The Ainsworth Library Board held its regular monthly meeting on March 5, 2025 at the Ainsworth Public Library. This meeting was advertised in the local newspaper, on the radio, posted at the library and on the library website and Facebook page. 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 four members present (Stacey Gilliland, Tammy Hancock, Luke Hitchcock, and Jean Hunt) Alane Lentz was absent due to illness. Library Director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.
There were no public comments made.
Luke H. made the motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting. Jean H. seconded this with all members voting in favor of. Luke H. moved to approve the claims for payment. Tammy H. seconded this with all members voting in favor of. The Monthly Library Report/List of Titles Purchased was shared with the board. It was noted at this time that the NPPD installed a new street light post on the northeast corner on 3-7-25.
An update was given on the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program through the IRS).
It was noted that a total of 31 tax returns were filed in February. The Library is making the appointments for Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings (when the library is closed). This will run through the first week in April.
A review of February events was given. Storytime was held on Feb. 4th with a Valentine theme and on Feb. 18 with a penguin theme. Book Club was held on Feb. 18th with the discussion on the title “The Postmistress”. It was extremely cold out so only 4 readers showed up. The Blind Date with a Book was held the whole month of February. We had a total of 29 readers. Winner of the basket was Brenda Davis.
Upcoming events were discussed. It was noted that the Dr. Seuss Storytime on the 4th was moved to March 18th due to a blizzard. Book Club will meet on March 17th to discuss the title “Killers of the Flower Moon”.
The Central Plains Library System is wanting to do a Fall Crawl this year. The Crawl is designed to encourage residents of central Nebraska to explore the libraries spanning the 31 counties in the middle part of the state. The Program would be similar to the Game and Parks Passport program. Each participating library would have a stamp or sticker to mark their passport. When someone gets 5 marks, then he or she is eligible to win a drawing for a grand prize. The CPLS would provide the grand prizes. Plans are in the works and would run 2 or 3 months in the fall. A brochure would be done on all the libraries in the program with hours open and upcoming programs. More would be shared on this program when it gets closer to the time.
Reviews were given on workshops/meetings attended by library staff. It was noted that the director attended the Thursday Director’s Zoom meeting on Feb. 6th and 20th. The Fall Crawl was the main topic of discussion. Director also attended the VITA Committee Meeting on Feb. 25th and March 7th with supervisors in Omaha on making sure we were meeting guidelines in the VITA program. An update was given on the Feb. 25th Ainsworth Library Foundation Board meeting. Director shared a ride with the Rock County Library gals to attend the Color our World Summer Reading Program Workshop in Kearney on Feb. 26th. The library was closed on Feb. 28th so that staff could attend the all-day conference of Big Talk From Small Libraries. The Nebraska State Library Advisory Council Meeting will be held on March 17th in Lincoln.
Under correspondence, we had a thank you card from a library patron that was moving back to Mexico. The Library Commission had sent out an email pertaining to Little Free Libraries in our communities and if there was a need for a workshop on this matter. Various articles of interest from library journals and newsletters were shared.
The next meeting date/time was set for April 2nd at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:38 p.m.
