People who want to uh come can attend a meeting here in person at the second floor meeting room in the library or recording via the city's website.

Right.

Do we have any public who want to comment?

Well, now you guys are gonna stand up and your thoughts.

All right.

Then uh I'll ask that we call a role here.

Ryan present Emily?

Yeah, Laura.

Present.

I think Adam's on the way because not sure.

So all right.

Any changes to the agenda?

If not, would somebody make a motion to approve the agenda adds a motion to approve?

Second.

All right.

All in favor?

All right.

Rochester Public Library Foundation.

You are up first.

Where is she supposed to stand?

I think I think this is tough.

We're gonna test this and see if it works.

I think we can get you on the screen.

Doesn't work here.

Yeah, we can't see you.

He doesn't really want my update.

I'm not sure you see the buildings.

Summer sprouts.

Um we have our business ask, we have our patron letters out.

Um we have submitted our mayo planning grant application, our new website.

Uh, we're having our board members review it and submit any edits that they want for fine-tuning after instead of before.

So um our we have exceeded our fundraising goals for the year due to uh an estate coming in.

Um I completed leadership grant rochester, and um the board president and I are going to the um library fundraising conference in Columbus, Ohio um at the beginning of June.

So does anybody have any questions?

So we the Judith Hams Estate, what was her relationship to the library?

Um Paris.

Yes, sorry.

Yeah.

It looked like hands from maybe I need new glasses.

It sometimes it's a surprise.

Was this one of those surprises?

Yeah.

Okay.

Those are good surprises.

And as well, did she have an earmarked for anything in particular?

Just please do something awesome with this on designated so it goes into one.

All right.

Any other questions for the foundation?

If not, friends.

Hi, for the friends.

Um, first of all, there's a picture there with uh everybody who's on the board.

Uh we were short, one person and uh um we we tried to show our our library support with our awesome t-shirts.

Um something else I'd like to announce uh that we're pleased that we received a thousand dollar uh grant through the Minnesota Association of Library Friends.

Um they had a new grant program uh called the Good Neighbor Grant, um, where to do something good in the community that needs funding, um, you can apply that uh to that.

Uh so we got a thousand dollars.

Um and what we're gonna use it for is I've talked in the past about the social workers program and the Hawthorne Helps program where we um distribute books to them for free.

Um, and it's from you know, kids up to age 18.

Um, as those programs were were going on, um, the people who were coordinating them with us uh said, hey, if you've got multilingual books or more uh children of color representation, well, we were only giving away what we get in in donations.

We don't get many kids' books, any kids' books that are Somali English.

Um we get some Spanish English, but but very few.

Um, and so somebody had the idea we it would be good if we could go out and purchase books that we can then turn around and give away.

Well, we don't necessarily like using the money that we are raising for the library, so we have applied for a couple of grants.

We got one last fall at the Rochester Area Foundation.

We give 365.

That money has all been spent, and now we get another thousand dollars through the um Clean Neighbor grant through mouth, and um we're excited that that we can continue to get those multilingual books and children of color to distribute to these needing families.

And then uh the quactastic fund that we had this past Saturday.

Um so uh the friends bookstore had a half price sale, and um a good day for them is 200, 250, feeling 123.

It was so busy.

Yes.

Sandy was worried I shouldn't say this.

Sandy was worried the fire marsh was going to call in or come and kick them out because the store was so busy.

It was like shoulders.

They did $500 in the first hour.

And this was half price.

We still have inventory left, though.

We didn't get rid of everything.

And then Pat Stevenson had had this awesome idea to do a garage sale in the garage.

So she had what you normally would have at a garage sale, except for no books, because she sent everybody to the bookstore.

And she made $700 in selling that stuff in the bookmobile garage.

And we appreciate the library for letting us to use the bookmobile garage for that sale.

I think the advertising for that sale kind of really cue people in to come and parking was a bear that day.

There were so many events going on that day, but people still like their library.

They were all lined up waiting for the sales to open at 10 o'clock.

So that's the news that the friends have to share.

Any questions for the friends?

Is it plan to repeat it during the next City Wives Garage Sales?

Oh, please.

Now after our, if you were here for our, I think it was in 2023, the Curiosity Emporium in the Auditorium.

Which was a very similar, it basically it was not, it was uh garage sale.

Um, somebody had passed away who had collections of collections of I mean flamingos and travel souvenirs and um uh pharmacists, beakers, and just all kinds of stuff.

And she had asked her friend, she goes, I want this stuff to benefit the library.

And so they had started with books to Pat, and then they're like, Well, will you take this collection of this?

Will you take this collection?

After about the fifth collection, Pat was thinking, what have I gotten myself into?

But we filmed the auditorium and we made like four thousand dollars on that sale, and we said we would signs up that said we don't collect stuff like this.

I don't know what Pat's impetus was for having this idea to do the garage sale, but she did.

No, okay, and she told people if I ever think of doing this again, tell me no.

So for a couple of years, and we'll probably do it again.

Any other questions?

Any questions from the friends?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Laura, anything from Shaka?

They have not met, they're supposed to meet next Tuesday, and I will not be here in June, so I will email you an update.

Oh, perfect.

Right.

Um it was Adam and I uh we're reviewing the policies later on in our um board agenda.

Those are the policies that we reviewed when we updated our timetable on the privacy policy.

We continue to delay.

We're waiting on some um federal guidelines that we follow as far as our privacy.

So we'll be bringing that one in the fall sometime.

So all right, then can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

So thank you.

All in favor.

No, any opposed.

Then the library at home.

Who was speaking about it?

Yes, thanks.

Good evening, board president, members of the board.

Um, Rochester Library brought to you a few months ago the fact that we were changing our library at home program due to the changes to city volunteer policy.

Um Rochester Public Library has a tentative agreement pending your approval for Family Services Rochester to provide the delivery portion of the library of home program.

Family Services Rochester's mission is to support and enhance the dignity and quality of life for individuals and families in our community.

This aligns with the goals of the library at home program and FSR's strong infrastructure supports volunteers who deliver meals and other services to patrons home.

So the proposed partnership would provide a smooth transition as a as standard practices that the library would continue with delivery services provided by volunteers at FSR.

So volunteer responsibility or responsibilities would include for family service Rochester, they would help with volunteer recruitment, they maintain the volunteer and backup or rotation of volunteers.

They would provide the insurance for drivers as well as the liability for that they already do the delivery materials.

And then they also have a wonderful online training platform that we can provide training so that the new volunteers would do the entire orientation process through their platform.

We would provide recommended delivery routes, and those will be provided monthly.

That's something we currently do.

Delivery boxes for the library home bags.

So we'll have boxes, and then we make sure that the bags are not too heavy to carry for the volunteers.

We'll also provide privacy training because privacy, those that value is so important to the library.

We want to make sure that these volunteers do understand our privacy expectations, general process delivery process training.

We'll provide an annual delivery calendar as well as library points of contact.

So what I'm asking from you is to approve the approve this proposed partnership, and then I will go ahead and get all the logistics.

So family service would come to the library and do all.

So family service, um we would coordinate the volunteers.

Right now we're expecting that the volunteer would drive to the library to pick up the materials.

An alternative is that we would deliver all the materials to Family Service Rochester, and so it would be one delivery in the morning.

Their volunteers would go out and bring back, and then we would go there in the evening to bring pick everything up.

And by doing that, we're not violating the new city policy.

No, because library staff would drive and drive to drop off, the library staff would pick up, but the library staff wouldn't then do spending the four to six hours driving.

Um we're also considering um breaking up the route rather than have one set of volunteers do the whole route, potentially breaking it out to city quadrants so that it's a shorter volunteer requirement.

That's all following the same processes and procedures.

Are current library volunteers allowed to also volunteer at family service roster to do this work, or would that be like a conflict of the city policy?

Um I think they would be able to because all of that they'd be volunteered for family service.

They would be volunteering for that.

So the volunteer hours, the tracking, the orientation, all of that is separate.

So is this an open-ended contract?

And is there like a minimum that we're willing to do this for?

You know, say that they don't find us conducive to their mission.

Um we we did talk about just um we talked about trying this through the end of 2026 just to make sure that it worked.

Um, I'm realizing now I didn't put that into the proposal, so that's something that we could add for review at the end of the year.

I moved to approve our agreement with Family Service Rochester to let their volunteers order this.

This is exactly what we were hoping for.

Oh, we haven't passed it.

Okay.

I was just do they feel pretty confident they're gonna have enough volunteers to continue.

They're gonna put it in the way to have a lot of fun.

They're very they're very excited to partner with the library, and there's they're so excited.

Um, when I reached out to them, he said our staff is on board to just let us know how we can make this happen.

Um, and then we will assist as well with recruitment and referring people there.

But um, they've already created the like volunteer thing for their portal, they just need to make it live.

Um they're so excited.

Do you know what their background check entails at least meet the minimum that RPL would have?

Okay.

Yeah.

They also have people going to people's homes and spending some time there.

Yeah.

We have a motion on the four, then all in favor.

Uh huh.

Any opposed.

Most of the practices.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes.

Next cells.

This is um for folks that don't know cells and CELCO.

Um, they are sister organizations.

Cells, it's it's one of the um multi-type library systems established by the state of Minnesota.

We receive support um from cells.

One of the things that we highlight all the time that they do provide scholarships for us to attend conferences.

Um we've had agreements with them for a very long time uh and realized that we have not updated the agreements um since 2012.

So it was time to take some um fresh eyes, so they have sent out a new um agreement that really just quantifies exactly what we're doing.

Some of it was really outdated.

So all of the libraries in the self-voag and sell o cells region um have new agreements, so this is just before you for your approval.

Second thank you.

Any questions?

All in favor, any opposed motion passes.

That's a count of uh accessible and all their B's turned into eight.

A eight C choice.

Oh, that is so interesting.

I never noticed that.

A8 C.

If you look at the signal, it's perfect.

We're now on policy update.

Oh, excellent.

Welcome out.

Not that I had the active in front of me.

This is we reviewing the policies that we looked at, yes, the two of us.

Yes.

Okay.

I believe there weren't any changes, right method.

Right.

This one is pretty straightforward and they undesignated.

We have just reviewed this uh two years ago.

Yeah, they were all recently reviewed policies, no changes were recommended, except for the volunteer policy, just bringing that in line with what the city currently in place.

All seems very straightforward and non-controversial.

Which is basically to the whole thing and download the city have used.

Yes.

Yes, a lot of the city policy.

The reason we didn't just um rescind our volunteer policy and just replace it for the city is because a lot of that speaks specifically about um internal processes.

It's really an HR policy that we're following.

Um, and then there were there was a couple of other things that we wanted just to make sure that we um included um that we have it, you know, uh, that we want folks to acknowledge this policy.

There's something else, but it's it's escaping me right now.

Um, but all of this really ties back to the city of Rochester policy.

Oh, we have our volunteers acknowledge the policy, and we want the currently it's an HR policy that's not publicly posted, so we wanted something that we can point our volunteers to and the important parts that are directed at them.

Um so we now we have this, we can have this on our website.

It's that the whole text.

I can do the copy.

I could find this in the packet.

Oh, as I was trying to put through this number open for me.

Oh I mentioned it was going well, right?

But just that piece, those yeah, but four or five, and then the rest of it's all crossed off.

Yeah, yeah.

All of that is equal with um policy.

And then there's a reference to the city policy.

This is the city.

Okay.

And then in the volunteer recognition, nothing changed.

We reviewed uh this really just says that we set aside the board supports the library setting aside money to do a volunteer recognition every year.

And then the public relations policy, the only change was updating um the communications and engagement manager title.

But everything else stayed the same.

Yeah.

We put these on block.

Yes.

I'm working on it in my brain.

Yes, I was gonna say the four policies as second right.

Any other discussion?

All in favor?

Any opposed.

Oh, motion.

Right, working pilot survey.

All right.

So we're just bringing back to you um the survey with the recommendations that you had the last meeting.

So we made those changes, and then we also added the city's demographic questions.

So these questions will be optional.

Wonderful.

Okay, on page four there.

If you allow me to edit because I have issues.

If you notice under racial identity, everything parenthetical should be in alpha order unless there's a reason for them not to be.

Right.

So if it is the city's city can still be wrong.

We can bring we can bring it to the city.

I'll follow up with the city.

Yeah.

Because the only one that's correct is the one under white.

It's in alpha order, I think.

None of the other ones are entirely.

Spoken like a professor.

And there are rules.

There's a reason for rules.

I liked the updates to the survey.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I didn't have a question on number page one.

Number two.

So I'm scratching my head, uh, wondering why are we paying for someone to park kind of on our dime and then go down to have lunch.

I think what we want is the information is if we had folks that only are using this so that they can come down and have lunch and have no interest in using the library.

And then because that could be a that would be information that would be helpful for the board to have the only um benefit of that data parking is to support if if 100% all have lunch and that's all.

That's information and data that I think you want.

They would still have to come into the library to get their allocation, yes.

Correct.

And they would still need a library card.

But so they go into the library afterwards, right?

I mean they get their little ticket from the and after this two hours and they go up to the the desk, right?

Or their hour and 19 minutes, or their three hours or their five hours, they come to the desk.

Can you do it on the way in?

Like you know who could be here for a study group.

I'm gonna do it on the end.

Yeah, so you don't have to fuss with it later.

Absolutely.

You just have to have your ticket by us the big um we have the most like high-carded staff who are really super super helpful, but you gotta have the ticket.

You gotta have a ticket in your hand.

You can't prove what you really did park in.

So you could take the ticket and go into the library, get it.

Validated and then go to Kathy's pub for two hours and take off.

If that's what you'd like to do, Nick, you are well.

I've never heard of that.

But it's it's important.

Okay, but yeah, uh um a burden, a really heavy burden on staff to be policing and saying, Yeah, or if we're staying in here for two hours.

So and it's very important information and data that the board's gonna want.

Right.

So if we find out that a lot of people are doing this, then we gotta rethink this.

Or we find out too that a lot of people, you know, bring that family to story time and then go out for hot chocolate at Bravo.

Um, I the business community is also going to be interested in that information.

So I liked that there was addition of e-services as a choice.

Since we were trying to target families, why are you here?

Is it because you want your kids to play at the play spot, even if you don't check anything out?

Absolutely.

That was really helpful.

Any other questions?

We have motion for motion.

I don't think anyone can I have a motion to approve survey as so moved.

Thank you.

There we go.

All fair.

Nice work.

Thanks.

All righty.

Next topic.

So I apologize about all the back report and extra emails and some emails that you go through about um county funding.

So just a little history.

The county has um, I didn't even know this until today, but it's been uh they've been uh contributing to uh Rochester Public Library since 1911.

Oh win they gave 300.

So there's been a long-standing arrangement.

There was a contract.

I knew the other contract from 1989, and then it um in 2010 it was updated um and some changes were made.

Um so we've been operating under that contract with Old Instead County with a very dedicated formula for um how the county has decided the funding that they contribute to Rochester Public Library.

Um, and that funding is very much tied to how much the city is investing, the per capita um that the city provides.

Um you can see that the the updated contract in 2010.

Um there was a a loss of funding for City of Rochester, uh about 75,000 decrease.

And but the one of the big goals at the time was to really create a stable funding formula.

Prior to 2010, it fluctuated a lot, but with this new formula based again on per capita spending, a three-year average of the previous three years per capita spending, it provided a lot of stability.

In right now, we receive about 12% of our funding from Homestead County.

And county residents, we do track back information.

You see that in your report reports every month.

Our new resource canopy, 12% of the usage is county residents, 16% of our physical and digital circulation county residents, and 15% of our total registered users are county users.

This is what the formula is that we received just within the last couple of weeks that the county is really looking toward and looking toward eventually making an agreement and a contract to present to our board.

With this proposed funding formula, the county would, they are looking.

I did meet with the administrator Travis Grancy on Monday, and he did want to reiterate this isn't a anti-library movement.

It is a pressure that the county is feeling for their own funding.

There's a lot of state and federal funding changes, and so the counties and Olmstead County is not unique counties that are also facing funding challenges.

So he did want me to reiterate to the board that it is not directed just at libraries.

They are making cuts across all of their across departments and all of the services that they support.

However, they are looking to stabilize what they provide libraries in totality, RPL included, and tie it to 1% of their annual levy that they set.

So using that formula, this is what they've created as far as how that 1% of the LED would be distributed among libraries.

This is based on circulation, library service area, and program attendance.

Those were the criteria that they selected.

This is works out as a loss for both Rochester Public Library and Pine Island.

And then a little bit of a gain in funding for the other libraries that are supported.

All of the libraries provide service to the county.

So you, you know, Sewardville gets folks from this Rochester from the surrounding area from Mauer County, they receive folks.

They're getting folks that come across the county line from Olmstead County and use their services.

And so all of us do provide services as far as allowing folks to come in, get a card, use materials.

RPL does do additional service that we provide through the bookmobile into the county.

We're the only ones that do go out into the county with a bookmobile to provide that checkout option.

And we've been providing access to canopy for rural residents, very specifically for our rural Olmsted County residents and City of Rochester residents.

And that's how our contract is written that we will provide that service, the same service as City of Rochester residents.

But we'll talk about how it's significant in just a second.

Collection-wise, it is 35,000 is equivalent to about 4% of our total collection spending.

So any of the staffing shortage and funding that we have does have to be applied first to our part-time.

Part-time is often less the lowest cost, so it's effective more hours of work time.

35,000 equivalent to about 1,800 staff hours, and just to put that into perspective, it takes a lot of staff hours to operate a library.

Um 378 hours in calendar here are spent just on providing Byron or Number and Dobrio specific service, just the actual going to the service.

That's not to do the service, it's not including the hours of time you know spent maintaining the collection, maintaining the book mobile, um, doing all of the other behind the scenes work.

So I know I've kind of gone back and forth because we do have to give some numbers to finance, and we're able to do that.

We've had additional conversations with finance.

Um, as you know, the city doesn't you know formally adopt the budget until much later on in the year.

Um, so that has been sussed out.

Um I haven't even offered the board a chance to provide a response to county commissioners.

So I did send out a letter that um I'm recommending that we look at and um um at least first start with a response to the Olmstead County Commissioners to see if there's another opportunity for us to meet with and have a conversation um about our funding because I think there's value in at least asking and and having that conversation um to request that they still fund this at the same level that they've been funding this.

Can you flip this back to the spot where we can see the numbers?

To which one?

The first one where we can see the the chart numbers on that.

Oh yeah, that one, yes.

Yeah, what is going on in chat field?

Um chat field, I would have to look.

Do you remember Hannah?

What they're I mean, again, tied to um library service area, circulation, circulation and program attendance.

I think they did have some pretty uh pretty um big increase in program attendance.

So based on that, they're getting a 60% increase from the company.

Can you explain for formula once more?

The current formula or not doing why exists.

What is the formula and why now?

Oh part of that answer is because of the um shortfall from funding from the state and the federal government.

Right.

So a lot of counties are faced with um.

Yeah, I'm not so surprised.

What happened with the state?

But they're not actually making any changes in the total amount they fund libraries, right?

They're just they're not increasing it.

Yeah, staying flat.

Um and they do say, you know, at over time, as they levy historically year over year, the levy does increase, and um this one percent does provide almost a guarantee that there will always be an increase.

There will, however, be fluctuations based on uh where we have an up or down in program attendance or service area or circulations.

How do they measure service area?

Um, and what year of presumably they're getting program attendance and circulation numbers from the state reports that we turn in every year.

What year of data are they looking at?

They are using the 2021 data.

Yes.

Um, the library service area is one that is actually um kind of sticky and kind of challenging.

Um the way we have counted hours is we take a Bonstead County, we subtract out Stewartville, Pine Island, um, Chapfield from the um that population limits.

So we use just the city limits and then the rural parts of the county.

Um you would have to ask the other library directors exactly how they get their number.

Um, I know one of the libraries, for example, the numbers doubled from 2019 to 2024.

So there's service area double.

So I think that we do not have a chat mail.

By any chance.

Uh no.

Um, I think it it is challenging that there's not a um like the school has a board drawn around it.

Yes, where you can say this is the kids that we are going after in this box.

The libraries don't have that drawn out in some sort of agreed-upon way.

Yeah.

And it has been requested from multiple libraries to have that identified the way it's written in the state um languages.

Your library service area is the area derive the funding from that you derive the funding from and provide service to.

So there is a there could be rural residents represented by three of these libraries now, potentially.

So when this contract is drawn up, what um, you know, I think you had 15% of the county was were partholders and 16% of them were uh circulation users.

What numbers were they in the 2010 contract?

I'm wondering if we should maybe revisit this at some point to say, you know, this is extremely different from when this was originally agreed upon.

You know, we might need uh readjust some of these.

So one question and one comment.

The first question is the current contract expiring.

So the current contract uh it automatically renews and and um and unless either party gives six months notice.

So it's a one-year term, basically.

Yes, okay.

Yes.

Yeah, okay.

Yes.

So I mean, let's be very precise.

I think the core issue here is we are the destination library for the entire county.

Presumably, we're attracting more visits, more attendance, more circulation from other parts of the county because we have the largest most robust collection and services being offered.

So that benefit is hard to capture in a formula.

I'm not sure exactly how you would do that in a way that adequately represents the service that's being provided by our library to the county as a whole.

And I think our position needs to explicitly state that, right?

We are reliant on county funding.

Yes, because we are providing a service to the entire county that no other library is in a position to offer.

And accordingly, right, the funding formula either has to account for that unique positioning, or there needs to be a supplemental funding stream that accounts for that additional service that's being provided.

Or we have to reduce those services that are provided to non-Rochester residents.

Yeah, right.

Well, I think they I think it appears they're trying to make a good faith effort to find us all equitably.

The problem is everybody gets to share their own statistics, especially on service area.

Yeah.

That seems like at the very least, we should clarify what service area is based on, you know.

If you're a county resident without a library, then who gets you?

We shouldn't have some people being represented by two or three different entities.

That seems odd.

And we budgeting do have because we have addresses tied to our use or circulation, right?

People check something out, they use a library card with their address on it.

We know that several of our services are over-representative, over-represented per their budget by county users, and that feels like data that we could use to argue that we are the destination library, that county users are using canopy at roughly the amount we expected, but they're overusing other forms of circulation compared to the amount that our budget is funded by the county.

And that shows a strong argument that county rural county users are coming to RPL.

They aren't going necessarily to the other libraries when they're looking for a library outside there.

So you want to speak to it.

So that's go ahead.

Well, one question I have was just saying the chat field resident, are they using cell photo to utilize some of our circulation?

If they don't have it, they're getting a yes.

So that would be my question to us only coming into our library versus just having it brought to them through another.

Yeah.

And that would go through that would that would be the chat field statistic.

Right.

And that's where I'm okay.

Yeah, so like um but do we we don't call it that as a circulation?

Here it comes as circulation here.

If they check it out in chat field, even if it comes from chat field from RPL via Cell Coke, it counts as chat field circulation, whether they own the book or not, right?

But can we track that?

get brought to them well through yeah and that would go through that would that would be the chat field statistic right and that's wrong okay yeah so like um but do we we don't call it that as a circulation here it comes the circulation here if they check it out in chat field even if it comes from chat field from RPL via Cell Coke it counts as chat field circulation whether they own the book or not right but can we track that is it possible for us to know which books the original library loan and maybe another technically interlibrary loan what's our inner library loan so an our interlibrary loan is um have the number but something that's very important um as far as physical collection i mean you we are unique Minnesota's unique state where we follow the reciprocal borrowing contract anybody can borrow any physical book from any library i could go into chapfield right now and get a library card and and use that library and borrow their materials um so which we do keep very you know we keep track of that information that is also in your board report the number of folks that are coming and using the library that are other are outside the um there's no way the county commissioners understand that nuance and perhaps we should spell it out at least generally to them that speak the fact that RPL has a collection the size that we have is supporting circulation at the other surrounding libraries and cutting power funding is necessarily going to cut their circulation because they won't be able to borrow our books speaking of which where is our county representative on this report it's our county so it used to be Bob Hopkins well he stopped coming no he's no longer so now we have to who's local it must be Mary Balvin County I shouldn't know this.

So we do mostly account so that's our county representative okay and um ask the real basic question.

So when you get money from the county okay it comes to this library well it comes to the administration is it blended in with all the other Rochester derived money or is there some mandate in the way in which this county money has to be spent i eatmobile stuff to the county or whatever it is it is broken up it goes the large it's either operating or CIP and it's not to a specific service it just goes to the general fund.

Okay so it's your decision I mean the administration's decision what to do with it money I mean theoretically you don't want to do this but theoretically we just spend it on Rochester.

You don't want to do I'm just I'm just trying to understand how this works right I mean and really the board but you know helps make those decisions as far as where that the breakdown of money is is being spent yes when we come to you with the finance recommendations right so there's no stated mandate from a county that you have to spend X amount on your on your book so right on your bookman goin' to the county places there's not nothing like that.

Right the previous contract we went from 1989 uh that we were looking at today it did actually spell out that half of the bookmobile stops should be in the county and half should be in the city proportion then the current one does not spell it out how the a specific number or breakdown of of those okay so there's nothing magic enough to do anything at all and I know I'm not saying we shouldn't but I'm just trying to understand how this money works in the system.

So you break that down you guys decide that we're gonna spend X amount of money on fuel to to go to these other county places right and whatever else that involves um spending for the sake of the county towns right that's the administrative it just goes into a plot you know that it's a certain amount of that pot came from the county and that and then it's up to you to do yeah I wish we had a uh a chalk board and some chart and it just write up the formula this plus this equals this because I'm not still not sure I understand we would explain the formula for the new one or the new one well what was the old one and why is the new one different well the old one was based on city per capita so it was three year average and it was 60% of the three year average for city per capita or capital if I'm sorry for operating and then three percent of the three year average for city per capita for CIP.

So the county would be doing 40 dollars per capita.

For example, for um the 2026, the three-year average was 63.4% of 63.47 for the city.

So the counties 60% were operating was 36%.

I'm sorry, here get my glasses on.08.

So that was what the county contribution for um operating was.

And then the contribution for um capital was um three percent of that, which was a dollar names.

And then we multiply that by the rural county population that um does not include public libraries.

Okay, I still think we need a blackboard.

But um so this year the per capita spending is reduced.

So this year is what's prompting this new formula.

So this year they're proposing a whole new contract, whole new funding structure where they're going off by I think it was 50 percent based on LSA 30 percent circulation and 20 percent program attendance.

Yeah, yes.

So here is the um this spreadsheet to uh is the exact Nazi both of the boarding logic or small.

Oh no, so blue does that much.

Um so the first thing is looking at um population.

So half of it is based on population.

30 percent um on circulation.

It's interesting that we're 91% clearly, they're using our collection through SOCO.

Do that.

So the farm law is not based on the capitalist not much more.

The new one isn't other than new.

Not at all.

And is this prompted by um a reduction in state and federal?

Is that one of the main appetites that's pushing this new formulas?

Our understanding is that they they wanted to really one percent of the tax level.

Somebody go to St.

Charles and checks the program calendar.

Um these cuts are emptying across the board again, yes.

You know, at the town level.

Yes, because yeah, they're so a contract never spelled out anything like specifically formulas, right?

I mean, were there making on the contract or the contract never spelled anything out clearly?

So they can make make these changes without violating.

And I would argue at this point, we're still proposing these, correct?

Right.

I just want to make sure they're abiding by their terms of good faith, you know, and not pulling the rock up and on the US.

I mean, I think given the fact that we all have budget woes.

I I think we're making a good faith effort.

I think there's some things that we would like them to consider, obviously, but they're not correct.

Right.

Do we need our county board representative to go to the county?

So we no longer have a uh uh member of the board that is part of the county commissioners.

There was a uh a discussion last year about having because there's no there was there's no city council board, there's not a city council member on the library board.

Um they now send two county residents and not a county board member they were doing for a number of years just and now the mayor the mayor selects the county uh recommends and then the mayor approves and passes them on for city council to approve.

Yes.

So we do have a letter that's in front of all of you to review to at least provide a response to the county um and two county commissioners and request a um an opportunity to have conversations and to take account into consumer states, yeah.

If you look in the bottom paragraph on the first page, where they're talking about when it starts with as we look at I I think that can be read as we're gonna not place the book mobile if they don't give us an evil, and I don't want to threaten something that we don't want to do necessarily.

So I would maybe change that to say something along as we look at a new is we look as to whether the investment of a new book will be all is you know the best option part of our servicing better term, yeah, to continue sermon most effectively in the future you know instead of with this and just uh we would be grateful for consideration of this elevated level service as part of the funding formula and on the back instead of reconsider, say consider because they actually haven't established it yet, right?

To the and instead of established, say proposed.

Well, I think Laura brought it up too, or somebody did anyway about maybe some firm numbers in here to you know 15% of the circulation, yes, from colony residents.

So you know we put that information in as a chart to go with the level, but I didn't put it in with the letter or just something that you can reference back to.

I don't think we want to concede the framing that this is a 3% cut.

Because it's not a 3% cut.

It is a much larger cut relative to what anticipated funding would have been under the old formula in the coming year.

I don't know where to stick it in, but I think it would be reasonable to explain that despite the circulation numbers that are being presented to the county.

We've got to be able to get the cell code data, how many books we're sending into the Cell Code system, that a large amount of our collection is utilized in the circulation numbers of the surrounding, you know.

So it just because there are books, but it looks like it's their circulation.

If we don't have the funding to maintain our collection, everybody's numbers go down.

I would say for interlibrary loan, I mean it's pretty much a wash.

What we're pulling in and putting out is pretty much a wash.

So I don't know that that would be necessarily um advantageous.

Yeah, but inner library loan, can we track the difference between what we're doing out state and what we're doing?

In oldstead county.

It's not I don't think you can get it down to what library.

I'm not sure they have the data, but yeah, it just you can get the numbers going to Celco as a system, but I don't think you can get where they send it back to because I'll go to the giveaways the numbers for who's getting books in and out.

Not but now to by tomorrow we have to talk about, but I'm sure we could get the numbers.

So can you go back to no numbers that I was speaking about them, sorry?

Um on the side.

Yeah, there you go.

I mean to uh where it shows the final numbers.

Oh, to the where we put it.

Yeah, the difference.

So the so what's the percentage change there?

So that is a three percent change.

Um, and I think what you're referring to is there is some unrealized um funding that is lost because we never we didn't go through with the contract for this year.

So it didn't I know what you're saying, and I know what they're saying and what they intend.

Yeah, I mean obviously right less 25,000.

Yeah, okay.

Well, that was dealing with that is on percentage basis.

Yeah.

I mean, yes.

Yes, you can see where they're coming from.

I'm a lawyer, right?

Professional.

I don't know what we have to lose by taking a more assertive position on this.

Right, they have a proposal.

That proposal represents a significant decrease in the funding we're planning for.

We should make a robust argument for why they should revisit that, at least as it applies to us.

Because the default is where we're already seeing things, and unless we make a strong case, I don't see any reason why the county would revisit the discussion.

Right.

If we just sort of make a plan request, like we don't want to lose three percent.

Like, well, of course, the answer is gonna be like, huh, lose three percent.

So what's our real argument for why we shouldn't do this?

And the real argument is right that this is a much larger chart.

And this is a huge hit to the whole county if we lose those services that are available.

Because the very nature of being the largest library in the county is that we have a larger, more diverse collection than anyone else is going to be able to be capable of sustaining.

And if you redirect that funding, then yeah, you're gonna have more books in some of these places, but they're gonna be duplicative of the resources that we already have available.

And that has to be accounted for in the proposal in order for it to really make sense.

And they're not gonna see that unless we make that explicit.

I'm happy to meet with that.

It seems like it's gross, but seems reasonable to say you're telling us by reducing our county funding that we are supposed to be a city of Rochester library that handles destination customers when they come here.

Right, but not a way.

It feels gross to say that I want everybody to be able to use the library above it.

But if the county, the governing board of the county is saying your funding isn't as uh isn't a priority because we don't think that you're serving as much of the county as you think you are, then maybe we pull in a little bit.

It you have to cut money somewhere, and that seems like a reasonable response to them saying budget goes down.

I'm gonna make the assumption, right?

Henlins razor.

Right.

Um they're not meaning to you know, shun for us, they're just trying to meet their budget issue.

I do absolutely like I do like Adam's comment concept there that under the reduct, although the reduction you know is presented as a three percent reduction, in fact, it would have an impact of about what nine percent or something like that on us by doing math on my head, which I certainly allowed to do.

Um because we would actually realize 105,000 less than what we saw, if that makes sense.

Right.

And I would say obviously, you know, just like we talked about there are other potential increases that we're gonna see, which they see too.

But I would say, you know, is Laura made the point about a lot of the books that are circulating in those other book places are coming from the one the RPL library in the first place, that I think that's an important conversation.

And then I would ask to have maybe some agreement on if you know if they're gonna stay with this set of factors, so more unanimity and agreement as far as what these things are, you know, so that you know I don't know how this letter needs to be edited, maybe without so I mean seriously, seriously.

And I think so then I think uh what I'm looking for is some direction to provide um I guess the executive committee to finalize the letter so that we can make sure that we're sliding in a time.

Yeah, the admin is covered.

I get what Adam was saying, and I think it should be integrated in here at some fashion.

Yeah.

Do we have and I can't find it because I hate the new packet?

Um said that like three times today.

So we're gonna be able to do that.

Do we have city county breakdowns for like branches of the circulation?

Are what's the digital circulation look like in a county versus city?

So specifically uh thanks to Kate, we have them in our packet in the um stats and trends under the monthly report.

God bless we still have the old pack if it's all in one set of things.

Um we do keep track of circulation by geography on scope, yes.

So we've got um city county physical circulation breakdown, um, ebook and audio book breakdown.

I want the digital one.

And that was for the past month.

Yes, and years date.

So it's easy enough for people to see, stop.

Oh, so we're gonna do math.

Because that's like math and nobody wants to be doing math.

I haven't sell spreadsheet to do it for us.

And we can do easy math and include that information.

Yeah, she used to add percentage calumn and then maybe if it's below what would be anticipated, you know, choose a color if it's above, choose a color, though I know that's not fully accessible.

So I don't know if that's possible.

Two three zero.

Boy, they're almost 25% there for all total circulation.

Yeah, they're 18% of our digital use, which is way above their 12%, which was my guess is that they're maintaining a physical collection and not a digital one, especially given that we've just had a bunch of conversations at the state level about how expensive it is to maintain digital collections.

Like we know we know that some of this is asking.

Talk about materials just being one of the most expensive things as far as inflation.

And specifically the digital collections are outrageous to maintain and they're being used at a third again higher than their funding.

Because again, those means that people especially since if it sounds like we can articulate that we are providing materials effectively in a shadow form to support the circulation, yeah, right.

Then if you cut our materials budget, that's a lot of money.

You know.

What will $300 buy us today with uh did I like to tell stories when you go to boards, tell stories?

So that $300 we've got in 1911 today gives two more.

Can I book the code?

I think that's how many months go how many people can do that.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

It looks like the physical collection uh circulation, but a month to about 90%.

Do you know people remain for about two days?

19% of books.

But if it's buyer, but it'll do whatever.

But it's easier to do.

So the other is two or three months.

Through just refreshments, we've got one Emily Henry audiobook is $95.

And how many checkouts is that?

Or uh or you can buy a copy for just 12 months for 4750.

Uh so we currently, Emily Henry's most recent book.

We currently have nine checks.

She's a really popular romance book.

Oh, no wonder I'm best selling.

People read her books, they take about two days to listen to, maybe.

So if we have one, we have to buy the colour.

That's okay.

I don't think about working for the book club, but it's I may never get there, yeah.

I'm hoping that.

But it's it's something that turns over fast.

They pick up both pick them up off the quick flips, they read it, they bring it back.

It doesn't take very long to read.

And then 95 is that just a copy the library can use forever, or is that a number of no that's $95?

We have um continuous use one person at a time.

Um, and then the 12 months is we have it for 12 months, regardless of how many people use it.

And again, it's one person can use it at a time.

We currently have 191 bolts on this.

And the whole ratio is 21 people per copy.

So it's a really long date.

So this 35,000 or 120,000 is roughly 100 bucks a piece, right?

So 1300 audiobooks.

Yeah.

So another thing, uh, so this week I'll be purchasing audiobooks.

Um right now in my card is 30 items and it's 2200 or 30 30 books.

We're talking about 135,000.

Not to add to your workload, but it appears on about two.

Um the next thing would be what how is that changed over like the last two or three years, right?

Because the inflation in materials, if there's all like academic materials, is crazy high, way above the CPI.

And so that's something that they need to at least be aware of.

And then add them will go and are we able to see this type of reporting for the other library?

Like, can we go online somewhere and get the state report or chat rebuilding 2024?

Yeah, it's probably all of them.

Yeah.

You can get the state report, you're not gonna get the stats in your head.

But one maybe they provide digital circulation.

Yeah, but we cut out.

I would be super easy to work with this.

But I don't know circulation.

Garden Petri.

Yeah, that's gonna be a self-company.

Yes, so you won't be able to do that.

They're just go does it.

Don't they have to do it?

Unless they're in the shape of those numbers, but I think on the state report it doesn't, yeah.

Not like by branch.

Um but it would be good.

So maybe it's put a service rate.

Yeah.

And I'm kind of good at you.

Maybe what we could do is ask that we do it by library card holder.

Because to be honest, that's been relatively equitable in the fact that you can't say I have the I'm being served by the whole county.

Because effectively we serve people in Steward Bill anyway, even though we don't get any money from the municipality, right?

But we're still serving them.

And we are getting county funding that's technically through that area, so it would still be permanent, you know, state definitions.

So I think maybe a better option would be to look based on number of registry users.

Yeah, service area is so fishy.

Well, it seems and if it's self-defined, I mean, that's not that seems I do think that we're gonna run into the fact that some people will have library cards to more than one place because of the Celco issue.

But that's why that means they're actually using the circulation there.

Who cares?

If they actually have two cards and they're using both of them, then that's fairly important on the formula.

Yeah, because it's a percentage allocation.

Once you calculate what percentage that is of the whole, that's each other out.

That's each other out.

And I will say, because I have to say this, but um, you know, the the county commissioners have said, you know, this is the money that we're in dividing on libraries, and you libraries can just figure it out is what the formula should be.

And that really is challenging because all libraries are providing really valuable services to the communities that that they're serving.

So um I would I would put it back on them, you know.

How would you how would you like to divide it to serve your community?

I would never give, I would if they ask the quote professional library staff effectively, right?

Because we're not going to do it as a board.

We're gonna, and I would assume most of the others would go.

I think you guys are probably in a better position to come up with something that's coherent and equitable than either appointed or elected boards.

Yeah.

So if they offer that a jump on yes, and have it be for you, you know.

But I do think I mean, but that is also tied to one percent of the levy.

Right.

There used to be a time when we were receiving 1.16% of the levy down to the one.

So when there's less of the pie to go around, it still is a cut for it's still cut, right?

And I get it, you know.

I mean, expenses are going up, and you know, hopefully at some point there's gonna be some property tax relief.

I think there's some coming from the state.

If I looked at my legislative update yesterday correctly, right?

Yeah, there is some.

So um we gotta live within our means to some extent, but if the resources that we're providing are then they're effectively here being used somewhat more effectively because we have an advantage of a mining sort of in bulk that the others can use as opposed to an atom set, otherwise everybody buys the same copy of whatever the hell it's author's name was.

Um this way we buy fewer in other still access.

So that's a good and to most start one of Steve's points.

We have a fiduciary committee to annotate for this library specifically.

But if you get together with the other librarians, you can be professionals about it.

So what is other up there?

Just so I'm clear.

I'm sorry.

Both outside the county.

Yeah, okay.

Yes, thank you.

Um, so other is anything outside of the county because anyone in the state of Minnesota can get cards.

So it includes folks that live outside of Olmsted County.

Um or visitors who sometimes do visitor cards.

Visitors will not be in our um digital because that was a board.

Yeah, but it would be in the logical office.

Yeah, interesting.

And then you'll see our registration is how we always break down between city and healthy county reciprocal is the Stuartville, Pine Island, Chapfield, St.

Charles, if they in Olmstead County.

Um other reciprocal is outside of Olmstead County, but in uh that would be just one other random thing is when they take St.

Charles, or they really just take them, or they're still writing the Olmstead versus Winnow.

That might be a conversation to have as well.

So I have a toddler meltdown apologies.

Good luck.

Well, didn't you want to stay here instead?

Would I like to use our separate questions?

Exactly.

Um so I will work with um Steve to finalize this letter and you'll get it settled and sent out to the county.

I think we've got the information we need to finalize this to send it on.

I do think that we need to look at this contract again though, and kind of for the future.

Do we need to absolutely there will need to be a new contract?

Uh county has uh acknowledged that as well that there was that they um yes, there will need to be a new contract.

I have a question that Adam's probably the right person to answer.

If they gave us notice six months in advance if the next contract is bad, if they didn't provide us any contract, then what?

So we now also need six months' notice to sign what or just do it automatically.

Once you give notice, then you give it notice, and then during that time you're supposed to create a new contract.

If you don't, then you have nothing at the end.

So it's in everybody's with definitely our best interest to have something.

I'm sort of some sort of agreement.

Yeah.

Yeah, if they gave notice the contract's up, it's just uh there's not.

Yeah, I don't like the auto and the whole buttons.

It's a different conversation still.

So yeah, I would like to discuss separately from the letter at some point where we make these cards if we need to, but hopefully you can just convince them to not do this.

That was it.

The most feedback.

I never talked, I've never had a question yet.

Yeah, that one is as I was thinking.

Do we have like a list of Spanish books for Spanish language learners there?

We could have like you know this for ESL folks, every language learns.

You can search it by but do we have like a you know, like a Pathfinder book list that hey, if you were gonna try to learn Spanish or Arabic or your good books to start with.

Yes and no.

Okay, because I couldn't find one, doesn't mean it's not there.

So we have a variety of book lists that we create.

Um often those book lists are like newer materials, not necessarily this is the good book to start with.

Right.

Um we in general work with our patrons to utilize the the catalog as was mentioned, or browsing.

Um we do provide Mango languages, which is a language learning platform, and we are um we are trying planning on transitioning to a different language learning resource that has very kids-specific language learning in that.

Um so yeah, we when we do outreach, we'll put together guides for people and say these are different types of resources, including print resources, including electronic resources.

Because it doesn't just be a person try to create a more welcoming environment.

On the website in the I think it's new to Rochester page, there is um resources for language language.

Do you have a go back researcher?

Thank you.

Down to the right near Rochester.

There are collection, like if you scroll down, there's world language materials here.

So really um highlighting those.

Right, but it's not like a curated list, like back in the day when you know we create Pathfinder and say these were the tools to go to.

Yeah, the collection changes so frequently.

We can purchase new materials so frequently, but the catalog here is the best most up to date.

So they just search ESL and find kind of ESL resources.

You're looking for the opposite.

You're Spanish language.

But I'm you know, when I'm I'm actually looking for like books in Spanish, not Spanish workbooks or does that make sense?

Or maybe that I need to find the old section, especially you can walk through and it's all in other section.

But like adults who are trying to learn Spanish are not necessarily gonna want to be in the kids' section.

And I'd be happy to take on tour and see um on the floor.

We have the world language of the materials for adults.

Yes, those are in the same area, and then in the 400s of the language learning.

So that is the more like um Spanish, English, English, French dictionaries, and study you through the hour.

And if I could, one thing that I had done at one time would be like I would check out like a Harry Potter or um some other book that would be like a a kids or young adults level book.

I would check it out in, I would go find it in this four language in the world language section.

You can recognize them by their by their lines.

So you know, it's like I recognize that book, and then check it out in the English version, and I read a chapter at a time out of each one to figure out if I understood it.

Um yeah, you can find a ton of books in Spanish that are just popular books.

I know there's a way to just click the language and browse through.

I'm just not gonna hard time.

Yeah, no, and no one can do that with Libby Bevin.

Yeah, if you scroll up just a little bit in the oh, too far.

Yeah if you scroll up just a little bit in the oh too far in the bottom of the barcode on the side you can say language and you can pick which language it's in and if you just search for like Harry Potter you can pick Italian or German or whatever.

You can read your romance novel in Spanish.

Emily Henry is waiting for you.

Yeah yeah uh probably not gonna just go ahead so all right other questions we have a motion to adjourn so I'm hungry thanks everybody's what women too honestly where you should