Minutes of January Library Board Meeting

The Ainsworth Library Board held its monthly meeting on January 15, 2020 at the Ainsworth Pubic Library.  The meeting was called to order at 5 p.m.  Notice was given on the posting of the Nebraska Open Meeting Act.  Roll call showed three members were present.   They included Traci Ganser, Phyllis Leach, and Alane Lentz.  Members Pedro Bordes and Todd Flynn were absent.   Library Director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.

Alane Lentz made the motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting.  Phyllis Leach seconded this with all members voting in favor of.  Alane Lentz moved to approve the claims for payment.  Traci Ganser seconded this with all members voting in favor of.  The Board spent time reviewing the budget spending for the year.  The Monthly Library Reports for November and December was shared.  It was noted at this time that Senator Sasse Staff will be meeting with the public at the library on 1-28-20 from 4-6 p.m.; the March Book Club title will be “All the Gallant Men” which is the One Book One Nebraska 2020 title, staff is currently working on Blind Date with a Book for February, and shared information on Books are Fun Fundraiser. 

Traci Ganser gave an update on the free movie that we helped sponsor on Nov. 30th at 10.a.m.  We had a total of 44 tickets to pay for the 12 and under children.  The Library Foundation paid for this cost of $220 to the theater.  There were 15 adults that attended.  The weather was not good that day.  We held the “From Book to Movie” Basket Auction at the theater that day.  We had around a dozen that did not sell that day so we took bids at the Library for a week.  We made a total of $1,105 and all baskets were sold. 

It was reported that the Public Library Survey for the year 2019 has been submitted to the State Library Commission and Federal government.  The Public Library Data Survey Supplement has also been submitted to the Library Commission.  Copies of the reports were given to the City Clerk’s Office.

The Board reviewed the Employee Evaluation/Performance Review for the library staff.  The Board approved the annual report for Wanda Raymond and the six month probationary period for Abigail Wiebesiek.  The report that Traci Ganser did on Gail Irwin has been given to the City Clerk for her review.

The Library will host a free screening of the brand-new ARTHUR show on Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. thanks to NET-PBS KIDS: Movies and More.  The one hour special is titled “The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur” and focuses on what it means to be family.  The target age range is from 4-8 years old but will be open to the whole family.  We will have an Arthur birthday hat for the kids to wear.  A special Family Tree page will be available for the kids to take home with them.

The Library Director noted that she has ordered some of the Summer Reading Program materials and prizes.  Discussions was held on the possibility of holding a puppet show at the library this summer in June and connect it to the reading program.  Atkinson Library will have the Parasol Puppets from Jamesport MO on June 18th.   If our library would book a show, we could share the $450 travel fee and make it more affordable.  The Board thought that this is a good idea and hopes that the Library Foundation would help with the funding of it.   If the Summer School is in session, we may be able to have the students come for the show.

It was noted that Gail Irwin had attended the Nebraska State Advisory Council on Libraries meeting in Lincoln on Nov. 15th.  She had been asked to serve a second three-year term.  Rod Wagner from the Nebraska Library Commission sent an email on 1-13-20 which stated that the re-appointment was confirmed at the Library Commission meeting.  The next meeting for this group will be March 5th.  Wanda and Gail had attended the Cricut 2.0 Make and Take Workshop in Atkinson on Nov. 22nd.  Information was shared from this meeting as well as the five projects completed with the machine.  This information will be shared at the next library foundation and a decision will be made on if the library will get a Vinyl Cutter like the Makerspace had or a Cricut.  It was noted that Wanda and Gail would be going to the Grand Summer Reading Program 2020 Workshop in Broken Bow on Jan. 29th.  If there is still any openings for the Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead Workshop in North Platte on Feb. 12th, Wanda and Abbie may attend.  It was noted that the 2020 Big Talk Small Libraries On-Line Conference would be held on Feb. 28th.  The library usually closes on this day so that staff may attend the free all day sessions.  Library Board members were encouraged to attend some of the sessions also for their continuing education hours.  Traci Ganser made the motion to close the library on the 28th so staff and board members could attend. Alane Lentz seconded this with all members voting in favor of. Wanda Raymond would like to attend the Small and Rural Libraries Conference in Kansas this fall.   She is currently applying for a continuing education grant.   Board gave support of her attending this event.

Under correspondence we had a thank you from the American Library Association on advocacy and restoring of library funding after the White House proposed illumination for the third time last March. Every member of Congress heard from ALA and our advocates about the importance of libraries and their impact in communities across the country.  The Public Performance Site License for the Copyrighted Major Motion Pictures from Swank Movie Licensing USA has arrived and is on display in the meeting room.  Information was shared on changes to OverDrive holds functionality.  The hold redelivery will allow users to suspend a hold even after it’s made available to them, while maintaining their place on the wait list.  The Library Commission sent out Broadband facts for our county and discussion guide to help with conversations.  This fact sheet was to be sent to the County Commissioner’s. Articles of interest from library journals and newsletters were shared with the Board.

The next meeting date was set for Feb. 5th at 5 p.m.  Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.

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