HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 02/12/2004LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 12, 2004
Council Liaison: Marty Tharp Staff Liaison: Brenda Cams
(Phone 221-6670)
Chairperson: Mary Robertson
(Phone: 407-8058
A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on February 12, 2004 in the Ben Delatour
Room of the Main Library at 201 Peterson Street. The following Library Board members were
present: Robert Bums, Don Oehlerts, Ralph Olson, Mary Robertson, and Joan Scheuerman,
Library Board Members Absent: Rudy Maes, Melissa Pattison
City Staff Members Present: Brenda Cams, Marty Heffeman, and Marjorie
Teklits
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairperson Mary Robertson. Ralph Olson
moved to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2004 meeting; Bob Bums seconded the motion,
and it was unanimously approved.
Correspondence:
Included in Board packets was:
information about a "Community Leadership as an Effective Library Trustee" workshop
at the Pueblo City -County Library District, February 20-21;
an updated Boards and Commissions Manual;
copies of the final 2003 Annual Report;
copies of the final draft of the quarterly newsletter;
invitation to submit nominations from the Commission on the Status of Women.
Revorts/Presentations:
a. Director - Brenda Cams
Brenda reported that Technical Services will soon be moving from the rented space at
101 Remington to a City -owned space at 256 W. Mountain Avenue. The City has also
provided space for the Friends of the Library to sort and store book donations which is
adjacent to Technical Services at 130 N. Howes.
New staff member Lingzhen Zhao joins the Systems Administration department next
week as the new Library Technical Support Specialist. She has an extensive computer
background, and staff are looking forward to having her on board. In addition, Liz
Grenard has joined Technical Services, replacing an hourly staff member who helped
process periodicals. The Bilingual Outreach and Marketing Research Assistant positions
remain vacant due to th& current hiring freeze.
b. Friends of the Library
As Lil Price was unable to attend tonight's meeting, Brenda announced that at their recent
Board meeting the Friends approved the Library's request list in the amount of $64,825.
This funding will be used for special programs and items needed by the Library. Mary
Robertson said this is a wonderful contribution by the Friends, and their year -long work
to raise the money is very much appreciated.
As part of the library's requests for 2004, the Friends have agreed to support special
storytime programs in the southeast. Brenda and another staff member have approached
various businesses to inquire if there is interest in having these programs in their
establishments at some point, and they received a positive response. Providing these
programs would enable the library to offer a new service to residents in this part of the
community.
C. 2004 Committee Meetings and Schedule
As everyone felt it is beneficial to follow a set schedule for committee reports, Marge
will draft a calendar of committee meetings for 2004. Committees will include Emerging
Trends (reporting quarterly), Public Relations (reporting quarterly), Friends of the
Library (reporting monthly), Library Trust (reporting quarterly), and Library staff reports
will be scheduled in between.
OLD BUSINESS
a. Southeast Branch Update - Brenda Cams
The City Manager has been having discussions with the Poudre Valley Health District
about the potential of opening a branch library on their campus. They may either be
interested in contributing acreage for a facility or having a library be a part of a healthy
living center they are building, and the partners involved are presently working on a
strategy to move forward with the project.
Marty Heffernan added that the Hospital District is interested in having the community in
their space, and a library would be compatible with their goals by attracting many
residents. A 10,000 s.f. or larger facility would be ideal, allowing for the capability of
leasing 5,000 s.f. to Front Range Community College. This money could then be used to
operate the library.
Issues to consider in this possible venture include finding the money for construction,
however, the ultimate goal is to have a southeast branch, even if it is necessary to start
smaller than hoped but have future room for expansion. Biggest considerations are
operations and maintenance costs, and it will be necessary to find a way that doesnI
require too much general fund money to keep it in operation.
Mary asked what is needed from the Library Board. Marty said the project is presently
undefined but as it comes together, decisions will have to be made on how to advocate
and get people excited about the project. Bob felt the Board should also play an active
role with the architectural plans as well.
Bob Burns asked what segment of the public would be served by a branch in the
southeast; Marty said the main focus would most likely be families and children.
b. Quarterly Newsletter - Brenda Cams
Board members suggested a title of "Library in Review" and a statement that it covers the
first quarter of 2004 rather than using a specific date. Color copies will be printed for
City Council and the Library Trust, and Mary will draft the cover letter to Council
members. After this initial distribution, black and white copies will be made available in
the libraries for the public.
a. Nominating Committee for Election of 2004 Officers - Mary Robertson
The committee consisted of two members: Mary Robertson and Melissa Pattison. Mary
moved to nominate Ralph Olson as the new Library Chairperson and Don Oehlerts as
Vice Chair. Bob Burns seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
b. Capital Sales Tax Proposal Input - Brenda Cams, Marty Heffernan
Following guidelines in the January 4 memo from the City Manager regarding a request
for Board input regarding Capital Sales Tax Proposal, the Board prioritized the three
library capital projects in the following order. They then discussed the feasibility,
urgency, need, and desirability of each for the report.
1) Library Technology
2) Southeast Branch Library
3) New Downtown Civic Center Library
Library Technology:
Board members agreed Library Technology is a top priority and extremely
urgent.
This project is needed in 2005 when current funding expires.
The Library is totally dependent on technology (e.g. Internet, self -check,
website, databases, inter -library lending, circulation and reference activities to
name a few).
The current system would not be able to be maintained as funding for some
systems administration staff would no longer exist.
It would take twice as much staff to provide the same level of expertise if
Library technology did not exist, and staff expense would be higher in the long
run than the cost to upgrade technology.
If Library technology is not upgraded, the existing system will become
obsolete and vendors will be unable to provide support for it.
Everyone agreed technology is the central nervous system of the library.
2. Southeast Branch Library:
Potential partnerships are interested in a joint venture for a southeast branch,
making it an opportune time to explore and move forward with this project.
The Library Board recommends a 10,000 s.f. standalone library to serve the
growing population in the southeast.
The main population center of the City is moving towards the south. A branch
library would serve this segment of the community. Capacity of the Main
Library is overloaded; when land was purchased for a downtown library,
residents were expecting a bigger facility, which isn't foreseeable in the near
future. A southeast branch would serve citizens in that part of the community
and relieve some of the congestion at the Main Library.
Residents in the southeast are making contributions for library services through
the impact fees on new construction, however, since the library has been
unable to expand, they have to commute to other areas for their library needs.
3. New Downtown Civic Center Library:
Land for this facility has already been purchased, however, funds for operation
and maintenance would be another issue.
This project is long overdue. Impact fees have been collected for several years,
however, there hasn't been any additional library services added.
The Library is the most heavily used public facility in northern Colorado and is
the only public facility that serves the entire population.
Libraries define a community by contributing to its quality of life; a Downtown
Civic Center Library would also benefit the economy in the downtown area.
l
C. Citizen Survey - Marty Heffernan
Marty said the City has committed to do a citizen survey approximately every two years.
Looking at a variety of measurements, the 2003 survey gives a broad -based perspective
on how well the City government is doing. It was sent to 1,800 residents, and almost
50% responded, which shows that people are interested in providing feedback. In
general, people felt the City is a very good place to live (for example: location, climate,
place to raise children, retire, attend college, it's a safe community, respect and tolerance
for others). People feel the community has a smaller town feel but it still enjoys benefits
of a larger community. The rating of the City being a good place to work went down
from the previous survey in 2001, most likely because of the economic downturn. Traffic
and affordable housing were also areas of concern. In general, the survey showed the
City is doing a good job.
d. Other
Ralph Olson mentioned that Hewlett-Packard is closing their in-house library and is
interested in donating some books to the Fort Collins Public Library. He will contact
Brenda when he has more information.
Don Oehlerts shared a book he read recently related to the Patriot Act entitled War on the
Bill of Rights and the Gathering Resistance. Bob mentioned he is pleased with the
safeguards the Library has in place to protect customers.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Zl�
Madone Teklits
Administrative Secretary