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DIRECTOR'S REPORT
January 2008

    Director’s Report and Highlights

    January 15, 2008 Bellingham Public Library
    Pamela Nyberg Kiesner, Director Bellingham, Washington
    Happy New Year!
    Bellingham Public Library Board of Trustees regular meeting on
    January 15, 2008 begins at 2:00 p.m.


    Welcome to Jack Weiss
    Welcome to our new City Council liaison from Ward 1, Jack Weiss. Jack has shown an abiding interest in the library and has been a familiar presence at our Library Board meetings. We look forward to continuing that great connection between our two governing bodies.


    Bond questions
    Guests at the meeting to answer your questions include: Deborah Winter, Bond Counsel from Foster Pepper; Joan Hoisington, City Attorney; John Carter, incoming City Finance Director; and Jason Kuest, Interim Finance Director & current Budget Director.

    Questions that were raised at your previous meeting include:
    1. Exactly what can be bonded for?
    2. How soon does the funding need to be spent?
    3. What should the timing of the bond be?
    4. What is the amount of bond?
    5. What are the advantages of a bond versus a levy lid lift?

    Please let me know if there are other questions we'd like the bond counsel to address.


    Timeline
    The timeline that we have been working towards for the last year includes these next steps:
      February 4, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
      Joint work session of Library Board and City Council, with consultants
      Open public session, City Council Chambers

      February 19, 2008
      Information/ballot language, ready for City Council packet

      February 25, 2008
      1st and 2nd reading of ballot measure – City Council

      March 3, 2008
      3rd reading of ballot measure – City Council

      March 28
      Deadline for May 20th special election

    2007 Performance & Activity Measures Record-breaking
    · Circulation of library materials for 2007 was up by 6.5%, nearly reaching 1.3 million items;
    · Persons visiting the libraries was up 9.6% to 816,302.
    · Website visits are up over 17% to 277,000.

    Congratulations to the community for their continued love for learning, reading, viewing – and congratulations to the staff for sustaining their usual high level of customer service as use continued to climb during the year!


    Also in your packet:

    New Phone System:
    I’ve included a memo from our IT Director about the new citywide phone system. The Library is part of this project; our new numbers and phone improvements go into effect in February. Iris Kaneshige is the library’s representative on the citywide committee, and has done a wonderful job on this complicated project.

    Our main number will be 778-READ (778-7323)!