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LAB Minutes 04/23/2014 Library Advisory Board Minutes April 23 , 2014 Naples, Florida, April 23, 2014 LET IT BE KNOWN that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date in regular session at 10:00 a.m. in the Headquarters Branch Library with the following members present: CHAIR: Doris J. Lewis — District 4 (Absent) VICE-CHAIR: Loretta Murray— District 1 Carla Grieve— District 2 Connie Bettinger-Hennink— District 3 Lillian Cuevas — District 5 ALSO PRESENT: Marilyn Matthes, Library Director Karen Tibbetts, Administrative Assistant Roberta Reiss, Literacy Program (Absent) Pat Sherry, Friends of the Library APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mrs. Lewis asked for additions or corrections to the minutes of March 26, 2014. A few minor corrections were noted. Ms. Bettinger-Hennink moved to approve the minutes, Mrs. Grieve seconded and the motion was carried unanimously that the minutes be approved as corrected. LITERACY PROGRAM REPORT— None • Mrs. Reiss was unable to attend today's meeting due to a class schedule conflict. REPORT OF OFFICERS — None COMMUNICATIONS — None a—Written • Mrs. Grieve shared a copy of the Senior Blue Books publication and pointed out an ad that the Lee County Library has on page 39. She commented that the article could just as well have been for the Collier County Library. She will work with Pat Sherry to provide an article to them for the Friends of the Library for their September issue. • Mrs. Grieve wanted to provide the Collier Citizen with a "back-up" article; however, she found out that she could not modify an article previously published in the Naples Daily News. She would have to provide something with new information. b— Personal — None UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1) Employee of the Month —April • Mrs. Lewis nominated Susan Petr from the Naples Regional Library for the April employee of the month. Ms. Bettinger-Hennink seconded the nomination and the motion passed unanimously. 2) LEAP Update • Mrs. Matthes reported that HR is contacting the students that were selected for the LEAP program. Start dates have not yet been determined. • She plans to evaluate this program after a few months to determine if it is worthwhile and if funding will be requested from the FOL to continue the program next year. • She added that the Library will try to keep the same students if possible. • A special T-shirt is being discussed for the LEAP students to wear. • Mrs. Matthes said that a press release will be sent out once the teens begin. 3) Friends Potential Remodel of HQ • Mrs. Matthes reported that the FOL met at HQ last week to review the proposed remodeling/expansion of the solarium and addition of enclosed study rooms near circulation. 1 • Mrs. Matthes provided them with some information summarizing how the building is currently being used and the number of programs held in comparison to the other Regional libraries for January— March. She will forward this information via email. • FOL Board members will review the more popular programs with Library staff to determine if any should have more than one scheduled presentation. • FOL Board members will discuss whether it is more cost effective to have more programs instead of remodeling the building. • If it is determined to remodel, the room would be similar to the meeting room at SR. An FOL sponsor would most likely have naming rights for the expansion, and if the fireplace needs to be removed, some materials would be repurposed. • An expansion would also allow for meetings and programs through SWFLN to be hosted at Headquarters. • It would also provide the ability to rent the flexible space to the public, which would bring additional money to the Library. • Discussion ensued, and everyone agreed that it is costly to rent space at the local schools. Library room rental costs may need to be evaluated and compared to other places to determine if rental costs would need to be increased. NEW BUSINESS 1) RFID Implementation Projections • Bibliotheca's representative, David Parks, recently visited each library location to determine what type of equipment is needed. • He will be providing an updated list of recommended equipment and quotes. • He will also provide a quote to outsource putting the RFID stickers in materials. It is estimated that it would take less than three months to complete the process at one of the larger library locations. • Mrs. Matthes added that Bibliotheca works with Comprise Technologies for the PC automation services. It would make good sense to work with one vendor regarding processing credit cards, and handling coin ops and money matters. She is waiting to receive their quote. • She added that Bibliotheca also provides sorting stations that use a conveyor belt system to process returned materials. She anticipates that the quote they provide will include this equipment, although she does not intend to purchase it at this time. • Mrs. Matthes stated that the RFID system may take effect in January, but will be implemented in stages at the different library locations. • The final contracts will need to be presented to the BCC for approval. 2) Technology Infrastructure Issues • Marilyn Matthes, Tanya Williams and Robert Rodriguez interviewed applicants for the Library Automation Specialist position vacated by Michael Widner. However, it was decided to work in a different direction. • The County IT Department will be managing the Library network and make recommendations to improve the system. They will also be supervising Pat Estes and Anita Lowe, who will continue to be Library employees. • The automation vendor for the Library may be hired to do some cleanup of the Library automation system. They may be contracted to maintain and manage the entire automation system in the future. • Tanya may begin attending the LAB meetings in the fall. • Carol Travis is on FMLA leave. Her duties have been reassigned to several staff members. • Lisseth Weschler has been selected to review order requests in order to consolidate items. • Ms. Grieve received a summer reading list from the Artis-Naples, and will forward it to Marilyn Matthes for her review. • The Acquisition Specialist position is a complicated one, as it takes time to build relationships with all the different vendors and publishers. It is a complex process that 2 requires knowledge of not only what to order, how many to order, and when to order, but also determining how materials are used. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS • Ms. Bettinger-Hennink reported that she attended all of the volunteer appreciation events except for the one held in Immokalee due to it being held on an early release day. • She commented that the library volunteers are a diverse group, and many volunteer for other organizations as well. • She shared pictures that were taken at the Golden Gate event. • Ms. Bettinger-Hennink enjoys discussing Library programs and Friends of the Library information with the public. • She requested additional copies of the adult summer program guide to promote and distribute at the upcoming Golden Gate Civic Association meeting in May. • The Senior Center group will be moving into the old Golden Gate Library building in September. • Ms. Bettinger-Hennink received a confirmation letter from the Department of the State appointing her to a four-year term on the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Advisory Council. • There currently are 38 grants that she will be reading that will also need to be reviewed on a federal level. She will meet with the council at the State Library in Tallahassee on June 20th to discuss and finalize. • Mrs. Matthes added that she will forward the link for the petition against the proposed elimination of the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS). IMLS provides funds to support library services in Florida, such as the 38 grants that need to be reviewed. • David Chalick also received funds from IMLS for the grant he wrote to teach the public basic computer skills in order to get better jobs. • IMLS also provides funds through LSTA to pay for the Florida Electronic Library databases and other programs that are used statewide. • Mrs. Grieve asked about the recent book sale. Mrs. Matthes did not have the totals, but will provide the information at the next meeting. The money collected from the annual book sale is put into the Library State Trust Fund Project. Money collected for books sold throughout the year at each of the branch locations is sent to the FOL. Pat Sherry said that the year-round daily book sales accounts for approximately $1,000 each week/$45,000 per year. • Mrs. Matthes explained that donated materials are sorted by Library staff and redistributed: to replace materials in the Library collection; to sell at the annual book sale; to sell at branch locations; to send to other places, such as the jail. Some books that have a higher value are processed through Robert Rodriguez and sold on eBay. The money generated is given to the Friends of the Library. DIRECTOR'S REPORT— Marilyn Matthes 1) Current Statistics • Mrs. Matthes distributed statistical information for March. She reported that the statistics were down 1152 from last year. • Immokalee has had a greater circulation due to Ave Maria residents. Also, Ginjer Fassold's children's programs have brought in more participants. • OverDrive statistics continues to go up. Mango Premiere's enhancements include language videos, which may need to be promoted more to increase usage. • Freegal has not done as well as anticipated and will be evaluated to determine if it will continue. The public downloads music from other sources. Perhaps the LEAP students can help promote Freegal. • Ms. Bettinger-Hennink will promote Freegal through the Boy Scouts, and Pat Sherry will talk with Harriet Heithaus from the Naples Daily News to see if she can write an article about Freegal as well. 3 • Pat Sherry is working with Patti DeGroot and Marilyn McKay to promote the Library and FOL at different events in the 5th Avenue Business District. • Mrs. Grieve suggested having library programs, similar to the ones for OverDrive, in order to highlight Freegal, Mango, etc. 2) Staffing Update • Mrs. Matthes added to her earlier staffing discussion that there has been a high turnover with job bank and part-time employees. Many people desire permanent full time work. 3) Budget • Mrs. Matthes reported that she has requested to expand Library services. • The new proposal would add Friday hours of operation to EN, EB and VB; 2 hours per day to IM; and seasonal Saturday hours to MI. • Some staff hours will need to be replaced at the Regional Libraries, as staff that would normally work at those locations when their home library is closed will no longer be available. • Mrs. Matthes has asked for the equivalent of eight full-time employees to assist at first at EB & GG; then IM, VB, MI/EN/SR to accommodate the new proposed working schedule. • The proposed expanded services would take the library budge up 5.5%, which does not include the extra money requested for book purchases. 4) Waiving of Fines Update • Mrs. Matthes reported that the waiving of fines/fees policy that the LAB approved has not yet gone before the BCC. • She reported that she is working with the Finance Dept. regarding the impact of the money owed to the Library. • Janet Pereira worked with the automation vendor to process report information to determine how much money is owed to the Library. • The Finance Dept. wants to make an effort to fix any discrepancies and errors to either collect the debt or write off any old uncollectable amounts. • Mrs. Matthes is discussing with the County attorney what information the Library can provide. • Patrons must pay any outstanding fines/fees before their library card can be renewed, which is every three years. At that time, they need to provide current address information. • Mrs. Matthes added that there are companies that sell services to verify addresses, and the post office also provides this service for a fee. • A collection agent could be hired; however, there is a lot of work involved to exclude outdated items, such as VHS tapes, which the Library would no longer have use for. • The new waiving of fines/fees policy will include a clause stating that the Library will review and clean up fines/fees on an annual basis. Once finalized, the revised policy will be sent to the BCC for approval. REPORT OF THE FRIENDS • Pat Sherry will be representing the Friends of the Library at the Library Advisory Board meetings. • She reported that they are working on the new Nick Linn Series for next year, and they had a great first year at the Ritz-Carlton. So far, almost 300 seats have been sold for next year, and the dates and authors have not yet been confirmed. The Friends are hoping to get 700 people in attendance. • Pat commented that she gets many requests to speak at various events, and she is partnering with library staff to attend as well in order to promote the Library and FOL. • Patti DeGroot attended a recent Nick Linn Series event and processed some new library cards. • There will be an Art Fest at Aston Gardens in November, and Pat will have a table with Library and FOL information. • There will be a Bagels & Books event in mid-May. 4 • There will be a FOL member luncheon at Bentley Village on April 30th featuring Melanie Benjamin. • There was a Sponsor Appreciation Reception a week ago held in the Rees Room at NR for FOL sponsors who donated more than $5,000. Pat will forward pictures from the event. • The FOL website provides more detailed speaker information. Pat expressed her thanks to Robert Rodriguez for maintaining the FOL website. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board, Mrs. Grieve moved to adjourn, Ms. Bettinger-Hennink seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. The next LAB meeting scheduled for May 28th will include the annual election of officers; however, Mrs. Murray will be unable to attend. The meeting scheduled for June 25th will be held at the Naples Regional Library. Approved by: r. Doris J. Lewis Chair, Library Advisory Board 5