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Fargo Public Library Board - March 19, 2019 Minutes

Regular Meeting: Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Board Members Present: Rachael Steenholdt, Mary Batcheller, Jan Ulferts Stewart, Carlos Hawley Jr.
Board Members Absent: Carrie Peterson, Mary Dickson, Scott Beaulier
Staff: Beth Postema, Sunny Branick, Betsy Dauer
Others Present: MaryBeth Hegstad

President, Rachael Steenholdt called the meeting to order at 4:01 PM, and a quorum was declared.

Order of Agenda
A motion was made by Mary Batcheller to approve the Order of the Agenda. Carlos Hawley Jr. seconded the motion; motion carried.

Minutes of February 19, 2019 Regular Meeting
Carlos Hawley Jr. made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 19, 2019 meeting. Mary Batcheller seconded the motion; motion carried.

Staff Report
Programming:
Upcoming Events & Programs (a partial and incomplete list):
Childrens
• National Noodle Month!
• You're invited to help us honor the notable noodle in all its different shapes and forms by joining us at our noodle-riffic craft and activity sessions! Preschoolers ages 2 to 5 can make crafts with pasta noodles
• Wednesday, Mar. 27 - Dr. James Carlson Library at 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Mar. 28 - Main Library at 11 a.m.
• Then we'll pull out the pool noodles for activities and crafts for kids ages 5 to 12
• Thursday, Mar. 28 – Main Library at 4 p.m.
• Finally, we'll wrap it all up with a family session for kids of all ages, where we'll feature both kinds of noodles
• Thursday, Mar. 28 - Main Library at 6:30 p.m.

Teen
• Glow Game: Events are planned for Teens and Tweens. Attendees are encouraged to wear neon or glow-in-the-dark gear to these events that will feature lots of games and activities.
• Tuesday, March 19 – Dr. James Carlson Library at 4 p.m.
• Thursday, March 21 – Main Library at 4 p.m.
• Dragons: Two events held in April
• Thursday, April 11 – Dr. James Carlson Library at 4 p.m.
• Saturday, April 13 – Main Library at 2 p.m.

Adults
• Mar. 24 – Main Library at 2 p.m.: “From Saffron and Rosewater to Blood and Oil: Iran and Its Culture.” This event is in partnership with Cultural Diversity Resources. Miriam Dashtipour will present.
• Mar. 27 – Main Library at 7 p.m.: History of Mid-America Steel" & "Electric Trolleys in Fargo-Moorhead.” Presented by Mark Peihl, an archivist and researcher with the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.
• Planning for the 2019 One Book, One Community reading project is ongoing.
• The selected 2019 title is the New York Times bestseller Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O’Brien.
• This community reading project is in its eighth year and is in partnership with the Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo public libraries, Concordia College’s Carl B. Ylvisaker Library, Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Livingston Lord Library, North Dakota State University Libraries, Moorhead Community Education, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, and the Fargo Air Museum.
• We want to recognize the Friends of the Fargo Public Library as the major sponsors of this project.

Library-wide
• Now-Mar. 23: Design-A-Bookmark Contest: Entry forms are available at all three locations. Fill the space with your most brilliant creation and return it to any library location before close on Sunday, March 31. The top designs (as voted on by library staff) will be made into full color bookmarks that will be printed and distributed throughout the following year at library branches and events. The contest is open to children 12 and under. Winners will be announced on April 15.

Notable Past events & programs (again, a partial list):
Childrens
• Mar. 2: Dr. Seuss Program: This is an annual program that the library organizes in partnership with the Valley Reading Council to commemorate Dr. Seuss's birthday. There were 296 people in attendance.
• Mar. 17: Holi: Festival of Colors Celebration: Dr. Rajani Ganesh-Pillai from NDSU presented at the Main Library for a Holi celebration. We had a storytime, a Holi craft, and some festive activities for children of all ages. We had 75 people in attendance.
Adult
• Feb. 23: Cooking Healthy with Your Instant pot, presented Family Wellness well attended with 25 people in attendance.
• Mar. 3: Winter Read-A-Thon concluded. As part of the Winter Read-A-Thon we had a Food for Fines program going.
Results for the Food for Fines:
• We collected 95 toiletry items which amounted to $475 in fines forgiven.
These items will go to the Gladys Ray Shelter & Youthworks.
• Food Items: We collected 2,370 food items which amounted to $11,850 in fines forgiven!
These items will go to the Great Plains Food Bank and Youthworks.

• Mar. 4th: Northern Narratives Winter Writing project for Teens & Adults submissions closed. We had a total of 90 submissions in the three writing categories (up from 51 last year!). We are in the process of evaluating the submissions to determine the one which will be published. Special thanks to the Friends of the FPL for their support on this project. Once again, a generous donation from the Friends will allow the selected pieces to be professionally printed so that we can include circulating copies at all three library locations and also have a copy included in the North Dakota Collection.

Director’s Report
Deputy Director, Beth Postema referred the Board to the Director’s Report in the Board Packet.

Statistical Reports
Usage
The library had 38,203 registered patrons for the month of February. Attendance was down 6% year to date. Program attendance was down 6% year to date. Volunteer hours were down 19% year to date. Internet signups were down 14% year to date. Print circulation was up 3.59% year to date. Nonprint circulation was up 9.14% year to date. Total circulation year to date is 164,268 circulations.

Financials
The year is 17% lapsed while the budget is 12.19% expended. There was $550 in incoming donations. Expenditures of donations totaled $5,382. Revenue is at $5,770.28 year to date.

Friends of the Library Report
MaryBeth Hegstad was present to give the Friends report. She introduced herself as this was her first meeting as the newly elected President of the Friends Board and offered her thanks to past and current Friends Board members. The upcoming 10 year celebration and One Book One Community events are heavily supported financially by the Friends. Friends members get two free books at the Friends book sale events. The next book sale is schedules for May 3rd, 4th and 5th.

Unfinished Business
No unfinished business.

New Business
Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities
Deputy Director, Beth Postema explained the Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities project. This stemmed from the most recent strategic plan. This was informational, not an action item. The opportunities presented were the Jazz Info Fall Music Series and One Book One Community events.

Public Comment
No public comment.

Next Board Meeting
The next regular Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 4:00 PM.

The meeting adjourned at 4:37 PM.