Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10-20-2008 Library Advisory Board Meeting October 20, 2008 Minutes The Library Advisory Board meeting was called to order at 5:35pm in the meeting room of the Lakewood Park Branch Library by Chair Rudy Widman. Members in attendance included: Rudy Widman, Michael Bausher, Carnelle Clifton, Ethel Rowland, Linda Hudson, Eloise Cumings, and Carol Clover-Dawkins. Members absent were Allen Miller and Margery Harrell. Minutes of the June 30, 2008 Board meeting were approved as mailed. Old Business: Susan gave an overview of the reduced service hours that went into place in September 2008. Fort Pierce and Hurston Branch libraries are closed on Mondays with only administrative staff on site at Fort Pierce Branch. Lakewood Park and Port St. Lucie Branch libraries are closed on Wednesday with their staff deployed to Fort Pierce or Morningside Branch libraries. Morningside Branch is closed on Sunday afternoons and Hurston Branch now closes at 6pm on Thursdays. Even with these reduced hours we still offer 64.5 hours per week to the public. Staff reductions started for us in March 2007 with our current loss of staff being at 28% with 6 more leaving by the end of March 2009 due to early retirement. We have been told that we can ask for the positions to be posted once someone leaves but there is no guarantee that the posting will be allowed. Right now we have one part-time Maintenance Technician position posted to do the daily courier run for us. Any further reduction in staff after the early retirement employees leave in March will require additional reductions in hours or closing of a library site. Bookmobile – The Bookmobile was transferred to St. Johns County at the beginning of October 2008. The Bookmobile was purchased through a federal grant and once a library no longer has need for the vehicle we had to make it available to any other library in the state of Florida. St. Johns County came over to inspect the vehicle in September and expressed an interest in taking it for a program in their county. They were impressed that it was in such good repair being that it was 11 years old – we wished them well in their endeavor and told them a new generator was in their future. The Books-by-mail service has seen a 53% increase in usage over the past two months due to the Bookmobile no longer in service. A new brochure is being developed to explain the changes to the program and expands who is now eligible for the service. New Business: A committee has been working on rental fee charges for the use of the various meeting rooms in all County buildings. This was reviewed with the Commissioners at an rd informal BOCC meeting on September 23 and will be going back before the BOCC for review before the end of October 2008. The fees for the Fenn Center, Fairgrounds, and Tradition Stadium will be different from the fees for a conference room or meeting room. It is a nominal fee of $10 per hour for non-profit organizations and $20 per hour for for- profit organizations. The various Departments will have the right to allow for exemptions for those groups who use their meeting rooms and either provides a service or program for the department to not have to pay a monthly fee. There are still procedures and policies to be developed before the new fee structure goes into place. thth Library Director’s Conference was held in Delray Beach October 15-17 with a much smaller attendance than in past years. There was a workshop on the National Voter’s Registration Act and how libraries have to work with the local supervisor of elections to allow for early voting and provide applications to register to vote. Miami-Dade County and Orange County library staff gave a wonderful presentation on customer service with a hand-out for all in attendance. Several State Representatives and one State Senator were in attendance to speak with Library Directors on how to best approach the legislature for funding and to get a better idea of what library’s throughout the state are doing especially with e-government. Friends of the Library President’s Report – Carnelle reported that the autumn retreat originally planned for September has been postponed. The Friends approved a one time payment for a business database for the library – patrons have been requesting the Reference USA databases that other libraries on the Treasure Coast have provided. The Friends gave the St. Lucie County Film Society a $5,000 donation in place of their annual donation to the Zora Fest to help in the completion of the Zora documentary they are working on with Lucy Hurston, niece to Zora Neale Hurston. The Friends annual dinner is Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at the PSL Holiday Inn on South U.S. 1. Author Ad Hudler will be the guest speaker for the evening, Mr. Hudler has written Househusband, Southern Living, All this belongs to me and his newest novel Man of the House. Cocktails begin at 5:30pm with dinner at 6:45pm. Library Director’s Report – Susan reported that they had a successful summer reading program with a rocky start due to the Morningside Branch Children’s Librarian not allowed to have contact with the public due to health issues. The Port St. Lucie Branch Library Outreach librarian and volunteers helped get the program presented with a few complaints about the volunteer help. Hurston and Morningside Branch Libraries will thst serve as early voting locations from October 20 – November 1 which will require opening Hurston Branch on Mondays. Susan will be taking a proposed fee schedule to the BOCC for their consideration – this item was brought up during Strategic Planning but no action was taken at that time. We will be looking at increasing the current over- due fees, charge for notary services, laminating and fax services. Carol did mention that the cost for laminating is very expensive and we should reconsider offering this service. Staff from sites relocated on Wednesdays have made a tremendous difference in the Fort Pierce Branch circulating collection – materials are easier to find when staff is looking for reserved materials and shelving is taking less time now that the collection is back to order. St. Lucie West has closed on Sundays and they are now going to change their hours of service on Saturdays from 12-5pm to 9am-1pm with FAU no longer providing assistance for the weekend hours. Branch locations now have expressed PCs to allow for the demand from the public who just want to use a PC for 10 minutes or less to check their email or book a flight, etc. Susan is working on new signage for all locations to post the new hours of operations at each library location. She was waiting on a final notice from Indian River State College on their weekend hours at St. Lucie West campus. Board comments – Michael did comment that he was not in favor of the funding of the business database and felt this is something the Chamber of Commerce should be providing to the community. Michael did ask about the wording of the Books-by-mail program brochure. Next Board meeting – Susan suggested that no meeting be held in December since it typically a difficult month to get a quorum, the Board agreed. The next meeting will be Monday, January 19, 2009 at the Morningside Branch Library at 5:30pm in the Conference Room behind the copy machine. Susan Kilmer Acting Recording Secretary