The Rochester Public Library Board convened on December 18, 2025, to review fundraising results, approve the replacement of self-checkout equipment, address a critical volunteer delivery policy change, and engage in the initial stages of strategic planning. The board approved several financial items unanimously, including a significant equipment purchase utilizing sole sourcing, and voted to suspend the current volunteer delivery model for the Library at Home initiative, opting to use emergency foundation funds to cover staff wages for January while exploring permanent solutions.
And stream the meeting of the Life World's YouTube channel. Recorded is also made uh available after the meeting at the CDF's website. We also have a uh public comment period. Uh is there anyone from the public that wishes to come to the switches meeting. Uh roll cost of these on the case. Present. Or Cody. Yes. Yeah. Um should I have a portion to approve that uh status presented? So it's my mom and so I could end any discussion. All in favor say aye. I close. Okay. Uh number five, reports beginning with college. Um we were really happy with our holiday shopping option results. Our goal was twelve thousand and we reached uh fourteen thousand, over fourteen thousand, I think, because it looked like it still was going up a little bit. Thank you to everybody in this room that embedded and donated. I really appreciate it. Um, our Give MN was down a little bit this year, but we didn't really do a poll full push on it because the platform fees are so high. Um, with sponsors, we're up to twenty-five nine, um, which is a good position to be. It's the highest that we've ever won. We did have a range goal of thirty, but um, you know, we might not get there. But uh, we have twenty-one sponsors that are committed. Uh, our budget was approved on our last meeting, and uh the disbursement for twenty twenty-six will be a hundred and twenty-four change. And you are cordially invited to our annual fundraiser January twenty-fourth, Saturday here at the library after closes. Does anybody have any questions? Oh, friends. Um Saturday after Thanksgiving, we had an everything half-free sale in the bookstore, which um, even though there was a snowstorm that day, um, raised thirteen hundred dollars, um, which is equivalent to one entire week's worth of uh normal sales. Um, I would like to thank all of the volunteers and shoppers who made an excuse success. The bookstore will be presenting a their big their annual big check at our annual meeting for this year's proceeds. And the amount that the bookstore gives is separate from the amount that the rest of Friends gives. Um, so the rest of Friends with the online sales and the auditorium sales memberships. Um, the money is used separately. Um so speaking of the auditorium sales, we had a gift quality book and game sale um the following weekend, and we made a net profit of really thousand five hundred dollars. Which thank you ranks as the second highest profit ever for any auditorium sale. We have occasionally broken 10,000. But that was when we'd have four days during Rochester Fest, and Rochester Fest was down here. And anyway, this sale was only two days, and we made $9,500. That amount almost covers our pledged contributions towards the use of programming for the year. They have the lighting, which you can see, but the lighting for their dance parties, they have disco bottles and stuff. And then speaker fees and costume rental fees for many of their programs. So we were glad that we were able to range that amount. And I would like to extend thank you for all of our wonderful friends members and volunteers, library staff, and even some of you who donated baked goods. The baked goods part, uh big sale portion of the sale is $1,300. So out of that $9,500, $1,300 was just in. Rochester Commercial Banks Association every year for like 30 years now has given us a thousand dollar grant. And they did that much earlier this year, and I just haven't gotten around to acknowledging them. Any questions for friends? So there was no meeting this month, okay.