Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board Meetings

January 26th, 2022

Outgoing Chairwoman Kelly Tester called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on January 26, 2022, at 5:30 PM. In attendance via Zoom were Regional Board members Tracy Hastings, Joye Hawk, Kelly Tester, Ben Thompson, and Stephanie Vanderslice, as well as Faulkner County Assistant Director Deanna Dillon, Van Buren county Interim Director Deb Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.

Ben Thompson was nominated to chair the Regional Board, Kelly Tester to serve as Vice-Chair. Ben moved to approve the slate of officers. Stephanie seconded the motion, which passed.

Minutes of the October 27, 2021, meeting were reviewed. Kelly moved to accept the minutes as presented. Stephanie seconded the motion, which passed.

Bookkeepers Reports were reviewed. John explained overages in digital content as Kanopy spending had been a fraction of that budget line, so the Regional board in 2021 reallocated those funds to Overdrive and Hoopla, but the bookkeeper had not reflected the changes.

Statistics were reviewed. The Arkansas Digital Library Consortium our Region had helped found exceeded 1,000,000 checkouts on Overdrive in 2021, a rare accomplishment. Overdrive will be sending press releases to local papers soon.

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

Old Business

Deanna gave an update on Niche Academy. Patron deployment is imminent. Staff are working on content to standardize staff training.

New Business

John noted the hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money secured by Advocates for All Arkansas Libraries for Faulkner and Van Buren Counties, thanks in part to funding from the Regional board in 2021. AAAL is looking at more grant money in 2022, including the first capital improvements grant in decades. John passed along a request from AAAL for $7,000 based on the Regional system's population. Kelly moved to fund AAAL with $7,000. Stephanie seconded the motion, which passed.

The second quarterly meeting will be April 27, 2022 in Conway.

Kelly motioned to adjourn at 5:54 PM. Stephanie seconded the motion and the board adjourned.

June 22nd, 2022

Chairman Ben Thompson called the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library Board to order on June 22, 2022, at 5:30 PM. In attendance via Zoom were Regional Board members Joye Hawk, Jeff Moncrease, Kelly Tester, and Ben Thompson, as well as Van Buren County Director Deb Meyer and Regional Director John McGraw.

Minutes of the January 26th, meeting were reviewed. Kelly moved to accept the minutes as presented. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.

Bookkeepers Reports were reviewed. In May the Faulkner County library turned $43,000 in grant money for ebook reimbursement back to the Regional library. There was a question about a January expense for online transactions. This was an online payment with credit card for the Microsoft Office products paid for monthly. January personnel transitions may have created some confusion about the Quicken data used for this expense.

Statistics were reviewed. Downloadable use continues to increase, and more counties have been added to the Arkansas Digital Library Consortium this year.

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

Old Business

Niche Academy numbers are stagnant, even on the patron side. Content is still being produced, but at present John is recommending not renewing the service. Kanopy is producing new video packages with different pricing and more mainstream content, but John feels the current arrangement is most in line with the Region's needs.

New Business

John asked that limits on DVDs and CDs be removed. They served a purpose when the collection is small and growing, but had outlived their purpose and now merely restrict circulation. Kelly moved to remove checkout limits on these formats. Joye seconded the motion, which passed.

The third quarterly meeting will be August 24, 2022 in Clinton or by Zoom

The fourty quarterly meeting will be October 26th in Conway or by Zoom. This will be the Budget meeting.

Jeff moved to adjourn at 5:43 PM. Kelly seconded the motion and the board adjourned.