PCPL board takes care of maintenance issues

The Putnam County Public Library board held its annual monthly meeting on Wednesday evening where board members discussed several routine maintenance issues.

The library once again saw decreases in key areas such as circulation, in particular the periodicals, which were down by nearly 30 percent.

In recent months the library has been having issues of theft and the board recently decided to barcode the periodicals in hopes of finding a solution to the issue. This is believed to have helped the situation.

The number may have decreased also due to having fewer subscriptions to different periodicals.

The door count for the month of August was also down by seven percent along with the Internet usage being down by 10 percent. However, the library saw an increase in bookmobile patrons, which was up nearly 21 percent.

Library Director Alice Greenburg updated the board on the status of the e-books, which will soon be available to more users.

"The Adobe software system will be up soon," explained Greenburg. "This will expand the number of readers able to use the system."

It is expected that the Adobe system will allow for Nook tablets along with several tablets, including the Sony readers to use the system. However, software for the Kindle is still not available.

Greenburg also informed the board that the annual fire inspection was completed on Aug. 20. Two emergency lights were replaced, following the initial inspection. A re-inspection was completed the following week.

The board approved the hiring AA Huber and Sons to do preventative maintenance on the HVAC system.

"We have worked together for a long time," said Greenburg. "There will be no increase in price this year."

Maintenance on the system will be done in both the fall and the spring. The cost will be $3,279 for the year.

The board also decided to renew its insurance with Cincinnati Insurance, which is the current carrier. The existing insurance is due to expire on Oct. 11 after a three-year contract.

The new policy will again go for three years and will include a $5,000 deductible. The decision was made to lock in for three years for fear prices would increase within the coming year, as it has gone up nearly 17 percent since the library last renewed.

The library will pay $8,055 per year with an annual premium savings of $1,106.

Ending the meeting was the approval for a leave of absence for Jean Walter, which was approved.

Also, Greenburg updated the board that Bookmobile driver Bonnie Hemmerling resigned and the library is currently reviewing applications for a replacement.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.