Call to Order: President Dan D'Allaird called the meeting of the Duluth Public Library Board to order at 4:35 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. On a motion by Bogue, seconded by Brissett, the agenda was approved.

Members Present: Dan D'Allaird, Sister Edith Bogue, Jane Brissett, Virginia Katz, Printha Markert, Andrew Slade, Peter Spooner
Also Present: Kelly Erb, Carla Powers
Excused: Frank Jewell, Liz Benson Johnson
Absent/Unexcused: Peter Spooner

Approval of Minutes
On a motion by Brissett, seconded by Bogue, the Library Board minutes of the regular meeting of February 24 were approved with the corrected spelling of Jim Skurla's name.

Reports
A. Friends of the Duluth Public Library - Markert
The Mystery Dinner will take place on April 13. Friends' member Linda Hanson is putting together a fundraising event for September 17 that will feature author William Kent Krueger. The Friends board is considering becoming a member of the Chamber of Commerce and/or the Greater Downtown Council.

B. Arrowhead Library System - Brissett
On March 8 the ALS board approved a merger with the North Country Library Cooperative (NCLC). This means that the composition of the ALS board will change. The new board will be seated in July and will begin with staggered terms to avoid having every board member's term expire at the same time. St. Louis County will have three representatives. ALS Director Jim Weikum will be speaking at county board meetings to ask the counties to affirm this new arrangement. There was a suggestion to ask Jewell to advocate for having a DPL board member on the new ALS board.

C. One Book, One Community - Brissett
Three programs have taken place so far. The first two were showings of the PBS documentary "Unnatural Causes." Ten people attended the first showing and six attended the second. Last night Dr. John Sande from Essentia Health spoke on the topic of medical ethics. There were 81 people in attendance and 34 evaluations returned. All but two people filling out evaluations rated the program as "excellent." The program was videotaped and will be posted on the library's website within a few days. The next program will be a book discussion on Thursday, March 29 at 6:30.

D. Duluth Library Foundation - Katz
Board member Janet Davis, who was to have attended her last meeting on April 24, passed away suddenly. The board is thinking about an appropriate way to honor her many years of service, perhaps with a flowering tree. At its next meeting the board will welcome two new members: Dan D'Allaird and Friends member Linda Hanson. Terry Teich will become the new president of the foundation board, John Kelly will become the vice president, and Mark Melhus will remain treasurer. The board will consider organizing a planning/visioning session in the near future.

E. Equity in Funding Committee - Slade
On April 9 a group gathered over lunch to discuss the current state of funding for DPL and possible options for more secure funding in the future. One of the main issues is that the library is used regionally, but it continues to be part of the City of Duluth general fund and is vulnerable to cuts. City Councilor Dan Hartman, who attended the meeting, said that finding a way to secure funding for DPL is one of the council's top priorities for 2012. He believes that it's important for the city to stabilize library funding before asking other cities and townships to participate financially. Kelly Erb reported that she and another intern are researching other library systems around the country to see how they are funded.

Old Business:
None

New Business:
Approval of Annual Report - The annual report to be submitted to State Library Services was discussed and approved. There was a question on line R24. Powers agreed to find the answer to the question and follow up with D'Allaird, who will sign the signature page at that time.

Election of Officers - On a motion by Katz, seconded by Brissett, Bogue was elected president. On a motion by Bogue, seconded by Katz, Brissett was elected vice president. On a motion by Bogue, seconded by Katz, D'Allaird was formally recognized and thanked for his exemplary service not only as DPL board president but also as co-chair of the Vote Yes for Parks & Libraries Committee.

Communications/Correspondence:
Manager's Report
There were no questions or comments on this report.

The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
The next meeting will take place Tuesday, April 24 in the library's Conference Room.

6/26/12
Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802