ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT
MEETING OF THE BOARD
HEADQUARTERS BRANCH
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
3:30 PM
The monthly meeting of the Board of the St. Louis County Library District was held at the Headquarters Branch, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. 63131, on Monday, September 15 at 3:30 p.m. The agenda had been posted in all branches of the Library District at least 24 hours before the meeting.
ATTENDANCE:
Library Board Members:
Jean Weinstock, President
Dr. Lynn Beckwith, Vice President
Kenneth Stricker, Treasurer
Dr. Ching Ling Tai, Secretary
Edith Cunnane, Member
Others Attending:
Charles Pace, Director; Gary Holdefer, Associate Director and Comptroller; Tim Wadham, Assistant Director, Youth and Community Services; Barbara Brain, Assistant Director for Adult and Support Services; Kristen Sorth, Manager, Human Resources; Marie Conlin, Library Planner; Jim Bogart, Development Manager; Eric Button, North Regional Administrator, Candace Oliver, South Regional Administrator; SLCL staff attending: Jake Fejedelem, Lynn Grimshaw, Trudy Williams, Jennifer Jung, Emily Althoff, Denise Keller, , Pat Woodward, Maryanne Marjamaa, , Kathy Wiese, Robbin Oehler, Jennifer McBride, Vicki Krueger, Jenny Via, Paul Bayless, Carrie Robb, Joyce Loving, Mary Wilson, Nicole Clawson, Dorothy Wobbe, Anna Schurk, Susan Scupin, Stephanie Nordmann, Sarah Windau, Kerrie Coborn, Stacy Davis, Kathy Condon Boettcher, Michael Cohen, Nicole Head, Lori Boschert, Mary Arnhart, Matt Lakin, Kalyani Veeraraghavan, Scott Holl; Katy Kaufman and Carol North, Metro Theatre; Chris Kellogg, patron; Don Senti, patron; and members of the general public.
The MINUTES, dated Monday, August 18, 2008, were approved by the Board (Stricker/Beckwith).
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Chris Kellogg, a patron from Lewis and Clark discussed issues with the Board regarding the sale of electronic flash drives, and the new DVD Bestseller policy that does not allow holds.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
The Treasurer’s Report dated August 31 was approved subject to audit (Stricker/Cunnane). Gary Holdefer reported that fines have increased 12.2. Customers are taking advantage of the grace period. Worker compensation premiums have decreased by 10%. New state legislation has decreased rates.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
Mr. Pace announced that there would be a Board Workshop on Monday, September 29 at the Lewis and Clark Branch. He stressed that this would be a discussion meeting and no decisions would be made. Dr. Beckwith requested an annual update on the race and gender of staff.
Tim Wadham and his staff gave a report on the Strategic Plan focusing on “Encourage and Support Young Readers”.
Maryanne Marjamaa reported on Bookmobiles supporting the communities for 60 years through their preschool, elementary school and community outreach program.
Nicole Head gave a report on training for staff members and focused on Storytime. She cited statistics that claimed Storytime kids read better.
Nicole Clausen, Youth Services Manager gave an overview of the department.
Lynn Grimshaw, Daniel Boone assistant manager reported gave a brief report.
Sara Windau, Teen services coordinator, introduced two individuals from Metro Theatre Company.
NEW BUSINESS
LIBRARY LOGO
Jennifer McBride, Communications Manager reported that the administration had selected a logo from a number of possibilities developed by Cohesion.. If there were no objections, she said they would proceed with the logo selected.
BESTSELLER COLLECTION
Barbara Brain reported that the Library was initiating a leased collection from Baker and Taylor of bestseller books and blockbuster DVD titles. The Library will receive 2,000 books and 800 DVDs each month that will allow the collection to respond more quickly to the needs of patrons. This is a pilot program.
COPY MACHINE REPLACEMENT
Denise Keller reported that the Library has been leasing copy machines for the last five years. A request for proposal (RFP) was issued for the purchase of coin operated and business photocopiers. Five vendors responded. The Board accepted the recommendation of administration to purchase the Sharp (GFI Digital) equipment. During a one month trial of all copies, the Sharp had a 90% favorable response from the public and staff. Five color copiers will be included in the purchase. The cost is $177,945.50 (Stricker/Cunnane).
BOARD MEETING DATES
The Board approved meeting dates for the subsequent year prior to the meeting room lottery held at Headquarters. Those dates are: January 26 – HQ; Feb. – no meeting; March 16 – HQ; April 20 @ Natural Bridge Branch; May 18 – HQ; June 15 @ Sachs Branch; July 20 – HQ; August 17 - HQ; September 21 @ Indian Trails Branch; October 19 – HQ; November 16 – HQ; and December 21 – HQ (Beckwith/Cunnane).
MID COUNTY LIBRARY/CLAYTON PROJECT
Tim Wadham reported to the Board with a video presentation, the preliminary discussions that have been held with the Clayton School District and other groups regarding a proposal to move the current Mid County Branch Library to a new site adjacent to Clayton High School. The report was informational and the Board authorized administration to pursue appraising the Mid County branch before proceeding with any further board discussions.
2009 MERIT RAISES
Kristen Sorth reported to the Board that staff had examined budgetary costs and were recommending 0-5% range at a cost of $622,500 for salaries in January 2009. The board approved the recommendation (Beckwith/Cunnane).
TITLE CONSOLIDATION
The Administration would like to consolidate several titles in the classification and pay plan. The Library has two levels of Library Clerks and three levels of Library Assistants. This would be simplified by consolidating these into one level for Library Clerks and two levels of Library Assistants. Mr. Stricker requested a 10 year trend of FTE and payroll costs. The request was tabled until the October meeting.
CLOSED SESSION
Kenneth Stricker moved that the open meeting adjourn. All approved by individual voice vote.
The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
____________________________________________ __________________
Chingling Tai Date
Secretary