HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 03/12/1998LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES
Regular Meeting - March 12, 1998
6:00 p.m.
Council Liaison: Chris Kneeland 11 Staff Liaison: Brenda Cams
Chairperson: Jack Steele Phone: 225-0877 (h)
A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on Thursday, March 12, 1998 in the
Community Room of Harmony Library. The following Library Board members were present:
Bill Cook, Edward Jakubauskas, Jack Steele, Jacqueline Wallace, and M. Madeleine Wawro.
Library Board Members Absent:
City Staff Members Present:
Friends of the Library Liaison:
Site Selection Sub -Committee members:
Library Fund Committee Chair:
Anne Ostrye-Macdonald, Al Stone
Mike Powers, Marty Heffernan, Brenda Cams,
Marjorie Teklits
Jean Dietemann
Audrey Ryder, Chip Steiner
Jack Schanz
The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by the Chairperson, Jack Steele. The minutes of the
February 12, 1998 Regular Meeting stand as written.
Brenda Cams shared the contents of the March 9th memo from the Boards and Commissions
Coordinator regarding the annual recruitment process and encouraged Library Board members to
contact anyone they think might be interested in serving on the Board by the April 15' deadline.
Brenda Cams pointed out several items contained in the Board's information folders including:
Copies of the February 24, 1998 memo from the Mayor and City Councilmembers to
Jack Steele and Brenda Cams thanking each board member for their contributions to the
City.
The March 9" Harmony Library Report memo to the City Manager.
A March 10" Letter to the Editor of The Coloradoan complimenting a Harmony Library
staff member as well as the new library.
An article entitled "Fort Collins' libraries look for ways to boost business" which
appeared in the March issue of Today's Business.
The March and April issues of "Business Sense, " the Library's first two editions of a
newsletter for the business community of Fort Collins.
REPORTS
A. Library Foundation Trust Status - Jack Schanz
After a summarization of the Library Fund's historical background, Jack Schanz
informed Board members that he, Jack Steele and Bill Cook have been meeting to
examine the possibilities of forming a non-profit public foundation or trust fund. Using a
trust fund in Tulsa and a foundation in Boulder as models and after consulting with an
attorney and a board member of a charitable foundation, Jack Schanz explained how a
trust fund for the library could be formed. He, along with Jack Steele and Bill Cook have
drafted bylaws and articles of incorporation which will be presented to their advisors for
comment and then to the Library Board. If it is decided to proceed after this review
process, incorporation is done with the State. Then a Board of Directors is appointed
who could create operating committees to approach corporations as well as private
citizens for donations. The five -to -nine -members of this Board of Directors could consist
of a Library Board member, a Friends of the Library member, and interested citizens who
have a successful history of investing and fundraising. The donations would have to
come from more than one source. It should be known after a period of about one year if
the trust will work. Jack Schanz further explained that the difficult part would be to find
people willing to serve on the trust fund's Board of Directors. In addition, it could be
somewhat of a challenge in Fort Collins as there are many other trusts to compete with.
The recommended name for the trust is the Fort Collins Public Library Trust, Inc. The
advantage to forming a trust is that the principle can be spent whereas only the interest
from the present endowment fund can be used for library needs.
Ed Jakubauskas thanked Jack Schanz, Jack Steele and Bill Cook for the time and work
they have put into researching and drafting this project.
Brenda Cams asked how Library staff would be involved; Jack Schanz said he hopes they
would be able to participate. Marty Heffernan said it would be necessary to investigate
whether Library staff are allowed to fund raise. She also asked what costs are involved
and who is paying them. Jack Schanz explained that they have an attorney advising them
on a pro bono basis; he expects that if this trust is formed, members of its Board would
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contribute money to the fund.
B. Library Site Selection Committee - Jacqueline Wallace
Copies of the March 6" memo from Mike Powers and Ann Turnquist to City Council
Members summarizing the RFP Results —Building Community Choices Site Selection
were distributed to the Board. A Library Site Selection Sub -Committee met on March
7" to review the submittals which were 1) a Downtown Civic Center (no specific site;
submitted by staff) and 2) 13 acres at the NE corner of the intersection of North Lemay
and Lincoln Avenues (submitted by Miscio and Stroud, Inc.). Mike Powers asked
members of the Sub -Committee to submit pros and cons of these two sites. Library
Board members were also asked to attend an open house from 5 to 8 p.m., April 2,
Lincoln Center to seek public input on the sites for the five City facilities that would be
built as part of the Building Community Choices capital improvement program The
Library Board will vote at the April 9" meeting on their recommendation to City Council.
The Library Site Selection Sub -Committee defined the pros and cons of the sites as
follows:
1) Downtown Main Library
Pros:
Meets the Board plan for a future library.
Location is within one-half mile from Laporte and College Avenues.
Convenient parking for approximately 450 vehicles; parking can be shared with
other City parking.
Delivery access for books and materials.
Compatibility with surroundings (neighborhood, etc.)
Multi -modal access (cars, busses, bicycles, etc.).
Aesthetic impact (a place, and ultimately a building, the community will point
to with pride).
Affordable.
Area already used by many people for commercial, retail, cultural, or other
activities.
Easily accessible —not dangerous access for entering and leaving site.
Adequate drainage.
Appropriate zoning.
Site can accommodate a multi -level building that is both environmentally and
energy efficient.
Site generally perceived as safe by the public.
Meets City Plan planning goals.
In the downtown district.
Accessible to the City's fiber backbone.
Buildable site (level ground, close to utilities, etc.).
Provides joint use with other public entities.
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Cons:
Land may be more expensive.
2) NE corner of Intersection of North Lemay and Lincoln Avenues
Pros:
Large
Available
Public access potential.
Outside of flood zone.
North of Prospect.
Affordable.
Cons:
Removed from fiber backbone.
It has a questionable development plan.
It is not consistent with land use.
It is not readily accessible to public transportation.
It is not available for combined use.
C. Library Director - Brenda Cams
1997 selected statistics show that there was a 36% decrease in materials checked out over
1996. This is due to purging of customer records in the database. Although there was a
4.9% decrease in incoming telephone calls, calls received from customers using DialPAC
from home or business computers increased. Due to shortage of staff time available to
allocate to programming, the number of programs offered to the public decreased from
1997 compared to 1996. Days of the week storytimes are offered have been adjusted to
accommodate Harmony Library hours and staff scheduling. Although only 6 children
attended one 3-4-year-old storytime at Harmony last week, 60 children attended this
week. We will continue to monitor attendance increases.
The initial issue of the Library's newsletter, "Business Sense," was tremendously well
received by the business community. Brenda Cams also met with Frank Bruno
concerning a role for the Library in the Fort Collins Virtual Business Incubator, a
professional support network that fosters local business with community resources. She
will also be a guest speaker on KUAD-FM radio to promote library services.
D. Friends of the Library - Jean Dietemann
The Friends of the Library are hosting a "Prose by the Pound" sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
on March 28 to benefit the materials collection at Harmony Library. Selected books will
cost just $2 per pound.
The Novel Novel book store is closing and is offering books that they are unable to sell to
Harmony Library's collection and also to the Friends of the Library for book sales.
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Jean Dietemann asked all attending the meeting to call her if they know of a location the
Friends can use to sort and store books. They will be using the cafeteria at old Fort
Collins High School from June through August but desperately need free or inexpensive
space to rent during April and May.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Impact Fee Document
Jack Steele, Marty Heffernan and Anne Ostrye-Macdonald will meet on Monday, March
16 to revise the draft document which will be sent to Board members who will be asked
to come to a brief meeting to vote on its approval.
NEW BUSINESS
A. Harmony Library Statistics to date - Brenda Cams
During its first month of operation (February 1998), Harmony Library's circulation
increased 81% over the Mini Library's for the same period in 1996; reference assistance
increased 177% over Mini's February 1997 statistics. Harmony Library staff directs 25%
of customer questions to the Main Library because they lack required reference books.
During February 1998, 38,738 items were checked out and 6,736 customer requests for
assistance were received at the Harmony Library; for the same month in 1997, the Mini
Library checked out 19,160 items and answered 2,431 requests for assistance.
By the end of its first month of operation, the shelves at Harmony had less than 30,000
items available on its shelves for checkout; there were 60,000 items available for
checkout on opening day, January 31. It should be noted that future check-out statistics
will most likely show a decrease over the first month of operation as only half of the
materials remain on the shelves.
Harmony Library customers have requested word processing classes but there is not
enough staff available to offer this service, and customers are referred to the college.
Even though statistics gathered thus far only cover one month, we feel confident in
predicting strong growth for Harmony Library.
Our first priority for Harmony is to develop a collection development funding mechanism
to bring the collection up to full shelves and create a larger reference base over the next
five years. The second priority is to provide funding to open Harmony Library to the
public the same number of hours as the Main Library and to offer more storytimes and
computer classes. The third priority is to be ready for the increased use which will lead to
additional staffing needs projected over the next two to three years.
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Jack Steele asked how the amount needed to hire the three additional staff needed to
extend Harmony hours to equal Main's ($95,880) compares with the estimate given a few
years ago, and Brenda Cams informed him that the $95,880 is in 1998 dollars and that
she would get back to him with the previous estimate.
B. Tree Sculpture in Library Park - Brenda Cams
The City's Art in Public Places Committee was approached by a private citizen who is
interested in creating a carved statue out of a dead tree in Library Park. A sketch of the
proposed sculpture was shown to the Library Board for their input. Mainly because of
maintenance needs and potential graffiti problems, Bill Cook made a motion that the
artist's request to carve the statue be denied; Ed Jakubauskas seconded the motion, and
the Board unanimously agreed not to proceed with the project.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marjorie Teklits
Library Secretary
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