Minutes for April 23, 2025

David Jeffries called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on April 23, 2025 at 5:31PM. In attendance at the Faulkner County Library were Regional Board members Kellie Cardin, David Emmerling, David Jeffries, Kelly Tester, and Jeff Whittingham, as well as Van Buren County Library Director Deb Meyer, Regional Director John McGraw, Circulation Manager Jessica Rutherford, Assistant Circulation Manager Ammie Gilson, and Network Administrator Christopher Bowen.

Minutes of the January 22 meeting were reviewed. Jeff moved to approve the minutes as presented. Kellie seconded the motion, which passed.

Bookkeeper reports for January, February, and March were reviewed.

Statistics were reviewed. John reported that downloadables, particularly Kanopy, continue to rise in popularity. There was discussion of Envisionware’s mobile printing service.

State aid expenditures were reviewed. There was discussion of future ILS spending. The current contract ends in 2027, and bidding will need to happen over time prior to that. The Faulkner County attorney would like to manage the collection and opening of bids. John suggested a subcommittee of board members and library staff be involved in creating the bid requirements. A board meeting will be needed to assess which bids meet the specifications and select the lowest qualified bid. Jeff moved to approve the expenditures. David Emmerling seconded the motion, which passed.

Old Business

There was a call for old business.

New Business

The Regional board took up the Code of Conduct policy for patrons for review. John had solicited staff input and condensed that into a number of amendments. Jeff moved:

To add “bathing in bathrooms to Prohibited Behavior (#1)

To add “within 20 feet of entryways” to the Tobacco policy (#4)

To add “in designated areas” to the food policy (#5)

Kellie seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Jeff further moved:

To add “scooters” to the Bicycle policy (#6)

To add to the criminal offenses policy “Persons who urinate or defecate anywhere on the premises other than authorized restrooms shall be immediately suspended from the library and may be charged under appropriate ordinances, statutes, etc.” (#10)

To add “or illegal drugs” to the alcohol policy (#11)

Kelly seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Jeff further moved to amend the unattended child policy to raise the age of children who must have a parent/caretaker on the premises to 13. (#12)

Kelly seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

John asked that the Regional board support AAAL with an institutional membership again. They had worked hard during the legislative session to keep library-related bills on our radar. Membership is based on population, and would cost $720. Jeff moved to approve the expenditure. David Emmerling seconded the motion, which passed.

John asked if anyone had strong opinions about policies to review at the July meeting. The board left it to the Director’s discretion. John noted that the Regional bylaws require a week’s notice of agenda, and promised to meet that deadline in the future, unless the board wanted to revisit that part of the bylaws.

David Emmerling moved to adjourn at 6:36 PM. Kelly seconded the motion and the board adjourned.