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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-10-16; Library Board of Trustees; MinutesMINUTES MEETING OF: DATE OF MEETING: October 16,2002 TIME OF MEETING: 4:OO PM PLACE OF MEETING: LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Library Board Room - 1775 Dove Lane CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Jerry Tarman called the meeting to order at 4:OO PM. ROLL CALL: Present: Library Board Trustees Gleason Huss, Kamenjarin, Page, Swette, 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 Dana Hartshorn, Library Sr. Management Analyst Bee Koons, NSDCGS Liaison Arthur Wood, Friends of the Library Liaison c- APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the September 18, 2002 meeting were approved as submitted. MONTHLY LIBRARY DIVISION HEADS REPORTS: Trustee Swette asked for information on SERRA and Library Director Lange gave him a brief overview of the cooperative library system. Trustee Page asked about the Professional Growth mentioned in the Public Services report from CCL Dove Lane, wondering if we serve as a training ground since staff from our Circulation and Reference divisions have left to become Library branch management in other locations. .c Principal Librarian Pizzuto responded that we are fortunate that we seem to attract library school students; we have 4 or 5 currently on staff in part-time positions. She rc- Library Board of Trustees Page 2 Minutes of October 16,2002 Meeting explained that we encourage them to grow while they are here but know that they will eventually be looking for a permanent job. Trustee Kamenjarin asked if all the IT problems at Adult Learning had been solved and if the donation from Wal-Mart had been acknowledged. Library Director Lange responded that the IT problems had settled down considerably and that the Mayor and City Council, as well as the program manager, Lynda Jones, sent appropriate letters of thanks. He also mentioned that there would be a formal presentation from Wal-Mart at next week’s council meeting since their representative was not available when the agenda bill was approved by the City Council. Trustee Swette asked about the “partnership” between the library and the Barnes and Noble in Encinitas in the recent library card sign-up event. Principal Librarian Pizzuto reported that the library has tried to partner with this store in the past and that the new promotional/community relations employee at that store is very much interested in working with us. Barnes and Noble attracts a large number of visiting authors and the library is hoping to work with them more in the future. Trustee Gleason Huss asked Library Director Lange to ensure the poem written by one of the learners at ALP in memory of her tutor who died last year had been sent to the family of the deceased. ,,- CALTAC WORKS H 0 P : The Trustees commented on the letter received from the trainer as well as the positive reaction she had to this board’s activities and involvement. Chairman Tarman mentioned that she left here with ideas to implement and the training validated that this board is on track. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT STATISTICS; Library Director Lange explained that this report was provided in response to the questions posed by the board at the meeting last month. A look at the materials budget for the last ten years shows the percentage has gone down as the budget has increased but the dollar amount of materials budget has more than doubled. Trustee Kamenjarin pointed out that these same statistics show that the percentage of the materials budget for the Centro has dropped 50% over the last ten years, and he would like to see it increased. - Library Board of Trustees Minutes of October 16, 2002 Meeting Page 3 - Principal Librarian Piuuto pointed out that another way that collections are changing is the move to on-line date base sources which are a separate line item in the budget, but still a part of the collection. The electronic access to information the library provides would increase the overall materials budget by at least $100,000.00. The library is currently developing a strategic plan for acquiring additional databases. Library Director Lange pointed out that the report only reflects the general fund money and that over the last four years the library spent an additional $400,000.00 in capital money in addition to the general fund. The capital money was spent to increase the collection at the new building as well as at the Cole. Library Director Lange suggested that in the future the statistics could include the money spent on the electronic materials but Trustees Gleason Huss and Page expressed concern over how the other libraries within the Sate are reporting these figures when we get ready to make the comparisons. Library Director Lange also pointed out that the cost of providing the computers for access to the electronic information costs the library $5,000 per computer, annually. Currently the library has at least 100 in this building alone, including the ones used for /I the catalog. Trustee Swette asked if the library collects stats on how many patrons access the on- line databases. Library Director Lange responded that we could keep track of the “hits” at this point and that we report the number of hours of public computer use, but not the resources being used, e.g. Internet, word processing. Principal Librarian Pizzuto added that the library is looking forward to some software that would track the number of searches and number of successful searches across all the databases. The library is currently working on a method to provide similar information for the library board until the software is installed. PUBLIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION SURVEY OF LIBRARIES: Library Director Lange explained that the list provided was at the request of the board at the last meeting, and contained the names of the 218 libraries included in the survey. Trustee Kamenjarin had a question about the public service hours reported and Library Director Lange explained that the total hours reported includes all branches. Assistant Library Director Armour said that we do not include hours of the Adult Learning Program. - .c Library Board of Trustees Page 4 Minutes of October 16, 2002 Meeting BARON CENTER STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Principal Librarian Pizzuto explained the origin of the audit was to check our security and the City had contracted with the Baron Center to conduct citywide workplace security training. The Executive Summary suggests that the Library has a fairly good handle on the security of the facilities and policies and procedures for emergency situations. The staff is continuously examining the procedures to update as new circumstances arrive and making sure that all employees are knowledgeable of the procedures and carry them out. The report contained some suggestions for tightening security in some areas and in staff education. Library Director Lange added that the library has already installed the keypad on the staff entrance door limiting access, and there are alarms on the access doors from the public areas to the staff areas. The keypads and alarms for these interior doors have proved to be a challenge for the facilities staff that is now working with a contractor to modify the system. Assistant Library Director Armour added that there are silent alarms at the public service desks when there is an incident in the public areas. There is a work order for adding similar alarms in the adult computer lab and the Information Desk and possibly Administration. The alarms notify the security company at present, but with the installation at the additional locations, the alarms will also notify the Reference Desk internally. - Trustee Page asked how many people knew the code for the staff entrance door and how often the code was changed. Assistant Library Director Armour responded that all library employees have the code as well as some other City staff. The code will be changed on the same schedule as the codes for other City buildings. He added that the code only opens the door when the library is open. After working hours access is by master key and there is a separate code necessary to turn off the alarm. Principal Librarian Pizzuto explained that the number of incidents we have had at this library is not significant compared to many others, which was one of the things we wanted to find out. The Baron Center consultant has worked with many libraries and conducted workshops for the California Library Association and other regional library systems, and therefore we feel comfortable with his recommendations. She emphasized that the study included all library locations, as do his recommendations. Trustee Tarman had some questions regarding the employee safety survey and Principal Pizzuto responded that nearly half of all the employees responded and in general the results indicate a fairly high comfort level. There are some specific issues, many which have already been addressed, like the keypad for the rear entrance. - - Library Board of Trustees Page 5 Minutes of October 16, 2002 Meeting There was some discussion about locking the west doors at the Cole Library, which Principal Librarian Holt said had been discussed at the remodel and we were informed they must remain open as a fire exit. Several suggestions, making it an emergency exit only, or allowing only I-way traffic were offered. Principal Librarian Holt offered to investigate the possibility with facilities again. There was also discussion over the alarms at the exits for items not properly checked out. Principal Librarian Holt commented that most of the time the items that set off the alarms have been checked out but somehow the security device was not deactivated property . Principal Librarian Pizzuto reported that for the past two years the library has been tracking the loss rate and inventory of the audiovisual collection and reference books. The Library does not currently have a system that supports inventory control, but the SIRS1 system will allow us to conduct inventory on a regular basis, which will establish our benchmark. Library Director Lange added that the reliability of security alarm systems for items not checked out is a regular complaint of libraries. They simply are not very effective. - FRIENDS’ OF THE LIBRARY DONATION: Library Director Lange explained this was on the agenda for information only. The City Council accepted the donation at the last council meeting but there will be a formal presentation next Tuesday night. Trustee Tarman commented on their continued generosity and expressed appreciation for the board as well as the community. DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Video production - The director asked the board if they would like to have a presentation on some of the programs videotaped in the Schulman Auditorium by our media staff and currently being shown on the public access channel. The Board asked that it be added to the agenda for a future meeting. SIRS1 - The contract negotiations are still underway. It is anticipated that the final version will be approved, with an agenda bill before the City Council, sometime in - November. rc Library Board of Trustees Page 6 Minutes of October 16, 2002 Meeting San Dieslo County Librarv statistics - At the request of a member of the board at the last meeting, statistics for all the libraries in the county were distributed. There was some discussion over comparisons especially in the numbers of registered borrowers and circulation statistics for some areas. Centro Update - He has not received any response from the City Council regarding the board’s request for additional hours and may not hear until after the election next month. The park planning team anticipates the construction of the park to begin in approximately 18 months at which point the Centro must move. The facility reuse study will have impact on the decision. Library Director Lange asked Assistant Library Director Armour to bring the board up to date on the activities of the park planning process and there was some discussion of possible alternative locations for the Centro. The Centro has not been incorporated into the design of the park and therefore must move. The library has submitted a work order requesting exterior lighting for the Centro’s current location. Board handbook - The board was polled on whether they all had copies of the Boards and Commissions handbook from City Hall and only Trustee Swette has one. Additional copies of the handbook will be requested. Policies and Procedures Manual - At the CALTAC workshop the board asked for individual manuals for the board; however, the current model used by the library includes operating procedures intermixed with policies. The staff is in the process of extracting the policies from the larger manual to create the appropriate policies for the board . The board requested that the policies be incorporated as a section of the manual from City Hall to eliminate another notebook. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: Board liaison Arthur Wood reported the silent auction was scheduled for November 16‘h and 17* at the Dove Lane location. They have added an extra shift in the bookstore for Monday nights changing their hours to Mon from 10AM - 7PM, Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM - 4PM. He added that the average daily receipts for the store are $275.00. The next Friend’s board meeting is scheduled for the Cole and the following month they will meet at Centro to give the new board members a chance to see all the operation. *- rc Library Board of Trustees Page 7 Minutes of October 16, 2002 Meeting GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: SDCGS Liaison Bee Koons announced that their seminar is scheduled for this Saturday at the CCL on Dove Lane and their duplicates sale will be on the same day. Last years’ sale brought them over $1,000. She said the Society has formed a planning committee to develop a more formal structure for the future. Due to her health issues, she will be unable to finish her book and has given it to the Society to finish, publish and sell with the proceeds belonging to the Society. Finally, she invited the board to the annual holiday party on December 1 Oth PUBLIC COMMENT: None. LIBRARY BOARD COMMENTS: Trustee Page asked if the library had considered a celebration of Steinbeck’s birthday similar to the centennial celebration program within the State. She had information from the Internet, other libraries and the newspaper on various programs in our area and the state. - Library Director Lange responded that the library applied for a grant to fund a larger scale celebration but were not successful in the award. Principal Librarian Pizzuto said the library did have a Steinbeck display on the anniversary of his birthday, in January of this year. Unfortunately, the members of the library’s book clubs did not choose the “The Grapes of Wrath”. The library’s Wednesday night movies in January were movies based on Steinbeck’s books, as well. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, the meeting was adjourned at 521 PM. Respectfully subt@$ed, c_ Administr Cissie seP tive Secretary