Library Board 2024-10-02

A COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY Approved 3939 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 11/6/2024 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, October 2, 2024 ATTENDANCE INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC Members of the public who wished to attend could do so in-person, or via Microsoft Teams at columbiaheightsmn.gov/join-a-meeting and entering Meeting ID 258 492 181 742 and passcode GWnPxW at the scheduled meeting time. For questions, please call the library at 763-706-3690. The meeting was called to order in the Library Community Room by Melanie Magidow at 5:34pm. Members present: Melanie Magidow; Chris Polley; Carrie Mesrobian; Amina Maameri; Justice Spriggs (City Council Liaison). Members remotely present: N/A. Members absent: Rachelle Waldon. Others present: Renee Dougherty (Library Director); Nick Olberding (Board Secretary). Public present: N/A. 1. The Meeting Agenda was approved as-is. 2. The Minutes of the September 4, 2024, Library Board Meeting were moved and approved. 3. Review of 2024 Operating Budget: 74.86% of the year and 58.59% of the budget expended. Community Forum: Opportunity for public input. No correspondence and no public in attendance. The City website has a contact form for each Board/Commission for the public to submit questions or concerns: https://www.columbiaheightsmn.gov/government/boards_and_commissions/index.php After clicking desired group, scroll to the bottom of their page to find the contact form. Old Business: 4. Staffing Update: In addition to trouble covering shifts due to changes in schedules of two student Pages, another Page has requested a change in status to substitute without regularly scheduled shifts. The City published a posting for part-time Page positions and received 57 application submissions. Eleven qualified for interviews and 7 were interviewed. Two conditional employment offers were made. Training will begin based on the timing of acceptance of the conditional offers and passing a background check. 5. Preview of New Website: The Board was shown an interactive alpha build of the newly created Library website. When it goes live (tentatively November 1), it will replace the Library page of the City website and will be a stand- alone site. It is still a work-in-progress, but the Board was able to review, comment and make suggestions for additions and changes. No major changes were suggested, but additional collection promotion, more description for the links that take you outside the page and for various research databases, additional photos (with some patrons in them if possible), a different photo on the homepage, and removal of the Share icon which covers page options in some cases. 6. Update on Parking Lot Extension: Public Works Director, Kevin Hansen, attended the last CHPL Foundation meeting to explain the details of the parking lot extension. A grant request will be made to the Foundation for a portion of the cost of the project, which the Foundation may choose to fund as a multi-year gift. Costs are unknown currently as the City is still awaiting bids for the project. New Business: 7. Summer Adventures Reading and Learning Program Update: We saw a 10% increase in registration this year over last year, with the largest increase in the teen age group. A total of 3,380 hours were logged this year, which was a 47% increase over the 2023 summer reading program. Director’s Update:  8. August Board Report: Provided as a FYI. a. Prayer Space: Amina mentioned that it would be appreciated if the Library provided a space for people to pray and consider some loanable mats. Discussion will occur at a future meeting. b. Jigsaw Puzzle Swap Event: Carrie would like to consider a puzzle swap event at the Library. The Friends already host puzzle competitions which have been successful so a swap may also be popular. Carrie and staff will explore the logistics of such an event and gather some information; this will be discussed further at a future meeting. 9. Board Books: a. Justice: Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World Henry Grabar b. Chris: That Way Madness Lies: Shakespeare’s Most Notable Works Reimagined Dahlia Adler; Dirty Pretty Things (2002) Stephen Frears (streaming on Kanopy) c. Carrie: The Stones of Florence Mary McCarthy; Rules for Camouflage Kirsten Cronn-Mills d. Melanie: My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region Alina Adams e. Renee: Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People Tiya Miles f. Amina: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World Vicki Myron; The Message Ta-Nehisi Coates g. Nick: God’s Country Percival Everett There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nicholas P. Olberding Recording Secretary, CHPL Board of Trustees