Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 01/09/2003A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on January 9, 2003 in the Ben Delatour Room of the Main Library at 201 Peterson Street. The following Library Board members were present: Bob Burns, Rudy Maes, Donald Oehlerts, Melissa Pattison, Mary Robertson, and Joan Scheuerman.. Library Board Member Absent: Ralph Olson City Staff Members Present: Brenda Cams, Marty Heffernan, and Marjorie Teklits Friends of the Library Liaison: Lillys Price The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by the Chairperson, Mary Robertson. Bob Burns moved to approve the minutes of the December 12, 2002 meeting; Rudy Maes seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. New member, Don Oehlerts, was welcomed to the Board, and introductions were exchanged. His appointment expires December 31, 2006. Brenda also announced that Mary Robertson's appointment to the Library Board has been renewed until December 31, 2006. New Friends of the Library President, Lillys Price, was also welcomed, congratulated on her new appointment, and introduced to all. Correspondence The City Clerk's office has sent an email reminder that Annual Reports are due by January 31, 2003. Also, election of officers for this year should take place during the February or March meetings. Items included in folders included the updated Boards and Commissions Manual, a list of 2003 meeting dates, an invitation to Harmony Library's fifth anniversary celebration on January 31, 2002 Gates Computer Lab Statistics, information on various ListServs of interest to Library Trustees, recent newspaper articles concerning the library and year-end statistics. Brenda said the Gates Computer Lab was heavily used in 2002 with 8,604 users; one eighth of those users were Spanish-speaking. She thanked Rudy Maes for being instrumental in accessing people in the community and making them aware of the library's services. One of the newspaper articles mentions that Seattle libraries were forced to close for two weeks in 2002 because of a budget crunch, and they expect to do so again this year. Brenda said that the Fort Collins Public Library's level of budget cuts remains at $39,000, and it is not known at this time if there will be any further reductions. Marty Heffernan added that city staff is very concerned about the budget picture right now, especially as it could affect what are considered secondary services, such as the library. There may be a need for the city to look to reserves or to make another round of cuts as the economy is not coming back as quickly as hoped. In addition, the 2004/2005 budget planning process will begin this year, and there is concern that it is not a good environment to determine a budget for the next two years. He added that the Board's support will help City Council in the budget process. Melissa asked if city funds might be directed to Transportation since their recent ballot issue did not receive voter approval. Marty said the question is if Council wants to keep it in place; it is something some Council members might be considering. It should be known soon if transportation issues will be included on the April 2003 ballot. Bob Burns asked who drafts the ballot language. Marty replied that the City Attorney's office drafts the language and also offers assistance with citizen initiatives. Bob asked if citizens can still speak to Council at their meetings; Marty said citizens are allowed to speak for 5 or 6 minutes at the beginning of regular Council meetings on topics which are not on the agenda. Brenda said the last item in Board folders is a sheet showing year-end library statistics. Circulation climbed to 1.84 million items, up from 1.71 million the previous year and noted that this rate of increase is faster than the rate of population growth. Self -checkouts also increased, especially at Harmony Library, where they went up from 22% in October, to 25% in November and to 28% in December. This reflects the success of the self-service holds which are located next to the self -checkout machines. Reports/Presentations a. Director — Brenda Cams Even though the Library will close on Martin Luther King's birthday this year due to budgetary cuts, a special program entitled "Path of Peace" to commemorate the life of Dr. King at the Main Library is planned from January 13 to the 31s`. The ability to pay for fines and lost books by credit card has become very popular with 2 library customers Board members were invited to bring their families to Harmony Library's fifth anniversary celebration on January 31 which will feature special puppet shows at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m., a storytime at 4 p.m., and cake and punch throughout the afternoon. The Technical Services department has been cataloging past issues of magazines in preparation for them to be checked out. Many customers have requested this service and, allowing the periodicals to be checked out will free up some shelving space. A second issue of The Coloradoan has been added in response to customer demand. In response to a customer "How'd we do?" comment form that illustrations and storyline in the children's book Henny Penny were violent, staff provided the customer with copies of reviews of the book to show why it was added to the collection. b. Friends of the Library - Lil Price As the first meeting of the newly elected Friends Board is scheduled for January 13, there will be more information to report at future meetings. C. Committee Reports: Centennial Celebration - Melissa Pattison Melissa has been in contact with the Library's programming team and mentioned they are planning to discuss planning details at a meeting next Monday morning. Brenda mentioned that Susan Stuessie is representing the Library Trust at these meetings and that it is going to be an exciting project. Emerging Library Trends - Bob Burns Bob mentioned that he would like to focus attention on legislation issues at state and national levels; he is also planning to check out the American Library Association website for information. He welcomed ideas from the Board as to what they would like him to research for future committee reports. Joan and Bob are planning to supply Board members with some reading materials about current issues and have a discussion about them at the March meeting. Public Relations Committee - Joan Scheuerman A sign-up chart for monthly Soapbox articles was passed around, and Joan shared a draft of her article on the results of last spring's Library Board Survey. Melissa Pattison made a motion to submit Joan's article; Bob Burns seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved. Of special note, an overwhelming majority (89%) of survey respondents said library services are an essential community service. Brenda will ask Library staff to include the survey results on the Library's web page to share with the community. OLD BUSINESS a. Annual Report - Mary Robertson Mary will email a draft of the 2002 Annual Report to Board members for their suggestions or corrections before submitting it to the City Clerk's office at the end of the month. b. County Funding Mary asked Marty where the County funding for library services issue stands. Marty said they ran into some legal issues regarding uniform taxation concerns. He continues to discuss the matter with the City Attorney's office and said different funding options might have to be explored. Frank Lancaster has been very supportive in moving forward if the legal issues can be sorted out. Lil Price said she believed the County should include library services in their budget. NEW BUSINESS a. Library Staff Presentations - Mary Robertson As mentioned in 2003 Work Plan, the Library Board would like to have Library staff speak at Board meetings from time to time about what they do so that the Board can better support their efforts. Brenda said staff is very appreciative when Board members take an interest in the different events and programs they develop for the library. She will speak to the Library Management Team about 15-minute presentations for the Board at future meetings. Marty Heffernan also suggested inviting Advance Planning city staff to discuss the City Plan, issues of growth and how they impact our future. Brenda said she will speak to them about giving the Board a presentation. Election of Officers Joan Scheuerman and Melissa Pattison volunteered to act as a nominating committee for the election of this year's Chair and Vice Chair and will report back with nominations at the February meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marjorie Teklits Administrative Secretary