August Library Board Minutes
Friends’ Report: Friends will meet on August 24.
The Oelwein Public Library Board of Trustees will meet on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the Oelwein Public Library.
AGENDA
Roll Call
Agenda Approved
Minutes Approved
Correspondence and communications –
Trustee Training: Culture of Learning- Part 1
Director’s Report: Program attendance, HVAC repaired, Enrich Iowa report, Supervisor’s report
Friends’ Report:
Bills Approved:
Unfinished Business
New Business
Estimate for Windowsill Repair
Window Cleaning
Resignation of Assistant Director
Resignation of Director
Passport Acceptance Facility
End Year Budget
ILA Conference
Policy Review: Confidentiality of Library Records
Adjournment
July (Note: July 2025 was RAGBRAI in Oelwein)
Circulation: Computer Use: Reference Questions:
26 July: 3925 26 July: 96 Wireless: 557 26 July: 517
25 July: 3931 25 July: 120 Wireless: 1135 25 July: 451
Attendance: New Patrons: Program Attendance: Passports:
26 July: 2121 26 July: 20 26 June: 28 26 June: 12
25 July: 2882 25 July: 18 25 June: 181 25 June: 11
Acquisitions: BRIDGES Downloads: 624
Books 118 eBooks: 256
Movies 1 Audio: 340
eMagazines: 28
Culture of Learning
There are two significant education-related Public Library Standards required at a minimum level:
[2]: All members of the library board of trustees participate in a variety of board development training each year. The recommended average is five hours per year per trustee.
The Oelwein Public Library Board of Trustees met on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the Oelwein Public Library.
Present: Franzen, VanDenHul, Solsma, Ingersoll, and Macken
Absent: Kerns, Payne
President VanDenHul called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Agenda Approved: Ingersoll made a motion to approve the agenda. Seconded by Franzen. Motion carried.
Minutes Approved: Ingersoll made a motion to approve the minutes. Seconded by Solsma. Motion carried.
Correspondence and communications: Fayette County Extension sent a thank you for the use of the meeting room for their summer day camp.
Trustee Training: Culture of Learning- All trustees need to participate in an average of five hours of board development training each year.
Director’s Report:
· Programs:
o Staff attended Little Huskies daycare and read to 59 children from infants to 8-year-olds.
o Fontana Naturalists gave a program on Monarch butterflies. Four children and five adults attended. Two caterpillars are at the library. We will be able to see the stages of change until we have Monarchs.
o The Garbage Truck program is on August 14 at 10:00.
o Legos will be August 17 at 10:00.
· The HVAC coil was able to be repaired.
· The Enrich Iowa report was sent to the State Library on how the $2,533 in state funds was spent. Part of these funds were used to purchase the 3-D printer.
· The letter was sent to the County Supervisor’s reporting on how our county appropriation of $28,593 was spent. Most of these funds were used to purchase books and other library materials.
· Biblionix, the circulation system we have been using for years, was acquired by Soutron Global.
· The twenty-year sprinkler test failed, which means that all 187 sprinklers will need to be replaced. It is recommended that all are done at the same time so that the sprinklers are on the same cycle. A phased change would need to be approved by the Oelwein Fire Marshall. Blackhawk Sprinklers will be sending a quote.
· The director will be on vacation August 13-19.
Bills Approved: Franzen made a motion to approve the list of bills. Seconded by Solsma. Motion carried.
Unfinished Business: None.
New Business:
Estimate for Windowsill Repair: Miller’s Construction submitted an estimate for $2,642.81 for replacing the interior windowsills on the east side of the building using Fiberon “Espresso” deck board. Ingersoll made a motion to approve the estimate. Seconded by Solsma. Motion carried.
Window Cleaning: Streak Free Window Cleaning cleaned the windows in November 2025. The estimate for cleaning perimeter windows is $785.00. The Library Board would like to re-evaluate the need for cleaning in the spring.
Resignation of Assistant Director: Katie Harris will be resigning as Assistant Director on November 3, 2026. She has worked at the library for 19 years with 14 years as Assistant Director. Lori Hahn will be promoted to this position.
Resignation of Director: A letter of resignation due to retirement from the Library Director was submitted to the Library Board of Trustees, Mayor, City Council, and City Administrator effective April 2, 2027. The Library Board would like to include the City Administrator, the Assistant Director, and the Vice-president of the Friends of the Library on the search committee. Work sessions will be scheduled to meet after the library board meetings.
Passport Acceptance Facility: The new Assistant Director will be training and testing to become a Passport Acceptance Agent. The remaining agents will be recertified. Upon the Director’s retirement, a new Facility Manager will need to be assigned.
End Year Budget: The board reviewed the end-year totals for Revenues, Materials Budget, the Bequest Fund, the Library Foundation, and the Friends of the Library.
ILA Conference: The Iowa Library Association Conference will be held in Cedar Rapids October 7-9. The Director and Assistant Director will be attending.
Policy Review: Ingersoll made a motion to approve the Confidentiality of Library Records policy as reviewed. Seconded by Solsma. Motion carried.
Adjournment: Franzen made a motion to adjourn at 6:27.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Macken
The next library board meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 9 at 5:30 p.m. followed by a work session for hiring a Library Director at 6:30 p.m.