Min - Library Board - 2021 - 02/02 - Regular ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY
REGULAR MEETING
FEBRUARY 2,2021
Board Members Present:
Maroba Zoeller, Vice Chair
Michelle Perry, Secretary
Laura Wooten
Kimberly Hinton
Rekha Mathai
Adyna Akins
Board Members Absent:
Scott Phillips, Chair
City Staff/Officials Present:
Jeff Timbs, Director
Lauren Doherty, City Council Member
1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present.
With a quorum of Board Members present, the Regular Meeting of the Allen Public Library
Board was called to order by Board Vice Chair Maroba Zoeller at 6:34 p.m. on Tuesday,
February 2, 2021 via a Zoom virtual call.
2. Approve Minutes of the November 3,2020 Regular Meeting.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Adyna Akins and seconded by Laura Wooten,the
board voted (6) for and (0) opposed to approve the November 3,2020 minutes. The motion
carried.
3. Discuss and Provide Input for the Library Board Annual Report.
The Allen City Council is scheduled to hear the Library Board Annual Report on March 23.
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Library staff have reached out to Board members for on camera interviews and comments for
inclusion in the report. Board members agreed that the report should include the Library's
response to the pandemic, and the pivot needed to adapt to changing needs. Director Timbs
said that once staff has the draft of the annual report ready, it will be sent to Board members
via DropBox or some similar means for review and feedback.
4. Discuss Library Initiatives, Services, and Expansion.
Mr. Timbs provided the board with a number of updates:
• Foot traffic inside the library is slowly increasing, from an average of 250 visitors per
day in July, to 400 daily in January. On a normal pre-pandemic January day, an
average of 1,000 patrons visited the Library.
• Some staff positions are vacant, including the Support Services Manager position, as
well as two full-time and two part-time positions which remain frozen, some from
nearly a year ago.
• The Friends ongoing book sale resumed January 11, and it has created a small dent in
the backlog of prior donations. The Library is still not accepting new donations due
to a lack of space for sorting and storage.
• The new World Language collection includes books in Mandarin, and the staff plans
to add books in Hindi. The Library received a$10,000 gift from the Library
Endowment Fund, and$3,000 of those funds were dedicated to this collection. The
remaining funds went towards the purchase of additional STEM kits and e-books.
• Two early literacy stations in the Children's Library were funded with Texas Reads
grant dollars, and a third will be available soon.
• A soft launch of the Library's new mobile checkout system is slated for early
February. Patrons will then be able to scan and check out books through the
cloudLibrary app on their mobile phones.
• Like the mobile checkout system,the new document scanning station was funded
with Texas State Library CARES Act grant dollars, with setup beginning soon.
• The City funded the installation and replacement of hand driers in all of the Library's
public restrooms.
• The Summer Reading Program will be May 24-August 6. It will primarily be online
as it was last year.
Kimberly Hinton asked if the Volunteens program was still on hold. Mr. Timbs said that it
was, and he didn't foresee a return to pre-pandemic activities for the summer. Mrs. Hinton
and Mr. Timbs discussed the possibility of in-home volunteer opportunities for teens.
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Rekha Mathai asked Mr. Timbs how the library has been able to plan its summer reading
program, given the uncertainty of the pandemic. Mr. Timbs said that normally, Summer
Reading program activities are planned in January. With virtual performers and activities, it
is much harder to plan that far in advance, and plans can change last-minute. Staff are still
identifying and evaluating virtual performers. Mrs. Mathai asked Mr. Timbs what other
activities or events the Library has planned for the coming year. Mr. Timbs said that if
COVID cases drop,the Library might consider a very small-scale pop-up program.
Mr. Timbs updated the board on the request for proposal (RFP) for phase one of the Library
expansion. Library staff are in the process of evaluating firms interested in with the planned
expansion. A contract agreement with a selected firm is scheduled for approval at the March
23 City Council meeting. Any firm chosen to implement expansion plans would evaluate the
overall state of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in the Library. The building is
16 years old, and if repairs are needed, staff would want to know the extent and cost as that
would affect the budget and possibly preclude changes in the design.
Phase one would also include an evaluation of how to make the outside book drops more
functional, how to integrate an automated handling system (book sorting), and what would be
feasible in terms of a business center,the café, a larger Children's Library, more meeting and
program rooms, and other possibilities. When phase two begins,the start of the final design
phase, as well as actual construction, staff will have a good idea of what will be included in
the expanded library, and what will not be included.
Mr. Timbs said that the architectural firm working with the Library will be required to
schedule focus groups with the Library Board, the Friends,the Endowment Fund, and other
relevant stakeholders for their input.
5. Status Report on Digital Collections.
Mr. Timbs explained that on average, in October,November, and December of last year, the
Library saw about 10,000 digital checkouts per month. This was down from the previous
three months, which saw an average of about 11,000 digital checkouts per month. In the
three months prior to that, there was an average of 12,000 digital checkouts per month. At
the end of FY 2020, digital checkouts more than doubled the number in FY 2019.
The cloudLibrary consortium includes 26 participating libraries, with a total of 207,000
copies of e-books and audiobooks available to patrons. Two more libraries are set to join the
consortium soon. The total collection is valued at an estimated $8.3 million. The number of
audiobooks in cloudLibrary also recently increased, as some libraries transferred audio titles
from RB Digital (a vendor now merged with OverDrive).
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Digital magazines had been offered to Allen patrons through RB Digital and had become
popular. Fortunately, cloudLibrary is set to launch their own magazine platform, with our
Library being the first to offer this service. Launch is expected in February, on a separate
app from cloudLibrary. Eventually, the service will be integrated into the cloudLibrary app.
6. Review and Discuss October,November, and December 2020 Library Statistics.
Mr. Timbs said that October checkouts were down 26 percent, reference requests were down
44 percent, program attendance was down 72 percent, and visits to the library were down 75
percent. Statistics were down in November and December in these categories as well. Holds
were up, as were curbside pickups. Mr. Timbs said that more normal use patterns will return,
but the Library isn't open full-time, and with no programming, closed study rooms, and a
closed Auditorium, foot traffic continues to be down. Maroba Zoeller said that curbside
pickup has been awesome, and Mr. Timbs said that staff have worked hard to make it
efficient and friendly.
7. Recap Friends of the Library,Allen Library Endowment Fund, and ALLen Reads
Activities.
The Friends are continuing to fund some of the Library's virtual programming.
The Endowment Fund donated $10,000 to the Library in December. The Endowment Fund
plans to present to the Allen Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, and Lions Club to share its mission
with those civic groups.
ALLen Reads plans to hold a virtual event in the fall to mark its 2020 book, "The Book
Woman of Troublesome Creek,"by Kim Michele Richardson.
8. Discuss Items for Future Board Meeting Agendas.
Board members agreed to contact Mr. Timbs regarding ideas for items for future board
meetings.
9. Items of Interest.[Board announcements regarding local civic and charitable events,
meetings,fundraisers, and awards.]
i. June 1 —The Library will resume pre-March 16, 2020 operating hours.
ii. May 24—August 6—2021 Summer Reading Club.
iii. May 3 —Next Scheduled Library Advisory Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
iv. Other Calendar Items.
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10. Adjourn.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Laura Wooten and seconded by Adyna Akins,the
board voted (6) for and (0) opposed to adjourn the board meeting at 7:24 p.m. The motion
carried.
These minutes approved on the 3rd day of May 2021.
APPROVED: ATTEST:
CHAIRPERSON SECRET Y