Library Board

February 16, 2015 Board President Larry Jirsak called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. in the library board room with the following members present: Larry Jirsak, Connie Schmeichel, and Jan Therien, Also present were Library Director Janet Davenport and Ann Stephens. Members absent: Cindy Slykhuis and Virginia Meyer. The meeting was preceded by publicized notice in the Fremont Tribune and the agenda displayed in the municipal building, the Keene Memorial Library, online at www.fremontne.gov/library and distributed and emailed to the Library Board members on February 13, 2015 and is open to the public. A copy of the open meeting law is posted continually for public inspection and is located near the entrance to the Board Room. Board Member Therien moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting on January 19, 2015. Board Member Schmeichel seconded the motion. Carried. Unfinished business - Author Visits: Postponed discussion of the proposed author visit until next meeting. Work plan progress reports - Nebraska Library Association Advocacy Day: NLA Advocacy Day (previously known as Legislative Day) will be March 10 in Lincoln. Board Members Therien and Jirsak expressed interest in attending. New Business - Minimum Wage Increase Initiative and Impact on Library Part-time Employees: Director Davenport reviewed the Nebraska State Statute that exempts government bodies, such as the City, from paying minimum wage. Human Resources however recognizes our need to be competitive and is working on an Ordinance which will both upgrade library staff from temporary/seasonal to regular part-time and increase the base pay to $8/hour. This ordinance is expected to go to City Council on March 10, 2015. Board Member Schmeichel moved that Board President Larry Jirsak write a letter in support of this ordinance. Board Member Therien seconded the motion and it was approved. Other - Board President Jirsak brought a concern to the meeting for discussion. He asked about the standard for lifting that was included in the back testing new library employees were expected to take. These test are conducted at Fremont Health and recently the HR Department had re-introduced this test in hiring activities for the library. A new employee was asked to lift 80 pounds in this test and it was more weight than she could lift. In discussion with the Human Resources Director, it was determined that neither Director Davenport nor he knew of the origin of the standard and both agreed it was not appropriate for library positions. Back testing will no longer be applied to future library employees. Director’s Report: Due to time constraints no report was given. Following is the report of the Library Director for January, 2015: January January Year to Date Year to Date 2015 2014 2014-15 2013-14 No. of items issued: 11,667 11,121 43,587 43,174 Attendance: 7,480 30,393 Days Open: 30 30 Av. Daily Circulation: 389 371 Av. Daily Attendance: 249 Reference Questions: 384 340 1,075 1,148 Web Visits: 1,485 1,190 4,978 4,296 On-line Learning Sessions: 23 36 62 88 Database Searches: 1,322 8,586 9,304 16,508 Internet/Computer Use: 2,026 1,279 7,946 10,568 Interlibrary Loans: 86 109 300 363 Borrowed 9 20 35 68 Lent 77 89 265 295 Meeting Held: 73 67 263 289 Items Added: 688 Items Discarded: 896 Vol. in Collection: 107,215 Friends of the Library’s Report – Due to time constraints no report was given. Board Member Therien moved to adjourn and Board Member Schmeichel seconded, with no further business, meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. (Signed) by Janet Davenport, Library Director