Public Library Board November 20

Public comment time (15 minutes in total) is provided at the beginning of the meeting. The concerned citizens from Petersburg appeared again en masse regarding the Chapin Memorial Library (CML). The group met with the library director on 11/6. The library opened officially, as an express library only, on 10/31. The citizens expressed their concerns that nothing was posted on Facebook nor were postcards sent advising the community and that the process was flawed as no effort was made by the library system to determine how this would all work with the public. Residents have gone to the locker system to get books and they’re not getting them. It’s been 3 weeks since the opening and still no books. One young girl (about 12-13) commented that she is homeschooled and uses the library a lot. As she has been unable to get the books she needs for her schoolwork, this is putting her behind in completing her school projects. Also she lives 20 minutes away so to keep having to check for nothing takes time away from her studies. 

Other issues:

• The front door is now locked and the public must enter from a side door that looks like a service entrance.
• No hours are marked on the door.
• No instructions provided on how to scan their cards to get in.
• No directions on how to use the computer, which is extremely slow, like dial-up.
• The phone to contact a librarian for assistance is 15 feet from the computer, which makes it hard to talk and be on the computer at the same time.
• Newspapers and periodicals displayed at the library are 2 years old.
• Security cameras are low and easy to be tampered with.

These are just some of the issues covered by these concerned citizens.  Bottom line: the citizens of Petersburg and the surrounding area feel they are being treated like second-class citizens. 

The director provided a PowerPoint presentation on the history of the CML indicating that the metrics don’t support a library in this area and haven’t for years, but they are attempting to keep a library open by making it an express. At this point Board Member Dr. Jackson stated the process is flawed as far as engaging with the community’s concerns and suggested sending out a survey or having a town hall, etc.  The board stated it will continue to look into the issue. There are also issues regarding the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Boone County Library and the Petersburg Christian Church, which originally founded the CML. The director indicated the library system was never reimbursed by the church board as required by the MOU.  One of the citizens, who sits on the church board, claims they were never contacted and never presented with any invoices for payment. The director has indicated they are researching the problem regarding the lack of books and believe it may be a problem with the locker unit itself. 

There will be a site walk at the Walton branch construction site on 12/14. The library intends to set the hours the same as the Hebron Branch but is actually going to examine hours for all branches. They may designate summer hours and winter hours separately as traffic is higher in the winter months. Dr. Jackson suggested the library evaluate the hours by engaging with the community and getting input. 

The library staff has conducted more internal discussions regarding the library’s unattended children policy. They recommend that children 5 and younger must be within sight of their caregiver; 6- to 11-year-olds must be supervised within the same area/section; and 12 and up may be unattended providing their behavior is not disruptive. The caregiver must be at least 13 years old to effectively supervise younger children. The board expressed concern that these age requirements are set too low, not from a behavioral standpoint but as a child safety issue. Many patrons come into the library and the staff can’t keep track of all of them sitting there maybe checking out children and seeing who is unattended. So further work will need to be done before this policy is approved by the board.

The other policy regarding student loan forgiveness for library staff was also discussed. There are currently 8 staff members eligible under the parameters of the policy, which would require about $42,000 of the library’s funds.  Board members felt the staff needs more outside assistance on loan forgiveness, and the board is not keen on having to deal with the individual banks that hold those loans.  Again, more work must be done before the Board approves a loan forgiveness policy.