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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLibrary Advisory Board Minutes -07-16-2018 - Approved w reconsideration policySt. Lucie County Library Advisory Board Minutes – July 15, 2018 1 Library Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Monday, July 15, 2018 Chair Ethel Rowland called the meeting to order at 5:35 PM in the Kilmer (Fort Pierce) Branch Library Meeting Room. Members in attendance: Ethel Rowland, Michael Millstone, Eloise Cumings, Eukeba Jones, Jewel Armstrong Player and Rudy Widman. Also in attendance: Susan Jacob, Library Director and Nancy Woodfin, Senior Library Administrative Specialist. Absent were Carnelle Clifton and Marjorie Harrell. The minutes from the last Board Meeting dated 4/16/2018 were distributed. A motion was made and seconded (Eloise Cumings/Jewel Armstrong Player) to accept the minutes as distributed. The motion passed. Old Business: Linked Family Cards: Library Director stated that she is not recommending pursuit of linked family cards. She reasoned that no one has ever requested a family card. She explained that Florida statute, verified by the county attorney, allows for a parent to get access to a child’s account because they have signed the application to be responsible for the child’s account so there would be no need for a linked card. A motion was made and seconded (Rudy Widman/Eloise Cumings) to drop the issue of linked family cards. The motion passed unanimously. Holds Authorizations: LD discussed the Holds Authorization Procedure and Form. She asked that the board vote to approve the form which would allow patrons to specify up to five individuals who would have permission to pick up materials on hold on a patron’s account. The patron would be asked if they wish to designate someone to pick up holds on their account at the time that they apply for a card. They would also be asked to confirm this choice each time their privilege is renewed. A motion was made and seconded (Michael Millstone/Jewel Armstrong Player) to approve the Holds Authorization form as presented to the board. The motion passed unanimously. Overdue fines and fees: LD requested tabling the discussion on eliminating overdue fines and fees. She said that with the impending ballot measures that will affect the county’s budget it would be best to revisit the matter at a later date. St. Lucie County Library Advisory Board Minutes – July 15, 2018 2 A motion was made and seconded (Eloise Cumings/Eukeba Jones) to table the discus sion on eliminating overdue fines and fees. The motion passed unanimously. New Business: LD gave an update on the implementation of raising the age on an adult library card to 16. She said that the transition was seamless and she has received no comments from patrons. Most of the adjustments that needed to be made were concerning the public computers. Challenged Books Procedures and Form: Library Director talked about the Library’s selection policy and its practice of buying across the board with a focus based on quality reviews and demographics of the community. She stated that occasionally material is challenged for appropriateness by patrons and there is a means for them to request reconsideration. LD explained to the board that the Library has a procedure in place for handling instances of challenged materials and she recommended expanding that procedure to include the Library Advisory Board. She said that the LAB would serve as a final appeal for patrons who are not satisfied with the decision of the Library Director, and after the multi-staff review procedure and recommendation has been delivered. Before the LD asked the board to vote on being the final arbitrator in a challenged material request, and to vote on the approval of the policy on Request for Reconsideration of Library Material, she first asked them to decide whether material in question should be left in circulation while being reviewed. A motion was made and seconded (Rudy Widman/Michael Millstone) to allow challenged material to remain in circulation until the review is complete and a decision rendered. Discussion of the motion ensued. The motion passed , four votes for the motion and two votes against. A motion was made and seconded (Rudy Widman/Eukeba Jones) to have the Library Ad visory Board serve as the final arbitrator in cases where reconsideration of material for the Library collection has been requested by patrons. Discussion of the motion ensued. The motion passed unanimously. A motion was made and seconded (Eloise Cumings/Eukeba Jones) to accept the policy on Request for Reconsideration of Library Material as written. The motion passed unanimously. Library Director’s Report: LD reported that over the next year library administration will be working on a new 5 year plan. The range of the plan will be 2020 through 2025. She said that the plan may encompass a challenging time due to possible financial ramifications the county may face depending on the outcome of several ballot measures to be voted on in November. St. Lucie County Library Advisory Board Minutes – July 15, 2018 3 LD reported that the Lewis Branch Library has been extremely successful , with children’s programs breaking all system attendance records. The branch has had to pull back on some programing because there is not enough staff to accommodate the number of people attend ing. LD reported that she had attended budget workshops the previous week and that the budget for next fiscal year is about the same as this fiscal year. Ideally she would like to see 6 day a week service restored to the county, however the cost would add around $900,000 to the budget and that increase is not available this year. In FY19, the LD plans to look into the feasibility of upgrading the Port St. Lucie Branch, the system’s oldest branch. She said that the money for rehab would come from impact fees and not the general fund. LD talked about the success of this year’s Summer Reading Program. The participation goal this year was 3,600 children and at the halfway point branches have already had 4,800 participants. This is partly due to the addition of two new age groups to the program. LD talked about the program’s $12,000 cost and how it has been funded by the generosity of the program’s sponsors including the Friends of St. Lucie County Library, The Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County, the St. Lucie Mets and Baker & Taylor. LD reported that three branch sites, Lewis, Hurston and Morningside, are participating in the USDA free lunch summer program for kids. She said that it is going very well and that we hope to add Kilmer Branch next year. LD said that there will be a number of retirements of long-time staff coming up this year including Librarian Carol Shroyer who has been with the library system for 30 years. In addition to running the Lakewood Park Branch, the bookmobile and the books by mail program Carol has also been the library’s primary selector of material. Friends of the Library Report: Rudy Widman reported that the Friends have chosen Jiffy Photo to frame the portrait of Susan Kilmer. The Friends had commissioned the portrait and it was completed last month. He said that the Friends would be scheduling an unveiling of the painting on either September 21 or 28, 2018. Dr. Widman reported that there were 46 books purchased in memory of longtime Friends board member Bertha Perez who passed away earlier this year. He also reported that, present at the last meeting was Alicia Bell, who had just received her MLS degree and had been a recipient of a scholarship from the Friends. Ms. Bell came to thank the Friends for their contribution. Dr. Widman reported that the Friends are working on plans for the Annual Meeting event which will take place on November 10, 2018. The event will be similar to last year’s, held at the Lewis Branch Library, and will feature professor and Jazz singer Dr. Kitty Oliver. Tickets will be $40. St. Lucie County Library Advisory Board Minutes – July 15, 2018 4 Dr. Widman reported that the Friends sold books at the Zora Neale Hurston event at the Hurston Branch Library on June 30. The event was to celebrate the release of Hurston’s book Barracoon and featured Hurston scholar Marvin Hobson. St. Lucie County TV recorded the event and it will be available on the county’s YouTube channel. Board Comments: None. A motion to adjourn was made and seconded (Ethel Rowland/Eloise Cumings). The motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:50 PM. Next meeting scheduled for October 15, 2018 at 5:30 PM at the Fort Pierce Branch. Minutes approved by the Library Advisory Board on October 15, 2018 St. Lucie County Library System Policy: Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials The Library welcomes citizens' expressions of opinion concerning materials acquired for the Library collections. Requests to remove materials will be considered within the context of the policies set forth in the Collection Management Policy. Anyone who wishes to request that a specific item be reconsidered for inclusion in the collection of materials should complete and sign the Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials form. The completed form will be forwarded to the Library’s Collection Librarian. The Library’s Collection manager will consider the request in a timely fashion, reviewing the questioned material in its entirety and conducting the necessary research in order to re-evaluate the item's appropriateness for inclusion in the Library's collection. If necessary a committee of senior staff will be convened to review the item in question. The Chair of this committee will consult with the Library Director and a decision made regarding the retention or removal of the item. Once a decision has been made regarding the retention or removal of the material, a letter from the Library Director explaining the decision, and the reasons for it, will be sent to the person who submitted the Reconsideration form. If the person indicates dissatisfaction with the resolution, he/she may appeal to the Library Advisory Board. The Library Board will reconsider the decision based on whether or not the particular item conforms to the Criteria for Selection outlined in the Board-approved Collection Management Policy. Approved by the Library Advisory Board on July 16, 2018