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Faulkner and Van Buren Regional Library Board Minutes

BOARD MINUTES

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Click here to view 2015-2017 Faulkner & Van Buren Regional Library Board Minutes

Click here to view 2018-2019 Faulkner & Van Buren Regional Library Board Minutes

Click here to view 2020 Faulkner & Van Buren Regional Library Board Minutes

Click here to view 2021 Faulkner & Van Buren Regional Library Board Minutes

Click here to view 2022 Faulkner & Van Buren Regional Library Board Minutes




Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board Meetings 


Minutes for January 25th, 2023


Suzann Waggoner called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on January 25th, 2023, at 5:40 PM. In attendance via Zoom were Regional Board members David Jeffries, Jeff Moncrease, Kelly Tester, and Suzann Waggoner, as well as Van Buren County Director Deb Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.

Suzann nominated Ben Thompson to serve as Vice-Chair in 2023. Kelly nominated David to chair the board in 2023. There being no other nominations, the slate was approved unanimously.

Minutes of the October 26th meeting were reviewed. Jeff moved to accept the minutes as presented. Suzann seconded the motion, which passed.

Bookkeepers Reports were reviewed. John noted that while the board amended budget lines to add $2,500 to Kanopy and $2,600 to Kanopy in October, those amendments were not reflected in bookkeeper’s reports. There was interest in including Bookkeeper’s Reports and Transaction Reports in the Van Buren county board meeting packets. John committed to sending those along each month.

Statistics were reviewed. Suzann asked about Mount Vernon’s social media numbers. John recommended more content, particularly of well-attended programs. John mentioned that the Arkansas Digital Library Consortium had a record year with 1.3 million borrows.

State aid expenditures were reviewed. Suzann moved to approve the expenditures. Kelly seconded the motion, which passed.

Old Business

There was a call for old business.

New Business

John reported that the State Library is pursuing a 75% increase in aid to libraries, and early reports suggest it is moving through the legislature without significant opposition. The state will revise its funding formula, so passage would not mean exactly 75% more aid for the Regional board to allocate, but the time between now and the July meeting should look at deficiencies in services that warrant funding. John mentioned a tool to create legal forms. Deb mentioned moving library cards onto Regional budgets, and expressed interest in moving Communico off of Faulkner county budgets to be used by both counties. John explained how Communico is being used to

book public rooms in Conway, as well as handling a host of duties around library sponsored events, from scheduling to promotion. John offered to present Communico offerings at a future Van Buren county board meeting.

John suggested the board consider joining Advocates for All Arkansas Libraries, which had lobbied successfully for millions in grant funds for Arkansas Libraries. Membership costs are calculated at a per capita rate, coming to $7,040. John recommended adding the budget line to the budget and appropriating $7,040 to it. Jeff moved to join AAAL as an institutional member. Suzann seconded the motion, which passed.

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled to be in person at the Van Buren county library on April 26, 2023.

Jeff moved to adjourn at 6:10 PM. Suzann seconded the motion and the board adjourned.



Minutes for April 26th, 2023


David Jeffries called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on April 26th, 2023, at 5:48 PM. In attendance via Zoom were Regional Board members Joye Hawk, David Jeffries, Jeff Moncrease, and Ben Thompson, as well as Van Buren County Board Chair David Emmerling, Assistant Director for Faulkner County Deanna Dillon, Director Deb Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.

Minutes of the January 25th meeting were reviewed. Jeff moved to accept the minutes as presented. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.
Bookkeepers Reports were reviewed.

Statistics were reviewed.

State aid expenditures were reviewed. Jeff moved to approve the expenditures. Ben seconded the motion, which passed.

Old Business

The hoped for increase in state aid was budgeted but not funded.

New Business

John discussed Act 372 and the needed adjustments to Regional policies, primarily the Reconsideration of Materials policy. As amended the policy will begin with a conference with a Director—either county specific or directing all complaints to the Regional Director. Complainants need no longer be in the service area and only assert that the title “affected” them. The Director will form a review committee to determine whether the item is relocated to an area inaccessible to all minors, and the complainant is allowed to present their objections to the committee. All meetings of the committee are public meetings under Arkansas law. The committee votes on relocation and a member in the majority writes a summary of the committee’s findings and decision, which is communicated to the complainant. Appeals of the committee’s decision must be made to the county judge within five days of receiving the committee’s decision. Jeff moved to send all challenges to the Regional Director and otherwise adopt the amended policy as presented. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.

The board asked about the Reconsideration forms. John stated that other systems are sharing their forms and an updated form will be ready at the July meeting before the law’s August 1 date.

Ben moved to adjourn at 6:36 PM. Joye seconded the motion and the board adjourned.



Minutes for July 26th, 2023


David Jeffries called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on July 26th, 2023, at 5:31PM. In attendance via Zoom were Regional Board members David Jeffries, Jeff Moncrease, Kelly Tester, Ben Thompson, and Stephanie Vanderslice, as well as Assistant Director for Faulkner County Deanna Dillon, Van Buren County Library Director Deb Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.

Minutes of the April 26 meeting were reviewed. Ben moved to accept the minutes as presented. Stephanie seconded the motion, which passed.

Bookkeepers Reports were reviewed. John said the courier is indicating service in 2024 will be 22% higher. Options would include paying the increase, shopping for another courier, or having Faulkner County absorb the duties with a county vehicle and a part-time position. The merits of these options were considered and John promised to have some options for the budget meeting in October.

Statistics were reviewed. Doubling Hoopla budgets for the summer had increased borrowing by 52% over prior months and had not touched the budget caps throughout the period. Kanopy use has increased 34% over the same period last year. John alerted the board that Mississippi has banned the use of Libby or Hoopla for people under 18. This is a development that could be pursued in other states.

State aid expenditures were reviewed. Stephanie moved to approve the expenditures. Kelly seconded the motion, which passed.

Old Business

John reported that the day prior the lawsuit seeking to block sections 1 and 5 of Act 372 had been heard in Fayetteville. A decision is expected by week’s end. John recommended that the board make the adoption of any new policies in line with Act 372 conditional upon the law being upheld by August 1. John presented a revised policy and a new challenge form, noting that the form could be adopted immediately without regard to legal challenges around Act 372. David asked for input. John made a point of order that technically discussion should follow a motion and second to put the proposal before the board’s consideration. Kelly moved to put the proposed policy and form before the board for its consideration. Ben seconded the motion, which passed. Discussion included what is new in the proposed policy, what is new in the proposed form, what would happen if Act 372 is not upheld, and what a decision in one county would mean for the other county. Stephanie moved to approve the revised form and—

contingent upon the decision of the legal challenge—the revised policy. Kelly seconded the motion, which passed.

New Business

John asked that the board issue some clarity on Non-residents use of collections. The counties at present have different policies. There was broad discussion about the issues involved. Board members requested the policy manual to review, and John promised to send that around to everyone.

Jeff moved to adjourn at 6:17 PM. Kelly seconded the motion and the board adjourned.




Minutes for October 25th, 2023


David Jeffries called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on October 25th, 2023, at 5:35PM. In attendance via Zoom were Regional Board members David Jeffries, Jeff Moncrease, Kelly Tester, and Ben Thompson, as well as Assistant Director for Faulkner County Deanna Dillon, Van Buren County Library Director Deb Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.

Minutes of the July 26 meeting were reviewed. John noted that Act 372 had been injoined and the clock is ticking on the appeals process. This meant that the Policy approved by the board in July contingent upon the law being in effect was not in effect, but the Reconsideration form would be used going forward. John was asked about courier options, and John replied that no suitable alternative had been found but that the anticipated increase was more than twice the actual increase for 2024. Ben moved to accept the minutes as presented. Jeff seconded the motion, which passed.

Bookkeepers Reports were reviewed. There was a question about Summer Reading exceeding its budget, but that was due to a pass-through of $10,000 added to the income section. Future Regional boards may want to amend budget lines to better account for pass throughs.

Statistics were reviewed.

State aid expenditures were reviewed. Ben moved to approve the expenditures. Kelly seconded the motion, which passed.

Old Business

John asked that the board issue some clarity on non-resident use of collections. There was a broad discussion about the issues involved. John had received complaints from two branches frustrated with school partnership arrangements which do not account for students attending school in the service area but living in adjacent counties. Deb expressed that the cost of the non-resident card is too high for many adults. Jeff moved to waive the fees for children attending school within our service area and to reduce the cost of the Non-Resident Card from $25 to $20. Ben seconded the motion, which passed.

New Business

There were questions about the library card application, based on a patron contacting board members. John reported that he had addressed the complaint some six weeks prior after a conversation with the patron and conversations with staff about the utility of the data being collected. Staff indicated that the data was not readily available and did not provide any assistance in giving patrons a positive library experience. As a result, John asked that the application be redesigned to omit asking for gender even as an optional field. David asked that revision dates on the form be added as footers. John indicated that revision dates are in this specific file’s filename, but footers would be added.

John presented a Regional budget for 2024. Income increases modestly. Courier costs increase by 10%. John reported that there is a level of Hoopla funding that is below 150% of current levels that would satisfy demand, but he is proposing 125%. Kanopy spending was also increased 25% in line with current usage, which will likely continue to increase. To balance the budget, Regional Reimbursement was cut in half, which is likely to hurt both counties. John recommended moving some downloadable costs to the Faulkner County book budget as the most logical way to restore Regional Reimbursement to 2023 levels. Jeff moved to approve an amended budget that relocates Kanopy to the Faulkner County book budget and restores Regional Reimbursement to 2023 levels. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.

Jeff thanked the board for allowing him to participate over his terms on the board. John thanked Jeff for his service and noted that Regional board meetings were much more friendly than in years past and thanked all the board members for that. Ben moved to adjourn at 6:18 PM. Jeff seconded the motion and the board