Library Board Meeting Minutes

Following the Board Bylaws, and in accordance with state law, President Hanes made a recommendation to allow the minimum quorum of three. On motion of McIntosh, seconded by Piergrossi, the Board unanimously approved that change for this meeting.

Minutes
On motion of Sarnecki, seconded by McIntosh, the Board approved the minutes of the regular Board meeting of May 18, 2005. (Wiswall abstained.)

Library statistical reports
Proces reported that circulation is doing well with adult books up 11% for May and 7% for the year.

Bills for consideration
On motion of Sarnecki, seconded by Piergrossi, the Board unanimously accepted the May bill payment report.

Hemes entered the meeting.

Director’s report
Proces added several items to his report:

• Adult Services Librarian Nicole Hardina-Wilhelm has started her maternity leave and one of the library’s regular substitutes would be filling in during Nicole’s leave of absence.
• The governor had proposed that public library system aids be increased 5% for 2005 and 4.1% for 2006. This would be the first increase in two years. Representative Dean Kaufert has been very helpful in facilitating this proposal.
• The library has been offered a Wisconsin-themed quilt that will be made by an area 4th grade class. Similar quilts may be seen at City Hall and at the Neenah Joint School District boardroom. The Board will take this under consideration at the next meeting.
• The Mayor, with Council approval, has made reappointments to the library board of Dan McIntosh and Merry Whipple. The County Executive has noted that he will reappoint Tom Widener (needs County Board approval).

Excluding a customer from the library
Proces informed the Board that there was a series of strange encounters with a customer that culminated with his being cited for Disorderly Conduct by Neenah Police and barred from the library by Assistant Director Gretchen Raab for 30 days. The same customer has also been barred from the Menasha Public Library because of his behavior there. It is recommended that, in accordance with Library Board policy and Wisconsin Statute 43.52(2), and due to the inappropriate, strange, and threatening behavior exhibited that the customer be banned from entering the library grounds or building. The customer would be allowed to apply to re-enter the library property after June 1, 2006, but only with the director’s approval. On motion of Sarnecki, seconded by Piergrossi, the Board unanimously accepted the recommendation to bar David Kante from the library building and grounds.

2005 Staff Survey results
Proces reported on the 2005 library staff survey. The overall result was overwhelmingly positive. Areas of dissatisfaction included dealing with on-going training (probably relating to the new automation system), fairness of annual job performance evaluation (likely somewhat related to what are seen as artificial ceilings imposed by the City), and quantity of communication from supervisors. Prior to the meeting, Irish had indicated her concern about the number of “not familiars,” particularly in relation to how the staff perceived the Board. Proces explained “not familiar” was also used for “no answer.” Also, there are several new employees. In addition, some part-time employees do not have the time to read everything closely and may be missing items such as the Board praising their efforts. Employees liked the new employee recognition program. Proces would like to see higher satisfaction with “spirit of cooperation” between the different areas, but overall was very pleased with the survey results. McIntosh asked if the staff could be asked for comments regarding the areas of concern. Sarnecki suggested asking staff for ideas on how to improve the negative areas. Proces noted he would do so. Piergrossi reported that the city employee survey had just finished being compiled and that the results should be shared soon. The results of the 2002 and 2005 library staff surveys will be compared at the next meeting.

Winnefox Library System director succession
Proces reported that the Winnefox Board met on 5/25 and voted 14-7 to retain the dual directorship for both Oshkosh Public Library and Winnefox Library System. The Winnefox Library System is a complex, five-county, 30-library entity with staff and administration intertwined with Oshkosh Public Library. There will be more questions asked in upcoming months regarding the system. One current issue before Winnefox is reciprocal use within the system. Answering this issue will bring up the conflict of interest question as well. Tom Widener, who was unable to attend this Board meeting and is a member of the Winnefox Library System Board, e-mailed that, “The box has been opened, and the issue cannot be ignored – we must unravel the Oshkosh Library/Winnefox relationship. I will be asking for an organizational audit, probably at the next meeting. We will see where that goes.” Proces noted that it is important to remember that the Winnefox Library System is still one of the finest library systems in the state. He was concerned that the governance and fairness issues, which do need to be addressed, not cause a disruption in system services.

Next regularly scheduled meeting
The next regular meeting will be held on July 20, 2005, at 4:00 p.m. in the Carpenter Conference Room.

Adjournment
At 4:57 p.m. on motion of Sarnecki, seconded by McIntosh, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn.