Library Board

MOUNT VERNON CITY LIBRARY 315 Snoqualmie Street Mount Vernon, WA 98273 REGULAR BOARD MEETING Thursday, October 12th, 2023 Minutes 5:30 P.M. – Office . AGENDA ITEMS A. Call to order Action The meeting was called to order at 5:30 P.M. Kalohi Clark, Joan Gordon, Jessica Robinson-Bylund, Lyne Olson, Christi Brua Weaver, Isaac Huffman, and Mary Hoskins-Clark attended. B. Approval of the minutes of the September 14th, 2023 Board Decision Meeting Lyne motioned to approve. Joan seconded. Minutes were approved. C. Visitors Note None were present. D. Public Comment (please limit to 10 minutes) Comment None. E. Surplus Materials Discussion There was a small amount of surplus in adult non-fiction and some in the DVD collection. We received many DVD donations and are replacing those in the collection if the quality is better. Weeding in youth services has slowed down since Beth left. We moved a few young adult book series to storage to make room on the shelves. We did not want to surplus them as there will be space for them in the new building. They still appear in the catalog so if a patron requests it, we can get it for them. F. Statistics Discussion Statistics including door count, circulation, and outreach programs were slightly lower, which is typical this time of year with the start of school and the end of summer programming. We had a meeting with the school district today to discuss the school district cards and  ways to boost usage. G. Budget Discussion We discovered an error with the budget reports which has been corrected. In expenditures, we are currently at 75% of budget for the year. We will spend it out over the next few months. We anticipate a tighter budget for next year and do not know the cost of finishing the building project. Some items, such as digital content, are purchased at the end of the year. In revenue, the interlocal agreement with the county was approved. We should receive payment before the end of the year. A board member asked what budget line is charged for the public printer and copier, and how the actual cost of printing and copying compares to what patrons are charged. The cost of the printer and copier contracts is charged to the other rentals line and paper and toner are charged to office supplies. We will investigate the actual cost per print/copy and report back. H. Director Report Report a. Library Commons update There was a “topping out” celebration on September 29th. They started framing, finishing, and bricklaying. The crane will be removed in the next week or so. After its removal, we can schedule a time to walk through the building. They are still predicting that the building will be completed in April. The Foundation had a good month of fundraising. b. Staffing update There was a good pool of candidates for the Youth Services Librarian position. The first round of interviews is complete. We will schedule the top three candidates for a second interview. One part-time public services staff member has started, and an offer has been extended for a second public services position. This will bring staffing at the front desk to capacity. c. General Updates A new Spanish language book club will have its first meeting on October 21st. We had our first Trial by Flavor program in Spanish. The Library Director and Outreach Librarian met with the Mount Vernon School District and shared that we are creating physical cards for school district accounts. We  hope this will be an incentive for students to come into the library. A board member asked about the status of the foundation cards. We are waiting for the foundation board to choose a design for the card and then we will order. I. Advisement Discussion a. Computer Policy Options The board had a first read of proposed policy changes and will review the policy at the next meeting. A board member had a concern about the use of flash drives in the public computers. Isaac will discuss it with IT staff and report back at the next meeting. A board member asked how the 90- minute computer use session was going and what plans are there for teen gaming computers in the new building. J. Around the Table (trustee comments/questions) Discussion a. Kalohi, Joan, and Christi discussed the board training they attended. b. Joan learned that Bellingham Public Library is hiring a social worker. c. Christi asked about the status of the Buy America waiver. Isaac replied that the public comment period ended with only one negative comment so it is likely that it will be approved. Mayor Boudreau, Peter Donovan, and Doug Volesky signed TIFIA loan documents at the end of September. d. Jessica had no comment. e. Lyne had no comment. K. Board Chair's Report Report None. L. Adjourn Action The meeting was adjourned at 7:09 P.M. The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is Thursday, November 9th at 5:30 P.M.