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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-04-16; Library Board of Trustees; MinutesITEM ## 2 MINUTES Approved ------ 51 ----- afj-a-- MEETING OF: DATE OF MEETING: April 16,2003 TIME OF MEETING: 4:OO PM PLACE OF MEETING: LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Georgina Cole Library Community Room 1250 Carlsbad Village Drive 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 Carolyn Hoard, NSDCGS Liaison Arthur Wood, Friends of the Library Liaison Anne Sypien, League of Women Voters Observer ,- APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the April 17, 2002 meeting were passed as amended. MONTHLY LIBRARY REPORT: Trustee Page asked for information on the Hispanic Network Breakfast hosted by the Library in March. Library Director Lange explained it is the organizations and service providers, who deal with the Hispanic communities in the North San Diego Region and meet twice a year to discuss the needs and resources of the community. Trustee Swette had questions about adult programming. The statistics show that the number of programs increased significantly while the attendance figure remained relatively flat. Assistant Library Director Armour responded that he would verify the statistics. Assistant Library Director Armour also pointed out that the “people count” for Cole in March 02 was unreliable as the library was experiencing problems with the door counter apparatus during that time. As an addition to the report, Assistant Library - Library Board of Trustees Minutes of April 16, 2003 Meeting Page 2 - Director Armour reported the total volunteer hours for March 02 was 638, and the 904 is the 2003 figure. Trustee Gleason Huss commented that she liked the previous individual division heads reports instead of the new format. She felt very well informed after reading them and the Trustees usually made comments or had questions as the meetings. Trustee Kamenjarin agreed, stating that the summary format in this packet was “OK but that he liked the longer format and more information. Both Library Director Lange and Assistant Library Director Armour responded that staff thought there was too much repetitious information being provided and the new format would focus on the bigger, critical kinds of issues. Assistant Library Director Armour suggested that in the future, individual Division Heads would be on the agenda for updates on their departments and more focused discussions. CENTRO UPDATE & DISCUSSION: Chair Tarman shared a copy of the recent newspaper article from the San Diego Union reporting the Council action of awarding the CDBG funds to Centro. Library Director Lange reported that he was asked to attend the City Council study session this morning and address those issues contained in the Council’s response letter to then Library Board Chair Kamenjarin, following this board’s request to increase the hours of operation for the Centro. In that letter, received last August, it states “Council feels the mission of the Centro needs further clarification and its function specifically defined. Council also indicated a need to determine the ultimate location of the Centro.” - Library Director Lange said it had been an uphill battle to convince some City Council Members that the Centro is a library providing library services to that community. He distributed a copy of the matrix prepared by Assistant Library Director Armour last year, which showed library services provided as basically the same at all locations with only a couple of exceptions. Library Director Lange made a twenty-minute presentation of the entire history of the Centro, how it was started and what services are provided there. Library Community Services Supervisor Lizeth Simonson was also on hand to answer questions about services provided and to whom. The Council then spent about 45 minutes discussing the information and asking questions. The end result was that the majority of the Council Members agreed that Carlsbad should keep the Centro, in the current neighborhood, and begin to look for a suitable site. The Council has asked for additional information about demographics of that area and what the trends look like and some socio-economic data. r_ Chair Tarman asked what could be purchased with the $766,000 CDBG grant. Library Board of Trustees Minutes of April 16,2003 Meeting Page 3 r^ Library Director Lange responded that the money could be used to purchase a vacant lot or a house or building to be refurbished. The requirements are that the funds be used to purchase property to serve low-income people. According to the data on income level in the three census tracts within the Barrio, each one has a significant percentage of people that are low to moderate income. Trustee Gleason Huss asked what were some of the objections and concerns of those members of the City Council who were not in favor of the Centro getting the CDBG funds. Library Director Lange explained that there is concern over the “process” used to award the funds as well as the possibility that the neighborhood will change significantly over the next few years as property values increase. These concerns are driving the need for the demographics information on the area. Chair Tarman suggested some of that information would be available through the local schools since they are required to collect that type of data. He also pointed out that property owned by the City in an area where property values were increasing would be an asset even if the need for the Centro diminished. .- There were questions about when the money must be spent, and Library Director Lange explained that as he understands the regulations, the entire amount of the grant must be spent by the April 1 , 2004 deadline, not just encumbered, or any unspent amount must be returned. Trustee Kamenjarin made the statement that he was “most proud” to be a member of this board as the Council takes this action in response to the residents, and the entire Board was “delighted” with the decision. Assistant Library Director Armour explained that the restricted time line attached to the grant award makes the project difficult, with all the planning; use permits; parking issues, etc. to get done within one year. The cleanest and most simple solution would be to use the funds to purchase a vacant lot in the Barrio and move the Centro onto the new lot for now. There was further discussion over federal regulations regarding the funds and the City Council policy of matching funds, available properties in the $700,000 price range in the Barrio and parking standards. Library Director Lange explained that in the past the library has been successful in getting the parking standard reduced for the Centro since the majority of the patrons walk to the facility, and very few people who live there have transportation. - Chair Tarman asked that the Centro update become a permanent item on the agenda for the next year. Library Board of Trustees Minutes of April 16, 2003 Meeting Page 4 - SIRS1 UPDATE: Library Director Lange reported that the contract was signed and a new timeline has been established, beginning in June with date to go live the end of October. Sirsi has sent a CD full of documents which outline all the decisions which have to be made. They will send their consultant to the library in June to meet with the staff. Senior Librarian and Head of Technical Services, Chris Pickavet, is the in-house project manager. She is working with her counterpart, Jeannie Peters at Sirsi, and Principal Librarian Heather Pizzuto. DIRECTOR’S RE PORT: Librarv Staff and Librarv Board Meetinns - In an effort to better manage staff time, all the management staff may not be attending all the board meetings in the future. Fines & Fees in the Librarv - Staff is working on a revised fines and fees schedule to be included in the budget process and due at Finance on May lst. The information is not complete at this time, but will be at the May deadline, and the proposed schedule will be presented at the next Library Board meeting for approval. Research has shown that this library has the lowest overdue fees in the area at 10 cents a day, and staff will be recommending an increase to 25 cents. The overdue fee will have the most impact on the public but Oceanside Library increased their fee several months ago and reportedly has not received any negative feedback. - Trustee Page asked if there were plans for advance notice to the patrons of the increase and when would the increase become effective if approved. Library Director Lange responded that if approved by Council in June we would not initiate the new fee schedule until probably August. Trustee Kamenjarin asked if the room usage fees were being reviewed and Library Director Lange said the library is working towards being consistent with the fees charged by our Parks and Recreation for similar facilities. Any proposed changes will be submitted to the Library Board for approval. Trustee Swette suggested that it would be important to provide information to the patrons on both the proposed fee increases as well as the installation of the new system (SIRSI). Library Director Lange responded that the library plans on using various methods to promote both. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: Arthur Woods, Friends’ Liaison, reported that the Friends’ of the Library have not had a meeting since his last report and therefore has no report today. Library Board of Trustees Minutes of April 16,2003 Meeting Page 5 ,- GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: Carolyn Hoard, NSDCGS liaison reported that their President wrote a letter to the legislators regarding the proposed budget cuts affecting the TBR funds after a show of hands at their last general meeting, which indicated 90% of the members are not Carlsbad residents but use the Genealogy section of the Georgina Cole Library. President Spong also asked the members to write letters. The annual yard sale on April 5th grossed over $800.00 and the upcoming May programs are: Mastering Internet Search Engines and Genealogv in the New Millennium. PUBLIC COMMENT: None present. LIBRARY BOARD COMMENTS: Trustee Page recently visited the new Cardiff by the Sea Library, which is very pretty but small with a small bookstore and a major parking problem within the lot as well as street-side. Trustee Kamenjarin asked what had happened to the sculpture in the Sculpture Garden behind the Arts office and Library Director Lange explained that the sculpture is changed each year and the new exhibit will be “America.” - Trustee Swette asked if the Board meeting could be scheduled at the Centro and Library Director Lange said that staff would look into the possibility - challenges would be space, the board meeting is a public meeting, and a change in meeting time since there is no meeting space there and the Board would have to meet either before or after the time the Centro is opened to patrons. Library Director Lange commented that Janelle Cannon and Susan McCarthy both received awards from San Diego Magazine for their most recent books. ADJOURNMENT: was adjourned at 4:40 PM Administrative Secretary -