Library advisory board approves minutes; director reports state aid, programs, collection review and room-rental change

The Gathering Public Library advisory board approved minutes and heard a director’s report on funding, programming, collection analysis and a proposed change to the library’s meeting-room reservation policy.

Board members approved the minutes for the 06/01/2025 meeting after a motion and second; no roll-call names were recorded in the meeting transcript. The library director then reviewed staff travel to professional conferences, receipt of state aid funds, recent programming attendance, collection-performance charts and a recommended change to the room-rental rules.

The director told board members the library “did get the check. It is deposited, and everything seems good,” referring to the library’s state aid payment from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. The director said some of that state aid will be used to pay for internet access after “E-rate issues,” and that subscriptions tied to public computers and online databases are funded from state aid, which the director said is calculated by a population-based formula.

The director reported that about half of the staff registered to attend the Oklahoma Library Association conference in Norman this year so the library can remain open while staff attend. The director said staff attendance at conferences will be split so “this year it’ll be myself, Jacob, and Glenn. And then next year, it’ll be Candy, Becca, and Sherilyn.” The director also said Candy and Becca will attend the Association of Rural and Small Libraries conference.

On fundraising, the director said Friends of the Library held its annual sale and raised “over $4,000” this year, compared with “over $5,000” the previous year. The director said the Friends buy library materials and fund programs.

Programming highlights included a Ready, Jet, Go STEM series for children, steady attendance for Jacob’s recurring programs (including three Dungeons & Dragons groups), a new anime club, an ‘80s movie day that drew about 10 attendees, and a New Year’s Eve (noon) program for story-time families that received positive feedback.

The director reviewed collection-performance charts that compare checkout rates to the shelf space a category occupies. The director said the charts show a relatively large adult fiction collection that “doesn’t check out relatively as well” as other parts of the collection, while children’s materials check out at higher rates relative to their shelf space. The director explained reasons libraries retain larger adult sections, including patron expectation and browsing comfort, and noted constraints on physical space.

The director said the library offers both physical and downloadable video collections and reported that the library’s downloadable video catalog exceeds about 2,000 titles. The director also discussed the DVD circulation policy (patrons limited to three movies at a time) and said raising that limit would likely increase movie circulation, though staff had not decided to change the rule.

The director highlighted the library’s circulating Wi‑Fi hotspots and said the library has expanded that service compared with peer libraries. The director said staff have discussed pursuing additional E‑rate funding to buy more hotspots, though they have heard “some positive and negatives” about that option.

On room reservations, the director presented a staff recommendation to remove the library’s setup and beverage-service requirements from the reservation form while retaining requirements that groups clean up and indicate if they will serve food. The director said the change is intended to avoid promising staff setup when staff availability cannot be guaranteed: “this just lets folks people know that they will be responsible for setting up the room.” The director said the fee would remain $10 per hour (or free for 501(c)(3) organizations) and that rooms would be rentable only during library hours; the director said they will run the language by city administration to confirm alignment with city policy.

The director said staff found an older strategic plan while preparing for migration to a new website platform (the library’s site is hosted through the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and will move from WordPress to a new platform). The director said a Google Form to collect community input on service priorities is ready to be sent to stakeholders and asked board members to test it and report how long it takes to complete.

No other formal board actions were recorded in the transcript. The director asked for questions and said they will continue to bring updates on grants and the community-input process at monthly meetings.

Board members did not vote on the room-reservation language or on collection changes during this meeting; those items were presented for discussion and feedback.