HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 07/10/2003A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on July 10, 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, Ralph Olson, Mary Robertson, and Joan Scheuerman.
Library Board Members Absent: Melissa Pattison
City Staff Members Present: Brenda Cams, Tova Aragon, and Marjorie Teklits
Friends of the Library Liaison: Absent
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by the Chairperson Mary Robertson. Rudy Maes
moved to approve the minutes of the June 12, 2003 meeting; Joan Scheuerman seconded the
motion, and it was unanimously approved.
Correspondence:
Copies of the final version of the Library Board's Periodic Review Questionnaire were included
in folders. Co -Vice Chairs Ralph Olson and Rudy Maes will be attending the meeting, and
Brenda invited other Board members to participate as well.
Brenda also mentioned letters from the City Clerk's office reminding Melissa Pattison and Bob
Bums that they need to indicate their interest by July 31s` to the City Clerk if they wish to be re-
appointed to the Library Board as their terms will be expiring.
Reports/Presentations:
a. Director - Brenda Carns
Referring to the written Director's Report, Bob Burns asked about Julip e-mail; Brenda
said it is an internal communication e-mail system used by library staff.
The Summer Reading Program registrations are going very well; the Adult and Teens
programs have nearly 1,000 participants each. Numbers are slightly down for the
Children's program, and this is most likely due to the library's inability to send
information about it to families through the School system as has been done in previous
years.
The coffee vendor at the Main Library is seeking an interested buyer for the cart. If she
is unable to do so, a bid will be done through the city. Brenda said she would like to see
the service expand to other items besides coffee, such as sandwiches.
The library received permission to replace the Technology Coordinator position. The
Administrative Clerk and Bilingual Outreach Library Assistant positions are not being
replaced at this time. Bob asked if anyone is assigned responsibility for outreach efforts
in the meantime, and Brenda said the Children's department has a staff member who does
bilingual storytime and some translation. Rudy asked what is needed to replace the
vacant position, and Brenda said it would need City Manager and Assistant City Manager
approval.
The Supreme Court ruled that Congress can require public libraries that get federal
funding to install computer filters that block access to Internet pornography. Bob said he
will talk about this matter in his next report on emerging trends.
b. Friends of the Library
The Friends liaison was not able to attend tonight's meeting.
C. Centennial Celebration
Melissa Pattison was not able to attend tonight's meeting, however, Brenda said Library
Trust plans are moving forward for the fall fundraising dinner. In addition, a "Harmony
on the Green" open-air concert is planned at Harmony Library July 1 I th in celebration of
the 100`' anniversary of the library.
d. Public Relations - Ralph Olson, Joan Scheuerman
A report will be given at a future meeting.
e. Adult Services Presentation - Tova Aragon
Lead Librarian for Reference and Adult Services, Tova Aragon, said over the years
images of libraries and librarians have changed; although the purpose or mission, tc
collect and disseminate information, remains pretty much the same, computers and
technology have been added.
Although Reference librarians are all different, they have the same goal. They are
service -oriented, curious, love information, make good detectives and all believe in the
freedom of information and equal access for everyone. The Adult Reference staff of the
library consists of four full-time and two part-time librarians; each one specializes in a
different area: teens, collection development, business, book clubs, local history, medical
and genealogy information. Two people staff the service desk per shift and each one
spends half their workday on the desk. The library has some staff who are able to
communicate in Spanish, French, Ukrainian, some Russian, and sign language. At the
Main Library, Reference staff answer an average of 23 questions per hour; 21,112
questions are answered by each staff member last year.
Reference staff are asked every type of question imaginable, and they direct customers to
the resources they need; they do not interpret questions nor do they act as lawyers or
doctors when customers seek legal or medical advice. Staff hone their skills in a number
of ways, including reading books, reviews, and taking part in staff book groups. Many
customers look for lists of "Staff Picks" from which to choose their reading material.
An area has been designated for new items and is complete with comfortable chairs for
custco ers to relax and enjoy browsing the collection. Some special collections include
materials for teens, classics, business, local history, media (over 18,000 items),
health/medical and genealogy. Due to customer requests, the library's wide variety of
magazines started circulating in January. The library has over 400 subscriptions. The
reference collection contains a broad representation of subject matter, and efforts are
made to not duplicate CSU's collection. Last, but not least, are special programs which
staff arrange, such as the popular International Night, and book clubs in English and
Spanish. Last year 6,043 customers attended 179 programs. New this year is the Adult
Summer Reading Program with registrations rapidly approaching 1,000 customers.
Tova's presentation ended with the following quote by James Madison: "Knowledge will
forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm
themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular
information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or
perhaps both."
OLD BUSINESS
County Funding - Mary Robertson
The City Manager has been asked by Council to form a committee of at least two Council
members and one or two County Commissioners to explore the concept of a County -wide
district authority. More information should be known shortly. Brenda mentioned that
Loveland's Library Director said their City Manager is intending to talk to other Latimer
County City Managers about how the authority might look.
Thursday Night Markets - Mary Robertson
Mary asked Brenda to look into the possibility of opening the old Poudre Valley
Creamery site during the Thursday night downtown markets to show the public
renderings of what a new Main Library might look like as this has been designated the
probably location for the building. Regarding the Creamery, Brenda said it is going to
cost a substantial amount of money to ascertain which parts can be kept and which parts
are structurally safe. Renovation will be costly. Ralph said he has experience with
getting funds for historical projects and offered to help. Brenda said there are grants
available from the state for historical preservation, but a bond issue would still be
required for the project.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marjorie Teklits
Administrative Secretary