All right, welcome everyone. It's uh 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 12th, 2026. This is the uh library board meeting. We're at the city hall um chambers and uh we'll call this meeting
to order. Our first thing is to um approve the agenda. We all get this by mail. Uh, can I have a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Uh, no. No, uh, changes or corrections.
Hearing none. All in favor of approving the agenda say I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. We have an agenda. And next is on the approved agenda is the approval of the minutes of our February meeting. We've all had a chance to review that. Does anybody have any additions or corrections? Uh if not I'll
not I'll take a motion to approve those minutes. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All second. >> Uh all in favor signify by saying I. >> I post same sign. And now we have a special guest uh Travis Doo regional to
give us Traverse D Traverse Doo Regional Library Updates. Uh April, can you introduce our guest? >> Yes. With us today we have Stacy Lunsford. She's the executive director of TDS and she has a couple updates to give us about TDS as well as um
discussing some of the 2026 legislative priorities. Hi. Um thank you very much for having me here today. Um as April mentioned, I'm going to talk a little bit about what TDS did in 2025. And um I provided a little infographic uh to make the
numbers more exciting. Uh but they're still pretty exciting all on their own. over a million checkouts of physical items. Um and uh 214, uh 463 digital items checked out. Um so
interestingly, physical circulation was down a little bit, but digital circulation was up, ebooks were um up by 4%. E audiobooks were up by over 20%. Um so that is uh something that continues to grow in interest for for
people. Uh we added over 64,000 nearly 65,000 items to the catalog. Um April may have mentioned that last year we had um a $100,000 grant program in which we purchased non-fiction titles for all the
libraries in the region to help them um freshen up their collection and and uh give them the opportunity to maybe weed some things that were out of date or worn um without breaking the bank. Um, we shipped a lot of stuff between the
libraries. Um, over 12,000 tubs shipped out, 11,000 received. Um, that number is uneven because sometimes a tub goes out full and sometimes it doesn't. So, uh, it all evens out. Those tubs weigh between 50 and 60 lbs. I am never
anybody who lifts them. Um, and so, uh, we have somebody who does that, uh, every day for us. Um, and we have two delivery drivers who uh drive through almost any kind of weather to deliver the stuff to the libraries. Um, in those
tubs were over 168,000 items shipped. Of course, that was a little higher because of we shipping shipping out all those brand new non-fiction books. I think uh we ended up purchasing nearly 6,500 additional books for the libraries with that
and 160,000 items received. Um and then the other thing that we do is that uh we give money for professional development for library staff so that they can attend conferences and classes and we awarded um nearly $20,000 in
scholarships last year for that. Uh which means that um library staff around the region got to network with their peers. They got to learn about new things, bring back new ideas to their libraries. And so we're really happy that so many people took advantage of it. Um we also uh in the past couple of
years institute a instituted a miniigrant program. Um in addition to be being the regional public library system, we're also the multi-county multi-ype library system for the area which means we also receive money from the state to provide support to K12
schools, academic libraries, and um special libraries, which in our region turns out to be county historical societies. Um and so uh we offer many grants which are also available to the public libraries um for things like collaborative programming. So uh maybe
the historical society and the library do a program together and we'll provide a grant for that. Individual programming, innovative marketing ideas. Um one library used their grant for for something that was innovative marketing. They got some branded tents that they
could take to outdoor events. So, um, we like to provide those because often times, um, things like marketing, um, are not a big part of any library's budget. It's the thing that we all struggle with the most is getting the word out about what we do.
>> Uh, we were just talking about that right before the meeting started. So, um, helping helping the libraries a little bit so that they are able to afford those kinds of things, um, is something we're glad to do. and and uh we gave nearly $32,000
uh to libraries for that last year. And of course, we administer the arts and cultural heritage fund uh legacy grant for the state for the libraries to do programs. And we had 294 events last year around the region, which is
terrific. And I just saw yesterday um a graph that showed that of all the states in the country, Minnesota is the one that provides the most money per capita for the arts. We are number one, >> which is terrific.
Um I'm going to segue into the Minnesota Library Association legislative priorities. Um each year all of the different groups uh that are uh members of the Minnesota
library association, the regional public library systems, the multi-county library systems, the K12 um it's called item uh group. Uh we all get together and we talk about the things that we think are important um uh to have
changed in legislation or added um in when it's a non-budget year. And so that's all of this is policy change. Um the library construction and renovation grant, I don't know if New Alm has ever used that. It's a matching grant. Um
we're asking uh it's been um just a million dollars uh funded for that, which doesn't go very far for construction as we all know. So, we're asking for a $10 million appropriation because there are 45 libraries in the state that are in dire need of um
renovations and some construction work. A recent study uh across the nation showed that the average age of a public library is 52 years. Um and as I'm sure if you've ever been involved in a construction project, buildings are generally constructed to last about 20
years before they need work. Um certainly the house that I live in that's 21 years old attests to that. Um so libraries are are being asked to uh keep going for a much longer time without necessary things like roof roof
replacement. Um up upgrades and updates um certainly uh libraries that were built 50 years ago do not have enough outlets. I guarantee it. >> So um so we're asking for that. We want to raise the grant cap to $2 million
because it's a matching grant and that is a little bit closer to the ability of being able to pay for a major project. Um, and we're also asking for a change in the language to allow more flexibility. Currently, the language says that the matching money has to be
local dollars. Well, if you're in a very small town in a rural area and you have a project that's um $3 million, it might be difficult to raise a $1.5 million locally. So, what we'd like them to change that language to is non-state
dollars because the reason that language was in there is so that there was no double dipping into with state money. And that's perfectly understandable. but maybe there's a USDA grant that you can get or there could be some regional grant that's not exactly local to you
but close enough that they would consider it. So what we'd like is to it for it to say non-state money. >> Um so those are the the things that we would like for that. Um the other big thing that we're asking for um there's a
separate uh sheet that I sent out that explains how ebook licensing is done for public libraries and it uses the example of one book on the side um Kristen Hannah the women which was a very
popular book um still is but uh it's been out just recently how much a consumer pays for the e audio book or or the ebook or the print book and then how much a library pays for that same thing. And um the publishers and the aggregator
that we get it through Overdrive um they charge us much much more for those items than um than a consumer would have to pay. And it doesn't matter if it's an older item. Um I myself like to listen to obscure old science fiction
things. So, I recently looked at a book that I had purchased on an e audio book just to see what it cost on Overdrive. I paid $12.99. They're still charging $60 for a book that was published over 20 years ago. >> Um, so what we're what we're doing here,
Connecticut did it first. They um they know that they can't pass any law that dictates to the publishers what they can charge. That's not okay. So what they're what they focused on instead is contract law, which is something that states can legislate. And the Connecticut law said
that, you know, we're going to put into place this law that will be triggered when enough other states um adding up to a population of 7 million people or more population um enact the same kind of legislation
and then this law will be triggered. And what it does is it um prohibits public libraries for from entering into contracts with um predatory pricing.
Um and so that is what is going to give us some leverage at the bargaining table. Um and and our legislation that we're talking about is the same. There's a trigger in it. it's not going to go into effect immediately until there's other states that want to do it as well.
Um because we want to have that leverage. Um it is important to note that the number one customer of uh Overdrive is Henipin County. So we have a lot of skin in this game.
>> Um and so um we have uh chief author both in the Senate and the House for this. Uh, I was at library legislative day on the 25th and I talked to some legislators about it. They of course were very surprised because people don't people don't know how the sausage is
made and and and how much uh it costs us to to get these items for you. And certainly if you're looking at what you would pay for it, you think, well, that's not too bad. I wish that that's what we were paying for it. Um, so it would restore local control. And most
importantly for all of us is that um it will help us to uh better steward the taxpayers's dollars >> because these are very popular things uh getting more and more popular all the time. People want it. Uh but we want to
make sure that we are getting the best bang for our buck and the only way we can do that is to put ourselves in a position where they have to negotiate with us. So, that's what we're that's what we're working on this year at the legislature. Um, there's a couple of other items on
there that are um uh of interest. Uh, Minitex, which is the um organization does a lot of things in the state. They're associated with the University of Minnesota, but the thing that's most important about them to public libraries is they're the ones who uh administer the statewide inter library loan. And
they haven't gotten a raise in their operating aid for um a decade and a half, I believe. So they are now using reserves to cover their expenses. So they're asking for a 1.5 million increase per year just so they can maintain the services they're now
providing. Um and uh they wanted that last year and it didn't it didn't go through for obvious reasons. We all know how tough the budget process was last year, but um the situation hasn't changed and of course as we know uh things continue to go up in price pretty
quickly. So, uh, we're looking to at least have, uh, an opportunity for them to talk to the legislature about what they do, why it's important to everybody in the state, um, and, uh, the importance of supporting it, at least at the at the level so that they can just
keep doing what they're doing. They're not asking to do new things. They just want to keep doing what they're doing now. So, are there any questions about these things? Because I'm happy to answer questions. It brings me joy. Um,
>> yes. I I would ask uh you talked about uh talking to the legislators yourself uh at a at a library day. I was just wondering um if there's any uh staff or any outside uh consultants who help with
um tracking legislation, lobbying, writing legislation. Do you have any of that kind of help or are you sort of on your own? each um the council of regional public library system administrators and the multi-ype multi-county multi-ype
council they both have um legislative um representatives to the Minnesota Library Association um the the first organization I referred to the acronym is Krypsa um they actually have a legislative committee that they are are
part of and so yes there are people that um do that and it rotates and someday it's going to be my turn. >> So, >> because you have to keep track of things. >> Yes, exactly. And um every month during the legislative session there is a
legislative briefing from our lobbyist um for for MLA members and they tell us what's going on and and uh what the temperature is. >> So, yeah. Any
other questions? Any questions about anything I didn't talk about that you'd be interested to hear the answer to? Um, I just want to say it's astounding the difference in in costs for the ebooks and the audio books and the and the um and it can't just be that books that are
made for multitude of people are built so much better. That's a that's too much of a gap. I know there are library um editions of books and >> you know but that is staggering. >> Mhm. >> Oh, thank you for
>> Yeah, >> absolutely. Well, and I I don't remember which law it is, but I know that when public libraries were established there uh laws are in place where it's like yes, you're allowed to buy one copy and loan it out to many people. >> When digital books came along, nobody
thought to add that >> for libraries. But that was my next question. Y >> um you know uh it's like well you have um 40 people reading this book at this time you know what's our compensation for that you know but still that's
>> but they they have the one copy one use model >> and if they had just stuck with that it would be no different >> right >> and and when that didn't turn out to work out so well for the libraries they started coming up with all these other licensing models and then the license
runs out and you have to buy it again >> and again buying the same thing over and over again. So, so yeah, we might have gotten charged um multiple times for the women in order to fill all the holes for that because it
would run out and then you'd have to buy it again. >> I had no idea. >> I was interested in the mini grant to uh buy uh the tents. >> I was just wondering how how do people get th those great ideas? How how is there a sort of a sharing uh sharing
thing where you go, "Hey, this is a really a good idea." I Well, I think the library directors do talk about what they're what they're doing when they do updates and and things and and I'm sure that came up at some point um where they said, "Yeah, we got this and and we used it at this event." And so, yeah.
>> Great. Librarians like to share everything, including ideas. >> Right. Right. And their enthusiasm. Anything else? Anything else? Thank you so much for coming. >> Well, thank you so much for having me. I like to come out and visit.
>> Right. Right. >> And I'm going to hang around. So, >> thanks. >> Thank you very much. >> Okay. Good. Good. Now, to onto our regular business, the financial reports, >> right, >> April?
>> We are 17.53% through 2026 and our budget is approximately 16.22%. 22% expended. Um a budget report, balance sheet, and report of February expenses were in your packet. Um some notable expenses for
February were um public library association conference registration for myself and for Megan that was $364 each. And um up to $800 of our expenses for the conference are being covered by
honorariums through TDS as Stacy mentioned. Um $961577 went to cleaning and paper supplies from Hillyard. We usually place larger orders once per quarter or so for those the supplies that we need.
Um, we spent $5,276 with Ingram for books and $89 was from um, donations and the rest came from the library's budget. $1,397 to Kajet for annual hotspot service and
new SIM cards for the um, existing hotspots. We switched our service from Verizon to Kajet. Kajet allows us more streamlined management of our hotspot lending. Um, and that includes automatically deactivating overdue
hotspots to prompt um, the people who borrowed them to bring them back to the library when that service ends. Um, and with Verizon, there was a lot more work on the back end for the library staff to do that. And then we'll also save um, $2,200 a year on our hotspot service
with Kaji. and we have access to the same mobile network. So, our our patrons receive the same same reliable service when they check those items out. And then we um paid $1,91 to Uline. We replaced the floor mats in the library
entrances because they were worn and no longer holding on to all the grip that comes in during the winter. And then I also wanted to note that city council approved the carry forward of the office furniture and equipment funds um that you had approved a couple months
ago. That was $13,545 that was carried forward from 2025. And the final invoice for the shelving projects has been paid and that was to that totaled $11,455. So that project has closed.
I'd be happy to answer any questions. Um I I'm just going through here and I maybe I should have noticed this when we uh passed the budget in the first place, but uh you know Minnesota paid leave is something um that is that something that you have to figure out or is that
something that HR is figuring out for you? >> HR does that for us? >> Watch this. Um >> yes. Okay. Yeah, >> the salaries, benefits, um you know, workers compensation, those kind of things are all handled through the human resources department as they look at all
city employees. >> Good, good, good, good. Thank you. Any other questions? Otherwise, let's move on to the activities and things that everybody loves to hear about.
>> Uh, library aid Jenny Mosendon resigned. that was effective February 13th. Um, library a Danielle Albrech rescended her resignation, so she's sticking with the library and we're glad that she's decided to stay. And then our library assistant, Isabella Ty, started
yesterday, March 9th. So, we're glad to have her on board. The librarian one posting closed on Sunday, March 8th. >> Megan and I are currently reviewing applications for that position. We received 92. >> Isn't that something? >> Wow. Mhm.
>> Um we'll make our recommendations to the human resources director as to whom we'd like to review and um human resources does some pre-scoring for us before we see those applications as well based on the requirements of the position.
And then um the reference librarian and I are following the same process for the library page position which also closed on March 8th. So we're working on scheduling interviews for that. um that position we had seven applications for. So,
and then for statistics, our foot traffic was down 13.5% from February 2025 and that's mostly due to the tax preparation program relocating to the community center this year. Um even though foot traffic was down, our physical circulation was up 1% over
February 2025. And our winter reading program had 69 participants as of March 6th. Um those um any remaining patrons who participated have until March 16th to return their reading trackers to enter
for a chance to win a prize. Um and then everyone who participated receives a free book for participating. And I'd be happy to answer any questions on the librarian's report. um you're not missing the tax
preparation folks. >> While we appreciated the increase in traffic and the opportunity to connect with those patrons, it just wasn't a good fit for us or for the tax preparers anymore schedule-wise with our meeting room needs for library programs
>> and they every year their demand increases for appointments and we just couldn't meet the space needs that they needed this year. And um I spoke with the um director of the CAST senior program as to how that was going for them and she said it's been working
really well. They have a a room that CAST doesn't use during the day at all in the lower level of the community center and it's really worked out for them well. >> Well, and as a person that belongs to groups that uses the meeting room, I'm happy not to have the meeting room
completely used up for that time, right? you know, so >> we are still assisting by giving out the appointment number. We take a lot of calls for that still. And then >> um we do hand out the intake forms that they ask their
>> um appointment takers to fill out before they come. So we have those available at the library for people pick up. >> Great. Anything else about the activities programming? All right. As um um the Wanda Gogg birthday party is Saturday, March 14th
at 11:00 a.m. So, we'll read Gog's Gone is Gone book, make a craft, play games, and eat a snack to celebrate her birthday. Mhm. >> And then the party will be preceded at 11:00 by the unveiling of the community collage banner in the hallway outside of the children's room. The mural features
portraits of newm residents taken by photographer Josh Madson. And I just want to say thank you to the downtown action con council to Josh and to field graphics for creating the extension of the downtown community collage in the library. And just note that that project
was funded by arts and cultural heritage funding. um a subgrant through Traverse Due Regional Library um provided by the taxpayers of Minnesota. And then we're adding a new program, Magic the Gathering. Um this is a volunteer-led group that will meet on
the first Saturday of each month from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the meeting room. A Magic the Gathering is the world's first and most popular trading card game. So players take turns playing cards strategically to cast spells, summon creatures, and reduce their
opponent's life to zero. Um, sounds like fun. >> So, everyone's welcome to join the group to learn and to play. There's no registration, purchase, or um, experience required to join, but we do ask that those under age 16 bring a
parent or guardian with them to the group. >> Okay. >> Oh, wonderful. Well, new things and old things. I noticed that the Canipling uh group is meeting once a week. I was wondering how that's going. >> It's going well. They usually have
anywhere between maybe five to nine members who meet. >> Um so there's a a larger table down in our fiction floor >> with some good light from the windows there. And so they have fun meeting there each week >> and they just bring their individual projects and work together. And then a
lot of times there's a lot of ooing and aawing over the very intricate pieces that they're creating. No kidding. >> It's a wonderful thing because I know just a few years ago there was a lot of concern about that traditional art dying out >> and now there's this group of people who
are making sure that does not happen. >> Yeah. >> Wonderful. Any other comments or questions? Um, I was wondering I unless I glanced over it and didn't it didn't register. The genealogology group is going to be
continuing also, isn't it? Yeah. So, um, when Leroy departed the library, we looked at some of our regular meeting groups that, um, attendance had declined over time for, >> and that included the Minnesota Valley
Civil War Roundt, the Genealogy group, and then some of the the Pathfinder groups, which is a little bit similar to Dungeons and Dragons. Mhm. >> Um and we talked to the regular attendees of those groups and um in the
Civil War Roundt and the genealogy group have decided to continue on as indep independent groups. >> So they'll meet at the library, but the library is not involved in um advertising or communicating. Um they
they handle that themselves, but they're still welcome to use our space informally. Mhm. >> All right. Thank you. >> Good. Good. Well, things always change and develop, >> right? >> That's great. Any other comments, questions? There's always something to
do at the library. Always something to do at the library. All right, we can move on to our one action item and that is we have resolution number uh 20264. Uh by state law, the submission of the
2025 Minnesota Public Library annual report for New Public Library is a submission of the library board and must be approved by it. Attached is a copy of the report for the new public library as
prepared by library director April ID. Thank you. Thank you. So >> if you would like I do have some items I could call out from the report >> and I would appreciate that. It's the same every year. >> Yes. Same format. Um the state does do
some updating of >> the types of data that's collected and how some of that is tallied. Um, for instance, there was a lot of change to how programming was tallied during the pandemic because libraries were doing a lot more virtual programming or
self-directed programming and a lot of that has um, you know, gone back to in-person programming. So, next year we're expecting kind of the um final change to that back to focus more on in-person programming. And so there is a little bit of that change each year, but
otherwise it's, you know, very similar data that we're collecting from year to year. >> I just want to note that the reports you're seeing in your packet include system level and outlet level reports, and that's typical each year, but since we only have one location, both of those
reports are the same for us, same numbers that you're seeing. >> So on page three of the report, I wanted to highlight a few of the statistics. Um, our population increased by only 63 people, but our total registered users
increased by 169 and total visits increased by 1,120 or that's 1.3%. Our public computer usage increased by 159 or 10%. Which is surprising because um, you know, a lot more people are
bringing in their own devices to the library. But we had a large group of teens who visited us regularly this past year very cons and very consistently used our public computers after school and during the summer. >> Okay. >> So I would attribute most of that
increase to to that group. >> Our wireless sessions increased by 29,627. That's 48%. Um, I've been working with the automation library librarian from TDS to research whether that might be to
due to devices connecting from neighboring residences and buildings. Um, our that's great that our Wi-Fi signal is that strong, but that might be skewing our stats a little bit. >> And then our total physical circulation
was down 960 items or 7%. So, not super notable, but Libby circulation was up 2529 items or 12%. And as Stacy mentioned in in her presentation, that is fueled
mostly by um e audiobook use. >> On page five of the report, our total program attendance was up 1,229 people or 18.5%. Um, when I looked at the programs that
were offered year-toear, I think it just might be some of the bigger programs that had big attendance that spurred some of that. We hadn't added a lot of new regular programs year-over-year. So that might be things like um big events during our summer reading program where
we had performers in or the New Year's Eve party which had a large >> attendance um at the end of December. >> And then on page seven of the report, I just wanted to note that our total total physical collection size remained
consistent yeartoear. There was just a few hundred items change in that. Um, and our librarians do a lot of work um, with the collections to make sure that we are um, weeding items that no longer meet the needs of our community, have
inaccurate um, information or no longer um, being circulated or just um, have poor condition. And we do do some replacing based on how in demand those items are, but the the bulk of what we're purchasing are new items that our
our patrons are interested in. Um, and we did a lot of weeding um as part of the non-fiction grant that um Stacy mentioned, but then we were able to add a lot of great new items to our non-fiction collections. And I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the annual
report. >> Um, I have a question. what what is uh what are the eerials as opposed to the ebooks and the audio books? >> So that would be um some some platforms like Overdrive offer um magazines,
>> but that's not something that we purchase. >> Okay. All right. Okay. >> Any anything else? I would just say that this seems like this is a significant amount of work for you to do this, but I hope it's also
somewhat fun for you to see, you know, the the progress that the library library makes with increased usage and and attendance. It's a good reflection on our our year and and trends in the library. And um I have to express my appreciation to um Seth, the automation
librarian at TEDS. He puts together a lot of the statistics for us. the the numbers on um circulation, computer use, um all of those things come from >> from the stats that he tabulates for us monthly and then puts together in a
>> annual report for us. >> So, a lot of that for me is plug and play into this report and then I can focus on things like the stuff that's individual to our library like our program attendance and um our budget >> numbers that we have to put in. Well,
and you know, it it helps with planning, you know, looking looking ahead to see see what's working, >> where to focus. >> As you reviewed the numbers, is there anything that you would like to see different?
>> Um, I would like to see um some of our our physical circulation go up a little bit. Um I I think we have seen an increase in the past several years, but it um I don't think we're quite where we
were pre- pandemic, >> and I'm still trying to figure out the reasons for that because a lot of our um programming and things numbers have rebounded. So, >> okay. Anything else? Anything else?
Well, hearing nothing, I will uh take a uh motion to approve this uh resolution. So moved. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. Anything Anything further before we vote? >> Otherwise, call the roll.
>> Dustin, yes. Ruthanne, >> yes. >> Yvonne, >> yes. >> Lynn, >> yes. >> Nancy, >> yes. >> All right. We have a resolution. Is there any other business to come before this board? All right. again. Thank you. Thank you, Cheryl. Drive home safely.
All right, we're done. >> Good. Thank you. Thank you.