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.