HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 07/11/2002A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on July 11, 2002 in the Ben Delatour Room of
the Main Library at 201 Peterson Street. The following Library Board members were present:
Carolyn Haase, Rudy Maes, Ralph Olson, Mary Robertson, and Joan Scheuerman.
City Staff Members Present: Brenda Cams and Marjorie Teklits
Friends of the Library Liaison: Joanna Lambert
Citizen Guests: Mike Wermuth, Clayton and Michael Schwerin
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by the Chairperson, Mary Robertson.
Carolyn Haase made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 13, 2002 meeting, Ralph Olson
seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved.
Correspondence
Mary Robertson sent a card and flowers to retiring Lead Librarian Francine Purdom to extend
best wishes from the Library Board and to thank her for her years of service to the library.
Reports/Presentations
a. Director — Brenda Carns
Brenda has been and will continue to divide her time between the Harmony and Main
Libraries until the Branch Manager position is filled. Board members were invited to
attend final candidate presentations in the Community Room at Harmony Library on July
26`h.
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The Lead Librarian -Adult Services position has been posted, and a national search is
being conducted.
Board members were invited to volunteer a shift at the Library's NewWestFest table this
year on August 17`h and 18`h and were asked to contact Marge with their availability. A
schedule of available shifts will be mailed to the Board.
Board members were also invited to the "Annie Walk & Pet Fest" event sponsored by the
Friends of the Library on Saturday, August 24`h. The brochure with details will be
distributed as soon as it is finalized.
Brenda mentioned the letters sent to Mary Robertson and Carolyn Haase from the City
Clerk's office inviting them to renew their Library Board terms by July 31. Carolyn
mentioned she has already answered their request.
Registration for the teen Summer Reading Program (SRP) has climbed to over 700; it was
only 434 last year. Registrations for the Children's SRP have also increased over last
year.
Brenda thanked Mary Robertson for her two-day participation and Carolyn Haase for her
4 hour participation in the hiring process for the new Director of Cultural, Library, and
Recreational Services.
b. Friends of the Library - Joanna Lambert
The Friends are preparing for their Mid -Summer book sale which starts at noon July 19'h
Joanna said she would ask Glen Goff to contact Rudy regarding use of his truck for
transporting books.
C. Committee Reports:
County/State/National - Carolyn Haase
Carolyn's submitted a written report on the following items which are summarized below:
David Roy was sworn in on June 25'h as the new Council Member for District 6,
replacing Chuck Wanner. Copies of a Coloradoan editorial regarding Chuck Warmer's
departure will be included in next month's packets. Carolyn said there was a wonderful
pool of candidates for this seat and a challenge for Council to make a selection. She said
Mr. Roy indicated transportation, environmental matters and closer cooperation between
the Larimer County government and City Council are among the three most important
issues facing the community at this time. She suggested a letter be sent from the Board to
Mr. Roy congratulating him on his appointment; she also volunteered to serve as a liaison
if needed.
Carolyn suggested a letter expressing gestures of support be conveyed to the Tharp family
in view of Mr. Tharp's recent illness. Brenda mentioned that library staff has recently
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sent a card to the family.
Carolyn recommended two Board members monitor recommendations from the Citizen
Advisory Committee for the City Plan Update Project.
Carolyn will share copies of a letter she is sending to Governor Owens urging him to
provide leadership for public library financing. She also recommended asking candidates
who are seeking election to state legislative posts their position on funding of Colorado
Public Library requests.
Carolyn shared excerpts from the American Library Association's June 2002
COGNOTES containing interesting national information and a report on the
"Accessibility Pavilion" available at the recent national conference in Atlanta.
Carolyn also shared a copy of her letter to The Coloradoan regarding a story suggestion
about the geese family born at Harmony Library in the spring and said she was
disappointed there was no follow-up story nor acknowledgment of the news tip.
City Council Relations - Rudy Maes
Rudy is planning to meet with the Mayor in the near future; he also would like to speak to
Chuck Wanner regarding any recommendations he may have for the Board. He also
offered to speak with new Council Member Daivd Roy and to invite him to a future
meeting to acquaint him with the Board and library issues.
Public Relations - Ralph Olson, Joan Scheuerman
Ralph and the Library's Market Research Assistant will continue with the bookmark
project as some of the permission forms have been received. The bookmarks will consist
of artwork from Poudre School District students and they will also contain pertinent
information of interest about the library.
Copies of Joan's survey questions regarding library services will be made available to the
public at both the Harmony and Main Libraries.
Brenda said the library's promotional video will most likely have to be completely redone
as this would be less expensive and easier to accomplish in the long run. Information in
the old video has become outdated and simply adding information to it would make it
ineffective. Ralph said the Board's public relations committee should meet to evaluate
the strategy for the project and to make a recommendation to the City Manager at the
appropriate time.
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OLD BUSINESS
a. County Funding - Brenda Cams
A summary of the history of County funding of library services with possible options to
pursue will be discussed at a meeting on July 15 with Brenda Carns, Marty Heffernan,
Mary Robertson and Ralph Olson; it will be refined, prioritized, and a strategy for moving
forward will be planned.
b. Southeast Branch - Brenda Carns
Recommendation for approval of the agenda item for a Southeast Branch has been moved
from July 16 to August 20; this will provide more time to work out logistics and other
issues. Brenda mentioned that staff has begun to look at fixtures, furniture and are
discussing items to be included in the collection if the project is approved.
Rudy said he has received feedback from members of the community that they feel the
Steele's site is too close to the Harmony Library, and some prefer a new downtown library
instead of a southeast branch.
Brenda mentioned that the idea to include a Challenger simulator in the project has been
dropped as it was allotted to another community.
C. Soapbox Articles - Mary Robertson
Mary shared copies of her draft Soapbox article about libraries being information centers.
The Board agreed it would make an excellent submission.
d. Library Board Member Appointments
Board members inquired as to when new appointments will be made to fill the two
vacancies. At present, it is expected to have one vacancy approved by August or
September and the other by December or January. Carolyn said the general public needs
more awareness of retaining active applications for City Boards and communications with
the Boards and Commissions Coordinator even if initially not appointed on the first
submission. Ralph volunteered to write a Soapbox article about the Board's need for
volunteers.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marione Teklits
Administrative Secretary
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