next meeting date was set for October 9th at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.
