LAB Minutes 09/21/202228.A.3
Naples, Florida, September 21, 2022
LET IT BE KNOWN that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date, following the
annual meeting, at 10:00 a.m. in the South Regional Library with the following members
present: o
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CHAIR: Connie Bettinger— District 3
VICE -CHAIR: Joan Hochschild — District 1
SECRETARY: Joy White — District 4 c
Marjorie H. Gagnon — District 5
Carla Grieve — District 2
ALSO PRESENT: Catherine Cowser, Interim Library Director
Rosemary LaBarge, Interim Assistant Library Director
Karen Tibbetts, Library Administrative Assistant
Julie Blatt, Branch Manager, Vanderbilt Beach Branch Library
Brenda Rasch, Branch Manager, Marco Island Branch Library
Chole Snider, Senior Librarian, Marketing
Kara Godwin, Administration Supervisor, Headquarters Library
Connie Kindsvater, Past -President, Friends of the Library
Arnie Rubin, Board Member, Friends of the Library
Loretta Pienta, Collier County Resident
CALL TO ORDER N
1) Grant LAB Member remote attendance (Motion & Approval) N
• All members were present for this meeting, and was directed by Ms. Bettinger. N
Remote attendance was not necessary.
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE'
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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 meeting minutes of August 17, 2022, Ms. White moved
to approve the minutes as written. Dr. Hochschild seconded and the motion was carried
unanimously.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
1) Library Division Cheers for Peers Recipients for August
• Mrs. Cowser shared the Kudos Wall listing the Cheers for Peers recipients for
August.
2) County Service Awards and VIP
• Mrs. Cowser reported that Jean Farrar (HQ), PT Lib. Asst. received recognition for
her 10 years of service; Alaina Jackson (GG), Lib. Tech. received recognition for
her 5 years of service; Michael Daigle (HQ), PT Lib Asst. received recognition for
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his 5 years of service. They will be invited to a breakfast in their honor to be held at
the County complex.
• Rose LaBarge and Kara Godwin reported that this summer, the County's Domestic
Animal Services Dept, received large numbers of cats and kittens. Ms. Godwin
created a partnership with DAS to provide staff from 3-4 library locations to assist in
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caring for the cats/kittens.
• Ms. Godwin also brought some cats and kittens into select library locations to be
fostered until "furever" homes could be found. During the month of July, the Library
helped with the adoption of seven cats/kittens.
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• Ms. Godwin added that many library patrons were excited to see the cats/kittens in
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the library and happy that the exposure helped them find homes.
• Nine VIP awards were given to the Library staff that helped with this initiative.
• Chloe Snider reported that the Library also partnered with the County's Community
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Health Dept. to set up "little libraries" at two locations to provide colorful decorations
and books to children that were waiting for appointments.
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• The City of Marco Island received a Proclamation for its 25th Anniversary.
• Brenda Rasch and Chloe Snider helped direct the Celebration Committee, as the
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Library was included in this milestone.
BOARD REPORTS
1) Report of Officers— None c
2) Report of Committees M
• Ms. Bettinger reported that after the LAB's August meeting, the By -Laws Committee
met to review the current LAB By -Laws. N
• She stated that the LAB was founded in 1972, and records indicate that this N
information had not been updated since 1993. N
• This committee will meet again after today's meeting, and they will present their By -
Laws review suggestions at the next LAB meeting. -0
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PRESENTATIONS
1) Report of the Friends of the Library (FOL) co
• Mrs. Kindsvater introduced Arnie Rubin, a new FOL Board Member.
• Mr. Rubin was a former principal and has background experience in library matters.
• Mrs. Kindsvater is excited to have Mr. Rubin assist her with membership duties and
FOL events.
• She reported that the FOL Board of Directors will have their annual meeting on
Friday, October 21. The meeting will be held in the Rees Room at the Naples
Regional Library at 2pm. All are invited to attend.
• Other important FOL event dates are:
o October 25 = Signature Series at Headquarters Library, 10am and 1 pm. This
series is available for FOL members only at no cost. The topic is "The Scientific
Revolution: The Journey from Copernicus to Newton" with speaker Dr. Jerry
Franz.
o November 3 = Author Spotlight Event at the downtown Sugden Theater, 2pm.
Author Sarah Penner will discuss her novel "The Lost Apothecary". Tickets are
available on the FOL website: members $48, non-members $58.
o November 12 = Annual Local Authors' Book Fair at South Regional Library,
10am-3pm. All are welcome. There is no charge to attend.
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o November15 = Signature Series at Naples Regional Library, 10am and 1 pm for
FOL members only at no cost. The topic is "A Match Made in Heaven, or..."
with speaker Nancy Maxwell.
o November 19 = Collier County Public Library 65th Birthday Masquerade Event,
sponsored by FOL. This event will be held at Headquarters Library from 7-9pm.
FOL members have been notified and invited to this event. The FOL will have a
membership table set up during this event.
o January 6 = FOL West Wing Gallery Author Event/Celebrating 65 Years! This
event will be held at the Naples Regional Library, 5-7pm. All are invited.
o April 1 = Author Spotlight Event at the downtown Sugden Theater, 10am.
Author Asha Lemmie will discuss her debut historical novel "Fifty Words for
Rain" set in post WWII Japan.
• Mrs. Kindsvater reported that tickets for both the Nick Linn Author Lecture/Lunch
Series and Nonfiction Author Lecture/Breakfast Series events are close to being
sold out.
• The FOL brochure is being redesigned into a bifold brochure and the bookmarks
are being updated. Both will include the recently created QR code.
2) Report of the Library Director
a. Staffing Update
• Mrs. Cowser reported that the Library is waiting for the County's Evergreen Study
to be completed, and for the completion of tomorrow's final budget meeting to
determine the Library's budget.
• Once determined, the Library will post the six vacant Librarian positions with a
more competitive salary to attract more candidates to apply.
• Amanda DeCastro, a recently hired Librarian is also helping with outreach
events.
b. General Operations
• Mrs. Cowser reported that the County is working to close the end of its fiscal
year by September 30.
• Operations of Veterans Services (OVS) is handling the closing of the Library's
budget. However, due to staffing shortages, more fiscal responsibilities have
been given to some library staff.
c. Grants Update
• Mrs. Cowser reported that the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant project
is moving forward.
• Andrew Meyer, the Library's Program Specialist assigned to this project, will be
completing interviews for the project's positions.
• The Library will have a soft roll out of this project.
• Mrs. Cowser and Mrs. LaBarge have been completing the application for State
Aid, which is due at the end of September.
• They are also completing the Annual Update and Inventory Report (AUIR),
which provides current information on the Library's buildings, square footage,
collections and inventory.
d. Outreach Fall 2022
• Mrs. Cowser reported that the Library focused on Library Card Sign Up Month in
September, and she provided pictures from some recent events.
• Most of this information was posted on the Library's social media sites, including
65 ways to use a library card.
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• Irene Johnson and Amanda DeCastro recently attended Museum Day at the
Museum's Depot. Over 500 people attended this event.
• Over 900 library cards have been issued so far this month.
e. Collier County Centennial Plans N
• Mrs. Cowser stated that the Library has been working with the Public Services o
Department in the County's development of a website being created for the
County's Centennial. www.Collier100.com will be rolled out on October 1.
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• All centennial related events will be on the website.
• The County also created signs which will be posted throughout the County to
promote the Centennial. O
• Susan Maunz, Senior Supervisor of Naples Regional Library and Denise '
McMahon, Senior Supervisor of South Regional Library have created programs E
featuring historic events during Collier County's past 100 years. m°
• May 8, 2023 is the actual date for the County's Centennial.
Mrs. Cowser wanted to thank the Friends of the Library for their support. Recently the Library
received $10k for the Mail -a -Book program, and payments for branch enhancement wish list a
items from Demco and for summer reading program supplies.
Not all of the money received for programmers has been spent, since there are fewer
presenters available during the pandemic.
The $100k received from the FOL for FY2022 has already been spent on a -books and e- c
audiobooks.
Mrs. Kindsvater added that everything the Friends of the Library do is to help support the
Library. N
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PUBLIC PETITIONS TO THE BOARD FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION — None r
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PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS RELATED TO THE LIBRARY DIVISION - None
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS a
1) LAB By -Laws Review (n
• The Library Advisory Board By -Laws Committee will provide information at next
month's LAB meeting.
2) Library 6511 Anniversary
• Mrs. Cowser reiterated that the Library's 651h Anniversary Event will be held on
Saturday, November 19 in the Solarium and Courtyard at the Headquarters Library
from 7M-9:00 pm.
• It will be a Masquerade Ball themed event and a band will be present to provide
musical entertainment.
• Before the music begins, a presentation of the Library's history will be given in the
Sugden Theater at Headquarters.
• LAB members and FOL members are encouraged to attend.
NEW BUSINESS
• Mrs. Grieve has received inquiries/comments from several people regarding news
reports and articles pertaining to bans on books.
• In a recent newspaper article, it was mentioned that most public schools and libraries
have boards made up of elected officials or people appointed by elected officials who
have the power to remove books from the schools and libraries they oversee.
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■ Mrs. Grieve was curious to know if the LAB was the board that oversees these decisions
for the Library.
• Mrs. Cowser replied that Collier County residents vote for their Commissioners, who are
the public officials that run the local government, including the Library. N
■ Discussion ensued explaining the differences between public school libraries and public c
libraries.
• The American Library Association provides guidelines for public libraries to follow.
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■ Mrs. Cowser provided copies of the "request for consideration of materials" form. (D
• Generally, once this form is completed by the patron. the form is reviewed by the 2
Library's Acquisition Librarian and team, who contacts the patron. If a resolution is not O
made, the information may be further reviewed by the Library Advisory Board. Most '
requests are resolved and rarely escalated.
• September is also banned books month, so there may be a heightened awareness of m°
some materials in the media. a
• Mrs. Cowser stated the Library's standard comment is: "We're not a censor, the
responsibility of library materials used by minors' rests with their parents or guardians."
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS RELATED TO THE LIBRARY DIVISION - None
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There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board, the meeting was
adjourned at 10:50 a.m.
Mrs. Cowser will update LAB members as to the format of the Library Advisory Board meeting c
scheduled to be held on Wednesday. October 19, 2022 at the Headquarters Library, 2385 N
Orange Blossom Drive, Naples, FL 34109. 239.252.7311, N
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The Library Advisory Board's By -Laws Committee will meet after today's LAB meeting. a
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Connie Bettinger,
■ Advisory '■. ■
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