Fargo Public Library Board - June 15, 2021 Minutes

Regular Meeting: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 Minutes

Board Members Present: Mary Batcheller, Rachael Steenholdt, Whitney Oxendahl, Kristen Schipper
Board Members Absent: Scott Beaulier, Carlos Hawley Jr., Carrie Peterson
Staff: Tim Dirks, Megan Richardson, Betsy Dauer
Others Present:

President Mary Batcheller called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. and a quorum was declared. This meeting was attended virtually and in person.

Order of Agenda
A motion was made by Rachael Steenholdt to approve the Order of the Agenda. Kristen Schipper seconded the motion; motion carried.

Correction of Minutes of April 20, 2021 Regular Meeting
Mary Batcheller made a motion to approve the corrected minutes of the April 20, 2021 meeting. Kristen Schipper seconded the motion; motion carried.

Minutes of May 18, 2021 Regular Meeting
Rachael Steenholdt made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 18, 2021 meeting. Kristen Schipper seconded the motion; motion carried.

Staff Report
Megan Richardson presented a few highlights of staff updates and events.

Staff updates and Staff development activities:
• LAII Position at Branches – Posting is closed. Supervisors will be interviewing the week of June 14.

Programming:
We are still having a mixture of virtual and in-person events. All in-person events are adjusted for social distancing. All outdoor events are weather permitting. For a full list of all upcoming FPL activities visit FargoLibrary.org
Upcoming Events & Programs (a partial and incomplete list):

Children's
• The Penguin Lady is coming to Fargo ONLINE!
-June 23 at 11 a.m. – Ages 3 and Up
-June 23 at 2 p.m. – Ages 6 and Up
• Library Learning Garden Storytime & Craft. Tuesday, June 22 at 6 p.m. & Tuesday, July 6 at 6 p.m..
• BookBike Visit & Storytime @ Hawthorne Elementary. Thursday, June 24: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Continental Crafts To Go For Kids. Week of June 28 and July 12.
• Magical Journey: Storytelling with Origami Animals. Monday, June 28 – Saturday, July 3.
• Gooseberry Park Players: Beauty and the Beast.
-June 30 at 10 a.m. – Main Library
-June 30 at 11 a.m. – Carlson Library
• The Traveling Lantern Theatre Company Presents Tale of the Rainbow Lizard Tuesday, July 6 at 7 p.m. to Sunday, July 11 at 7 p.m.
• Slothy Sloth Messy Art for Kids.
-July 7 at 11 a.m. – Carlson Library
-July 8 at 11 a.m. – Main Library

Teens
• Spray Dye T-shirts: June 22, 11 a.m.
• Crafts to Go for Teens: June 28 – Popsicle Stick Bird feeder.
• Origami in Motion! Monday, June 28 - Saturday, July 3
• Virtual Escape Room: July 8
• Sun Art: July 20

Adult
• Fresh Air Crafts.
-June 19: Paint Pour Art
-July 17: Shibori Bandanas
• Crafts to Go
-June 28 – July 2: DIY Pet Toys
• Book party: June 17
• Iced Tea Tasting To Go: July 19-23.
• Garden Book Club and Tea Time book club are meeting near the Community Garden at the Dr. James Carlson Library and Diverse Perspectives and Senior Book Clubs are meeting virtually.
-Senior Book Club, June 22 – A Well Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler.
-Diverse Perspectives Book Club, July 8 – Our History is the Future by Nick Estes
-Tea Time Book Club, July 12 – The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
-Summer Garden Book Club, July 20 – Nature’s Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy

Multigenerational
• Virtual Trivia: July 12
• Modern Pop Art Experience and Collage Workshop with Artist/Author Michael Albert: June 30.
-Families with Children (all ages) session: June 30, 3-5 p.m.
-Teens (11 and older) and Adult session: June 30, 6-8 p.m.

Summer Reading Challenges:
As of June 8, 2021, these are the statistics regarding how many people have registered in Beanstack for the library’s Summer Reading Challenges:
• Adults – 347
• Teens – 82
• School age kids – 552
• Young children – 208
• Total Registered = 1,189

Director’s Report
Director Tim Dirks referred the Board to his written report in the Board Packet and gave a library covid update. There are no staff out currently. Pending Board approval of eliminating Face Covering Policy the Conference rooms will open June 16 and Community rooms July 1. Full capacity internet stations will resume July 1.

Unfinished Business
Director’s Review Committee
President Mary Batcheller stated there was no action in May. There will be a meeting later in June and they will bring their final recommendations back to the Board as a whole for review at the July meeting.

New Business
Face Covering Policy Elimination
Director Tim Dirks referred the Board to the Action Item Summary Sheet and Face Covering Policy in the Board Packet. The recommendation was to approve the elimination of the Face Covering Policy.

A motion was made by Mary Batcheller to approve the elimination of the Face Covering Policy. Rachael Steenholdt seconded the motion; motion carried.

Rules of Conduct Policy Draft
Director Tim Dirks referred the Board to the Action Item Summary Sheet and Rules of Conduct Policy in the Board Packet. The recommendation was remove the last bullet point regarding social distancing to align with current city policies.

A motion was made by Mary Batcheller to approve the removal of social distancing language from the Rules of Conduct Policy as recommended. Kristen Schipper seconded the motion; motion carried.

2020 Impact Report
Director Tim Dirks spoke about the 2020 Impact Report that was mailed to all Board members. He gave his thanks to Melisa Duncan and the admin team for their work on this document.

Incident Procedures
Whitney Oxendahl had previously asked how the library handles incidents. Director Dirks stated there were 35 calls to the police in the past year. Incidents are handled between staff, onsite contract security, Jillian Gould, Mobile Outreach and the Police Department depending on the severity of the incident.

Jillian Gould, Homeless Outreach Coordinator with the Gladys Ray Shelter, spoke about her role at the Library. The relationships Jillian has formed in the past few years have led to decreased calls to the police for incidents at the library. If a patron is trespassed from the library, it is generally a two-year trespass though patrons may work with Jillian to get approval to come back sooner. Library staff have received de-escalation training prior to Covid. There is a mobile outreach service that staff have called frequently. The library subscribed to Ryan Dowd’s’ training Homeless Academy which has been a great asset for staff.

Statistical Reports
Usage
The Library had 30,099 registered patrons for the month of May. Program attendance was 643. Circulation was up 88.40% compared to May of the previous year. Overall circulation year to date is 319,150.

Financials
There was $605 of incoming donations. There was $924 expenditures of donations. The year is 42% lapsed while the budget is 38.23% expended. Revenue is at $6,113.86 year to date.

Friends of the Library Report
No Friends report. Outdoor book sale to happen in July.

Public Comment
Christopher Coen spoke about his experience at the April 20th Library Board meeting in regards to the Statement of Concern he submitted questioning four Dr. Seuss books that were discontinued by the publisher. He disagrees with the Boards decision to keep the four Dr. Seuss Books from his Statement of Concern. He stated he asked Mary Batcheller to be added to the agenda. Mary Batcheller stated he did not specifically ask to add this topic to the agenda but that his concern could be appropriately heard in the public comment section of a meeting.

There was no action taken. Mary Batcheller thanked him for his input weather the Board agrees or not.

Next Board Meeting
The next regular Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, 2021 at 4 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m.