Call to Order: President Dan D'Allaird called the meeting of the Duluth Public Library Board to order when a quorum was reached at 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday, October 26, 2010. The agenda was approved as drafted.

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

Approval of Minutes
The Library Board minutes of the regular meeting September 28, 2010 meeting were approved.

Reports
A. Friends of the Duluth Public Library - Powers for Markert
Market is hosting a gathering this afternoon in honor of Margaret Berg, who has been in charge of accounting for book sale proceeds each year since 1983. Upcoming events for the Friends include a Barnes & Noble Book Fair on December 4, the annual Holiday Sale December 7-8, and the Mystery Dinner featuring Brian Freeman on April 1. At its last meeting the board of directors for the Friends voted to change the date of the 2011 book sale to June 14-17 in hopes of reaching new customers.

B. Arrowhead Library System - Brissett
ALS Director Jim Weikum has been attending county board meetings within the Arrowhead System. All counties within ALS will legally be able to lower their level of support in 2011, which will have a negative impact on the system's operations. ALS is organizing a teen winter reading program this year. Marshall Breeding, a well-known library technology consultant, will assist ALS in choosing a new integrated library system for its members. Duluth will have the opportunity to join the consortium, which could result in lower automation costs and improved service to area residents. Brissett attended the Minnesota Library Association conference earlier this month, and she reported on what she learned at workshops on the Open Meeting Law and the upcoming state legislative session.

Old Business
Values statements for strategic plan - Watson and Slade participated in meeting with the library's management team to identify the library's core values. Watson has drafted a set of values statements following that meeting; however, she was not in attendance today and no one had a copy of her draft. The values will be discussed and voted on at the November meeting.

New Business
Review of service priorities identified in strategic plan and next steps - Powers handed out copies of the American Library Association's description of each of the service priorities chosen by the planning team. Bogue shared the background on how the priorities were chosen. There was some discussion of the mission statement drafted by the planning team. Slade's opinion is that the statement is too long. Powers will check with the consultant about whether the board needs to approve the mission statement. If necessary this will be done at the next regular meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
The next meeting will take place Tuesday, November 23 at 4:30 p.m. in the library's conference room.

12/18/10
Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802