The River Falls Public Library held its regular board meeting this past Monday, April 6th via the Go To Meeting app. Present for the meeting were President Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Wing, Ruth Kuss, Janet Johnson, Diane Odeen, Kari Heinselman, Secretary Jean Ritzinger, Wayne Roen, Joyce Breen, Library Director Tanya Misselt, and Kim Kiiskinen. The meeting was called to order by the Board President, and quorum was established, as was the meeting’s compliance with open meeting laws regarding proper notice. The biggest news on the agenda was the Director’s report, presented by Misselt.

In her update for the months of March and April, Director Misselt reported that the River Falls Public Library had started full implementation of No Contact Curbside Pickup on Tuesday, April 28, and was making minor changes on a system level as new information was received, in order to improve the library’s service delivery. Curbside pickup is by prior reservation only and priority will be given to items requested on or before March 16, with items requested after March 16 filled once the requests on or prior to this date are completed. June 3, 2020 is the due date for all checkout materials, with the library website with more information at https://www.riverfallpubliclibrary.org/.

In order to request items online, River Falls library patrons can go to www.more.lib.wi.us and search for items currently available at the River Falls Public Library, placing a hold on them. Once the hold is filled, a library staff member will contact the patron to schedule a pickup time, with “curbside pickup only” stalls being designated in the parking lot. Those patrons without internet access can also call the library at 715-307-2493 or 715-307-2610 for assistance. Items will be placed on a table outside in a paper bag that has been assigned an alias consisting of the first two letters of library patrons’ last and first names, along with the last four digits on their PHONE NUMBER.

Pickup time for those with high risk (immunocompromised) or who have special needs will be from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. Monday to Friday, with all other patrons able to pick up their materials from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.

In addition to curbside pickup procedure, Misselt further reported that all library employees had returned to work, with the resignation of a clerk who primary task was to complete processing of new material purchased for circulation, with the secondary responsibility to monitor the gallery. The clerk position will remain unfilled until the City has lifted its hiring freeze, Misselt reported.

Meanwhile, as the Event and Gallery Coordinator, Cole Zrostlik was reported to be working fulltime to facilitate online library support and engagement for the community, and is the lead staff member in marketing efforts, including the library’s Facebook presence. Zrostlik had been sending out library newsletters to patrons via email, Misselt said.

Regarding the Children’s section of the library, Misselt reported that Children’s Librarian Monica LaVold had sent out an email survey to 6,000 library patrons which received about 300 responses. The eight chief things reported by survey respondents were as follows: 1) wanting access to the library’s physical material collections 2) missing coming to the library 3) being lonely or stressed 4) looking for things to do at home 5) wanting ideas for engaging children at home 6) needing to learn how to access digital library collections 7) learning online meeting applications 8) wanting access to computers Survey respondents who provided staff with their email got a direct email reply, Misselt reported. A general response to patrons was also sent out. With the exception of wanting computers, library staff connected patrons with resources as requested.

In addition to the survey, Misselt reported on a program run by Zrostlik and LaVold through the app Flipgrid and marketed as local “Celebrity Storytime.” Those who read books as part of “Celebrity Storytime” were “the (City) mayor, school principals, teachers, students, library staff, Wisconsin Senator Patty Schachtner, chapter book author Jacqueline West,” and the Library Board President, Rebecca Ferguson.

In addition, an anonymous donor gave $1,000 to Fox Den Used Books in recognition of National Library Week, and in response the bookstore offered $10.000 gift cards to those who shared what they loved about the River Falls Public Library by story or by photo.

In other library news, a virtual poetry workshop was also hosed by Zrostlik and led by UWStout professor, Dr. Daniel Ruefman, with eleven patrons participating. Dr. Ruefman was noted to be “fun and engaging” as a speaker. The library had made outreach with an email newsletter to teens, and the Division for Libraries and Technology was reported to be supporting libraries and their users in the COVID-19 pandemic with an online reading challenge. Weeding and tagging of library materials started on Monday, April 20 and is on track to finish this September 1st, unless there are additional interruptions over the summer. During the present closure of inside services at the River Falls Public Library, the Facilities Department hired a local electrician to complete the library’s conversion to LED lighting, with most project materials purchased in 2018 or early 2019, per the Director Misselt’s report.