Burlington Public Library Meeting Room

The Burlington Public Library Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 in the Burlington Public Library meeting room. Present were Pat Hoffman, Yvonne Braunschweig, Scott Johnson, Dianne Boyle, and Penny Torhorst. Excused were Kay Pockat, Ken Jaeger, Steve Rauch, and Pat Hurley. Also present were Gayle Falk, Tammy McCarthy, and Linda Berndt.

Torhorst called the meeting to order at 4:00.

Minutes of the July 17, 2007 meeting were approved. Braunschweig moved, and Johnson seconded. Motion passed.

The August General Fund Bills, Prepaids, Reimbursements and July General Fund Deposits were approved. Hoffman moved approval and Boyle seconded. Motion passed. The August Trust Fund Bills and the July Trust Fund Deposits were approved. Braunschweig moved and Boyle seconded. Motion passed.

There were no committee reports at this time.

Falk would like to meet with the Finance and Personnel Committees before the next Board meeting to go over the proposed budget so that it can be approved at the next Board meeting. The members of the Finance Committee are (Chair) Jaeger, Torhorst and Boyle. Members of the Personnel Committee are (Chair) Hoffman, Braunschweig and Pockat. The Personnel Committee will meet at 3:00 on September 25^th and The Finance Committee will meet at 3:30 on September 25^th. The Board meeting will follow at 4:00 the same date.

Old Business:

Hoffman and Falk discussed the library presentation that Hoffman and Rybarczyk did at the Burlington Women’s Group dinner. It was received well and they answered many questions. They spoke on the necessity of libraries and that it is "Not your grandmother’s library anymore." Some of the questions brought up at the presentation were:

How could we have money problems? Where does our funding come from? The Public takes all this for granted.

Hoffman brought up the 100^th year Anniversay. What are we doing for it? Hoffman brought up the quote by Carnegie "It would be a disgrace to die a rich man".

It was brought up that Board members have heard several times from patrons how pleasant and wonderful the Burlington Library Staff is.

At this time the Board watched the DVD that Matt Nie produced, which won the Vancover Film Festival award. Hoffman wanted the Board to see the quality of his work. Matt indicated that his work was all about finding the hidden stories. Falk reminded the Board that staff members have already given her some families names that would be interesting for the film. McCarthy showed a You Tube short film advertising the benefits of libraries.

Hoffman indicated that the short film would be able to be put on the school broadcast system. It could run on cable TV on Channel 20.

New Business:

Budget update: There is not much information yet. There will not be any wiggle room in the budget this year. The budget will include increases for utilities.

2008 Calendar:

The Board discussed holidays and Board meeting dates.

Holiday closings are: January 1, May 26, July 4 and 5, September 1, November 27, December 24 and 25, and December 31. Board meetings are scheduled for January 22, February 26, March 25, April 22, May 27, June 24, July 15 (due to book sale), August 26, September 23, October 28, November 18 (due to Thanksgiving), and December 16 (due to Christmas).

We have a CD coming due on September 13^th. The Board decided that Falk should choose from a year or under and the best interest available at that time.

Roof Repair: The roof is leaking again. This time it is leaking in Tammy’s office by the server, near the chimney. The Roofing Company is supposed to draw up an estimate for fixing that area. The Board instructed Falk to get estimates for replacing the roof.

Director’s Report:

The book drop is good now. Brian cleaned it twice and Service Master also cleaned it. It has been aired out and it is back in operation. A patron donated $50.00 towards the replacement of materials destroyed in the bookdrop.

Hoffman said that last week many of the flower pots on the sidewalk were turned over and some were broken.

Juvenile Wireless Internet Permission Form: Falk has drawn up a form for the parents to sign to get wireless Internet access. It states that once the child gets the password they will be able to get on any time they are here, and that they will be responsible for what they do on the Internet and for being sure that the child does not share the Internet access. Falk reminded the Board that wireless is also accessible outside of the library. Falk asked the Board for direction or if they wanted further study of the situation. The Board told Falk to begin using the form.

Falk reminded the Board that the Library has received LSTA grant money the last three years. This year we are trying to write a grant teaming up with Meals on Wheels and Visiting Nurses that would allow us to deliver books to shut-ins. The person would fill out a form requesting materials. We would send them one or two at a time through the volunteer. Falk also said that the grant would also include small shopping carts that people could use here to carry their selections. The Board endorsed the plan.

The Booksale total this year was $3,145.40. Thank you to all who helped.

Each library is supposed to purchase copies of items depending on how many holds their patrons have placed. After these books have fulfilled the holds, we could keep one copy for circulation and sell the multiple copies on a best seller’s cart, rather than waiting until the booksale.

BPL in the News:

There were many notices in the paper regarding our upcoming programs and the booksale.

Meeting was adjourned at 5.00 p.m. Braunschweig moved and Johnson seconded. Motion passed.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 25th at 4:00 PM at the Burlington Public Library.

Respectfully submitted,

Yvonne Braunschweig
Secretary