International Falls Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
February 8, 2022
Present: Diane Adams – Library Director, Paul Nevanen, Ashley Kostiuk, Darcy Sullivan, Heather Weaver and Mona Johnson.
Minutes – Nevanen moved and Weaver seconded to approve December 2021 and January 2022 minutes. All approved.
Financial Report – Nevanen moved and Sullivan seconded to approve January and February 2022 bills. All approved
Director’s Report – January was a good month for circulation. We were up 20% over December and up 35% over January 2021. Storytime attendance varied from 10 – 20 each week. We continue to give out 12 Libratory bags each week. Once the bags are gone we put out the instruction sheet for folks to take and gather materials on their own. Most weeks the materials are pretty common and easily obtained, if not already available.
Playaways and Wonderbooks are all cataloged and on the shelves. We are talking with adults and sharing one on one how they work and encouraging them to give it a try. Parents are loving the wonderbooks for youth and several families have discovered the youth Playaways. They are really liking that it is all one piece, there are no parts to lose and everyone can listen to something different if need be.
Climate resilient communities display from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and State Library Services will be here until February 12th. We will be getting two more of these table top displays this year, one in May on pollinators and one in late September on Climate Change.
The emergency door locking system has been installed. We will be working with the LEC late next week on testing the response system with them, but it is currently in and working with notification anytime it is activated going to the library director, the city administrator and the LEC. We will need to work on getting door settings tweaked as the handicap door locks, but doesn’t latch at the moment without staff pulling on it to get it to fully catch and seal. But progress continues to be made on library projects! Yeah!
I am almost done with the State’s Annual Report and hope to have the last of the needed information available by the time we meet next week and that can be approved.
Old Business: In-person programming continues to be limited to storytime each Thursday morning. We provide a dozen families with elementary students a take-home Libratory bag (a STEAM project) each week with instructions provided after the bags are gone and a monthly take-out craft or art project for teens and adults with a shift to those being provided to us from Arrowhead Library System.
The fireplace is in and we love it!
New Business: A motion by Nevanen with a second by Weaver to accept a donation of $500 from George Hartmann in memory of Ruth Ritchie. All approved.
Motion by Johnson, second by Nevanen to accept the state annual report as presented. All approved.
Kostiuk is willing to serve as president of the board and Nevanen volunteered to serve as Vice-President. Motion by Weaver with second by Johnson to accept these officers for 2022. All approved.
Next Friends of the Library book sale will be Tuesday, March 8th from 4pm – 6pm.
What are you reading? – Ashley is loving Educating Oppositional and Defiant Children by Nancy D. and Philip S. Hall and just started The First to Lie by Hank Philip Ryan, Heather is finding Evidence Not Seen: a women’s miraculous faith in a Japanese prison camp during WWII by Darlene Deibler Rose very moving. Mona finished Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman, Paul is reading The Power of Geography: ten maps that reveal the future of our world by Tim Marshall, Diane is reading the eighth and final book in the “Invisible Library” series by Genevieve Cogman, The Untold Story. Darcy is again only reading sheet music as she prepares for a concert and teaching.
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9th, 2022 at 4:30 pm.
Meeting ended at 5:14 pm.