TRUSTEE BOARD MEETING

Minutes

July 20, 2005

The meeting was called to order at 5:13 pm by Blaine Robertson, acting chair. Present were Blaine Robertson, Lee Anne Kinghorn, Tricia Galer, Roger Jackson, and Judy Dewey, secretary. The bills were approved, and the checks paying the bills were signed.

The minutes of the May 17, 2005, meeting were approved upon motion by Tricia Galer, seconded by Blaine Robertson. The voting was unanimous in the affirmative. There was no meeting in June.

First order of business was swearing-in the newest board member, Lee Anne Kinghorn. Blaine read, and Lee Anne repeated after him, the oath of office. Lee Anne then signed the oath.

Second order of business was the election of new officers. Roger made the motion and Tricia seconded it to elect Blaine Robertson chairman. In his absence, Gordon Timothy was elected vice chairman of the board upon Lee Anne’s motion and Roger’s second. Roger Jackson will continue as treasurer. The voting was unanimous in the affirmative.

Judy reported the records retention policy is still in development. She will have a draft ready for the September meeting.

Possible dates for a goodbye/welcome party for Brent Eames/Lee Anne Kinghorn were discussed. August 12^th or 13^th was agreeable to everyone present. Judy was asked to call Brent to confirm the date or choose another.

The decision was made to have our present auditors do the audit this year, but next year we will advertise for bids. Schwendiman and Sutton have done an excellent job every year. The board just felt it might be a good idea to test the market.

Judy has determined the library is owed in excess of $20,000 in overdue fines and fees for lost materials for patrons who have fines greater than $30.00. This figure does not include any fines or fees where the total a patron owes is less than $30.00. The board discussed various ways to collect these monies: hire a library collection agency; offer an amnesty period before the holidays where patrons could “pay” up to a certain dollar amount with canned goods that would be given to the food bank; a plain amnesty day on which patrons coming to the library could have a portion or all of their fines excused (the day would not be advertised). If a library collection agency were to be hired, ample notice (articles in the newspapers, signs posted at the library, etc.) and time would be given so that those who want to protect their credit rating could come in and take care of their fines and fees. Judy and Roger are going to try and find the information Judy brought back from CODI in Portland last fall. Lee Anne is going to draft a letter to the editor/article for the newspaper. The matter was then tabled until the next meeting.

Because of greatly increased usage of the library and the increasing burdens on the present staff, Judy requested the board approve a half-time (19 hours) circulation clerk position. Miranda Galbraith has been a half-time (19 hours) circulation clerk in the mornings from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. The new position would be for the afternoons from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. This would greatly free up staff to work the reference desk and accomplish their other duties. A discussion was held wherein the board acknowledged they have known more staff would be needed at some point in the future. Upon Tricia’s motion and Roger’s second, the board voted unanimously to create the new position. Judy will proceed with hiring for the new position.

The summer reading program has been enormously successful this year. As of the date of the board meeting, there were 826 children in the elementary program (compared to 750 total in 2004), 406 in the preschool program, and 198 teens signed up, for a total of 1450 participants. The theme for this year has been “Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds” for the elementary and toddler programs. “Joust Read” is the theme for the teen program. Many wonderful prizes have been donated by local businesses. The Tuesday afternoon activities have been quite popular because the drawings for some of the prizes are held at those activities. Amber Kent constructed from butcher paper a castle “wall.” Children have signed their names on the “bricks.” Dragons and wizards hang from the ceiling in the children’s section.

A discussion was held regarding the challenges facing the Library Consortium of Eastern Idaho, a coalition of 23 libraries formed in 2003 to share a computer system, cooperate in specialized collection development, organize training for staff, and generally cooperate with each other. When the consortium was formed, Idaho Falls Public Library (IFPL) agreed to provide technical support of the computer system free of charge to all the consortium libraries. IFPL has now come under fire from their citizenry who have said IFPL can no longer do this. The IFPL board of trustees has asked each library to pay a portion of the support based on a formula reflecting size and other criteria of each library. There are those directors in the consortium who do not want to pay IFPL. IFPL will withdraw from the consortium if the support is not forthcoming. Some major problems in communication with the boards of the 23 libraries have arisen; therefore, Dean Hazen, chairman of the board at the Portneuf Library District in Chubbuck, has emailed and sent a letter to each board member, calling a meeting for August 10^th at the Portneuf Library where the board members can discuss each library’s willingness to pay for the technical support. Upon Lee Anne’s motion and Roger’s second, the board voted to pay Madison Library District’s fair share of technical support to IFPL. Blaine is scheduled to attend the meeting on August 10^th. If he cannot attend, another board member will be asked to go. The board expressed their sincere hope that the consortium will not be disbanded.

The Idaho legislature’s Property Tax Interim Committee is scheduled for a public meeting in Rexburg on Thursday, August 11^th. Several important property tax issues affecting libraries will be discussed. Citizens will have probably 3-4 minutes to present their views and concerns. One of the issues being considered is not allowing districts to assess their levy rate against the new construction funds in the county. This would be devastating for library districts. Judy reported that she had attended the Law Revision Task Force of the Idaho State Library on Tuesday, and that the task force had put together a rough template for those speaking to the committee on behalf of libraries. Roger agreed to be the spokesperson for the Madison Library District. Judy will also be attending that meeting and will get the information from the task force to Roger.

The budget hearing is next month. Judy and Roger will be meeting to put together a draft of the budget for fiscal year 2005-2006.

Upon Roger’s motion, the meeting was adjourned at 6:58 pm.