Loading...
LAB Minutes 08/21/2013 2013 Library Advisory Board Minutes August 18 , 2013 Naples, Florida, August 21, 2013 LET IT BE KNOWN that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date in r ular e/ss d i 4 00 a.m. in the Estates Branch Library with the following members present: 3V RIr7% !� P� CHAIR: Doris J. Lewis — District 4 C�ERff of co 3: 48 UR VICE - CHAIR: Loretta Murray — District 1 Ry TS Carla Grieve — District 2 Connie Bettinger - Hennink — District 3 Lillian Cuevas — District 5 ALSO PRESENT: Marilyn Matthes, Library Director Karen Tibbetts, Administrative Assistant David Chalick, Estates Branch Manager ABSENT: Roberta Reiss — Literacy Program APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mrs. Lewis asked for additions or corrections to the minutes of June 19, 2013. No corrections were noted. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink moved to approve the minutes for the regular LAB meeting, Mrs. Murray seconded and the motion was carried unanimously that the minutes be approved. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE ANNUAL BOARD MEETING Mrs. Lewis asked for additions or corrections to the minutes of June 19, 2013. No corrections were noted. Mrs. Grieve moved to approve the minutes for the annual LAB board meeting, Ms. Bettinger- Hennink seconded and the motion was carried unanimously that the minutes be approved. LITERACY PROGRAM REPORT — None • Mrs. Reiss was away on vacation. REPORT OF OFFICERS — None COMMUNICATIONS a — Written — None b — Personal — None UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1) Employee of the Month — August • Mrs. Grieve nominated Rand Bass from the Naples Regional Library for the August employee of the month. Ms. Bettinger- Hennink/Mrs. Murray seconded the nomination and the motion passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS 1) Budget Updates — Marilyn Matthes • Mrs. Matthes distributed a handout showing the 2008 hours of operation for the libraries. 1 • Mrs. Matthes stated that at the last Budget Workshop in June, Commissioner Tim Nance, District 5, commented that the libraries in his district were not open late enough for residents in those areas, particularly the Estates Branch. • Mrs. Matthes stated that in order to increase the hours of operation at the Estates Branch, another full time staff member would be necessary. She will be speaking later in the day with Steve Carnell to discuss this possibility. She is hoping to hire a permanent employee for this position as job bank employees tend to not stay long term. a. This would allow the Estates Branch to be open 5 days per week, 8 hours per day. b. This employee would also be able to help at the Golden Gate Branch Library. c. More hours can be accommodated with a one shift day at the Estates Branch. • Board members agreed that the Estates location is remote and most patrons need to drive to get there, and there are no other alternate locations nearby. • The next budget hearing meeting with the Board of Commissioners is scheduled for September 5m • Mrs. Murray suggested that Commissioner Nance should encourage the Board of Commissioners to increase funding to allow for another staff member to be hired. • Mrs. Matthes stated that the budget staff would need to find the money, and approval would be needed at the second budget meeting. Paperwork would need to be processed to post the position, and the time to interview and hire someone would most likely not be finalized until FY2014. • Mrs. Matthes distributed a handout with the circulation numbers through June for each library. It reflects the percentage of circulation at each home library and where the patrons reside. • Mrs. Cueves inquired as to which library the Ave Maria population visits most often. Records show a high number of Ave Maria residents attending the Story Times at the Immokalee Branch. 2) Staffing Updates • Mrs. Matthes stated that she relinquished the vacant full time courier position to Steve Carnell in order for him to hire Jason Rummer as a full time Marketing /Operations Analyst for the Public Services Division. • She and Tanya Williams are in the process of rewriting /upgrading the job description for the courier position. A job bank employee will be hired in the interim to assist the two current drivers. • Elizabeth Rios began as a Library Assistant at the Immokalee Branch last week. Staff has been down to two employees over the last few weeks due to vacation schedules. • Susan Anderson retired from the Golden Gate Branch, and Joan Guthier from Headquarters has filled that vacancy. Three other staff members were promoted to Library Technicians — Theresa Wagner, Michelle Ramkissoon and Danielle Sanchez. • As a result, there are currently four full time Library Assistant positions available (2 at HQ, 1 at EN, 1 at NR). • The part time job bank Library Assistant position at Headquarters should be filled next month. • Interviews are being completed for the full time Librarian position at Headquarters. • Mrs. Matthes stated that the County has been managing money well; however, due to budgeting issues, Miami has reduced their library staff by over 200 employees. K, Mrs. Matthes is hoping to get approval for a 10% wage increase for two current staff members performing additional duties outside their job description. Michael Widner, Library Automation Specialist, will be retiring at the end of the year. Mrs. Matthes is hoping to upgrade that position to Assistant Director, to be posted internally. Any other subsequent staff adjustments will be made after that position is filled. 3) October Meeting Due to the fact that many Board members will be unavailable in October, the meeting was rescheduled. a. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink moved to cancel the October 16th LAB meeting and reschedule it to be held at Headquarters on November 13th. Mrs. Murray seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. • Subsequently, the November /December meeting was also rescheduled. a. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink moved to cancel the December 4th LAB meeting and reschedule it to be held at Headquarters on December 11th. Mrs. Grieve seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. 4) Proposed Policy Changes • Eliminate number of items that can be checked out at one time. a. Current limits are: 10 audio books; 10 CDs (Music or computer programs); 6 DVDs i. Board members agreed that an increase for DVD check -outs would be okay, provided that Library staff remind patrons of the $1.00 /day /video fine for overdue DVDs and encourage them to renew materials when possible to avoid fines. ii. There was concern that allowing unlimited quantities for check -out would negatively affect the available collection for other patrons and could possibly increase the risk of theft for these materials. iii. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink moved to increase the number of DVDs a patron can check -out from 6 to 10 effective October 1, 2013. Mrs. Lewis seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. iv. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink suggested revisiting overdue fines for DVDs once the check -out quantity has been increased. v. Mrs. Grieve asked if the Library had a "fine forgiveness day ". Mrs. Matthes replied that there was one at the turn of the century, with the understanding that it would be the last time it would be done during this century. She added that other libraries offer modified versions in which patrons' fines are forgiven if a canned food item is brought in for each overdue item. Mrs. Matthes said that patrons tend to abuse this privilege by holding their materials until that amnesty day. vi. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink moved to eliminate the limits on audio book and music CD check -outs effective October 1, 2013. Mrs. Lewis seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. vii. Mrs. Matthes commented that these increases would also increase the "send item" list that the Library currently runs several times a day. This would also increase the amount of time for staff to locate and process items on reserve. b. Increase cost of photocopy from 10 cents to 15 cents i. Mrs. Matthes stated that the Library pays 1 % in State taxes for each photocopy made. She suggested increasing the cost to 15¢ to lower that percentage. However, any increase would also need to be approved by the County Commissioners. 3 ii. Mrs. Matthes discussed a new optional system that would consist of a computer hard drive, scanner and printer that would be used instead of a traditional copier. This device would enable the Library to also provide color copies and may allow for a debit card payment system. iii. Mrs. Matthes is looking into the cost for this system and will hold this discussion for a future meeting. 5) 2014 State -wide elections information Mrs. Matthes stated the Supervisor of Elections has eliminated early voting at the Golden Gate and Immokalee Branches, as other sites have been approved. However, early voting will still be held at the Headquarters Library. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS • The Adult Summer Reading Program was discussed. a. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink and Mrs. Grieve attended the Grand Finale Party and stated that several attendees were upset that prizes were being announced and given to people that were not in attendance. They explained that with over 1,500 participants, not all could attend an event on a Monday morning. There were approximately 330 participants in attendance. Over 10,000 books were read, and 81 prizes were awarded. b. Both agreed that the presentations were good, although they would have preferred to have had more discussion of what the Library has to offer the public (such as Zinio, Mango, Tutor.com, etc.) rather than the guest speaker. c. Mrs. Grieve suggested that people coming early should have preferential seating for this event. Ms. Bettinger- Hennink commented that the tables did not have enough space between them for people to pass through. d. Mrs. Grieve asked how much the adult summer reading program costs the Library. e. Patrons were pleased to see members of staff from their home library in attendance. Mrs. Matthes is hoping to encourage more staff to be involved with this event in the future. f. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink commented that the party conflicted with the last day for children to get credit for their summer reading program; therefore, some staff could not attend. g. The Children's and Young Adult Summer Reading Programs also had a higher number of participants than last year. • Ms. Bettinger - Hennink reported that the programs were well promoted on Facebook and Twitter, and the comments were informative and well received. • Mrs. Lewis commented that the article Mrs. Grieve had written for the newspaper was good and hopes that it encourages more people to become members of the Friends of the Library. • The Library is hoping to have their annual book sale in February. DIRECTOR'S REPORT — Mrs. Matthes reported the following: 1) Current Statistics • Mrs. Matthes distributed a handout comparing June & July statistics for 2012 and 2013. • Ms. Bettinger - Hennink commented that the Immokalee jail may re -open to be a full -time facility, which would increase the need for books to be provided to their library. • The Library currently donates paperback books to the local jail. Rand Bass will be in contact with the representative for an update on their needs. • Zinio circulations and some other electronic check -outs are now being included in circulation numbers. 4 • Ms. Bettinger - Hennink requested a break -out of DVD check -outs. Mrs. Matthes replied that she would try to provide that information as well as the breakdown of children's and young adult check -outs by patron type. • Some schools encourage students to get a library card. • Mrs. Matthes distributed three additional handouts: circulation yearly breakdown history; library hours and why changes were made; and a profile sheet for each library location. • Mrs. Matthes stated that more magazines have been ordered through Zinio, and she encourages suggestions for other titles. The top magazine has been Consumer Reports, and she will provide updated information at the next meeting. • The South Regional Library has been under -used, however, there has been considerable construction in the area which should increase patronage. There is also new construction across from the East Naples Branch which should increase their patronage as well. • The request for the RFID system for putting computer chips in books is being reviewed by Purchasing. Funding is available to get this project started, and proposals will be evaluated by the committee. Also, vendors will be invited to provide presentations and demos. • The Senior Resource Center's extension of their lease of the old Golden Gate Library building should go on the County agenda in September. The County attorney has agreed to make a modification to the lease, which allows for temporary usage by the Senior Resource Group as well as the Parks and Recreation Department. • Mrs. Matthes is considering signing up for the Freegal Music subscription, which would allow Library patrons to download up to three songs from their database each week. Downloads would be copyright neutral and could be shared with others. Also, downloads would count as circulations. The cost is approximately $35,000 per year. REPORT OF THE FRIENDS — Mrs. Grieve • Mrs. Grieve stated that the Friends of the Library put packets together for new Board members providing information about the Friends as well as Library programs. • The Nick Linn Series has four authors scheduled to speak in 2014. • The Friends are trying to attract business members, and have an in -house brochure that can be updated and kept current. • Mrs. Grieve reminded everyone that her term with the Friends is over at the end of September. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board. Ms. Bettinger - Hennink moved to adjourn, Mrs. Murray seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m. Approved by: Doris J. Lewis Chair, Library Advisory Board 5