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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-05-20; Library Board of Trustees; MinutesMINUTES Meeting of: Time of Meeting: Date of Meeting: Place of Meeting: LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES 3:00 p.m. May 20, 1987 City Council Chambers TRUSTEES CALL TO ORDER: President Martin called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present - President Martin, Trustees Cooper and Trigas. Trustee Grosse arrived at 3:15 p.m. f Absent - Trustee Falkenstein. Also Present were: Clifford Lange, Library Director Geoff Armour, Assistant Library Director. Margaret Brownley, Representative, Serra Advisory Board APPROVAL OF MINUTES; Minutes of the meeting held April 15, 1987, were approved as presented. COMMITTEE REPORTS; a. Building and Grounds Trustee Trigas reported Rick Engineering is working on plans for the library for south Carlsbad. There are several variations and Rick Engineering will meet with staff the end of this week to go over those variations. Trustee Trigas reported there is new carpeting in the staff room at the Library. She stated now they need new furniture to go with the new carpeting. b. Budget Trustee Cooper stated Budget is status guo at the moment. c. Personnel Director Lange reported Carol Watts was promoted to a position in the Finance Department. Her position at the Library is frozen at the present time. Director Lange stated Mary Sasso has been moved into the computer position and they are advertising for a new Librarian I to replace her. The position closes this Friday and there have been 25 applications received as of today. Trustee Trigas commented that with the hiring freeze, it would seem it would be proper to discourage people from transferring into another department. d. Youth Geoff Armour reported the Summer Reading Program is being worked on at the present time. The story hour was being held at Heritage Hall, and they found that building to be too small. Arrangements have now been made with Parks and Recreation to move this to the Harding Street Center. Parking might be a problem there, and they are hoping the parking lot at the corner of Elm Avenue and Harding Street will be available for use. Martin Cooper Trigas MINUTES May 20, 1987 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page 2 TRUSTEES OLD BUSINESS: a. Presentation by Mrs. Lynn Eschbach regarding suggested criteria for selection of children's materials. Director Lange referred to his cover memorandum In the packet with the Possible Solutions to Pointless Violence in the Children's Section submitted by Mrs. Eschbach and copies of all the newspaper articles. Lynn Eschbach addressed the Board stating the books children are exposed to during their childhood have a very deep influence on them. This shapes their attitude and study after study shows that violence begets violence. She stated she felt the violence depicted in having the heroes "blow them away" was alarming. The children are the future of America, and she felt they should be taught to seek non-violent solutions to their problems. Mrs. Eschbach referred to her list of 30 books dealing with this issue and gave this list to Director Lange. She asked them to consider this list when purchasing books for the Children's Department, or purchase part of them if they cannot purchase all of them. Mrs. Eschbach stated there are some parents who do not allow their children to watch cartoons and movies that are depicting violence. She emphasized it was as important for a parent to enjoy reading a book to a child as it is for the child to be read to in order to have a positive experience. She felt the separating action of books would save a lot of tedious reading for the parents, and would create a positive non-violent world for the children. She suggested a separate section for books from movies and cartoons, with parental guidance suggested. She read from her list, which was enclosed in the packet, stressing the need for a non-violent approach to the reading materials for the children. Mrs. Eschbach stated she would like to see the seven-year olds Included In the young children section. This would allow them the choice of books in the Young Children's Department, along with information about the world. She stated the ages of seven and eight are the turning points in a child's life, and they are able to integrate information and see the world as it really is. Mrs. Eschbach thanked the Board for listening to her and considering the issue. Trustee Trigas thanked Mrs. Eschbach for coming and speaking to the Board of Trustees. She felt there was some misunderstanding on the motion to move the book up to the next level. She said the reason the book was moved up was because of the language difficulty. This was not appropriate reading language for a four-year old, but rather for a fourth, fifth or sixth grader. The sole reason for moving the book into a different category was the language level and not the subject matter. Trustee Trigas stated she wanted to make that quite clear. Trustee Trigas continued, stating it was not an attempt to compromise as far as the subject matter. She stated she did understand Mrs. Eschbach's concern and agreed she should look at the books of her youngsters, just as Trustee Trigas stated she did for her youngsters. MINUTES May 20, 1987 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page 3 TRUSTEES OLD BUSINESS: (continued) Trustee Trigas stated personally she felt the most important value the Library Board should consider Is the First Amendment, the Freedom of Speech. The Library does not have the ability to dictate what books should or should not be read by people (children). Books are placed at the appropriate age level, and the Library staff attends to that. Mrs. Eschbach's concern was violence, and other parents have that conern, as well as concern about Darwinism, socialism, communism, kissing, sex education, etc. If books were pulled out of the Library because they contained violence, other people would have the right to say pull out all the books that refer to their pet belief. Trustee Trigas felt the most important thing for a public library is to be a free public library and to provide books to people. People determine what they want to read and what they want their children to read. When a child gets older, the child will make up his/her own mind as to what to read. The Library encourages exploration, and does not have to agree with what is being written. A child with values from home will reject any idea that is not to his belief. It is not the purpose of this Board of Trustees, the Library staff, or the City, to say that we have decided that the people in Carlsbad should not read books on violence, or books on whatever. That is the most important thing that this Country was founded on--the Freedom of Speech. This freedom has been curbed in other countries and we condemn them for that. If we lose that and we tell patrons we do not want them to read this, or divide and rate books, then we become a society that Trustee Trigas stated she did not want to see. Trustee Trigas reiterated the reason this book was moved was it was not at the appropriate reading level. It was not moved because of subject matter. She stated people might not agree with what is written, but it is the right of that individual to read or say whatever they believe. Mrs. Eschbach stated she felt the same that freedom of speech was very important and felt that children were unable to draw the line. Mrs. Eschbach and Trustee Trigas discussed what constituted mainstream America, and who had a right to describe what was violent, what was right, and what anyone had a right to believe. Each person is entitled to his or her own belief. Mrs. Eschbach stated she felt the guidelines she presented could be used to help evaluate books when purchasing those books for the Children's Department. Geoff Armour stated staff needs to know what is practical in the selection process. Staff itself evaluates thousands of books each year. They do rely on the professional judgment of book critics, and books that are listed in professional journals. They also take the recommendations of people who use and support the Library, and children do use the Library. MINUTES May 20, 1987 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page TRUSTEES OLD BUSINESS: (continued) The object of the Library is to serve the public, and what the community wants is what the Library tries to give. The book in question was heavily used and was part of our popular culture. It was well-known in film and in the schools and is available publicly. The children ask for it, and the book was purchased because of community request. The book is part of a series, and not just Carlsbad has this series. Mr. Armour stated there is a Book Selection Committee and the current book selection policy is out of date and has not been updated. This incident has caused the Library to look at the whole procedure for choosing books and rewriting the Book Selection Policy, and it was felt this was a very worthwhile result. The Children's Book Selection Policy will be expanded, but the terms must be general terms and cannot be specific. The term of gratuitous violence will have to be pinned down. Director Lange stated there will be a re-evaluation of the whole Book Selection Procedure. This is one of a handful of books in the collection that anyone could object to. Criteria and all other things will be taken into consideration in selecting books. It finally revolves down to someone's judgment whether to buy a book or not. The main object of the Library is to meet the needs of the public, and the Library has that goal in mind. However, they cannot meet each individual's standards. Director Lange stated many of the suggestions contained in Mrs. Eschbach's material will be taken and incorporated in to the criteria for selecting children's books for the Library. Trustee Trigas stated the Library was re-evaluating the process in the selection of books and there were some good ideas contained in Mrs. Eschbach's material. However, when it comes to values, that is a problem to define. b. Library Computer System Selection agenda bill to Council May 26, 1987. Progress report on preliminary implementation activities undertaken. Director Lange stated this would appear on the Council agenda next Tuesday night. He stated August 1 is the tentative date for set-up time. In answer to a Trustee's question, Director Lange stated Oceanside may purchase the terminals that Carlsbad will no longer need. MINUTES LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Hay 20, 1987 Page 5 TRUSTEES OLD BUSINESS; (continued) c. Library site selection and preliminary financial alternatives report. Director Lange referred to his memorandum to the Site Selection Committee, and stated they would be meeting with the developers the end of this week or next week. The post office entered into the picture and changed some of the issues, causing the need for a rework of the entire site. Rick Engineering is working on the site plan and the new alternatives. When the costs are available, those will go to Council. Trustee Trigas requested if the costs are available, to have the three alternatives as far as sites on the agenda, with information available ahead of time to come to the next meeting prepared to discuss this item. NEW BUSINESS; a. Senior Management Analyst position recruitment and selection process - discussion. Director Lange stated Reinier Vanderschroeff has resigned as of 3une 1, and he is working with Personnel on replacement. This position is not frozen and the main problem Is there is no existing list from which to hire. Two possibilities are being explored; 1) someone in the City might be interested In the ,)ob; or, 2) a temporary person from an agency might be able to fill the position. It would take three months for a list to be created, and this position needs to be filled imme'diately. b. Library Video Magazine; a new publication in video from the American Library Association. Director Lange explained this was a new magazine the American Library Association was putting out on video tape. He stated there were some segments in this that had to do with library buildings. The Board of Trustees watched the video presentation showing new library buildings in other sections of the country. c. Quarterly Report of Library Activites for January- March, 1967. Director Lange referred to the Quarterly Report In the packet. He called attention to the fact that the Library's business continues to grow. OTHER: Trustee Grosse added to the Committee Reports, showing a folder for the Summer Reading Program. This brochure was prepared by the Serra System, and this year they are going with that program. There is a Short Story Contest under way, and the Spelling Bee finals will be held tomorrow night. MINUTES LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES May 20, 1987 Page 6 TRUSTEES LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT: Director Lange stated the California Library Association held their Legislative Day a week ago today. Director Lange attended along with 249 other library Directors, and they asked for the support of the legislators for the library bills. Director Lange stated there is more optimisim for the Bond Act at this point and the target would be the 3une, 1988, ballot. He stated this was the best attended Legislature Day they have had. Geoff Armour reported on the tax assistance forms. There were two separate programs in process January through April 15. One group was VITA, and the library provided space for this. Mr. Armour referred to the memorandum from Oulie Herd, VITA coordinator for San Diego County, contained in the packet. This group did set up appointments, and the scheduling became a heavy duty. The Library will recommend they would like to participate in this program next year, but they would like to serve the people on a first-come, first-serve basis, not get into scheduling. The other program was the tax form distribution, and Trustee Cooper was one of the five that participated in that service. These people were recruited from older adults and it was the Library's most successful program with seniors. Trustee Cooper spoke of some of his experiences with distributing the tax forms, stating the biggest problem was to help people determine what forms they really wished to have. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY; Mrs. Osberg was not present, and Trustee Cooper reported there was no total of money made on the Book Fair. The Trustees felt the publicity for the Book Fair was not as visible as it could have been. President Martin asked whether there Is such a thing as a community calendar in order to avoid having several large events occur on the same day, such as happened with the Book Fair. Director Lange said that Connie Beardsley was trying to formulate such a calendar. The Carlsbad Journal does print a calendar once a month. 5ERRA ADVISORY BOARD; Margaret Brownley, Serra Representative, reported interest Is at an all time high. She stated 12 library directors had been interviewed in the area and they were looking forward to meeting with the Administrative Council in June to look at the recommendations that came directly from the Directors. A closer working relationship is desired with the Serra Advisory Board. This will provide strength to the Serra System and one Director stated the libraries need all the help they can get. She stated it had been difficult to summarize the information obtained In those interviews. MINUTES May 20, 1967 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Page 7 TRUSTEES ADJOURNMENT; By proper motion, the Meeting of May 20, 1987, was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, *? I/" Harriett Babbitt Minutes Clerk HB:tb CIRCULATION STATISTICS MAIN LIBRARY Print Materials Film and Video Tapes Audio Visual Equipment Total MAIN LIBRARY BRANCH LIBRARY Print Materials Film and Video Tapes Total BRANCH LIBRARY TOTAL CIRCULATION REFERENCE QUESTIONS MAIN LIBRARY Adult Children's Online Searches Total MAIN LIBRARY Total BRANCH LIBRARY TOTAL QUESTIONS PEOPLE COUNTER Main Library Branch Library TOTAL ATTENDANCE AT PROGRAMS Adult Programs Children's Programs TOTAL INTERLIBRARY LOANS STATISTICS April 1987 Current Year 44,046 8,682 89 52,817 Previous Year 40,609 6,359 88 47,056 % Change + 8 + 37 + 1 + 12 ,RY * * 9,860 1,001 10,861 63,678 ******* 8,259 998 9,257 56,313 + 19 + 17 + 13 5,348 1,945 18 7,311 ,RY 716 8,027 ********* 45,351 10,990 56,341 ********* 178 2,219 2,397 ********* 4,958 1,818 15 6,791 712 7,503 Daily Average 2,167 + 8 + 7 + 20 + 8 + 1 + 7 BOOKS Requests by Carlsbad Received by Carlsbad Requests of Carlsbad Filled by Carlsbad FILMS Borrowed From Other Libraries Loaned to Other Libraries 150 124 475 71 38 43 CO •»cr>s-Q-s_toCD^™«— "reo oor) I—U.COoCMLOOCO SicoCT)CMOCM CMVO CVJ O LO OOCOcoCOVOoftCM IOCOooLf)oco _c•M C cr>coco CO COoLf)co LO n CM CsJcn LO IDCMi—i cr>LOc\j coo 00 CMCO CM OVO•* CM i/) s_ CUcc. cjc:re CO LO LO CO o o O COCO CO CO oo o CO COo LOoVO O -U na O)O Q£ VO LO VO CM LO CM CM ^J- «o LO t-H CT> t-H CO i—I CT> *—<^- I—I t—I«=!• CO o 00 VOcr>en CM CM 3to O) •t- O> cn)VI X O S_cu o ••- 3 C S- T3 W> ••- CU 3 Cu. x «a: i—i BequestsooCO -acuCT> reo 00 •ocu re a> s-a. <uo -P ngu recuoo cuc M- <A ••- O Ed r—•i- E i 00 C CJ O O _*:ooca re