Mead Public Library
Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
• Meeting was called to order by Jenn Lee at 6:09 pm. Open Meetings Act poster was pointed out on the west wall of the back room.

• Roll Call:
o Members Present: Sara Else (2027), Cara Simon (2027), Jenn Lee (2026), Mary Mayfield (2024)
o Members Absent: Kylee Hickman (2024)
o Library Employee Present: Director-Laurie VanAckeren
o Library Employees Absent: Roberta Kisling, Lori Moseman
o Guests Present: Amanda Schaal

• Guests or Public Items to discuss- Amanda is interested in joining the Library Board.

• Minutes, Bills, Financials, and Monthly Reports for October
o October minutes reviewed.
o October Bills/Financial transactions reviewed.
 Mayfield moved to approve October Minutes, Bills, Financials, and Monthly reports, second by Lee. Motion carried. Unanimous approval. October reports approved.

• New Business/Director’s Report
o October stats were reviewed. Excellent foot traffic and participation in Library events!
o Upcoming November/December events to note:
 November is Read Aloud Month! Twice a week, there will be a guest reader and treats available.
 Adult Book Club- November 8th and December 13th
 UNL Extension/Baby Chicks in Incubators
 Adult Craft on November 18th at 10am.
 November 27th- Friends of the Library Annual Holiday Decoration Sale
 Mead Hometown Holiday Event, December 2nd at Mead Fire Hall. The Library will host a table where guests can write letters to Santa and receive a goodie bag. Planning for 100 goodie bags and Laurie will request monetary support from the Friends of the Library.
 Adult BINGO for BOOKS is back December 6th at 6pm.
 Welcome Winter Party on December 20th.
 CUPCAKE WARS is back on December 23rd. Signup sheets available at the Library.
o Library Card Application finalized. Given approved changes at the September Library Board Meeting to begin charging out-of-town patrons $20/year, the application has been updated to include new verbiage.
 Motion to approve by Mayfield, Second by Lee. Motion carried. Unanimous approval. Finalized Library Card application approved.
o Laurie continues to work on Patron Log for County fees and material fines to be addressed upon Library Card renewal.
o Upon guidance from NLC, Laurie will be implementing a Confidentiality Policy. More to come at our December meeting.
o Laurie has been in contact with Jodi Weible who runs the weekly food pantry/giveaways at Destiny Church in Wahoo. Laurie stops by on Friday mornings to collect any leftover snacks to offer kids after school. She commented on quite a few hungry kids and feels it beneficial to offer this snack option.
o Roberta continues to offer twice monthly scavenger hunts. They’ve been pretty popular the last few months!

• Board Member Reports:
o Else is hard at work on the Mailbox for Santa Letters at Mead Hometown Holiday Event.
o Mayfield and Lee continue to look into building code and how it pertains to back door access in the event of an emergency while remaining safe during business hours.
o Simon continues to work on the “Meet the Librarian/Board Members” social media series. Still waiting on a few responses before collectively publishing material.
o Simon will research webinars/activities for board accreditation credits due next summer.
o Simon will also stop in to visit with Village Clerk for clarification around monthly Quickbooks reports.
o In an effort to increase inclusion and networking opportunities, each Library Board member will attend Village Board meetings on a quarterly basis. Else and Mayfield will attend November 14th meeting at 6pm.
o Given recently approved changes for the Alma Book Club, members have decided to meet at the Library instead of an offsite location.
o Amanda Schaal has expressed interest in joining the Library Board in light of Mary Mayfield’s term ending in 2024.
 Motion to approve by Simon, Second by Else. Motion carried. Unanimous approval. Approval of Amanda Schaal as Library Board Member approved. Village Board will vote to approve next week at their regularly scheduled meeting.

• End of Meeting Roll Call:
o Members Present- Sara Else (2027), Cara Simon (2027), Jenn Lee (2026), Mary Mayfield (2024)
o Members absent- Kylee Hickman (2024)
o Library Employee Present: Director-Laurie VanAckeren
o Guest Present: Amanda Schaal

Lee adjourned meeting at 7:27 pm.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, December 5th at 6pm- Mead Public Library

Respectfully Submitted by
Cara Simon