The Library Board met Thursday, January 19th. I’ve highlighted some of what was discussed below.
- The board approved a change to the section of the meeting room policy related to sales as detailed below:
Old Wording: Sales, solicitation of later sales, order placement, or fundraising in the Library’s meeting rooms are prohibited except for events that benefit the Library.
New Wording: Meetings that charge admission or attendance fees or that in any way promote sales, solicitation of later sales, order placement, or fundraising are prohibited except for events that benefit the Library. Charges to recoup actual cost of food and materials are acceptable on a case by case basis as authorized in advance by library staff.
- New Book Bike motor: The board approved purchase of a new, more powerful book bike motor and battery. The bike frame has been shipped to Oregon for installation. My explanation of the situation as presented to the board:
Our current book bike motor is a hub motor. Although the manufacturer claims a weight maximum of 600 pounds, this apparently does not account for the additional weight added by gravity when cycling uphill. I will attempt to sell the motor and battery to recoup some of the cost for the Foundation. I’ve been corresponding with the owner of Lightning Rods, which (at least according to Internet lore) makes the most powerful mid-drive electric kit available. He’s interested in designing motors for the type of trike we have and is willing to custom build one that connects directly to the bike’s axle—as opposed to connecting to the internally geared hub which, given the power of the motor, would make it vulnerable to damage.
- This past fall, the board approved a special funding request to make our part-time teen librarian position a full time position. The request is now before the city council who has asked that departments propose cuts in spending or new revenue to help offset the cost of special requests like ours. The board approved an increase of Blu-Ray/DVD fines: from 15 cents/day to 30 cents/day. If our funding request is approved, this increase would take effect July 1, 2017. We will know in the next few weeks whether the position will be approved. I’ll keep everyone posted.
- A plan to replace the library tile, which is nasty, has been postponed due to the expense.