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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-05-24; Library Board of Trustees; MinutesApproved:ITEM #2 MEETING OF: DATE OF MEETING: PLACE OF MEETING: MINUTES LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES May 24, 2006 Carlsbad City Library Board Room 1775 Dove Lane CALL TO ORDER: Chair Rob Swette called the meeting to order at 4:04 PM. ROLL CALL: Present: Absent: Also Present: Library Board Trustees Bradley, Swette, and Tarman Trustees Kamenjarin and Lignante Heather Pizzuto, Library Director Dave Curtis, Deputy Library Director Suzanne Smithson, Deputy Library Director Cheryl Mast, Library Management Analyst Jessica Padilla Bowen, Library Community Coordinator Joe Garuba, Sr. Management Analyst, City Manager's Office Karen McGuire, Cannon Gallery Coordinator Chuck Flacks, Study Director, SBRI, Cal State San Marcos Jason Learner, Resource Assistant, SBRI, Cal State San Marcos Devin Castel, Library Business Systems Specialist Chris Pickavet, Sr. Librarian, Technical Services Laura Coleman, Librarian, Technical Services Amy Bennett, Library Volunteer Services Randal Hopwood, Friends of the Library liaison Gordon Hoard, NSDCGS liaison Summer Murphy, League of Women Voters observer APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the March 15, 2006 and April 19, 2006 meetings were approved as submitted. MONTHLY LIBRARY REPORTS: Trustee Tarman commented that the number of patrons selecting e-mail as their preferred method for notification continues to increase and asked if the Library is Library Board of Trustees Page 2 Minutes of May 24, 2006 Meeting marketing that service. He suggested that a line be added to the mailers to advise those patrons that the e-mail notification is available and also to include information on the telephone notification as another alternative to mailers. Library Pizzuto responded that neither the e-mail nor the telephone notification methods incur any additional costs and therefore the Library is not attempting to steer the patrons in only one direction (e-mail) but that his suggestion of adding information to the mailers is an excellent one and staff will investigate the possibilities. Trustee Bradley commented on the value of the "CityStuff' program and Trustee Swette asked for more information on the program. Library Director Pizzuto explained the basics of the program where various City staff volunteer to visit the third grade classrooms and provide information about how the City functions. She introduced Senior Management Analyst Joe Garuba from the City Manager's office who explained that the program was an outgrowth of Junior Achievement and the City has been involved in the program for about five years. There are about seventy third grade classes within the four school districts that service Carlsbad residents and because of budget restraints the City visits thirty-five classrooms every other year to present the program. Trustee Bradley questioned the significant rise in the number of Reference questions from last year to this and Library Director Pizzuto responded that the Library moved to a different formula for tracking them in July of 2005 which now includes questions handled by the Information Desk staff. Trustee Swette complimented the Centra on their outreach to the adult Spanish- speaking community to get their participation in the Carlsbad Reads Together program this year. INTRODUCTION OF NEW LIBRARY STAFF: Sr. Librarian Chris Pickavet, Technical Services Division Head, introduced Librarian Laura Coleman, recently hired cataloger and Deputy Director Smithson introduced Library Volunteer Services Coordinator Amy Bennett who also joined the staff in the last month. WILLIAM D. CANNON GALLERY REPORT: Library Director Pizzuto introduced Gallery Coordinator Karen McGuire who distributed a folder containing information on the current exhibit and a schedule of planned exhibitions through 2008. Library Board of Trustees Page 3 Minutes of May 24, 2006 Meeting She provided the Board with the background on the gallery, currently hosting its 38th exhibition in the six years it's been open. She explained that the Gallery Committee meets and selects the exhibits two years in advance which is more in line with the way museums plan but allows us to borrow or rent exhibitions by requesting them far in advance. Due to the popularity of the Gallery the Committee has decided to change the length of each exhibition to nine or ten weeks and reduce the number scheduled each year. She explained the art education program called Three-Part Art for third and fourth grade students that includes a curriculum describing what the exhibit is about and what they might see. There is a tour of the exhibit, an activity and an art project related to the exhibit and for the current exhibit there are 1,400 students scheduled to visit. Trustee Swette asked if the Gallery was reaching a large portion of the community and Ms. McGuire responded that because of the location of the Gallery and its link with the Library we were able to reach a portion of the community that perhaps would not make a specific trip to a gallery but will visit the Cannon Gallery in conjunction with their Library visit. She also touched on the variety of the exhibitions offered which appeal to different components of the community. Trustee Swette also asked about attendance numbers and Ms. McGuire responded that during the week they average 50 to 100 visitors per day and 100 to 200 per day on the weekend; about 400 attend the opening receptions and the lectures draw anywhere between 20 to 200, depending on the subject. Library Director Pizzuto added that the Gallery is one of the services that falls under the Arts Office which is part of the Library Department but has its own Commission appointed by the City Council and a Gallery Committee which includes a representative from the Library Board. SURVEY RESULTS: Library Director Pizzuto introduced Chuck Flacks, Study Director in charge of community research at Cal State San Marcos' Social and Behavioral Research Institute (SBRI) and Research Assistant Jason Learner, who were present to review the results of the recent Library surveys. Mr. Flacks explained that Dr. Michael Large was the SBRI member who worked with the Library on developing the surveys but is no longer with the Institute and therefore Mr. Flacks is analyzing the information with a "fresh eye" but without the benefit of information on specific issues of Library focus. Library Board of Trustees Page 4 Minutes of May 24, 2006 Meeting Mr. Flacks then walked the Board through a visual presentation charting the combined responses to the telephone and intercept surveys. Library Director Pizzuto noted that Sr. Management Analyst Joe Garuba was present as he has been working with the Library on the survey and has worked extensively on the Carlsbad Citywide survey. The Library initiated its survey as part of the balanced scorecard project in an effort to determine what is important and what are the priorities of our patrons and what value the Library brings to the community. She added that the staff has already asked SBRI for some additional analysis and as more of the staff review the report we anticipate additional questions requiring even further analysis before we move the results forward. Overall the Library ratings were in the 90% satisfaction range with services provided. The trustees discussed the results in some detail and ways to address some of the issues identified, such as a redesign of the look of the Library's web page and make it easier to navigate. There was also some discussion about some open-ended questions on the next iteration of the survey in several areas where more information would be helpful. LIBRARY LEARNING CENTER UPDATE: Library Director Pizzuto reported that the agenda bill for the project is in the final stages in hopes of getting it on the Council the agenda in June. The agenda bill will contain a range of options for the Council to consider and some costs related to some of the options are still being collected. Once the agenda bill has been scheduled for a specific meeting, the full content will be available as part of the published Council agenda on the Friday preceding the Tuesday meeting date. Library Director Pizzuto promised to let the Trustees know as soon as it is available. SIRSI.NET: Library Director Pizzuto introduced Library Business Systems Specialist Devin Castel to report on the successful transition from our automated system being hosted internally to it being hosted externally. Mr. Castel reported that initially the Library catalog was projected to be down for maintenance from May 11 through May 20 but we were able to keep the catalog available until the evening of May 14. As part of the process, the IT. Department had fiber cabling installed to increase the band-width for internet speed and was able to migrate the data quickly over the new fiber to Sirsi who will be managing our system. Sirsi reported the migration was completed successfully on Tuesday, May 16 and ready for internal testing. By 4:30 pm the next day the terminals were updated and the catalog Library Board of Trustees Page 5 Minutes of May 24, 2006 Meeting was available on all the public OPACs. The process was very smooth overall. The final steps were to bring up the telephone notification server, which was completed by the following Monday, and the self-check machine. Library Director Pizzuto added that the move from the system being internal to its being externally hosted was relatively invisible to the public other than the limited time our catalog was down. The Library has been very pleased with the maintenance provided so far by Sirs! and when we get ready to upgrade the system they will manage the upgrade from their end and it should be a much quicker and smoother operation. There were some questions about the cost of the migration and external hosting and Library Director Pizzuto explained there was a one-time expense for the migration and then an annual maintenance fee. Part of the decision to have Sirsi host the system was based on a cost benefit analysis of the current costs of monthly maintenance, service and upgrades as well as the charges to the Library from the City Information Technology Department for their time. The cost benefit analysis was conducted by the City's IT Department and they concluded that there is an appreciable benefit in term of the dollars to outsource. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: Proposition 81 - Library Director Pizzuto reminded the Board that Prop 81 is a statewide bond measure which would provide $600 million in state dollars to fund public library construction and renovation projects. If approved statewide, it will follow where Proposition 14 left off. Prop 14 was passed in 2000 and provided $350 million in state funds for library construction and renovations. In the last cycle before the funds ran out, there were a significant number of library projects that were not funded. If Prop 81 is passed, the funds that become available will fund those applications already received and rated under Prop 14. She explained that even if we were interested in applying for the funds there is an application process that takes over a year and the first round of awards would be based on applications already in the queue; therefore, funds would not be available to us for any immediate projects. RFID - The project for tagging our materials is at 50% completion and moving along very quickly due to the expanded volunteer recruiting and management. The current push is to get the entire children's collection finished at the Cole Library before the start of the Summer Reading Program. The designs for the reconfiguration of certain sections of the Circulation desks are still not final as staff collects approximate costs and considers different design options. The best guess estimate for completion of the construction is six months from the time we begin the construction contract process. That and the completion of the tagging will determine when we will go live with RFID. Library Board of Trustees Page 6 Minutes of May 24, 2006 Meeting _ Strategic Planning - The Library is in the process of negotiating a contract with Joan Frye Williams to come and facilitate a strategic planning process for the Library, probably sometime in the fall. An actual date has not been determined nor has the structure for the planning process but the Library is working with the consultant on both and will report to the Library Board when there is more definite information. FOUNDATION REPORT: Trustee Tarman reported that the last strategic planning meeting was canceled. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: Liaison Randy Hopwood reported that the Friends Board is discussing changing the fee for lifetime membership and adding a new business membership category. GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: Liaison Hoard reported that the Society held their book sale on Saturday and the proceeds are estimated at about $400, with the majority of the sales to the Hemet Family History Center, and on May 13th the class on "Family Tree Maker' was attended by 65 people. LIBRARY BOARD COMMENTS: Trustee Swette reported that he will be out of the country next month at the regular meeting date. Staff will contact all the Trustees with some alternative dates to determine if there will be a quorum present for that meeting. Tentatively scheduled for the June meeting agenda is a report on the Summer Reading Program and the election of a chair for this Board for the FY06-07. PUBLIC COMMENT: None present. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion,, thejpeeting was adjourned at 5:40 PM Cissie Se> Administrative Secretary ITEM #3 Monthly LIBRARY Reports for APRIL 2006 Systemwide ... 1. Hundreds of people attended Carlsbad Reads Together events throughout April. Book discussions took place at Dove and Cole Libraries and Centre de Informaci6n, Ray Bradbury spoke to a packed house in the Schulman Auditorium, with additional patrons watching a live feed of his talk in the Gowland meeting room, the Children's area and in the courtyard of the Library. A live webstream was also made available to fans at home via the Internet. The video has since been archived on the Library's web site for on demand viewing. Additionally, DVDs of the talk have been made available for check-out from the Library's video collection. 2. The Carlsbad Reads Together program was very popular as witnessed not only by An Evening with Ray Bradbury, but by high attendance at the themed programs surrounding Fahrenheit 451. Nearly 300 people attended the three Carlsbad Reads Together films (Fahrenheit 451 and the Illustrated Man) and panel discussion. 3. Spanish-speaking patrons enjoyed a lively discussion in Spanish of Fahrenheit 451 at the Centre de Informacion on April 18, and the two book groups based at the Cole Library discussed Fahrenheit 451 for their April meetings, drawing double the usual attendance 4. The RFID tagging project took on an added dimension as tagging got under way at the Cole Library. In that last week of April, Cole staff tagged 3,000 items. Collectively, by the end of April, there were 117,477 items tagged system wide. 5. On April 19th, Young Adult Librarian, Darin Williamson addressed several classes at Calavera Hills Middle School. He informed 140 students about the Library and services offered, and he provided an overview of electronic resources and how to use them. 6. A survey of Library users was conducted during April to gather feedback about patrons' satisfaction with Library services and gauge the importance of these • services to patrons and the community in general. Many staff participated in the survey process, which was overseen by Cal State San Marcos SBRI. The results are now being analyzed and findings are expected to be available in mid-May. 7. Four Library employees are participating in the "CityStuff" program. This is a partner program between the City and local schools to bring information about how the City functions to third grade classrooms. Part of the California standard third grade curriculum is studying their "community." Monthly Library Reports for April 2006 Adult Learning ... 8. Adult Learning Program staff members Amanda Bird and Stacey Wiegleb introduced learners and tutors to poetry during National Poetry Month. Their activities included writing a newsletter article, developing handouts on poetry discussion ideas and writing, and posting weekly poems. Poetry books from the collection were displayed all month. A poetry workshop capped off the month- long event. 9. Three learners passed their GED Language Arts writing exam. All of them had participated in AmeriCorps volunteer Ein Dawson's GED preparation class. 10. Adult Learning Program Senior Librarian, Lynda Jones, began a medical leave of absence on April 10. Centre de Information ... 11. Centro staff members Angelina Canseco and Lizeth Simonson participated in the Annual Mini-Conference for Bilingual Parents at Jefferson Elementary School on April 21. During the conference, the Library staffed an information table where parents were able to ask questions and receive information and handouts about Library services. 12. The nine participants from the two computer classes taught in Spanish at the Centro de Informacion completed their eight-week courses. Each participant received a certificate of completion. CCL, Dove Lane... 13. On April 1st, the Friends of the Carlsbad City Library hosted the grand opening of the Children's Garden. Despite intermittent rain, the entertainment, food and the Garden itself made for a terrific event. There was a great turn out from the community and the storytime drew 162 listeners. 14. On April 27th, a Rock the Library concert took place in the Schulman Auditorium. The band "Radio Dancer" played loud pop rock to an excited crowd of 60 fans. Radio Dancer placed third in the 3rd annual City-sponsored Battle of the Bands contest. 15. The Carlsbad City Library Hour's April programming, produced by Media Services, featured the San Diego Chamber Music Society. This event was recorded live in the Schulman Auditorium, and shown on Adelphia Channel 3. Library programs are also aired on KOCT Oceanside and Del Mar Access TV. Georgina Cole ... 16. Glynn Birdwell began working as Senior Librarian, Reference Services on April 3. Glynn comes to us from the Livermore Public Library in Northern California. She has been busy getting to know staff, learning about all of the Library's projects Monthly Library Reports for April 2006 in process, studying our policies & procedures, and working on scheduling staff. All are enjoying her endless patience, quick wit, and sharp intellect. 17. The Cole Circulation division hired several new part-time pages, clerks, and techs and Reference Services hired two new techs for the Adult Computer Lab. 18. The History Room received donations of local photos and an oral history of the Wilson family. 19. Cole Children's Senior Librarian, Audrey Jones, Cole Children's Library Assistant Pat Hatfield, and Centre de Informaci6n Community Outreach Supervisor Lizeth Simonson attended the monthly meeting of the Carlsbad Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.) at the Barrio Museum in Carlsbad. Mr. Jon Moffat from Vista Community Clinic gave a presentation to the group about the dangers of Myspace.com. 20. Cole Children's Senior Librarian, Audrey Jones conducted a very special Library orientation program for 10 special needs students in grades 6-8 from Calavera Hills Middle School. 21. The Genealogy Division and the North San Diego County Genealogical Society presented several well-attended programs in April. Margaret Read completed the Spring Monday Evening Beginning Genealogy Course —a 6-week course that began in March with an average of 10 students per class session in attendance. Joan Lowrey spoke to the Computer Genealogy Group about Steve Morse's Genealogy Website on April 11 with 57 attendees. Dr. Steve Baird spoke to an audience of 92 genealogists on April 25 about "DNA and Migration Patterns." CARLSBAD CITY LIBRARY MONTHLY USAGE STATISTICS - APRIL 2006 CCL Dove Lane Reference questions Circulation People count In-House Use of Materials Cole Library Reference questions Circulation People count In-House Use of Materials Centro/ALP Reference questions Circulation People count In-House Use of Materials Library-Sponsored Programs Adult programs Adult program attendance Young Adult programs Young Adult program attendance Children's programs Children's program attendance Computer Users All Facilities E-Mail Notification New Users Outbound Notices (Hold, Overdue 1 & 2) New Users Cumulative Total (Began August 2005) Telephone Notification New Users New Users Cumulative Total (Began December 2005) Facility Meeting Room Use Events booked Event attendance Events cancelled Volunteer Hours Total hours Apr-OS 8,160 72,337 38,859 15,549 4,707 34,677 21,605 4,800 211/35 1,270/116 1.954/* 1521* 20 379 4 156 43 784 8,589 ** ** ** 111 4,044 24 1,139 Mar-06 13,959 82,797 44,991 15,234 6,536 32,691 20,384 7,713 164/231 1,312/129 2,348/* 153/* 36 577 6 50 119 4,209 9,296 906 5,937 6,889 274 1,131 108 5,856 24 1,396.5 Apr-06 11,788 74,041 38,743 13,952 6,199 30,655 20,089 6,785 176/172 905/118 1,828/* 189/* 32 404 10 277 86 2,431 8,318 784 5,533 7,673 258 1,389 120 4,058 45 1,025.15 * ALP not reported.** Email/Telephone Notification not reported last year.