JAN   FEB   MAR   APR   MAY   JUN   JUL   AUG   SEP   OCT   NOV   DEC
McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
 January 2007

Cancelled due to ice storm.
McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2007

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m.  Those members present were Alice Snodgrass, Erlene Gideon, Brenda Kilby, Marilyn Carnell-Williams, and Carrie Cline.  Jack Hood was a guest.

Reading of Minutes - The December minutes were read and discussed.  Marilyn made a motion to approve the minutes as written, Alice seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Director's Report
        *Carrie presented the 2006 year-end, December 2006, and January 2007 statistics.

        *An organization in Kansas City is currently suing the MO State Government for its mishandling and misappropriation of several years' worth of A&E funds.  This money was created to fund the arts and has been thrown into General Fund instead.

        *Carrie visited with the Library Director at the new Bentonville Library, and reported on their conversation.

        *Carrie received a grant to host Every Child Ready to Read workshops at the library and around the county.  This grant makes Carrie an official presenter, and has paid for training, lodging, and supplies for the workshops.  Carrie is partnering with the Health Department and different head starts and day cares.

        *The spring slate of computer classes has been announced.  The Slinkard Associates will be presenting a workshop on basic spreadsheeting later this spring, after April 15th.

        *Bruce will be presenting a workshop at the spring MOREnet conference, which will pay his room and conference fees.

        *Carrie will be presenting a workshop at the spring MASL conference, promoting literacy and the Building Block Picture Book Award.

        *The Senior Fair has been set for Saturday, April 28th.

Financial Report - After reviewing the December and January financial reports, Alice made a motion to approve them, Marilyn seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public Comments on Agenda Items - none

Old Business

        A.  Library Services Planning - Jack Hood from the Hood-Rich firm presented his proposed drawings for a second floor expansion.  There was much discussion and proposed changes to his initial drawing, and he will return with a revised design when he is finished.

        B.  2006 Final Budget - The final 2006 numbers were presented to the board, and Alice made a motion to approve and finalize the 2006 budget.  Erlene seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

New Business

        A.  Teen Program - Marilyn announced that she would like to see a teen summer reading program started.  Carrie agreed to look into the idea, and see if anyone could be found to run this program.

General Public Comments - none

Adjourn - Alice made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Marilyn seconded this, and the meeting was adjourned at 11:35 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on Saturday, March 10th.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
March 10, 2007

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:10 a.m.  Those members present were Alice Snodgrass, Erlene Gideon, Brenda Kilby, Marilyn Carnell-Williams, and Carrie Cline.

Reading of Minutes - The February minutes were read and discussed.  Alice made a motion to approve the the minutes as written, Erlene seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Director's Report

        *Carrie presented the February statistics

        *All of the classes and workshops are going very well, including the Every Child Ready to Read series, and the computer classes.

        *The library is accepting a can of fruit for Crosslines in lieu of fines from March 1 -15.

        *The Book Sale will be Saturday, April 14th through Friday, April 20th.

        *The Senior Fair has been set for Saturday, April 28th.

        *The April board meeting location will need to be moved due to the Book Sale.  Carrie will secure an alternate location.

Financial Report - After reviewing the February financial reports, Erlene made a motion to approve them, Alice seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Public Comments on Agenda Items - none

Old Business

        A.  Library Services Planning - Marilyn would like Carrie to contact Jack Hood and let him work on making the new addition as "green," or eco-friendly, as possible.

        B.  Trustee Vacancy - There is a vacancy for a trustee from Noel/ SW City, as Laura could not serve due to a Statute conflict.  Brenda stated that as a board member, she felt blind-sided by a complaint about Laura to the Commission, instead of the person coming to the Board with their concern, as Laura was recommended with the best of intentions because she would have made an excellent board member.  Carrie will talk to the County Commission about the opening.

New Business - none

General Public Comments - none

Adjourn - Alice made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Erlene seconded this, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on Saturday, April 14th.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
April 14, 2007

U. S. Bank Meeting Room

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:15 a.m.  Those members present were Alice Snodgrass, Brenda Kilby, Marilyn Carnell-Williams, and Carrie Cline.  Erlene Gideon was unable to attend.

Reading of Minutes -  The March minutes were read and discussed.  Alice made a motion to approve the minutes as written, Marilyn seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Director's Report

        *Carrie presented the March statistics.

        *All of the classes and workshops are going very well, including the Every Child Ready to Read series, and the computer classes.

        *The Senior Fair has been set for Saturday, April 28th.

        *Carrie is getting ready to schedule Movies in the Park around the county for May and early June.

        *The Summer Reading Program is gearing up to be an excellent program, and Carrie is collaborating with the school librarians to attend school-wide assemblies and promote the activities in May.

Financial Report - After reviewing the March financial reports, Marilyn made a motion to approve them, Alice seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

Public Comments on Agenda Items - none

Old Business - none

New Business

        A.  Cassie System - Carrie presented the Cassie system, a software system that controls the public-access computers, keeps track of time limits, records violations of policy, handles reservations, and controls the printer.  Alice made a motion that Carrie purchase the Cassie system if the library staff are pleased with the Evaluation test.  Marilyn seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

General Public Comments - none

Adjourn - Alice made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Marilyn seconded this, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:50 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on Saturday, May 12th.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
May 12, 2007

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m.  Those members present were Brenda Kilby, Alice Snodgrass, Erlene Gideon, Sheila Owens, and Carrie Cline.  Marilyn Carnell-Williams was unable to attend.

Director's Report

        *The April statistics were presented.

        *The 2007 Senior Fair was a success, with lots of great booths packed with wonderful information, and a good turnout.

        *From March 1st - March 15th, the Library accepted cans of fruit for Crosslines in lieu of fines.  For the first time, many patrons took advantage of this amnesty period, and cleared old and large fines.  Carrie took many cans over to Crosslines, which was greatly appreciated.

        *The Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) program has been a tremendous success.  Carrie has presented two of the workshops for the area Head Start staff, all three sessions for a roomful of day care providers, the baby session for the young mothers at the high school, and two sessions for the Health Department and WIC program.  The partnerships have been wonderful, and Carrie is reaching residents about the library who might not be aware of it or feel welcome.

        *The Summer Reading Program schedule was presented to the board, who loved the theme.  Carrie has been traveling to each elementary school with Pineville School Librarian Debra Coffee, giving a small program during their end-of-the-year assemblies.  The goal is to get the children excited, who can then get their parents on board.

        *One of the large Wal-Mart warehouses presented Carrie and the McDonald County Library a check for $1250, which will be used for materials and the Summer Reading Program.

        *Carrie has discussed the Equalization cut with the State Library staff, who insist that their figures are correct.  More work needs to be done so that the funds from 2008 are not also lost.

        *Carrie was invited by the State Library to attend an LSTA planning session at the lake, which was fully funded.  This gave her a chance to have input in the new 5-year plan on spending the federal LSTA monies that the State Library gets each year.

        *The first Movie in the Park has been scheduled for June 2nd in Tiff City.

        *Carrie is planning a summer Gaming League to attract teens into the library.  There will be rules for conduct and content, and will be overseen by adults at all times.

Financial Report - After reviewing the financial reports, Alice made a motion to approve the reports, Sheila seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public Comments on Agenda Items - no comments

Old Business - no old business

New Business

        A.  Welcome New Trustee - The board welcomes Sheila Owens, the newest trustee representing Noel and Southwest City.

        B.  New Trustee Training - Brenda led a discussion on the role that Trustees play vs. the role of the Library Director.  The goal is always to have a healthy and progressive relationship that benefits all patrons of the McDonald County Library.  Brenda asked Carrie to schedule a Trustee Retreat for the August meeting, in which the board can meet on any evening over dinner and discuss library matters in an open forum.

General public comments - no comments

Adjourn - Erlene made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Alice seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on June 9th.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
June 9, 2007

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m.  Those members present were Brenda Kilby, Alice Snodgrass, Erlene Gideon, Sheila Owens, Marilyn Carnell-Williams, and Carrie Cline

Reading of Minutes - The May minutes were read and discussed.  Alice made a motion to approve the minutes as written, Erlene seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director's Report

        *The May statistics were presented.

        *The 2007 Summer Reading Program is in full swing.  As of June 8th, there are 180 children already signed up, and many are involved in the weekly Story Time events and reading for prizes.  Carrie believes that her performances at their end-of-the-year assemblies are really paying off.

        *Carrie just returned from the June Director's Meeting in Poplar Bluff.  Missouri State Librarian Margaret Conroy announced that A&E funds have been raised, and the State Aid should return to 55 cents per capita.  Attorney Kent Brown recommended some policy changes, which Carrie will present to the board at the July meeting.

        *The Library network is needing to be reworked to keep the newest software running optimally.  Bruce will be working on this, and Carrie will write a grant to hopefully help with some of the larger equipment costs.

        *Carrie would like to attend the 2007 Rural Library Conference in Columbus, Ohio in September, and will write a grant to help fund this trip.  It was suggested that Carrie should attend anyway, whether she gets the grant ot not, because it will be an excellent learning experience.

        *Meghan Hill visited with Carrie and showed her some floor plans of a proposed new library in Southwest City.  The donated land lies directly on Main Street which is a prime location.  Meghan will hopefully get to attend the July meeting and present her plans to the entire board.

        *The first Movie in the Park was held on June 2nd in Tiff City.  There was a good turnout, and the local residents really seemed to appreciate the movie and requested more.

Financial Report - After reviewing the financial reports, Erlene made a motion to approve the reports, Marilyn seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public Comments on Agenda Items - no comments

Old Business - no old business

New Business

        A.  Elevator for New Building - While at her Director's Meeting, Carrie was able to visit with fellow librarians who have already been through building projects, and they reported that several libraries have found a much cheaper alternative to elevators.  Referred to an "morgue" elevators, they are enclosed and therefore ADA compliant, but much cheaper to install and maintain than the traditional ones.  The board will certainly keep this in mind as a second floor expansion is planned for the Pineville Library.

General Public Comments - no comments

Adjourn - Marilyn made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Sheila seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:55 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on July 14th.


McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
July 14, 2007

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:10 a.m.  Those members present were Brenda Kilby, Erlene Gideon, Sheila Owens, Marilyn Carnell-Williams, and Carrie Cline.  Alice Snodgrass was unable to attend, and Megan Hill was a guest.

Reading of Minutes - The June minutes were read and discussed.  Marilyn made a motion to approve the minutes as written, Erlene seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director's Report

        *The June statistics were presented.

        *The 2007 Summer Reading Program is in full swing.  As of July 13th, there are 237 children signed up, and for the first time, we have more independent readers enrolled than toddlers and pre-schoolers.  Debra Coffee and Dalana Fuller have been a wonderful help, making each program a resounding success.

        *Carrie recently invested the savings CD at Edward Jones, which had the best rate.  After discussion, the board agreed with Carrie to move our Money Market from U. S. Bank to Edward Jones.

        *Carrie and Bruce are working with IBM to come up with a technology plan for the Technology Grant due August 15th.   The library will have to come up with 25% of the total cost.

Financial Report - After reviewing the financial reports, Erlene made a motion to approve the reports, Sheila seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public comments on agenda items - no comments

Old Business - no old business

New Business

        A.  Policy Amendment - Upon advice from Kent Brown, attorney for Missouri Public Library Directors, the phrase "Any record that can be closed is closed" was added to page X-2.  Sheila made a motion to approve the amendment to the policy, Marilyn seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

        B.  SW City Library Planning - Megan Hill presented her preliminary plans for a library building in Southwest City.  A wonderful  lot on Main Street and $50,000 have been donated by an individual for a library, and Megan is determined to raise the rest of the funds needed.  The board discussed possible changes to her interior drawings, but plans are just at their beginning stages, and Megan will return to future board meetings with updates.

General Public Comments - no comments

Adjourn - Marilyn made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Sheila seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:55 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on August 11th at 11 a.m. at Cotton Eyed Joes in Noel.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
August 11, 2007
Cotton Eyed Joes Restaurant, Noel

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 11:50 a.m.  Those members present were Brenda Kilby, Erlene Gideon, Sheila Owens, Alice Snodgrass, and Carrie Cline.  Marilyn Carnell-Williams was not in attendance.

Reading of Minutes - The July minutes were read and discussed.  Erlene made a motion to approve the minutes as written,  Sheila seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director's Report

        *The July statistics were presented.

        *Carrie received the Show Me Steps to Career Development grant to attend the Rural Library Association fall conference in Columbus, Ohio.

        *The Summer Reading Program final totals were presented, and the entire library staff is very pleased by the very large increase in children participating and the hours of books read.

        *The library will show the Jesse James movie in the park in Pineville during Jesse James Days.  It will be shown at 10 p.m. on Friday night, August 17th.

        *A discussion was held about the money that the library will be receiving as part of Wal-Mart's settlement with the Assessor's Office to correct their past personal property taxes on the Data Center at the State Line.  According to Laura Pope, the library should be receiving a little over $159,000.

        *Carrie presented her discussion with the State Auditor's Office concerning the Hancock Amendment, and that smaller schools like McDonald County were exempted due to a Constitutional Amendment.  The library board would like Carrie to set up a special hearing with our two state legislators about the possibility of exempting smaller libraries from this Amendment.  The rollbacks continue to hurt the library, and we cannot keep up with the growth of the county.

Financial Report - After reviewing the financial reports, Alice made a motion to approve the minutes, Erlene seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public Comments on Agenda Items - no comments

Old Business - none

New Business

        A.  Card Catalog - Brenda noted that the card catalog was down a day last week when Atriuum was switched over to a new server.  Carrie assured her it would be corrected as soon as possible.

        B.  Volunteer - Brenda would like to volunteer to scan the full texts of our obituaries, to add to our on-line database, whenever the firewall problems have been taken care of.

General public comments - none

Adjourn -   Erlene made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Sheila seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 11:59 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on September 8th or at a special public hearing as planned.

Special Called Meeting
August 30, 2007  6 p.m.

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.  Alice Snodgrass, Sheila Owens, Erlene Gideon, and Carrie Cline attended.

Carrie presented the 2008 tax levy paperwork with the levy at $.0987.  Alice made a motion to approve the levy at $.0987, Sheila seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
September 2007


No meeting was held in September.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
October 13, 2007

The library board welcomed Marilyn Ruestman and Kevin Wilson for a discussion on the Hancock Amendment.  The matter is to be researched by their offices, and they will get back with us.

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:45 a.m.  Those members present were Brenda Kilby, Erlene Gideon, Sheila Owens, Alice Snodgrass, and Carrie Cline.  Marilyn Carnell-Williams was unable to attend.

Reading of Minutes - The August minutes were read and discussed.  Alice made a motion to approve the minutes as written, Sheila seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director's Report

        *The August and September statistics were presented.

        *Carrie has been asked to be a part of the SW City planning committee board for the new library building.

        *The Retirement / Thirty-year anniversary celebration for Joyce Hollums will be held on Saturday, October 20th from 2 - 4.

        *Carrie gave a brief description of her Association of Rural & Small Libraries Conference in Columbus, Ohio.  She attended several wonderful workshops, and gave highlights from each, including marketing, trustees, bookmobiles, and the future of libraries.  It was a wonderful learning experience and Carrie is grateful she was able to attend.

        *Plans from Hood-Rich should be here to look at and discuss by the November meeting.

Financial Report - After reviewing the financial reports, Alice made a motion to approve the reports, Erlene seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public comments on agenda items -  no comments

Old Business - none

New Business

        A.  Amend Proposed Budget -  Carrie presented four changes to the Proposed 2007 budget, which are enclosed.  Erlene made a motion that the board approve the changes to the proposed budget, Sheila seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.  Brnda would like Carrie to research retirement options for the staff, and bring this information to the November meeting, if possible.

General public comments - no comments

Adjourn -  Alice made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Erlene seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 11:59 a.m.  The next meeting will be held on November 10th.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
November 10, 2007
Tom's BBQ, Pineville

Roll Call - The meeting was called to order at 10:10 a.m.  Those members present were Brenda Kilby, Erlene Gideon, Sheila Owens, Alice Snodgrass, Marilyn Carnell-Williams, and Carrie Cline.

Reading of Minutes -  The October minutes were read and discussed.  Alice made a motion to approve the minutes as written, Sheila seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Director's Report

        *The October statistics were presented.

        *Carrie reported that Joyce Hollums' retirement celebration went very well and was well-attended.

        *Two letters from the public were included in the packet, both praising the librarians on their assistance.

        *Carrie will bring retirement options to the meeting in December, as she hasn't gotten to meet with the LAGERS representative yet.

        *Carrie, Francine, and Velta will be attending a free Customer Service workshop in Springfield on Monday.

        *Carrie has been invited to join the Crowder College Literacy Roundtable in Neosho.

        *Our state aid has been restored from 45 cents per capita, to 50 cents.

        *Lindsey McCarroll from the Missouri State Library is the person who figures Equalization payments, and assured Carrie that they would use the very latest poverty data in determining the payments for 08.

        *Carrie tried to get the library's older computers out in the communities, but only one person has accepted.  The board agreed with Carrie to get rid of the computers to any agency or individual who expressed a need, thereby clearing the space in the library, and putting the computers to good use.

Financial Report - After reviewing the financial reports, Alice made a motion to approve the reports, Erlene seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Public comments on agenda items - no comments

Old Business

        A.  Hancock Amendment - The board discussed how the Hancock Amendment puts undue burden on our library and our citizens, by dropping our levy below its voted level.  Carrie spoke with Kent Brown, who is on retainer for the Missouri Public Library Directors as a lawyer specializing in Library Law, who is willing to talk about different actions that can be taken on behalf of the county and all rural libraries in the state.
        Carrie will be a witness on Wednesday to the Property Tax Committee that Laura Pope sits on, who are seeking to lower property taxes.  This will be an excellent opportunity to plead the cause of every public library in Missouri, and especially the rural libraries.
        The board has agreed to keep researching the matter , and hopefully have a face-to-face meeting with Kent Brown over Thanksgiving when he is down in this area.

New Business

        A.  Policy Amendment - Carrie presented 4 new job descriptions to replace the old outdated ones in the Policy Manual.  Marilyn made a motion to approve the new job descriptions, Alice seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.

General public comments - no comments

Adjourn -   Marilyn made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Alice seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 11:05 a.m.   The next meeting will be held on December 15th.

McDonald County Library
Board of Trustees Minutes
December 2007

The meeting was cancelled due to lack of quorum.