Loading...
LAB Minutes 04/21/2021Naples, Florida, April2l , 2021 LET lT BE KNOWN that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date in session via hybrid in-person and video conference attendance at 10:00 a.m. in the Headquarters Library with the following members present. CHAIR: VICE-CHAIR: SECRETARY: Connie Bettinger - District 3 (via Zoom) Joan Hochschild - District 1 Joy White - District 4 Marjorie H. Gagnon - District 5 (absent) Carla Grieve - District 2 Tanya Williams, Library Director Catherine Cowser, Assistant Library Director Karen Tibbetts, Library Administrative Assistant Connie Kindsvater, President, Friends of the Library (via Zoom) Louise Franck, Secretary, Friends of the Library Dan Martin, Collier County Resident CALL TO ORDER 1) Grant LAB Member remote attendance (Motion & Approval). Quorum was met for this meeting. Dr. Hochschild moved to approve Connie Bettinger to remotely attend the LAB meeting via Zoom. Ms. Grieve seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Beftinger asked for additions or corrections to the minutes of March 17,2021. Dr. Hochschild moved to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Grieve seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. REPORT OF OFFICERS - None REPORT OF COMMITTEES - None REPORT OF THE FRIENDS. Mrs. Franck reported that the authors for the Nick Linn Lecture Series have been confirmed and the event will be held at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples for those attending in-person, and will also be available for others to attend virtually.o The Friends of the Library have sold many tickets for the Nick Linn Lecture Series.. The Non-Fiction Series is looking for a new venue for their events. The authors should be confirmed by next month.. The Friends of the Library have been working with the Marco lsland Friends of the Library to support the Collier County Public Library.. Mrs. Kindsvater shared images ofthe new "Be a Friend" brochure and Mrs. Franck brought some to be distributed to each Library location.. Ms. Bettinger thanked the FOL for providing postage for the Library's Mail-a-Book program. 1 ALSO PRESENT: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 28.A.4 Packet Pg. 836 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - April 21, 2021 (15938 : Library Advisory Board - May 19, 2021) Mrs. Franck added that Dana Abernethy, who handles the Mail-a-Book requests, has created a new MAB bookmark with FOL information on the back side. Discussion ensued regarding other locations in the community, such as senior service organizations, where the bookmarks could be distributed. PUBLIC COMMENTSo Mr. Martin suggested the FOL to send notifications of Library Advisory Board meetings to its members.o Discussion ensued, and Mrs. Franck will look into providing this information to members.. She added that the FOL meetings are also open to the public.. Ms. Bettinger asked if the Library would be able to accommodate more people attending the LAB meetings, while observing social distancing protocols. Ms. Williams replied that the Sugden Theater at Headquarters should be avarlable. Another option would be to request the use of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) Chambers. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1l FY 202112022 State Budget & Advocacyo Ms. Williams reported that the House and Senate put in the same funding for FY202112022 State Aid ($17.3 million).r Both the House and Senate added back $2 million for funding local consortiums, such as SWFLN, which would receive $200k.. The State's budget year runs from July 1 - June 30. The FY202112022 budget needs to be approved, however, the Library will not be affected by the budget cuts until FY2023. The budget cuts will have an impact on funding electronic resources.. Mr. Martin asked if there were any grant opportunities for the Library to pursue.o Ms. Williams replied that State Aid for Libraries is a grant, however, many corporate or private grants offer funding for non-profit organizations that are not associated with a government entity. Therefore, the Library would not be eligible for funding.o For example, the local annual Wine Festival raises money for children's programs, however, the Library is not eligible to receive funds due to being associated with a government entity. 2) Expansion of Operating Hours & Days Recommendationso Ms. Williams reported that the Library will be expanding hours of operation at the Regional Library locations to pre-pandemrc hours beginning on Monday.. These locations will be open Monday-Thursday from 9:00am to 8:00pm and Friday & Saturday from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Sunday hours will not be added at this time due to staffing contingency needs.. Ms. Williams added that the branch locations will have their hours expanded to some form of pre-pandemic hours based on slaffing.o Ms. Williams explained that the Library lost many part{ime Library Assistants during the pandemic. Some new hires realized after being brought on board that they were not ready to get back into the work place and did not stay for long. Also, some new hires were offered better positions elsewhere.e East Naples and Vanderbilt Beach branches will most likely be open for 40 hours a week between Tuesday and Saturday.. Marco lsland, Estates, lmmokalee and Golden Gate branches serve specific geographical areas of the County and are not close to a regional location; therefore, the will be open for 52 hours a week between Monday and Saturday.. A press release will be sent out once the hours have been confirmed.3l FY 2022 Library Budget Request 2 28.A.4 Packet Pg. 837 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - April 21, 2021 (15938 : Library Advisory Board - May 19, 2021) . Ms. Williams reported that the preliminary budget estimates have been completed; however, in order to meet compliance of the budget, over $300k was cut.r Ms. Williams anticipates a $280k offset from lT expenses; however, if not, the Library will be almost $600k out of budget for its general fund.o Ms. Williams shifted $322k from the General Fund (00'l) to the Shreve donation in Fund 129. The $322k includes costs for Hoopla streaming, Mango Languages, Brainfuse, Mergent and other public databases.o She added that it would not be sustainable to use the finite amount of money to fund core services. At this rate, the Shreve money would be gone in two years.o Jared Del Re's lT budget within the Library was cut from $60k to $15k.. The Library recouped $136k in personnel money when two FTEs were given up to the Public Services Department.. Ms. Williams is working with the Office of Management and Budget to offset the rising lT costs that currently are $1 million annually.o The new County Manager will be presented with the budget on May 14; however, the centralized financial team will present on behalf of Ms. Williams.o Ms. Williams will provide updates on the budget at the May LAB meeting.o Ms. Williams reported that all County staff will receive a flat rate of $1 ,000 to their salary instead of a cost of living adjustment.o The County is making incremental salary increases, working towards the $1S/hour minimum wage.o The mileage rates will be advertised and set at the June BCC meeting. The tax collector will provide estimated revenue numbers in July.o There will be two public hearings in September to ratify the FY2022 budget. NEW BUSINESS 1) Updated Fines & Fees Schedule (Motion & Approval)o Ms. Williams provided handouts on the proposed updated fines & fees schedule.. ltems denoted in red are the ones being updated.. Ms. Williams is focusing on adding the hot spot devices and faxing services.. ln response to the pandemic, the Library has not been collecting $5 for computer usage fees to those without a Library card. She expects this fee will be permanently removed as it is more of a cost deterrent than a resource.. Public access to computers is a core service of libraries, and few public libraries have a fee for these services.. Ms. Williams stated that no one has ever reserved the computer labs, and therefore this item will be removed from the fines and fees schedule. . Ms. Williams reported that the library began to offer fax services last month, without any advertising, and has faxed an average of ten pages each day. . Ms. Grieve moved to approve the Library's updated fines and fees schedule as presented. Dr. Hochschild second and the motion was carried unanimously. 2) Pandemic Response & Next Steps (Discussion Only) . As per the Governor's Executive Order and the Florida Department of Health, the Library is now operating at 100% capacity. . Ms. Williams stated that the Library is no longer quarantining returned materials; however, staff are continuing to use pandemic protocols when handling library materials.. Tables and chairs have been moved back into public areas, and public meeting rooms will become available soon under limited social distancing protocols' 3 28.A.4 Packet Pg. 838 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - April 21, 2021 (15938 : Library Advisory Board - May 19, 2021) . The County's mask mandate expired, however staff will continue to wear masks in public areas if social distancing cannot be maintatned.. The Sugden Theater is being measured for its new room capacity under limited social distancing protocols.. Ms. Williams is hoping to reinstate local events for groups beginning late this summer.. Ms. Williams stated that as long as the BCC meetings continue to be held in hybrid format, the Library will operate under the local county's directive for its May LAB meeting.. Ms. Williams reported that the County has offered the COVID-19 vaccine to employees and their spouses that want to be vaccinated.o Ms. Williams converses each month with the Lee County Library Director, and the libraries are currently in line with each other and ahead of other locations across the state.. The Library is set for its Summer Reading Program, and the FOL has provided funding for prizes and supplies. DIRECTOR'S REPORT 1) Naples Woman's Club $2,500 Donation. Ms. Williams reported that the Library received a $2,500 donation from the Naples Woman's CIub to support the Pee Wee portion of the Summer Reading Program.. This money will be used to purchase and provide board books to the participants.. Ms. Williams added that the Library is in existence because of the Naples Woman's Club, and Bobbi Skaggs, FOL Board Member, was instrumental in renewing this collaboration.. The acceptance of this donation is tentatively slated to go before the BCC at the June 8th meeting. 2) Naples Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution Flag Awardo Ms. Williams reported that the Library recently received a flag award from the Naples Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. The certificate recognizes five Library locations for exemplary patriotism in the display of the Flag of the United States of America.. Ms. Williams will distribute copies of this certificate to the five locations and the Library's drivers, as they are the ones who maintain the flags for the Library.. She added that the Daughters of the American Revolution frequently use the Genealogy department at the Naples Regional Library, which is funded by the FOL. 3) Staffing Update. Ms. Williams reported that no new staff members have indicated that they will be retiring.. As discussed earlier, the Library has been working toward getting all open Library Assistant positions filled.. Mrs. Franck asked when the LEAP program would resume.o Ms. Williams replied that she is hoping to do so in the fall. At this time, she wants to allow students to volunteer at the Library, as they need community service hours for graduation. 4) Capital Projects Updateo Ms. Williams reported the Naples Regional Library will be closed for the month of June for HVAC and lighting updates.. This project is slated to be completed within ten months, however, the work will be done in phases. Ms. Williams will be meeting with the contractor to determine the phases and areas to determine a timeline. 4 28.A.4 Packet Pg. 839 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - April 21, 2021 (15938 : Library Advisory Board - May 19, 2021) . Naples Regional staff will be reassigned to other locations during June.. There are no updates on the parking lot in lmmokalee.. The replacement of Marco lsland's HVAC is moving forward.. The fiber project will be completed once East Naples and Marco lsland branch libraries are connected. 5) TBS Copy/PrinUScan/Fax Services. Ms. Williams reported that everyone is thrilled with the ease of use and quality of the new prinucopy/scan/fax services provided by TBS.o ln the first two to three weeks, the Library sent 79 faxes. 313 total pages were faxed during the first month of service.. Over 20,000 pages were printed during the first month of service.. Ms. Williams is anxious to try the photo restoration features.. A press release will be sent out once all the "kinks" are worked out. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board, the meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m. Ms. Williams will update LAB members as to the format of the Library Advisory Board meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday, May 19,2021 at the Headquarters Library, 2385 Orange Blossom Drive, Naples, FL 34109, (239) 252-7350. proved by: onnie Bettinge , Chair Library Advisory Board 5 28.A.4 Packet Pg. 840 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - April 21, 2021 (15938 : Library Advisory Board - May 19, 2021)