McClelland talks recent excitement at PCPL

Even among continual movement of improvements and exploration with programs at the Putnam County Public Library, there will be mishaps every so often.

Director Matt Clelland spoke to this in his monthly report to the library’s board of trustees at its regular meeting on Wednesday.

McClelland related to the board that PCPL will feature two new digital resources available to patrons for genealogy projects. This includes Fold3, a database that holds military records, photos and narratives, and Newspapers.com, which archives old and new publications.

“A lot of our staff is very excited at it; I think our patrons will be as well,” McClelland said. “Particularly the growing number of people in the summertime who come and do genealogy work and email questions.”

As to the mishap part, McClelland related how the library’s fire alarm system malfunctioned twice on Jan. 13. He noted that the alarm indicated that there was a fire in a mechanical area.

As was reported by the Greencastle Fire Department, it was found the dispatches were due to issues with the alarm panel.

“To the fire department’s credit, they were here very quickly,” McClelland commented earnestly. “They used the key that was available to them and didn’t break any doors or windows. I know we were a real pain in their rear end when that went off.”

McClelland assured that repairs to the system have held up and no more alarms have occurred since.

In other business:

• The board adopted a resolution setting the library’s fee for non-resident patron cards at $30. The fee is unchanged from 2023. The fee is determined and recommended by the Indiana State Library.

• The board adopted a resolution reapproving Asst. Director Jane Hazelton as its treasurer. The renewal is an annual one.

• The board approved several money transfers between funds to reconcile the library’s operating budget for 2023.

The following transfers were made from the library’s budget for furniture and equipment:

— $499.80 to librarian salaries;

— $40.71 to payroll;

— $586.48 to PERF;

— $600 to other employee benefits;

— $191.19 to other operating supplies;

— $941.18 to material supplies;

— $5,398.47 to e-book services;

— $161.95 to printing;

­— $250.28 to water and sewage;

­­— $249.84 to waste disposal;

— $6,534.77 to building and structural repairs; and

— $12,014.19 to transfers to the Rainy Day Fund.

The following transfer was made from the library’s electricity budget, with it being noted that PCPL saw significant savings compared to 2022:

— $13,899 to the Rainy Day Fund.

The following transfers were made from the library’s budget for other professional services:

— $4,086.84 to transfers to the Rainy Day Fund;

— $294.47 to monthly bank charges;

— $1,424.03 to to books; and

­— $183.43 to propane.

• The board approved a resolution to adopt the library’s wage schedule for 2024.

Of note to this action, the board approved wage adjustments for cost of living last month. These were weighted toward part-time staff.

“I want to give our staff as much as possible,” board member Barbara Boese commented before the approval. “We finally have some great stability in our staff. I would like to see it stay that way.”

• Having received an engagement letter for the same, the board approved renewing Hammer & Swigart to track the library’s financials.

With Board President Kayla Flegal and Board Vice President Kristin McClellan absent, McClelland virtually joined Hazelton and the rest of the board for the meeting.

The next regular meeting of the Library Board is set for Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. in the Kiwanis Room at the library.