HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Board - Minutes - (5)LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES
Regular Meeting —July 8, 1999
6:00 p.m.
Council Liaison: Michael Byrne I Staff Liaison: Brenda Cams
(Phone 221-6670)
Acting Chairperson: Ed Jakubauskas
(Phone:223-7428)
A regular meeting of the Library Board was held on July 8, 1999 in the Ben Delatour Room at
the Main Library. The following Library Board members were present: Carolyn Haase, Ed
Jakubauskas, Rudy Maes, Mary Robertson, Charles Robles, and M. Madeleine Wawro.
Library Board Member Absent:
City Staff Members Present:
Friends of the Library Liaison:
Kris Folsom
Brenda Cams, Michael W. Powers, and
Marjorie Teklits
Larry Webber
The meeting was called to order at 6:10 p.m. by the Acting Chairperson, Ed Jakubauskas. The
minutes of the May 13, 1999 Regular Meeting were amended to add Carolyn Haase attending as
a potential Library Board candidate. Carolyn Haase moved to have the names of visitors and
interested citizens included in future Minutes; Rudy Maes seconded the motion, and the motion
was unanimously approved.
New Library Board members Carolyn Haase and Charles Robles were introduced and welcomed
to the Board.
CORRESPONDENCE
Copies of a letter dated June 21 from Karla Smith of the City Clerk's office to Anne Ostrye-
Macdonald inviting her to attend the July 20" Council meeting to be honored for her service on
the Library Board were distributed.
Copies of Jack Steele's May 14, 1999 memo to the City Manager and Deputy City Manager
regarding the Board's "Input for the 1999-2001 City Council Policy Agenda" and John
Fischbach's May 17" memo thanking the Board for its ideas and suggestions were distributed.
Copies of the Six Month Planning Calendar were also distributed, and Board members made note
of the following meeting dates pertaining to budget issues: September 14 and 21, October 5 and
19, and November 2.
Ed Jakubauskas distributed a "Proposed Structure of Library Board Committees and Schematic
Framework" and sign-up sheet for the Library Board to choose membership on one or more of
the following committees: (1) County/State/National issues (pertaining to Library District
concept, County funds to the Library, State funding, Federal grants and funds); (2) City Council
issues (pertaining to Library site selection, City funds to the Library, Council, Mayor and City
Manager relations); and (3) Community Relations: Public Relations (pertaining to the Fort
Collins Community Foundation, proposed Library Foundation, Front Range Community
College, Friends coordination, school libraries, customer relations, and special community
activities). Rudy Maes, Carolyn Haase, and Charles Robles signed up for the
County/State/National Committee; Maddy Wawro, Mary Robertson, and Charles Robles signed
up for the City Council Relations Committee; and Maddy Wawro, Mary Robertson, and Rudy
Maes signed up for the Community/Public Relations Committee.
REPORTS/PRESENTATIONS
A. Library Director — Brenda Cams
Brenda Cams mentioned that when Board members read the Director's Report included
with monthly packets containing pertinent up-to-date information about the library from
management staff, feel free to ask for clarification of any items mentioned during this
oral report.
This year's Children's Summer Reading Program theme `So Many Pets ... So Many
Books" has become extremely popular and is bringing droves of children into the library.
Registrations have increased, and many children are even more motivated by the
incentive of rescuing the horse, Ginger, by reading extra hours. The Friends of the
Library and Heska Corporation are each donating $1.00 up to $500 for the rehabilitation
of the horse when a child reads five extra hours.
The RFP for a new library automated system is due July 30". The present system is used
to the maximum and has been unreliable at times. Board members were invited to review
the proposals and software on August 12 and 13 before a selection is made.
In response to customer requests, more large -type books have been purchased, and some
of the Main Library's collection is being moved to Harmony.
Although circulation statistics dropped about 10% at the Main Library when Harmony
first opened, current figures show circulation increasing at both locations.
Information contained in the Business Sense newsletter, which was made possible with
the public relations grant prepared by Anne Ostrye-Macdonald, is now being used in the
Northern Colorado Business Report each month, expanding the library's visibility in the
community.
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B. Friends of the Library — Larry Webber
Larry Webber explained to new Board members that the Friends are a support group for
the library and encouraged them to join its membership. This year, the Friends raised
$10,000 for the Summer Reading Program —one of their biggest contributions! The
Friends also offer daytime programs at the Main Library which are repeated in the
evening at Harmony Library. In addition to their annual book sale at Foothills Mall in
October, they have begun offering "mini" book sales throughout the year. The next sale
will take place Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25, and a presale for members and staff
will be held on Friday, July 2')".
Another fundraiser the Friends are involved with for the library is collecting used printer
cartridges. An organization is giving 50% of their earnings from collection of the
cartridges to the Friends who are donating the money for the Young Adult reading
program. Board Members were encouraged to bring their used cartridges to the library.
Mary Robertson suggested sending letters to various organizations with follow-up phone
calls. The City, Hospital, School District and CSU were mentioned as possible cartridge
donors. The program's success will be evaluated in January.
The Friends will be celebrating their 601h anniversary, and it is planned to have guest
speakers at various programs scheduled during Children's Book Week this fall.
Ed Jakubauskas commented that the Library and Friends are very fortunate to have Larry
Webber working with them.
C. 1999 CLRS Budget Recommendations — Mike Powers
Mike Powers described the City's two-year budget process for the years 2000 and 2001
and the general timeline. A base budget is created by taking the library's previous
budget. It is typically inflated by a certain amount in order to cover salaries, cost of
living increases and commodities. Then the various service areas submit their lists to the
City Manager and the Boards and Commissions recommend to City Council what they
would like to see funded. Based on this information, the City Manager presents his
recommendation to City Council who also receive input from the public. The necessary
changes are made and the budget is adopted.
After the base budget is set, there is a certain amount left in ongoing monies and one-time
monies. The City Manager considers the efficient, effective operation of the
organization, analyzes data submitted, and listens to staff and the public in order to come
up with a budget he feels will work best for the City. Current requests for these funds
from the service areas total over $14 million, yet there is only $1.1 million available in
ongoing monies and $7.4 million available in one-time monies. Services are prioritized
into three groups: Primary (service that are basic to the health , safety and welfare of the
community), Secondary (services that enhance the quality of life), and Support Services
(services that provide support to Primary and Secondary services). Most of the CLRS
service area falls under the Secondary category.
Copies of the Six Month Planning Calendar were distributed. The public will have an
opportunity to address their comments regarding the budget to Council at the following
meetings: September 21" First Budget Public Hearing; October 5"' Second Budget
Public Hearing; Budget adoption and First Reading for Fiscal Year 2000 is on October
19, and Adoption of the 2000-2001 Budget will take place at the November 2"d meeting.
Ed Jakubauskas said that he feels the Library is underfuned and the Board needs to
develop awareness in the community. Larry Webber added that the Friends are trying to
help by relating needs to Council members.
D. Coffee Cart Service Tour — Ed Jakubauskas
Ed joined several Library staff members on a tour of Koebel, Boulder, and Loveland
libraries on June 28"' in order to assess the pros and cons of the coffee cart service they
offer to their customers to decide if a similar service might be well received at the Fort
Collins Public Library. This service, although not a big income producer, is popular at all
three of these locations. The main staff concern at the Fort Collins Public Library is
where to locate it and what its impact would be on other library services. Library Board
members spoke favorably of the idea, agreed it would help meet the goal of making the
library a welcoming community center and create favorable public relations. They
recommended that Brenda continue to pursue the idea of how the library can offer this
service as well as the best location for it.
Ed also said he was surprised to see how well funded Koebel and Boulder Libraries are,
especially since they serve similar demographics as Fort Collins. Koebel's budget is $9
million; Boulder's is $6 million, compared to Fort Collins' approximate $3 million. He
said we are at the bottom and have a long way to go.
F. Public Relations Committee — Mary Robertson
The committee is pursuing the idea of forming consumer boards in the areas of
children's, adult, reference, and local history. Deb Maltby is gathering needed
information.
Board members decided to talk with various Council Members and asked Brenda Cams
for updated pertinent facts and figures about the library. It was suggested that it would
be helpful for Board members to become familiar with Council themes, and copies will
be mailed to them.
Mary Robertson said the committee also discussed outreach to community groups, such
as church and business groups, that can garner support for the library. It was suggested to
utilize the library video for this purpose. She asked Brenda for help in developing talking
points for Board members who speak to these groups.
Mary also suggested that library staff re-examine the meeting room use policy so that this
space will be used more frequently and by a larger variety of groups. She made the
motion that the library's meeting rooms should be used as heavily as possible and that
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staff should look for ways to make that happen. Rudy Maes seconded the motion. and it
was unanimously approved.
Lastly, Deb Maltby has been asked to come up with a priority activity that would
showcase the library and get back to the committee with her suggestions.
OLD BUSINESS
A. County Funding Update — Brenda Cams
Instead of eliminating funding for library services immediately, County Commissioners
are willing to help in a process that would explore alternative sources of library funding.
A library district or a special taxing district was suggested. Mike Powers said that this
topic will take a lot of research and analysis and that the Library Board will be asked to
review what staff presents before submission to Council.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marjorie Teklits
Administrative Secretary
Approved at the 8/12/99 Library Board Meeting
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