International Falls Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
December 10th, 2025
Present: Diane Adams – Library Director, Will Frank, Sasha Moss, Heather Weaver, Katie Winkel, Maggie Horning, Mona Johnson, Cynthia Adams
Meeting was called to order at 4:28 pm by Frank.
Minutes – Johnson moved and Weaver seconded to approve the November 2025 minutes. All approved.
Bills – Horning moved and Winkel seconded to approve the December 2025 bills. All approved.
Director’s Report – November circulation was not very good. Physical circulation is now 6% below year to date compared to last year. Adding in digital circulation we are within 50 items of last year’s year-to-date. I continue to look for additional ways to measure what we are doing for the community and the people utilizing our facility beyond checking out physical items from the building. We estimate that we saw about 7,000 more people in the building in the past year, and answered about 800 more reference questions than 2024.
We had a small, but wonderful group attend the Greg Tiburzi Songs of Mesabi concert on a cold, gloppy night. Storytime continues weekly with attendance ranging from 15 – 30, Elementary Fun had 12 and Crafters’ Cafe had 15 on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
This year for the holiday the library has just put out the coffee and hot water for tea or cocoa and encourages folks to sit a while and enjoy a beverage and a treat. It has been fun to hear comments about what a good idea and that they want to come back when they have more time.
It has been a busy month and I still need to reach out to Voyageurs Conservancy to schedule a program in the new year about birding up here. I also have someone from the Daughters of the American Revolution in presenting to kids about Colonial America. The cataloging portion of the catalog currently has a bug and we are unable to download new cataloging records, so a lot of time has been spent creating simple cataloging records, keeping track of those records so they can be fixed at a later date as we have been receiving books from our new distributor after a six week gap in getting new books and had a lot of titles that people were waiting for.
Old Business: During the month of December there will be hot water on for beverages and treats available. Storytime continues until December 18, then takes a break until January 8th. Crafters’ Café has a nice group that meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. We are working with Falls Elementary school again for the winter reading program and encouraging kids to read 60 of 70 days between December 20 and February 28. There will be a January takeout craft from ALS using Legacy funds. The 2026 reading challenge will be using the ALS winter reading Passport for the whole year. Read three books in 10 different genres.
We still need to present a second program with our Flight Path grant and will be working with Voyageurs Conservancy for a bird watching program in the new year. We have been approached by someone with the Daughters of the American Revolution who would like to present a program in the spring.
The budget picture is fairly settled. We are budgeted to receive $8,000 from the County and the city councilors seem okay with our requested funding.
New Business: Frank moved and Johnson seconded to approve staff pay rates for 2026 based on budget proposal. All approved. Frank signed a letter for the city administrator stating staff salaries.
Friends of the Library book sale is Wednesday, January 7th from 3 –5 pm.
What are you reading? Mona worked with a class at St Thomas over the last month and has read much of the material we have on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The class was delighted and created amazing reports. Maggie is reading Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan and View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani. Heather is enjoying a Vintage Christmas a collection of short stories and poems while Sasha is reading the Sy Montgomery memoir How to Be a Good Creature. Will has picked up Red Scare: blacklists, McCarthyism and the making of modern America by Clay Risen and Cindy recommends America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Drey and The Little Parish Bookshop by Nina George. Katie is enjoying Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten and Diane is trying to read Generative AI and Libraries by Michael Hanegan and Chris Rosser and for fun is reading Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty.
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th, 4:30 pm
Meeting adjourned at 5:10 pm.