Memorandum:

 

To:                  Winnefox Library System Trustees 

From:              Mark Arend

Subject:           Report of System Activities

Date:               March 15, 2006

 

There is a lot of activity around the system this spring.  I would be happy to provide further details at our next meeting, or feel free to give me a call or send an email.

 

Annual reports:  The system annual report and the Plan evaluation and certification of compliance are in your packet.  I have also prepared a report of system activity that gives a more easily understood picture of activities than the state report.

 

As of this writing not all libraries have completed their 2005 annual reports.   I hope that they will all be done by the time we meet.  I can tell you that 19 of the 26 WALS libraries had increases in use in 2005, 5 of them double-digit increases.  Overall there was a 5.23% increase in circulation at WALS libraries in 2005. 

 

Library news:  The remodeled & expanded Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose opened in January.  The dedication is planned for late June, after the landscaping is completed.  I will pass on more information as I receive it.

 

Library programs:   Once again Culvers Restaurants is generously sponsoring a coloring contest program for National Library Week: 2 - 8 April.  Participating libraries will be receiving prizes and coupons for all children participating.

 

Public Relations Report:  I’ve included the latest library PR report, produced by Renee Miller, in your packets.  It has information on the new Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries as well as some new services libraries are beginning to offer. 

 

WCTS Study:  Late last year the WCTS Executive Committee (made up of 2 library directors each from Green Lake, Marquette, and Waushara Counties) began a discussion of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the WCTS operation.  WCTS provides cooperative ordering, purchasing, and processing for libraries in these counties.  Staff there also coordinate the rotating circuits (audiobook, DVD, and large print books), organize workshops, and assist libraries with other tasks. 

 

To investigate the questions raised we have hired Angela Dodge to study the WCTS operation and, as a comparison, several smaller non-WCTS libraries.  Angela is a professional cataloger and has bookkeeping experience.  I hope to have her report to share with you at the May meeting. 

 

Winnefox Staff Changes:  Dylan Guzman has been hired as a print shop assistant. 

 

 

Legislative Update:  We’re getting close to the end of the legislative session; there is only one more floor period set for general legislative business, in late April & early May.  Any bills not approved at that time will probably die at the end of the year.  I originally reported on most of these library bills in my November report.  Here’s the status as of mid-March: 

 

AB 483 (Bill to eliminate the Maintenance of Effort requirement).  This was approved by the Assembly committee on Urban and Local Affairs in Mid-January. 

 

AB 1022 was introduced in mid-February by request of Ozaukee County Board.  It would create an alternate method of qualifying for exemption from the county library tax. Under current law [Section 43.64(2)] municipalities with libraries that support their library at a levy rate equal to or above the county library levy rate qualify for exemption from the county library tax.  Under AB 1022, even a municipality that supports its library at a levy rate lower than the county library levy rate could qualify for exemption, so long as the municipality supports its library at its average support level for the previous three years.  Use of the alternative method for qualifying for exemption would require approval by the county board. 

Communities in Fond du Lac, Marquette, & Winnebago Counties exempt from the county library tax; if this bill passes it could result in lower library support in those communities.  On February 21, the Assembly Committee on Urban and Local Affairs recommended passage. 

 

SB 258  (‘R’-rated videos):  This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care. In January, the committee chair, Senator Roessler, indicated that the committee will take no action on this bill; therefore the bill is effectively dead.  

 

SB 272 (The “Language” Bill).  This passed the Senate in November and the Assembly on 9 March.  The Assembly, however, approved three amendments:

  • To allow a county board to implement a reciprocal borrowing reimbursement plan.  A municipality that does not comply with the reciprocal borrowing plan could be denied exemption from the county library tax. 
  • To remove the provision that would allow a library system to adopt a reciprocal borrowing reimbursement plan and make participation in that plan a requirement of library system membership.
  • To remove the provision that would require municipalities forming new joint libraries to support the joint library at an equal levy rate.

Because of these amendments the bill was returned to the Senate and is expected to be acted on in the next floor session.

 

SB 273 (The “Language” Bill).  This passed the Senate in November and the Assembly in March.  As of this writing it is waiting for the Governor’s signature. 

 

                         

Winnefox Tours:  I will be offering a tour of the Winnefox offices at 3:30 on Wednesday the 29th, before our board meeting.  If you are interested call the office to reserve a spot. 

 

A Testimonial:  I recently received an email from JoAnn Borchardt, director of Redgranite Public Library.  Last month a man came to the library wanting to sign up for a library card.  He’d never been in their library before and claimed not to have used any library since he was a child.  When she started entering his information in the database she found he had almost $400 in unreturned materials from another Winnefox library.  Had the library not had access to the shared patron database they would have given him a card and let him check out more materials.