OCONOMOWOC PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
March 14, 2019
CALL TO ORDER
O. Foat called the meeting to order at 6:04 pm. Agenda was properly posted.
ROLL CALL
MEMBERS PRESENT
O. Foat, L. Baudoin, D. Knutson, S. Homberg, K. Nelson, H. Schick
MEMBERS ABSENT
M. Mulder, M. Krahn, M. Rosek
STAFF PRESENT
B. Bleck, L. Radder
MINUTES
H. Schick moved to approve the minutes of the February 14, 2019 Regular Board Meeting. D. Knutson seconded and motion carried.
COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
There were no audience or comments.
FINANCIAL AND STATISTICAL REPORTS
The February financial report was reviewed.
The February statistical report was reviewed.
STATS UP YTD STATS DOWN YTD
Collection items cataloged Collection items received
Circulation City; Waukesha, Dodge, & other counties; total circulation by all cardholders; items circulated for all audiences Circulation Jefferson County
Patrons -
 Patrons all new patrons
Services - Services visits; internet use; reference questions
Programs kids' programs & attendance (school visits) Programs adult programs; YA attendance; total programs and attendance
VOUCHERS
February vouchers totaling $27,079.17 were approved.
COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The March newsletter and recent articles were included in the board packet.
REPORTS
COMMITTEE REPORTS (only bold committees will present)
Facilities Committee
Members - M. Krahn, D. Murray, H. Schick, M. Frye, O. Foat
Last Meeting - December 13, 2018
Next Meeting - June 13, 2019 5:00 pm
Reported at the December 13, 2018 Regular Board Meeting.
Planning Committee
Members - H. Schick, D. Knutson, L. Baudoin, M. Mulder
Last Meeting - March 14, 2019
Next Meeting - to be scheduled
Reported at the March 14, 2019 Regular Board Meeting.
MEETING NOTES
H. Schick called the meeting to order at 5:47 pm
MEMBERS PRESENT
H. Schick, D. Knutson, L. Baudoin
REVIEW & DISCUSSION
The final draft of the 2019 Business Plan was reviewed. Deadlines were revised for marketing training and website redesign. D. Knutson moved to approve the 2019 Business Plan with revisions discussed for presentation to the full board for approval.
Meeting adjourned at 5:52 pm.
Nominating Committee
Members - D. Knutson, M. Krahn, O. Foat
Last Meeting - April 24, 2018
Next Meeting - April 11, 2019
Reported at the May 10, 2018 Regular Board Meeting.
Finance Committee
Members - M. Mulder, M. Krahn, D. Knutson, M. Rosek
Last Meeting - July 9, 2018
Next Meeting - July 2019
Reported at the July 12, 2018 Regular Board Meeting.
Operations Committee
Members - L. Baudoin, M. Krahn, M. Mulder
Last Meeting - February 14, 2019
Next Meeting - April 10, 2019 at 6 pm
Reported at the February 14, 2019 Regular Board Meeting.
Fundraising Committee
Members - L. Baudoin, D. Knutson, H. Schick
Last Meeting - March 1, 2018
Next Meeting - as needed
Reported at the March 15, 2018 Regular Board Meeting.
Art Committee
Members - K. Nelson, H. Schick, H. Kramer
Last Meeting - October 10, 2016
Next Meeting - as needed
Reported at the October 13, 2016 Regular Board Meeting.
BOARD MEMBER REMARKS
H. Schick shared recent articles.
L. Baudoin thanked the Library for hosting Woman Suffrage Historian Sue Boland.
S. Homberg shared the success of library card sign up at Ixonia Elementary. C. Schaffer registered 28 children for library cards.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
BUDGET/FINANCE
B. Bleck distributed a complete picture of how the library ended 2018 financially. Not including salaries and benefits, which is a separate part of the budget with its own framework and circumstances, we ended the year very close to our budget, without going over.
The City Finance department gave the other departments a proposed schedule for developing the 2020 budget. This year, the budget process will kick off with a Committee of the Whole meeting, likely on April 9. This meeting’s purpose will be to review long-term financial projections, review how the City is doing financially right now, Council can discuss upcoming budget sessions, and direct staff regarding any information Council might need going into the budget process.
BUILDING/FACILITIES
The building has been holding up very well in the cold, thanks to the hard work and careful planning of Don Murray and Tim Pearson, our building maintenance staff.
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT/REFERENCE
The annual magazine giveaway will take place Saturday March 30 and Sunday March 31 during regular business hours.
COMMUNICATIONS
The Spring edition of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) newsletter was included in the Board packet. It is included because one of you will become a member of WLA this year, thanks to Bridges. As the chair of the Nomination Committee, B. Bleck has a small piece in the newsletter. Finally, the newsletter is edited by Bridges’ own Marketing Librarian, Jill Fuller. She did a very nice job, as you can see!
CONTINUED SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT/AUTOMATION
The CAFÉ Catalog user survey yielded some great data for the library system and member libraries to use. Some of the easier-to-achieve suggestions that are already under consideration are:
  • Allowing people to start their library card application online
  • Allowing patrons to choose a username, instead of having to log in with their library card number (we are still considering the best way to do this)
  • Lowering the minimum amount fines for paying online. Right now the fine must be over $5 to pay online. Bridges is going to research how low the minimum can be while still covering the cost of offering the service.
Other feedback from the survey will require more discussion, budgeting, and/or prioritizing, so a meeting is in the works for directors and reference librarians to discuss the survey results together. An example is that patrons requested we offer an app for the catalog instead of just the mobile-friendly catalog we offer now. Some of the feedback is about issues outside of our control, and Bridges staff passed that along to the appropriate vendor: Offering “Since you searched for this, you might like these titles too” for DVDs, just as we do for books; and making the catalog more forgiving of spelling errors. Please stay tuned for further improvements to the catalog, thanks to this survey data.
Shawn Carlson (CAFÉ System Administrator) and Beth Bechtel (Bridges Database Management Librarian) will visit OPL on March 13. They are visiting all member libraries. Shawn will meet with Marilyn Muehlenberg and me to make sure we are informed and comfortable with new capabilities within Polaris (the patron and catalog database), and so Hope Kramer can talk cataloging with Beth. These visits from Bridges staff are so helpful, and we always learn something new.
Patrons are now able to login to their account with a login name instead of their library card number
FRIENDS OF OPL
The Friends book sale will be April 12-14. The next Friends board meeting will be Wednesday, May 8 at 7 pm.
PERSONNEL/CONTINUING EDUCATION
The Jefferson County Administrator, Ben Wehmeier, is well aware of adjacent county funding and how much OPL depends on Jefferson County's partnership.  B. Wehmeier suggested the idea of adding a resident of Jefferson County to non-voting ex-officio position on the OPL board. Jefferson County’s administration would select a person, and then Mayor Nold, with Council confirmation, would approve it. This person would not have a vote and would not ‘count’ for quorum, but would serve as a representative of Jefferson County to OPL and the City, and of OPL and the City to Jefferson County. Ben Wehmeier, Matt Mulder, Sarah Kitsembel, Mayor Nold, Connie Meyer (Bridges Library System Director) and B. Bleck met to discuss the idea, and all parties agreed the idea is worth exploring.
Caitlin Schaffer will partner with a Technology Integration Coach from the Hillsboro, WI School District to present “Diversity in Your Collection: A BreakOut Edu Experience” at the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association (WEMTA) conference on April 1. It is a mash-up of an escape room and a collection development learning exercise. This is a wonderful opportunity! We value the opportunity to partner with our schools any way we can, and this will allow us to do that on a statewide scale. Caitlin will attend other days of the conference as well.
We have posted the job advertisement for the Summer Reading Program Assistant position, and applications are due by April 15.
Sherry Huibregtse was hired to fill the Cataloging Processing Aide position. The rest of the cataloging department (Hope Kramer and Tammi Klink) have done a wonderful job covering while this position has been vacant.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
B. Bleck shared that OPL won the honor of “Most Loved Library in Waukesha/Lake Country Area” on the family activities website HulaFrog. HulaFrog users voted for their favorites in an array of categories, and OPL won the library category. We shared the honor with Waukesha Public Library two years ago, and had the title to ourselves last year and this year.
OLD BUSINESS
Consider/Act on Approving Home Service policy (second reading)
One of the Library’s Business Plan goals is to begin offering Home Service in 2019. It is important to have a policy in place prior to starting this service. The board approved the first reading with some suggestions. The revised policy was reviewed. D. Knutson moved to approve the Home Service Policy, H. Schick seconded.
NEW BUSINESS
Approve 2018 Annual Report
Every year, the library must report to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction on many aspects of the library’s finances, staffing, patron use, compliance with standards, and more. The report was due on March 1, so Board President Matt Mulder signed the report. Now the board must consider/act on approving it retroactively. H. Schick moved to approve the 2018 Annual Report, L Baudoin seconded.
Approve 2018 Statement of System Effectiveness
On the last page of the annual report, the Board indicates that they are pleased with the services provided by our library system. This was also due on March 1, so Board President Matt Mulder signed it, and the Board must consider/act on approving it retroactively. L. Baudoin moved to approve the 2018 Statement of System Effectiveness, D. Knutson seconded.
Approve 2019 Business Plan
The board already approved the goals in the business plan. The entire business plan document, including the narrative and statistics information at the beginning with state report statistics added needs to be approved.
Upon starting some 2019 projects, staff have a better picture of the feasibiltiy of some of the goals. B. Bleck suggested the following revisions:
  • Push the redesign of the website into early 2020. The redesign will be time-consuming and will build upon other marketing work being done in 2019.
  • Push marketing training with Jill Fuller to Q4 when the style guide is complete.
  • Move record retention to Q4 as it builds on the shared drive organization. 
H. Schick moved to approve the 2019 Business Plan, S. Homberg seconded.
Appoint Nominating Committee
The nominating committee will meet in April, and present a slate of candidates in May for the election of officers in June. M. Krahn, D. Knutson, and O. Foat agreed to serve on the Committee. H. Schick moved to approve the appointment of the Nominating Committee members, K. Nelson seconded.
Consider/Act on Updating Fee Schedule for Hotspot Circulation
The Board discussed the fee schedule for patrons borrowing hotspots. Prior discussions were reviewed. In previous meetings, the Board found that charging fees for circulation of hotspots would not be consistent with the library's mission. The Board decided not to charge for hotspot circulation, only for late returns and lost or damaged hotspots. H. Schick moved to not charge usage fees for hotspots and to keep current fines and fees schedule. S. Homberg seconded and motion carried.
ADJOURN
There being no further business to properly come before this board, motion to adjourn was made by H. Schick, D. Knutson seconded. Meeting adjourned at 7:07 pm.
L. Radder, Administrative Coordinator
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