Library Board Meeting Minutes

Minutes
On motion of McIntosh, seconded by Sarnecki, the February 16, 2005 meeting minutes were approved (Piergrossi and Wiswall abstained).

Bills for consideration
After questions were answered, on motion of Sarnecki, seconded by McIntosh, the Board unanimously accepted the February bill payment report.

Annual statistical review – charts
Proces distributed annual statistical snapshots in chart form.

Winnefox Library System director succession
Current Winnefox Library System/Oshkosh Public Library director John Nichols is retiring early next year. The Board discussed what that means to the Neenah library and what a future without Nichols would mean to the 30 member libraries.

Proces noted, in written comments:

…That Nichols is a true visionary, who has built the Winnefox system from scratch. The Winnefox Automated Library Services (WALS) sub-program, alone, was now a very large endeavor that contracts for library automation services in 25 libraries in 5 counties.

The key question is whether the Winnefox Board should continue to contract with the Oshkosh Public Library director to also be the Winnefox director. The Winnefox Board must decide if the job has grown to the point where it needs more than a Coordinator position (currently held by Mark Arend on a temporary basis). There are pluses and minuses involved and there is not general agreement on this matter.

Winnefox is the only large system in the state to still have a joint director with its resource library. The joint director idea formerly was the norm, but there are only three left: Manitowoc-Calumet County Library System (2 counties, 6 libraries), Kenosha County Library System (which essentially only consists of Kenosha Public Library), and Winnefox (5 counties, 30 libraries). All other formerly joint directorships have been split.

Now the Winnefox Board must decide what’s in the best interest of its member libraries…and the public.

Judy Malueg is WLS Board president. Merry Whipple is a WLS Board member and past president. Tom Widener is the Winnebago County representative to the WLS Board.

Proces noted that he would not be a candidate for either the current joint directorship or for either the Oshkosh Public Library or Winnefox Library System director jobs, should they be separated. His opinions were strictly as director of the Neenah library.

For the best possible future for Winnefox, Board members thought that the time had come for a separate director for the Winnefox system after Nichols’ retirement. By consensus, the Board asked if Widener would present that position to the Winnefox Library System Board at its next meeting.

Director’s recertification
By state law, our library must have a grade one certified librarian as its director. Proces noted that he had met the recertification requirements (100 hours of continuing education over the past 5 years) and had received a grade one certificate, from the DPI, valid until February 2010.

Winnebago County representative’s report
Widener talked about the situation in Milwaukee County, where member libraries are in dispute over the equity of interlibrary payments and system services.

Widener read a section on board duties from the Winnefox Library System Trustee Newsletter.

Neenah City Council representative’s report
Piergrossi thanked the library for hosting the City Council meetings while the Council chambers at City Hall were being remodeled.

Neenah Joint School District representative’s report
Wiswall noted the NJSD Board was very pleased with the joint Summer Library Program co-sponsored by the school district and the library and hoped that the joint program continued.

Adjournment
On motion of Wiswall, seconded by Sarnecki, the Board voted to adjourn at 4:45 p.m.