LIB AGENDA 03-23-1999LIBRARY BOARD
March 23, 1999
6:30
Call To Order
Determine Quorum
Visitors
e
Adopt Agenda
Secretary's Report
Minutes
Correspondence
Suggestion Box
Treasurer's Report
Librarian's Report
~~
Old Business
Y2K Compliance on Furnace -Murray will update board at the April meeting
(he'll be gone this month) on information received from L1IIL..
Changing Stations -I've ordered two units from Four D, Incorporated at a cost
of $158.00 each. They should be arriving in a few weeks.
Handicapped Accessible Door: Automated Entrance Products, Inc. was here to
explain their product. I']l update board on expense, installation and answer
questions brought up at last board meeting. ar, n r 8 %+i? f~ u r~~ (r~ l k z~- ~`' ~ F-
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..~7'%'/»,r'7~G a7 `7`.'nf}!'r,: rr,3.G f)C~
Clock Repair -Leslie will update board on information about repairing clock at
front desk.
Outside Display Case - I have information from two companies selling this
~. product. ?~~" X 7~ ~ ~` yOo
Security System -Update on information received from Elk River Municipal
Utilities.
INKING LIBRARY TRUSTEES
A ~i~rary
outran~is any
over one Ming
a community
can do to ~ene f ~t
its ~eoy~e. It is
a never faring
siring in t~Ce
desert.
-~ndrew Carnegie
'T'rustees and sta~ Meet
wit Governor Ventura
~ ~e {first meeting between Ciovernox Jesse
Ventura, tru9tee5~ and II~TananS was }~e~d OR
Feb. 2 in t{~e ~iovemor s reception room at
t}~e ~'apitol. L~'Ietronet director l~'Iary ~~reacy
arranged t},e meeting throug}~ Wendy
Wiistenberg, a ~ongtime {riend and collaborator
and the current 1~innesota (_iovernment
Re~ations director.
~'iovemor t~entura stressed t{,ese ~zey paints:
• T},ere are no dumb questions; a fact ~e
earned on t}~e fob in iVavy demolition.
•I_i~e~ong and independent learning are a
priority {or ~is administration; ~i~raries pay
a ~zey roe.
• Libraries a~so serve t{~e needs o{ t{~ose
who meet the ~'iovernoxs expectation {or
set{-su{{iciency.
• Citizen participa5on in government must
6e informed; libraries again are ~xey.
Wendy Wustenber~ s ]<ey point was t}~at t},e
Ventura administration is based on p~enti{u~
and high quality in{ormation and ttiat
librarians, sneh as °aaswerst' Linda Fe;st,
are providing t{,e in{ormation t~,at s~,apes
decision-ma~xing.
~oyce Swongep director, and Nancy Wa~ton,
public library specialist, both with I_i6rary
Development and Services, attended an
orientation and training wor~ZShop about t}~e
dates Library Initiative in Seatt~e, Wash., in
mid-February. Fi{tecn strtes were represented
in t~,e t}~ird round o{grant applicants at this
wor~zs}~op; t}~ey were selected due to t}~eir
poverty levels as deter,nined by the 1990
U.S. Census.
dates Library Initiative
Iniha~ applications {or pubic ~ibraries wi~~ be
made by state ~ibrary agencies and are due
[apri~ 30, 1999. Fac}~ state wi~~ be eva~uated
{or "techno~ogica~ readiness, commihnent to
sustaina6i~ity overtime, and commitment to
ctab~is}~ing programs {or reaching peop~c w}~o
do not ot~erwise have access to computers
and t~e Internet State Partners}~ip Grants
will be awarded to purc}~ase enmp~+~r and
networ~Zing equipment and insta~~ te~ecom-
munications services {or Internet access, i{
necessary, in pubic ~i6rarics. ~~~}~e grants wil~
a~so provide training and technica~ support to
se~ected pu6~ic ~ibrary stn{{ in networ~Z
administration, computer and Internet
applications, computer systems management,
and train-t}~e-trainer sessions {or stn{{ and
patron training.
Dore in{ormation on t}~e Gates Li 6rary
Initiative is avai~able on t~e Web at
www.gl{.org
A Message ~rom
MLTA Representative
T,eonarcl sobanja
'this year, Friday, oc~. I is desig~,aoed as
'Trustees I)ay rn t~e t}~ree-day con{erencc o{
the L~im,esota Library r'Lssociation..I }fie
con{ercnce runs {tom SepC. 29-Oct I in
I)u~ut}~. Trustees may attend a~~ t}~rec days,
}gut arc especia~~y encouraged to attend on
Friday w}~en four programs especia~~y {or
trustties are schedu~ed. one wi~~ 6e ou
evaluating your ~~ibrary ~ireetor, a second
wi~~ 6e on advocacy {C},is one may 6e
se~edu~ed {or ate ~T{~ursday a{ternoon), a
t},ird wi~~ ~,e a wor~s},op on using {},e new
1'rnstees handbook, and the f~nrth will be
dedicated t~, reorganizing t},e Minnesota
Library ~hrustee /association.
Has Your Board. Crossed. the Line?
Ilas your board gone from governance to micro
management'. lVatura~~y, both board and staff members
are responsibje for maintaining the focus o{ providing for
the good of the ]ibrary, but there are some marbed
differences in tfreir duties.
I his outjine wif~ help the jibrary board from crossing that
fine ~ine from governance into management.
~iovernanee: T}ie Library Board.
•Specifies outcomes, constraints, and desires.
• May suggest bow to accomphsb desired outcomes.
'Determines financial resources avai~ab~e to
management and generally where avai~abje resources are
to be allocated.
• Identifies information required to ma~Ze sound pojicy
decisions and majxes decisions regarding policy.
• f~onitors the progress and initiates conflict resolution
when required.
Management:'I~}re Library Director
• Specifies process to achieve outcomes within
governance constraints.
• D1ust participate in decisions about what may and
may not be done. I he goal: to ensure enough ~exibility
that outcomes set by the board can be accomplished.
•Informs governance of resources required and
reconunends cost-effective ajjocation.
• Identifies information needed for soon po~icy
decision-majxing and may ma~xe po~icy deliberation;
specifies the process fox carrying out policy.
• Monitors progress and initiates conf~ict resolution
when required.
~}xo is in c}rar~e o~ w}rat~
Code: R =Responsible I = In~ol~ed
'Che Library
Board Director
R Governance I
I r'~dministration R
R Decides what I
I Decides bow R
R Nlalzes po~icy I
I Carries out po~icy R
R Set goads I
I Plans to achieve goads R
R Reviews goals I
I Implements puns R
R ~ I Monitors progress R f~ I
To be continu¢rl in Is=ue 3
Your Help is Needed. to 'I"ell Your
story or to Aslz a Question
Other library boards can benefit if yon share some
method, policy, or practice that you feel wor~ZS for your
board. If you as a trustee have a question that you need
answered, contact fac)z ~'o~e, editor, at 1536 ~mnetlza
l1ve. N., Go~den Ua]]ey, MN 55427; phone (612) 546-
7483; fax 0712) 546-1483 by 11pri~ 2O for inc~usion in
the next issue of Lin~zing Z.i6rury Crustees.
Trustee Training in the Metro Area
visions of Libraries for the Futuxc" is the theme for the
spring MELSA l~rustee workshop to be held the morning
of .~pril 24 at the Roseville Pubic Library. Topics
include long-term services to seniors, getting patrons
baclx to their libraries, Y2K, and large versus small
libraries. (,'ontact Jennifer Scribner at (6S1) 645-5731
or e-mail: jennifer~melsa.lib.mn. us
How Others see the Value of the
Public Library
More than any other civic institution, pnbhc libraaes run
on the principle of genera] trust. '1'lre boo)zs are bought
with pubic funds or with money donated by ~friends~ and
the buildings are open to anyone. Borrowers are expected
to bring the boo~ZS back, and, astonishingly, they do for
the most part. For many of us, a library card is the first
symbol we acquire as chi~dren that indicates we are
separate people, with freedom of individual choice and a
capacity for responsible action. The institution is pubic,
but perhaps because of the peculiar aloneness of reading,
the essential quality of each person in relationship to
boolzs and, by extension, to libraries, is private.
.Iallz of the town
Nero Ior~er