We're live. >> All right. Library Board of Trustees. I'm Sarah McMass, trustee. >> Dr. Branlin, library director. >> Wonderful. Thank you all for being here. Um, we'll start with the consent agenda, which includes approving tonight's
agenda, the bills, the minutes from January and March. I would make a motion to approve as >> Thank you, Mike. I'll second. Any further discussion? All those in favor?
>> Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Moving right along to your report, Electra. >> All right. >> Lots going on with um having a lighter agenda this time. We're going to do show and tell will be a lot of fun for the the report. Um,
I would love to start with the fact that yesterday, uh, Taproot Landscaping was here giving us our first spring clean and we're getting ready for the dlies and the irises and the pig squeak to come back in color. And that it's one of the ways we show how welcoming the
library can be. And last year we um started working with Taproot landscaping and got a tremendous amount of compliments. Uh, reclaiming that garden really made an impression on the community. So, thank you for funding that this year, too.
Also, yesterday we did We Are All Storytellers featuring author Margie Price. She was competing with fantastic weather outside and still we had a pretty decent audience. Um Margie was here with a a fellow performer and they
had a 16 foot cardboard canoe right here lined up with chairs that the children were sitting in paddling the canoe and singing aloueta. So it was it was fun to have her here and to speak not only on the level of all the youth but also for
some of the authors and storytellers that we have from our community who were here in the audience as well. So that was super um we had uh Shelley Genton returned and she did poetry and print making and Chris led that in the middle of that
thunderstorm thing that happened and we had a few people show up and had a fantastic time learning what she had to offer. So that was also fun to do recently and we have another program
on Saturday but I'm blanking what it is. Um, >> you'll have that. >> Yeah, I have access to the website, too. >> Um, what else from there? I would like to talk about some of our
partnerships that we're doing right now. Um, I continue to work with Andrea Orest from public health and human services and right now we're doing national drug prescription drug takeback day. And so
for two weeks, we have a display here where the public can come in and get free samples of a medication neutralizer. You tear this pouch open and assuming you have prescription medicine or some uh pill form medications. You pour them in this pouch
which has a carbon based pouch inside. And when you add water to the fill line, seal and shake it, it neutralizes medication making it safer for the environment. pay no attention to the plastic pouch >> and so the medication is then not
leeching into the into the um ground in water and also it prevents misuse um and abuse of the medications that we would otherwise have sitting around in our closets >> our medicine cabinet. So this and also I
found out that the county has other free resources to provide like free medication lock boxes. So, we have information about that in our lobby. And we're really excited, all of our staff to be sharing this um
celebration, uh this national day, but also the educational piece and then more access to more. So, uh there are flyers in the lobby to talk about all the things that are available at the county. Um there's another partnership we're
about to do that I am super excited about. We are going to host the Cook County Hope Chair in May. If you haven't seen it already and want to take a peek, it's at Cook County Higher Ed right now, but it will be here in May. I would love to have each one of you please come sit
in the chair, the hope chair. So, uh, more than 20 artists in our community got together to contemplate hope rather than the distress of of seeing everything that's happening in the news and in our state and in our national picture from whatever your
perspective or background is on all of that. And so, in that reflective space, each person made a fabric piece. This is with the um oh my gosh, the Northwoods Fiber Arts Guild gotten from Odds and Ends Thrift
Store. Okay. And then they redid the fabric on this. They upholstered the chair >> and there are squared pieces of a sort of quilt look that um create the hope chair. And so the chair will be here and you sit in it and just feel the energy
and contemplate hope. There's a journal if you'd like to offer some reflections uh with the traveling exhibit. And I just think it's a really beautiful way to celebrate our community and to create connection and togetherness. So, it's
coming. Be here. >> Um let's see. I have some other things with me today. These beautiful flowers were donated or not donated, they were given to staff today by the library friends of Cook County because it's library appreciation week.
>> They came with so many cupcakes and delicious whoopy cookies and this beautiful note that says, "Happy Library Week. Thank you for your community impacting services and resources you provide. Your work makes a difference.
Thank you library friends." That's a very beautiful and a touching um thing. Um staff are really impressed and of course the community is not to be left out because this month we uh were notified that the library friends of
Cook County have chosen to fund the replacement of our libraries public computers. I just placed the order uh yesterday and this is almost a $17,000 contribution on the heels of all of the programming they
funded in prior in the 2025 as well as the over $11,000 for supporting the replacement of the staff computers. So they are killing it for us. They are here and they have our back and it feels so good.
>> Wow. Um, summer reading program kicks off. I'm still putting away the winter reading things. Um, summer reading kicks off June 8th and it will go into August. And this year's mascot
>> stuffy just arrived and it is both the good egg and the bad seed. >> So, um, they are based on the books. There's the bad seed, the good egg, the, you know, the big cheese, the sour grape, the, you know, there's all kinds.
The cool bean is one of my favorites. And the mascot comes to us from the theme, which is plant a seed, read. So, this can be interpreted in terms of food. Uh, how do you say this? Um, field to table.
How do you say that? >> Farm to table. >> Farm to table. Thank you. Sorry. So farmtotable, it can be animals, it can be um also the imagination taking flight. So we have a lineup of programs
including um live reptiles, live bugs. We have the Jolly Pops, which are free dads who are going to come rock out with a musical performance for kids. And I'm working with the library friends of Cook County on a season finale that will
happen approximately August 10. All of our summer reading materials are starting to arrive. So, we have our reading logs on site and our activity books. It's feeling good to see the whole train moving. Um, and so there's still a lot a lot more work to be done
ahead of us hopefully. Hopefully. So, the um one of the things we've done in the past is our mascot travels around to different businesses in particular those who are contributing treat coupons and things like that. incentives for the
program or support for the program and then each week our visitors get to try to guess where is the mascot. So that's what this is all about. Our hiring process continues.
I have uh one librarian, one candidate who will uh be onsite in I think it's the second Friday in May to do an insight visit. So this part brings the
candidate on uh into the library, tour the full space, meet the staff on duty. There's a component that I incorporate city hall and meeting the staff over there to get a sense of our large larger organizational culture and I'm going to be asking the finalists to provide a
story time for the community. You know who uh I haven't figured out the details of how to publicize it or not, but I have time. Um, additionally, we are completing a couple
of more interviews this week and I'd like to see at least one other finalist on site and have that for us to see if we can move forward. Um, I have offered the library clerk position to one person, I think, I don't know if I put
that in here, one person who ultimately declined and I am preparing to extend another offer by the end of the week. So hopefully we'll have a full contingency. >> I definitely wanted to come back to the
board on the boiler issue. I wanted to connect with Shane Steel, the city's sustainability coordinator, especially since we have a strong interest in looking at hybrid or electric models. Turns out this is his job. And he's really brilliant at it.
He's very articulate at not only what the different um types of units are, but also how they function in context with the rest of the city's operations and infrastructure. So for example, should we be concerned about having an electric
only unit in the area? He might say we have two buildings fully electric right now and when we have a power outage, we have a backup system that gets us going again in 15 minutes. So we're going to look at this more in that context. So while I can provide you that level of
update, we're waiting to hear back from the companies that Shane has reached out to on my behalf, our behalf, and he would like to come visit you in person and say the things much more articulately than I can so that we can decide next steps.
>> Great. Okay. One more thing that I would like to cover today is that I attended the city council meeting last night with councelor Gary and Sarah joined us as well. Um,
city council h had a strong desire to meet face tof face with department heads and really get a sense and feel for what's going on in each of our departments. um less in a written format which we kind of do already for the city weekly updates and it was great to be
invited and to have so many positive things to share most of what you've heard here and then I just want to share in the context of our board meeting some of the data from the Empire from the Minnesota library Minnesota public library annual report.
So, um, more than half of Cook County residents are members of the Grammar Public Library. Combined with registered visitors, that's over 3,170 people who have our card in their wallet. It's very exciting. And it means
that we've been on par with prepandemic levels since 2014. So, it's stable right now. Um, I also noticed that vidget visitor registration is gradually increasing each year. So, I think giving that a
nudge, encouraging that would be all right to do. Since 2021, in-person visits have increased every year with 46,342
visits last year. In 2025, we offered 82 programs and we increased the average number of people participating at each event. Circulation increased too. That went up 3.5%.
We had circulated 55,000 items. And what really stood out to me is that this year um about a third of that was digital content. In prior years, we've been at the 25% mark
and that reflects a na a national trend. So, as we are evaluating which um evaluating our collection and getting our hands on the physical materials in seat of honor, come in. >> Thank you. I apologize. Time away from
me. >> How are you doing? taking a very deep look at what is circulating and how much of what we have here. You know, just just trying to get a sense of the physical nature of what we have on hand. And
as we tie it all together, Electra, so as we continue to have conversations about strategic planning, who to survey, and what to ask, I think this information is important to consider.
>> Yeah. Can I ask about this? So the digital the digital collection. So is there a digital collection? I assume there must be >> I appreciate the question. >> I was wondering the same >> for me it's like I got the book like I
got like but okay. So how does that function do that? Like how do you decide? Like do they like hey here you go this is what most people are asking for. We're going to make these your digital choices and they give them to you or or is it more where
you're saying like these are the ones that we see that people want. >> So you're asking how are the titles chosen? >> How are they chosen? How does Yeah. Just how does it function? Like then you're you've seen an increase year after year and so
>> what do you what are you doing? >> Yeah. to I mean I' I've used it so I mean I know how it works like that but how does it work on your side? >> You're asking really important questions because um if we were looking to do a thing
um grow a digital collection. What would that actually take? Um, right now our downloadable collections are owned by the Arrowhead Library System and they are shared throughout the region. Each year Grand Marray
Public Library contributes dollars to that. We are not asked to or invited to at this point. The collection base is afforded by Arrowhead. But every year those uh the circulation rates for those collections are increasing. If I have
the statistics correct, audiobooks last year increased again over the years prior by 14%. >> Wow. >> And we're starting to see a similar increase in circulation with the digital
books as well. The Arrowheads collection includes audios, books, and magazines. How selection happens is this. Uh there's a an extensive and massively
overwhelming amount of titles that can be selected or deselected for the magazines. And so, you know, we have access to all of that to sort of set it up and let it go. Then there are selection committees. Each library is
invited to raise their hand to be a selector for these collections. And in the past, Grand Marray has participated. In recent years, we've focused on local local collections uh physical collections and programming
space in the future to go back. Um so those are librarians who have an amount of budget. Um, there are some standing authors and titles that will get added, but then there's a little bit of budget
realm to collect or build the collection for local interests and needs. Also, patrons when they're in the app, in the Libby app, if they find a material searching for something that's not there, they click a button and recommend it. And that recommendation is seen by
the collection developers. And if we purchase the title, it's automatically linked back to the patron's account to ensure circulation. So it's very beneficial to us to be part of this shared resource with so much of it
being funded at the regional level. Um, I think audiobooks is a really good example of where digital downloadable content is really thriving. We've already heard the
ALS level, it's 14% increased each year. And having taken a very deep look at the materials we have here, patron feedback for our physical collection is that it feels like it needs to be refreshed. The titles are kind of old. the materials
are looking a little cruddy. Um they've read everything in the collection. What else have you got? And so I have I found that um 40% of our collection hasn't been circulating for um
>> our audio books collection. >> Yeah. >> Physical. >> Yeah. And so those I have weeded out with the intention of not only exploring this conversation about the digital but certainly not ignoring the current collection. We're looking at strategically developing it um with a
little more vigor as soon as we can um handle the the volume. So, I think I mentioned in a prior board meeting to um to keep everything in the collection moving, we're operating at about 60%,
we're purchasing 60% of our yield >> on moving materials through the collection. >> Do we know when it comes to audio books in general? Maybe Arrowhead would know that whether people are actually interested
in audio books or whether they're more interested in, you know, physical audio books or whether they're more interested in downloadable. >> It depends on which which patron group we're talking about. Okay. And in Grand Marray, one thing that's very
interesting and exciting is we have so many people who love the physical format for media. And um we've got people who travel to Duth and want the audio book. Um DVDs. We have a ton of people up here
with cabins who are not interested in streaming. They want to stay, you know, off the grid or lowkey. just grab the DVD, um, borrow it while they're visiting their cabin and then return it and forget about it and go home. So, those collections, DVDs are still
circulating like crazy. >> And we got new DVDs, >> some again seeking to invigorate the collection development and also strategizing to market them, right, to promote them. um the DVD collection has been so
overcrowded and circulating that there wasn't a space to showcase the new content. So, it was hidden. So, now we're working to um offer that consistency of being able to walk in and know where the new stuff is, what's
available, and then trying to do even more with displays. I I can't remember if I said it to this group, but our staff are curating more displays and M >> that is circulating. If I remember the statistics correctly,
our clerks are putting this feature together and our last uh there were 30 titles selected for the last and 23 of them circulated. >> That is amazing. >> That's intentional staff effort um to engage and keep keep that number
high, >> keep people fed really. So, just to clarify, I'm a huge user of Libby both on Mela and the Arrowhead. Um, you get credit I for circulation then if
we check out uh and arrowhead system digital book on our card. That's how it gets tied to you. Uh, >> that's my understanding. >> Okay. >> Yep. So it is advantageous
for someone like me to check out arrowhead books and >> yes trusty is >> yes tell everybody >> tell everybody >> um you know so direction like what what
would the next step look like because so um we have this the base collection is expensive, right? A base collection is expensive. If we just opened an account with Overdrive ourself and made it only available to our patrons, that
that is an option. That's one route. Um, and and then if we were to continue to work with the Arrowhead Library system, if we're pouring our dollars, like we can pour as many dollars as we want to in there, the demand keeps growing and it doesn't necessarily
uh protect first checkout rights or anything to our patrons. So, our patrons are in line with everybody else in the region >> long. So >> I hope that I'm answering your question.
I think I think I >> knew what you meant. Anyway, that's the kind of conversation we're looking at here. Many other libraries have moved forward with streaming platforms. Uh Ho Lakes has done some really interesting things and tons of libraries who have
done hoopla stream videos and um things like that. the uh funding models can be tricky trying to balance the value items with the desired items and how many check out at a time. At some point, we just have
to jump in. Especially if I see a second marker for 30 for an increasing interest in downloadables, we need to pay attention to the data. Don't. And nobody gets scared. This is not a conversation about eliminating
physical materials. It's definitely a conversation about expanding the services we provide. >> Mhm. >> One one of the problems in weeding out the audio is there's fewer books to look at. >> And part of the pleasure I have of
looking is looking. If you ever watch me look over there, I go three or four times everyone because there's a certain amount of pleasure in just looking. And so now there's fewer opportunities. >> I noticed that the other day,
>> thanks for sharing. Yeah. Yeah. >> So if White Lakes runs their own streaming checkout separate from Arrowhead, how does that work in the library? I have your own account. Can
have your own account in just about anything. >> So, how does someone then they don't use Libby, right? They use what is their format for getting their the ones that are specific to Hoy Lakes? >> How to answer that?
>> Because I imagine if we had our own collection, you you have Libby, right? Yeah. And you access it as a Melsa and as a Gramaray a >> and it gives me whichever one I'm going to get soonest. >> So do you have to toggle between those two accounts?
>> I can but it it is set up Libby will give you the one that will give you that particular book if it's going to be 16 weeks or 60 weeks which is this is the problem with Arrowhead long long waits for materials that come much sooner
elsewhere. So >> Hit Lakes would have specific titles that they were associated with on Libby. Is that the way you're thinking of it? >> They don't circulate to other libraries. It's a protected collection.
>> Yeah. On which platform we'd be using would probably, you know, whether you have to toggle in in or out if you have multiple library cards or something like that. It would be per platform. >> I see. But you would start in Libby and
then would go over to our collection as well, >> to the Grand Marray collection. Well, Sue was just saying it's been upgraded. Uh the software is getting more and more streamlined so she doesn't even have to she can be registered for two library systems and it will give her the next
best next available. >> But you know, if you had specific to Graham Marie, you might have some some demand for books that are area specific. for example. >> And it might be nice to be able to access those that way. Just as as a
thought. >> Um because I I am I'm even sort of surprised that the CDs DVDs still go anywhere. Um I didn't know anybody still did that. So I don't I can't see this being a forever
>> future. Excuse me. I I still have a DVD player. >> Um, what what is like a rough cost to have >> a Grand Marray Libby? >> No idea.
>> Okay. >> No idea. >> Yeah. Something to think about the future anyway. It's It's where things are going >> cuz like say it's $2500
or $25,000. Yeah, it's kind of impossible and also feasible and be annual, I'm sure. Right. So, >> I need to start from the beginning. >> Okay. Very nice place to start.
>> I'll slow it down. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Any other questions for Electra? >> All right. Moving along. We have as a standing item strategic plan implementation. Um we had talked about kind of pausing
our conversation about surveying. Electra put together some nice statistics from us using the Emplar data. Um, I'm not sure there's a lot we need to do on it this month. Does anyone else feel strongly otherwise?
>> We've made some progress the past few months. It's okay to not do it every month. >> Yeah. >> And then under communications, we've got the St. Paul Minnesota Foundation fund statement. And that would be our whole meeting. We can be adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Thank you
all so much. >> I just came in under the wire. >> Yeah, >> you got credit for it, don't you? >> I'm going to write 5:31. >> 5:31. Not check.