Minutes

Bryan-Bennett Library Board of Trustees Meeting

August 15, 2023, 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room

 Call to Order, Roll Call of Trustees

Bryan-Bennett Library Board President Ed Dolbeare called the August 15, 2023, meeting of the Bryan-Bennett Library Board of Trustees to order at 6:32 p.m. Trustees answering roll call were Mark Decker, Jennifer Dice, Ed Dolbeare, Gary Hahn, Lynn Larimer, newly appointed member Marilyn Lewis, Joyce Raver and Gayla Wilkerson. Trustee Brad Crow was absent from the meeting. Library Director Kim Keller, Assistant Director Jodi Trinkle and Circulation Clerk Mike Waller were present.

 Public Comment- No public comment

 Employee Spotlight Mike Waller, a retired elementary school teacher, was featured in our monthly employee spotlight. Mike has been with BBL for 3 years. He retired in 2020 from Salem Elementary school and loves working at the library as an extension of his previous teaching position. He took his son's spot in the library. He enjoys the staff that he works with. We as a board are thankful for Mike’s work ethic and his encouraging words about our current staff.

 Secretary’s Report

Approval of the July 18, 2023, Board Meeting Minutes

Board members assessed the July 18, 2023, minutes. A motion to accept them was made by Trustee Decker and seconded by Trustee Wilkerson. Roll call vote was taken with all members voting yes. The motion carried.

Approval of July 18, 2023, Closed Session Minutes

A motion to accept the Closed Session minutes from the July 18, 2023, meeting was made by Trustee Hahn and seconded by Trustee Decker. Roll call vote was taken. All members voted yes. The motion carried.

Treasures Report

Payment of August 2023 Bills

A motion was made by Trustee Decker to approve the August 2023 bills in the amount of $16,845.17. A second to that motion was made by Trustee Dice. Roll call vote was taken with all members voting yes. The motion carried.

Financial Report August 2023

A motion to accept the Financial Report for August 2023 was made by Trustee Larimer and seconded by Trustee Wilkerson. Roll call vote was taken. All members voted yes. The motion carried. 

Committee Reports

Finance- Trustee Wilkerson met with Director Keller to review and edit various reports on QuickBooks. After a successful meeting the new reports are more accurate and streamlined.

Policy- No reports

Personnel- A meeting with Director Keller was held Monday July 24, 2023, at 10 a.m. in the Library Board Room. Present were Trustee Raver, Trustee Hahn and Trustee Dice. All concerns were addressed and will be followed up on in a timely manner. The official report will go into Director Keller’s file.

Building and Grounds- JAX Asphalt has given a quote for sealing and striping the library parking pavement. The cost of the project is estimated to be $7,748. A vote was taken to accept the bid and allow work to begin with a motion made by Trustee Decker and seconded by Trustee Larimer. Roll call vote was taken with all members voting yes. The motion carried. Director Keller will contact JAX to allow work to begin as soon as possible. A committee of three trustees has been formed to oversee the landscaping of the library's northeast corner. The committee includes Trustee Decker, Trustee Hahn and Trustee Lewis. The Daffy Dills will be contacted to gauge interest in helping with the landscaping of the library grounds.

 New Buisness

Director Keller provided the board with a proposal for 2024 holiday hours.

Bryan Bennett Library will be closed as follows

* New Year’s Day, Monday January 1

* President’s Day, Monday February 19

* Good Friday, March 29

* Memorial Day, Monday, May 27

* Independence Holiday, Thursday, July 4

* Labor Day, Monday, September 2

* Veterans Day, Monday, November 11

* Thanksgiving Holiday, Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29

* Christmas Holiday, Tuesday, December 24; Wednesday, December 25; and Thursday, December 26

The library will close early on the day before Thanksgiving, on Wednesday, November 27, at 5 p.m.

The library will close early, at 5 p.m., on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2024

A motion was made by Trustee Decker with a second from Trustee Dice. A vote was taken, and all members voted yes. The motion carried.

Core Standards were handed out, explained and reviewed. Policies will be updated in a timely fashion.  Bryan-Bennett Library does a great job keeping up with all codes.

Unfinished Business

Library Vision and Mission

Director Keller along with Trustees Larimer and Wilkerson provided the board with an updated vision and mission statement for the library. A motion was made by Trustee Decker and seconded by Trustee Wilkerson to accept the updated versions. Roll call vote was taken with all members voting yes. The motion carried.

Anti-Censorship Policy

The proposed anti-censorship bill was voted on and unanimously accepted by the board after Trustee Decker made the motion to accept it and a second was made by Trustee Dice.

Library Services

The amended flyers for Veteran's and Kids Care Cards were passed out and look great.

Planetarium Dome

The unencumbered asset monies along with the grant money from the Tourism board will more than cover the cost of the inflatable dome that was presented to the board in June.  A three-person committee was formed to work alongside Director Keller and staff to promote the dome considering the upcoming solar eclipse and other educational uses for the structure. This committee includes Trustee Larimer, Trustee Wilkerson and Trustee Dice. A motion to move forward with the dome purchase was made by Trustee Decker and seconded by Trustee Wilkerson. A roll call vote was taken with all members voting yes. The motion carried.

 Directors Report

See attachment

Board Members Report

Trustee Decker will attend a meeting on September 13, 2023, at the home of City Councilman Jim Koehler to discuss the possible William Jennings Bryan Festival. The library is hoping to partner with the city in this endeavor.

Adjournment

The board meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p.m. after a motion by Trustee Decker and a second by Trustee Dice.

 Respectfully submitted by,  Jennifer Dice, Board Secretary

Bryan-Bennett Library Director’s Report September 19, 2023

E-Rate Grant

Bryan-Bennett Library received a Funding Commitment Decision Letter for its Category 2 Grant application which will fund part of the communications gear upgrade. Universal Service Administrative Company committed $1,920.07 to the project. The estimated cost of the project is $2,907. This would include installation of a new router, firewall, and switchbox.

SHARE Membership Fee to Increase

The leadership at SHARE will be increasing its annual fee. The fees are calculated I recently attended a virtual town meeting and registered Bryan-Bennett’s concerns. The fee this year is $4,245. With the proposed increase, the fee would be $6,350. Of the $2,105 increase, $500 will include Cloud Library membership and $250 will include Aspen platform membership. Thus making the IHLS/SHARE fee actually an increase of $1,355.

Aspen is an online public access catalog interface. It would integrate the Library’s catalog and e-resources. Eventually, Heartland/SHARE intends to replace the current catalog with Aspen. Bryan-Bennett’s Aspen training for staff will be in March. It will go live at Bryan-Bennett in April.

Fall Fundraiser

Bryan-Bennett Library’s fall fundraiser begins September 21. Staff have made a few fall decorations and fall fashion accessories. These were created with flowers donated by Walmart. There have been materials donated by private parties. Pricing will be as follows:

• Hair accessories: $3.50 apiece
• Fall pins: $3.50 apiece
• Flower arrangement kits: $8
• Ready-made flower arrangements, wreaths, and garlands: $15

The break-even rate would be after $89.61. Proceeds will be used toward the books that will be distributed to youths at the Santa visit in December.

Building and Grounds

JAX resealed the parking lot September 6-8. The lot was striped September 17.

The carpet in the main Library, the Reference Room, the Board Room, the Friends Room and Genealogy on August 18. Ms. Shanafelt and I stayed with the cleaning crew until 8 p.m. Three extra employees worked 9-noon the following day to make sure that all furniture was returned to it spot. The building was ready for regular business on August 21.

The roof over the fiction stacks leaked August 26. Through Carlyle Roofs, the warranty agent, Joiner sent a crew to repair the leak on August 30. The roof leaked in that spot again on September 5. Joiner fixed the roof on September 12.

 Misc.

The Salem Chamber will host a Grub and Grow at Bryan-Bennett Library on Thursday, September 21, at noon.

I attended the open house for the Manor at Salem Woods on September 13.

Respectfully submitted by,

Kim Keller

Program Stats as of September 15, 2023

Harry Potter Escape Room from July 29 had twenty-four participants in 6 time slots (all full with wait list of two)

1000 Books Before Kindergarten has forty-three participants. Eight children have completed the program.

In-house use of Chrome Books was once.

Leather Apron Club for September 7 had fourteen children with six adults from six families.

Take Home Story Time Kits were used eleven times in August. Maker Stations were used four times.

Chess Practice for September 21 has two signed up

Puzzle Competition for October 26 has six teams registered

Preschool Story Time on September 15 had eight children with six adults from six families