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, May 25, 2010, and reviewed the agenda. Carla Powers requested that an item about Unique Management be added.

Members Present: Dan D'Allaird, Jane Brissett, Virginia Katz, Printha Markert, Andrew Slade, Peter Spooner, Martha Watson
Also Present: Carla Powers
Excused: Liz Benson Johnson, Sister Edith Bogue

Approval of Minutes
The Library Board minutes of the April 27, 2010 meeting were approved.

Reports
A. Friends of the Duluth Public Library - Markert
The Friends held their annual meeting on May 18. They held 19 events between May 2009 and April 2010, in addition to publishing 5 newsletters and undertaking several computer-related projects. The Friends are working on developing bylaws. One of the group's priorities for the coming year will be to encourage more members to become active in the organization.

B. Arrowhead Library System - Brissett
A list of upcoming Legacy Amendment projects was shared. ALS will act as the fiscal agent for a statewide return on investment study about public libraries. The Labovitz School of Business at UMD will be conducting the study, which will examine the fiscal and social benefits that result from money spent on libraries.

Old Business
Hiring Shelvers - Nine 13-hour-per-week shelvers have been hired. Over 40 applications were submitted for the positions, and all of the people hired had previously worked as shelvers at DPL.

Library Hours - With the addition of shelvers and the suspension of Saturday hours at Main for the summer, a staffing plan has been developed for opening each branch an additional afternoon per week. The administration has approved this change in hours, but a public announcement will not be made until next week. The new hours will begin the week of June 7 and will be re-evaluated in the fall before Main reopens on Saturdays.

Review of Bulletin Board and Free Materials Policy - The policy draft compiled by Watson was approved as written.

New Business
Gift Policy - The existing policy was reviewed. There were suggestions to include the options for giving to the Friends of the Library and the Library Foundation, and to stipulate that donations of cash or stock are subject to City of Duluth policies and procedures. Powers will include these additions and present a revised policy at the next regular meeting.

Customer Service Complaint - Powers gave out copies of a complaint letter that the mayor received and the letter she sent in response. There was discussion about the board's customer service experiences at the library, and consensus was that board members have not observed or experienced any problems in this regard.

Strategic Planning - D'Allaird and Powers summarized the meeting they attended with planning consultant Whitney Crettol last week. The following board members volunteered to be on the planning team: D'Allaird, Katz, Watson, Brissett, Markert, Bogue. The planning team will meet on September 16 and 30, and October 21. There was preliminary discussion about community focus groups. A special meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 8 at 4:30 to finalize the list of invitees and set dates for the community focus group meetings.

Unique Management - Powers shared the payment and collection figures to date. The library has paid a total of $8,946.42 in the last year to Unique Management Services to collect outstanding fines owed by patrons. During that time period the library has received $12,859.63 in payments and $9,886.34 in materials returned.

The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
A special meeting will take place Tuesday, June 8 at 4:30 p.m. in the library's conference room, and the next regular meeting will take place Tuesday, June 22 at 4:30 p.m. in the library's conference room.

8/20/10
Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802