Board Meeting Minutes – 8/14/2023
The meeting started with an invocation and then the Pledge of Allegiance (Item 3).
Item 1- Call to Order: The meeting is called to order at 10:03 AM.
Item 2- Member Roll Call: Present are District Attorney Brian Kunzi, liaison Commissioner Frank Carbone, Chairman of the Board John Shewalter, Board of Trustee member Dave Ochenreider, Board of Trustee member Dee Mounts, and Board of Trustee member Matthew Morris, (Vice Chair Brian Shoemake was absent). Also present are Library Director Vanja Anderson, Head of Youth Services Alysha Wogee, Head of Reference Services Andrew Karneges, and Circulation Head Barbara Ferido. In addition, various members of the public are present.
Item 3- The Pledge of Allegiance was recited prior to the call to order.
Item 4- Trustee/Director/Liaison Comments:
Frank Carbone- He is going to Great Basin College this afternoon to see about creating educational opportunities at the college for people interested in librarianship. 
Vanja Anderson- None
Board- None
Item 5- Approval of the Agenda: Item 7 (Emergency Items) was stricken from the agenda. John Shewalter states that items 13 through 19 will be consolidated for expediency.
Item 6- General Public Comment:
Lora Stewart- She loves libraries. She first came to the Pahrump library in the late 1980s. She loves to visit different libraries when traveling. She comes from a family of educators. Libraries are not only important to our children but the entire community. States that the members of the Board have a business background and that the next time there is a vacancy on the Board, it should be filled by someone with a background in education or librarianship.
Barbara Adams- Starts to read a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union to the Board about cataloging controversial books. John Shewalter interrupts her saying that this topic is an agenda item and to hold her comments until we get to that item on the agenda.
Carolene Logue- Referring to last month’s Treasurer’s report, she appreciates that the Board is diligent with what is being spent and how it is being reported. She also commends the staff for their clarity in what is happening financially at the library. There appears to be micromanaging of the staff by the Board. Says preparation by the Board needs to be done beforehand to better understand some of the line items and not try to infer that it's mistakes made in the expenditures.
Kelly Green- She expresses her concern with the Board directing library staff to investigate controversial material. John Shewalter interrupts and tells her to hold her comments until we get to that specific agenda item. She asks if the public will be able to make their comments on the agenda item before or after the Board discusses it. Shewalter responds “before.” Shewalter explains that the order is: motion, second, public comment, Board deliberation, vote.
Item 8- Approval of the Minutes: John Shewalter makes a motion to approve the minutes of the July 10, 2023 Library Board of Trustees meeting. Dee Mounts seconds the motion.
No public or Board comments were made. Minutes are approved 4-0.
Item 9- Presentation of Treasurer’s Report: Vanja Anderson presented the treasurer's report on expenditures for July 2023, as found in the backup. John Shewalter asks about the Computer Assistance charge on the expense report, asks if it is Network Savants. Vanja confirms that it is. None of the other Board members have questions or comments.
Item 10- Approval of the Vouchers
Dave Ochenreider makes a motion to approve the vouchers for July 2023 through August 2023. Matt Morris seconds the motion.
There were no public comments.
Board comments:
John Shewalter asks about the Mastercraft Electronics charge. Vanja Anderson says that we are replacing two old cameras and we are adding some additional cameras.
The measure passes 4-0.
Item 11- Presentation of Librarian’s Report:
Vanja Anderson reads her report that can be found in the backup.
John Shewalter asks about the difference between passive and active programming. Vanja explains that passive programming is an activity like the puzzle table where patrons can go up and participate whenever they want whereas active programming is an event that is led by someone.
Alysha Wogee reports the statistics for July 2023 which can be found in the backup.
Item 12- For Possible Action: Library Director to present her findings based upon the Library Director’s research on how other libraries are cataloging controversial books dedicated to youth services, including but not limited to books relating to race, gender and sexuality.
Library Director Vanja Anderson created a survey and sent it out on a listserv of people who work in libraries. She received 43 responses. Vanja presents the findings of the survey which can be seen below.

(See Attached Back up)

John Shewalter commends Vanja on her work in gathering this information.
Public comments:
Barbara Adams- She continues reading the letter that she had started reading during General Public Comment (Item 6) when she was interrupted and told to hold her comments until this item (Item 12). She says it is the duty of public libraries to serve as bastions of intellectual freedom and not as gatekeepers of controversial ideas. Singling out certain books as controversial, the library risks violating the Nevada Equal Rights Amendment. 
Kelly Green- She is a former school librarian. Concerned about re-cataloging certain books as it is a slippery slope. She says that before books are published they're first sent to the Library of Congress, which is where descriptions of the contents and age suitability are decided. This is how libraries catalog them and decide where to put them on the shelf. She says she's heard insinuations from people that there's a conspiracy to place unsuitable books in the kids section. No librarian in the country has an agenda like this. Libraries will have books that are offensive to some people but librarians are not the thought police and cannot act as parents. It is up to parents to supervise what their child is reading.
Jenny Okawa- She says she agrees with the previous speaker Ms. Green. She is concerned about who would decide which books are controversial. This is a taxpayer funded library and everyone should be able to choose what they want to read. It's the parents decision what is appropriate for their kids.
Carolene Logue- She appreciates the efforts of the staff to make the library a safe and inclusive place for people to come to. She says there is almost a national war to eliminate certain subjects from the knowledge base of our people. But we have resources to help promote freedom of speech. One of those is the American Library Association Intellectual Freedom Manual. Thanks Vanja for her presentation.
Board comments:
John Shewalter says that it is the publishers who determine the reading levels of the books. He says that this item is not open for action so it is going to be closed. Action is not going to be taken on this item today. He thanks Vanja for her presentation.
Item 13- Library Director’s review of the Pahrump Community Library Personnel Policy Manual and recommended changes to the Board.
Item 14- Status of the microschooling program.
Item 15- Status of the Bookmobile program.
Item 16- Implementation of a staff succession training program.
Item 17- Network Systems Data Security Enhancement Proposal with Network Savant’s LLC.
Item 18- HVAC maintenance contract with JonAire, Inc.
Item 19- Posting of agendas and minutes on the Pahrump Community Library’s website. 
John Shewalter opens Items 13-19. He says action won't be taken on these items but they are open for discussion. He opens public comment and says that any of these items can be commented upon because they are all open.  
Carolene Logue- She asks Board to please clarify how they want public to address items.
John Shewalter says that any of these items can be commented upon because all are open. Speakers have 3 total minutes to speak (not 3 minutes for each item).
Carolene Logue- These items on the agenda as a group are vital issues. Each one has the need for deliberation not just a 3 minute comment. She requests that they be tabled so that they can be brought back individually for discussion.
Jenny Okawa- Agrees with Ms. Logue. She says she wanted information about microschooling (Item 14) but when she clicked on it, it took her to the July meeting minutes. She doesn't understand how public can make comments on any of these items with no information about them.
Board comments:
John Shewalter says that the microschooling program has been in discussion for two years. He says action is not being taken on these items today. We are having a discussion about the status of them. This is just a follow up to items that have been being worked on for some time. He asks Vanja if the HVAC people have come in to do maintenance. Vanja says she doesn't have an invoice for maintenance. Shewalter says that there was a public comment about not being able to find some previous agendas and minutes on the website. Shewalter asks if this has been corrected. Vanja replies that she doesn't know. 
Shewalter states that implementation of a succession training program was assigned to Vanja some time ago, so each department head would understand other departments and what other department heads do so they could stand in for them. Vanja replies that cross training between Circulation and Refence has occurred. And next month, Vanja will teach Shanna and Alysha how to process bills so they can do that if Vanja is out. Shewalter asks Andrew Karneges if he would be able to take over the children’s department and he responds that he would not be able to. Dave Ochenreider says each level should be trained for the next level. This allows people to take vacations because others can do the job. Also, if we unexpectedly lose someone, someone needs to be able to step in. John Shewalter asks about the issue with all employees having the same login for Destiny. Vanja replies that this has been corrected and all employees now have unique logins. 
Shewalter says that the Bookmobile project was assigned to Vanja and former Trustee Kameron Mitchell. When Kameron left the board that left the Bookmobile project to Vanja alone. Shewalter asks how much of a response we've gotten from the Bookmobile survey on the website. Vanja says we need to try to get more people to do the survey by putting it on the library Facebook page and also handing it out more aggressively at the desks. Shewalter asks about an e-mail from Hilary (which can be found in the backup) to Vanja. Vanja says she wanted to make sure that we have the funds. Hilary said steps still need to be taken. Shewalter says it seems like there's no enthusiasm to get the Bookmobile project done. Vanja replies that we can't move ahead with the Bookmobile project until we have the fund.
Shewalter asks if the microschooling program is just two hours per session, 4 hours per month. Vanja replies that we're seeing what the interest level is and we'll adapt as we go along. Shewalter says that there also seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for this project. Shewalter says he wants to sit down with Vanja, Alysha, and the microschooling people and have a meeting.
Dave Ochenreider asks if the HVAC company has been responsive. Vanja responds that yes, they have been very responsive. Ochenreider expresses his concern that the Bookmobile is financially expensive and also would require manpower to operate and how do we implement the Bookmobile project without impacting other activities. Vanja says one consideration is if we use the fund to purchase the Bookmobile or not. Ochenreider asks if we would need to hire additional staff to operate the Bookmobile. Vanja says that there is someone on staff who is willing to drive it and we would need to hire another person in reference part time.
Dee Mounts asks if we can buy the Bookmobile with the $500,000. Vanja says she is not sure if the $500,000 would allow us to buy the Bookmobile or just fund it. Mounts says that if we don’t get the Bookmobile project moving this year, the project should be shut down. She wants to see the microschooling project succeed. Asks Vanja what has been done on the microschooling project. Vanja says that the first get-together is tomorrow and we'll see what the level of interest is. John Shewalter says that the board was interested in creating a microschool and presentations were made and meetings were had but nothing happened. Shewalter thinks the reason the microschool project is not moving along is because the library staff don't like the idea. The Board wants to make sure that kids who do not go to conventional school are supported. Shewalter says he was given authority by the Board to get more involved in this and he will.
Matt Morris asks if JonAire has come to do any service. Vanja says that all they have done is change the location of the thermostat. Morris asks if they have done anything else or if they have a date when they will be coming in. Vanja says she will follow up with them to see when they are coming in.
John Shewalter asks Vanja to go over the updates to the personnel policy. Vanja goes over the personnel policy which can be found in the backup. Everything written in red on the personnel policy are modifications made by Vanja. IT Services is a newly created position that is part of Reference Services currently occupied by Kraven Betancourt. Position description was created by Kraven and Vanja. John Shewalter asks about the CompTIA certifications requirement for the IT Services position. Andrew Karneges explains that Kraven has completed one certification and is planning on completing three more. Shewalter asks if this new position is designed to replace Chris Marini (our outside IT contact). Vanja says no, this position description is to show that the person in this position (currently Kraven) has the certifications to do basic computer services but not to replace Chris who has much more education and experience in IT. Dave Ochenreider suggests that there should be a timeline for Kraven to complete these certifications. Shewalter notices that the Reference Head position requires three years of library experience with supervisory experience but the Youth Department Head position does not require library experience and he asks Vanja to consider modifying these requirements. Regarding the Director job description, Vanja says she didn't make any changes because it is her job and she left it for the Board to discuss and make any changes. John Shewalter responds to Vanja that it is her responsibility to update her job description not the Board’s.
Brian Kunzi says to Matt Morris regarding the HVAC contract, if there are issues with compliance to keep him in the loop.
John Shewalter says that Items 13-19 will be closed without action.
Item 20- Trustee/Director/Liaison Comments:
Frank Carbone says he is concerned that when people are talking without the microphone the recorders may not be picking it up and for people to make sure that they identify themselves when talking.
Dee Mounts thanks Vanja for a great job and thanks Andrew for doing the meeting minutes.
John Shewalter says it is the responsibility of the Board to oversee the library. It is the responsibility of the Board to make sure that the policies that are set are being implemented. The library is publicly funded and it brings in a lot of money and the Board is going to make sure it is used properly. Shewalter says that if we don't have something going on with the Bookmobile by the end of the year he is going to shut down the project. Shewalter says that next month he will be introducing an item to discuss the library’s relationship with the American Library Association (ALA).
Item 21- Adjournment at 12:03 PM.

ARCHIVED MINUTES

AGENDA FOR AUGUST 14, 2023