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LAB Minutes 01/21/2015 Naples, Florida, January 21, 2015 LET IT BE KNOWN that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date in regular session at 10:00 a.m. in the Headquarters Regional Library with the following members present: CHAIR: Doris J. Lewis — District 4 VICE-CHAIR: Loretta Murray— District 1 Carla Grieve — District 2 Connie Bettinger-Hennink— District 3 (absent) Lillian Cuevas — District 5 (absent) ALSO PRESENT: Marilyn Matthes, Library Director Tanya Williams, Assistant Library Director Karen Tibbetts, Administrative Assistant Roberta Reiss, Literacy Program Specialist Dan Kozlowski, President, Friends of the Library APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mrs. Lewis asked for additions or corrections to the minutes of December 10, 2014. Minor corrections were noted, and Mrs. Grieve moved to approve the minutes. Mrs. Murray seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. LITERACY PROGRAM REPORT • Mrs. Reiss reported that the Basic Computer Literacy Course for the County Parks and Recreation employees has been designed in Spanish and English to assist those employees with limited English skills. Danielle Sanchez, Library Technician at South Regional is instructing this course at the East Naples Branch. • This course was created as many of the supervisors are not bilingual and have been unable to effectively communicate with their employees. • By teaching the employees basic computer skills, they can access Library materials such as Mango Language to learn and improve their English skills. • The class is a mandatory training, and the third class will be next week. 10-12 participants have attended the first two classes. • Participants learned how to access their County email addresses and create passwords. • They are learning internet safety and how to use the computers to complete their timecards. • They are also being encouraged to use the Library public computers since many do not have their own computers, and their work provides limited access to computers. • The next step is to teach them how to access information through their smartphones. • Ms. Sanchez is also introducing them to the Library website and how to log into Mango Languages so that they can study on their own. REPORT OF OFFICERS — None COMMUNICATIONS a —Written — None • Mrs. Grieve commented that the Welcome to the Library brochures at the Public Services Division office was outdated. • Updated brochures will be sent to this office. b — Personal — None PUBLIC COMMENTS — None 1 UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1) Employee of the Month —January • Mrs. Murray nominated Jaya Gopalan from the Headquarters Library for the January employee of the month. Mrs. Grieve seconded the nomination and the motion passed unanimously. a. Employee and Employee nominator of the year drawing • Mr. Kozlowski was selected to draw the winners, who will receive a ticket to one of the lecture and lunch events sponsored by the Friends of the Library. • Anna Karras from Naples Regional was selected as Employee of the Year. • Denise McMahon from South Regional was selected as Nominator of the Year. 2) Friday Hours at EB, EN & VB • Mrs. Matthes reported that the Estates, East Naples, and Vanderbilt Beach branch libraries will be open on Fridays during the school year from 10am-5pm beginning January 23. • These branches have been borrowing staff from other locations until they are fully staff. • Although Mrs. Matthes had requested eight additional full-time equivalent employees, the County approved for three. • Mr. Kozlowski asked if the Immokalee library would add Saturday hours. Mrs. Matthes replied that Friday is their biggest circulation day, as many students are involved in other extracurricular activities on Saturdays. • Immokalee has a permanent population of approximately 20,000, and in season it can be 40,000-45,000. Ave Maria does not have a public library, and residents use the Immokalee library. Also, there is a large home-school population in Ave Maria. 3) Library Audit to BCC • Mrs. Matthes reported that the Library audit will be presented at the January 27 BCC meeting. • The County's Finance Department performed an internal audit of all Library locations, except for Everglades City. This Library is located in the City Hall building and there is one staff member, who was not working the times when the auditors arrived for their spontaneous audit at this location. • The audit found some minor issues that have been corrected. One was to replace the current money drawers with new ones that had locking mechanisms. The Library has purchased 8 new money drawers at $150 each. • The waiving of fines and fees was a part of the audit, and this item is scheduled for the January 27 meeting. 4) Library Workshop • Mrs. Matthes reported that a Library Workshop is scheduled to be held in the Board of County Commissioners chambers located on the third floor of building F on Tuesday, February 3 at 1:00 pm. • The public is invited to attend. • Jon Zoler from the Friends of the Library will speak on behalf of the Friends. • Mrs. Murray volunteered to speak on behalf of the Library Advisory Board. • Binders will be created with information that the Library will provide to the BCC during their 10 minute presentation. • Libraries and their services have been changing every year and many of the Commissioners are unaware of what the Library provides to the community. • Mrs. Matthes will recommend for the new Library Director to do a community-wide strategic planning process of the entire Library system. This would provide feedback from the public as to what they want from their public library. • The workshop will be advertised on the Library website and through a press release. NEW BUSINESS 1) Wade Donation 2 • Mrs. Matthes reported that the Library received a donation of $230K from the estate of a patron who passed away in the summer of 2014. • The money will be used to purchase books. • Mr. Kozlowski added that the FOL received a donation in the amount of$325K. It was 55% of an estate from a woman that was a member since 1978, who paid the annual dues, but never attended any of the FOL events. • He added that they receive many donations from people that do not want the recognition and want to remain anonymous. 2) LAB Minutes • Mrs. Matthes reported that the County Minutes and Records Department keeps public record of the signed approved LAB minutes. • Going forward, copies of handouts pertaining to policies, circulation information, etc. that are provided at the LAB meetings will need to be sent along with the minutes. Employee of the Month information does not need to be included. • Recently, the draft policy that the LAB previously approved to reduce the maximum overdue fine for paperbacks from $5 to $3 could not be located. Therefore, the maximum will remain at $5; however, the Library seldom has high overdue fines/fees for paperbacks. 3) New Technology a. OneClick Digital Audio Books • Mrs. Matthes displayed on the computer screen the Library public home page which now includes the OneClick Digital Audiobook icon. • OneClick Digital is a database with exclusive titles and authors for audio book downloads that are not available through OverDrive. • The FOL has donated $10K towards purchase of the initial collection of OneClick Digital. • OneClick Digital will be featured on the back page of the February BookPage publication. It will also be promoted in the April adult program brochure. b. Text Messaging • Some patrons do not have a local phone number and do not want to provide an email address to receive Library notifications. • The Library is looking into purchasing software that will allow staff to text patrons to notify them of holds, overdue materials, and renewals. The cost is $7500/year. • Ms. Williams added that a disclaimer should be included when patrons opt in for this service, as messaging charges may incur based on their carrier. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS • Mrs. Grieve asked if the Library had any FOL umbrellas remaining for sale. She suggested adding "Collier County" to the logo for future orders. • Mrs. Matthes replied that nearly all have been sold, and Mr. Kozlowski said he would look into having more ordered. • Ms. Williams and Ms. Tibbetts will find out how many umbrellas have been checked out from the Library and will coordinate with Marlene Kern from the FOL office regarding inventory. • Mrs. Matthes reported that Denise McMahon from South Regional is looking into better signage for that location. • She also submitted a capital needs request for a more prominent sign for the FY16. DIRECTOR'S REPORT— Marilyn Matthes 1) Current Statistics • Mrs. Matthes distributed statistical information comparing FY05-FY14 Circulation. • FY08-FY09 experienced higher unemployment and the public were cutting back on their expenses and used Library materials and services more frequently. • FY10 experienced the public moving away to where they could find employment. 3 • Mrs. Matthes distributed statistical information comparing December FY13 & FY14. Also included was Overdue Fines, Fees and Materials Not Returned information. • Mrs. Matthes stated that less than 1% of materials are not returned or paid for. • The Library's unrecoverable debt is to be presented to the BCC annually to be written off. This was last done in October 2014. • The security gates with the self-check out stations should help to cut down on theft. • The Expenditure for Library Materials information needs to have the circulation numbers corrected. • The FY16 Library Staff Full-Time Equivalent ratio will be 86.5 as 3 FTEs were added in FY15 for the extended Friday hours at EN, EB, &VB. • The Door Count statistics show a decrease which is due to the fact that many patrons reserve materials online and do not browse as much. • The Library will be reactivating the Reader's Express Collection which will have best seller items on the shelf for check out only. They will not be able to be reserved or renewed. This will be advertised in the BookPage publication. 2) Staffing Update • Mrs. Matthes reported that a new Library Director has not yet been selected. • Three Reference Librarians have been selected for the three regional libraries. • The extended Friday hour positions have been filled. Some were internal selections and those vacated positions need to be posted. • Job bank employees have had high turnover rates as people are looking for permanent positions with benefits. REPORT OF THE FRIENDS • Mr. Kozlowski reported that the Friends of the Library will save $80K per year by having two employees and not having an Executive Director. They have new computers with updated software. • There are currently 19 FOL board members. Cathy Dion is the new Treasurer. • The Nick Linn Series is their biggest fundraiser, and generated more than $100K last year. 90% of the attendees are women. • 80 people attended the last Bagels & Book Club Breakfast. • 100 people attended the Non-Fiction Author Series held on January 12 featuring Flags of Our Fathers with Ron Powers. • The FOL membership currently consists of approximately 2800 members. The membership rate was increased from $25 to $30 per individual and from $35 to $40 for family. • Bentley Villages pays the FOL $5K annually. They provide everything for the FOL breakfast and lunch events. 300 people are usually invited to these events. • The FOL annual appeal for FY15 amounted to $26K. This information is also on their website. • The FOL is looking into establishing a Legacy Gift Program so that patrons can gift the Library in their wills. They are also looking into applying for grants and may contact Hertz. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board, Mrs. Grieve moved to adjourn, Mrs. Murray seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m. Marilyn Matthes presented the Library Advisory Board members with hand-made bookmarks. The next Library Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for February 18, 2015 at Headquarters. Approved by: Doris J. Lewis, Ch°air, Library Advisory Board 4