IFLS Board of Trustees #059(15)
INDIANHEAD FEDERATED LIBRARY SYSTEM
Board of Trustees
November 18, 2015
M I N U T E S
The Board of Trustees of the Indianhead Federated Library System met on Wednesday,
November 18, 2015 at Indianhead Federated Library System, 1538 Truax Blvd., Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Mike Norman called the meeting to order at 12:34 pm.
QUORUM AND CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE
WITH OPEN MEETINGS LAW:
Joanne Gardner established that a quorum was present and certified that the meeting had been properly noticed in compliance with the open meeting law.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
Judy Achterhof (St. Croix County); Steve Anderson (St. Croix County); Mary Ellen Brue (St. Croix County); Jan Daus (Eau Claire County); Pat Eggert (Dunn County); Robert Fraser (Eau Claire County); Marilyn Holte (Chippewa County); Lyle Lieffring (Rusk County); Ron McLaughlin (Price County); Robert Mercord (Pierce County); Warren Nelson (Polk County); Mike Norman (Pierce County); Louie Okey (Barron County); Jackie Pavelski (Eau Claire County); Jean Schlieve (Eau Claire County); Gyneth Slygh (Pepin County); Linda Thompson (Barron County); Jim Tripp (Dunn County).
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:
Sue Duerkop (Polk County); Larry Willkom (Chippewa County).
OTHERS PRESENT:
John Thompson (Director); Juli Button (Business Manager); Joanne Gardner (Administrative Associate/Recorder); Deb Faulhaber (Shared Services Project Manager); Hollis Helmeci (IFLS Advisory Council Representative for Rusk County).
APPROVE AGENDA:
MOTION #68(15): To approve the Agenda as presented. Okey/Daus
RESULT: Carried.
CITIZEN COMMENTS:
There were no citizen comments.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE/INTRODUCTIONS:
Hollis Helmeci, Director of the Rusk County Community Library in Ladysmith was introduced as an Advisory Council member representing Rusk County.
MINUTES:
MOTION #69(15): To approve the Board of Trustees minutes dated September 23, 2015
(Doc. #050-15). Fraser/Holte
RESULT: Carried.
MOTION #70(15): To acknowledge receipt of the Personnel Committee minutes dated July 23, 2015 (Doc. #049-15). Holte/Daus
RESULT: Carried.
FINANCIAL REPORTS:
MOTION #71(15): To approve the September/October 2015 Check Registers
(Doc. #051-15). Fraser/Eggert
RESULT: Carried.
Questions were asked about Deep Freeze Licenses with Faronics and the quarterly payment to L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library.
MOTION #72(15): To approve the September/October 2015 Financial Reports
(Doc. #052-15). Okey/Brue
RESULT: Carried.
Okey noted that total income for the year was at nearly 100%. Button noted that IFLS receives three-quarters of the state aids payment in November of the prior year, and the remainder in April of the current year.
Button noted that IFLS should be over the budget in Interest, E-Rate Discounts Income, Technology Income, and Miscellaneous Income.
The financials include the revised budget figures as approved at the September Board of Trustees meeting.
IFLS reached the limit for credit card reward points. The funds are being claimed as a debit into the Contingency account.
It was noted that IFLS may recover nearly $20,000 in delivery costs in 2015.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT OF MONTHLY
ACTIVITIES AND AGENDA ITEMS:
Thompson noted that the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Conference was well-attended by member librarians. In addition, four IFLS staff and two IFLS trustees attended. All libraries in Dunn County were represented at the conference.
A great deal of networking occurred during the conference. If you perused the recent NewsFlashes and seen the beaded Iguana, this can attest to the networking for possible names of the system – Iguana Faced Library System.
Although conference attendance was good, unfortunately the rooms were small and several sessions spilled into the hallways.
Nelson voiced his view that Indians he knows are not interested in a system name change. Thompson responded that it has been brought up on numerous occasions without being prompted. A committee has been formed to see if there is a better name for the system given we are a statewide organization. Two IFLS Board members are on the committee and are L. Thompson and Brue.
River Falls was awarded Library of the Year. Norman introduced their award. A committee of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) selects the library from those libraries that applied. The Mayor of River Falls and Thompson wrote a letter in support of River Falls.
Brue added that the programming in River Falls is outstanding.
IFLS will be acting as the fiscal agent for the Library System Redesign Committee and will work with WiLS on the next step for the redesign process. WiLS is a non-profit cooperative agency in Wisconsin that supports libraries. WiLS will help facilitate the work-group discussions. The committee also has a website presence created and hosted by IFLS.
The legislation to change the library board size down to an 11 person board has been signed by the Governor. This provides systems a cost benefit while maintaining representation.
(Slygh arrived at 1:06 pm.)
Thompson has met with two new library directors – Tina Norris at Hudson and Lisa Murphy at Milltown to review system services. Other IFLS staff have also met with the new directors.
Turtle Lake has made an offer to someone to begin in December. Eau Claire will continue their search process. Rice Lake will begin a search for a director as Dawn Wacek has accepted a position at the La Crosse Public Library.
In 2015 IFLS has seen 10-13 new directors at member libraries. Some directors retired, some accepted better opportunities, and others were tired of the local politics.
Fraser noted that the search for the Eau Claire director was national. They interviewed three candidates and decided against hiring.
Thompson has been assisting as a resource for St. Croix County ad hoc library committee in developing a new county plan. Thompson attended all meetings and a plan was passed. One individual from St. Croix County expressed concern of Thompson’s support of the planning process and threatened to send a letter of redress. Thompson’s role was to answer questions and advise on the library plan and activities.
Thompson has also been working with directors in Polk County seeking to increase funding from 80% to 90%. The County Board did not approve their request. Nelson noted that the group would have been more effective if they had been in contact with the supervisors in advance.
2016 STATE LONG RANGE PLAN AND BUDGET:
The State Long Range Plan itself was approved at the September meeting. The budget as approved was inserted into the plan.
MOTION #73(15): To approve the 2016 State Long Range Plan and Budget
(Doc. #054-15). Daus/Holte
RESULT: Carried.
HEALTH INSURANCE RESOLUTION AND POLICY LANGUAGE:
The Health Insurance Resolution allows our retirees to select dental insurance as part of their health insurance. It has no impact on the IFLS budget as retirees pay for the policy on their own.
MOTION #74(15): To approve the Health Insurance Resolution (Doc. #055-15).
L. Thompson/Brue
RESULT: Carried.
GUIDELINES FOR THE DIRECTOR EVALUATION PROCESS:
MOTION #75(15): To approve the Guidelines for the Director Evaluation Process
(Doc. #056-15). Mercord/Brue
RESULT: Carried.
The proposed Guidelines for the IFLS Director’s Evaluation was discussed at the September Board meeting. Anderson created the document based on the Personnel Committee wanting some guidelines for future evaluations.
Anderson reviewed the proposed Guidelines (Doc. #056-15) with the Board and noted that the Board may choose by majority vote to override the director evaluation process used.
Holte noted that a discussion between the Director and Personnel Committee would be important during the years a formal evaluation is not conducted.
IFLS BY-LAWS REVIEW:
The IFLS Board By-laws were last amended in March of 2011. With the changes in the committees, etc. it was felt they should be reviewed and updated. It was suggested that either the Executive Committee or an ad-hoc committee could be appointed to review the by-laws. The suggested timeline would be to begin review in January and report back to the full Board in March of 2016.
It was the consensus that Board members should review the by-laws between now and the January meeting and send suggestions for changes to Gardner. Gardner will send a reminder for review of the By-laws.
REPORTS:
Board members were encouraged to read the IFLS Staff Reports provided in the meeting packet.
In-depth Staff Report: Deb Faulhaber – Shared Services Project Manager:
The Shared Services program started in January of 2013. The service provides for cataloging and processing of materials. The program started with a cataloger and two part-time processors. The cataloger (Faulhaber) has now taken on a program manager role and manages the budget, cost estimates, and supplies for the program. The first year of the program included three libraries: Hudson, New Richmond, and Rice Lake. Menomonie and the Elk Mound Branch joined in October of 2014. In July of 2015 Amery also joined. There has been interest expressed from other libraries as well.
Faulhaber noted that the two processors (Jackee Johnson and Melissa Ida) have processed over 21,000 items from November 1, 2014 through 2015.
Shared Services receives all items ordered by the libraries except for magazines. The Shared Services program is a cost-effective way to get materials cataloged and processed according to the MORE standards.
IFLS receives the ordered materials directly from the vendors, they are cataloged and processed and then either sends the materials to the owning library or checks them out if a hold exists. The process is streamlined and very efficient.
Faulhaber’s background is in cataloging and reference librarianship. Faulhaber is excited to be a part of the Shared Services program.
Board members asked if offering the service resulted in library staff being dropped. Faulhaber responded that the need for the program came from retirements, restructuring, or not adequate staffing. Library staff can now focus on the patron and desk duties.
Faulhaber noted that there has not been a lull since the first summer the program was started. The processor hours have increased from 24 hours per week to 40 per week (20 hours each processor). Faulhaber’s hours have increased from 36 a week to 40 hours.
Because of the success of the program, there may be the need to hire additional staffing sometime soon.
There was a round of applause for Faulhaber.
Board Member Reports:
Achterhof noted that St. Croix County went from paying the threshold 70% to 100% for
out-of-county use and inquired about other counties.
Tripp inquired about any updates at Ridgeland. Thompson noted that Ridgeland is still in discussions with Barron. Thompson added that Dallas is in talks of becoming a branch of the Barron library as well.
Fraser noted that John Stoneberg, Director of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, is
retiring at the end of the year. The library board received about 15 applications and 3 individuals were interviewed. The job was not offered and they will resume their search for a library director.
Holte shared the news of the passing of Barbara Dachel. Dachel served on the IFLS Board for many years and was involved in the signing for the IFLS office building loan. Holte added that Dachel will be missed and was a wonderful person.
Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Report:
L. Thompson attended the fall WLA Conference and was able to attend 11 different sessions. There was quite a range of topics to choose from and it was nice to collaborate with others with the same mission.
Norman noted that the Wisconsin Library Trustee and Friends (WLTF) group is working with Bill Wilson and a survey was developed for library friends groups throughout the State to see what WLTF could do for them. It is hoped that the survey will be passed along to the friends group by library directors throughout the state.
Advisory Council Report: Hollis Helmeci, Rusk County Community Library:
Helmeci provided an update on the libraries in Rusk County.
Bruce is not planning any story times in November or December; the Lego Club still meets; they are missing one board member; there is a need to update their website; and their Friends recently held a book sale.
Hawkins stays busy with several activities including: Hook and Needles; Book Club; story times on the first Tuesday of the month; afterschool program for homework help; and Big Book activity bags. Hawkins is now open until 8 am on Thursday nights and the director has been dealing with some health concerns.
Ladysmith had a wonderful Summer Reading Program with over 800 attendees. Other programs include story times and baby lap-sit. Other happenings in Ladysmith include the Children’s librarian getting multiple grants and funds; adult programming, Nano-Wri-Mo; local author visit; and some local food programs coordinated with the Farmers Market. Ladysmith has just replaced a retiree and was able to hire someone within. Some unfortunate events at the library include a broken window; unpleasant graffiti, a problem patron in the children’s area; and a young man who burned library materials.
(Mercord left at 2:25 pm.)
Helmeci was able to attend the WLA conference.
There was a round of applause for Helmeci.
OTHER:
Library Legislative Day will be held on February 9, 2016. A flyer of the event was included in the meeting packet. A special program celebrating 125 years of the Wisconsin Public Library Association will be part of the program.
Brue noted that for Halloween, she offered books from her Little Free Library.
ADJOURNMENT:
Motion to adjourn at 2:30 pm by Lieffring/McLaughlin
______
Joanne Gardner, Recorder/Administrative Associate
These minutes of the Board of Trustees are approved: o as printed.
o with corrections noted.
______
Presiding Officer Dated
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