Advisory Council of Librarians
#007(14)
INDIANHEAD FEDERATED LIBRARY SYSTEM
ADVISORY COUNCIL OF LIBRARIANS
March 3, 2014
MINUTES
The Advisory Council of Librarians of the Indianhead Federated Library System met on
Monday, March 3, 2014, at Indianhead Federated Library System, 1538 Truax Blvd., Eau
Claire, Wisconsin. John Stoneberg called the meeting to order at 1:34 pm.
A quorum was present and Joanne Gardner certified that the meeting had been properly
noticed in compliance with the open meeting law.
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
Adam Zens (Barron County); Virginia Roberts (Chippewa County); Ted Stark (Dunn
County); Jacquie Pooler (Pierce County); James Nalen (Polk County); Gary Olson (Price
County); Hollis Helmeci (Rusk County); Karen Furo-Bonstetter; (St. Croix County); John
Stoneberg (Resource Library); Stan Nesbit (Schools); Matt Hoy (Academic/Special).
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:
Alyson Jones (Eau Claire County); Christy Rundquist (Pepin County).
OTHERS PRESENT:
John Thompson (Director); Joanne Gardner (Administrative Assistant/Recorder).
CORRESPONDENCE/ANNOUNCEMENTS/INTRODUCTIONS:
Introductions were made of new and continuing advisory members.
APPROVE AGENDA:
MOTION:
To approve the agenda as presented. Furo-Bonstetter/Hoy
RESULT: Carried.
(Stark arrived at 1:38 pm)
ELECTION OF CHAIR/VICE CHAIR:
MOTION:
To cast a unanimous ballot to appoint Stoneberg as Chair and Stark as Vice
Chair for 2014. Olson/Helmeci
RESULT: Carried.
1
Advisory Council of Librarians
#007(14)
MINUTES:
MOTION:
To approve the Advisory Council minutes dated June 18, 2013 (Doc. #033-13).
Nesbit/Helmeci
RESULT: Carried.
The Council acknowledged receipt of the IFLS Board of Trustee minutes dated January 22,
2014 (Doc. #006-14).
LIBRARY LEGISLATION UPDATE:
Thompson noted that the topic of discussion legislatively has been on Consolidated County
Libraries and Cross Border Payments. Consolidated county libraries have always had the
ability to bill adjacent counties, but the adjacent counties were not able to bill. The twin bills
(AB 288 / SB397) would allow all adjacent counties to request cross border payments.
Wisconsin has eight consolidated county libraries and one (Brown County) decided they
would start billing.
(Roberts arrived at 1:43 pm.)
Other counties are threatening to deny service, which they can due by statutes. This bill has
been assigned to the Committee on Urban and Local Affairs.
(Zens arrived at 1:43 pm.)
Under AB 797, if a covered county opts out of making library service payments, a library in a
county that has received an opt-out notice may charge an individual from a covered county
for library services and may refuse to provide library services. Thompson doesn’t believe this
bill will pass or go forward.
Thompson noted that Library Legislative Day was well-attended. There were over 160
people in attendance, with 30 representatives from our system area. Given the geographical
distance, it was a good turnout. A group of teens from Eau Claire did an excellent job
advocating for libraries.
PROJECT WIN UPDATE:
Representatives from Project WIN (Wisconsin Valley, Indianhead, and Northern Waters)
have been meeting in six different committees to discuss the merger of the ILS system. The
draft reports of the committees were synthesized so verbiage and style is consistent. These
recommendations were presented to the leadership committee. These recommendations
were sent to all the libraries within the system. Once the committees receive feedback, major
concerns will be analyzed by the committees to see if the draft recommendations need to be
changed.
The leadership committee will be meeting to decide how decisions will be made by the
individual consortiums. Thompson noted that the MORE Consortium may need to dissolve
2
Advisory Council of Librarians
#007(14)
more formally before they would take part in a merged system. The MORE Executive
Committee will be discussing this on March 7th.
We are waiting on a quote from Innovative on the ballpark cost of a merged system. It is
unclear if Innovative will just pool what they charge now.
The WIN group did hear from Illinois Heartland Library System which has a 400 member
system. They are still working on the merger but actively adding additional members. Their
staff is significantly larger than what we have collectively at this point.
Thompson provided the website address for more information on the WIN Project as well as
the recorded meeting with Illinois.
It is Thompson’s belief that IFLS needs to make sure the patrons will receive the same level
of service or better than they do now. The merger has to be an advantage to library patrons
and the costs must be the same or less.
MEMBER LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT COMPLIANCE ISSUES:
Thompson reported on the one compliance issue at Cumberland Public Library. There has
not been an official election for board officers for 5 plus years. Official election of officers
should occur yearly. Elections were held for some officers that left the board, but no general
election was held. Thompson will try to rectify that.
DISCUSSION ON SYSTEM GOVERNANCE
TASKFORCE RECOMMENDATIONS:
A System Governance Taskforce was created by SRLAAW (System and Resource Library
Administrators Association of Wisconsin) to make review and make recommendations for
change to system governance. John Stoneberg, Director of L.E. Phillips Memorial Public
Library in Eau Claire was the chair of the taskforce.
After reviewing comments from the Creating More Effective Public Library Systems process,
the committee forwarded recommendations to SRLAAW in February. The recommendations
will be discussed in more detail at their May meeting. The taskforce also talked to systems in
other states including Colorado and Iowa. They are similar to systems in Wisconsin, with
different histories and how the systems came about.
Items in the survey to create more effective public library systems inquired how systems
could function better. Some of the findings came down to being partially the fault of librarians
in the system themselves. There seemed to be a lack of communication between the
librarians and system board representatives. The taskforce is encouraging better ways of
communication.
There were three action items recommended to SRLAAW. The first action item was to
recommend a requirement that 40% of system board members be active voting members, at
the time of their appointment, of local library boards. This recommendation would not require
a change to statutes. The Counties are able to appoint a supervisor or library board member
on the system board. This is something systems could implement immediately. The current
3
Advisory Council of Librarians
#007(14)
letter IFLS sends to those with expiring terms could include language that encourages the
county to appoint someone from a local library board.
The second recommended action to SRLAAW that one member library director be
appointed/elected to attend system board meetings as a non-voting member and report to
the system advisory group. Olson noted that this is a logical function of the advisory council.
The third recommendation was to remain focused on new system models for the State of
Wisconsin and which model that would work best for the state.
Stoneberg reported that the taskforce did not find a lot to recommend back to SRLAAW. He
noted the biggest thing for us as a system, is communication with the board and members.
Stoneberg noted that the Advisory Council and IFLS do not need to wait to take action. The
recommendations could be implemented now.
Stark, Roberts, and Zens offered to start attending IFLS Board meetings and report back to
the Advisory Council. Stoneberg will step in if someone cannot get to a meeting. Gardner
will send out a schedule of upcoming IFLS Board meetings. Thompson will let the IFLS
Board know the Council’s plans to attend meetings.
UPDATE BY ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS ON ACITIVITIES
IN THEIR RESPECTIVE LIBRARIES AND COUNTIES:
Council members highlighted the activities in their respective libraries and counties:














Plum City is participating in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. (Pooler)
Plum City is prepping for the summer reading and adult programming. (Pooler)
Ellsworth is participating in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. (Pooler)
Baldwin, Woodville, and the school libraries are participating in the One Community
read program. (Furo-Bonstetter)
Woodville held a variety show as a fundraiser. It was successful and fun. (FuroBonstetter)
Woodville is participating in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. (FuroBonstetter)
Chippewa Falls is gearing up for the summer reading program. (Roberts)
Chippewa Falls is planning an author series to be held March through May which
revolves around poetry month. (Roberts)
The Science Saturday project at Chippewa Falls has been very busy. (Roberts)
Chippewa Falls is working on a community outreach job and resume ready program.
(Roberts)
Hawkins is expanding their early literacy area. (Helmeci)
Hawkins is beginning a genealogy class. (Helmeci)
Hawkins has a number of other activities including: a Valentine’s Day tea and open
house, preschool story times, a book club, a craft club, working on summer reading
program, and is a drop off site for the Lions Club to get cell phones and hearing aids
for the soldiers. (Helmeci)
Bruce is holding storytimes bi-weekly. (Helmeci)
4
Advisory Council of Librarians































#007(14)
Bruce has a Lego’s Club offered by the Friends of the Library. (Helmeci)
Bruce has a knitting group that meets at the library. (Helmeci)
Ladysmith held a gingerbread contest before the holidays. (Helmeci)
Ladysmith holds storytimes and anigrommies. (Helmeci)
Ladysmith is working on their Personnel Manual. (Helmeci)
Friends of the Ladysmith library are purchasing vertical blinds for the lower level.
(Helmeci)
The children’s department at Ladysmith put together 10 new storykits. (Helmeci)
Colfax is training patrons on tablets and handheld devices. (Stark)
Colfax is doing programming for Alzheimer’s patrons. (Stark)
Boyceville has new carpeting and some replaced windows. (Stark)
Sand Creek’s interior has all been redone with lots of hand wood work. (Stark)
Menomonie is working with the Bremer L3 Grant. (Stark)
Menomonie continues looking at the building options. (Stark)
Menomonie held a board summit for the library board, Friends board, and the
foundation board. Thompson attended the summit. (Stark)
A Facebook page has been created for Elk Mound. (Stark)
Elk Mound is pushing ahead and renovations are almost complete on the combo
library and community center. They plan to open in April. (Stark)
Programming attendance has doubled in Park Falls. This is a very significant
increase. (Olson)
The different groups meeting at Park Falls include: parent-child play group, Lego Club,
magic club, Dungeons and Dragons, book clubs, a gaming group, and bible study.
(Olson)
Park Falls has multiple levels which includes a 3rd floor auditorium and meeting room
which is used extensively. (Olson)
Park Falls had a new roof put on this year. (Olson)
A few years ago, Park Falls added a walk-through tree in their children’s department.
Now the YA section is gearing up to revamp that area. (Olson)
Olson noted that Park Falls received a large budget cut of 1/3 of their operations
budget. Additional parking and carpeting have been put on hold. (Olson)
Price County Library Books-By-Mail which is run out of the Park Falls library will be a
contracted service. They are debating the ongoing role of the Price County Library
Board. (Olson)
Park Falls held a Mardis Gras’ book sale with 15,000 items. (Olson)
Park Falls is sharing use of a dye cut machine with the school district. (Olson)
Park Falls is bringing in Michael Perry. (Olson)
Cameron has been working with the senior center with Smartphone training. (Zens)
Cameron holds seasonal storytimes in the spring, afterschool snacks, Lego Club,
daycare outreach storytimes, storytimes at daycare locations, summer reading
planning, and family movie nights. (Zens)
Cameron has been working on home-school curriculum planning, weeding, and
updating the library website. (Zens)
Barron has added furniture to the lobby area, started inventory of collection using circa
to get a better handle on the adult collection. (Zens)
Cumberland had a well-attended February program: When Death Pays a Visit. (Zens)
5
Advisory Council of Librarians
#007(14)
 In March, Cumberland will hold a brown bag and March Madness. In April they will
feature poetry and pizza. (Zens)
 Youth Service staffer at Turtle Lake has brought a lot of creative programs for school
kids. (Zens)
 Friends of Turtle Lake have raised $124,000 towards their $400,000 goal for a new
building. They are currently looking at village-owned property. It is hoped that if the
friends raise $ 200,000, the village will cover the other half. (Zens)
 Turtle Lake has a video game club and also had a great turnout for a Valentine’s Day
program. (Zens)
 Mayo Clinic Health System has a small library with 3 FTE staff. The library consists of
4,000 volumes which are mostly medically-related. They are part of the larger Mayo
Clinic Library System. The library in Eau Claire at Luther Hospital is open to the
public and offers database access. They also offer a patient-specific library as well.
The library is open 8-5 Monday through Friday. (Hoy)
 Nesbit plans to attend the WEMTA Convention in March. The big topic is the role of
educator effectiveness model (Danielson Model). He hopes to see what that means
for school librarians. (Nesbit)
 Nesbit reported that staffing has been taken plenty of hits. It is getting hard to justify
cuts with the Ipad and chromebooks being placed in schools (grades 3-4 and 6th
grade at Delong).
 A library was recently added to Prairie Ridge School; which serves 4-K students in
Eau Claire. The library is currently staffed by volunteers. (Nesbit)
 Nesbit spoke about the profitability for Amazon book stores.
 Overdrive circulation has multiplied 5 times what it was last year. (Nesbit)
 Amery, Dresser, and St. Croix Falls are participating in the Bremer L3 grants. (Nalen)
 Library directors in Polk County held a meeting to plan for a proposed increase in the
reimbursement rate. They would like it increased from 70% to 100%. Thompson has
been helping. They tried last year, but it failed 19-4. (Nalen)
 St. Croix Falls has fairly new space and are looking to section part of the building for
meeting room space. (Nalen)
 Milltown has a conceptual design for a new building and are in phase two of fundraising. (Nalen)
 Osceola is looking at new space. (Nalen)
 Dresser has done some minor renovations, including paint. (Nalen)
 Amery, Osceola, and Dresser are doing strategic planning with Thompson’s
assistance. (Nalen)
 Eau Claire reported one-half million visitors in 2013. (Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire has been replacing windows: 140 of them. The cost for replacement came
in way under budget. (Stoneberg)
 Last year for the second year in a row, the library has purchased a sculpture. It is a
bronze sculpture of a boy reading with fairy tale characters dancing around at his feet.
There is also a bench around the sculpture. (Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire’s webmaster has noted an 80% increase in mobile traffic on Eau Claire’s
website while only seeing a 5% decrease in the standard website. (Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire has introduced a flat bed scanner which has proven popular with patrons.
You can scan to a USB, email, etc. (Stoneberg)
6
Advisory Council of Librarians
#007(14)
 The local paper in Eau Claire never had any kind of index to obituaries. Eau Claire
now has over 100,000 obituaries. (Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire is hosting the 35th annual Arts West – the largest juried art show. It was a
nice showing. (Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire has lost a lot of adult reader areas. Work is underway to convert the
planter areas to create 30-32 new reading areas which will be teched-up with USB
plugs, etc. and have a nice view of the Eau Claire River. The work should be
completed by May and is funded by the trust funds and funds from the Friends of the
library. (Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire has always had very successful book sales which were run for the past 12
years by a very powerful and energetic woman who has now stepped down. Eau
Claire got another energetic person from CVTC along with 3 interns. (Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire is talking about how to slowly replace the I-pads they received from the
Presto Foundation and to also find a way to effectively keep the program going.
(Stoneberg)
 Eau Claire is applying for Libraries Transforming Communities grant which is funded
by the Gates Foundation. Turning outward with the idea of the library as a community
place. The grant would pay $8,000 for travel and training over an 18 month period
and include 20 community conversations within a year. 10 libraries will be selected for
the grant. (Stoneberg)
ADVISORY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES FOR
UPCOMING IFLS BOARD MEETINGS:
After discussing, it was decided that Stark, Roberts, and Zens would attend upcoming IFLS
Board meetings as a representative of the Advisory Council. Stoneberg will serve as a
backup if needed. Gardner will send out a schedule of the upcoming meetings to the
representatives.
SET DATE FOR NEXT MEETING AND AGENDA ITEMS:
Gardner will send out a schedule for possible meeting dates in June.
ADJOURNMENT:
Meeting adjourned at 3:30 pm.
__________________________________________
Joanne Gardner, Recorder/Administrative Assistant
These minutes of the Advisory Council are approved:  as printed.
 with corrections noted.
_________________________________________
Presiding Officer
7
____________________________
Dated