DIRECTOR’S REPORT
[spacer height="10px"]BUDGET/FINANCE
[spacer height="10px"]The Common Council voted to cut the capital budget for new adult furnishings for 2019 by $3,845. This is the same amount of money the board approved for the Community Needs Assessment for neighboring communities (the TNR assessment) in 2018. This leaves us with $46,155 for the project. Council will consider capital requests as part of the full budget in October and November.
[spacer height="10px"]Common Council completed the required annual certification of the City’s eligibility for exemption from the county library tax. This allows the City to avoid double taxation: By showing the County that the City intends to fund the library at an acceptable level in 2019, City residents remain exempt from paying the county library tax that residents of non-libraried communities pay.
[spacer height="10px"]The Committee of the Whole met on October 9, 2018 to discuss the 2019 budget submissions. M. Rosek moved to cut the WiFi hot spot funding from the budget for 2019, which Council approved. The board voiced concern about the Council's decision regarding the WiFi hot spots. Board members present agreed that the Wi-Fi hot spots are an important asset to library patrons. One example is that students in the Oconomowoc district are given Chromebooks but they do not all have access to the internet at home to complete assignments.
[spacer height="10px"]The board discussed attendance of board members, and how, when they are not able to attend, they miss important information and are not able to advocate for the library effectively. The board wondered how they can make sure board members attend meetings. The board requested B. Bleck consult with the City Administration regarding how to proceed.
[spacer height="10px"]BUILDING/FACILITIES
[spacer height="10px"]The contractors are working on installing the new drive and motors in the library’s HVAC system. This is a budgeted capital project for 2018.
[spacer height="10px"]COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT/REFERENCE
[spacer height="10px"]The hotspots were pulled from circulation, due to the company notifying us that the hotspots can overheat and catch fire. The City has advised us not to circulate the hotspots, even if we have a disclaimer on the packaging, due to safety and liability concerns. B. Bleck is working on getting out of the data contract and looking for an alternative vendor for a different model of hotspot.
[spacer height="10px"]FRIENDS OF OPL
[spacer height="10px"]The Friends Fall Book Sale will be October 12-14. All board members are dues-free members of the Friends, and are invited to the “Friends Only” part of the book sale, from 4 to 6 pm on Friday October 12.
[spacer height="10px"]FUNDRAISING
[spacer height="10px"]The Oconomowoc Kiwanis Breakfast Club has generously offered to fund the remainder of the cost of the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) training. The Bridges Library System’s Innovation and Improvement Grant will cover about $1,500 of the cost, and the Kiwanis donation will cover the remaining $724. To refresh your memory: The CPI training is a three-day train-the-trainer on verbal and non-verbal tactics to de-escalate difficult and hostile encounters before those encounters become a crisis. B. Bleck will attend the training, and then train library staff and others who are interested.
[spacer height="10px"]LIBRARY OPERATIONS
[spacer height="10px"]The library is now open on Sundays from 1 to 4 pm, through May.
[spacer height="10px"]PERSONNEL/CONTINUING EDUCATION
[spacer height="10px"]The Wisconsin Library Association conference is coming up October 23-26 in La Crosse. There are a number of sessions that would be helpful and interesting for library trustees.
[spacer height="10px"]C. Schaffer was hand-picked as the one front-line youth services librarian in the State of Wisconsin to participate in a nationwide pilot “train the trainer” initiative called “Transforming Teen Services.” This is a nationwide project of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA, a division of the American Library Association, ALA) and Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA).
[spacer height="10px"]B. Bleck attended a full-day technology training at the Franklin Public Library in late September. The day was a helpful combination of big-picture, future-oriented thinking (how libraries can plan for and serve evolving technology needs, including the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, block chain, augmented reality, and virtual reality); and information to use right away (how to handle or avoid a data breach, how to start a mobile maker lab, time to try out new technologies in a hands-on way).
[spacer height="10px"]PROGRAMMING
[spacer height="10px"]H. Schick connected the library with Diego Betancourt, who works with the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Art Show, which is a large traveling display of photos depicting veterans’ experiences taking the Honor Flight to Washington DC to visit the WWII, Korean, Vietnam War, and other memorials. The display will be at our library from November 24 through mid-December. Library staff is working to line up a special program with the Stars and Stripes speakers bureau to coincide with the display. J. Fidler has added a new “stop” on the Mobile Library schedule: The View at Pine Ridge. She will be there the third Monday of each month.
[spacer height="10px"]PUBLIC RELATIONS
[spacer height="10px"]The “Library Card Signup Month” program J. Fidler spearheaded in September was very well-received: 156 people participated. Patrons could enter to win one of three three-month memberships to the YMCA at Pabst Farms. On the back side of their entry slip, people could fill in the blank in this sentence: "My library is incredible because _____." This was a clever play on words, because “The Incredibles” movie characters were the official “spokesfamily” of Library Card Signup Month this year.