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Jefferson County Public Library

Meeting Minutes

April 2026

Approved 5/14/26

Jefferson County Public Library Board of Trustees
420 W. Main St., Madison, IN 47250
April 9, 2026

Present: Kelly Joyce, President; Mary Kay Butler, Vice-President; Joy Culp, Treasurer; Kathy Crafton, Board Member; Kathy Rosenberg, Board Member; Robyn Ryle, Board Member; Judi Terpening, Director; Jess McAlister, Assistant Director, Wil Goering, Library Attorney. Rob Barlow, Co-Counsel. 

Not Present: Board members Sally Wurtz and Terry Phillips. 

President Joyce opened the regular meeting at 4:21 P.M. Butler was appointed Secretary Pro-Tem.

Approval of Agenda

Butler made a motion to approve the agenda. Crafton seconded. Motion carried.

Approval of Minutes

Crafton made a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes from March 12, 2026 as presented. Butler seconded. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report & Approval of Claims
March 13 through April 9, 2026

  • Operating Fund expenditures were $155,739.21. Expenditures from all funds were $177,628.21. Operating Fund receipts were $2,631.12. Total receipts to all funds were $32,750.63. Balance in the Operating Fund as of April 9 was $896,789.73. Total bank balance was $1,668,675.20.

  • 2 Expenditures over $6,000:

    • $11,676.06 to Jefferson County Treasurer for health insurance premiums.

    • $6,525.00 to Sandusky for box gutter reseal and repair at Madison & gutter repair at Hanover.

    • $20,061.00 to Indiana Farmers Insurance for annual premiums (Commercial package, Auto, Umbrella and Workers Comp.)

Rosenberg made a motion to approve claims for $177,628.21. Crafton seconded. Motion carried.

Director Terpening’s report
Adult Programming
March Programs: 20, Attendance: 255
Programs and Attendance

  • Paint & Sip; Pointillism Style had 23 attendees in 2 sessions. 

  • Silent Book Club had 6 attendees. 

  • La Leche League had 18 attendees. 

  • Birdhouses craft had 26 attendees in 2 sessions. 

  • Red Cross Blood Drive had 35 attendees.

  • Researching Records of Women Ancestors & Dating Vintage Photographs had 40 attendees.

  • Second Saturday Stitchers had 7 attendees.

  • Paint & Sip; Edward Hopper Style had 23 attendees in 2 sessions.

  • Rug Hooking, etc. had 5 attendees.

  • PCOS Insights and Guidance had 2 attendees.

  • Mini Mansions for Toys had 17 attendees.

  • The Hangout Chapter 3; Crazy Little Thing Called Love Music Bingo had 42 attendees.

  • Paint & Sip: Spring Celebration Art Show & Reception had 31 attendees.

  • Hanover Book Group read "The Death of Us" by Lori Rader-Day. There were 11 attendees.

  • Birdhouses craft at Hope Community had 5 attendees.

  • Virtual Author Talk Series:

    • Humor, Heart, & Reflective Rural Stories by Michael Perry: 0 registrations, 1 live view, and 30 archive views.

    • Book Portals & Journeys of Literary Magic by Kate Quinn: 0 registrations, 0 live views, and 19 archive views.

    • America's Failed Response to the Opioid Crisis: by Author Shoshana Walter & Special Guest Host Barbara Kingsolver: 4 registrations, 5 live views, and 17 archive views.

Meetings

  • 15 meetings with 67 attendees.

Outreach

  • Made 10 deliveries and circulated 120 items.

Children’s/YA Programming
March Programs 13; Attendance 482

Children (Ages 0-5) 

  • Mother Goose on the Loose had 108 attendees in 4 sessions.

  • Story Time at Hanover had 29 attendees in 3 sessions.

Children (All ages)

  • Fierce Forest Protectors had 30 attendees.

  • Lego Club had 31 attendees.

  • Homeschool Hangout: "Wind" had 29 attendees.

Young Adult

  • Colorful Lanyard/Wristlet craft had 21 attendees.

Outreach

  • Story Line had 34 calls.

  • Cub Fest at Madison Jr. High had 200 attendees.

Social Media/Circulation Statistics

  • Website had 2,793 visits. Top pages: Events Calendar, Location & Hours, Job Opportunities.

  • Niche Academy had 25 views. Top tutorial by views was Libby.

  • Local History website had 1,419 visits. Top pages: MCHS, Obituaries, Yearbooks.

  • Email Newsletter went out to 5,116 recipients. Top link was Events Calendar.

  • Facebook followers 4,262. Top post by engagement was Madison's Best. Top post by reach was Birdhouses craft.

  • Instagram followers 870. Top post by engagement was Women's History Month. Top post by reach was Madison's Best.

  • YouTube had 255 views. Top Video: Remembering Madison 1961.

  • Circulations were 16,637.

  • Made 77 new library cards.

  • Visits to the Library were 6,625.

  • Public computer users were 735. Wifi users were 2,550.

Staff and Volunteers

  • Local History Update

    • New website working well

      • At least 1 obituary request a day, often more.

      • Family files will be digitized and added next.

      • Hanover College intern will be hired this summer to help with digitization project.

  • Summer Reading Planning

    • Staff Meeting May 15 to go over Summer Reading procedures.

    • One High School and one College intern will be hired for the summer through the Indiana Work and Learn program.

    • Summer Reading will kick off on June 1 with the Touch-A-Truck event at the fountain and will run through July 24.

Ongoing and Upcoming Events

  • "Let's Talk About Plants" was on April 8. Naturalist Jeremy Beavin discussed invasive plants.

  • April Flower Garden crafts

  • National Library Week is April 19 through 25.

    • The Pilot Club is providing food for the Library staff on April 24.

    • Staff will dress according to a different theme each day.

    • Focus will be on Support Your Library Day April 23.

  • Indiana Humanities Author Visit, featuring Lori Rader-Day, will be April 30. Local author Robyn Ryle will emcee the event and make introductions.

  • The "Plant Exchange" will be May 2 at 11:30am in the Madison auditorium.

Friends of the Library

  • Annual Meeting will be April 21. Everyone is invited to attend and volunteer to help with the book sale or serve on the Board.

  • Spring Book Sale will be May 29-30.

Building/Renovation/Technology

  • The Bookmobile Ribbon Cutting and Hanover Branch Sweet 16 celebration will be April 10, 2-5pm. The Chamber of Commerce will be there to help with the ribbon cutting.

  • The Library's contract with Zayo was updated for internet service, saving the Library $5,400, using Cat 2 funding.

  • Hanover Building

    • Sunroom flooring will have to be pulled up and redone due to water damage. Sandusky is preparing an estimate for the work.

    • Glass Unlimited will also be replacing a window with water damage in the sunroom.

    • A leak in the roof was repaired by Sandusky.

Trustee Training

  • ILF training materials were offered to Board members.

Miscellaneous

  • At the suggestion of the Board President, Terpening did a return on investment calculation for the library and shared that information with the Board.

Correspondence

  • Received a note from a student at Canaan School, thanking McAlister for attending their Career Fair and talking about what they do at the Library.

  • Received a letter with three grant checks from the Community Foundation. One was from the Larry and Charmaine Owens Endowment for $1,300.00 and two from Library Endowments totaling $3,700.00.

Continuing Business

  • Board President Joyce signed the Library Annual Report. Terpening will submit it.

New Business

  • Butler and Ryle's 2nd term and Phillips' 3rd term will expire on June 30. Terpening will contact each individually to ask if they want to serve another term on the Board.

  • The Nonresident fee for a library card will remain at $50.00 for 2026.

  • Butler made a motion to approve the Borrower Services Policy as amended. Rosenberg seconded. Motion carried.

  • Terpening discussed some potential changes to the Personnel Policy regarding PTO. It will be revisited at the May meeting.

  • Ryle made a motion to approve the Disaster Recovery Plan for Computer Systems with no changes. AVC, the Library's IT company, has reviewed the policy and stated that it is accurate as written. Crafton seconded. Motion carried.

  • Terpening suggested creating a donation fund for the building project. She will discuss it with Library counsel. Board agreed.

Motion to adjourn by Ryle. Seconded by Rosenberg. Meeting adjourned at 4:46 P.M.

Excerpts from Minutes of a Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson County Public Library

A meeting of the Board of Trustees (the "Board") of Jefferson County Public Library (the "Library") was held at the Madison Public Library, Madison, Indiana, on April 9, 2026 at the hour of 4:00 p.m. (Local Time), pursuant to notice duly given in accordance with the rules of the Board.

The meeting was called to order by the President of the Board.

On call of the roll, the members of the Board were shown to be present or absent as follows:

Present: Kelly Joyce, Mary Kay Butler, Kathy Rosenberg, Kathy Crafton, Robyn Ryle.

Absent: Sally Wurtz, Terry Phillips.

(Among other proceedings had and actions taken were the following:)

The President presided over the hearing, welcoming everyone and introducing members of the Board and speakers.

It was explained to the Board that pursuant to Indiana Code § 6-1.1-20-3.1, whenever a library proposes to issue bonds for the construction or renovation of a library building or buildings resulting in total costs in excess of certain thresholds, the library is required to hold two public hearings on its preliminary determination to issue such bonds. This meeting represents the first of such hearings. Notice of both public hearings was published in the Madison Courier on March 27, 2026 and was sent via first-class mail to the Jefferson County Clerk and any organizations which requested such notice as provided in Indiana Code 6-1.1-20-3.1. The proofs of publication of the notice of the hearings were presented to the meeting.

It was further explained that at this hearing all interested people may give testimony and/or ask questions concerning the renovation of and improvements to library buildings including HVAC and programming space improvements at the Madison branch and the purchase 4908-1436-3805.1 of equipment and technology throughout the library district (the "Project"). The purpose of the hearing is two-fold: (1) to inform the public as to the proposed Project; and (2) to allow all interested parties, taxpayers and patrons of the Library to voice their opinions as to the Project and ask any questions.

After the purpose of the hearings was explained, the presentations regarding the need for the Project were given. An evaluation of the existing facility was then presented, as well as a discussion of the details of the proposed Project. The estimated Project cost and schedule were then presented to the public. It was explained how this Project could be funded, and the potential tax rate impact the Project would have on the community.

After the above presentations, the President announced that the Board would now hear testimony and questions from the public. One member of the public spoke in relation to the project.

Motion made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned.