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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - Library Board - 2010 - 08/03 - RegularALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 3, 2010 Call to Order and Announce a Courant 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 7:34 p.m. on Tuesday, August 3, 2010, in the Board Room of the Allen Public Library, 300 North Allen Drive, Allen, Texas. 1. Approve Minutes of the June 1, 2010 Regular Meeting. The board approved the minutes with no corrections. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Board Member, Hugh Brown and a second by Board Member, Cindy Briggs, the Board voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to approve the June 1, 2010 minutes. The motion carried. 2. Review 2010 Summer Reading Club Activities. Jeff talked about how this was the smoothest reading program he has been associated with. He felt that they were well -staffed and the programs were well-planned from beginning to end. Even though the programs were expanded, the staff handled the logistics and coordination very well. The summer reader software [courtesy of a grant from NETLS (North East Texas Library System)] can be re -used this winter for the winter reading program. Present: Don Wing, Board Chair Board Members: Geoffrey Smith Donna Drews Various Trent Armstrong Hugh Brown Cindy Briggs City Staff: Jeff Timbs, Director Guests: Robin Sedlacek, City Council Liaison Call to Order and Announce a Courant 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 7:34 p.m. on Tuesday, August 3, 2010, in the Board Room of the Allen Public Library, 300 North Allen Drive, Allen, Texas. 1. Approve Minutes of the June 1, 2010 Regular Meeting. The board approved the minutes with no corrections. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Board Member, Hugh Brown and a second by Board Member, Cindy Briggs, the Board voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to approve the June 1, 2010 minutes. The motion carried. 2. Review 2010 Summer Reading Club Activities. Jeff talked about how this was the smoothest reading program he has been associated with. He felt that they were well -staffed and the programs were well-planned from beginning to end. Even though the programs were expanded, the staff handled the logistics and coordination very well. The summer reader software [courtesy of a grant from NETLS (North East Texas Library System)] can be re -used this winter for the winter reading program. D ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 3, 2010 PAGE The most recent statistics for the Summer Reading Program were as follows: 3,338 people attended the 57 summer story times and puppet shows and 5,195 for 40 special programs. Also, there were folks who signed up for the program who were registered via online sign-ups. The library offered two ways to earn credit for reading: one was the number of books read, the other was the amount of time read per day During the children's summer reading program, 2,855 participants read 17,348 books read and 2,085 hours. In the teen program, 512 teens read 1,962 hours, and 2,452 books. The adult summer reading program recorded 221 participants reading approximately 800 books. The adults were able to compete for entries into drawings for several prizes including gift cards to retailers such as: Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Border's Books, Ralph and Kacoo's, the Cheesecake Factory, Pike's and others. The library is plans to expand the adult reading program next summer. Other items of note from Jeff with regard to the Summer Reading Program: the library promoted a new 04 year old program with story times and an activity log for parents. Also, George blasing from San Antonio plays "Dinosaur George, " and there was a great tum -out. He is new to us, but there were definitely fans that were very familiar with him and his work on the Discovery Channel. Additionally, we hosted a Science WOW program with an activity in the courtyard. 3. Receive Update on LibraryAuditorium and Meeting Room Policies. A group contacted the library director with an objection to the phrasing of our meeting room and auditorium policy as written. Per Jeff and agreement of the library board members, the City Council amended our auditorium and meeting room usage policies to accommodate expanded use by religious organizations. Use of the library's auditorium or meeting rooms for the express purpose of politics and/or business is still prohibited. Receive Update on Library Demographic Study. Per Jeff, because of the financial issue of getting funding for the study, Connie Moss of NETLS will apply some money to help with the cost of the study (about $5,000). The study can yield some immediate information such as: market segmentation and patron -use patterns. As we get additional funding, we can pick up the study where the first stage ends. The Friends of the Library or other sources could supplement funding. Right now, the study will only forecast through 2014, due to cost constraints, with the information being supplied by the end of August. Normally, we would want a 10 to 15 year forecast Also, by doing it now, we can get a historical snapshot of our data from the Plano system. To get additional access to the Civic Technologies' interactive web -site and additional demographic data, reports, and analysis, we would need to pay about $30,000. Another added bonus of working with Civic Technologies is that they are considering updating the website with live data as it is ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 3, 2010 PAGE 3 available. This would extend the useful life of our data and the corresponding reports and analysis. At this time, they are exploring making the first two years of access free as part of contracted services, and then an annual subscription fee for the interactive website. The subscription pricing has not been divulged yet. While discussing the demographic study, Don Wing asked, "who are the outside users of our library, and who are the users from Plano?" Also, Don wanted to know what the percentages were for usage by Fairview and Lucas residents. Jeff said that Mark Futterman is pulling a data set of where people live. About 6% of our users are McKinney residents, 3% are from Fairview, and 3% are from Lucas. 5. Receive Update and Discuss Impact of Plano's Decision to Terminate the Agreements for the Shared Library System and Courier Service. Jeff mentioned that CCCC (Collin County Community College) dropped out of the shared catalog arrangement in 2007 They currently have their own database hosted by Plano. We were in the third year of a five-year agreement with Plano, but they had an opt -out clause provided they give us 30 days notice. Our shared -system agreement will end by January 31", 2011. Plano is moving to a self-service model and are purchasing more self -check machines and giving patrons the option to pay fines at the "point -of -service' with a debit or credit card. Self-service credit card payments are currently not possible with the shared system as the system does not know how to automatically apply payments to the correct library The number of patrons is around 55,000, not including Plano cardholders who use the Allen Public Library In January, the Plano cardholders can obtain an Allen Public library card. Jeffs expectation is that the number of library patrons will increase as a result. We had already made our budget plans prior to Plano's decision. Jeff is working with the City Manager on how to pay for the new automation system. City Councilperson Robin Sedlacek mentioned that the City of Allen has instituted a zero -growth budget with no increase in taxes. Cindy Briggs asked about the expected cost gap. Jeff said that it is not in the budget but that the Collin County grant will fund some of the expenses. Jeff mentioned that the best option was to negotiate a separate agreement with Polaris. We need a robust system now and in the future. Jeff mentioned that there are or will be additional features and options within Polaris that are or will be available beyond what the library staff and patrons have seen. He mentioned that it will cost $75,000 to $85,000 for a new system. It cost about $93,000 three years ago to buy into "Polaris" with Plano The annual cost for the system could be $50,000 to $55,000 per year. With regard to courier costs, we pay about $9,000 a year for service between Plano and Allen Plano will continue running the service until it is eliminated by January 31, 2011 P I ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 3, 2010 PAGE Additionally, Jeff mentioned that we want to move toward offering online audiobooks and e -books. As we increase our collection with these types of items, there is a relationship with the patrons that takes the form of `the more you have, the more you want" This will increase usage and foot -traffic throughout the library, which leads to increased staff interaction per patron. We see a microcosm of this relationship with regard to the Children's Program Room. It is very much at capacity during family story -times (capacity 125). 6. Review and Discuss May and June Library Statistics. July was the Allen Public Library's biggest circulation month ever. One-half of our circulation is in the form of children's materials. Don mentioned that he thought there was a need to trim the trees around the library sign on Allen Drive and that it is hard for new users to see where the library is located. 7. Review Calendar Items. Announcement was made, this will be Board Members Donna Drew Vanous' and Trent Armstrong's last meeting. Cindy Briggs asked if there was an orientation packet and program for new library board members. Donna Drews Various said that at one time there was an orientation notebook for new members. There was also a discussion of a need to send a representative to ALLen Reads from the Library Board due to the departure of Donna from the library board. One of the themes for reading they are discussing is "Science in the Schools." Robin Sedlacek recognized Donna Drews Various for her 20 years of service and her affiliation with the Library Board. 8. Adjourn. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Board Member, Trent Armstrong and a second by Board Member Hugh Brown, the Board voted 6 for and none (0) opposed to adjourn at 8:44 P.M. The motion carried. These minutes approved on the 5a day of October, 2010. APPROVED: Don Wing, Chair Person ATTEST Geoffrey S ith, Secretary