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Columbia County Library Board Meeting April 11, 2023 • 11:30 am In attendance: Columbia County Library Board Russell Wilder, Board Chair Windy Bedingfield, Treasurer Marlena Bergeron Tripp Calloway Barry Paschal Lindsey Brantley Absent Stephanie Coghlan (Zoom) Library Staff • Mary Lin Maner, Library Director • Devin Morris, Regional Admin Coordinator Other • Alison Couch, Commissioner, Division 4 • John Luton, Director, Community Services Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 11:31 am. Approval of Agenda The agenda was approved. Approval of Minutes The minutes from the March meeting were approved. Friends of the Libraries Friends gave $20,000 to the Library Board for the purchase of books. County Library Manager Report The Children’s desk has been rotated 90 degrees, so that the opening is facing the wall instead of a staff computer station. The 2nd Annual Putt-Putt in the Stack, a Friends Fundraiser’s date had to be moved from May 24 to June 7 due to a conflict with graduation ceremonies. All 3 branches will now be participating. The Evans branch will be at the opening Evans Market on Saturday, April 15 to promote Summer Learning. The Launchpads that were paid for by the GEAR Grant have begun circulating and are doing very well. Natalie Pulley started her Kinderplay program to introduce the Launchpads to parents. ---PAGE BREAK--- Treasurer Report See Treasurer Report. 2 CDs will be maturing in May, 1 with Edward Jones and 1 with First Community. Report Waiting on Governor Kemp to sign the budget. May Board meeting may need to be rescheduled if the budget isn’t signed in time. Unfinished Business Marking of Challenged Books o The Board discussed via email their opinions on marking books that had been challenged. o Marlena Bergeron made a motion to recommend to the Commissioners that the books should not be marked, Barry Paschal seconded, all vote in favor. (Amended May 24, 2023) Reasons given by board for a vote of “No” on marking books: 1. It seems it would cause confusion. 2. It would not communicate a clear message. 3. We already have a policy in place and we can work on making it clear & available to all library users. New Business (Amended May 24, 2023) Lindsey Brantley wanted to know about the procedure for providing a patron with the Request for Reconsideration policy. Mary Lin stated that a Reconsideration form is only provided to a patron after they have had a meeting with Mary Lin and the manager of the department from which the book is from and their concerns have not been resolved. Lindsey has requested that moving forward the board be made aware of any book concerns brought to staff. Marlena and Russell agreed this was a good idea. Windy stated it could be a question the board asks the library manager at every meeting. Barry asked if there was a frequency of concerns warranting such requests. Mary Lin stated no concerns have been given to her since May of 2022. Lindsey Brantley began a discussion on the Agenda and Minutes of the board being made available online, along with a few other recommendations for making certain items more easily accessible on the website. o Commissioner Couch and John Luton will take this recommendation to the other Commissioners as none of the County’s Advisory Boards minutes are available online. They will provide a response for the May meeting. o Mary Lin & Devin will work with libraries website designer on the website’s accessibility issues. A suggestion was made to change the time of the board meeting to later in the day, a brief discussion was had and the time will remain the same. Next meeting: Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 11:30 am at the Columbia County Library. (Amended May 24, 2023) Meeting was rescheduled to Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 11:30 am. Meeting adjourned at 12:13 pm. ---PAGE BREAK---