Jeff Whittingham called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on January 22, 2025 at 5:11PM. In attendance at the Van Buren County Library were Regional Board members Kellie Cardin, Tracy Hastings, David Jeffries, Cindy Stage, Kelly Tester, and Jeff Whittingham, as well as Faukner County board member John Gray, Van Buren County board member Joye Hawk, Van Buren County Library Director Deb Meyer, Regional Director John McGraw, and Jenn Wann of the Arkansas State Library.
Minutes of the October 23 meeting were reviewed. David moved to amend the minutes to reflect that no action was taken on Old Business. Cindy seconded the motion, which passed. Cindy moved to approve the minutes as amended. David seconded the motion, which passed.
Nominations were opened up for Regional board chair and vice-chair. David volunteered to chair, and Cindy volunteered to serve as vice-chair. With no other nominees presented, Kelly Tester moved to approve the slate. Kellie Cardin seconded the motion, which passed.
Bookkeeper reports for October, November, and December were reviewed.
Statistics were reviewed. Libby lending increased by some 40,000 over 2023 total. There was discussion of Hoopla and the return on investment for each platform. John reported that he had pressed the state library to meet with Arkansas Digital Library Consortium members about moving into Hoopla, but there seems to be no new money available and little will to divert money from Libby to Hoopla. Social media numbers jumped in 2024 due to a viral Tiktok video.
State aid expenditures were reviewed. David asked about a partial payment to the courier, which John explained was due to the Thanksgiving holiday eliminating half the deliveries that week. Cindy moved to approve the expenditures. Jeff seconded the motion, which passed.
There was a call for old business.
Jenn Wann provided a brief training session for library board members, primarily for county-level concerns. Recommendations included regularly scheduled bylaws
reviews, regularly scheduled policy reviews, policies and procedures around public speaking at board meetings, and periodic reviews of job descriptions.
Kelly Tester moved to adjourn at 6:59 PM. Cindy seconded the motion and the board adjourned.
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.
Minutes for July 21, 2025
Jeff Whittingham called the monthly meeting of the Faulkner County Library board to order on July 21, 2025, at 5:37 PM.- Present were board members Kellie Cardin, John Gray, and Jeff Whittingham; as well as Director John McGraw and Assistant Director DeAnna Dillon.
Minutes of the June 9, 2025 meeting were reviewed. Kellie moved to approve the minutes. John seconded the motion, which passed.
Summary Statements of Operations were reviewed. The Director notes that June was within 1% of being the strongest June on record.
Bookkeeper’s Reports were reviewed. The director asked that the board amend the Gardening Program budget to include the grant funds awarded. Kellie moved to amend the Garden Programming budget line to $7,600. John seconded the motion, which passed.
Statistical Report and Programming were reviewed. Attendance is down from 2024, which was an overwhelming year. Programming numbers for children and teens is roughly the same, but adult programming and computer use numbers declined.
Purchase Orders were reviewed. Kellie moved to approve the purchase orders. John seconded the motion, which passed.
Fines and Donations spending was reviewed. John moved to approve the expenditures. Kellie seconded the motion, which passed.
Regional transactions were reviewed. Movie licenses have been paid for another year. Overdrive spending is ahead due to a purchase of the magazine package. Faulkner County is now one of the largest readers of magazines in the ADLC. Next meeting is July 23, 2025
Old Business
Buildings:
Vilonia Water Heater: John stated that the water heater at the Vilonia branch needed replacement. Garrett’s Plumbing was able to replace it on 7/8/25 for 1,825.00. John moved to approve the expense. Kellie seconded the motion, which passed.
HQ Staff Lighting: The Director presented a proposal from Kordsmeier to replace fluorescent lighting in the staff areas with LED lights. There was discussion of programs to subsidize the move to LED, and the board asked the Director to explore LED initiatives with Conway Corps.
HQ Door Panel: DeAnna presented a quote from ACT Security to replace the door access panel for staff. The current panel is starting to show signs of stress from heat. Kellie moved to approve the quote for $2,489.34 from ACT. John seconded the motion, which passed.
Branch parking lots: The Director informed the board that he received quotes to restriping the parking lots for Mayflower, Greenbrier and Vilonia at $1,083 each. When talking with the branch manager several questioned whether the parking lots need to be resurfaced before restriping. Kellie made a motion to approve the cost of restriping after the lots have been resurfaced by the county road department. John seconded the motion, which passed.
Personnel: The Guy library has hired Kayla Brinley PT to assist with that branch.
New Business
Library Vehicle Wrap: John presented a proposal for getting a graphic for the Library bookmobile. Kellie made a motion to approve $1000 for graphics. John seconded the motion, which passed.
The next meeting will be August 18th.
Kellie moved to adjourn at 6:12PM. John seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned.
