HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-12-11 MinutesFayetteville Public Library Board of Trustees
Minutes of Meeting on December 11, 1995
Attending: Michael Thomas, Mark Burdette, Carol Phillips, Steve
Singleton, trustees; Linda Harrison, Mary Jo Godfrey, Lynaire
Hartsell, June Jefferson, David Johnson, Lolly Maxey, Sandra
Hillier, staff; Karen Duree, Ozarks Regional Director; Michelle
Todd, media.
Absent: Jeff Koening, trustee.
President Thomas called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
Phillips moved to approve the minutes of the November 13 meeting.
Singleton seconded, and the motion passed with the following
corrections:
paragraph #4, line 8 - the word "assessed" should be
substituted for the word "accessed."
At this time a correction was made in the November 13 minutes of
the Special Session of the Board of Trustees:
page 2, #2, line 6 - "keep on file for a year." should be
changed to "keep on file for two years."
A discussion followed on the "motor -voter" requirement of retaining
declination forms for two years. Johnson said the Library could
not avoid retaining the forms. The Secretary of State's office
stated this procedure was a form of accountability that the Library
was indeed registering voters. Duree said Stephanie suggested we
keep track of staff time involved in record keeping and the amount
the Library spends on postage. Thomas suggested we ask the
volunteer coordinator to see if she can arrange for volunteers to
help file forms and register voters.
Correspondence and newspaper clippings were reviewed and discussed.
1. A letter from Thomas to Archie Schaeffer of Tyson Foods
thanking him for Tyson's contribution of $340 to fund a Spanish
language encyclopedia set for the Library. The set has been
catalogued and is ready for use.
2. A letter from Duree to Thomas setting forth the allotment
of $202,439 the Fayetteville Public Library will receive in 1996
from the county library millage.
3. A memo from Duree to all Library Board Chairmen and
Library Directors in the ORL system announcing a trustees workshop
on March 9, 1996. Thomas stated he had attended a previous
workshop, found it to be extremely beneficial, and encouraged all
Board members to attend.
4. Harrison shared a note from one of our Genealogy
volunteers thanking the Library for the volunteer reception.
Harrison also stated she had received positive comments concerning
the reception from other volunteers.
5. Copies of articles on various library related
information.
6. Northwest Arkansas Times coverage on the volunteer
reception.
Johnson reported on the Library's association with Arsaga's to
offer coffee on Saturday morning. His perception is that the
patrons have been pleasantly surprised and appreciated this effort.
We have collected $15 in donations during the two Saturdays this
service has been in effect. We will evaluate the demand/need for
the service to continue after the holiday season. A photo and
story should be appearing in the Northwest Arkansas Times soon.
Thomas stated he received a letter from the Kappa Alpha Theta
Alumni Association stating they would like to fund a pansy bed.
The pansy is their state flower. The work would be done by our
gardener, but they will supply all the pansies, and a sign will be
in place recognizing Kappa Alpha Theta as the donor. Thomas stated
the service would be quite nice and might encourage other
organizations to make contributions.
The Statistical Reports were reviewed. Although circulation is
down, registrations, building attendance, and volunteer hours show
an increase over the 1994 figures. Singleton analyzed the
volunteer hours at a dollar evaluation of $7 per hour and arrived
at an employee paid equivalency of $32,000 per year.
Harrison asked for any questions on the Financial Reports. She
stated she will provide a revised report because of an incorrect
entry under postage. Singleton questioned the increase of Office
Supplies spending, and Harrison stated the bulk of the increase was
due to the cost increase in paper supplies. A portion of this
expenditure was for the initial purchase of supplies for the
overdues software which we did not keep. Thomas inquired about
Book Acquisitions. We have spent $7,500 less than budgeted;
however, Harrison stated that invoices have been submitted for
repayment by December 14. Johnson stated they will determine which
books on backorder will not arrive, and those figures will be used
to determine a book buying trip to Hastings, Tandy, etc. for direct
purchase so book dollars budgeted will actually be spent.
Singleton inquired about Restricted Expenses. Harrison stated
these were gift dollars from individual donors --but not memorials.
Thomas inquired about Z -Tech Contract. Harrison stated this was
the cleaning contract for the Library. The questioned expenditure
of $3,361.36 is thought to be for a 2 -month period; however,
Jefferson will verify the monthly charge. The 3 -year contract
comes up for bid in January and includes supplies (except for light
bulbs) covering service six days a week. Building and Grounds
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expense of $414.35 to Fayetteville Glass is for replacement of one
window upstairs on the south side of the building. Small Equipment
Maintenance of Copy Shop expenditure is for repairs to antiquated
equipment in Genealogy and to the reader printer.
Harrison stated that Marilyn Johnson, in a conversation with
Melanie Stockdell, suggested the Library become a member of the
Chamber of Commerce. Johnson reasoned that the Library's request
for Advertising & Promotion funding might be better received if we
were a Chamber member. Thomas stated the annual membership fee was
$180. After lengthy discussion, Burdette suggested we might tell
the Chamber that the Library currently has no provisions in its
budget for a membership but is a possibility for the future. It
was noted that spending the fee for a membership might look
superfluous after the budget constraints of the past year.
Harrison could certainly attend a Chamber meeting as a guest.
Harrison stated the Library has an offer from a computer users
group. Dr. Maxey and Bill Shook have an idea of making available
after hours (8:00 pm to 12:00 am) a call-in access to Shareware
(free software). They will provide a 386 computer with CD Rom
drive with timer/clock for auto on and off and one-year
subscription to CD disk. The Library will provide counter space
for the equipment and the phone plug for the modem. They would
like to advertise the service as available at the Library after
hours. A discussion followed regarding using the current fax line
as the after-hours phone line. Singleton asked if the computer
would remain at the end of the year. If the service proves to be
popular, they might be willing to provide another one-year
subscription. Other questions the Library might have in
considering agreeing to the service are: Whose logo recognized on
the dial -in --the Library or computer users group? Who maintains
the system? Who would the user call in case of a problem? Would
questionable (pornographic) material be available or could a user
download, questionable material from his machine to the Library
machine? What would be the advantage of the Library offering this
service? Would this provide a precedence for other organizations?
Can the Library terminate the service if we are unhappy with it?
Can we use the computer for Library use during office hours?
Harrison suggested the computer users group might donate the
hardware to the Library or possibly donate some software the
Library might use (WordPerfect, etc.) Harrison and Johnson are to
gather more information and make a recommendation if/when they feel
satisfied the service might be appropriate to offer on a trial
basis. Proper recognition would also be made to the computer users
group.
Singleton stated he was still trying to contact SWEPCO to perform
an energy audit for the Library. Harrison said a rep had contacted
her and set an appointment. The representative did not keep the
appointment.
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Harrison gave a CIP update. On the Book Budget, the Library
requested a total of $477,706 for books for a 5 -year period. The
City recommended in their budget $348,000 which is more than the
amount they originally recommended we receive. For 1996 we
requested $81,000, and the City ultimately agreed to $65,000 which
is more than the $56,000 they originally recommended. On the
Operations Budget, the Library had requested $370,243. The City
originally recommended $344,900, but ultimately decided upon a
figure of $347,402. This amount will not allow the Library to re-
open on Monday and Wednesday.
Singleton stated that 18 of the 20 magazines targeted for the
magazine project have committed sponsors. The two remaining are
under consideration. If the project is successful, we will look
for sponsors of existing periodicals. The response from those
organizations contacted to sponsor magazines has been very
encouraging.
Employee Assistance Program: The proposed Policy and Procedure is
based on the current policy of the City of Fayetteville. Singleton
inquired about the cost involved in offering the service since the
Library has received mostly gratis services in the past. The
workshop held during Work Week in August was an exception, and
Jefferson stated the cost of this one-hour workshop was $100.
Participation in workshops previously held after Library hours was
minimal with the same employees attending most of the sessions.
The workshop held during Work Week which encompassed regular work
hours was very well received both in attendance and content. A
survey was conducted among the staff, and Jefferson reported most
participants enjoyed the workshops and found the information
presented helpful in both their personal and professional lives.
She stated the most common complaint was the hours the workshop was
held and felt an adjustment needed to be made when offering future
sessions. Jefferson stated the workshops would be well-received if
offered on probably a quarterly basis. Discussion by the Board
centered around questions of number of employee participants,
scheduled time of workshop for maximum participation, how many
workshops to offer, and why offer ongoing workshops. Jefferson and
Harrison both stated stress was caused by various factors, for
example, working with the public or even personality conflicts with
co-workers. The previous sessions boosted morale for all staff and
were beneficial to those who attended; however, one workshop may
not cure stress as stress is ongoing. Harrison stated she would
need to revise the budget in terms of travel and training since
funds for this category are minimal. Burdette made a motion that
the Board look to pursue this and ask Harrison to return after the
first of the year with follow up to implement the procedure, if
desired. Phillips seconded, motion passed.
Thomas commented that the new Library sign on College Avenue looks
great.
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Johnson stated he had talked with David Malone regarding the
Genealogy project. We are getting conflicting messages from A & P
committee members as to whether or not a decision for funding has
been made. Senator Malone is going to talk with Joe Fennel,
Chairman of the committee, to find out exactly which questions the
committee might have regarding funding. Johnson stated the grant
request of $96,324.60 had been revised to a four-year schedule as
follows:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
$26,363.85
$24,348.00
$25,223.25
$20,389.50
Harrison stated the Library will be conducting a users survey this
week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). The public, staff, and
board are being consulted as to what they find important. The
results of the survey will be instrumental in library long-range
development. Harrison passed out a survey to Board members for
their completion.
Harrison explained the Employee Assistance Policy as discussed in
the Special Session of November 13 is based on the Policy used by
the City of Fayetteville. It deals with individuals and individual
problems. Johnson questioned the term "refer" on Procedure #1,
page 1, as opposed to the term "encouraged" on the information
sheet provided by the Ozark Guidance Center. Jefferson stated this
policy was part of the disciplinary aspect of the EAP and a
supervisor could refer or require a staff member to seek
assistance. Johnson asked for clarification in the same paragraph
mentioning the "responsibility of the employee to comply with
referrals". Harrison stated that if a supervisor, in an annual
evaluation, feels they need to tell the staff member they need to
get help, then that person has to comply with the request to get
help. The supervisor may ask for verification of attendance, but
cannot ask for any details of the session. Jefferson stated that
the supervisors will receive training in the process of referral
which begins with proper documentation. Singleton questioned the
legal ramifications of requiring an employee to get assistance.
The majority of the cost will be covered by insurance. Evidently,
there is a fund within the City to pay for the first five visits by
an employee. The Library employees have been covered to date as
City employees thus setting a precedent. Harrison would like to
send a copy of this policy and an approval date by the Board to Don
Bailey letting him know of the policy and that there may be an
occasion when we will need to have one of our Library employees
take advantage of this option. Phillips moved, seconded by
Burdette, that the Board approve this. Motion passed.
Singleton pointed out that we have had many positive
accomplishments by the staff and volunteers this past year and
asked for a listing of the accomplishments so they might be
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presented to the City Council to document our efforts. Harrison
and Jefferson indicated their intentions, this year, to compile a
narrative annual report which can include accomplishments as well
as statistics and status reports.
Phillips moved the meeting be adjourned, Burdette seconded, and the
meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandra Hillier
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