Library Board Approved Minutes - August 4, 2022

DeForest Area Public Library Regular Library Board Minutes
Thursday, August 4, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.

  1. Call to Order and Roll Call
    • The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m.by President Kathy Van Iten
    • Present: Englesby, Gorres, Landgraf, Lawrence, Toetz, Van Iten, Zeimet
    • Absent: None.
    • Also present: Jan Berg, Library Director and Brian Rogers, Circulation Librarian
  2. Approval of Agenda
    • Motion to approve as presented: Zeimet
    • Second: Landgraf
    • Discussion: None.
    • Action: All approved.
  3. Approval of Minutes of the July 7th Meeting
    • Motion to approve the minutes: Englesby
    • Second: Gorres
    • Discussion: None
    • Action: Approved
      Landgraf clarified that the pool referendum he was talking about had been Waunakee’s.
  4. Public Presentations / Communications
    • None.
  5. Approval of Bills – Berg had emailed out the bill run prior to the meeting
    • Motion to approve the bill run: Zeimet
    • Second: Englesby
    • Discussion: Berg explained that aside from the large number of books being paid nothing was unusual. The bills for all the purchases at greatly discounted prices during Amazon Prime Days are beginning to appear. There were a few questions about the costs of receipts printers from Amazon versus getting them from the library system. Berg also noted that some of these bills were for the Harry Potter Birthday Party.
    • Action: All Approved
  6. Reports
    1. Director's - Berg was happy to announce that two library pages have been hired as well as two clerks. All the new hires were great candidates and will be good additions to the library staff. One can’t start until after September 1st. One clerk is already being trained and one page is scheduled to start on Monday. The Harry Potter Party 20th event was a big success. The Fanged Geraniums (cactus offspring from the ones in Bergs office window) went very quickly. There were about 50 of them. The slug-eating contest (Twinkies) was back after the pandemic hiatus. Planning for Halloween with Parks & Rec and the school district has gotten underway. A Haunted House in the library basement and grounds is being planned.
    2. President's - Van Iten noted that she was honored to be serving cake at the event. She also said what a wonderful event it was and how much those attending appreciated it.
    3. Village Update - Landgraf stated that the village board was annexing some acreage from the Town of Vienna south of the pink elephant by Comfort Inn. Water had been run out there in 2018. Pickle Ball courts are curing and will soon be in use. The Farmers’ Market are will have lights when it returns to its permanent home. Street repairs are progressing.
  7. Old Business
    1. Staff Showcase – Brian Rogers, Circulation Librarian and Library Elf.
      • Brian told about all the things he does including scheduling the desk, book rooms, posting on the Twitter account, and creating and helping develop a puzzle and board game collection. He says he loves getting what patrons want into their hands and finding new things they might enjoy. He noted that we’ve begun playing music -- jazz, classical-- at time while the library is open. The music and good customer service all contribute to his goal of making the patrons feel welcome and important.
  8. New Business
    1. 2023 Preliminary Budget Discussion and Draft
      • Berg stated that this budget reflects the commitment of last year to get waged staff up to $13 per hour. That results in a large increase in the wage line. She noted that she was able to get staff to the $13 dollars this year due to staff shortages and delaying the start of the raise. This is true for salaried staff as well. Berg noted that she will be doing some data mining to get comparable wage and salary numbers from similar sized libraries around the area. Job postings on the library system’s email lists show that we are very behind both in the wages and salaries we offer. Berg hopes to have that data soon but it may be after her vacations and the September library board meeting. Costs for the technology and databases are accurate. Health care used a 10% increase as a placeholder until real numbers are available. Most other line items remain the same. Retaining staff and having enough staff to do cross-training requires investing in salary and wage increases.
    2. Change Date of September Meeting from September 1st to September 8th.
      • The first of the month means not all the utility bills are in, school starts on that day so things are hectic at the library, and Berg will be out of the country (if vacation plans don’t fall through).
      • Motion to change the date: Landgraf
      • Second: Gorres
      • Discussion: None.
      • Action: All approved.
  9. Future Agenda Items
    1. 2023 Budget
  10. Adjournment
    • Motion to Adjourn: Englesby
    • Second: Landgraf
    • Action: All approved.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:31. Next meeting September 8th, 2022.

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