Library board to consider server purchase, in-person card payments Tuesday

The Salina Public Library Board will meet at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Community Meeting Room at the library, 301 W. Elm, to consider buying two replacement servers, beginning in-person credit and debit card payments, and other business.

The items are in the board packet for the meeting.

The library's head of technology, Hanna Stuart, recommended buying the servers from ByteSpeed for $28,990. The packet includes quotes of $34,293.28 from Dell Technologies and $35,688.02 from Lenovo.

The library operates four servers that support the staff network, patron computers and security, printing, inventory, self-checkout, security gates and door-badge access, according to Stuart's memo. Two of the servers are 10 years old and no longer under warranty. The other two were purchased in 2022 and would remain in use.

Stuart cited rising server prices tied to a global computer memory shortage and said buying now may help the library avoid further cost increases.

The board is also asked to begin accepting credit and debit cards in person at the Circulation Desk and to adopt a related payment policy. Patrons can now pay in person only by cash or check. Cards can be used only online through PayPal after an invoice of more than $1 is entered in the library's system. The library pays the PayPal fees.

From January through October, the library collected $7,830.08 in fines and fees online through PayPal and paid $446.91 in service fees, the packet says.

The proposed policy would set a $5 minimum for all credit and debit card transactions. Smaller amounts would have to be paid by cash or check. Cards could not be used for Friends of the Library memberships or book-sale purchases.

The draft policy states there is “a payment processing fee and/or surcharge on eligible credit or debit card transactions,” to be disclosed at the time of the transaction. The packet does not say whether the library would continue to absorb the fees, as it does for online PayPal payments, or pass a surcharge to patrons.

The board is asked to approve 2026 longevity pay and time-off benefits. Ten employees are eligible for longevity pay and two are eligible for time off. If approved, the pay would appear on the Dec. 22 paycheck. The packet does not give a total dollar amount. Under existing policy, full-time longevity pay ranges from $300 after five years to $1,500 after 25 years, and is not guaranteed each year.

The board is also asked to adopt Resolution No. 26-01, an annual waiver so the library's 2026 financial statements remain on the cash basis of accounting rather than generally accepted accounting principles. The packet says the board passes the resolution each year.

After the open-session business, the board is scheduled to go into executive session for a “Director Review Discussion,” with possible action when the open meeting resumes.

In the department reports accompanying the packet, the library said the assistant director resigned in October and that Darla Phelps was appointed to a newly established deputy director position. The packet does not name the person who resigned. Phelps continues her business and human resources duties and takes on some former assistant director responsibilities.

The statistical report lists 154 security incidents through October, already more than the 129 recorded in all of 2025. The packet defines the incidents as “Police, EMS and other incidents involving patrons that change the course of the day-to-day business operations of the Library.”

Circulation of all materials through October totaled 415,132. The packet's monthly circulation table shows 423,775 during the same 10 months in 2025. The 2025 year-end total was 499,897.

Public comments are limited to five minutes and must relate to an agenda item or an issue relevant to the board's work. Speakers should sign in before the meeting, or contact Director Melanie Hedgespeth at [email protected] or 785-833-9201.