Seneca East Public Library Board of Trustees
August 14th, 2024
The August 14th, 2024 meeting of the Seneca East Board of Trustees was called to order by President Janet Ruffing at 7:27 P.M. Trustees in attendance were: Janet Ruffing, Jeff Beaston, Tina Shook, Vicki Eckenrod, Michele Willman and Ellen Lynch. Library staff attending included Fiscal Officer Pamala Dunson and Library Director Shannon Featheringill.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the July 10th, 2024 meeting were reviewed and approved with a motion by Jeff Beaston, with a 2nd by Vicki Eckenrod, and approval of all remaining board members by voting “aye”.
Fiscal Officer’s Report: The board reviewed the July 2024 bills as well as reviewing and initialing the July 2024 Bank Reconciliation and Management Reports as presented by the Fiscal Officer.
Resolution #603 - To supplement appropriations according to the directions of Director Shannon Featheringill for the unencumbered donations received from the period 7/6/24 –8/10/24. The total amount of donations to be appropriated is $1377.86.
Itemization is as follows:
$155.00 Other-Supplies (Programming)
$375.00 Books & Pamphlets (Adult)
$486.90 Books & Pamphlets (Children)
$112.50 Audiovisual Materials (Adult)
$248.46 General Administrative Supplies
A motion to approve Resolution #603 was made by Vicki Eckenrod , with a 2nd by Ellen Lynch, and the motion passed with approval by all remaining board members voting “aye”. An amended certificate was requested with the Seneca County Auditor to increase the donation budget #100-659 by $5000.00. No Inter-Fund transfers were necessary this past month. 2025 Tax Budget- The School Board approved the Tax Budget. The School District Treasurer will send documentation to the County Auditor and Fiscal Officer Dunson.
Director’s Report:
Statistical Report:
- Director Featheringill reported a total Patron Count for July of 4139 with 27 days open.
- The statistical report was reviewed.
Old Business:
- Summer Reading is over. It was a great summer with good participation all around. Thank yous have been mailed to donors and the state survey has been completed.
- We participated at Attica Fair’s Kids’ Day activities. A Mario “Level Up at Your Library” themed booth was set up in the Arts building during the fair as well.
- All staff have completed the required Fraud Training as required by the Auditor of State.
- The family of Anita Hollinger have been contacted regarding a date best for the Hollinger Room dedication.
New Business:
- A letter was received from Michelle Francis, Executive Director of OLC, thanking the Board of Trustees for paying employee’s dues for membership in the Ohio Library Council.
- Fall programming is planned and preparations are underway.
Legislative:
- The ODT reports the August 2024 PLF distribution is $36,593,122 which is 1.54% above July 2023 estimates and 1.66% below updated December 2023 estimates.
- The ODT also posted its initial county certifications for the PLF for CY25. Seneca county is estimated to receive $2,468,421 which is based on the PLF being set at 1.7% of the state General Revenue Fund.
- There are no updates at this time on HB622/HB556.
- House Bill 87 (HB 87) (U.S. and Ohio Flag Bills) passed the Ohio House on June 26th. It prohibits state agencies and political subdivisions, including libraries from using public funds to purchase a U.S. flag on an Ohio flag that is not made in the U.S. The bill now heads to the Senate for further action.
- The U.S. House of Representatives budget includes a proposed 15% budget cut to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for federal FY25-the lowest funding level since FY19. IMLS funds are the primary source of financial support for State Library of Ohio programs and services 21% ($5.4 million) of their budget come from IMLS/LSTA Funds. Programs include Choose to Read Ohio, Guiding Ohio Online, Ohio Digital Library, Ohio Digital Network, the Talking Book Program, ILEAD Ohio, Ohio Ready to Read, Reimagining School Readiness, Libraries Connect Ohio, SEO and more. Our regional libraries (NORWELD) are also heavily reliant on these funds as they do not receive PLF funds. OLC and ALA ask library leaders to discuss this with our elected officials. Bob Latta is our (District 5) Representative. Senator JD Vance and Sherrod Brown represent us in the Senate. Director Featheringill met with Bob Latta on August 1st during his open office hours in Tiffin to discuss these cuts.
- Jay Smith, OLC’s Director of Government and Legal Services is hosting “The Road Ahead” Tour to prepare library directors for the upcoming state budget deliberations. There will be one stop in each Senate district. District 26 will be held October 3rd at Marion Public Library and Director Featheringill will be in attendance.
Building:
- Another email reminder to Jason Branham for an estimated date, but there is currently no update.
- There are no updates on the building next door.
Staff:
- Director Featheringill will be on vacation August 20th-23rd. Additional days away are September 20th and 24th, to attend meetings. Additional vacation dates include October 31st through November 8th.
Historical Society:
- There are no updates.
Foundation News:
- The Reverse Raffle will be held Saturday, September 21st at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church. They will offer eat-in or drive-thru meals and will be bringing back the live auction. Once again they have asked for any help with auction, serving, etc. the day of the event.
- Kelly Shock is the 2024 recipient of the Jett and Lillian Mohr Service Award. Kelly retired in 2021 after 27 years of employment at SEPL.
- American Girl Doll (Gabriella) will be raffled by the Foundation with tickets selling for $1 each or $5 for 6.
- The Foundation will have a tent set up to sell books during Autumn Village Day.
Children’s Room Report:
Summer Reading Program:
- Summer Reading wrapped up on July 27th with Professor Joe (as a replacement for Professor Tony who was unable to attend). No attendees seemed to notice the difference and the show was excellent.
- Reading participation, program attendance and passive program participation were all good this summer. There were quite a few new participants this year.
Programming:
- There is a programming break until September.
- The fall session of Storytime will begin the week of September 16th.
- Regular monthly programs (Brick Builder and Mini-Makers) will resume in September.
- There will be a series of STEM programs geared towards preschoolers and young elementary students this fall.
School Outreach:
- Bi-weekly visits for the 24-25 school year have been scheduled with In His Care and will begin in September. They will have two classes this year.
- Visits to the Seneca East Preschool will begin in October.
Events:
- Kids’ Day at the Attica Fair went great this year! We had Curious George themed activities to go with the fair’s safari theme and had George come to visit with us.
- We have a number of events coming up this fall. In September, we will set up a table in front of the library for Autumn Village Day.
Adult Services Report:
Past Programming:
- July 1st: Perfection Landscaping planters
- July 3rd, 10th, 24th, 31st: Low-Impact Exercise
- July 11th: Book Club met and discussed Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery
- July 22nd: Cutie Board Chick charcuterie boards
Book Displays:
- There are 2 displays that were recently changed as Summer Reading has ended.
Summer Reading: Attendance for all summer adult activities was great. There were many new faces at all activities
Board Old Business: No old business items.
Board New Business: No new business items.
The next meeting of the Seneca East Library Board will be September 11th, 2024 at 7:30 PM.
There being no further business to conduct, Tina Shook made a motion to adjourn at 8:06 PM.
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Janet Ruffing, President Tina Shook, Secretary