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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 08/09/2001A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on August 9, 2001 in the Ben Delatour Room of the Main Library. The following Library Board members were present: Carolyn Haase, Lisa Helme, Rudy Maes, Ralph Olson, and Mary Robertson. Library Board Members Absent: Charles Robles and Joan Scheuerman City Staff Members Present: Brenda Cams, Mike Powers, and Marjorie Teklits Guest: Marty Tharp, City Council Member Friends of the Library Liaison: Joanna Lambert The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by the Chairperson, Mary Robertson. A motion was made by Carolyn Haase to approve the minutes of the July 12, 2001 meeting; Rudy Maes seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. New Library Board member Ralph Olson was introduced and welcomed to the Board. Correspondence There was no correspondence to be read at tonight's meeting. Reports/Presentations a. Director — Brenda Cams This year's Summer Reading Program is proving to be a great success with 593 more children registered to date over the same time last year. This wonderful program is made possible by funds raised by the Friends of the Library. Brenda encouraged the Board to read the "How'd we do?" customer comments about the program in their packets. Due to many customer requests, it is planned to start an adult summer reading program next year. One of the Children's staff provided an impromptu storytime when 40 people had to be turned away from a recent puppet show at the Main Library because of maximum room occupancy restrictions. A meeting is scheduled tomorrow with the Latimer County Librarians and the County Manager to discuss the allocation of population figures for purposes of distributing state funds. It is planned to search for a new Library's marketing/public relations coordinator as the position was recently vacated. The Library's Outreach Coordinator recently attended the National Council of La Raza. She was interviewed by National Public Radio after Mexico's President spoke, and she talked about Fort Collins and what she is doing as Outreach Coordinator at the Library. A pay -for -print program is being implemented at the library. It will require customers to buy a print card and purchase the copies they print. Up to the present, printing has been on the honor system, however, the card method will eliminate duplicate copies an much wasted paper. Plans are underway for a small computer lab in the library with computers obtained through a Gates Foundation grant. The library will be able to provide public access to word processing, and the new computer literacy librarian will be in charge of the lab. Circulation statistics continue to increase. 163,907 items were circulated in July, and the Main Library has climbed back to the level it held before Harmony Library opened. b. Friends of the Library - Joanna Lambert The Friends took in $6,050 at their recent mid -summer book sale. They are collecting books and getting ready for the big fall sale at the Mall. Information about the Friends' book sales are put on their web site and advertised with fliers. Last year, a customer from Pennsylvania purchased $1,000 worth of books at the October sale. Friends are planning to attend the October 21s` City Council meeting in support of a new main library. C. Committee Reports: County/State/National As Charles Robles was not able to attend tonight's meeting, his report will be given at the next meeting. r� City Council Relations - Rudy Maes As there weren't any new developments, Rudy will report back at the next meeting. Community Public Relations - Lisa Helme Lisa gave new Board member Ralph Olson a brief recap of her committee's public meeting project. Lisa and Joan have been researching different groups which might be interested in hearing about the library. Rotary, AARP, senior groups, such as AARP, are possibilities. A focus group open to the general public is another idea. Rudy will try to get Lisa a contact for an Hispanic group as well. Joan is planning to pull together focus groups of teachers and parents in the community. They are planning to do a presentation for one focus group before the September Board meeting and perhaps two or three more during the month of September. Board members had been asked to bring topics for possible Soapbox articles. Lisa is planning to write about the importance of public input and is planning to include in the article a date and time for a focus group for the general public, possibly in October. Mary would like to write about growing up with the library; Rudy's topic will include education for children and the value of the library; Carolyn would like to write about the standardized testing issue and the importance of literacy and reading; Ralph's topic will deal with how the Fort Collins Public Library compares to libraries in various other Colorado cities. Carolyn suggested contacting former Library Board Chairperson, Ed Jakubauskas, as he might also be interested in writing about the library. It will be decided at the next meeting when the articles are to be submitted. Lisa will not be able to attend the September meeting, however, she will speak to Mary or Joan about the articles. Childrens/Youne Adult Services - Carolyn Haase Carolyn has been attending some of the Summer Reading Programs offered by the library and said they continue to be rich and received with much enthusiasm. She said the raptor program was excellent and attendance was outstanding. Harmony Library staff have done an exceptional job, and Lu Benke's description in this month's Director's Report provides detailed information about the program.. Carolyn said the butterfly pavilion outside the Main Library is unique, and she suggested that an article about it be submitted to the Colorado Library Association for their magazine. Lisa also suggested calling the local northern TV bureaus about it and advising them of the visual possibilities. OLD BUSINESS a. 2002/2003 Budget Process - Mike Powers Mary asked about general timing and direction for the next budget cycle. Mike said that the City Manager will present his recommendations during the September 1 la' Council Study Session. Council will review the submission and collect public input. The 2002/2003 Budget Hearing is scheduled for the September 18`h Regular Council Session. They will be discussing budget issues at almost every meeting after that. The November 6'h Regular Council meeting is the first reading of the annual appropriation, and voting on the budget will also take place in November. Board members expressed disagreement that the Library is considered a secondary service. Marty Tharp explained that it is important to have a list of priority services as it helps to allocate the budget. It is very difficult to separate services into primary and secondary categories and, although there is debate about it, priorities have to be defined. b. New Main Library Issue - Mary Robertson For the benefit of the new Board member, Mike explained the ballot initiative process. Mary Robertson reported that a recent community survey revealed that 54% of those surveyed were in favor of the Performing Arts/Library/Museum package, 15% were undecided and 31 % were against it. In general, the survey results were positive as well as some comments about the benefit of bundling the three projects. The August 21" Council meeting is an opportunity for the public to show support of the package. Concern was expressed that if a Transportation issue is also placed on the ballot, both issues could be defeated. On September 4`', Council will vote on the Resolutions to place capital projects on the November ballot. Mary said that efforts are underway to raise funds for the Performing Arts/Library Museum issue campaign. Architects are also preparing a rendering of a new main library. Mike said that land negotiations are taking place, and it is hoped to designate a specific location in the next month or so. He also said that the County Clerk's office is working with the City Clerk's office to issue a ballot number. Mary said the ballots for the November election will be mailed out by the County around October 15`h and, therefore, an accelerated marketing campaign for the issue is needed right after Labor Day. Lisa asked Joanna if the Friends are planning to promote the ballot issue during their October book sale, and Joanna said they are promoting it now and are planning to have handouts about it at the sale. Lisa Helme made a motion that the Library Board formally support the Imagine Fort Collins committee initiative; Carolyn Hasse seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Lisa asked Mike for clarification as to the appropriateness of Library Board members stating their support of the issue to the public and was told that they can formally support the Imagine Fort Collins initiative as the Board has approved a motion to support it. 4 NEW BUSINESS Volunteers from the Library Board for the Library's NewWestFest booth will include Carolyn Haase, Mary Robertson, Ralph Olson, and Rudy Maes and Joanna Lambert, Shelby DiBellis, and Larry Webber from the Friends of the Library. Everyone's help is very much appreciated. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marjorie Teklits Administrative Secretary