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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - Library Board - 2010 - 06/01 - RegularALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING JUNE 1, 2010 Call to Order and Announce a Outruns is Present With a quorum of the Board Members present, the Regular Meeting of the Allen Public Library was called to order by Chair, Don Wing, at 7'33 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, in the Board Room of the Allen Public Library, 300 North Allen Drive, Allen, Texas Reeular Aeenda L Approve Minutes of the April 6, 2010 Regular Meeting. The board approved the minutes with no corrections. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Board Member, Trent Armstrong and a second by Board Member, Hugh Brown, the Board voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to approve the April 6, 2010 minutes. The motion carried. 2. Preview Planned Summer Reading Club Activities. Deborah West discussed the Children's Summer Reading Club and its theme, "Catch the Reading Express " Ms West explained how the program worked, what the rewards were for signing up and completing the reading goals, and presented a rough draft of the calendar for the summer. Additionally, she highlighted special programs such as: the "American Girl," and "Read to Rover," Present: Don Wing, Board Chair Board Members: Geoffrey Smith Donna Drews Various RaJeev Verma Trent Armstrong Hugh Brown City Staff: Jeff Timbs, Director Deborah West, Children's Manager Mary Lvnn Saxton, Teen Librarian Guests: Call to Order and Announce a Outruns is Present With a quorum of the Board Members present, the Regular Meeting of the Allen Public Library was called to order by Chair, Don Wing, at 7'33 p.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, in the Board Room of the Allen Public Library, 300 North Allen Drive, Allen, Texas Reeular Aeenda L Approve Minutes of the April 6, 2010 Regular Meeting. The board approved the minutes with no corrections. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Board Member, Trent Armstrong and a second by Board Member, Hugh Brown, the Board voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to approve the April 6, 2010 minutes. The motion carried. 2. Preview Planned Summer Reading Club Activities. Deborah West discussed the Children's Summer Reading Club and its theme, "Catch the Reading Express " Ms West explained how the program worked, what the rewards were for signing up and completing the reading goals, and presented a rough draft of the calendar for the summer. Additionally, she highlighted special programs such as: the "American Girl," and "Read to Rover," ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING NNE 1, 2010 PAGE "Flat Stanley;' "Mother Goose," Stuffed Animal Sleepover;' "Partners in Rhyme;' and "Weekly Poetry." She also discussed the issue of capacity, especially with regard to the performers. The library will post signs (like a Real Estate Agent) outside the building to notify patrons when a program is "at capacity," hopefully before they park and unload passengers. The programs can be registered for online. Mary Lynn Saxton shared information regarding the Teen Summer Reading program. Based upon the recommendation of the "Teen Advisory Board,' the theme is "Careers." Several Workshops and speakers will be offered to give teens a glimpse into the professional worlds of Artists, Opera Singers, Writers, Scuba Divers, Designers, Detectives, and Stage Performers. Additional workshops tied to making movies, utilizing Photoshop, and Drawing Manga (comic books) will be offered this summer and into the fall. Finally, Ms. Saxton did note that the "Summer Reading Program" is growing, and that approximately 600 of the 3,000 kids who have registered for summer reading, are teenagers Discuss and Complete the Annual Board Evaluation Form. QI. What would be the ideal characteristics for a library board member? Ans. Somebody who is familiar with the library, encourages friends and neighbors to use the library; and values its roles as a cultural hub for the community, and an anchor to encourage and support lifelong learning. Q2. How extensive is the collective experience of the board members in the board's subject area? Ans. Our board is made up of patrons, and parents of patrons who use the library All of us grew up utilizing the library through school, into the summer, and in our college years. It is an inseparable supplement to nearly all of our collective education. Two board members have experience with specialized libraries such as a Law Library In fact, one board member has a podcast within the library's collection. Other members had contact with libraries at companies for which they worked. These company libraries served as repositories for items such as educational and technical references. Q3. What knowledge or experience could be brought to the board to improve it? Ans. Individuals who have experience with Strategic Planning, Fundraising, Marketing, Legal, or High Tech Backgrounds would be helpful. Q4. Outside of Board Activities, how active are the board members in their community? Ans Some of the activities that the Library Board Members are also involved with are: "Keep Allen Beautiful," "Friends of the Library"The Census," "AARP," "Allen Sports Association Ethics Board, "Allen Reads," tutoring for reading and writing, interacting with multiple committees within the City of Allen, and various activities at their places of worship. t Q5. Is the membership representative of Allen's Citizens? Ans. We tend to skew toward younger and male -- this being a more recent development. It would be ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING JUNE 1, 2010 PAGE nice to strive for a balance of older and younger folks both male and female. Additionally, minority recruitment is encouraged. It would be nice to see an African-American or Hispanic serve on the board in the next coming years Q6. Are any members considering resignation? Ans. Donna Drews Various is not seeking re -appointment to Place No. 2. Receive Update on Library Board Vacancies to Be Filled During the 2010 Reappointment Process. Jeff Timbs reported Donna Drews Various is not seeking a reappointment to Place 2. Jeff Timbs stated the terms for Geoffrey Smith and Trent Armstrong are set to expire this year. Geoffrey stated he has applied for reappointment. Additionally, Don Wing stated there is a need for an "Allen Reads" Committee liaison and a need for a lay representative to NULLS. 5. Receive Follow -Up on the May 1, 2010 NETLS Workshop, "Librarians and Boards Working Effectively Together." Jeff Timbs and Geoffrey Smith attended the workshop held at the Allen Public Library. NETLS brought in Sally Reed from ALTAFF (Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations). She fielded questions and talked about some of the roles and responsibilities that Library Boards, Friends of Public Libraries, and Library Directors perform. She discussed the opportunities and challenges that all three groups face when operating separately with regard to their own agendas and jointly with regard to the same goals. Several directors, staff, and friends from other cities contributed to the discussion and posed real-world dilemmas that their libraries and support groups face with regard to roles and responsibilities. At the end of the workshop. Sally encouraged the participants to access the information on ALTAFF's website and utilize it as an additional resource. 6. Receive Update on Long -Range Planning Process. Jeff Timbs updated us with regard to the demographic study and its role in helping to drive the strategic plan. Jeff distributed sample packages of the demographic study performed by Civic Technologies. Jeff recommended for us to look at the Topeka and Shawnee County study to get a quick idea of the types of info offered up by the company. After determining what the Allen Public Library would need in terms of content, web access, and training workshops, the price came to approximately $50,000. Jeff is seeking grants and support to help defray this cost The upside is that this demographic and marketing info would be available to the community for approximately two years. Additional information that could be culled from this study would be. 1 Are our assumptions correct with regard to patrons depending on which lifecycle demographic category? 2. What are their needs and wants from a library ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING NNE 1, 2010 PAGE 3. What kinds of programs and leaming opportunities do the different groups seek out? 4. Now different are the drivers for those that reside in East or West Allen? 5. What opportunities are we missing? 6. How can we synchronize and focus our marketing and outreach efforts to get more robust results? Hugh Brown notes there would certainly be other organizations that would be interested in the analysis and conclusions. He mentioned the Chamber of Commerce and the Allen Economic Development Corporation asjust a few examples. Jeff also talked about some upcoming training for the staff: "Customer Service for 21" Century Libraries" His thoughts were this training session plus the demographic study would help prime the thought process regarding the strategic direction of the Allen Public Library Jeff committed to getting a copy of a library strategic plan for Cindy Briggs, Raleev Verma, and Geoffrey Smith. Additionally, Jeff addressed how critical it was for libraries to become more marketing and merchandising savvy His hope is that the APL will strive to continue to be relevant within our community and county Finally, Jeff mentioned there would be a slight adjustment to the 2010 — 2011 library budget There would be no cuts in programs or services. 7. Review and Discuss March and April 2010 Library Statistics. The statistics seem to be relatively stable. No additional staff has been added to handle the slight increase in the number of visitors and activity per patron 8. Review Calendar Items. The library board reviewed the calendar items. 9. Adjourn. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Board Member, Hugh Brown and a second by Board Member Donna Drews Various, the Board voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to adjourn at 8:48 p.m. The motion carried. These minutes approved on the 3rd day of August, 2010. APPROVED: ATTEST Don Wing, Chair Pe mon Geoffrey Lith, Secretary