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1999-08-25 OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 CITY OF SOUTHLAKE 2 LIBRARY BOARD MEETING 3 4 August 25, 1999 5 6 MINUTES 7 8 Board Members Present: Chair Cynda Mast, Maria Cameron, Debbie Baynard, C. D. 9 Peebles, Wanda Poe, Marjorie Zielke. 10 11 Board Members Absent: Vice Chair Scott MacLeod 12 13 Staff Members Present: Steve Polasek, Deputy Director of Community Services; John 14 Eaglen, Administrative Assistant; Judy Russeau, Administrative Secretary 15 16 17 Regular Session: 18 19 Agenda Item No. 1, Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Chair Cynda Mast at 20 7:05 PM. 21 22 Reports: 23 24 Agenda Item No. 2, Administrative Comments. 25 Mr. Polasek informed the Board that the Intern Program has ended and Christal Kliewer and 26 Sarah Bruhner have left the department. Christal will be doing work in another department. 27 Mr. Polasek then introduced Judy Russeau as the new Administrative Secretary. 28 29 Mr. Polasek mentioned that the budget process is developing well. C.D. Peebles attended the 30 Budget Review Session on August 10, 1999. Ms. Mast asked Mr. Peebles if he would like to 31 discuss the budget at this time. Mr. Peebles declined, stating he would discuss it later in the 32 meeting. 33 34 Consent Agenda: 35 36 Agenda Item No. 3.A., Approval of the minutes of the July 28, 1999 meeting. The Board 37 presented minor changes. Motion was made to approve the minutes of July 28, 1999 as 38 amended. 39 40 Motion: Debbie Baynard 41 Second: Wanda Poe 42 Ayes: Cynda Mast, C.D. Peebles, Wanda Poe, Marjorie Zielke, Debbie Baynard, 43 Maria Cameron 44 Nayes: None 45 Approved: 6-0 46 47 Regular Agenda: Library Board Regular Meeting Page 1 of 8 n:\parks & recrearion\boards\library\minutes\082599.doc OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 2 Agenda Item No. 4, Public Forum. No issues were presented for Public Forum. Public 3 Forum was closed at 7:10 PM. 4 5 Consider: 6 7 There were no items to consider. 8 9 Discussion: 10 11 Agenda Item No. 6A., Library Board Meeting Schedule 12 13 Mr. Peebles asked the Board to consider temporary changes to the meeting schedule due to 14 conflicts with his class schedule during September, October and November. The Board 15 reviewed the City's meeting schedule, as well as their own personnel schedules, and were 16 unable to determine an alternative date. Mr. Polasek recommended that the Board revise 17 schedules on a month to month basis as needed. All Board members agreed to this 18 recommendation. 19 20 Agenda Item No. 6B., Start Up Plan for Public Library Service. 21 22 Mr. Polasek introduced Ms. Florence Mason, Consultant with F. Mason and Associates, and 23 Bill Hidell and Aaron Babcock with Hidell and Associates Architects. Mr. Polasek indicated 24 that Ms. Mason would be discussing with the Board the Start Up Plan for Public Library 25 Services and Mr. Hidell and Mr. Babcock will discuss the Facility Interior Conceptual 26 Layout. Mr. Polasek then gave Ms. Mason the floor. 27 28 Ms. Mason stated she would discuss the Start Up Plan on an outline basis and then review the 29 schematic plan. 30 31 Goal One: 32 It is very important for the City of Southlake and users that the library offers high quality 33 services. High quality is qualitative and not easily quantifiable. The population has high 34 expectations. This should be used as a basic planning framework. 35 36 Goal Two: 37 Service to children should be priority. The survey indicates that there are a large percentage 38 of children in the community, with many of them being under the age of 18 years. The 39 children accompanied by their caregivers are active users of the library. The survey also 40 indicates that there is a strong desire for library use in this area. Specific attention should be 41 given to children's services including materials, programming, and staff support. 42 43 Goal Three: 44 General information needs such as reference, information support, non-fiction selection, 45 periodical selection, newspapers, and current materials should be available in print and 46 electronic format. Ms. Mason stated she believes the electronic delivery aspect should be 47 designed for ease and quick accessibility. Library Board Regular Meeting Page 2 of 8 n:\parks & recreation\boards\library\minutes\082599.doc OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 2 Goal Four: 3 The library should make a commitment to provide current, popular and high demand 4 materials. The area schools and Grapevine Library have been endeavoring to the meet the 5 needs of this population. They are working within their own parameters, financially and in 6 other areas. However, there is greater demand, particularly for current materials, than they 7 have been able to supply. One of the implications is that the selection process for the library 8 needs to be capable of responding quickly to the changing needs. If the Blue Bonnet List is 9 published or if a school develops a particular curriculum the library should be responsive to 10 these needs. Historically this has been very difficult for libraries to achieve. Their response 11 time has been slow. By the time the libraries have received the materials, the population of 12 the demand has moved on. Ms. Mast feels that this is a very important aspect. Ms. Mast 13 stated she has had meetings and conversations with school librarians in the Carroll School 14 District. The librarians were welcoming, informative and very interested in working with 15 public libraries. This presents a good set of colleagues that would be open for collaboration, 16 making information available for upcoming curriculum. 17 18 Mr. Peebles requested that Ms. Mason elaborate on developing a collection more in line with 19 the junior college population, buying in greater depth non-fiction. Ms. Mason stated that if 20 the opening day collection were contracted from a contractor such as Ingram, which is a 21 common practice, Ingram would provide selection lists that are geared to what they would 22 consider a public library profile. Ms. Mason suggested that extra effort be put into acquiring 23 materials in the sciences, consumer health, or medicine and technology so that the profile of 24 non-fiction selection would be higher. The library should make a commitment to building a 25 collection profile that has a little more depth in science and technology so that these materials 26 would be available. This is all predicated on knowing the nature of the community and what 27 their demand would be. There are community college lists that could be utilized for certain 28 areas of collection, such as history, which would have a little more depth than just the current 29 popular material. However, Ms. Mason suggested that materials should also be purchased 30 from the New York Times list and the New York Time Review of Books. Mr. Peebles stated he 31 understood this to mean that the library would not want to have the same public collection 32 that Fort Worth may have, but to have a collection with more scholarly depth. Mr. Hidell 33 commented that more libraries are following in this direction, with the experience of high 34 school students requiring books that are more readily found in community college libraries. 35 Ms. Mason stated that the evidence from the schools and surveys show that the population is 36 literate and is demanding enough to use those materials if they are made available to them. 37 Ms. Mast commented that it seemed as though Ms. Mason would like the library to achieve a 38 purpose beyond recreation, looking for non-fiction materials that people could use for serious 39 research purposes. Ms. Mason stated that this does not denigrate Grapevine or any other 40 public libraries in the area, however the available materials should be amplified with slightly 41 upgraded materials. Ms. Cameron asked if this was perhaps internet driven, in that it is easy 42 to get surface materials from the home, but somewhat difficult to find more substantial 43 materials through that medium? Ms. Mason agreed that this is a possibility. Ms. Cameron 44 asked if this would be a trend that would become more prevalent? Ms. Mason stated that to 45 date the Internet has offered a tremendous amount of information without cost. However the 46 class of information, market research, business use materials, etc., is not readily available on 47 the internet without cost. Library Board Regular Meeting Page 3 of 8 n:\parks & recreation\boards\library\minutes\082599.doc * * OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 2 3 4 5 Goal Five 6 The library should provide materials and services to meet the needs of other groups, 7 particularly seniors and young adults. The survey indicates that seniors are active and have 8 specific interests and needs for library services. This is also true for young adults, (high 9 school population), who also have a social need that the library can meet. The library should 10 be alert to changes in population as they occur. Preference for service hours for individual 11 groups should be met. 12 13 Newcomers is also a special needs group. Some public libraries endeavor to serve this group 14 as the library is looked at as a social agency and could create a "social glue" for the 15 community. There appears to be expectations and interest in how the library could assist 16 newcomers and help them become a part of the community. As the community continues to 17 grow, this is a very identifiable group. The individual entrepreneur, small start up businesses 18 or individuals working out of their homes, are interested in using public libraries for real 19 services. These particular groups are often newcomers and are seeking skills and resources 20 to start up businesses in the community. 21 22 Goal Six 23 The library should dedicate staff and resources to develop cultural and recreational 24 programming. Programming is about the cultural aspect, recreational aspect, informational 25 aspect and crosses into all categories. The library should not necessarily be passive, but 26 programs could be facilitated throughout the community, such as the Senior Center or at the 27 park. Large libraries are increasingly realizing that programming tied to their public relations 28 effort and community awareness effort is very critical. The operational needs of shelving 29 materials, etc. can often drive out creativity. Commitment to programming is very important. 30 Ms. Cameron asked if anyone has looked at the correlation of this community awareness that 31 comes out of programming and how well libraries are funded in the community. Ms. Mason 32 stated when she was a public librarian in Colorado she tracked circulation on days when 33 programs were held. Programming created spikes during such activities. Building utilization 34 in the community usually builds into awareness. Mr. Polasek commented that in his 35 experience in Community Services it is important to have a good public showing and 36 awareness of programming. It produces a positive effect on city councils and boards, as well 37 as the community as a whole. This in turn develops public support. Ms. Cameron asked if 38 there is perhaps a trade-off, in collection or programming. Mr. Polasek does not feel that 39 there needs to be a trade off. Off-site programming is something to definitely be pursued. 40 Ms. Mast questioned if goal 2, that the children's area should be separated, is a long-range 41 goal? Mr. Polasek stated yes. The meeting rooms will be discussed in further detail later in 42 the meeting when the schematic plan is presented. Ms. Mason commented that 43 programming it is a very fertile source for advertising and free awareness building. 44 45 Goal Seven 46 The library should seek to work actively with partners such as schools, Parks and Recreation 47 and the Senior Center. This is seen as a start-up plan and an opportunity for the library to Library Board Regular Meeting Page 4 of 8 n:\parks & recreation\boards\library\minutes\082599.doc * * OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 become a member of the community by being open to partnerships. This may mean writing 2 joint grants for programming together, sharing and using space together. As staff is 3 developed, a sense that the library is more than an institution, but also a fabric of the 4 community should also be developed. Commercial venture partnerships could also be a 5 possibility. Ms. Zielke questioned who would be responsible for this action. Ms. Mason 6 stated that the library staff would ultimately be responsible. Volunteers would need direction 7 from staff, however, they could be used effectively. The library staff could join business 8 meetings, etc. It has been evidenced that key members of the library staff interact with 9 businesses outside of the library up to 50% of the time. Mr. Polasek commented that one 10 advantage is that the Community Services Department consists of Parks and Recreation, the 11 Senior Center and the Library. Interaction between the various divisions will be an easy and 12 convenient process. 13 14 The remainder of the document addressed start-up issues. Structure and government issues 15 are straightforward, however they are worthy of consideration. These issues do not 16 necessarily need immediate attention. There should be a consideration to broaden support 17 for the library early on, notably through 501 (c) 3 and charitable organizations, both as 18 Foundations and Friends. Friends' organizations usually raise money through event type 19 activities and then give the funds to the library to supplement operational needs. Foundations 20 typically have their own agendas. They can assist in paying for large capital expenditures 21 through fund raising efforts and endowments. In certain organizations Friends and 22 Foundations have merged after a major capital campaign. 23 24 The consultant also mentioned that there may be opportunities in the future to engage in 25 mutually advantageous partnerships with the City of Colleyville on such issues as system 26 maintenance and materials purchasing. Ms. Mason also mentioned to the Board the 27 possibility of a federated system which would include Southlake and Colleyville. Ms. Zielke 28 questioned the reason for recommending Colleyville as opposed to Grapevine. Ms. Cameron 29 stated that Colleyville has chosen not to build a library at this time. Ms. Mason explained 30 that Colleyville and Southlake share many common characteristics in terms of their 31 population and that they are in a similar situation with regards to providing library service. 32 Ms. Mason also suggested that the Board keep an open mind as to opportunities with any 33 surrounding communities. 34 35 Comments were made regarding fees to use the library. Mr. Polasek stated he felt that there 36 would likely be a non-resident fee to use the City of Southlake Library. It was felt that 37 Colleyville residents would be more likely to use the library than those in Grapevine because 38 Grapevine already has an established library. Ms. Mast asked for clarification that if 39 Colleyville built a library with a separate facility, there may be consideration in sharing the 40 cost of an automation system. Mutual contractual agreements could be advantages to both 41 Colleyville and Southlake. Ms. Cameron questioned if an arrangement were made with Fort 42 Worth would a computer system need to be in place so that the merge could be made easily? 43 Mr. Polasek commented that careful consideration should be made as to whether or not to 44 join Fort Worth Library System because of the distance. It is also necessary to assess whether 45 the City would want to purchase its own automation system or do we want to contract with 46 another system if it is available. The budget process has gone under the assumption that the 47 City will purchase its own. Library Board Regular Meeting Page 5 of 8 n:\parks & recreation\boards\library\minutes\082599.doc OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 Ms. Mason stated that the plan for automation and plan for opening day collection are 2 practical chores that need to come on line as soon as staff are available. Contracting out 3 some of this work makes sense and there are companies available for that. 4 5 Ms. Mason also mentioned that there is a good opportunity to organize a volunteer core for 6 programming and marketing. It does take paid staff resources to oversee this task and it is 7 not too early to start a public relations campaign. Mr. Peebles asked whether printed 8 materials for newsletters and community relations has been budgeted. Mr. Polasek stated 9 that it is available within the proposed Library budget. 10 11 There were a number of groups that were identified as having an interest in specialized 12 services such as genealogy. The development of collections for these groups should coincide 13 with the building of the core collection. Space implications and expense could be an issue 14 in building on special focus groups. Ms. Mason also mentioned that a gift policy should be 15 developed as material donations could create a space problem. 16 17 The North Texas Regional Library System (NTRLS) eligibility is expected. The library 18 should also consider becoming a member of the Texas Library Association (TLA). This 19 should have positive impact due to flow through development monies available through 20 specialized programs. Southlake could be eligible for these funds. Staff can also benefit 21 from training's that are offered through the association. There are continuous changes in this 22 industry and on-going training is an issue. It is important to budget for absence of staff for 23 training. 24 25 There are several approaches to automation and electronic services. Stand alone system or 26 contractual relationships are options. As discussed previously, this is an issue that should be 27 addressed as soon as possible. The delivery mechanism can have the greatest impact on 28 customer satisfaction. 29 30 It is important to have evening library hours a couple of nights a week as well as weekend 31 hours. Ms. Mast commented that reference areas should be staffed during all business hours. 32 Mr. Polasek assured members that all areas would be manned. Mr. Peebles had concerns 33 regarding the wording of Grapevine being the "best" choice with regards to automation 34 agreements. It was suggested that the wording be changed to the most appropriate. Mr. 35 Peebles questioned the City of Southlake's compatibility for overall technology and 36 information technology plan. Mr. Polasek stated that Johnny Knight with Information 37 Services would work with the library in setting up the system. Mr. Peebles questioned 38 whether all city information would tie into the web site. Mr. Polasek stated that this would 39 be a goal of the library and will eventually be developed. 40 41 Ms. Mason next discussed the staffing descriptions. The descriptions are not necessarily job 42 description, but rather conceptual descriptions of positions. 43 44 Ms. Mason indicated that the selection of the Librarian/Library Administrator should be the 45 #1 priority followed by the Children's Librarian. Reference Staff should include an Adult 46 Services Librarian and this person should have the ability to develop and deliver adult 47 programs. Experience is very important in this area. The Technical Services Staff size and Library Board Regular Meeting Page 6 of 8 n:\parks & recreation\boards\library\minutes\082599.doc OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 number depends on the choices made on contracting services. Circulation Staff is based on 2 number of hours of operations. Clerical Support, one support to every two FTE 3 professionals is a general rule. Volunteers could have an impact on paid staff levels, 4 however, they cannot be considered in place of regular employees when developing the 5 organizational structure of the library. 6 7 Ms Mason explained that the remainder of the document addresses Space Needs Assessment. 8 This provides some guidelines that have been used for the purposes of developing collection 9 sizes and furniture requirements to meet the needs of the community. This information is self 10 explanatory and it was determined that Ms. Mason did not need to review it in detail with the 11 Board. 12 13 Agenda Item No. 6C., Library Interior Conceptual Layout. 14 15 The Schematic Plan was displayed by Mr. Bill Hidell and Mr. Aaron Babcock. Board 16 members were invited to view the schematic as Mr. Hidell walked them through the layout. 17 Mr. Hidell stated that there was a brief meeting last week with Mr. Polasek, the Town Hall 18 architect, and that the bid package for the foundation is currently being developed. All of the 19 underground data and power requirement are being incorporated into the plans as well as 20 plumbing for the children's restrooms. 21 22 There was a concern regarding after hours drop off. It was stated that this is temporary 23 facility. Ms. Mason commented that returning materials need to be convenient to users. Ms. 24 Cameron questioned whether a steel box or cart at could be used at the drop? Ms.Baynard 25 expressed some concern regarding lighting? Mr. Polasek stated that the building fronts to all 26 four sides and would be lighted all the way around. 27 28 The Children's area is very popular and will be in a defined section of the library decorated 29 with a special theme. It was also determined that a Young Adult area should be created and 30 booth seating would be very suitable. The third floor will house staff work areas and shared 31 programming space. 32 33 The initial book budget is established for 25,000 items and Mr. Hidell commented that the 34 shelving being considered would hold 50,000 items, allowing for growth within the 35 collection. Shelving could be decreased if needed to allow more room for other areas. 36 37 There was a question as to whether there was a deadline for the finalization of the plan. Mr. 38 Polasek stated that he has not been given a specific deadline, but there is a need to get a 39 finalized floor plan in place in the very near future in order to allow the architects working on 40 the Town Hall project to keep on schedule. 41 42 Once Hidell and Associates revise the library layout to incorporate the Boards comments, 43 Mr. Polasek will make copies of the layout and send them to each of the Board members for 44 review. 45 46 It was asked whether there would be a computer lab or staff for computer assistance. Mr. 47 Polasek stated that due to size constraints there would not be a computer lab or staff Library Board Regular Meeting Page 7 of 8 n:\parks & recreation\boards\library\xninutes\082599.doc OFFICIAL MINUTES APPROVED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS 1 designated for computer assistance. Regular library staff would be available to provide 2 general assistance. 3 4 The Board agreed that the two study rooms should be maintained as well as a young adult 5 area. 6 7 Ms. Mason stated that handling material should be eliminated as much as possible. Materials 8 should go straight from boxes to shelves and not be housed prior to shelving. Ms. Cameron 9 asked if there could be 2 or 3 book drops with one near the entrance. Staff will review the 10 book drop locations with the architect as part of the design process. 11 12 Agenda Item No. 7., Adjournment. The meeting was called for adjournment at 9:05pm by 13 Chair Cynda Mast 14 15 Motion: Marjorie Zielke 16 Second: Maria Cameron 17 Ayes: Cynda Mast, C.D. Peebles, Wanda Poe, Marjorie Zielke, Debbie Baynard, 18 Maria Cameron 19 Nayes: None 20 Approved: 6-0 21 22 23 24 Chair, Library Boarcl- 25 26 27 Attest: 28 29 30 31 32 teve P asek 33 Deputy Director of Community Services Library Board Regular Meeting Page 8 of 8 n:\parks & recreation\boards\library\minutes\082599.doc