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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-10-17; Library Board of Trustees; MinutesITEM # 2 I ,- MEETING OF: DATE OF MEETING: MINUTES Appf‘Oved: LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES October 17,2001 f l-I&n, TIME OF MEETING: 4:OO PM PLACE OF MEETING: Library Board Room - 1775 Dove Lane CALL TO ORDER: Chairman William Kamenjarin called the meeting to order at 4:OO PM. ROLL CALL: Present: Library Board Trustees, Baron, Gleason Huss, Kamenjarin, Page and Tarman. Absent: None Also Present: Cliff Lange, Library Director Geoff Armour, Assistant Library Director Heather Pizzuto, Principal Librarian, Dove Lane Chris Holt, Principal Librarian, Cole Library Dana Hartshorn, Library Management Analyst Bee Koons, NSDCGS Liaison Arthur Wood, Friends of the Library Liaison Anne Sypien, League of Women Voters Observer - APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the August 15, 2001 meeting were approved as submitted. MONTHLY LIBRARY DIVISION HEADS REPORTS: Trustee Page asked if there had been any resolution to the Adult Learning computer problems and was told that the City’s Information Systems has resolved the major portion of the problems. Trustee Page asked for an explanation of the reference to “security reasons” for the Children’s Librarian’s office redesign at the Cole Library. Cole Manager, Chris Holt, responded that the office space is located between two doors, one in the Children’s library and the other an emergency exit. Both doors must remain unlocked during business hours making it impossible for the librarian to lock her office. r r Library Board of Trustees Page 2 Minutes of October 17, 2001 Meeting Trustee Tarman wanted to pass along a compliment to the Reference Staff members at both the Cole and Dove Lane locations. He said a patron had taken the opportunity to express how pleased he had been with the service. The staff had been very helpful with his research on several occasions. Trustee Tarman also offered congratulations to Chair Kamenjarin regarding his daughter, Melissa, being named as a semi-finalist National merit scholar. Melissa works for the library as well as volunteers at the Centro. Trustee Page asked what enhancements were being considered for the Young Adult Area at the Dove Lane location. Principal Librarian Heather Pizzuto responded that plans are to take the area on the northwest corner upstairs, next to the adult computer lab, for the Young Adults. Currently the area designated for them is very small and by enlarging their “space” and including some additional computers, the young adult portion of the collection, and the young adult periodicals, the teenage patrons will congregate in that area of the library especially for studying and working on small group projects. The main purpose is to give them a space of their own. CENTRO DE INFORMACION UPDATE: ,- Assistant Library Director Armour provided an aerial photograph of the Pine School property to show the proposed location for the modulars for the Centro. He said that the City has approved the larger modular (24’ x 60’) to be located towards the rear of the basketball court facing Harding Street. The committee has now decided to change the direction of the modular and have it face the parking lot at the Senior Center, down Walnut Street. Positioning the modular in this way will prevent any denied access during the demolition of the existing structures, and will also have the front door more readily accessible and visible to the neighborhood. He said they are also looking into the possibility of moving the Centro to the one of the newly acquired residential lots across the street from the park property. The low-bidder on the proposal for providing the modulars has them in stock and as soon as the agreement has been signed they can deliver them to the site; however, the demolition of the structures is not scheduled until next Spring and will take two to three months to complete. He also reported that the City staff has prepared an agenda bill asking the City Council to form a Steering Committee of Carlsbad residents and various commissioners to facilitate communication between the community and the City Council on the final park design. P Trustee Page asked about access to the modular since the new orientation faces the fenced parking lot of the Senior Center. Assistant Library Director Armour responded .c- Library Board of Trustees Page 3 Minutes of October 17, 2001 Meeting that the existing fence and shrubbery will be removed and there will be additional signage. Chair Kamenjarin asked about the scheduled demolition for the two residences located on the other property as it would ideal to locate the Centro outside the seven acres under contention for the park. Assistant Library Director Armour said the plans are for all the demolition work to be done at the same time; however, there have been complaints by the adjoining property owners and reports of vermin infestation, which might impact that decision. Best-case scenario would be the demolition of those structures first, moving the modular for the Centro onto one of the lots, and utilizing the existing infrastructure. LIBRARY PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR 2001 -2002: Library Director Lange reported on the performance measures being used by the Library. According to the Hennen American Public Library Ratings (HAPLAR) the Carlsbad City Library ranks tenth in the nation among the cities of 50,000 to 99,999 populations. F Additionally, the library is currently collecting information on the “fill rate” by customer satisfaction survey cards. Principal Librarian Holt added that the survey cards were available starting Monday and for the most part the response has been favorable. Principal Librarian Pizzuto reported that in the Library on Dove Lane there were 75 cards completed and turned in on the first day. This initial survey will be conducted for two weeks and thereafter the survey will be repeated on a quarterly basis. Trustee Baron asked if the information from these cards would be a factor in our national rating and Library Director Lange responded that the fill rate information is not part of the HAPLAR. NOISE ISSUES AT THE DOVE LANE LIBRARY: Principal Librarian Pizzuto explained the noise summit meetings held at the Dove Lane location and attended by approximately sixty-five staff members. The primary purpose was to identify the issues and what is behind the perception that we have a “noise problem”. The basis for the meetings was the twenty-five patron complaints and suggestions on this subject. Results of the meetings were a list of challenges and some suggestions for solutions. Those suggestions and challenges were then developed into four initiatives as follows: 0 0 Identifying and reducing library-produced noise Developing an education communication program for patrons and staff about the issue c Library Board of Trustees Page 4 Minutes of October 17, 2001 Meeting 0 0 Reviewing our rules of conduct policy for possible modifications Identifying and implementing physical modifications to reduce noise The next step is to identify and recruit staff members who are interested in working on the initiatives. Chair Kamenjarin asked if we had contacted other libraries with regard to cell phone abuse and the possibility of a “jamming device” which would prevent sending and receiving signals within the building. Principal Librarian Pizzuto responded that we are hoping to be able to take some sort of middle ground by identifying appropriate behavior and use of the cell phones. She continued that the library is a gathering place for the community and that often conversations between patrons are much louder than some of the cell phone users. Trustee Tarman asked about the number of complaintslsuggestions and Principal Librarian Pizzuto responded that the twenty-five collected were over a twelve-month period. Both Library Director Lange and Assistant Library Director Armour reported that noise is universally the most significant issue for libraries. *- ANNUAL REPORT TO THE STATE LIBRARY: Chair Kamenjarin questioned the number of borrowers in the report as down significantly and Assistant Library Director Armour explained that “borrowers” translates into “cardholders” and that the library had recently purged the database of inactive cardholders. Library Director Lange advised the Board that the Library’s Annual Report would be available sometime next month. STATE OF THE CITY VIDEO: This item tabled until the next regular meeting. CO M MU N ITY S E RVlC ES VIDEO : This item tabled until the December meeting. - Library Board of Trustees Page 5 Minutes of October 17,2001 Meeting DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Computer Virus - As a result of the computer virus that infected the City’s network and therefore made the library catalog unavailable, the IT staff is initiating more safeguards for the system. Library Strateqic Plan - The Board approved plan was presented to the Leadership Team this morning along with the Community Services Video. The video was produced for two reasons, first as a vehicle that will help people understand what Community Services encompasses, and second to showcase the goals and strategic plans of each one of the departments. The Leadership Team response was favorable and the plan and video will go to City Council on November 20. 50th Anniversary Book - Funding for the history book was approved by the City Council and we will begin pre-publication sales promotion in January 2002. RFP for Consultant for new automated system - The RFP was sent to six potential consulting firms. The deadline for submittals is Monday, and we know of at least two firms thatare submitting proposals. September lIth - The most significant impact on library services as a result of the terrorist attack was the decrease in patrons in the building. As a result of the anthrax mail scare there have been new procedures initiated as directed by the Governor. The City’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) has been set up at the Safety Center and the CMAT team is meeting regularly to assess the situation. The Library Director is the Public Information Officer for the City during any emergency situation. The Carlsbad Police Department is receiving regular briefings from the FBI and the County Disaster Group. The library has developed a web page link for sites relative to the disaster. r FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: Arthur Wood reported that the Friends’ met in September and decided to eliminate one of their annual book sales and replace it with two silent auctions. The next silent auction will be at the Cole Library on November 17‘h and 18‘h. The net proceeds from the book sales from July to September were over $21,000. He also reported that the Friends have decided to focus on the Homebound Program offered through the Library. They are actively recruiting volunteers to provide the service as well as trying to identify residents who would benefit from this service. GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: - Bee Koons reported that their seminar is scheduled for October 20th in the Schulman Auditorium. The Society officer election will take place next month. The current slate of officers have all agreed to serve again and expect to run unopposed. Several members - Library Board of Trustees Page 6 Minutes of October 17, 2001 Meeting of the society are taking part in the DNA study on November 17'h, sponsored by the Mormon Church and Ms. Koons has completed writing the teacher's manual for children's genealogy classes. She has submitted it to several editors and will seek to have it printed after the first of the year. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. LIBRARY BOARD COMMENTS: The Board discussed the approaching holidays and decided to cancel the November 2001 meeting, as there will not be a quorum available. In addition, the December meeting will be moved forward a week to December 12'h. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, the meeting was adjourned at 450 PM. /- Res pectfu I I y sw i~p, Cissie &ton Administrative Secretary