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LAB Minutes 06/15/2022Naples, Florida, June 15,2022 Connie Bettinger - District 3 Joan Hochschild - District 1 Joy White - District 4 Marjorie H. Gagnon - District 5 Carla Grieve - District 2 ALSO PRESENT:Catherine Cowser, lnterim Library Director Rosemary LaBarge, lnterim Assistant Library Director Karen Tibbetts, Library Administrative Assistant Denise McMahon, South Regional Library Senior Supervisor Susan Maunz, Naples Regional Library Senior Supervisor Chloe Snider, Senior Librarian Connie Kindsvater, Past-President, Friends of the Library Cindy Ruddy, Vice President, Friends of the Library Dan Martin, Collier County Resident Claudia Sullivan, Collier County Resident CALL TO ORDER 1) Grant LAB Member remote attendance (Motion & Approval). All members were present for this meeting, and was directed by Ms. Bettinger Remote attendance was not necessary. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Bettinger announced that visitors are welcome to attend the LAB meetings and asked them to sign in and complete a speaker form if they want to address the Library Advisory Board. She also indicated the location of the room's emergency exits. Ms. Bettinger asked for approval of the annual meeting minutes of May 18, 2022. Ms. White moved to approve the minutes as written. Dr. Hochschild seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. Ms. Bettinger asked for additions or corrections to the regular meeting minutes of May 18,2022 Dr. Hochschild moved to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Grieve seconded and the motion was carried unanimously. AWARDS & RECOGNITION 'l ) Library Division Cheers for Peers Recipients for Mayo Mrs. Cowser shared the Kudos Wall listing the Cheers for Peers recipients for May 2) County Service Awards and VIPo Mrs. Cowser reported that Maria Mendieta (SR) received a County VIP for Quality recognizing the incredible displays she creates to promote Library events. 1 LET lT BE KNOWN that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date, following the annual meeting, at 10:00 a.m. in the Headquarters Library with the following members present: CHAIR: VICE-CHAIR: SECRETARY: Mrs. Cowser reported that Katherine Margolis (NR) received recognition of her 5 years of service. She added that the breaKast with the Commissioners has resumed, after being suspended during COVID. BOARD REPORTS { ) Report of Officers - None 2) Report of Committees - None 2 PRESENTATIONS I ) Report of the Friends of the Library (FOL). Mrs. Kindsvater introduced Cindy Ruddy, FOL's current Vice President, to those in attendance, and provided a written report for the Friends of the Library.. The Friends of the Library's three Author Events have been finalized and details are on their website. A. The Nick Linn Author Serieso The Nick Linn Author Series is celebrating its 20th year!o These events are held at noon at the Ritz-Carlton Tiburon Golf Club on the following Mondays. January 16, February 20, March 13 and March 27.o Currently, only series tickets are available to FOL members only.o Authors were selected from those who spoke in past years, including Fiona Davis, Delia Owens, Mary Alice Monroe, Robe( Dugoni and David Baldacchi. B. The Nonfiction Author Serieso These events will be held at 8:30 a.m. at the Kensington Country Club on the following Mondays: January 23, February 6, February 27, and March 20.o Series tickets are available for FOL members and non-memberso Authors/Books for this series are:. Reporter, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discussing "Daughters of Kobani" (Afghanistan). Law School Professor, Amy Gijda discussing "Seek & Hide{he Right to Privacy"o Journalist, Bob Harris discussing "Tiger and Phil"o Reporter, Amanda M. Fairbanks discussing "The Lost Boys of Montauk: 4 Men Who Vanished at Sea" C. NEW! Two Author Spotlight Events, Fall2022 & Spring 2023o These events will be held at the Sugden Theater on Fifth Ave. in downtown Napleso Tickets are available for one or both events for FOL members and non- members.o Thursday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m.: Sarah Penner, authorof"The Lost Apothecary"o Saturday, April 1 at 10:00 a.m.: Asha Lemmie, author of "Fifty Words for Rain". FOL welcomes three new Board Members: Saul Curtis, Jannell Lopus and Arnie Rubin. FOL Board Members attended Summer Reading program Kick-Off Events at Headquarters on June 4, Golden Gate on June 11, and will be at South Regional on June 18. Everyone loves the "Oceans of Possibilities" theme and the decorations at the libraries! The Local Authors' Book Fair will be held on Saturday, November 12 at the South Regional Library. This event is chaired by Patti Decroot and helps support local authors. New Summer in-office hours for FOL staff are Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30am-1:00pm) Othenivise, staff will be working from home. Mrs. Kindsvater reminded everyone that there is a FOL Office Lock Box on the FOL Office wall at Naples Regional for any important information, checks, etc. The FOL Board plans to meet in September a 2) Report ofthe Library Director a. Capital Projects Updateo Mrs. Cowser reported that there are no updates on the lmmokalee parking lot project, soil testing is still under review. b. Staffing Update . Mrs. Cowser reported that there have been several new hires:o Angela Machalek, full{ime Library Assistant at East Napleso Jennifer Langan, Youth Services Librarian at Headquarterso Michael Stavely, Courier for the Libraryo Wesley Gunther transitioned from a parttime to full-time Library Assistant at Headquarters. A new Program Specialist, Andrew Meyer, will begin on June 20 to assist with the Library's ARPA Grant.. A new Public Services Librarian, Amanda Decastro, will begin on July 5 at Naples Regional.. Several Librarian positions have been reposted. Many applicants are finding housing costs to be an issue.. Manager positions for the Estates and lmmokalee Branch Libraries have been posted.. A part{ime Library Assistant position at Vanderbilt, and a full{ime Library Assistant position at South Regional have been posted.c. General Operations Update - Summer Reading Program Kickoff Numbers. Mrs. Cowser reported that the first week Summer Reading Program statistics show 120 children reading 690+ books and 20 teens reading 25+ books so far.o Mrs. Cowser thanks the FOL for providing funding for prizes and grand prizes for all age groups participating in the Summer Reading Programo Mrs. Cowser reported that an article on the Summer Reading Program appeared in the Florida Weekly newspaper.d. Grants Updateo The Library has selected a candidate for the Program Specialist position that will be assigned to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant project. This person will help interview and select teachers to be hired to help the Golden Gate and lmmokalee communities with homework.o Mrs. Cowser reported that there is a banner on the Library's website promoting this initiative and a presentation will be made at the August or September LAB meeting. 3 PUBLIC PETITIONS TO THE BOARD FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION - None PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS RELATED TO THE LIBRARY DIVISION. Cindy Ruddy, FOL Vice President, commented that the Library's social media postings encourage community members to see other parts of the county. UNFINISHED BUSINESSl) LAB By-Laws Review. LAB members reviewed the current LAB By-Laws and discussion ensued regarding updating them to include additional articles from the County's Ordinances pe(aining to the Library Advisory Board.. Some items included attendance and quorum for voting.. LAB members will work to create a committee to further review these documents to compile a revised By-Laws document to present at a future meeting.. Dr. Hochschild accepted the nomination to head this committee.. The committee may schedule to meet in July, as the LAB does not have a regular meeting in July. 2) Library 65h Anniversary. Mrs. McMahon reported that the Library's 65th Anniversary Event will be held in October, as more people will be back in town for the season. o Library staff are currently brainstorming ideas for this event, which will have activities for all age levels.. Naples Regional and South Regional Libraries will provide support programs announcing the big event to be held at Headquarters Library.. Mrs. Kindsvater stated that The Friends of the Library will attend the events. 4 e. Special Recognition from Goodwill MicroEnterprise. Mrs. Cowser shared a Certificate of Appreciation received from the SWFL Microenterprise lnstitute for Collier County public Library's contribution to the success of the Goodwill's Southwest Florida MicroEnterprise lnstitute for May 2022.. Mrs. LaBarge added that Bryan Watt, Librarian at Naples Regional, hosted four small classes this year after Library hours to assist patrons with the Mergent database. This database is business-related and helps people to begin new businesses.f. State Park - Free Admission from State Library. Mrs. Cowser stated that each Library location has two Real Florida Reader Passes available for patrons to check out with their Library card. The pass provides free admission to Florida's State Parks. The passes are valid for seven days, and must be returned to the library location they are checked out from. Passes for this program are available thru September 12 on a first-come, first- served basis. S. Naples Botanical Garden - June 20-26o Mrs. Cowser stated that the Library will be partnering with the Naples Botanical Garden. Library cardholders can receive complimentary general admission to the Naples Botanical Garden June 20-26.o Chloe Snider added that Library staff members will be present at the Naples Botanical Garden during that time. . She recommended contacting Bobbi Skaggs who is a Friends of the Library member as well as a Naples Woman's Club member to see if they would also like to participate, since they were the original founders of a public library in Collier County. 3) Summer Reading Program. Mrs. Cowser stated that patrons are excited about the Summer Reading Program and its theme "Oceans of Possibilities". o Many patrons have commented on the displays and decorations. o Mrs. Cowser will be able to provide more detailed statistics on the Summer Reading Program at the next LAB meeting. NEW BUSINESS 1 ) Strategic Plan o Mrs. LaBarge provided handouts of the Library's Strategic Plan to LAB members to review for discussion at the next LAB meeting.. She requested members to directly send her any comments they may have. She and Ms. Snider shared parts of a PowerPoint presentation on the Strategic Plano Every five years, the Library needs to review and create a S-year Strategic Plan, which accompanies the Library's State Aid Application.. Once finalized, the Board of County Commissioners will reviewiapprove the plan at their September meeting.. Mrs. LaBarge stated that there were three new elements that needed to be considered while creating the strategic plan. 'l) COVID-19 Pandemic; 2) the Great Resignation; and 3) Cost of Living expenses increases.r Mrs. LaBarge reported, that during the pandemic when the public schools were closed, the Library continued to provide story times to the public.. Mrs. LaBarge added that Library staff gathered external feedback from those not using the Library during the many outreaches.. Over 600 responses were received from the Library's public survey.. Over 90% of Library staff met in focus groups, and provided additional input on concerns they felt should be addressed over the next five years o Ms. Snider commented that the Library has over 5000 followers on Facebook PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS RELATED TO THE LIBRARY DIVISION - None ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board, the meeting was adjourned at 1 1:25 a.m. The Library Advisory Board does not meet in July. Mrs. Cowser will update LAB members as to the format of the Library Advisory Board meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday, August 17 , 2022 at the Headquarters Library, 2385 Orange Blossom Drive, Naples, FL 34109, (239) 252-7350. by nnr Bettinger, Chaire Library Advisory Board E