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LAB Minutes 01/17/2024Naples, Florida, January 17 , 2024 LET lT BE KNO!\N that the LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date at 10:36 a.m. in the Headquarters Library with the following members present: CHAIR: VICE.CHAIR: SECRETARY: Connie Bettinger - District 3 Joan Hochschild - District 1 Joy \Mite - District 4 Marjorie H. Gagnon - District 5 Carla Grieve - District 2 ALSO PRESENT:Catherine Cowser, Library Director Rosemary LaBarge, Assistant Library Direclor Karen Tibbetts, Operations Support Specialist I Kim Spina, Library Manager, Acquisitions/Technical Services Denise McMahon, Library Manager, South Regional Library Julie Blatt, Library Manager, Naples Regional Library Silvia Puente, Branch Manager, lmmokalee Branch Library Susan Maunz, Library Manager, Headquarters Regional Library Andrew Meyer, Program Coordinator Cindy Ruddy, FOL President Dan Martin, Collier County Resident Melanie Wicker, Collier County Resident Elizabeth Volkmann, Collier County Resident CALL TO ORDER 1) Grant LAB Member remote attendance (Motion & Approval). Quorum was met for this meeting, and was directed by Ms. Bettinger. No motion or approval for remote attendance was necessary. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF i'INUTES Ms. Bettinger asked for approval of the meeting minutes of November 15, 2023. Dr. Hochschild moved to approve the minutes as written. Ms. Vvhite seconded, and the motion was carried unanimously. Awards and Recognitionsl) Library Division Cheers for Peers Recipients for November & December. Copies of the November & December Cheers for Peers recipients were provided to LAB members. 2) County Service Awards and VIP Certificates. Mrs. Cowser stated that two VIP certificates were received in November.o Mrs. LaBarge read the VIP awards to Kristen Lieberth (HQ) and Denise McMahon (SR) BOARD REPORTS 1) Report of Officers. Ms. Bettinger stated that she distributed the Library's upcoming book sale flyers at the Golden Gate Civic Association meeting. 1 30.A.3 Packet Pg. 772 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024) PRESENTATIONS 1) Report ofthe Friends ofthe Library (FOL) o Mrs. Ruddy reported that the Local Author Book Fair was held at the South Regional Library on November 18.o 46 authors were invited to participate; 43 attended (2 no show, "l sick). Attendance to this event was down from previous years; 350 attended this year. r 26 authors responded to a survey and felt that the event was well organized and worthwhile.. Authors sold between 0 and 20 books.. Suggestions for improvements included more advertising and getting a named author to attend.. The Nick Linn Series began on Monday with author James Patterson presenting.. James Patterson's staff sent a three-page rider of "demands", among them was to have a meet and greet to replace the pre-lecture, and an interview format for his lecture in the tent. Mr. Patterson introduced himself and attendees were pleased that he shared lunch with them and also shook everyone's hand.. Book sales for this event were incredible; $4,000 in book sales and the FOL gets 20%. There was also a raffle with $2,000.o The next Non-Fiction Author Event will be held on January 22 and will feature Elizabeth Letts' "Ihe Ride of Her Life". The event will be held at the Hilton Naples; breaHast at 8:30am and the presentation at 9:1Sam. The FOL will have their next meeting on January 19 at the Headquarters Library at 2:00 pm. The public is welcome to attend. 2) Report of the Library Director a. General Operationsi. Facilities & Capital Projectso Mrs. Cowser reported that she meets with Tanya Wlliams, Public Services Department Head, every two weeks to discuss Library matters.o Recently the South Regional Library had the exterior pressure washed, including the building, windows, walkways, etc. The process took three weeks to complete.. The building, especially the south side, needs to be painted, and quotes are being requested.. The front signage may also be painted. . Drainage and swale work has been done, and mulch was put down.. The ADA doors are not working and need to be replaced.. lnterior paint colors have been selected for the Marco lsland Branch Library 2 . Ms. \Nhite stated that her sister recently attended the FoL Signature Series Event: "Queen Elizabeth ll - Her Maiesty" held at the South Regional Library on January 12' . Mrs. Ruddy acknowledged and thanked Patti DeGroot for organizing this event, and added thaa 242 people attended, and donated $75 in the tip jar for the presenter, Sheryl Faye. 2) Report of Committees - None 30.A.3 Packet Pg. 773 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024) . Mrs. Cowser stated that the Facilities Dept. offers a select collection of basic colors to choose from for painting. . Rose LaBarge and Branch Manager Brenda Rasch selected blues and greys . Repair to the sidewalk at the lmmokalee Branch Library is being quoted. . The parking lot project is under review.. Mrs. Gagnon reported that the parking area near the bus loop across from the Library has been leveled out.. She is curious as to when the Library's parking lot will be worked on. She added that the parking spots need to be enlarged, as they are too small for some vehicles.. Ms. Puente reported that the lmmokalee Library has drainage problems and requests for quotes have been made to address these issues, the sidewalk and parking lot.. She added that Commissioner McDaniel is aware of these issues.. As flooding occurs, Ms. Puente reported that she marks off the areas and place cones to alert residents of areas of concern.. Ms. Bettinger commented that in the 17 years that she's been with the Library Advisory Board, the lmmokalee Library parking lot has been an issue.. She added that as a "Community Hub", this issue should have been resolved years ago. She stated that this parking lot area is shared with the Library, Parks and Recreation, the Health Dept., CAT buses, a High School and a Middle School. Friday the parking lot was full, as a cooking class was held at the lmmokalee Library. The parking lot projecl for the East Naples Branch Library has been put on hold. This location will need to be closed whenever the project begins.. The Estates Branch Library has a roof leak and is being quoted.. The Golden Gate Senior Center recently had a designer awarded and a purchase order is pending for this hardening project.. Recently the Naples Regional Library received a complaint on the condition of its carpeting.. Carpet in the area near the circulation desk, one of its study rooms, and some areas where damage occurred needs to be replaced.. The outside brick at this location also needs to be patched up.o The recent steel replacement doors received were the wrong size and correct ones are on order.o The Vanderbilt Beach Branch location was recently painted inside and out and has received many compliments from patrons.. Carpet squares in some areas need to be replaced.o Mrs. Cowser stated that recently Branch Manager Chloe Snider and Librarian ll Bryan Watt cleaned up the outside of the VB building.o Ms. \A/hite added that many people do not realize how much'extra" work Library employees do to ensure that they not only provide services to patrons, but also make sure that the facilities are kept in good condition.o Mrs. Cowser added that David Chalick, Golden Gate Library Branch Manager, has assumed the operational duties of Bill Wilkins who retired. 3 30.A.3 Packet Pg. 774 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024) 4 David is coordinating with Facilities to get pressure washing scheduled for the Library system.ii. Programming. Mrs. Cowser introduced the three Regional Library Managers so that they could report on programming.. Susan Maunz, Manager of the Headquarters Library, reported that more children have been attending programming since after COVID.. She added that over '100 attended today's story time that was held in the Solarium.. She thanked lrene Johnson, Program Coordinator; Jennifer Langan, Librarian ll; Patti Weikel & Victoria Gower, part{ime Library Specialist l, who facilitate the children's programs at Headquarters.o Mrs. Maunz stated that there is a Holocaust display in the Solarium at the Headquarters Library, and next month a Black History Month display will be featured.o Denise McMahon, Manager of the South Regional Library, reported that their meeting room can accommodate 335 people and numerous programs, including: lecture, history, art, musical concert and book discussions are held each month.. The Jewish Federation will have a band concert on January 30 at 6pm. Mrs. McMahon added that the creative learning centers are a huge success, and she thanked the Friends of the Library for funding the manipulative STEM materials.. A recent book discussion, with an expecied attendance of 30 needed to relocate to a larger room, as 47 people came to participate.. Julie Blatt, Manager of the Naples Regional Library, reported that the focus at this location has been on Genealogy.. She added that several Library staff have been trained to provide assistance to volunteers from the Genealogical Society in helping patrons.. The Genealogy room is open M-Th from 'l-3pm, and appointments can be made for individual assistance.o The Naples Regional Library has been offering many enrichment programs/activities during after school hours, including sports, crafts, and cooking.. Approximately 70-80 students come to the NR Library from the local middle school each day after school.o Ms. Blatt stated that it is a team efrort with Library staff providing these programs/activities to the students.. Upcoming programs at the Naples Regional Library include Big Cypress Park Rangers, Hugs Ukulele Group, and travel lectures.o Ms. Blatt reported that the Library will be having a Book Sale at the Naples Regional Library. Wednesday, January 24 will feature the Friend of the Library preview night from 3-6pm; the Book Sale will be open to the public Thurs-Sat. She added that there will be a unique leatherbound collection of books available in addition to music, movies, large print, kids, and comic books.. Saturday will be a "day of deals" with some BOGO opportunities.. Book sale materials can be purchased using cash or checks only. 30.A.3 Packet Pg. 775 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024) . Silvia Puente, Branch Manager of the lmmokalee Branch Library, reported that they've had a successful collaboration with the 4-H team in providing cooking classes to families in the community. . She added that the 4-H group received a grant to offer '12 classes to help teach families to prepare healthy meals. o The last class was held on Friday, with '148 participants in total. o This program offered four appliances to participants: skillet, ninja smoothie maker, panini press, and an air fryer.. Participants were also given groceries with the ingredients to prepare the recipes at home.. Ms. Puente reported that one mother insisted that her 17-year-old son join her at one ofthe classes; he enjoyed it so much that he signed up for every class.. Ms. Puente stated that most of the programming is held on Saturdays, as many patrons work during the week.. She added that the Homework Centers, which offer certified teachers to help students, has been a great success.. She thanked the Friends of the Library for their funding of the sensory toys used in the creative play centers. Patrons have commented that these centers offer families the opportunity to engage with each other, and also meet new friends.. She reported that staff were excited to receive the branch enhancements provided by the Friends of the Library. Ms. Bettinger commended the lmmokalee Branch Library. She was happy to see the rearrangement of furnishings that made the space much more productive.o She added that the lmmokalee Branch Library is a true hub of the community and wanted for those ln attendance to know that during hurricane events, nearly 50 organizations meet at this location to assist the community find the help they need.. Andrew Meyer, Program Coordinator, provided statistics on the Homework Centers. He reported that during the past quarter (Oct-Dec), $33k was spent with a year to date of $258k in expenditures.. This program helped 127 students (34 at lmmokalee; 93 at Golden Gate). The program was closed during the winter break and resumed last week.. The program will continue until May. iii. Staffingo Mrs. Cowser reported that the Library has not had any new hires since August.. She asked Tanya Wlliams for an update as to when vacant positions can be posted; however, she has not yet received a response.o Five more resignations were received this month: Two part{ime positions at the Vanderbilt Beach Branch Library One part-time position at the Marco lsland Branch Library One full-time position at the Marco lsland Branch Library One full-time position at the Naples Regional Library. The only retirement was for the part-time position at Marco lsland 5 30.A.3 Packet Pg. 776 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024) . Mrs. Spina, Library Manager of Acquisitions/Technology Services, reported that Matt Etzel, Program Coordinator, will be attending a Genealogy Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah February 29 - March 2o She added that this is the largest genealogy conference in the world and will be hosted by Family Search. Mr. Etzel will be attending programs on databases, resources and research to identify which services would benefit the Collier County Public Library. There will be many keynote speakers and expositions at this event.. Mrs. Spina provided LAB members with a handout will details on how the RootsTech conference will benefit Collier County. b. Library Statistics. Mrs. Cowser provided LAB members with the Library's Annual Report for FY2023. She reported that the active Library cardholders was 177,936 with 1,294 new cards issued.o There were 859,949 total door counts across the ten library locations.. There were 636,882 visits to the library website.o Total circulation of system-wide physical checkouts and renewals was 1 ,243,451.o Total system-wide digital checkouts were 498,262.o Mrs. Cowser added that the Lee County Library System is in the'million circulation club' with digital checkouts.o The link to view the County's budget for FY2023 is: https:/iwww. col liercountyfl . gov/governmenvcounty-manager- operations/d ivisions/office-of-management-budget PUBLIC PETITIONS TO THE BOARD FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION - None PUBLIC COMMENTS ON GENERAL TOPICS RELATED TO THE LIBRARY DIVISION. Dan Martin, Collier County resident, announced that he had two concerns he would like to address with the Library Advisory Board '1 ) Mr. Martin does not feel that 14 days is a long enough time for the lending of e- books.. Mrs. Spina replied that the Collier County Public Library offers e-books through CloudLibrary, which provides a three-week lending period.. CloudLibrary is part of a larger library networUconsortium, and you will also have their books available to you through CloudLibrary.. Mrs. Spina reported that this consortium includes 30 Florida libraries and is the largest shared collection in the world.. Mrs. Spina added that the Library is working on enhancing this platform with additional funding to have more choices available.o Over 170,000 books were checked outthrough CloudLibrary, and 80,000 of them were free titles through the consortium.. Mrs. Spina explained that OverDrive owns Libby, and the subscription only offers titles purchased by the Collier County Public Library.o Mrs. Spina added that if a title cannot be found, patrons can use the'Suggest a Purchase" on the Library's website to requesUrecommend a title. 2) Mr. Martin was also concerned about the lmmokalee parking lot project. b 30.A.3 Packet Pg. 777 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024) . He stated that he has been attending the LAB meetings for a few years now, and this unresolved issue has been discussed at every meeting.. He cannot understand why this project has such a low priority, as the lmmokalee Branch Library clearly is vital as this community's hub for many organizations.. Mrs. Cowser reported that the Board of County Commissioners establishes the County's priorities through its Strategic Plan.. Ms. Bettinger suggested that Mr. Martin contact all of the Commissioners.. Requests and comments can also be made through the County's 311 Service Request system. . Ms. Bettinger asked Mrs. Vvicker if she wanted to submit the list of questions she mentioned at the LAB'S November meeting.. Mrs. Wcker was concerned about the best way to help the Library. She indicated that she would like to write an article for the Naples Daily News.o Discussion ensued regarding the BCC's decision to terminate the Library's ALA membership at their October 10, 2023 meeting.. Mrs. Cowser stated that the Collier County Public Library has not been asked to remove any of its materials.. Mrs. Cowser added that we are in a political climate, and she encouraged everyone to watch the BCC meetings on Tuesdays. The meetings are also recorded.. Mrs. McMahon stated that Public School Libraries are different from Public Libraries. Mrs. Spina added that students are "captive audiences" as by law they must attend school, and school staff are entrusted to be in charge.. She stated that "access does not imply endorsement". UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None NEW BUSINESS - None 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'12:00 p.m. Mrs. Cowser will update LAB members as to the format of the Library Advisory Board meeting scheduled to be held on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at the Headquarters Library, 2385 Orange Blossom Drive, Naples, FL 34109. 239.252.7311. Ap by: ie Bettinger, Cha 7 Library Advisory Board 30.A.3 Packet Pg. 778 Attachment: LAB Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024) Naples, Florida, Ja nuary !7,2024 LET lT BE KNOWN that the tIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD met on this date via hybrid in-person and video conference attendance at the Headquarters Library at 10:34 a.m. in order to hold their Annual Meeti The following members were present: MEMBERS:Connie Bettinger - District 3, Chair Joan Hochschild - District 1, Vice-Chair Joy White - District 4, Secretary Carla Grieve - District 2 Marjorie H. Gagnon - Distrlct 5 ALSO PRESENT:Catherine Cowser, Library Director Rosemary LaBarge, Assistant Library Director Karen Tibbetts, Operations Support Specialist I Kim Spina, Library Manager, Acquisitions/Technical Services Denise McMahon, Library Manager, South Regional Library Julie Blatt, Library Manager, Naples Regional Library Silvia Puente, Branch Manager, lmmokalee Branch Library Susan Maunz, Library Manager, Headquarters Regional Library Cindy Ruddy, FOL President Dan Martin, Collier County Resident Melanie Wicker, Collier County Resident Elizabeth Volkmann, Collier County Resident NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS The main purpose ofthis meeting was to select new officers for the coming year. Ms. Bettinger opened the nominations. Ms. Bettinger moved, seconded by Mrs. Grieve and carried unanimously to elect Dr. Hochschild as Secretary. Mrs. Grieve moved, seconded by Mrs. Gagnon and carried unanlmously to elect Ms. White as Vice- Chairman. Ms. Whlte moved, seconded by Dr. Hochschild and carried unanimously to re-elect Ms. Bettinger as Cha ir. OTHER BUSINESS - None ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Library Advisory Board, Ms. Bettinger moved, seconded by Dr. Hochschild and carried unanimously, that the meeting be adjourned at 10:36 a.m. Appro d by: Connie Bettinger, Chair Library Advisory Board 30.A.4 Packet Pg. 779 Attachment: LAB Annual Meeting Minutes (signed) - January 17, 2024 (28135 : Library Advisory Board - February 21, 2024)