President Andrew Slade called the meeting of the Duluth Public Library Board to order at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24, 2009, and reviewed the agenda.

Present: J. Brissett, D. D'Allaird, V. Katz, P. Markert, A. Slade, P. Spooner, M. Watson, J. Sheriff, R. Zurn
Excused: L. Benson Johnson, D. Casperson

Approval of Minutes from Library Board meeting
The Library Board minutes of the January 27, 2009, meeting were approved as distributed.

Communications

• Director's Report, Library news from January 2009
• Updated final version of bylaws approved 1/27/09
• Duluth Public Library Service Cuts and Operational Changes - 2008
• Unique Management information
• Slade's email to Mayor re mechanical system and Mayor's reply
• D'Allaird's email to Candace Renalls re DNT article (2/16/09)
• Topics used in Library Manager position application (for discussion)
• Questions asked in oral performance test (for discussion)
• Statistics report: Circulation and Gate counts, 2007 and 2008
• Article: Viewpoint column by Melanie Huggins (Pioneer Press 2/15/09)
• Article: Duluth Public Library Bustling… (DNT 2/16/09)
• Brochure: Kiss Me, You Fool! Romance Novels for Teens
• Brochure: Newbery Medal Winners - updated for 2009
• Brochure: Caldecott Medal Winners - updated for 2009
• Thank you letters from Woodland Middle School students (available at meeting)
• BookPage, February 2009 and March 2009 (available at meeting)

Reports
A. Friends of the Duluth Public Library - P. Markert
Friends will help staff the Library's booth at Family FunFair at the DECC on 2/28 and 3/1. They are discussing how more money can be raised to support the Library. Partnering more with other organizations is being considered. Friends members are invited to Mystery in the Stacks featuring William Kent Krueger on Friday, April 24. It's not too late to join!

B. Directors' Report - J. Sheriff, R. Zurn

• Manager, Library Services update: Four of five applicants passed the written portion of the application testing. One of these applicants dropped out of consideration. The three remaining applicants for Library Manager participated in the oral performance portion of the Civil Service test on February 12, 2009. An outside panel of librarians scored the three candidates. An almost final draft of the questions asked is included in this packet, along with the questions used for the written portion. Both can be used during our discussion of final interview questions.
• City's stimulus package proposal: Our HVAC system is still on the City's list. President Slade sent an email to the Mayor supporting its inclusion. The Mayor agreed. A copy of that exchange is in your packet.
• Board By-Laws: A final version of the Board's bylaws as approved at the January meeting is included in your packet.
• Duluth Public Library Service Cuts and Operational Changes - 2008: At the request of City Administration, every department/division prepared a list describing the effects of 2008 budget cuts on services. While many individual items are small, the cumulative effect is great across the City.
• Changes in City Administration: Mark Winson, former City CAO, is returning to that position. Current CAO Lisa Potswald will become the Director of Administrative Services. Because a Director of Community Resources has not yet been hired, Winson will temporarily fill that role. Winson is a long-time Library supporter and customer.
• Library tour: A tour has been scheduled for Thursday, March 5 at 4:30. If you have not yet indicated that you wish to attend, please let Judy or Renee know.
• Unique Management: Renee Zurn met with the company representative and has prepared a handout relating services and associated costs. We are seriously thinking of implementing their 90-day free trial.
• ISD 709 agreement: Pending the approval of the Council [approved 2/23/09], we will be entering into an agreement with ISD 709 to purchase early childhood special education materials for children and parents. For many years, ISD 709 has housed a special parent resource center that is not being used as much as desired. The agreement for the current year will provide DPL with $1000 for the purchase of books, DVDs and magazines which will become part of the Library's collection. We expect that the materials will see additional use when housed here.
• Family FunFair: The Library will have a booth at the Family FunFair at the DECC on February 28 and March 1, along with the Police Department's DARE program and Parks & Recreation. Sheriff will provide staffing, along with volunteers. Upcoming summer programs, along with other library programs and services, will be advertised.

Old Business

New Business
Questions/Topics for Library Manager interviews: A variety of approaches and possible questions were discussed. Watson will email additional suggestions to Sheriff.

Unique Management - for revenue recapture related to lost materials and fees: Some Board members expressed their concern about the public relations impact of this approach. Unique Management is a "low-key" agency that specializes in working with libraries. The intent is to guard taxpayers' investment in library materials. A media release will be issued at the appropriate time. Collections used to be handled through the Minnesota Department of Revenue's recapture program. This is no longer possible because we do not have customers' social security numbers.

Election of officers in March: Slade and D'Allaird agreed to serve a second year as President and Vice-President, respectively. The formal election will be held at the March meeting.

Using email for sending pre-meeting information: Eight of nine Board members have email access. For the March meeting, the major elements of the Board packet will be sent by email to those eight. A print copy will be sent to the ninth member, and printed file copies will be kept. Please report any problems with this method to Sheriff.

Library poster collection and other artwork: Spooner will work with David Ouse to develop an art policy for the Library, including an evaluation of the existing World War II poster collection.

The meeting adjourned at 5:43 p.m.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at 4:30 p.m. in the Library's Conference Room.

4/21/09