01/08/2026
Brooklyn Public Library Board Meeting
January 5, 2026 at 5pm
Call to Order
The regular meeting of the Brooklyn Public Library was held Monday, January 5, 2026 at 5p.m. Those present were President Matt Maschmann (via phone), Secretary Beth Meldrem, Treasurer Jamie McClenathan, Board Members- Bob Lacina, Mary Jo Collum, Sherry Korns-Johnson and Library Director Josh Gerard. Absent: Chris Hurst
President Matt Maschmann called the meeting to order at 5:00p.m. Minutes were read. Motion by Mary Jo; 2nd by Bob to approve the December 1, 2025 minutes. All Ayes. Motion carried
Treasurer’s Report
First State Bank Checking - $ 500.00
Building & Maintenance Fund - $3,233.50
First State Bank CDs - $25,198.40
Brooklyn Municipal Utilities $400
Brooklyn Telecommunications $76.16
Amazon- books $734.31
Amazon-tech kid/software $8.55
Amazon-bathroom supplies $112.50
Amazon Furniture - grant money $211.09
Amazon - credit for furniture ($100.00)
Jensen’s Heating - furnace $444.50
Half-Price Books (books) $277.45
Payroll $4,850.16
1st State Bank $691.56
IPERS $541.86
Treasurer State of Iowa $48.70
Wellmark $643.08
Motion by Beth; 2nd by Bob to approve the above claims. All Ayes. Motion carried.
Unfinished Business - none
New Business –
Renew board member terms - Matt Maschmann and Bob Lacina will extend their terms (6 year) again for their seat on the Brooklyn Library Board. Thank you both.
Library Director's Report
The Poweshiek County Library Directors met on December 16, 2025 at Drake Library to prepare for the upcoming Board of Supervisors Meeting. Josh will work on the upcoming presentation. A shared concern at each of the Libraries (Brooklyn, Grinnell, and Montezuma) is the current Interlibrary Loan system. It has become very slow and is affecting the book exchange process.
Generous food pantry donations helping those in need - A very generous patron did a personal food-drive and donated items around Christmas. This has provided assistance to many who needed it. Please continue to consider donating non-perishable food items to the Brooklyn Library food shelf.
Christmas Traditions went well in December and 113 attended the storytime that day.
A new Tournament Tuesday season starts January 13. Thanks to multiple anonymous donors, this program has been fully funded. Last season 1200 students attended this program in Brooklyn! Amazing to have such a fun and safe environment for our youth.
New program for teens and adults in 2026: Hero Quest! More information will be shared on this new program that will focus on teamwork and communication with teens and adults.
New furniture is here - Through a grant, Josh was able to get a new couch, tables and chairs. Please stop into the Library to check them out.
Quarterly Report
October, November, December 2025
Patrons 2,652
Adult non-fiction 65
Adult fiction 1,511
Adult Total 1,576
Juvenile non-fiction 5
Juvenile fiction 957
Juvenile Total 962
Periodicals 60
Total Printed Materials 2,598
Videos 106
Audios 44
eBooks 906
Digital Archives 2,900
Total Non-Print 3,956
Puzzles + Games 4
Grand Total for Quarter 6,558
End of year numbers
Patrons we served for 2025 11,164
Physical items checked out for 2025 12,877
Digital items checked out 2025 3,323
Amount our patrons saved (from ONLY physical items) $146,225
We had 51 reference requests. 354 patrons used our computers and 238 people accessed our wifi. 42 groups used our conference room. We welcomed 22 new members and renewed 37. We had 286 participants for Story Time. 40 people came to book clubs. We served 34 patrons with our Bookmobile. 303 students competed in our E-Sports program. 58 came to Friends’ games. We notarized 174 documents for patrons.
Thank you for your continued support. It helped us have our best year to date!
The next board meeting will be on Monday February 2, 2026 at 5 p.m. Motion by Mary Jo; 2nd by Jamie to adjourn at 5:11 p.m.
