Public Library Board September 21

Public Comment

Former Board Member Don Trame attended the meeting regarding the notification he received from the Hamilton County Public Library (HCPL) in Cincinnati, Ohio, indicating that as of January 1, 2027, they would no longer be reciprocating with Northern Kentucky libraries and that consequently if an individual wants to maintain a HCPL card, they will be assessed a $90.00 annual charge. Mr. Trame’s issue was that he gets mostly digital materials and that the HCPL has a much larger selection than the BCPL. 

Barbara Jacobson attended the meeting again although she indicated this may be her last time as she doesn’t feel her request for a more diverse representation of news via periodicals will ever be considered. She notes that there are still hard copies of the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today on library shelves, but still nothing that provides a more conservative viewpoint such as the Epoch Times, which she is still willing to provide as a subscription to the BCPL. Ms. Jacobson stated she even contacted the Epoch Times directly who confirmed they have no problem issuing a subscription to the BCPL. She continues to contend that he BCPL needs diversity of opinion. Chairman Jackson said BCPL policy doesn’t follow a political agenda; Ms. Jacobson attempted to rebut but was cut off as Jackson moved the Board on from Public Comment.

Executive Director’s Report Highlights

• The BCPL will be receiving three grants totaling about $14,000. One of the grants, from the Yiddish Foundation, provides for professional development for staff including lodgings, etc.

• The BCPL participated in the September 15 voter registration day.

• The BCPL plans to celebrate America 250 in October and November with lots of related historical programs.

• Executive Director Carrie Herrmann (CH) reminded the Board that the BCPL is hosting a Boone County Judge/Executive debate between Chet Hand and Timothy Johnson on October 13, with former KY Secretary of State Trey Grayson as moderator.

• The Chapin Memorial Public Library (CMPL) transition continues. A joint mailing from the County and BCPL was recently sent to area residents.

• CH met with the County regarding the Hebron land use project and believes she will have a Memorandum of Understanding and a presentation ready for the Board’s October meeting. Board Member Rich expressed concern that any transaction between the County and BCPL be an arms-length transaction, to which the Board’s legal counsel concurred.

• The BCPL Foundation met on September 3 and is exploring crypto currency donations.

Accountant’s Report

• Bramel & Ackley are finalizing the year-end financials for the auditors and should be ready to provide the info within the next couple of weeks. 

• Revenues received in July were just under $79,000, with total library expenses at $893,523.00. Current investments total $11.2 million. 

Business

CH confirmed that the Hamilton County Public Library is terminating its reciprocal borrowing agreement with Northern Kentucky libraries. Apparently, the HCPL indicates it costs too much to sustain increasingly costly digital materials for Northern Kentucky residents as well as its own patrons. CH indicated she believes Clermont County will soon follow Hamilton County’s lead. The question then arose as to whether BCPL should continue reciprocal borrowing with Ohio, and a motion passed that, as both Kenton and Campbell public libraries are doing, BCPL will terminate reciprocal borrowing for Ohio residents unless they can prove they work in Boone County. About 14,000 Cincinnati patrons use BCPL services. It was decided that CH would research the impact of this on e-materials available to BCPL patrons and address all collection issues in the October meeting. CH also indicated she participates in an organization called SWAN (Southwest Ohio and Neighbors) and continued to subscribe to this because of the reciprocity. She suggested discontinuing her subscription, resulting in a savings of about $5,000 that can be moved in the budget to purchase more e-materials for BCPL patrons. She concurred this is a real problem for BCPL patrons because BCPL’s collection is so much smaller than the network in Cincinnati and surrounding Ohio counties. 

Policy Review

A review of the Fixed Asset policy and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy was discussed at the meeting.  Per CH, the BCPL’s IT director indicated he had no recommendations at this time for any updates to the AI policy.

Budget Process

Board Member Rich had requested a budget process reflection; i.e., a discussion of the process and timeline used to build the fiscal year 2027 operating and capital budgets. Rich originally wanted the budget process to start in December, but CH indicated this would be problematic as there are typically mid-year budget adjustments in January, so February would be better. Rich had also provided a list of 12 recommended actions to use in the next budget process. After a lengthy discussion, these recommendations were tweaked and Board Member Deborah Dutton-Lambert made a motion to approve these recommendations. Some of this entails CH following more incremental guidelines, and the Board granted CH until the November meeting to become more familiar with this new process.

The BCPL leadership and staff have collaborated with Omni Architects on a redesign of the main branch’s youth services area to fulfill recommendations from the Facilities Master Plan. CH indicated this was part of the 2027 capital budget and would cost about $100,000. A motion was made to approve the redesign and have CH present it to the Boone County Fiscal Court, as it must have their approval. Once approved, CH will bid the project out to Omni, who will be the only contractor but who may use sub-contractors. The Board voted to move forward with this, with only Rich objecting. 

At Rich’s suggestion the Board was to hold an annual reflection session to assess the Board’s governance practices, specifically in ensuring that the BCPL’s strategic plan’s goals were met. The Board agreed this would cover two main categories: spaces and staffing. The Board agreed to further discussion in the October meeting with output from the Board members due November 2. 

CH’s evaluation is due October 26. The Board will need to address the salary schedule before this evaluation so it must be addressed in October’s meeting. 

The Board adjourned at 6:25 p.m.