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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 11/14/2002A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on September 4, 2002 in the Ben Delatour Room of the Main Library at 201 Peterson Street. The following Library Board members were present: Bob Burns, Rudy Maes, Ralph Olson, Melissa Pattison, and Mary Robertson. Library Board Member Absent: Joan Scheuerman City Staff Members Present: Brenda Cams, Marty Heffernan, and Marjorie Teklits Friends of the Library Liaison: Joanna Lambert Visitor: Jean Blaylock, League of Woman Voters The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by the Chairperson, Mary Robertson. Ralph Olson made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 4, 2002 meeting; Rudy Maes seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Library Board members and City staff introduced themselves to the newest Library Board members Bob Burns and Melissa Pattison and welcomed them to the Board. Visitor Jean Blaylock from the League of Woman Voters Observer Core was also introduced and welcomed to tonight's meeting. Correspondence Brenda mentioned that a customer recently asked that the book titled "What's With the Dudes at the Door" be removed from the collection because of religious criticism. After reading the book, staff recommended its retention and advised the customer of the library's collection development policy which states that titles are purchased based on reputable review sources and represent a variety of viewpoints and stances. No further inquiries or comments were received from the customer. Copies of Carolyn Haase's resignation from the Board were shared, and it was noted that letters of appreciation for her service were sent from Mary and Brenda. Copies of a memo from Ingrid Decker of the City Attorney's Office regarding the Recent Court Decision Regarding Colorado Open Meetings Act were shared. As mentioned in the memo, the bottom line for boards and commissions to be aware of is if a majority or quorum (whichever is less) of a board or commission is reasonably expected to attend a meeting of another entity, such as a City Council meeting or a meeting of a non -City entity, at which matters relevant to the official duties of the board or commission are likely to be discussed, the meeting must be posted as a meeting of the board or commission. This posting requirement is also applicable to subcommittees of a board or commission when a majority or quorum of the subcommittee is expected to be in attendance at another entity's meeting at which matters relevant to the official duties of the subcommittee are likely to be discussed. Brenda thanked Ralph Olson for representing the Board at the recent Harmony Library Advisory Committee meeting. Ralph said he enjoyed the meeting and that the committee consists of an interesting group of people. His report will follow. Reaortsftesentations a. Director — Brenda Cams Library staff recently submitted an annual request list to the Friends of the Library amounting to over $59,000. The Friends have generously agreed to grant this funding for various requests for 2003. Staff are very grateful and excited about the donation, especially for the opportunities it will provide to continue special programming and events for the coming year. The library also received an award of funds in the amount of $33,500 from the Editha Todd Leonard Trust in response to their proposal to foster the preservation, study, promotion and encouragement of literature. Funds will be used for programs in celebration of the library's Centennial. Library budget cuts for 2003 amount to approximately $44,000, the majority of which will come from cuts in hourly staff which will most likely result in longer checkout lines and waits at the service desks. In addition, hourly positions which become vacant will be filled by current staff until the situation improves. On the other hand, staff have made some productivity savings due to technology changes. The annual labor market adjustments have been postponed for up to 11 months, however, merit increases will be allowed. Over 500 people attended the multicultural "Day of the Dead" celebration at the Main 2 Library on November 1 and 2. Brenda thanked Marty Heffernan for attending this most successful event and for presenting the awards. Special alters containing flowers, food, mementos and photos in remembrance and celebration of lost loved ones were created by schools, families, and library staff. Mayor Ray Martinez and Deputy City Manager Diane Jones also participated. Mary agreed that this was a wonderful cultural event for the library to be involved with. Self-service holds (reserves) are now available for the public at Harmony Library. Library materials are covered with a paper which conceals the title for privacy and the customer's name is written over the spine label. These materials are available on a shelf near the self -checkout machines for customers to help themselves, thereby saving staff time and effort in assisting them and making checkout more convenient. Customers may now pay their outstanding fines or lost material charges exceeding $10 by credit card at the Main Library. A collection agency used by the library has traditionally been recovering about 40% of accounts on lost materials over the last 7 years. b. Friends of the Library The Friends held another successful booksale at the Mall in early October, raising $32,380. Book dealers purchased approximately two-thirds of what they normally do because of the current economic situation. As in previous years, Friends members are planning to bake and present dozens of cookies to thank members of the fraternities who helped load and unload all the books. Joan Scheuerman's help at the sale was also appreciated. As mentioned in Brenda's report, the Friends are presenting the library with $59,318 to pay for such things as the Summer Reading Programs and a centennial celebration for next year. Joanna has a list of all the items which will be funded. Susan Kirkpatrick said that without the donation from the Friends, "Read On, Fort Collins" would not have been able to bring author Lois Lowry to the recent event enjoyed by the community. C. Committee Reports: City Council Relations - Rudy Maes Due to a recent illness, Rudy did not have anything to report at tonight's meeting. He thanked everyone for their well wishes. Public Relations - Ralph Olson Although Joan was not able to attend tonight's meeting, she dropped off a compilation of the Library Board Survey. Ralph and Joan will speak about the results at the December meeting. OLD BUSINESS a. Harmony Library Advisory Committee Meeting - Ralph Olson Ralph represented the Library Board at the committee's fall meeting. Plans are underway for Front Range Community College's 50th year anniversary. The committee discussed such things as improvements at the library, how self check-out could improve operations, and the parking situation. Brenda has followed up on road access concerns entering and leaving the campus. The College has installed speed bumps in the campus which have helped, however, trying to lower the speed limit on Shields due to high speed and high volume traffic coming from the south and uneven alignment of roads coming out of the College and the opposite sub -division creating an unsafe entrance and exit has been difficult. A traffic circle has been considered at Shields and Harmony but funds are not available. Bob asked if the area could be considered a school zone, such as the stretch along Shields by CSU, and Brenda said she would look into it. b. Southeast Library Branch - Marty Heffernan For the benefit of new members, Marty gave a brief recap of the background of the proposed southeast branch at the former Steele's market site on Harmony Road. He explained that the project is presently at a standstill. Covenant restrictions prevent reading rooms in the shopping area and many area businesses are opposed to the public use of retail space. In addition, the square foot cost to remodel the space is becoming expensive, and the City would have to buy the space from the Trust in five years. Also, as sales and use revenue has been down significantly, there might not be enough money in future years to maintain the quality of the library's collection. Wilkins Trust members have been very understanding of the situation and willing to let the building to return to retail space. C. County Funding - Marty Heffernan The Board was given copies of the presentation regarding County Funding issues and future library locations given to City Council at their September 10`h Study Session. As the County discontinued library funding some years ago, Council requested recommendations for alternative funding. Staff recommended that the Commissioners be approached and the issue be presented to voters to impose a property tax in the unincorporated areas of the County. Legal issues being worked on include uniform taxation concerns. Another option would be to implement a fee, however, it is difficult to charge a fee to residents in unincorporated areas unless you can show everyone benefits from it. A fallback position would be to charge non-residents for a library card, which is a worse -case scenario as it is administratively cumbersome, not consistent with the Library's mission, penalizes large families and people who do not have the ability to pay; it would also be difficult to charge enough to cover the actual per capita cost for library services. 4 Bob asked what percentage of cardholders presently live outside the City; Brenda said it is approximately 15-20%. Ralph said the library is not a "membership," and Mary added that the idea is to keep library services open to all. Marty said the City will continue to work with the County to find the best solution for alternative funding sources and then go back to Council with a recommendation for approval. C. Future Libraries - Marty Heffernan Board recommendations to meet future library needs as discussed at the September 4`s Library Board meeting were presented to Council. The recommendations received support other than concerns some Council members expressed that the number of branches could be excessive; future library space should address needs, not convenience; and the amount of branches proposed might not actually be needed if CSU's Morgan Library is considered. A memo was prepared by staff to answer questions that came out of the meeting. It presents current information as well as peer library statistics showing the Fort Collins Public Library is deficient in most of the comparisons except per capita use. It is hoped to receive a positive Council resolution to move forward for plans for a southeast branch by 2005. Mary felt seeking approval for a branch now, then asking for other needs later, is the best way to go at present. She also believes public support will be in favor of a southeast branch, especially since the possibility of using the Steele's location had been publicized some time ago and the community seemed very excited about it. Bob asked where the center of population is currently defined; Brenda said it used to be College and Prospect but now it is most likely College and Drake, or more precisely, in the area bordered by Drake, College, Prospect and Shields. d. Library Board By -Laws Amendment Bob Burns motioned to approve the document as amended at the September 4`" meeting, Ralph Olson seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. NEW BUSINESS a. 2003 Work Plan - Mary Robertson The Board discussed suggestions for the 2003 Work Plan, and Mary will assemble the final report. These suggestions included recognition of the library's centennial anniversary, support in obtaining County funding for library services, an overview of what staff is discussing and what the Board could do. Brenda will provide the Board with a list of 2002 staff accomplishments to assist. She added that it is important for the Board to participate in policy making for libraries in the state by attending the annual Legislative Day as well as some legislative committee meetings. Another Work Plan goal might include review of the present sub -committees. Ralph suggested that when committees are formed, they should have a definite purpose and be dissolved when they are no longer needed. Mary agreed that it would be a good idea to revamp the committees to match what the Board is doing. Marge was asked to review past minutes to see if a motion was originally made to form the committees in order to determine if a motion is needed to dissolve some or all of them as needed. Bob Burns mentioned that he would like to see a discussion about intellectual freedom issues at some point in the future, and Brenda said she can ask staff to put together a presentation for the Board. In reviewing their Work Plan for 2002 and some of the goals which were identified, the Board solicited public input by means of the survey prepared by Joan which appeared in the Coloradoan and made available at the both libraries; the Board supported funding for services, as with regard to County funding and a southeast branch; the Board supported partnerships throughout the year and also complimented library staff creativity in doing the same as well as the coordination between the Friends of the Library and Library Trust efforts. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marjorie Teklits Administrative Secretary