LA CROSSE COUNTY LIBRARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES

August 6, 2008

Hazel Brown Leicht Memorial Library

Meeting Room

201 Neshonoc Road

West Salem  WI  54669

4:45 PM

CALL TO ORDER:

President Loren Caulum called the meeting to order at 4:45 pm.

ROLL CALL:

Board members Loren Caulum, Glenn Seager, Mary Bach Filla, Barbara Manthei, George Varnum, Fred Marini, were present.  Andrea Richmond was excused.

APPROVAL OF THE MEETING AGENDA:

Motion by Glenn Seager/Barbara Manthei to approve the agenda as written.  MOTION carried unanimously with one excused, Andrea Richmond.

PUBLIC INPUT:

No public input at this time. 

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:

Motion by Barbara Manthei/Glenn Seager to approve the July 2, 2008 minutes.  MOTION carried unanimously with one excused, Andrea Richmond.

APPROVAL OF JULY 2008 EXPENDITURES:

The lease has run out on the Onalaska library’s copy machine.  The County has put multi-function machines in each branch so there is no need to renew the lease or lease another copier. The leasing company wants the county to purchase the machine or pay to have it shipped back.  After input from the county Information Technology Department Chris opted to purchase the machine

Motion by Barbara Manthei/Fred Marini to approve the August, 2008 expenditures.  MOTION carried unanimously with one excused, Andrea Richmond.

2009 BUDGET:

The Library’s Indirect Costs have increased each year:  In 2006 they were $46,237; 2007 - $57,832; 2008 - $70,839; 2009 - $112,000.  The board would like to know where the money for indirect costs is dispersed.

Chris says she has prepared the 1^st draft of the 2009 Budget.

PRINT CHARGES:

IT reports that the charges for printing are broken down into capital replacement, toner, staff support for problems, and maintenance of the machines.

PUBLIC ACCESS COMPUTER TIMING SOFTWARE CHANGE:

La Crosse County Library has replaced CybraryN (software to manage patron time on the public access computers.)  The new software allows a patron more time on a computer if other computers are available for use.  La Crosse Public allows a maximum of four hours a day.  La Crosse County is thinking perhaps two hours a day.

Parents must actively give permission for a child to use the public computers when they get a library card.  It was asked if the software limited access during peak hours, to allow more people to use the computers.  The staff does have the ability to log a user off the Internet if they have reason to believe it is being misused.

ONALASKA CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE:

While working on the final phase of the construction at the Onalaska facility the construction company says they will have to close off the front entrance, the public rest rooms and relocate the electricity, phone and data communication lines.  They have proposed closing the facility from December 10, 2008 to February 10, 2009 to allow them to work freely and finish the project two months earlier than expected.

Chris would keep  limited staff in the building to handle deliveries and pull holds.  They would also use this time to take a complete inventory of the collection.  Chris would extend hours at the other branches and move Onalaska staff to fill up the extra hours and help during the busy times.  This will allow the other branches to see if some of the extended hours will bring in more traffic.

Motion by Loren Caulum/Glenn Seager to give permission to close the Onalaska facility from December 10, 2008 to February 10, 2009 and to move the Onalaska employees to other branches as needed.  MOTION carried unanimously with one excused, Andrea Richmond.

Another proposed closing is the October 18^th weekend to take down the temporary wall and move the adult collection.

WRLS REPORT:

At the WRLS meeting in Trempealeau on July 23^rd it was mentioned that there were three new libraries in the works in the region, including the one in Mindoro.  Library circulation is going up and people want new libraries regardless of the restrictions on resources by the government.  The WRLS vehicle use policy is not to allow the loan of vehicles.

MINDORO & FARMINGTON UPDATE:

The Mindoro Cut 100^th Anniversary Celebration drew an estimated 1,000 people and was considered a great success.  They held the first ever business showcase; there was a reenactment of a 1930 bank robbery; a book sale and the post office cancelled the stamps on the anniversary postcards.

The Farmington Town Board met with the Friends of the Mindoro Library.  A formal decision was made to become part of the La Crosse County Library organization. There has been no decision yet on the site of the new library, or whether to remodel, or demolish and rebuild, possibly with larger square footage.  For Spanfarkle the Friends will again bring the antiques appraiser to town, moving to a larger location for better parking.   

FACILITY AND COMMUNITY UPDATES:

Chris has the caterer lined up for the 2^nd Annual Awards Reception on September 12th.

New library cards are available, both a wallet sized and a key-chain sized card will be given to new patrons.  Current patrons can get replacement cards for 50¢.  Patrons with the key-chain cards that were issued for the last year can get new ones without charge if their old ones are hard to read.

The lot next to the Bangor facility is for sale.  The land could be used for parking or for expansion of the current facility if the Village were to buy it.  A survey of the lot lines revealed that the library’s driveway and part of the lawn is on the neighbor’s lot.

The TLC center in Holmen will hold its 2^nd Annual Auction on August 10 with the proceeds going to the TLC Center and the Friends of the Holmen Library for their building fund.

The Village of West Salem is building a new storage shed for the library, and is paying to have the Children’s desk moved.

In Campbell the numbers are down for the Summer Reading program, due, in part, to the location of the library in an out-of-the-way spot, and in part, to its size.  There is no place to sit and browse a book, and limited space for the books, movies, etc.  The library hopes to be represented at the fall open house at Summit School.  Barbara Manthei offered to speak to the teachers at a meeting at Summit.  It was suggested that Library Dog make an appearance at the school.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:

2009 Budget.  The board is very curious about the Indirect Costs that keep rising and is demanding an accounting of where the money is used.

Circulation broken down by media type.

Policy on Child Care issues.  Middle-school-aged children have been left at the library for long periods of time while the parent(s) are elsewhere.  The library is not a child care facility.

ADJOURNMENT: Meeting was adjourned at 5:40 pm.

RECORDED BY:  Judy Jamesson.  Minutes may be amended or changed at the next meeting.