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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.