ARNOLDS PARK LIBRARY BOARD
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
The Arnolds Park Library Board met Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. in the Arnolds Park Library.
Present were Diana Jensen, Mary Dreier, Barb Woodley, Mitch Brown, and Library Director Kara Rice. Absent was Robb Keizer.
The minutes of March 14, 2018 were read and corrected. Dreier moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Jensen seconded. All aye.
IT Bids: Rice said the library has been having issues with getting timely IT help from Computer Zone. She spoke with Tom Struthers who has another job, but is willing to help with IT problems. He proposed $100 per hour to provide support for the computer, the network, and other electrical problems. One hour minimum each trip. The board members agreed to have Mr. Struthers as back-up IT support.
TEI Landmark Lease Agreements: Rice showed the board a new audio book option that was available called “Playaway Books”. It is small and can be plugged into the car player, or in your pocket plugged to headphones or ear buds while you walk or exercise. The library purchased 80 of them at a cost of over $2,000. The Library Foundation gave $1500 toward the purchase. The library will still purchase audio CD’s. She explained 5 different options for purchasing the audio books that are shipped four times a year. After the initial purchase, one-half can be returned each quarter and new titles shipped to replace those returned, so the titles are rotated every 90 days. The library would have to sign a contract for one year at a time. The library should be able to purchase some in the new budget. After discussion, the board thought this was a good idea. Dreier said she felt it best to concentrate on ordering the newest book titles. Rice will talk to the sales person about the program and bring to next month’s meeting for discussion and possible approval.
Smart TV: Rice presented the idea of purchasing a Smart TV for the library. There is a website at www.explore.org that features live feed of animals from all over the world. Her idea was to mount the TV on the wall and run the live feed all the time. She suggested we could possibly ask a business to sponsor the cost of the TV. It wouldn’t need to be a large one.
Summer Reading Program: Rice presented the outline of the summer reading program. The dates and programs are set. All programs start at 10:00 a.m. except for July 11th which is an evening program.
June 6th Kick-off: Free show at the Milford Theatre and food drive for Upper Des Moines food pantry.
June 13th: The RAD Zoo of Minnesota Reptile and Amphibian presentation.
June 20th: Duke Otherwise entertainment. Comedy act with guitar, tap dance, and singing.
June 27th: Absolute Science. Demonstrations, experiments and audience participation.
July 11th 7:00 p.m. Rock ‘N’ Roll in the Park. Held at Central Park with music, dunk tank, bouncy house, fire truck rides, interactive stations. Hot dog picnic followed by a movie at the Green Space.
July 18th: Iowa State University Insect Zoo Display with hands-on opportunities. This will be followed by a drawing for prizes.
Also each week the kids pick out a free book to take home.
Other summer activities:
Sometime in July a talent show will be held for children of all ages at the Okoboji High School Auditorium with trophies awarded to the top three finishers. Sponsors are The Lakes Libraries.
Monday, July 16th to Saturday, July 21st: A Scholastic Book Fair at the library each day open to the public. Discussion was held on best use of the profits. The board agreed on using it for free books for children attending the summer reading program.
Library Board Continuing Education: Rice had provided the board members with Chapter 8 Library/City Relationship for their reading and review. The board members had no questions.
Bills through April 11th were presented in the amount of $6,095.33. Rice explained the biggest bills were for insurance and the Playaway audio books. After review, Dreier moved to accept the bills as presented. Brown seconded. All aye.
The next meeting will be May 9, 2018.
Barbara Woodley
Secretary