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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 05/13/2005LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES REGULAR MEETING — MAY 12, 2005 6:00 P.M. Council Liaison: Ben Manvel Staff Liaison: Brenda Cams (Phone 221-6670) Chairperson: Ralph Olson (Phone: 898-0863) A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on May 12, 2005 in the Ben Delatour Room of the Main Library at 201 Peterson Street. The following Library Board members were present: Nina Bodenhamer, Bob Burns, Don Oehlerts, Ralph Olson, Mary Robertson, and Molly Thompson. Library Board Member Absent: City Staff Members Present: Friends of the Library Liaison: Guest: Melissa Pattison Brenda Cams, Marty Heffernan, and Marjorie Teklits Absent Jean Blaylock, League of Women Voters The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairperson Ralph Olson. Mary Robertson moved to approve the minutes of the April 14, 2005 meeting; Don Oehlerts seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Correspondence: Copies of Don Oehlerts' recent email to Mayor Hutchinson regarding issues facing the library and urging support of the library and financial resources it needs to serve the people of Fort Collins was distributed. Copies of the Board's April 21 memo providing their input for the 2006/2007 budget cycle were distributed. Brenda asked if the Board's priorities for the Building on Basics campaign remain the same as stated in their March 11, 2004 memo; they said that is correct. The priorities are: 1) Library Technology; 2) Materials Funding; 3) a Southeast Branch Library; and 4) a new Downtown Civic Center Library. Information in folders given out at the meeting included charts showing the pros and cons of alternative library funding options, an updated Council/Staff list, recent newspaper articles about the Library, copies of Bob Burns' handouts from the April meeting and the 2004 Preliminary Metro Public Library report containing statistics of 19 Colorado libraries with operating expenditures greater than $1,000,000. Reports/Presentations: a. Director's Report - Brenda Cams Copies of "Budgeting for Outcomes 101" explaining the budget process the City is using, why they are using it and how it works were distributed. Brenda and the Library Management Team have been meeting several times a week regarding this new process. As the Summer Reading Program (SRP) shapes up, this is a busy time for staff. The children's theme is Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds, and it promises to be an exciting program. As part of continuing efforts to increase efficiencies in how we do things, Circulation is using a new mailer for overdue notices that will greatly reduce the number of duplicates and need for extensive staff management. A demonstration on a new disk cleaner will be given to the Friends at their May meeting. The Friends provided the money for the equipment which has already made it possible to repair and recover many CDs. Ralph Olson suggested use of the machine be offered to the public for their own personal CDs and to perhaps charge for the service. Regarding the Colorado Metro public Library Report, Bob suggested the chart be produced with a medium mark, and Brenda said she will suggest it to the State. The report is posted on their web site. Bob asked if there is any incentive for staff to learn to speak Spanish. Brenda said the Library has offered classes to staff and the City offers classes as well. As part of one of the skits featured in the recently produced children's SRP video, which is showing on Cable 27, one of the Children's Library Assistants is shown conversing in Spanish to a child at the service desk. The Board asked to see the video at their June meeting. Bob said he hopes City Council is aware of how much the Library is reaching out to the Spanish-speaking population. Brenda said an outreach partnership with another City department, like Recreation, would probably be looked at favorably in the new budget process. b. Public Relations — Nina Bodenhamer Nina presented a draft position paper containing pertinent information about the Library and asked Board members to email her with any suggestions or revisions for the final paper. She also said she will bring an introduction letter to the next meeting containing a description of the READ poster project which will be mailed to potential subjects for the photos. Ralph is planning to meet with David Roy and Mary will contact the new Mayor to talk about Library issues such as the BOB project, the importance of renewing Library Technology funding, and the need for a southeast branch. Molly is working on the next Quarterly Newsletter for the Board. Suggested topics include the Summer Reading program, book donations to the Friends of the Library have decreased, parking issues at Harmony Library and how proactive the Library has been to solve the problem with the College, book clubs at the Library, and the recent Asian Festival and film at the Library. Old Business a. Library District/Authority — Brenda Cams In response to a request from Bob Burns at the April Library Board meeting, Brenda presented a comparison chart of three forms of library funding options: Municipal Library, Library District and Regional Library Authority and reviewed the pros and cons of each. Bob asked what fiscal periods are used for Districts. Brenda said some Districts use July to July; Arapahoe recently changed to January to January. Mary asked if Boards are appointed or elected. Brenda said Board members for Library Districts are appointed by the City and County but she isn't sure about Library Authority Boards. Bob asked if Board members are volunteers and Brenda said they are. Bob thanked Brenda for the comparisons of the various options and said they are very helpful. Marty Heffernan said that City Council is scheduled to review library funding at their July 12s' Work Session. Although the City doesn't seem too interested in the District option at this time, it is worthwhile to educate Council on the work of the Task Force, which was formed last year to explore funding options, to see if there is interest in pursuing a particular option. He explained that with an Authority, the Library would still remain under the City governance but would have an additional source of funding. Mary asked who the Library would partner with; Marty said the County expressed interest in a partnership. Brenda said the District option is more of a regional approach. If a District was established, the City would be able to use the sales tax revenue that now is spent on library services for other City needs. Marty said while there is an incentive to do it, he doesn't think people would want to tax themselves for something they already have and it is expensive to add new levels of service. The fundamental issue is to educate Council on the various possibilities and to access their interest in an alternative option. It was suggested to review the pros and cons of the funding options at the June meeting so that the Board can come to a consensus about their recommendation before the July 12 Council Work Session. Bob said it is difficult to take a position on one option over another at this time. Ralph suggested Board members email their questions (to Marge) about a week before the next meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Maz�ek� Administrative Secretary