The Ainsworth Library Board held its regular monthly meeting on January 4, 2023 at the Public Library. This meeting was advertised in the local newspaper, on the radio, posted at the Library and on the library’s website/Facebook page. President Phyllis Leach called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. Notice was given on the posting of the Nebraska Open Meeting Act. Roll call showed all members present. They included Todd Flynn, Stacey Gilliland, Luke Hitchcock, Phyllis Leach, and Alane Lentz. Library director, Gail Irwin, was also present for the meeting.
Luke Hitchcock made the motion to approve the November minutes. Phyllis Leach seconded this with all members voting in favor of. Since the Board did not meet in December, we had no minutes to approve for that month. Alane moved to approve the claims for payment. Todd Flynn seconded this with all members voting in favor of. The Monthly Library Reports for November and December was shared as well as the list of titles purchased. The Summary Report for 2021-2022 was also presented.
Fundraising by the Library Foundation was discussed. It was noted that the Book Basket Auction held on Nov. 19th raised a total of $1,605 for the outside lighting project. A box of 62 ink cartridges has been sent off to Empties4Cash. The funds for the recyclable cartridges will go to the Library Foundation.
The voting results on the OverDrive Collection Development Policy were shared with the Board. The policy now reads that the policy will be reviewed by Nebraska OverDrive Library staff every five years or sooner if needed. Also added to the policy was the following: A patron may have up to five active reconsideration requests at one time.
The Christmas Cheer Tuesdays in December was discussed. We had Christmas crafts, Christmas stories, Christmas movies, Christmas Lego’s ornaments to make, and a Christmas puzzle for families to work with when they visited the library on Tuesday. Attendance was not good due to snow storms and cold weather. The few that did attend had a lot of fun. The library also had a Holiday Bag for the kids to color and takes home to use.
It was noted that the Public Library Survey is currently being worked on. It will be submitted by the Feb. 17th deadline.
The Summer Reading Program “All Together Now” was discussed. The manual and products to use with the kindness/friendship/unity theme was shared. Wanda and Gail will be attending a workshop in Grand Island on the 20th to help get ideas to do with the program.
The Library Telescope Program was discussed. The equipment was shown to the Board. It was noted that library staff attended training on December 8th. The proposed policy on the Library Telescope was shared. After changing some of the wording and rules, the board will review the policy at the next meeting and approve it.
Reports were given on the Nebraska State Advisory Council on Libraries meeting that the Director attended by computer on Nov. 18th and the Library Telescope Training staff attended on the 8th of December. Staff will be attending the Summer Reading Program Workshop on the 20th of January.
A number of items were shared under correspondence. It was noted that Director was submitting application forms for several grants. They included the Penguin Random House Grant for Small and Rural Libraries and the Science Kits for Public Libraries Grant. The resolution on Banned Books Week, the attacks on books in U.S., and the 1st Amendment of Freedom of Speech and freedom to read and write by the U.S. House of Representatives was shared. The information on the NEA Big Read was shared. It was noted that our Library will take part in this Book Club title of “Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body” by Rebekah Taussig in April 2023. The Swank Movie Licensing USA Public Performance Site License has been paid for by the Nebraska Library Commission. The license will run from 10/01/22 to 09/30/23 and is posted in the meeting room. Articles of interest from various library newsletters and journals were shared.
The next library board meeting was set for February 1, 2023 at 5 p.m. Since there was no further business to perform, the meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m.
