NORTHVILLE DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Regular Meeting Minutes
Thursday, May 22, 2008 – 7:30 p.m.
Northville District Library Carlo Meeting Room
1. Chairperson Robert Sochacki called the
Regular Meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
1.1 Roll Call - Present:
Trustees Robert Sochacki, Jean Hansen, Peggy Koppy, Joe Corriveau and
Judy Sherman. Also present: Julie Herrin, Director;
Anne Mannisto, Assistant Director; Judith Williams, Administrative
Assistant; and guests Paul Snyder, President of NDL Friends, Denise
LaMotte, Al Smitley, and Suzanne Schimanski-Gross library staff members.
Absent: Trustee Alan Somershoe and Deborah Stanifer.
1.2 Approval of the Agenda:
MOTION: Peggy Koppy made a motion to accept the agenda as
presented. Joe Corriveau seconded the motion.
Motion passed.
1.3 Approval of the Regular Board Meeting
minutes April 24, 2008: MOTION: Peggy Koppy made a motion to
accept the minutes as presented. Jean Hansen seconded the
motion. Motion passed.
1.4 Citizen Comments: Al Smitley and
Denise LaMotte gave a memo to the Board from themselves as
co-presidents of the NDLEA, expressing frustration with the delay in
receiving a copy of the contract language originally given to the Union
for ratification in February 2007. They requested that the
Board Members intervene in this request. They also indicated
a desire to involve the members of the Board Personnel Committee in the
process of negotiation. The Board accepted their memo and
thanked them for their comments, but said it was illegal for Board
Members to discuss Union negotiations with Union representation and
referred them to the management bargaining team.
2. Correspondence: Julie Herrin
distributed forms to the Board Members from the Public Trustee
Association of Oakland County for reservations to their annual spring
dinner on Thursday, June 12 and dues notices for the same
organization. Julie noted that interested Trustees should
notify Judith if they wanted to attend the dinner and the Library would
take care of the registration and pay the expense for any Board Member
who wished to attend.
3. Director’s Report:
Statistics: The circulation statistics for April 2008 show an
increase of 8.86% over last year. Julie also reported that
10% of the nearly 40,000 items circulated this past month were checked
out via the Self Check. She also reported that the new door
counter has been installed and is now operational.
Youth Programming: There were 444 children attending
scheduled Storytimes this month. In addition, there were 106
in attendance at the “Harpbeat” program. Preparations for
Summer Reading have been ongoing over the past month, including
distribution of promotional materials for the schools, which has been
completed. Craft Programs have been planned and coordination
of the Summer Teen Corps is in process. A very busy summer is
anticipated.
Adult Programming: The Adult Book Discussion had 11
participants this month. The Foreign Film hosted 19 and the
Internet Classes had 7 students at the Basic and 6 students at the
Advanced Class. There were 4 participants in the Computer
Tutoring Program, working with 2 tutors. The Mystery Program
had 22 attendees and the Michigan Notable Author Program hosted 20
patrons.
Teen Programming: The Teen Author Program had 7 attendees.
Staff: Julie reported that the new Part-time Public Relations
Librarian position has been filled. Karen Fehl, currently an
Adult Services Librarian, has been selected for this new
position. A new Adult Services Librarian will be hired to
replace her. The Digital Services Librarian position has also
been posted. Interviews will be scheduled during the next
month. Two staff members attended the Spring Institute.
Facilities: Julie contacted other libraries to request
information on energy audits and received information from 2 sources
that will be investigated during the next month. Three
libraries requested that we also share information about energy audits
with them.
Collections: The Library is developing a new process to check
out new and very popular DVD’s. Items that are designated as
“Hot Pics” will be held behind the Circulation Counter with an empty
red DVD case on the shelf. The patron will find instructions
on the case to retrieve the DVD at the Circulation Counter for
check-out. This process is being developed as a means of loss
control as so many DVD’s have been stolen recently. We are
also changing the circulation on all other DVD’s (not Hot Pics) to 7
day loan and holds may be placed on them.
Services: The Library is joining the state-wide MelCat
system, which will allow patrons to borrow items from libraries
throughout Michigan. It is anticipated that there will
initially be a doubling of the workload for check-out and discharge of
MelCat items for the Circulation Department, since the MelCat system
and our automation system are not currently compatible.
Strategic Plan: The redesign of the Website will be
accomplished through a team approach. Michael, Karen Fehl,
the new PR Librarian, and the soon to be hired Digital Services
Librarian will work together to this end. Michael and Julie
have decided that the Website will continue to be hosted at
TLN. Work on the structure of the categories of the Website
has begun and Michael recommended using a Contact Management System
called Joomla.
Dorie Freebury has contacted the school Media Specialists to determine
the best date and time for the Library to host a Teacher Open House at
the Library. This is another item that ranked high on the
Strategic Plan and will be accomplished this year.
Summer Hours: The Library will be closed on Sunday, May 25 and Monday,
May 26 for the Memorial Day Holiday. The last Sunday open
will be June 1; starting Sunday, June 8 the Library will be closed on
Sundays until the Sunday following Labor Day.
Endowment: The Market Value of the Endowment as of 12/31/07
was $271,494. Our payout would have been $11,324 if we had
elected to take it; however, the funds are now on an automatic
re-investment plan for future needs.
Private Donations: Memorial donations honoring Adelaide
Schmidt, in the amount of $875, have been received and designated for
the Youth Summer Reading Program. The DAR has contributed
$100 to the Library as a thank-you for the use of our Meeting
Room. We have also received the annual contribution of $50.00
from the Lion’s Club that has been designated for Large Print Books.
4. Friends Report: Friends
President Paul Snyder reported that the Friends’ “Picks and Sticks”
program on Tuesday, May 6 played to a standing room only
crowd. The Friends Scrip Card program with Hillers Grocery
Store has received an initial check of $50. The Friends are
assisting with the Library’s Outreach Program, delivering books to
home-bound patrons. The Friends are joining the national
group “Friends of Libraries of the U.S.A.” (FOLUSA) and will be
assisting with ticket sales to the Rotary Club’s upcoming Lobster
Fest. The Friends have decided that continuing meetings
throughout the summer months will be beneficial. They have
received very good community support for the Summer Reading T-shirts
and are working on developing a Website that will be linked to the
Library’s Homepage when updated.
5. Budget and Finance Review:
Jean Hansen
5.1 MOTION: In the absence of
Treasurer Deborah Stanifer, Jean Hansen made a motion to approve
payment of the Northville District Library bills over $1,000 for May
2008, as presented to the Board. Peggy Koppy seconded the
motion. Motion passed. Also approved was the $4,000
bill for Landscaping that arrived too late to be included on the bills
list.
5.2 MOTION: Jean distributed
copies of the Financial Report for the Operating Fund for
April. Expenses and Revenue are on track with nothing notable
for the Fiscal Year so far. The receipt of Penal Fines is
anticipated for August. An initial distribution of State Aid
has been received. At this time it is unknown if the Library
will receive a second distribution of State Aid.
The June Finance Committee Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25
at 5:00 p.m. in the Carlo Meeting Room.
6. Committee Reports:
Jean Hansen gave a first reading of a revision to the Meeting Room
Policy. The changes are italicized for
identification. MOTION: Jean Hansen made a motion to accept
the first reading of the revision to the Meeting Room policy.
Joe Corriveau seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Jean presented the revision of the Internet Policy for a first
reading. Changes to this policy are also
italicized. MOTION: Jean Hansen made a motion to
accept the first reading of the revised policy. Peggy Koppy
seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Jean presented the revision of the Code of Conduct in the Library, with
changes italicized. MOTION: After discussion and
additional changes, she made a motion to accept the amended revision
for first reading. Peggy Koppy seconded the motion.
Motion passed. A second reading of the 3 revised policies
will be held at the June 26th Regular Board Meeting
7. Announcements and Comments:
The next regular meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 26,
2008, in the Carlo Meeting Room.
8. MOTION: Jean Hansen made a
motion that the Board move to a closed Executive Session for the
purpose of discussing contract negotiations. Peggy Koppy
seconded the motion. Motion passed.
MOTION: At the conclusion of discussions in the Executive
Session, Jean Hansen made a motion that the Executive session be
adjourned. Judy Sherman seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
MOTION: Jean Hansen made a
motion that the Regular May meeting of the Board of Trustees be
adjourned. Judy Sherman seconded the motion. Motion
passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joe Corriveau
Jw 5/23/2008