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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - Library Board - 2020 - 11/03 - Regular ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 3,2020 Board Members Present: Maroba Zoeller, Vice Chair Michelle Perry, Secretary Laura Wooten Scott Phillips, Chair Kimberly Hinton Rekha Mathai Adyna Akins Board Members Absent: None 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 present,the Regular Meeting of the Allen Public Library Board was called to order by Board Vice-Chair Maroba Zoeller at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday,November 3, 2020,via a Zoom virtual call. 2. Introduce and Welcome New Board Member Advna Akins. The Board welcomed new member Adyna Akins. Ms. Akins has been a citizen of Allen for almost 26 years and said she was happy to serve the community as a member of the Board. 3. Elect New Officers for 2020-2021. Laura Wooten nominated Maroba Zoeller as the Board Vice-Chair. • ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 2 REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 3, 2020 MOTION: Upon a motion made by Laura Wooten and seconded by Adyna Akins, the Board voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to elect Maroba Zoeller as the Board Vice-Chair. Scott Phillips nominated Michelle Perry as the Board Secretary. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Scott Phillips and seconded by Maroba Zoeller,the Board voted six(6) for and none (0) opposed to elect Michelle Perry as the Board Secretary. Maroba Zoeller nominated Scott Phillips as the Board Chair. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Maroba Zoeller and seconded by Rekha Mathai, the Board voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to elect Scott Phillips as the Board Chair. 111 4. Approve Minutes of the August 4,2020 Regular Meeting. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Laura Wooten and seconded by Maroba Zoeller, the Board voted to approve the August 4, 2020 minutes. 5. Discuss Library Initiatives, Services, and Expansion. • Director Jeff Timbs asked the board for feedback about the Library's new website. Board members said the site seemed more user friendly, especially on mobile devices. The Library has gained more parking spaces. Employees of the nearby post office have traditionally parked near the Library, but since the post office has moved to a new location on Century Parkway,those parking spots have freed up. Library hours have been extended until 8:00 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. After school use of the Library has increased, and staff hope that extended evening hours on weekdays will allow patrons a few more hours to come in. Mr. Timbs also stated that the library is averaging 50 curbside pickups per day. There are still open library staff positions that remain frozen, including two full-time positions, and two part-time positions. ALLEN'PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 3 REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 3,2020 The Library is moving forward on implementation of grant projects discussed in the August Board meeting, which include a mobile check out system and a document scanning station. Projects are expected to be implemented in January 2021, or the first quarter of 2021. Separate grant funds will be used to replace outdated driers in library restrooms with more efficient, quieter ones. City staff plan to install an ionization system in municipal buildings, including the Library, to improve indoor air quality by decreasing virus, pollen, and mold particles. Mr. Timbs explained that the Library expansion process would involve a request for qualifications, likely early next year, in the first quarter of 2021. This would be the predesign process, including a public input phase. He spoke about ultimately having a functional, flexible, sustainable system, sound abatement, and an increased number of zoned specialty areas with the Library expansion. Board Chair Scott Phillips asked whether virtual programming and curbside pickup will continue into the future. Mr. Timbs said that while take and make kits are still popular and would continue, curbside pickups have decreased since the spring, and there may come a time when it needs to be phased out. Board member Kimberly Hinton said that quick parking spaces for patrons who are picking up books on hold would be helpful. Mr. Timbs agreed, but he explained that it is difficult with the current layout of the building to add quick parking spots. Board member Rekha Mathai expressed excitement that the Library would potentially offer services and programming at the new recreation center. Mr. Timbs explained that at the recreation center, patrons might be able to sign up for the Summer Reading Program or pick up materials on hold in smart lockers. He said staff are also excited that the Library could expand its reach into a different part of the city. 6. Status Report on Digital Collections. Mr. Timbs noted the increase in use of digital magazines. He said that the Library's current digital magazine platform, RBdigital, was bought by Overdrive, and Overdrive has not communicated its plan for digital magazine access for libraries. In the last year, digital collection usage increased about 64 percent. The Library plans to continue to grow its digital collection(eBooks and eAudiobooks). The challenge with digital materials are the terms and conditions imposed by publishers. The Library does not own its ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 4 REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 3,2020 digital materials and can only license them for a specific length of time or for a limited number of check outs. 7. Review and Discuss July,August, September, and Year-End 2020 Library Statistics. Typically, June and July are the busiest months of the year for the library, in terms of material checkouts. In July, the Library averaged only half of its normal number of checkouts. However, there was a marked increase in the number of digital checkouts during this time. Programming numbers were down due to the pandemic. Holds were up, as curbside pickup made it necessary for patrons to put books on hold. Reference requests and patron visits were also down quite a bit compared to last year. In August, material checkouts were lower than last year, while digital checkouts were significantly higher. Patron visits were down compared to last year. In September, material checkouts were still down, but staff noticed that patrons seem to be more comfortable with coming into the Library. So far this year, the Library has seen over one million total items checked out. Last year, 1.47 million items were checked out. Mr. Timbs said that under normal circumstances, the library would probably have seen 1.5 million items checked out. Board member Adyna Akins asked Mr. Timbs how the Library would continue to support patrons during the pandemic. Mr. Timbs said the Library would continue to offer sign up for temporary library cards online as well as access to digital items. 8. Recap Friends of the Library,Allen Library Endowment Fund, and ALLen Reads Activities. The Friends have not met since February. With consignment sales and an increase in membership,the group has generated revenue, and on the whole are doing well. The Endowment Fund held a virtual fundraising event. Wine and chocolate were delivered to those who donated at a certain level. The event generated less funding than the previous year(about$9,000, compared to $15,000 the previous year), but the group did not have to pay reception expenses. ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY Page 5 REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 3,2020 The ALLen Reads 2021 book is "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek,"by Kim Michele Richardson, carried over from 2020. The Friends are working on a virtual event featuring Ms. Richardson, for some time next year. 9. Discuss Items for Future Board Meeting Agendas. Library expansion. 10. Items of Interest.[Board announcements regarding local civic and charitable events, meetings,fundraisers, and awards.] i. November 26-27—Library Closed. ii. December 24-25 —Library Closed. iii. January 1 —Library Closed. iv. February 2—Next Scheduled Library Advisory Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m., location to be determined. 11. Adjourn. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Laura Wooten and seconded by Rekha Mathai,the board voted to adjourn the board meeting at 7:36 p.m. These minutes approved on the 2nd day of February 2020. APPROVED: ATTEST: elfrnik CHAI PERSON SECRE Y