City Council Meeting Date: October 18, 2016
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Teresa Jensen, Director of Library and IT Services
Title
Consider acceptance for the Minneapolis Foundation funding for a Library Bookmobile, funding for a Bookmobile collection and funding for a part-time Outreach Coordinator Librarian position.
Body
Action Requested:
Staff recommends a motion to accept a monetary gift from the Minneapolis Foundation for partial funding of a new Library Bookmobile, partial funding for a Bookmobile collection and full funding of a half-time Outreach Coordinator Librarian position for two years.
Summary Report:
The Northfield Public Library serves the City of Northfield and surrounding rural areas with a service population of approximately 27,000. The City has provided Bookmobile services since 1999 to people beyond the walls of the Library to service populations unable to visit the Library on a regular basis. In the past, this has included service to surrounding townships, as well as to day care facilities, K-12 schools and senior care facilities. Bookmobile services in recent years has been curtailed, first, with the reorganization of the Bookmobile Librarian position in 2010, and second, with the unreliability of the Bookmobile itself. Operationally, it takes 2 staff members to take the current Bookmobile on Outreach visits to schools, daycares, senior care facilities and event venues.
In Spring of 2016, Director Jensen was contacted by a representative of the Minneapolis (Mpls) Foundation who represented a donor wishing to fund worthy causes in Northfield that would benefit the citizens of our town, but in such a way that their contribution leveraged additional funding from the City and from organizations and individuals locally. Jensen proposed a package that included partial funding of a new Bookmobile for the City, partial funding for a Bookmobile collection and full funding for two years for a half-time Outreach S...
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