LAB Minutes 11/18/2020Naples, Florida, November 18, 2020
LET lT BE KNOWN that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date in special session
via hybrid in-person and video conference attendance at 10:00 a.m. in the Headquarters Library
with the following members present:
Connie Bettinger - District 3
Joan Hochschild - District 1 (absent)
Joy White - District 4
Marjorie H. Gagnon - District 5
Lynne Nordhoff - District 2
ALSO PRESENT Tanya Williams, Library Director
Karen Tibbetts, Library Administrative Assistant
CALL TO ORDER
1) Grant LAB Member remote attendance (Motion & Approval). Quorum was met for this meeting and therefore this item was disregarded.
PLEOGE OF ALLEGIANCE
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ms. Bettinger asked for additions or corrections to the minutes of October 21, 2020. Mrs.
Nordhoff moved to approve the minutes as written. Ms. White seconded and the motion was
carried unanimously.
REPORT OF OFFICERS. Mrs. Nordhoff reported that Dr. Hochschild is having a rough recovery from her back
surgery, which went really well. She has been receiving rehabilitation therapy with a home
caregiver at Arlington for the past three weeks to help her with walking.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES - None
REPORT OF THE FRIENDSo There were no Friends ofthe Library representatives at today's meeting, and no report was
provided.
PUBLIC COMMENTS - None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1) WiFi Hotspot Device Check-Out (Draft Policy)o Ms. Williams asked for this item to be tabled until the next meeting.
o She has been working on the State Aid application process, and will present this
information at the next meeting.
2) LAB Elections Process - Timeline & Adjusted Meeting Date(s)
. Ms. Williams reported that since there is quorum for this meeting, the LAB members
can vote on the expiring board seats.
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CHAIR:
VICE-CHAIR:
SECRETARY:
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Packet Pg. 884 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - November 18, 2020 (14537 : Library Advisory Board - December 16, 2020)
Although the Level 1 approval for the December I BCC meeting agenda was
yesterday, she may be able to get the recommendations for members on the
agenda.
lf recommendations are not made at today's meeting, it would be likely that the
January 2021 meeting would be cancelled to allow time to process the
recommendations.
NEW BUSINESS
1) LAB Vacancy Applications Review & Recommendations (Motion & Approval). Ms. Williams stated that members should have received via email and mail the
applications to review.. Ms. Williams added that the first application received for District 5 was from the
spouse of the lmmokalee Library's branch manager.. Ms. Williams and Steve Carnell looked at the by-laws and board resolutions to see if
there would be any issue with this applicant. After not finding anything documented,
it was decided to request the County Attorney to review the application to determine
if there was any conflict of interest.. Ms. Williams has not received a reply yet, but will let the board know when she does.. She stated that Ms. Gagnon submitted her application for consideration for re-
election after the initial applications were sent. Ms. Williams provided everyone with
Ms. Gagnon's application for review.. Ms. White left the room while the members discussed the two applications for District
4. By unanimous decision, the Library Advisory Board recommended Ms. Joy White
for the District 4 appointment.. Upon Ms. White's return to the room, the members discussed the District 2
application. Since there was only one applicant, by unanimous decision, the Library
Advisory recommended Ms. Carla Grieve for the District 2 appointment.. Ms. Gagnon left the room while the members discussed the two applications for
District 5. By unanimous decision, the Library Advisory Board recommended Ms.
Maggie Gagnon for the District 5 appointment.. Upon Ms. Gagnon's return to the room, the board discussed the 2021 draft meeting
schedule. lt was decided to have the January meeting on the 20th, and review the
remainder of the meetings with the new 2021 LAB members.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
1) Staffing Update. Ms. Williams reported that she loaned Mona Vega, Library Assistant at the Golden
Gate Library, to the EMS warehouse as one of the two employees there tested positive
and will be out for a couple of weeks.o There have been no retirements or resignations since the last LAB meeting.o A full{ime Library Assistant, Donna Johnson, began work at the Marco lsland Library
in mid-October. She joins the Library with previous library work experience.. Last Friday, the Library posted ten part{ime Library Assistant positions: HQ=3; VB=2;
Ml= 1 ; SR=l ; GG=1; EN=1 ; NR=1 . The postings will close 1111912020.. Ms. Williams stated that once applicants are referred by HR and interviews are
completed the new hires should start in January.. She added that all on-boarding is currently being done online by HR and Risk
Management.. Library hours will be reviewed after the holidays to determine if they need to be
adjusted for the new year.
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Packet Pg. 885 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - November 18, 2020 (14537 : Library Advisory Board - December 16, 2020)
o Ms. Williams encouraged the four temporary contract staff members to apply for the
permanent positions.. The eleven contract employee positions are critical to the Library's operation and are
not considered temporary. The Library would need an additional 5.5 FTES in order to
adjust the hours of operation back to pre-pandemic levels.
2) Capital Projects Updateo Ms. Williams reported that the lmmokalee parking lot project is on track. Bids are
under review and this project will be paid through surtax dollars.. Bids for the replacement of the HVAC system at Naples Regional are also being
reviewed. The duct work and ceiling will also be replaced/repaired during this project.o The project will be scheduled to start sometime in March, after season, and will be
done in five phases. lt is anticipated that the Library will be closed for 4-6 weeks. This
project will also be funded with surtax dollars.. The FOL offices will not be occupied at Naples Regional until the project is completed.. The HVAC systems at lmmokalee and Marco lsland were removed from the surtax list,
however, the Facilities project manager in charge of the two projects will be getting
quotes so that the Library will know the expenditures. Ms. Williams will then be able to
discuss budgeting/funding options with the County Manager and Office of
Management and Budget.o William Wilkins, Operations Coordinator for the Library, took pictures of the parking
lots at East Naples and Vanderbilt Beach in order for the resurfacing to get on the
project list.. The exterior painting at Headquarters Library should be completed soon, and the crew
will then work on painting the interior and completing additional minor needed repairs.o A new irrigation system was installed yesterday at HQ and Ms. Williams met with the
contract liaison this morning to have the landscaping team check the irrigation zones
and begin to make landscaping suggestions.. Ms. Williams stated that Faciiities should pay for some of the work. However, since
landscaping is considered by Facilities to be a "special service", the cost would be
encumbered by the Division.o Mrs. Nordhoff asked if the FOL could help fund this project, as Nick Linn mentioned
the possibility of doing so.. Ms. Williams stated that she has earmarked $200k of the Shreve money for e-books.. This money could also be used for HQ's project if necessary.o Ms. Bettinger asked if there were any updates on re-carpeting the East Naples Library.. Ms. Williams stated that an additional $15k is needed.. Ms. Williams added that Hurricane Eta brought a palm tree down in the middle of the
golf course netting.. Ms. Bettinger asked when the Library will be accepting donations.. Ms. Williams replied that with limited staff, and storage space, it is not feasible to
accept donations at this time. The Library quarantines all incoming materials for three
days. ln the past, the Library has received 'l-20 boxes of donations daily.. Mrs. Nordhoff added that there are many other places not accepting donations at this
time as well.. The Library may consider accepting donations on one day per month, for example, the
first Friday of the month.
3) FY 2020 Operational Statistics. Ms. Williams handed out copies of the Library's expenditures, which are reported with
its application for State Aid.
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Packet Pg. 886 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - November 18, 2020 (14537 : Library Advisory Board - December 16, 2020)
o The Library weeded some materials while closed, and additional etitles were added.. Ms. Williams noted that line 82 - Physical ltem Circulation shows an increase of
31.8%, and line 85 - Total Electronic Content Use shows an increase ol 26.4o/o.o Mrs. Nordhoff wondered if the statistics for Barnes & Noble and Amazon also
increased due to the pandemic.. Ms. White suggested that tutorials to bridge technology at home would be helpful to
show patrons how to stream from their devices to their TVs.. Ms. Williams pointed out that line 90 - Library Visits indicates a 36.8% reduction,
however, there were over 20k items circulated through curbside services, which were
not counted in the physical door count statistics.. Ms. Williams provided copies of the Library's State Aid Programming Supplemental
Questions.. This yearthe State asked to capture all virtual program attendance statistics, which
are listed on page 4.. The Library compared active (in-person) pre-pandemic statistics with self-directed
programs (in-person, picked up materials at Library) and virtual program statistics.. Virtual programming statistics from the middle of March through the end of September
reached over 135k views.. Although only 439 programs were held, the Library surpassed reaching people virtually
as compared to in-person statistics.o ln 2019, the Library held 2700 programs with 101k in attendance. Virtual programming
will be here to stay.. The statistics had many variations due to the pandemic. Libraries opened in stages,
and some closed longer than others. For example, Headquarters was closed for 2.5
months, whereas Estates was closed for 6 months.. Ms. Bettinger stated that some virtual programs were filmed at the beach and in
homes with staff wearing pajamas.. The State Library will be compiling the statistics to better identify the
financial/economic impact of the pandemic on public libraries. Ms. Williams will share
the findings once available.o Ms. Williams stated that she met with the State Department Operations Mitigation
Team regarding a grant to replace the roof and install a generator, new doors and
windows at the lmmokalee Library. A decision for approval should be determined by
the first of the year.. Ms. Bettinger commented that the lmmokalee Library is more like a community center
to those living in lmmokalee.
Ms. Bettinger thanked Ms. Williams for her 25 years of Library service, and especially for
making things work while leading everyone through unchartered lerritories during the pandemic.
Ms. Williams thanked the Library Advisory Board members for their advocacy and support of the
Library.
LAB members presented Ms. Williams with flowers and a 2s-year anniversary insulated
beverage tumbler to commemorate her anniversary. Pastries and cookies along with coffee and
juice were enjoyed during the meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board, the meeting was
adjourned at 1 1 :40 a.m.
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Packet Pg. 887 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - November 18, 2020 (14537 : Library Advisory Board - December 16, 2020)
Ms. Williams will update LAB members as to the format of the Library Advisory Board meeting
which is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, December 16, 2O2O at the Headquarters Library,
2385 Orange Blossom Drive, Naples, FL 34109, (239) 252-7350.
Approved by:
Connie Bettinger, Chair
Library Advisory Board
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Packet Pg. 888 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - November 18, 2020 (14537 : Library Advisory Board - December 16, 2020)