On Thursday, Feb. 16 the Plains Public Library held its monthly board meeting at the library at 7 p.m. Board members present for the meeting included Chairman Andrew Gonzalez, Vice Chairman Lisa Fried de Reyes, Don Stamm, Judy Hawley and Library Director Carrie Terrell.

The library board discussed the current internet usage as becoming more challenging and “off the charts” at times. Terrell stated, “ Sometimes the patrons notice when there is a brown out and the router is on.” The library board discussed that the router is working and not receiving or sending data because of the amount of use. The board members discussed they may need to purchase a new router or change their Internet options with their provider. Terrell continued, “Things have picked up after the first of the year. The library is in the process of going through an independent audit by Terry Burke, who does the audits for the city of Plains.” The audit is a yearly event that takes a few months and the final results will be sent to the city, county, and state.

The Plains Public Library has an interlibrary loan program that has been in place for years. There was a lengthy discussion about patrons placing items on hold and then forgetting or not picking up the item for various reasons. The library director and board are concerned about how much that is costing the library and impacting their budget, as the items are sent to the library and have to be returned if not picked up by library patrons. Terrell and Gonzalez stated, “The library patrons can help manage their accounts better by taking the hold off the book or other item if they have bought it or no longer interested in that item.”

Library fines were also being discussed as well as the use of the library cards costing each library. The board and library director discussed on how other libraries in Montana are dealing with the unpaid fines and possibly changing library cards. There was no motion or vote on the matter and it may be addressed during future meetings.

The summer reading program is now on the minds of the library board, director, and staff. There was not much discussion about the program since there were more immediate concerns for the board to discuss and decide upon.

The library received more taxes recently and was told not to spend any of that money, as the Sanders County Treasurer’s office had staff turnover and there were some mistakes made by staff. The Sanders County Treasurer is going through an audit at this time.

Judy Hawley brought in 4 large books that are bound in leather and may be a good reference for the library. The library discussed that to recover the each book would cost between $200- $1,000 each and the cost is not within the current budget. It was recommended that the four books may benefit or of interest to the Paradise Center and the museum they are creating.

The small stock heater in the front pond for the Goldfish has been damaged several times from people throwing rocks at the pond. The repair and replacement of the heater takes time and money from the library budget that could be used for materials and services.

In September 2018 the Plains Public Library will celebrate 100 years of service to Plains. The library board has been looking at and working on creating 100 free bags that will be given to the first 100 patrons. The design of the bags is a mystery and will be revealed within the next year. More specific information about the date of the celebration and the bags will be provided to the public in the future.

Reporter Douglas Wilks can be reached at [email protected] or 406-826-3402.