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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - 11/09/20001-1 LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting November 9, 2000 6:00 p.m. Council Liaison: Michael Byrne Acting Chairperson: Mary Robertson (Phone:407-7066) Staff Liaison: Brenda Cams (Phone 221-6670) A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on November 9, 2000 in the Ben Delatour Room of the Main Library. The following Library Board members were present: Carolyn Haase, Lisa Helme, Rudy Maes, Mary Robertson, and Charles Robles. Library Board Members Absent: City Staff Members Present: Friends of the Library Liaison: Guest: Edward Jakubauskas, M. Madeleine Wawro Brenda Cams, Michael W. Powers, and Marjorie Teklits Larry Webber Wayne Givens, President, Library Trust The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by the Acting Chairperson, Mary Robertson. The minutes of the October 12" meeting were amended to show that the Friends of the Library elected their new officers at their October meeting instead of the November meeting. Rudy Maes motioned that the minutes be approved as corrected; Lisa Helme seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Correspondence There was no correspondence read at the meeting. 1 Reports/Presentations a. Director — Brenda Cams Brenda encouraged Board members to take advantage of the coffee cart service when they are visiting the Main Library. The service has proved very popular with customers but still needs to build its clientele before becoming profitable. Carolyn asked if a similar service is planned for Harmony, and Brenda said that there has been concern that it might be considered in competition with the College; also, since profits are not exceptional at Main, it would be difficult for the vendor to start a second service at this time. An alternative would be to have the Friends offer thermos coffee in their shop, however, Health Department issues would have to be explored to see if this would be possible. The Library has applied for 2000-2001 State Funding Grants for Public Libraries. The grant amount is based on population served which amounts to approximately $38,000. To comply with requirements of the grant, staff are testing software which will offer parents the choice of either filtered or non -filtered Internet access for their children. Lisa said that information for the public should be clear as to what the software can and cannot do and that it should stress parental responsibility for children's Internet use. Mary said that it would be helpful to Board members to have talking points about the filtering option and parental control in the event they are asked about this new policy. Carolyn felt the library should work with the public schools about the issue, and Brenda assured her that the librarians are in close communication with school media centers. A December 11 meeting is planned with Mayors of various cities in Latimer County, County officials and key library staff from the County to discuss loss of County funding for library services in 2001. The Fort Collins Public Library will lose approximately $138,000, $30,000 of which supports the Outreach Coordinator's position which serves the community's homebound. Library staff greatly appreciated the volunteer efforts from Coloradoan staff on "Make A Difference Day." A draft of an agreement with the HealthAware Library for the Fort Collins Public Library to house its collection is being reviewed. Brenda thanked Mary Robertson for attending a naming committee meeting for the library's new automated system. Input is now being solicited from staff on some of the suggested names. The library has received a memorial donation from a local family in the amount of $1,425 for the purchase of books on tape. b. Friends of the Library — Larry Webber Larry shared a report of the Friends' year-to-date progress on their used cartridge recycling project; $765.25 has been collected. The Friends' last General Meeting of the year was held on November 8` and the last Board meeting will be held on the 13"'. Larry has been asked to be in charge of the Friends' newsletter and said he would like to make it available in more places and include articles about current library issues, such as the filtering option. Mary said she would like to see a meeting with some Library Board members and Friends to discuss an advocacy campaign. She asked Larry to speak to the group about it at next week's Board meeting. Larry will give Marge the American Library Journal articles of interest to Board members for copying and distribution. C. Committee Reports: County/State/National — Carolyn Haase Carolyn shared copies of a November 9" article by Tom Wagoner from The Loveland Reporter -Herald regarding Veterans Day remembrance. She also distributed copies of a Denver Post article regarding voter approval of more than $654 million in construction bond proposals for state schools. She said it shows the public's interest in supporting education at a high level which is an indicator of potential support we can receive for our libraries. Carolyn stressed the importance of monitoring the agendas of various elected candidates with regard to affects on the State's libraries. Carolyn further said that we now have five female governors, and it is thought that female opinion and attitude tend to be stronger and more in support of libraries and education. City Council Relations — Charles Robles Charles mentioned the defeat of Amendments 21 and 24 in the recent election. He also encouraged Board members to contact and meet with their Council person on a regular basis. Community Public Relations — Mary Robertson Mary submitted the Soapbox article from the Board on library partnerships and will follow up with The Coloradoan to see if they are scheduling it in the near future. d. Library Trust -- Wayne Givens Wayne distributed an updated roster of the Trust Board of Directors, Honorary members and Invitees. He said new additions to the Board, which continues to meet once a month, are Dave Armstrong and Melissa Katsimpalis. He thanked Library Board member Mary 3 Robertson for attending the Trust meetings and for her valuable contribution. The Trust has been busy "building the case" for marketing and fund raising; they have been designated a charitable organization and have 501(c)3 status. Anne Ostrye- Macdonald has been writing grants to fund start-up expenses for the Trust; a Wells Fargo grant was denied and a Stryker -Short grant is pending. They are exploring other avenues for grant opportunities such as the Friends of the Library and Rotary. In addition, a grant application will be submitted to the National Endowment for the Humanities early next year. It is a matching grant, typically in the range of $3004500,000 and could be used as a foundation for further fundraising. A decision on this grant opportunity is scheduled to be made by November 2001. To help introduce itself to the community, the Trust is planning to enclose a one -page survey with the City's utility bills in January. The survey, which can simply be folded over and returned, will ask specific questions about what people like and don't like about the library and their opinion about what size library is needed; the draft will be finalized by December 20. Lisa suggested making survey forms available in the library and to make sure a press release is sent in advance; the newspaper may be positioned to print survey results. Rudy suggested inserting the surveys in The Coloradoan, however, the expense would be considerable; Brenda reminded that an advantage of sending the survey in the utility bills is that there is no cost to the library or Trust. Carolyn said to be sure to reach college and other youth, and Brenda said this audience will receive the survey in utility bills as most college students live off -campus. Wayne also mentioned that a local family Trust may be interested in supporting library programs as well as Library Trust start-up expenses. Wayne finished by saying the Trust will need to work on investment policies, strategies, and donation policies. Mike Powers thanked him and Trust members for taking on this project, and Lisa Helme asked Wayne to let the Library Board members know if they can be of assistance. She also suggested that the Trust look into the community reinvestment act which provides an opportunity to acquire money from banks who reinvest in their communities. . OLD BUSINESS a. New Main Library Site -- Mike Powers Mike briefly reviewed some potential sites and also mentioned a new site that could be considered. It will be important to be in a position to have a definite location identified in order to get on the ballot when the opportunity presents itself. A new main library will be included in the list of capital improvement projects for the 4 • next ten years which City Council will be looking at in December. b. Chapter 2, Article III of the City Code Due to opposing opinions by various Boards and Commissions, the proposed amendment to this Article of the City Code will not be pursued at this time. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marjorie Teklits Administrative Secretary