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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-11-11 MinutesBOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
FAYETTEVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
November 11, 1997
Present: Board members: Nancy Hendricks, Maury Roberts, Steve
Singleton, Mark Burdette, Michael Thomas, Library Director: Louise
Schaper, Library personnel: June Jefferson, Lolly Maxey, Lynaire
Hartsell, Lynn Stewart, Mary Jo Godfrey, Carolyn Diemente, and ORL
Director: Karen Duree.
I. Call to order: Thomas called the meeting to order at 4:OOpm
in the meeting room of the,Fayetteville Public Library.
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II. Approval of minutes: Burdette moved to accept the minutes and
Singleton seconded. Thomas pointed out a few grammatical changes
that he wanted made in the text. Item IV of the minutes was a
consideration of a request made by Linda Harrison to extend the
term of her life insurance which was discussed in Executive
Session. According to the City Personnel Office, a person must be
an employee of the Library to qualify for any insurance. Ms.
Harrison is eligible for 18 months of COBRA, and must be accepted
in any subsequent insurance she applies for. Thomas reported that
the Friends Book Sale made $2200. In the Executive Session called
after the last meeting, Burdette moved to return to regular session
and Roberts seconded, and it was adjourned at 6:30. All voted AYE
to accept the minutes with the changes discussed.
III. Correspondence/Clippings
Thomas commented favorably on the display featuring Roberta
Fulbright, Ernie Deane, Walter Lemke, and Fred Starr, and the
newspaper release written by Jefferson. Jefferson said that Mrs.
Ernie Deane and her children came by to see the display and enjoyed
it
Thomas presented the terms of the Otwell will: (1) income shall be
used as determined by the Board of Trustees, (2) distribution shall
only be made to acquire assets that serve over a long period of
time such as land, buildings, books, and equipment, (3) Board of
Directors shall report the distribution in the annual report -
Jefferson said the City considers our monthly financial statement
and minutes in lieu of an annual report- or published annually in
a newspaper having a circulation of the city of Fayetteville
stating the amount of the earnings of the gifts of Dr. & Mrs. Harry
C. Otwell. Thomas stated that he had the original copy of the
will. Jefferson reported that auditors require that we have the
original document as received from the attorney in the library's
files.
IV. Librarian's Reports
A. Statistical and Financial Report: Jefferson presented the
statistical and financial reports. Jefferson said the volunteer
hours were up, even though there were fewer hours reported for the
Friends Book Sale. The Friends are looking at their records to
determine if these hours were under -reported. Thomas asked what
the A-V Gifts was, and Jefferson said it was the 1910 census.
Burdette asked if the reimbursement could be tied more directly to
the cost. Jefferson and Hartsell commented on the past procedure
for submitting invoices for reimbursement. The census comes in
several shipments, each with a separate invoice, and the precedent
has been to invoice the A & P in the final quarter of the year.
However, after discussion with the City and representatives of the
A & P commission this year, it has been determined that invoices
can be submitted as received for more timely reimbursement. A
formal verification of the award amount in the form of A & P
minutes has also been received and placed in the files.
B. Report on the Automation Project: Stewart reported that
we went on-line on Monday November 3. We are only using half of
the OPAC's (Online Public Access Catalog) at this time. We have
paid for user licenses for 13 sessions on the Book Catalog at any
one time, and we have been averaging 16-19. When we have this many
sessions open and a smaller library tries to open the Book Catalog,
they are unable to do so. This was a potential problem that was
discussed previously, and Duree had suggested at that time to wait
and see what happened when we go online. Maxey said we now see
that we don't have enough licenses, and the situation needs to be
re-evaluated. Duree said she changed the keyboard time-out on the
staff terminals to 5 minutes. This means that if there is no
activity on a terminal for 5 minutes it will log off. When the
staff person returns, they will have to log back on. Duree said
this will eliminate having computers logged on and not being used.
However, when we get all the OPAC's up, we will probably
consistently use more than the 13 licenses we paid for. She said
if we buy more while we are still on the original contract we will
get a reduced price of $1045 per license. The list price is $1900.
This is a one-time cost. Duree said the study that was done at the
beginning of this project suggested that FPL would need 21
licenses. We cut it back to 13, and now find that is not enough.
The consensus of the staff was that we need at least 8 more
licenses.
Singleton moved to approve up to 10 more user licenses, Roberts
seconded, and all voted AYE.
Thomas commented on the large piece of paper that is given as
a receipt by the new system. Hartsell said that was the biggest
complaint we have had. We are working on trying to come up with a
different way of handling this, but the software we have now won't
allow us to use paper that is perforated into smaller sections.
Hartsell said we tell patrons that the library buys recycled paper
for the receipts, and we recycle all the paper in the library so
the patron is encouraged to return the receipt with the book and we
will recycle the paper.
Jefferson presented the Board with a document which is a
confirmation of the discussions with Bank of Oklahoma about our
retirement plan. Our plan needed to be amended, and it was decided
to used a prototype plan made by the Bank of Oklahoma at no extra
charge to us. This plan states that the employer wishes to have
employee participation in the investments, and that the employees
are 100% vested upon participation in the plan. This eliminates
the need to have a committee to decide what to do with the library
part of the plan that is not vested. Thomas asked what the
difference in cost would be to the library. Jefferson said that
the Bank of Oklahoma said that the costs would be comparable to
what we are paying now. Jefferson said this plan will take effect
January 1. The Resolution to Amend the Retirement Plan was signed
by Board President Michael Thomas upon agreement by the Board.
V. Internet Policy
Maxey presented the existing ORL Internet Policy and what the
staff would Tike to see as -the FPL Policy. The ORL Policy will be
in effect until the FPL Board adopts a policy for FPL. The FPL
Policy was drafted after several staff members attended a workshop
on internet policy at the ALA Conference. Maxey was asked how the
usage would be policed. Maxey said the staff will be encouraged to
be aware of what is on the screens and if someone pulls up
objectionable material, the person will be asked to log off.
Discussion continued about limiting use to people with a FPL
Library card. It was decided since we are a public library, we
shouldn't limit use to card holders. It was also decided at this
time not to set a time limit, but this may need to be changed in
the future. Discussion continued about censorship, what is
objectionable, and who is to decide what is offensive. Duree said
there is much discussion everywhere about censorship and the use of
filters in the public library. She said the use of the Fortres
program on the public access computers has made it impossible to
put bookmarks on offensive sites. Schaper said she felt we needed
a more defined policy. Roberts said that the Board should take the
responsibility for making a policy that will support the staff. It
was decided to make the Internet available, and get a report from
the staff as to how the Board could make a policy that will be
comfortable for the staff to enforce. It was decided to use the
Regional policy until we have some experience and see if we really
have a problem.
VI. Trustee's/Committee Reports
A. Treasurer's Report: Hendricks had no report.
B. Alternative Funding Report: Singleton reported that he had
sent a release to the Northwest Arkansas Times about the Charles
Schwab gift and it should appear soon.
C. Long-term planning: Roberts introduced discussion about a
millage election. Duree reviewed election information; it would
have to be a special election or we could tag onto another
election, but we would need the money to finance it without using
public finds. Also, we would most likely need to consider a county-
wide millage because, otherwise, our relationship with the Regional
library system would be subject to change. Duree said the $17.5
million library project in Fort Smith was a sales tax issue. There
was discussion about the past support and lack of it throughout the
county.
D. Volunteers: Burdette had no report.
Thomas asked Roberts to discuss with Schaper about making a
policy about how the Friends of the Library are approached for
anything out of the ordinary. Thomas said he thought any request
to the Friends should have the prior approval of the Director
and/or the Board.
VII. Other Items
Thomas reported it had been suggested that the Board talk with
Elaine Longer of Longer Investments, who handles the investments of
the fire and police departments, about plans for the Otwell
bequest. He suggested hearing her ideas before making any
decisions.
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Downtown Dickson Enhancement Project: Schaper reported that
since FPL marks the eastern border of the project, it would make
sense for us to be a part of the decisions. If we were a part of
the project, we might be featured more prominently in terms of
things like lighting, signage, sidewalks, etc. The cost to be a
member of the project is $150. Thomas said he felt that $150 was
a lot of money, and that would be $150 less books. He suggested
that the nonprofit groups within the area such as FPL and the
Historical Society might be associate or consulting members.
Hendricks said she is a member, and feels that they have some great
long-range plans, but would not support FPL spending $150 to be a
member. Roberts said he felt it might be an investment in
community visibility. Schaper asked if the membership fee might
come from the Friends or private donations. Schaper said that FPL
could be the site of events that may be planned in conjunction with
this project. Roberts moved to table joining the group right now
and look for private money for the fee, Burdette seconded.
Burdette, Singleton, Roberts, and Hendricks voted AYE, and Thomas
voted NO.
Maxey asked if the Children's Library was able to secure
paint, could they paint the back wall of the Meeting Room behind
the stage. The staff has agreed to donate their time to do the
painting. The Board agreed.
VIII. Adjournment
Burdette moved to go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel
matter, Roberts seconded, and the Board went into executive session
at 6:25.
Respectfully submitted by Carolyn Diemente.