- I'd like to call to order
- the Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees meeting
- for March 26th, 2025.
- We would like to go around and introduce ourselves.
- And if you'd like to share what you're reading,
- you may start.
- So Whitney Eads, and I am reading We Refuse.
- Jamie Burkhart, I am currently between books,
- reading a lot of nonfiction things for training,
- but, and also trying to keep up with the news cycle.
- Greer Carson, I'm reading The View From Nowhere
- by Thomas Nagel.
- And my family and I are playing Sims 4 on the PS5.
- I'm Amy O'Shaughnessy, and I'm reading Detransition Baby.
- I'm Chris Hall, and I just finished
- Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books
- by Kirsten Miller.
- And I'm waiting for my, for James,
- by personal effort to be, to come to me.
- I'm on hold.
- I'm Nancy Van Allen, and I'm reading Demon Copperhead.
- I just signed up for that one.
- Oh yeah.
- Okay, can I get a motion to approve
- the consent agenda items?
- Second.
- All in favor say aye.
- Aye. - Aye.
- Okay, and that Director's Month Report from Greer.
- Okay, as we mentioned last month,
- we are closely watching all developments
- related to Indiana Senate Bill 1,
- which aims to reduce property taxes for Indiana residents.
- SB 1 is currently in the Ways and Means Committee
- and is expected to pass the current Senate session
- sometime in April or early May,
- at which point we'll know what the likely impact
- of the bill will be on our annual operating budget.
- Based on current estimates,
- we anticipate something like a $700,000 reduction
- in annual operating revenue by the end of 2027.
- We've kept our staff up to date on this
- and have shared that whatever form the bill takes,
- we will very likely have to make some adjustments.
- It's still early in the budgeting season,
- so we're looking at a variety of options
- without having to make any commitments just yet.
- We'll provide updates as soon as we have a clearer picture
- of the impact of the bill
- and what it will have on library funding,
- and we'll bring our draft 2026 budget to you all in July,
- as we normally do.
- We had a strong February in terms of overall collection use.
- You'll notice in the report that the past five years
- since the pandemic have seen a steady increase
- in overall collection use for the month of February,
- specifically.
- Thanks to a generous digital equity grant
- from our partners at the city of Bloomington,
- we have added 15 new 5G 10th generation iPads
- to our library of things collection.
- Our iPad collection is very popular
- and comes with preset MCPL digital resources.
- These additional iPads should help
- to reduce the overall wait time for patrons.
- For example, the current holds queue for our iPads is 23.
- We recently shared news
- of our new digital periodicals platform press reader.
- Use of press reader increased significantly in February,
- thanks in part to marketing's additional promotional work.
- We have also seen an increase in use
- of our other new e-library resource, Lote for Kids,
- which provides bilingual stories for children and families.
- In February, 40% of the stories read on Lote for Kids
- were in English,
- while the remaining 60% were stories written
- in one of 14 other languages,
- which is part of the reason we introduced the resource,
- so that's great to see.
- Tax season is well underway,
- and our tax help services are as popular
- as always this year.
- We released another Hot Ones episode,
- this time featuring teen library assistant, Laura Wise,
- and it saw the most in-person attendance
- of any of the episodes so far.
- Special thank you to teen librarian, Tiana Pascoe,
- for creating and producing this program.
- February saw strong engagement with MCPL via social media
- with notable increases across Facebook and Instagram
- related to Black History Month, Library Lovers Month,
- the Adult Winter Reading Challenge,
- and the Friends of the Library's Marianna Armstrong exhibit,
- Matthew Cordell's Neighborhood.
- February was also our best month ever on TikTok
- with over 20,000 views of MCPL videos,
- with the top spot going to adult library assistant,
- Burl Cooper's video about free reading glasses
- at the library.
- On a related note,
- we just wrapped up our social media audit this week
- and are analyzing the results
- to see if we want to make any changes to our strategy
- for using social media to share library information
- and to engage with patrons.
- The analytics vary across platforms
- and some of them even change from year to year,
- so it's a little challenging to compare them,
- but we do know that YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook
- have the most reach for us
- and that the last three years show a steady increase
- in terms of MCPL social media engagement.
- We're proud to be a part of a new community partner program
- aimed at reducing instances of homelessness
- in Monroe County.
- Heading home of South Central Indiana
- and the Community Foundation of Bloomington
- in Monroe County,
- we're awarded a significant five-year grant
- from the Lilly Foundation
- to hire indirect diversion and prevention case managers
- at strategic locations throughout our community.
- MCPL will be one of those locations
- and will host a case manager onsite
- to work with individuals and families
- who may be on the path to homelessness.
- We're working with heading home administrators
- on the details for recruiting
- and supervising these case managers
- and how their work will fit within the library service
- and operational models.
- We're in the early stages,
- but we expect to have our diversion
- and prevention case manager onsite
- late summer or early fall.
- And finally, we released a statement
- in response to the March 14th executive order
- to dissolve the Institute of Museum and Library Services
- and its potential impact on public libraries
- and on MCPL specifically.
- We don't often issue statements to our community like this,
- and we take seriously our commitment to political neutrality
- as a publicly funded organization.
- However, this executive order does pose a financial
- and symbolic threat to libraries across the country
- and could potentially impact access
- to some of our most important digital resources,
- such as Inspire and our Overdrive Libby ebook collection.
- And so we felt it was appropriate
- to share our perspective on this
- and how it could impact MCPL.
- We talked through the reasoning for this statement
- with our staff and that our hope is the message
- raises some awareness of the matter among MCPL patrons
- and Monroe County residents at large.
- And I'll have a little bit more to say about this later
- in the meeting under new business.
- Any questions about the director's report?
- I apologize in advance for how much I'm gonna talk tonight
- 'cause there are a lot of updates and most of it's me, so.
- Used, I think that's great.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- All right, old business.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
- Ready?
- Sure.
- Okay.
- So the first item under old business
- is a review of our annual report.
- So the annual report is conducted
- by the Indiana State Library
- and it's required of all Indiana libraries.
- We prepare this report every January
- for the previous operational and fiscal year
- and submit the finished report
- to the state library by March 1st.
- The data collected helps the state library understand
- how Indiana libraries are performing,
- what the trends are in library use and service,
- and where opportunities for growth
- and improvement may emerge.
- After reviewing all individual library reports,
- the state library then shares a summary report
- for the collective Indiana library community,
- which gives individual libraries like us
- a snapshot of overall library use across the state
- and some valuable context for our own data.
- This year's report for MCPL is included in the packet.
- I have omitted a few pages which happen
- to list contact information for you all,
- but otherwise I left the report intact.
- It is quite lengthy and a lot of it doesn't change
- from year to year like building square footage
- and address and typical hours of operation.
- But I wanted to point out some highlights
- from the 2024 report.
- First is question number 02-003,
- the number of registered users.
- For 2024, that was 55,446 by the year's end.
- That's an increase of 3,529 patrons from 2023 to '24.
- Question 03-002 is total assessed valuation
- for the library district.
- For last year, that was $11,135,908,698.
- This is the stuff that Gary talks about
- when we go through the budget every year.
- That's an increase in Monroe County's assessed valuation
- of $1.1 billion from '23 to '24.
- At the same time, the operating tax rate for MCPL went down
- from 0.0763 in '23 to 0.0712 in '24,
- which means that the percentage of an individual's taxes
- that goes directly to funding the library
- actually went down.
- Senate Bill 1 aside, this is good news
- in terms of the relative value of MCPL
- to a Monroe County resident
- and the overall financial health of our library.
- Question number 7-10, total number of all paid staff
- was 174, which is about where we are as of today.
- Actually, I think we're at 173 as of today.
- Looking at 2023's report, we added five employees
- from '23 to 2024.
- Question 08-001, number of interlibrary loans
- your library has provided to other libraries was 3,212.
- Last year's reported total was 5,548.
- And what's behind that change is we traditionally count
- our reciprocal ebook lending partnership
- with Johnson County Public Library
- through the Cloud Library app
- as part of that interlibrary loan statistic.
- We, of course, dropped Cloud Library last year,
- so those interlibrary loans went away
- in terms of our reporting for this year.
- Question number 08-056, the total number of live in-person
- or virtual library programs was 2,306.
- So I wanna take a second and emphasize
- what that number means.
- That means that MCPL offered
- over 2,300 live library programs in 2024.
- Every one of those programs
- has one or more library staff members
- behind its conception, design, and execution.
- And every one of those programs is designed
- with a particular audience and subject matter in mind.
- So that is significant.
- Total attendance at live programs,
- which is question 08-057, was 33,729 patrons.
- That's also a number we're very proud of.
- In 2023, a total of 27,004 patrons
- attended 1,533 library programs.
- So there are increases in both of those numbers.
- Total annual visits to the library is question 08-063.
- For last year, it was 571,438.
- 2023 actually saw 583,964.
- So we saw a decrease of 12,526 visits over the previous year.
- Question 09-007, total physical items in the collection.
- That's books, movies, music, games, and things,
- basically the physical materials we circulate.
- That total was 437,293 items.
- 2023 holdings for all physical materials was 469,143.
- So that's a reduction in the size
- of our overall physical collection by 31,850 items.
- Circulation of those physical items for last year
- was 1,336,947.
- The previous year's total circ was 1,468,407.
- So that's a decrease in physical item circulation
- from '23 to '24 of 131,460.
- Now total circulation of electronic materials for '24
- was 667,924, and in 2023 it was 617,147.
- So that's an increase of 50,777 circulations
- of electronic materials.
- These are trends that are made pretty visible
- in our monthly circulation statistics
- at the top of the director's report,
- and we obviously see a consistent yet still somewhat
- gradual shift from physical to digital use
- of library materials.
- Finally, the annual report does offer one opportunity
- for qualitative reporting with question 15004,
- which asks, what is something your library did
- in the past year that you're proud of?
- This is always a difficult one for us to answer
- because there's so much we have to choose from.
- But for 2024, we think the obvious point of pride for MCPL
- was our handling of the HVAC failure and flood
- at the Southwest branch at the start of the year,
- and specifically the way our staff handled the crisis itself
- with an all hands on deck attitude,
- the way staff came together to support one another
- through adjusted workspaces, schedules, program plans,
- and community outreach efforts,
- how our community demonstrated its love and support
- for this library throughout the entire closure.
- This was perhaps our greatest success story from last year,
- and it's one that could have been anything but successful,
- but it ultimately proved to be something
- we're very proud of.
- So that's kind of a summary of the annual report.
- Again, the entire report is in the packet.
- When we get the state library's collective report
- on public libraries in Indiana,
- we can share that with you as well
- and provide that context for how we do
- compared to some of our peers.
- Can I answer any questions at all about the annual report?
- (audience laughing)
- A lot of amazing things.
- I do have a question.
- Just because I'm surprised by the significant increase
- in live programming, knowing we had an additional branch,
- don't think that makes up.
- Have you been able to break that down
- to what areas of live programming,
- what library areas have grown?
- So there is a breakdown for specific types of programming
- by audience that we could look at.
- So I can give you that answer later,
- but that breakdown is also in the report.
- I don't think it answers the question all by itself.
- I think some of it is the Southwest branch
- and the programming that Southwest did
- even while we were closed,
- when they were working downtown and out in the community.
- There's another piece that is kind of a big part
- of the annual report, and that is from year to year,
- the state library will change the way
- they're counting certain metrics.
- And sometimes that means if we report programming
- around 13 to 1500 a year, and the next year it's 2300,
- eh, it may be the way they're asking the questions.
- So between those two, I think we can answer your question.
- And I'll look into that first part
- and have what the breakdown is, yeah.
- Great, thank you.
- Anyone?
- Compare our library system to others in the state.
- Do you have any certain ones that you typically,
- like as in numbers and number of programs
- that we compare very closely to?
- Yeah, yeah, so this is a great question.
- We have a set of what we call peer libraries,
- and there are about 12 of them that we look at
- in terms of size of the library, size of the staff,
- operating budget, population served
- is kind of the biggest indicator.
- And it's places like Evansville-Vandenberg,
- Johnson County, St. Joe, Allen County,
- whole list of others.
- And yeah, we kind of frequently compare ourselves to those,
- talk to those libraries and get a sense
- for what they're gonna do.
- Sometimes we visit them.
- So we have this sort of, I wanna say click,
- but it's a little niche of peer libraries
- in the state that we look at.
- We are very similar.
- We, I think I can say we do a little bit more
- in terms of programming than a lot of our peers do.
- But also some of the structure
- of some of those libraries is different.
- They'll have more branches than we do, for example.
- So the staffing and the hours is quite different.
- The nature of the programs that they do
- is a little bit different.
- Populations are different.
- The interests are different.
- Yeah.
- Thanks.
- I wanted to ask about the figure of the items
- that were loaned to other libraries
- versus received from other libraries.
- That was one piece that, in addition to the huge
- community service piece of this that's so impressive,
- that kind of stood out to me.
- Can you provide some context for,
- it's almost like a tenfold,
- the items loaned versus the items received.
- Can you say more about that?
- You mean specifically why do we lend more
- through ILL than we borrow?
- Yeah.
- I don't think I have a great and definitive answer to that
- and I would talk to our circulation services
- and collection development managers to get that.
- But by and large, we are seen as a library
- that other libraries can borrow from
- and we encourage that.
- We want to be known as that.
- So we try to process ILL as quickly as possible.
- We also look at our collection as something
- that can be utilized and valued by other members
- of the state rather than just Monroe County.
- Monroe County residents are our principal users, of course,
- but we see ILL as an important part of being
- in the library community.
- And so we facilitate that as much as possible.
- That was a big part of why we did the cloud library
- reciprocal lending with Johnson County up until last year.
- A lot of it could come down to what are the nature
- of the requests that our patrons have?
- Are we able to satisfy those requests by purchasing items
- for our collection quickly rather than doing an ILL
- because we do a lot of patron requests satisfying
- with those online requests
- and our collection development department
- does a great job of saying, you know what,
- that's something we ought to just buy
- and get to this person as quickly as possible.
- So that's probably a factor too.
- But I think for a more definitive answer,
- let me talk to Stephanie Meyer and Lisa Ciebelian,
- get it back to you. - Okay, thanks.
- Yeah, that's a good observation.
- I'd just like to make a statement that I think
- the idea of public libraries,
- I think have always been embedded
- in the idea of reciprocity.
- And so I think that we are ahead of the curve on that.
- Thank you.
- Any other questions or comments before we move on?
- Okay.
- Can I get a motion to approve,
- to hear the IMLS executive order
- and letter to representatives?
- Oh, yep, I already did. - One of the things, sorry.
- Yeah. - Under old business.
- Got it, sorry.
- You just don't want to hear all those updates.
- No. (all laughing)
- Policy update, code of conduct.
- No, we're talking about strategic plan updates
- under old business.
- This is, we are halfway through our current strategic plan.
- So I wanted to provide some updates on where we are
- with some of those action items.
- The current plan was developed by a team of staff
- and board members back in 2023,
- and it involved community input on library services,
- operations, community presence, opportunities for expansion
- and enhancement of services and operations.
- The state library does require
- that all Indiana libraries have an active strategic plan,
- which spans either three or five years.
- Our current three-year plan spans 2024 to 26.
- An abbreviated version of the plan is in the packet.
- I also brought some printed ones for you all.
- It serves as both a commitment on the part of MCPL
- to review and explore areas for improved service
- and as a guide for how to make those improvements
- over a three-year period.
- So again, as we approach kind of the midpoint
- of the current strategic plan,
- we want to share some updates on the progress
- we've made toward those commitments
- and what we have left to do before the start of the next plan.
- Just going alphabetically by department and administration,
- we've worked with the State Library
- and State Librarian, Jacob Speer,
- on developing proposed language changes to the Indiana code
- specific to the definition of libraries
- and library services.
- We're involved in very careful and calculated forms
- of library advocacy in response to recent state
- and federal initiatives,
- which challenge library funding and/or access.
- And we've completed our review and proposed updates
- to the current behavior policy,
- and we'll begin our incident report system
- and procedures review next week
- with the expectation of making updates
- to these processes by August.
- In adult services, they've expanded program offerings
- for adult patrons by adding things like the Lego Club,
- the Fiber Arts Club, and Board Game Night,
- and occasionally Board Game Swaps,
- and various special events such as our Tea
- and Popsicle socials.
- This department has also added
- the Short Attention Span Book Club,
- the highly successful Winter Reading Program,
- and is partnering with Constellation Stage
- and Screen for their production of Misery,
- all in an effort to provide robust readers' advisory
- for patrons.
- Building Services and Security led our review
- of the behavior policy we're proposing for adoption
- under new business tonight,
- and they will lead our forthcoming review
- of our incident report system.
- This department also completes
- innumerable weekly facilities projects aimed at making
- our three library locations as safe and comfortable
- for patrons as possible, which is strategic goal number three,
- an important recent example being the updates
- that they made to our CCTV server and exterior cameras
- here at the Downtown Library last fall,
- and the near daily mechanical oversight and support
- of our HVAC and related systems across all three buildings.
- Communications and Marketing is working towards goals one
- and two by conducting ADA compliance software checks
- to ensure that our content is as accessible as possible,
- making sure we use gender inclusive language,
- especially when describing caregivers
- and children's programs, and they continue to manage
- our eResource of the Month promotional campaigns
- to help spotlight resources that develop patron literacy
- and continued learning.
- CATS is working toward outfitting Studio B
- with podcasting equipment.
- We have new hardware ordered, which will allow us
- to provide more robust streaming of city, county,
- and MCPL channel content, and the public channel
- will be added to our streaming services
- once this new equipment arrives and is installed.
- We've been adding CATS archived programs
- to the CATS website and the CATS YouTube channel,
- and we'll continue that work going forward.
- And we'll be adding closed captions to new content
- on CATS site within a few weeks.
- Children's Services has introduced new programs
- like the Home School Art Club and Junior Explorers
- to provide children with opportunities for socialization
- and engagement in creative crafts,
- and to learn about nature and nature-based themes
- in reference to South Central Indiana.
- Both programs are part of their effort
- to support student learning about essential life skills
- through STEAM and maker-based activities.
- They've developed online reading programs
- such as the Fat Bear Challenge and I Did a Read Challenge
- to help readers use Beanstack online,
- and they're partnering with IU Flagship
- to offer a four-session program aimed at educating patrons
- about Russian, Chinese, and Arabic languages.
- And they're partnering with Parks and Rec,
- the Peek Squeery, I'm not saying that right,
- and the African American Dance Company
- to develop diverse and engaging programs.
- Peek Squeakery, thank you, that is correct.
- Circulation Services has significantly increased
- the number of shelf-based face-out displays
- which they manage as part of their workflow.
- This is one of the best ways we can help draw
- patrons' attention to the otherwise hidden items
- and collections that we have.
- And they've made some important changes
- to the way we do end cap displays
- and how they assign collection maintenance oversight
- to individual circulation leads.
- Collection Development has worked with Cirque Services
- to establish procedures for the selection
- of new library of things items
- and to update how those items are cataloged and shelved
- to allow for sustainable growth.
- Our digitization plan has been updated
- and we're continuing to look at how to prioritize
- local history projects going forward.
- The recent Musical Family Tree partnership
- being a prime example of this.
- In refining their weeding procedures,
- they found that our legacy collection reporting system
- is actually more useful than Collection HQ
- for generating weeding lists.
- And they're working on the integration
- of numerous collections where appropriate,
- including holiday materials, juvenile reference,
- and parent-teacher resources,
- and are moving the Spanish language collection
- closer to El Centro's current office location.
- And they've established a manga-influenced comic collection
- for all audience levels,
- as well as introducing our popular Blu-ray collection.
- Our Ellitsville branch has completed their first action item
- by adding the new digital creativity station
- and providing on-demand technology help for patrons.
- They've also completed their review
- of the branch collections and expectations
- for collaboration and partnership
- with collection development.
- Administration and building services
- is working with this team to finalize plans for improvements
- to the Ellitsville public service desks,
- the hold shelves, and the staff workspaces,
- which we expect to complete later this year.
- Information technology has been instrumental
- in helping us launch the Vega Discover catalog
- late last year, and they execute the Polaris upgrades needed
- to make sure our new catalog interface does what it should.
- They've also been heavily involved
- in implementing and supporting Communico,
- our new room and asset reservation software.
- IT also leads our staff intranet oversight team
- and coordinates the necessary updates
- for happier pages and channels,
- which are critical to the library's internal communications.
- Outreach services is deep into the spec
- and bid preparation work for our new Bookmobile,
- and we have engaged specialty vehicle services once again
- to help us with vehicle specs and requests for bids.
- They're working with property managers
- for existing Bookmobile stops
- to learn how we can better promote
- our mobile library services,
- and that feedback has led to new outreach marketing materials
- from our C&M department.
- Vital has worked with collection development
- to create a new cataloging system
- for the Vital fiction collection,
- which should help new readers find content
- that more closely matches their developing reading skills,
- and the recataloging work itself is now in progress.
- They successfully implemented Literacy Nimbus,
- the new Vital data management system just over a year ago,
- and we've noted significant improvements
- in the accuracy and efficacy of our communication
- and record keeping.
- And they've put our Digital Equity Planning Committee
- together, which has completed internal
- and peer library surveys to better understand
- current digital literacy needs and opportunities
- for new programs and resources,
- as well as best practices for tech help
- with library patrons.
- Program coordination has successfully implemented
- and trained staff on Communico,
- and worked with our friends group on planning
- last November's Power of Words event,
- and the recent Armstrong exhibit of author
- and illustrator Matthew Cordell's
- children's book illustrations,
- which just wrapped up in 1B and 1C.
- Our Southwest branch has added monthly challenges
- to the All Ages Collaborative space,
- including the MLK celebration and the creation
- of a community quilt from Paper Art Squares,
- which is now on display in the Southwest branch
- exhibit hall, and they have plans for adding
- more All Ages space activities.
- They've done a ton of work in codifying steps
- and expectations for reserving and using
- our teaching kitchen, including a space reservation
- waiver, an option for individuals or groups
- reserving the kitchen to actually meet
- with a librarian in advance of their reservation
- so that they can test out the equipment,
- familiarize themselves with appliances
- and the presentation tools and the overall space.
- Southwest has also started a teen advisory board
- where teens meet on a regular basis
- to offer feedback and suggestions
- on programs and space use, and we did install
- an additional sidewalk leading to the entrance
- of the Southwest Branch Library, which
- is, of course, now inaccessible due to the Gordon Pike
- construction project.
- I'll hold off on sharing strategic updates
- from teen services, as I know Sam Ott
- will want to talk about some of these during his department
- update here in a bit.
- And finally, from our volunteerism internships
- and service learning work, our internship program
- has been reviewed and restructured,
- and our IU advocate for community engagement
- has expanded service learning with IU School of Education
- Students Involvement with tutoring and children services
- and teen services.
- We're looking to complete the volunteer database work
- by the end of 2026.
- Some of the remaining action items
- we aim to complete this year and next
- include further updates to our compensation philosophy
- and compensation model as an extension of the 2022
- compensation study and adjustment work we did,
- update the directional and collection signage
- throughout the downtown library,
- complete the Studio B conversion in CATS,
- and implement the possible relocation
- of digital creativity studios.
- Circulation services will be revamping the shelving
- for our zine collection to increase visibility
- and access of that collection.
- Continue to learn more about collection HQ selection tools
- and how they can streamline some of our selection work
- in collection development.
- We will release requests for bids for our new bookmobile
- and accept a winning bid within the coming months.
- Explore a community-based approach
- to commissioning a public artwork
- for the Southwest branch outdoor spaces,
- something we've talked about for quite a while.
- Want to further expand our teen and Southwest programming
- and outreach efforts to connect with more teens
- and provide opportunities for teen leadership.
- And we need to complete the work
- on our new volunteer database management system.
- So our next strategic plan will go into effect
- beginning in 2027, and the work on that plan
- will start early next year.
- And it may involve an actual consultant
- and a commitment to a five-year plan this time around.
- We haven't done a five-year plan in some time.
- Usually those, the strategic plan committee
- involves staff representation
- as well as at least one board member.
- So we'll plan to continue that tradition.
- Happy to answer any questions about these
- or about the strategic plan.
- I'm impressed.
- I like that question, that's a good one.
- Yeah.
- Good question, there's a lot happening.
- It's a lot, we front-ended a lot of work
- for the strategic plan.
- So I'm really impressed with the department's activity.
- Any other questions or comments
- before we move on to new business?
- Okay, can I get a motion to approve
- the IMLS executive order and letter to representatives?
- So moved.
- Okay, so as I said earlier,
- there was an executive order on Friday, March 14th
- to defund and dissolve the Institute of Museum
- and Library Services.
- The IMLS is the only federal agency charged with policy,
- funding, and professional development work
- for museums and libraries across the country.
- So it's a very important institution.
- We benefit from the IMLS in terms of funding
- for Indiana's Inspire suite of databases,
- as well as our Overdrive/Libby ebook collection,
- a number of professional development opportunities.
- And as I said earlier,
- I think it's not just a financial concern,
- it's a symbolic concern in terms of support
- for libraries and literacy across the country.
- The American Library Association
- and the Indiana Library Federation,
- both of which have advocacy wings
- and do a lot of advocacy and lobbying work,
- are certainly leading the charge
- in responding to this executive order.
- We met with ILF advocacy groups last Wednesday
- for all libraries involved to get a sense
- for what we can and should do
- and maybe what we shouldn't do.
- And we had an all-staff meeting about it
- and explained to staff that we felt it was appropriate
- to make a statement on behalf of the library
- so that there was a degree of community awareness
- here in Monroe County.
- But that beyond that, there isn't anything
- that we're going to do or say as an organization
- that individual library users, including employees,
- in the capacity of individual library users,
- are welcome to sign petitions
- and write letters to representatives and so on,
- but not in the capacity of an employee.
- So we're pretty clear and consistent on that.
- One of the recommendations the ILF advocacy group had
- was to talk to your board about agreeing on a letter
- to send to state representatives and our federal representatives
- in the Senate and have the board approve it,
- and then the library director and board president
- basically sign it.
- So what I sent to you all an email,
- and there's a print copy of it in front of you here,
- is the letter that the ILF itself drew up
- and suggested that we send.
- The plan would be for Jamie and I to sign this,
- and then we would send these off to our state
- and federal representatives very soon,
- and it's something that I know a lot of libraries
- are doing with their board as well.
- So that's what this is.
- Happy to talk about it more or answer questions.
- Can you speak to the idea of a coordinated effect
- from just not our state, but Illinois, Ohio,
- are other states reacting to this as well?
- Do you know, can you get a feed on that?
- I know that other states and state library consortia
- are reacting to this in a similar way.
- The consistent thing I've observed
- is that everybody's following the ALA first and foremost
- and leaning on them to lead the way
- and suggest the language that's used.
- I know the ILF is leaning on ALA advocacy
- for the language used.
- The other consistent message that we've gotten
- from some of these library community conversations
- is just remember your place, you're publicly funded,
- we're not getting involved in a political conversation.
- The reason it's appropriate to do anything at all
- is because this measure has a direct financial
- and service impact on libraries.
- And so that's as far as we go.
- So that's kind of the standard that I've seen right now
- is that libraries are adopting a letter
- to send to representatives and then that's it, yeah.
- So I just wanna state for those who are not seeing it,
- although it's available.
- We can certainly read it.
- It's not in the packet, but we can certainly read it, yeah.
- Well, just to reiterate what you said,
- really we're just talking about how it's impacting
- services that we provide and materials
- that our patrons can use.
- Yes.
- And I noticed the third paragraph does address
- the rural and underserved areas.
- Yes.
- And I think they're gonna be the hardest to hit
- if that is my take on that statement there.
- Yes, I agree.
- They rely typically more on federal grants
- that go through the IMLS, so yeah.
- I was kind of interested in the list of three,
- two of them are pretty, not vague in a bad way,
- but less specific services or whatever that we,
- without the IMLS, we would suffer.
- But the middle one, job training programs will disappear.
- I thought that was an interesting, a little more specific.
- What is that about?
- Yeah, the IMLS funds professional development
- for museum and library professionals as well
- through federal grants.
- So that's what that's speaking to.
- And again, to Kathy's point, a lot of smaller libraries
- that don't have significant budgets,
- don't have a foundation with donations and so on,
- they really lean on those grants
- to do professional development for their staff.
- So if the IMLS goes away, then a lot of those libraries
- won't have those professional development dollars.
- Thank you.
- Any other questions or comments?
- All in favor of approving this, say aye.
- Aye.
- Those that oppose, say nay.
- Okay, thank you.
- Thank you.
- Do I have a motion to approve the policy update
- code of conduct that Greer is going to speak to us more about?
- So moved.
- Okay, I'm gonna give a brief introduction
- and then turn it over to Brian Liebacher and Josh Wolf.
- So we are looking to update our patron behavior policy.
- In the packet, I've included the current version
- of this policy, which is called
- Public Library Behavioral Rules, right.
- We're changing the name and a few other things
- in terms of the way the document is structured
- and some of the language that we're using
- and a couple of important age-related
- and space-specific points that are in
- the current version of the policy.
- This is all centered around strategic goal number three
- and specifically making sure that our buildings
- are as welcoming and safe and secure
- as possible for all patrons.
- And this policy is critical because we really lean on this
- whenever we have to interface with a patron
- over a behavior issue and if there's any kind of
- contest over whether or not it's okay for them
- to do what they're doing, we can always cite this policy
- and say this specifically says you cannot do this
- or this is what this means in general terms
- and that's why we have to hold you accountable.
- So the policy is very important.
- We have not updated this policy since 2019.
- I think the last time we did that update in 2019,
- the focus was on whether or not we were gonna allow
- a degree of sleeping in the library.
- That was kind of the focus.
- But now we're in a different place in terms of
- patron behaviors, particularly here at the downtown library
- and Josh, Brian and I and a number of folks involved
- in this review took that charge very seriously.
- And so we put together a review team that Brian led
- and Brian's gonna kind of talk about that process
- and what the team did in terms of research
- and what they originally proposed
- and then Josh will kind of take us to where we've come
- since that proposal back in December.
- Okay, thank you, Greer.
- My name's Brian Leibacher.
- the Building Services and Security Director,
- and I had the privilege of working with this committee.
- This committee consisted of five members, including myself,
- and then there were six other advisors as well
- from library staff.
- The four members other than myself were Burrell Cooper,
- who was just here, he just ducked out a minute ago,
- from Adult Services, Becky Kraft from Adult Services,
- Jen Hoffman from Adult-- I'm sorry, from Outreach Services,
- and then Krista Souter from Children's Services.
- The committee goals were primarily to update this policy
- as well as to simplify the language,
- thereby making it easier for library patrons to remember.
- It's important to note that one of our kind of--
- some of our guiding principles in this--
- back in 2024, at the beginning of 2024,
- we had an Adult Services social work intern,
- and that social work intern provided some notes
- to kind of help us keep some reference points along the way
- as we began to consider changes to the existing policy.
- As we set out to accomplish our goals,
- we started by first reviewing the current policy
- and simplifying its existing languages.
- From there, then, we started to meet with individuals
- from the different buildings within MCPL
- and individuals within those different departments
- to find out what was important to them
- as we started to think about a new policy.
- So as we talked to those folks from those different departments,
- we began to incorporate their ideas into our working draft.
- We then reached out to our peer libraries,
- which I was gonna go into a little bit of detail
- about what our peer libraries were,
- but Greer did an excellent job earlier this evening.
- So we reached out to some peer libraries within Indiana
- as well as outside of Indiana that are comparable-sized to MCPL.
- And we began to talk with them about their policy
- and what worked for them, what didn't work for them,
- what they liked about their existing policies,
- and what they didn't.
- So we took all of that information
- and we began to put that into a draft policy.
- And we did that over the course of about nine weeks.
- We met five times in all of our buildings
- over the course of those nine weeks through August,
- through October.
- And then we took the draft version
- to the group of advisors that I mentioned earlier.
- And then we took that to our leadership team
- in November for review.
- So at this point, speaking about review,
- I want to bring up Josh Wolfe, who's
- going to talk a little bit more about that review process.
- Thank you.
- I'm going to try to do this without messing up
- Sam's laptop.
- Just to reiterate also what Brian said, the team was great.
- They worked tirelessly with a really aggressive deadline.
- And I'm here to talk specifically
- about there were a couple of pretty substantive changes
- that really led to us thinking we were ready to go in December
- and then kind of looking at it again, talking to more people
- and thinking, wait a minute, we really want to get this right.
- Let's take some time to review this.
- In their original proposal, which they submitted to us
- in November, there was language reserving the children's
- areas of the library strictly for children and caregivers.
- Adults wishing to access the collection
- would need permission from library staff.
- Pretty similar to the way the teen spaces are run.
- Although for the teen spaces, that was always a service
- decision based on focus groups that we had with teens
- before we opened them.
- That version of the draft also raised the minimum age
- of children who are unaccompanied from seven, which
- it's been probably since I was seven, and it was the '70s,
- and anybody could go anywhere at any time, to 12.
- And that was based, as Brian sort of referenced,
- on what we were hearing from a lot of our peer libraries.
- At one point, we considered leaving
- that language in the policy.
- It felt like a hard stop to us to restrict the children's area
- that much.
- There are so many different kinds
- of people who use the children's department, groups of college
- students studying, tutors for English as a new language who
- use the materials in there.
- We didn't want people to have to have
- a pass to come into that area.
- So we considered, actually, because our enforcement is
- always behavioral-based and situational,
- leaving the language in the draft to give ourselves something
- to point to if there was a dispute or any kind of dispute
- over the enforcement.
- But there were problems with perceptions of that,
- perceptions of selective enforcement that gave us pause.
- So we had more discussions with more staff in more places,
- different departments.
- And we realized that if we adopt that language
- that we don't intend to enforce all the time,
- it was going to cause pretty much no end of confusion,
- no matter what kind of training we developed.
- And additionally, it would confuse
- our patrons, who would look at our website, see these rules,
- and think that they're going to be enforced, when in fact,
- that was not our intention.
- We have tween areas in the children's department
- for ages 7 to 12.
- And they're encouraged to go in there unaccompanied.
- We have programs for them where they're encouraged
- to go in unaccompanied.
- So we decided to not do that.
- So then we began talking about, what is the correct age?
- And again, we had heard many libraries make it 12.
- It's a very sort of modern thinking on that.
- But here in Bloomington, and among our staff,
- and our patrons, the answer to that
- seemed to be quite subjective.
- Obviously, it's very difficult to picture a situation
- where a six-year-old would be able to navigate
- the public library unaccompanied.
- But fixing the age to a specific place
- seemed like we're boxing ourselves in.
- We could be engendering even more confusion and arguments.
- So rather than doing that, we've changed the language
- and taken out age entirely, and made it specifically
- about ability of the patrons and giving ourselves
- the sort of situational ability to use judgment and decisions.
- We did leave in that some areas of the library
- are designed for specific uses and for specific audiences.
- And this applies to level up, silent reading room, Indiana
- room.
- But we specifically mentioned children's and teen services.
- Some areas of the library are designed for specific use.
- Not using those spaces for the intended purposes
- may be asked to use another area of the library.
- Spaces intended for children or teens
- are designed specifically for those age groups
- and their caregivers.
- So we're still going to react if there's a problem.
- And we're developing training right now to speak to that.
- In fact, if the board does pass this today,
- we probably will set our implementation for some time
- in May because we need to work on that.
- And then for the underage limit, we wrote,
- unattended children and/or vulnerable individuals,
- including adults, must demonstrate responsible use
- of library spaces and resources.
- It's not about being old enough to get drafted
- or anything like that.
- We don't act in local parentess.
- And we're anticipating having really good talking points
- for parents or caregivers who ask.
- So this is a torturous explanation.
- But it has been-- after the team worked really hard
- to meet the deadline and we were set to go in December,
- we thought it deserved a little bit.
- And it's probably the biggest break
- from what we've had before.
- And if you guys have questions for either me or Brian,
- I'm happy to answer them.
- Probably I can appreciate the time
- to share because as I looked through that,
- I thought, could we just go ahead
- so that the parents when they-- and I appreciate
- that all children can be-- demonstrate responsibility.
- But I didn't know whether we should still
- put a kind of age frame on there just so that you could say,
- well, unaccompanied, in this time period,
- really you should be with your child.
- So that's why I was thinking, well, maybe 1 through 12,
- whatever, just so that they know that those children can
- be talked to more directly because the parents still
- are really responsible for their child at those ages as well.
- I understand what you're-- so I appreciate that.
- Those are the kind of conversations
- we've been elbow deep in since December.
- And frequently, as you know, that's
- what caregivers will ask.
- What is the age?
- We want to know what the age is.
- We know developmentally, children
- progress at all different speeds.
- So those are the conversations we're really
- looking forward to having more often.
- Because you can say other things at that time,
- like this is not the Boys and Girls Club.
- If you don't have eyes on your child,
- well, they know how to find you.
- If they walk out of this children's department,
- we may not be watching them.
- So those are conversations we seek frequently.
- Because, yeah, I work with 12-year-olds
- who can't navigate the library as well, of course.
- But yeah.
- Thank you for all your time that you put into it,
- but that's the only thing that I was thinking as well.
- I have a quick question about the language
- on that additional rules, that third point,
- unattended children and vulnerable individuals.
- Why are we restricting that to those populations
- versus patrons?
- Why are all patrons not needing to demonstrate
- responsible use of library spaces and resources?
- That is a very good question.
- And that is something--
- you're the first person to ask that.
- Why are all patrons who come in must demonstrate--
- Yeah.
- And maybe we could say, like, patrons, including, you know.
- But I feel like that's just a rule for everybody.
- At the top of the list.
- What?
- Certainly amend that to say, all patrons, including children
- and vulnerable individuals.
- And bump that up to the top is like the standard expectation.
- That is the standard expectation.
- I like it.
- Yeah.
- [INAUDIBLE]
- Address patrons and not using the spaces
- for their intended purposes, which is basically
- the same thing.
- Maybe, maybe not, demonstrate responsible use.
- I think that's where we were talking about, like,
- ages and spaces.
- I think it's important to basically almost be redundant.
- And because you've got it in two spots,
- which addresses the idea that, yeah, you've
- got to be responsible, too.
- Good point, Jamie.
- However, just throwing out possibilities.
- When there is a specific bullet point for children
- and vulnerable individuals, that does--
- I understand that, too, because we're addressing each issue.
- But--
- [INTERPOSING VOICES]
- It went from a specific age limit
- to basically responsible use, particularly
- for children and vulnerable individuals.
- I could see either way.
- I mean, after you spent hours and hours on this--
- It's OK.
- We can do this for another six months.
- That's OK.
- I could see either way being fine.
- But that does create a separate bullet point.
- If there are issues, there's a separate bullet
- point for unattended children.
- I don't know which is better.
- I think the perception--
- I like the code of conduct change for the title.
- I like a lot of things about--
- I mean, the current one was great.
- But I do like the wording on some of the updated policy.
- I've noticed the wording was more--
- I don't know if you say positive or what, but I don't know.
- That's one way to distinguish the children
- to have a separate bullet point.
- But it does make sense.
- Where would you-- where would you say you would combine it?
- Like still using that language, but you're also
- adding to everyone else.
- Yeah, something like all patrons,
- including unattended children and/or vulnerable individuals.
- And then that could be the first bullet point,
- because it's the most universal expectation.
- Do we need a motion?
- Yeah, can we have a motion to--
- do we motion to approve, to amend that sentence?
- Can I--
- Second.
- Any other questions or comments?
- I would like to just hope, and I'm sure this will happen,
- is that just like you go into the hospital,
- that you have the patient's responsibilities, whatever.
- These will be posted in every department.
- At the front door, the back door, parking lot,
- on your flyer on the door.
- I appreciate your thoughtful consideration of this
- and the work that the whole team put into it.
- It's very well done.
- Prohibited behaviors and just start
- with having positive behavior?
- I mean, do we need to--
- Yeah, we thought about that for sure.
- And I don't know, I'd be interested in kicking this
- around a little bit more.
- But like, what is the sort of psychological impact
- of the average reader?
- When you're going through a behavior policy,
- what's going to stick with you?
- Is it the do not do these things so that we're clear?
- Or is it welcome to the library, these
- are the things you can do?
- And for a behavior policy, I think
- we tended to land on like, you need to see right away what's
- not OK.
- And even within that subset, these
- are the things we see the most.
- So no to this, which is all that stuff in that lengthy first
- bullet point.
- Or I think even Chris Robinson, who Brian had referenced
- earlier, said your goal is to fit your behavior
- policy on an index card, if you can.
- You can't do that because there's too much you
- got to include, but think of it in those terms
- and condense it in terms of the language and the length
- as much as possible and hit the really important points, which
- kind of drove a lot of the way we
- messed around with the bullet points in some of the language.
- Yeah.
- The only thing that I possibly could think about adding
- would be somewhere that this is at the discretion
- of the library employee or library decision.
- So I do believe we have some language to that effect.
- Maybe I missed it.
- If the library staff determine--
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- [INTERPOSING VOICES]
- Yeah.
- In the first section, refusing to follow the directions
- of library staff.
- Do we want to be more explicit and say
- the library reserves the right to interpret
- this policy with regard to specific behaviors,
- so on and so forth?
- That's what I was getting at.
- OK.
- So you didn't have that challenge.
- OK.
- I'm not sure we want to use the word "interpret."
- Another word.
- We're wordsmithing here, but--
- I just feel like that's just a safe thing.
- I hear you.
- And we love wordsmithing.
- So we don't really want to stop at this.
- We were even kind of sad bringing this to the board
- tonight.
- We've had so much fun.
- But we're just trying to make sure that you don't have
- to do it again anytime soon.
- Well, that's actually true.
- We don't want to do this again anytime soon.
- Sorry.
- Well, so here's--
- Oh, go ahead.
- But they actually do weaken the policy
- to say this is at the discretion of a librarian.
- It almost feels subjective.
- Because if you're saying these are not tolerated,
- you can't have a weapon on the property.
- Intoxication is not allowed.
- To then put in the sort of like qualifier,
- like this is at the discretion of the librarian,
- makes it seem like-- well, maybe they would be tolerated
- if that one person--
- Well, but we have like furniture misuse.
- Like that's subjective to the patron.
- Is it in there?
- It is.
- Misuse of library furniture, equipment, or facilities.
- Yeah, and I'm just using my experience as a former educator
- and as a parent and as someone who has seen behaviors also
- in public.
- I'm just trying to think the kind of issues that come up
- and the arguments that you may have.
- Refusing to follow the directions of library staff,
- is a violation of the code of conduct.
- I kind of like that bullet.
- I mean, I like how it's worded, unless you just
- want to get a little wordier and maybe some--
- I don't know, some synonyms in there
- instead of just directions, or refusing
- to follow the directions and--
- Or you could just easily say, refusing
- to follow the code of conduct, because it's delineated here,
- right?
- Yeah.
- Well, sometimes the library staff
- have to explain how behaviors are outside
- of the code of conduct, even though they'll say,
- show me where it's written.
- That's what I-- that's why I was thinking you had that line.
- Yeah, and that's how we end up with those exhaustive links.
- That is how you end up there.
- I know the circle.
- What about directives, like refusing
- to follow directives and directions of the library staff?
- Like, you're-- I don't know.
- This is up to you guys.
- You let us know.
- I feel comfortable adding the--
- all patrons should do the right thing at the library.
- Yeah, we're OK with that.
- So what I have--
- because approving the policy tonight pending changes means
- we have to articulate those now, and they're in the minutes.
- So what I have is, first, amend the policy language regarding
- children vulnerable individuals to include all patrons,
- including children and/or an individual, so on and so forth,
- and move that to the top of the second section.
- Yes.
- If we want to consider additional changes to this
- and we're getting into wordsmithing,
- then we're probably doing this in April.
- Because I don't think we can go back and forth
- on wordsmithing outside of the meeting
- and approve a policy that's got language we didn't discuss.
- I'm going to ask those on the committee
- and who've worked so hard.
- Would you benefit from additional language,
- or do you feel comfortable with how it is now?
- I'm going to defer to my colleague.
- Ask the buck.
- I would say that we would probably
- all love some kind of magic loophole or something that
- would simplify a lot of this down even more.
- I will say that as far as wordsmithing goes,
- we spend a lot of time not only amongst our committee,
- but then with the advisors and then
- as well as the leadership team discussing that.
- And again, while I think, again, as Josh said,
- we could spend another six months on this.
- And we might get it really fine-tuned,
- but I think as it stands right now,
- we were comfortable bringing it to the board tonight.
- It looks really good.
- It looks like you've put a lot of time into it.
- Let's take a vote.
- So we're voting on this pending the change
- to that one bullet point and its location within the policy.
- Okay.
- Lorraine, do you want me to read it again?
- Just for the minutes?
- Okay.
- We're talking about approving this policy
- pending a change to the bullet point,
- which reads all children and or vulnerable individuals.
- And we are going to add all patrons,
- including children and or vulnerable individuals.
- Did you say unattended children?
- It currently reads unattended children.
- I'm sorry, thank you.
- However, it's currently written.
- I'm looking at two different documents.
- And then we're going to move that bullet point.
- Three.
- Thank you.
- Bullet point three, we'll move to the top
- of the section, additional rules to ensure
- the comfort and safety of all patrons.
- What's happening?
- How do you feel about that?
- I don't know if I missed a comment or anything.
- How do you feel about that change,
- the two of you, after going through--
- I feel great about it.
- We were really focused specifically
- on that children's issue as it related to specific ages.
- Jamie, you make a great point.
- This is a universal expectation.
- And it does not, I don't think it dilutes
- the children's part too much because it still
- specifically calls it out in there.
- Okay.
- All right.
- All in favor.
- Could I ask a question?
- Yeah, please.
- Are we voting now on this addition?
- Yes.
- Okay, 'cause I'll have, I have one more question
- about the whole thing in a minute.
- Please, go ahead and ask.
- Okay, well, what is Indiana code 354711.1?
- I looked it up and could not see.
- Is that, I'll just ask you, what is that?
- That refers to current Indiana gun laws
- as far as the rights to carry in public, yes.
- So someone with a license to carry or I don't know.
- That means that--
- You do not need a license yet, but yeah, yeah, you can.
- Oh yes, okay, I'm not at--
- The right to open carry, yes.
- So when it says accept as permitted,
- okay, that's what I was wondering.
- Anybody can carry a gun.
- Into a public library.
- With the exception of these board meetings.
- Okay. - Yep.
- That's kind of what I wondered if it meant,
- but I just wanted to check, thank you.
- Yeah, but voters can carry in, but poll workers can't.
- So stupid. - So interesting.
- Sorry, I digress.
- Okay.
- Okay. - Silly.
- Good question. - I know.
- Yeah, well, thank you, I tried to look it up
- and couldn't figure it out, so.
- Yeah, yeah, you can carry in a vote.
- But poll workers can't.
- So you're voting on the policy
- as written with the exception of the change
- to that one bullet point in its location.
- Okay.
- Okay, all in favor say aye.
- Aye. - Aye.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- Next, we're gonna hear from Sam Ott from Teen Services.
- Okay.
- Hello, everybody.
- Hi. - Hello.
- As they said, I'm Sam.
- I run the Teen Services Department downtown.
- And I'm gonna talk to you a little bit
- about what we did last year and some of what we've done
- up to this point in 2025.
- But first, I wanna make sure that you can see,
- these are the staff that I supervise.
- They do like 90% of the wonderful work
- that we're able to provide to the public.
- And I just wanna make sure you can see them
- and see their names, because without them,
- I would just be standing here being like,
- I would like to do stuff, but I have nobody to do it.
- So they're the real heroes, and I'm really grateful
- that I can work with all of them.
- So these are some of the highlights from last year.
- One of the big ones is that we are no longer
- the ground floor.
- We are the downtown teen space,
- which has been planned long in the works,
- mainly to just make it more clear to the public
- what we do and to be consistent across the whole system.
- It's also been very confusing when patrons come downtown
- and we say, "Go to the ground floor,"
- and they're like, "Well, I am at the ground floor.
- What does that mean?"
- So that's really helped.
- We were with our communications and marketing department
- on that, and it was just really nice to be able
- to print all that off and make that change official
- on all of our marketing materials.
- We also, this is one of our strategic goals.
- We have new and expanded collections in the space.
- We were able to work with our YA selector,
- Martha Odier, and then also our facilities team
- to install new shelving in the space
- for our new teen non-viction collection,
- and then also expand our shelving
- for graphic novels, manga,
- and manga-influenced comics as well.
- We've also added extra shelving in the space
- for display of materials, which has been great
- to really enhance that, and I'm really excited
- to look the end of this year to our circulation numbers
- and see how they differ from last year
- because of all the additional face-out
- and the change in those materials.
- We've also continued our physical space upgrades
- with additional seating, the shelving for the displays,
- and also working with our facilities team
- to completely reshape our design and craft studio
- so that we have a much larger space
- for the kids to utilize all the resources we have
- but also do programs.
- It's also meant that now, previously the countertop
- we had was a static height, but now it uses four tables
- that can be adjusted up and down,
- so it's a lot more accessible as well,
- which has been great.
- One of the other big things was that last year
- we won the 2024 Wall Grant, which meant that we were able
- to purchase three new gaming PCs
- and then a new Vive VR headset,
- and I was able to work with our IT department head, Ned Baugh,
- and we were able to upgrade all of our existing computers
- as well to gaming PCs, and they were built in-house
- by Dakota Erickson, one of the IT staff, which is great,
- so that means that we were able to provide these resources
- for the kids, but also we can much more easily
- do maintenance and upgrade the computer,
- so it's not gonna be something where we consistently
- have to replace all of this hardware.
- We can just go in and swap out one or two pieces
- and also fix things when they break as well,
- which is gonna be really nice.
- And the teens spend a lot of time playing things
- like Minecraft, Roblox, sharing YouTube videos
- with one another, but it's just been great to see
- that enhanced collaboration, but also provide
- these additional resources, because gaming PCs
- are expensive, and a lot like all the other
- video game resources or technology we provide,
- this is something that we're happy we can just let them use
- when they might not have access to this otherwise.
- After School Snacks, I talked to all of you
- about this a little bit last year.
- We've really expanded that program.
- I was able to get additional funding in our budget
- both through, I think it's, is it CyO2Cy, Josh,
- that funds that?
- Yeah, through that grant, and then some additional
- Friends of the Library funds we've been able to use
- both downtown at Southwest and Ellisville
- to provide additional food.
- The kids love it.
- We now, we provide more food, but fewer options
- because we figured out what they like
- and what we can buy bulk of from places like Sam's Club.
- We limit it to one per person,
- but they really enjoy having that available.
- And it's also really, I think, helped curve
- some of the behavior issues in the space
- 'cause kids aren't as hungry.
- Summer Reading last year saw one of our highest
- participations since we opened.
- It was our third highest.
- I think we had, how many did I write down?
- Whoop.
- 553 teens, and we're hoping to expand that again next year.
- But one of the things that really helped
- is we got additional funds in our budget
- and instead of offering three grand prizes
- for the whole system, each branch offered
- their own individual set of grand prizes.
- So we had nine total.
- And this year we're gonna do that again,
- but Bookmobile is offering their own
- team services grand prize as well.
- So we're really excited to see how that goes.
- As Greer mentioned, Hot Ones is a particularly popular program
- and it's gone very, very well.
- You should watch it on the MCPL YouTube channel
- if you have not.
- It's great, you can see Greer and Josh suffer as well
- if they did the program.
- Sorry Greer, you've been outed.
- The Snack Shelf has also been very successful.
- One of the new staff we hired last year,
- Allie Fletcher, was a former chef in Boston
- in a previous career and so she started leading
- some food programs for the kids on how they can make
- just elevated versions of the stuff
- they're already making.
- Like this is how you make better ramen
- or better grilled cheese or something like that.
- And all of those programs had full registration
- and attendance and we specifically over purchased
- the ingredients for that so then the other kids
- who don't register can then come in
- or be fed later in the space.
- We've also just overall enhanced the amount of food
- we offer all of our programs pretty significantly.
- The local Pizza X just is probably sick of us at this point.
- The Needle Felting Club has been a really fun evolution
- because we used to just provide that as a resource
- the kids could grab but there was enough interest in it
- that one of our staff started leading specific programs
- on it and over the summer there's been so much interest.
- There's gonna be a three day camp
- where they have to design a dragon
- but you have to have previous needle felting experience.
- So we'll see how all that goes.
- Our role playing games as ever are super popular.
- We're running six to eight sessions of those every month
- along with some team led programs
- which I'll talk about a little bit later.
- If I offered two every day I think they would all be full.
- They serve six to eight kids in almost every session.
- They used to serve up to 15 but we had to split that out
- 'cause it's just unmanageable for one person
- to run a game for 15 people for two hours.
- And then our after hours events
- have changed a little bit this year.
- The teens had for a while been really enjoying
- our larger scale dances a few times a year
- but over time our use patterns have shifted.
- So while we still had decent attendance
- we wanted to respond to that.
- So now we're offering smaller
- like monthly or bi-monthly after hours programs.
- So like laser tag, nerf battles, after hours movies
- and things like that.
- And so we serve 20 to 30 kids in those events
- and that's been going really well.
- Last month was a nerf battle.
- We're still finding nerf darts all over the team space.
- And this next month we're doing one called Siege of the Castle
- where we're collecting cardboard.
- And for the first hour the kids will build
- a cardboard fortress and then they will lay siege
- to each other with little foam balls
- to see which one can hold up the best to it.
- And we'll provide pizza during that as well
- because food is the key.
- Community partnerships.
- This is another one of our big strategic goals.
- We've continued our school visits every month.
- We visit about one school every week
- and then we have different youth serving agencies
- come into the space where we work with them
- throughout the year.
- In Ellitsville our team librarian Decker
- has also been working really closely with RBBSC
- on regular visits.
- And I think this month when they attended
- they did a Pokemon button making program
- and served over 50 kids during that event
- which is really cool to see.
- And they've had great response to those types of events.
- New outreach initiatives.
- This just started two weeks ago actually
- after three years of work with Wendy,
- the special education coordinator at MCCSE.
- We are now hosting again special education visits
- to the downtown teen space and the Southwest teen space
- where those classrooms have coordinated
- with MCCSE transportation and they are bussed
- into the space so they can utilize the space
- with their school provided aides and teachers
- in a lower sensory environment where it's also just them
- so they can get familiar with the space,
- get to know staff and feel more comfortable
- with the goal of them eventually feeling confident enough
- to transition into service on their own.
- Some of them might not be able to do that
- so it really provides that service
- and it also lets us provide so many more resources
- than we could on a visit.
- So they come twice a month right now
- and then they also go twice a month.
- The Jackson Creek students go to our Southwest location
- with Kate Long, which has been great.
- And then last year we were finally able
- to start another project in Teen Services
- where we've been consistently going
- to the Bloomington High School North Senior Internship Fair
- to respond to kids as they present.
- Well, we actually hosted our own intern
- and it's been a long-term library patron as well
- who I've worked with I think since they were 10
- and Josh has worked with them for years
- and they're a senior now, which makes me feel very old.
- But it was great to host them there
- and then we've been spending a lot of time
- trying to get into youth-focused events.
- We did a Youth Mental Health Matters focus
- at Bloomington High School North.
- Next week, I'm going to the Menorah County Transition Fair
- with Daniel Price, a Southwest Library Assistant at South
- and then Tiana Pesco and Allie Fletcher
- are going to the Health of Palooza also at South.
- So we're really trying to get out
- and meet our patrons where they are.
- But the big thing that I'm excited about
- is this team-led RPG program
- where our kids really love role-playing games
- and a lot of them have been coming to us
- saying that they don't have a space to run games,
- they don't feel confident enough,
- they've been having issues.
- And Claire Spence and Laura Wise decided that,
- hey, why don't we be that meeting point for them?
- So they developed documentation
- and a process for all of this.
- And teens can come to staff and say,
- I wanna run this game at this time with this many people,
- these are the kids I wanna work on it with.
- And then they have to meet with the staff regularly
- to show like, I've designed the game,
- I've actually thought about this,
- things are gonna go okay.
- And then they can run the game here in the library
- with the library staff member sitting there
- to help like run details or manage behavior instances
- that pop up.
- But they have then that support to run their first games.
- And that's been hugely popular.
- And we have several private events
- that are not like advertised on the calendar,
- but kids spread around to everybody else
- so that they know they can come.
- And those are very popular events.
- And many kids have run their first game.
- I think we have six to 18 DMs right now
- that are working with us throughout our program cycle
- to find time to run those events.
- This has also been very cool for us
- because we realized that this is pretty unique to MCPL
- and we didn't see any other libraries doing this.
- So Claire and Laura actually presented
- at two conferences last year on this,
- at GenCon and then MC3 in town.
- And then they went this year
- and presented at ILFU Services Conference.
- And then Claire is paneling at an IUPUI conference on play
- later next month on this initiative as well,
- which has been great to see.
- And just seeing team ownership of these events
- and their excitement about it.
- And so you hear me talk about teams all the time,
- but I actually, I'm gonna show you a short video.
- Last fall, three of the teams who do this,
- we spoke to them and they developed presentations
- on what the library means to them
- and why they wanted to run these games here.
- And they presented on that
- at the 2024 annual Friends of the Library meeting.
- Greer really helped get this initiative going,
- but that was recorded.
- So Kat's recorded all that.
- I'm gonna play one of the videos for you guys
- so you can see one of the teams talk about it.
- I got this team's permission.
- His name is Sprout.
- He actually works here as a materials handler
- and has been using the library consistently
- five or six days a week since he turned 12.
- So it's been great to see this evolution in so many ways
- and fingers crossed, the sound works.
- This is my presentation.
- (audience laughs)
- Hi, I'm Sprout.
- I use he/him pronouns and I've been participating
- in the Ground Floor's RPGs since May of 2020
- when I joined the virtual D&D program led by Laura.
- I was anxious at first, but it didn't take me long
- to end up hanging out on the Discord most days
- for the entire time it was open just talking to the staff.
- It provided a space for me to explore D&D
- and also connect with the staff and with other teens.
- I've been interested in RPGs since I was in second grade
- and was in my very first campaign led by my dad.
- The library, the people, and the RPGs all mean so much to me
- and I'm so happy I get to be a part
- of such a wonderful community.
- Another thing that holds a spot in my heart are comics,
- especially ones that showed little me
- it was okay to express myself, such as Lumberjanes.
- A few years ago there was a game
- of Blood on the Clock Tower happening,
- a mafia-type murder mystery game,
- but I wasn't going to be able to attend the entire thing.
- I was offered the option of helping out as a storyteller
- and realized how much I enjoyed that aspect of it
- and started thinking of ideas of my own.
- I eventually approached Laura with the idea for an RPG
- drawing from a few different gaming systems
- taking place in the world of Lumberjanes.
- Our planning was and still is full of chaotic creativity,
- but eventually we managed to put together character sheets
- and launch our first session.
- Lumberjanes is a comic series about a group of diverse teens
- staying at a mythical summer camp.
- My sister recommended it to me around 2015
- and it quickly became my favorite
- because of its authentic cast of characters
- and a message of being curious, caring, and fierce.
- When I realized I wanted to run an RPG at the library,
- my mind immediately went to Lumberjanes.
- A weird magical summer camp was the perfect setting
- even if Laura still hasn't actually read the books.
- (audience laughing)
- So far, the players have done some icebreakers,
- gotten robbed by a strange creature,
- hidden a wheel of cheese to win capture the flag,
- found some living statues,
- and escaped a Jumanji-like sci-fi board game.
- (laughing)
- Even though we've only had three sessions,
- the experience has been incredible.
- I love getting to share a world so dear to me with my peers,
- and exploring game mechanics and figuring out
- what makes an RPG engaging as we go
- has been a real learning experience.
- Every player has been so patient
- and created interesting and unique characters
- that fit into the world wonderfully,
- and designing a map and tokens
- for the capture the flag session
- was the most fun I've had planning for an RPG
- as a leader or as a player.
- This campaign has been so much fun.
- I've really enjoyed creating characters
- and building the world with Laura,
- and I'm so happy I have this chance.
- My Lumberjanes campaign is just a small part
- of the many different RPGs I have participated in,
- including Pathfinder, led by Claire,
- Rangers of Shadowdeep, led by Hunter,
- and the Sandwich Guild campaign
- that started my journey here four years ago led by Laura.
- The library and the staff
- have meant a lot to me over the years,
- and I'm so excited for more adventures
- in the chaos that awaits.
- I'm so happy I get to work here as an employee
- and experience it as a patron.
- Thank you.
- (audience applauds)
- So there are two other videos.
- They're just as wonderful,
- but I don't have 10 minutes to share all of those,
- but if you're interested, I can send those to Greer,
- and I'm sure that he can share those out,
- but they're also available on Cats as well.
- But I think that that pretty much sums up
- the best part of why we do what we do,
- and I couldn't say it any better than Sprout did.
- So that's it for me.
- So if you have any questions,
- I'd be more than happy to answer those.
- Yes.
- I have a few things.
- In reference to, you were talking about the grand prizes.
- Can you share what those are, what those look like?
- Yeah, so we have several grand prizes available,
- and they're pretty much the same across the system.
- The way it works is the teens can,
- every 10 points where they present,
- or where they read, they get a ticket,
- and then every five points after that, they get another one.
- So they can have five tickets in total.
- Those grand prizes downtown,
- they can pick to enter for either a Xbox X or a PS5.
- Then they can get a $50 gift card to the Game Preserve,
- and then another $50 card to the common room.
- And then the last one is a $100 gift card to Morgensterns.
- And then they're the same across the system after that,
- except that the branches offer a switch instead,
- just because of cost.
- And the teens are very excited about those,
- especially the video game systems.
- That was a good move.
- Yes.
- I'm the librarian at Edgewood High School,
- and I remember last spring, kids talking about it,
- and one girl said, and they're offering all prizes,
- the kids know, and they got the word out.
- So that was a good move.
- Well, I'm really glad to hear that.
- And I'm really grateful that I was able to work with Josh,
- and he was able to find extra funding
- and the Friends of the Library budget to make that happen,
- because we really wanted to make sure
- that we could meet that need,
- because we were seeing a bunch of kids
- that were just really sad that they put in their tickets
- and are just like, well, I guess it'll be one of three.
- But now they're gonna be one of 10 this year
- because of the Bookmobile as well, which is great.
- (faintly speaking)
- Yeah.
- They still get to pick a book?
- Yes, at the end of their,
- when they get to their first 10 points,
- they get a free book and their first ticket.
- And each, there's another change that happened last year
- was that each branch was able to select
- all of their own prize books.
- So we didn't do central selection
- and then ship it out to those locations.
- They got to tailor their prize books
- to their audience and their location as well.
- The teens that are in charge,
- and you showed their picture earlier.
- So I teach at Tri-North Middle School.
- Yes.
- And at the beginning of the year,
- pretty much we always start on a Wednesday with students.
- So they have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
- their first three days.
- And we spend a lot of time just kind of going over rules
- and expectations and what's available.
- What would really be cool, I think,
- is if they could put together maybe like
- a five, six, seven minute video
- of kind of like, we are your public library,
- and these are the things that we're doing.
- And we can show that in our classrooms.
- Yeah.
- You know, on like a projection type of situation.
- Just so, you know, and I know a lot of,
- you know, they talk and they know,
- but I think just seeing that
- in like kind of a quick introduction way
- on the first few days of school
- might really hit a lot more students.
- We've been on our list to work with our communications
- and marketing department to update our video
- because the current one we have is from 2017 or 2018.
- And so the teams are very different,
- the space and the staff and everything.
- So I will, Greer, are you taking, thank you so much.
- Yeah, that would be great.
- I will make sure to follow up
- and move that higher on our priority list
- to get that done this year.
- So hopefully we can maybe have it ready
- for the fall semester.
- Okay, that would be awesome.
- And then one other thing I wanted to bring up,
- and I'm not sure what's happening.
- Like I said, I'm at Tri-North.
- I don't know exactly what's happening
- at Jackson Creek and Bachelor with this,
- but I know Tri-North is really working
- on building up the e-sports space.
- And they have teacher volunteers and parent volunteers now,
- and it's just kind of starting.
- So again, I don't know if there's any kind of
- maybe connection that can happen with that group.
- I know that the teacher who's the sponsor
- for that at Bachelor has talked to Kate about that.
- And then at North, I know about,
- Smash is our most popular video game
- that the kids play on our Switch in the space all day.
- I don't know why I purchased anything else for that console,
- but probably half to three quarters of those kids
- are on the North e-sports league and they play at North
- and they come here and they play more
- and then they go home and they play online more.
- Okay, good to know.
- Yeah, so we have no real direct contact right now,
- but just by offering all of that, they're here all the time.
- And I'm sure I'll have to have more,
- I'll have to upgrade to the Switch 2 when that releases
- 'cause they're gonna release a new Smash
- and the kids will want that.
- But fighting games are the bread and butter of the space.
- And food.
- Yes, yes.
- Yeah, awesome.
- Thanks for this report and for your excellent work.
- No, thank you.
- Thank you. - Thank you guys.
- Thank you so much.
- Do we have public comment online?
- Anyone here?
- Public comment?
- Any last words from there?
- No, thank you all for your support.
- Paper of adjourning?
- Motion to adjourn.
- Motion to adjourn?
- So moved. - So moved.
- Second.
- (all laughing)
- Or adjourned.
- ("Pomp and Circumstance")