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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 12/13/2001r A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on December 13, 2001 in the Community Room at 215 N. Mason Street. The following Library Board members were present: Carolyn Haase, Rudy Maes, Ralph Olson, Mary Robertson, Charles Robles and Joan Schererman Council Member Present: Marty Tharp City Staff Members Present: Brenda Cams, Robert Holzfaster, and Marjorie Teklits Friends of the Library Liaison: Joanna Lambert The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by the Chairperson, Mary Robertson. Carolyn Haase motioned that the minutes of the November 8, 2001 meeting be approved as written; Rudy Maes seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Robert Holzfaster, the Library's Business Administrator, introduced himself to the newer Board members and described the realm of his duties, which include purchasing, payroll, human resources, and accounts payable. Correspondence Copies of the Board's 2002 Work Plan were included in packets. There was no other correspondence to be read at tonight's meeting. Reports/Presentations a. Director — Brenda Cams Preparations for the recarpeting of the first floor of the Main Library are underway and, with the exception of a few hours, it is planned to remain open for the duration of the work. There have been a few ventilation system problems but we have been assured the fumes are not toxic. The weeding of outdated and worn materials on the second floor has been completed, and books that no longer fit on shelves will be placed on booktrucks so that customers will have access to them. Additional space will be rented offsite to store duplicate copies. Items stored are accessible and will be obtained for customers as needed. Mary asked the square footage of the rented space used by Technical Services, and Brenda said the combined space used by this department and the Friends of the Library is approximately 3,000 square feet. The additional storage space that will be rented will add another 480 square feet. In response to customer requests, the library is experimenting with checking out back issues of periodicals. The concern is that some will not be returned, however, many are available online, so they will still be accessible. The number of items checked out through November has reached 1.6 million, and it is expected to approach 2 million by the end of the year. Before Harmony Library opened, yearly circulation was approximately 1 million. b. Friends of the Library - Joanna Lambert Joanna said the Friends baked cookies to present to the college students who helped provide muscle power during the Friends' October book sale at the Mall. They were delivered to the Presidents of the various Fraternities and Sororities at the beginning of finals week. The Friends will sponsor another Symphony Preview in January. The date was changed from the 8 ° to the 9`" of the month. The Friends took in approximately $51,000 during their 2001 book sales. The first sale of 2002 is planned in February, and they are hoping to take in $9-10,000. They will decide on the Library's request list, totaling $43,710, at their January Board meeting. The Friends are going to tie-in their Books for Kids program with the Library's children's programs. They believe every kid should own a book and are also planning to give a book to every new baby in Fort Collins as well. Lang Webber is chairing this program. C. Committee Reports: County/State/National - Charles Robles Charles mentioned that the Mayor is attending a meeting in Washington with President Bush and Mayors of other cities in January. He is planning to send a letter with the Mayor for Mrs. Bush, a former librarian herself and advocate of reading. He also mentioned the interest in watching who will seek to replace Rep. Schaffer as well as the possibility of Stan Matsunaka running for Governor. 2 City Council Relations - Rudy Maes There were no new developments to report at the meeting. Children's/Young Adult Services - Carolyn Haase Carolyn said Lu Benke's portion of the Director's Report was exceptional and complete. She will provide her comments regarding the Library Facility Regulations and neighborhood meetings later in the meeting. OLD BUSINESS a. Library Security Issues - Charles Robles Charles expressed Board and staff concerns over security issues to Lt. Pino at Police Services. As District 1 now has more clerical support, the reporting of incidents will be more efficient. Brenda said there continues to be occasional campers by the transformer at the rear of the library. NEW BUSINESS a. Library Facility Regulations - Brenda Cams Brenda explained the background of the document and that staff are seeking its adoption by the Board before it is forwarded to the City Manager. She said although only two customers have been banned from the library in the past four years for abuse of conduct or abuse of use of the Internet, it is essential to have these regulations in place; they basically outline for staff how specific problems are handled. Carolyn recommended the following further action: "Since the potential for the suspendee to bring the suspension to the attention of the Library Board exists just as a matter of confidential information, the Library Director will inform the Library Board when a suspension of library privileges has occurred by indicating the name of the person and length of the suspension. The Library Board will be informed if any customer has appealed a suspension." Brenda stated that she will check with the City Attorney's office as to the legality of adding this statement. (Note: After checking with the City Attorney's office, Brenda found that the proper procedure to follow is to refer customers to the Director, Cultural, Library & Recreational Services, as outlined in the Library Facility Regulations document.) Carolyn said the document was very thorough and excellent and made a motion that it be approved; Charles Robles seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. b. Planning Neighborhood Meetings - Mary Robertson As discussed at the last meeting, the Board agreed that neighborhood meetings are needed to find out why, despite many supported the new main library issue, it didn't pass. It would be helpful to research what people want and are looking for. Mary felt it would be appropriate for the Library Board to plan neighborhood meetings and asked for suggestions, ideas, and thoughts about how to proceed. Marty Tharp said a packaged issue might have had a better chance of passing even a year ago, but convincing people to vote for all three issues at this time was difficult. People have shown they want a new facility as evidenced by prior approval of the purchase of land. She said issues sometime need more time and also need to be repeated. Council members have not as yet discussed the recent election results but will probably do so after the first of the New Year. Giving people specific, unbundled choices is probably strategically better for the library. Mary asked if Council would have interest in putting a new main library issue on the ballot rather than there being another citizen's initiative. Marty said she doesn't know what Council position is at this point but she does know they have to deal with transportation issues, such as long term funding needs. There hasn't been an opportunity to discuss other issues. Mary felt that neighborhood meetings are what is needed. On behalf of the Board, Mary encouraged staff to do a survey to determine how much library support exists. Ralph mentioned that sometimes college students do real life projects, such as research surveys and gathering public input; he offered Brenda help in looking into this possibility. Rudy made the motion that Library staff support the efforts of the Board to gather public input by conducting a survey of the public involving other informational professionals and possibly CSU; Joan seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Mary stressed the importance of having a statistically valid survey involving community input. Carolyn suggested a feature article in the newspaper about it at the appropriate time. Ralph said people have also expressed interest in branches; if they didn't see what they asked for in previous surveys on the ballot, they didn't vote for the issue. Mary said a particular group wanted a central location rather than a downtown location for a new main library and, they, too, did not vote for it simply because the location wasn't want they wanted. This is something to keep in mind. Brenda said it is impossible to get 100% agreement on the ideal location, but you have to go with the needs and wants of the community. Carolyn said it is also important to keep abreast of what is going on with the Health District and their expansion plans in the event they might be interested in a branch partnership. Marty Tharp added that such a partnership between the City and Front Range Community College was indeed successful. Charles said there is a need to visibly show people the library's needs; perhaps Robert could provide statistics to help demonstrate them. A plethora of evidence is needed. Carolyn read her written comments: "It is recommended for Board consideration that a major meeting for residents be held at the Main Library to include tours of the Library 11 which will visibly demonstrate crowded conditions, areas in need of extra space, condition of the facility. These tours will be conducted by staff selected by the Library Director, and two members of the Library Board will accompany each tour. A general information question and answer session could be held in the Meeting Room again with staff and Library Board members participating. It is likely that attendance would be encouraged by the following outreach activities: (1) Block Ad/s in the COLORADOAN, FORUM, Wellington newspaper possibly; (2) Feature article in the COLORADOAN with interview quotes from all members of the Library, the Library Director, several staff members which will convey our strong interest in listening to public opinion; (2) Scheduling of the meetings on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, perhaps one event on a Wednesday late afternoon for the convenience of persons working in the downtown area; (3) Have survey forms available which attendees could complete and return via mail providing opportunity to give the situation thought after the tour and oral presentations -- identification probably should not be required on the form. If surveys are mailed to citizens or included in the utilities bill, then handout of forms would not be necessary at the time of the tour program. Prepared information literature could be available in the meeting room. Friends of the Library might be willing to provide coffee and tea following the tour. This tour -information session at the Library would probably attract media coverage, and a video could be made for Library historical records. One or two large well -planned information sessions at the Library site might be more effective than neighborhood meetings. We would also be able to identify citizens interested in participating in a 2002 campaign. Brenda has made a wise observation that future activities to obtain financial support for a new Main Library needs to visibly involve more library staff personnel. In seeking passage of education financial issues, teachers, administrators, and the Poudre Education Association have been visibly active. It is important that any campaign steering committee include representative of organizations known for conservative fiscal philosophies and continued strong representation from senior citizens and 'younger' voters. This Library Board member receives feedback which focuses on the following as negative in the recent ballot issues: (1) The economy - instability - need for conservative governmental fiscal management --some small businesses in Larimer County working hard to survive; (2) Willingness to support a new Library, dislike of bundling the issue with the Performing Arts Center; (3) Persons on limited incomes, such as retirees, feeling that we can 'make do' with what we have." Mary said Carolyn's idea to bring people to the library for meetings could be combined with neighborhood meetings for an even greater impact. Joan felt neighborhood meetings were a good idea, and Ralph suggested Board members meet with their own neighborhood groups. Carolyn suggested the groups be asked if they are interested in a library tour. Joanna Lambert mentioned that Dan MacArthur has been invited to the Friends' February Board Meeting and that he might be able to provide some helpful information. Brenda said she will ask him about organized neighborhood groups and their contacts. She added that a new marketing research assistant should be in place by January and that this staff member will be able to help. Carolyn mentioned the Council Six Month Agenda Planning Calendar did not indicate a date for a Library Re -Use Study. Mary will draft a memo from the Board to Council to request the scheduling of a study session to review this issue and discuss the Council's ideas for the future of the Library. The dates of January 22 or February 12 were thought to be possible dates. C. Library Trust Update - Mary Robertson Mary reported that the National Endowment for the Humanities Grant for which the Trust applied was not approved. The Trust will continue with their fundraising efforts and will look into the possibility of reapplying. Their goal is to raise $1.5 million over the next couple of years. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marjorie Teklits Administrative Secretary