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R-1812-4-00I RESOLUTION NO. 1812-4-OO(R) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, APPROVING THE LIBRARY MASTER PLAN FOR THE ALLEN PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ITS GOALS FOR LIBRARY SERVICES. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Allen desires to provide all citizens of Allen with high quality leisure and recreational opportunities; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Allen desires to afford its citizens the knowledge and information needed to pursue a high quality of life; and, WHEREAS, the consulting firm of F. Mason and Associates was hired to recommend a master plan for library services. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, THAT: SECTION 1: The City Council of the City of Allen hereby adopts the Master Plan for the Allen Public Library. ' DULY PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, ON THIS THE 6TH DAY OF APRIL 2000, ATTEST: G�A01— Jud�o�, CMC, CITY SECRETARY 1 APPROVED: Z- —09 Stephen Terrell, MAYOR CITY OFALLEN Master Plan For the Allen Public Library Prepared by F. Mason and Associates March 20, 2000 I 1 1 1 Table of Contents City of Allen Master Plan Executive Summary Section One: Study Introduction and Background Study Methodology and Activities Description of the City of Allen and the Library Section Two: The Library and its Service Roles Section Three: Analysis of the Library Existing Collections, Services and Resources Children's Collections and Services Youth Services Adult Services Adult fiction and Non fiction Colletions Special and Local History Services and Collections Reference Services Periodicals Senior Citizen Services Government Documents Support Services Seating and Accommodations for the Public Section Four: Technology Analysis Section Five: Organizational and Staffing Analysis Staffing Section Six: Peer Library Comparisons Section Seven: Facility and Siting Analysis PerformingNisual Arts Center Section Eight: Master Plan Recommendations Mission and Values Master Plan Goals for Services and Collections Collection Development Planning and Recommendations Collection Development Plan Youth/Teen Services Staffing Recommendations SPace/Infrastmcture Recommendations to Support Information Technology Library Facility Expansion Summary Appendices: A. Allen Statistics B. Sources Consulted 3 Gi 8 10 11 11 12 13 14 14 14 15 16 17 22 23 WR 31 32 33 34 35 37 38 39 40 42 45 45 I 1 Executive Summary ' This Master Plan for the City of Allen Public updates and extends the library's long-term goals and policies on facilities, collection development, services, programs, staffing, technology needs and funding from the present to the year 2015. The plan was prepared by F. Mason and Associates in association with Mdell Associates Architects. ' The Master Plan recommendations are based on information gathered from stakeholders, including community members, members of the library's advisory board, representatives from the school district, the Allen Arts Alliance group and library staff. Other sources of ' information include the City of Allen's Comprehensive Plan; the Allen Community Survey, conducted in 1997 by the library; the 1999 Community Attitude Survey t conducted by the Survey Research Center, University of North Texas; and the results from focus groups with library users, conducted by Lamar Veach in January 1999; and focus groups and meetings conducted by F. Mason and Associates. ' The plan is based upon these findings about users and uses of the library: • Users have high expectations for the collections and use these collections at a higher and more intense rate than other public libraries of similar size. • Forty-three percent of UNT survey respondents who use other libraries said that ' they use other libraries because of better book selection. • Focus group participants said they wanted access to expanded sources of information, access to both traditional print and various electronic formats, more space for larger collections, more in-depth collection of books and library materials, and an expanded budget to support these increases. ' • Analysis of the library statistics shows that the number of volumes to population per capita count has declined over the past four years, that collection is more ' heavily used (turnovers) than the norm for libraries of its size. • Circulation has increased over four years and has kept pace with the increase in ' population. The collection circulates at a higher rate than that of its peer public libraries, and that Allen borrowers borrow more items per circulation than is found at other libraries. Funding • for collections will continue, but in the future the library does anticipate steep increases from the City or from other sources in collection development ' money. 1 ' The Crry of Allen Public Library Master Plan 1 ' Executive Summary I ' Master Plan Goals for Services and Collections ' The Master Planning Process finds that three factors will affect the library's ability to develop the next generation of library services. These factors are having the physical requirements— sufficient space and staff available to accomplish the program--; having the financial means— adequate capital and operating funds--, and the presence of a functional program—a plan for programs, services and technology. The following goals for the library set out the requirements in these three areas: ' Mission, Vision and Values • Add a statement to the existing mission statement such as, "enhancing the reading t enjoyment of Allen residents and supporting the personal development of Allen residents," this statement would pinpoint the role of the library to a greater degree. ' • Consider adopting a vision and values statement such as the following: • Provide the community with cost-effective, quality library services ' • Provide knowledgeable, courteous staff • Provide the public with appropriate materials in a timely fashion Goals ' The Master Plan recommends that the library continue and extend the efforts begun in the 1993-1998 plan, and makes these recommendations as the core goals: 1 Goal 1: Strengthen and expand the collection and services offered for children, youth ' and teens and the caregivers of children. Data analyzed for the Master Plan process shows that current residents and those who move to Allen in the future are likely to expect and use traditional library services, particularly those targeted to children • Emphasize collection strength in print and non -print materials. • Provide reading materials in sufficient quantities to meet demands for new and ' current fiction, non-fiction and reference materials. • Add additional staff work areas and programming spaces for story hours, ' children/youth/teen programs and activities. • Develop space for childrenlyouthfteen technology workstations, instruction and related activities. • Adopt effective technical services procedures to obtain materials in a timely manner and in sufficient quantities to satisfy demands. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan II ' Executive Summary I ' • Closely coordinate materials availability with reading, literacy and curriculum -related topics and programs. • Attempt to anticipate demands for materials such as the Bluebonnet books and ' school -assigned topics. • Focus on selection tools and staff materials selection activities. ' • Provide sufficient staff knowledgeable about children, youth and teen topics and who are skilled in programming and outreach efforts. • Supplement staff with technology skills. ' • Add staff skills in support services, collection development, service delivery, outreach and marketing, and technology. • Emphasize marketing of library services. Goal 2: Strengthen popular and audio-visual collections and services. Survey data ' shows library patrons use both traditional and audio-visual materials. • Streamline technical services procedures for ordering and pre-processing. ' • Buy multiple copies and use pre -publication order strategies. • Consider changing borrowing periods to enhance customer service. ' • Add additional shelving and display areas. ' Goal Focus on offering reference and information services electronically. Reference services are changing dramatically from print -based to electronic -based, significantly altering the nature of this service, significant new investments in staff skills and ' technology support will be required. • Supplement print materials with electronic resources. ' Add electronic versions of periodicals, reference tools, both fee-based and licensed. • Emphasize building a robust technological system with capability and capacity. • Focus on the library's Internet capability and capacity and Web site. • Add staff skills and hours to instruct and assist users. • Ensure staff have both technology, reference and selection skills. ' • Promote and deliver high-quality library services. • Assess how to measure service performance in the electronic environment. • Study how to meet the needs of newcomers, seniors, children and youth in particular. 1 Goal 4 Define and increase outreach services, with a focus on service populations who ' need and desire these services • Add staff to do community outreach such as, speaking, teaching, etc. t• Establish and maintain partnerships with the schools, city departments, Senior Center, social service agencies, Arts Alliance, and area museums. ' The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan III ' Executive Summary 1 t 1 1 1 1 • Explore how to increase the library role in city economic development activities. Goal S Keep the library continually visible to the community. As Allen grows, the library must build community awareness, keep users informed, and provide frequent updates about events, services and programs. • Develop a marketing and public relations plan. • Add staff with marketing skills. • Program the new library space to make the library inviting, accessible and flexible. • Ensure the library's Internet capability and capacity and Web site are visible services. Goal 6. Develop a financial plan. Without a robust and sustainable financial base, the library will be unable to enhance its capability and capacity to deliver the next generation of library services. • Recognize the importance of the library director's leadership in this area. • Emphasize the importance of community interaction. • View the new library building as critical to the success of a financial plan. • Continue the involvement of the library board and Friends in planning efforts. Collection Development The library should update its collection development policies to: • Include policies and plans for non -book and electronic media and a revision of specific plans for specific areas of the collection. • Develop a statement on multiple copies for the popular collection. • Define levels of collecting intensity, such as basic, general interest and advanced interest, etc. • Assess the appropriate amount of electronic resources versus print resources to be added. • Select and purchase children's materials as a priority. • Continue the parenting collection. • Build collections of foreign language materials appropriate to respond to an identified set of patrons or users. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan IV Executive Summary ' Youth/Teen Services • Retitle Young Adult Services to youth/teen to reflect the title most favored by the ' age group using these services. • Reorganize youth/teen services under a renamed children -youth department. ' • Provide a defined selection of materials and an area dedicated to this age group. ' • Provide youth/teens with access to group study rooms, electronic resources and their peers. ' • Consider developing a Teen Advisory board to help increase awareness of the Youth/Teen Services. 1 Staffing Recommendations • Retain the present organizational structure. • Consider adding an IT support position attached to the library. • Increase training, staff development, and continuing professional education for ' library staff at all levels. • Add staff as recommended in the staffing chart to accommodate increases in ' building size, services and extended program requirements. Technology Recommendations • Organize access to electronic resources and provide low-cost, secure, and authenticated access to these resources. 1 . Provide easy-to-use graphical interfaces to library resources. ' • Continue to seek technology and resource sharing partnerships with other library service entities such as AMIGOS Library Services and the Northeast Texas ' Library System (NETLS). • Endeavor to increase the amount of in —house technology support. ' • Pursue these priorities in developing information technology: ' • Provide access to, and training in the use of, a large and robust selection of digital information resources. ' The City ojAllen Public Library Master Plan y Executive Summary 1 1 1 t 1 • Provide access to, and training in the use of a full array of productivity software such as word processing software, presentation software, spreadsheet software, database management software, financial management software, etc. • Consider spending 15 percent of the library's resources budget in FY 2000/2001 on digital resources emphasizing full text and full image databases. • Increase the number of public workstations in the library. Ten PCs should be implemented for public access outside the classroom. • Implement ten PCs in a classroom environment. • Place PCs, CPUs and other PC components on a three-year replacement cycle. • Plan the new library facility to include • Sufficient wiring closets to support the infrastructure --sufficient both in number and size. • A central UPS [Uninterruptible Power Supply] and generator to support all wiring closets and key areas of the library [circulation, etc.]. • Accommodate public printing needs. Space will be required for public networked printers. The library will also need to evaluate different printer cost -recovery methods in supplying printing to the public. • Plan for a central storage/staging area to store equipment and equipment components for future use and to receive, unpack, test, and configure new equipment. • Plan for space to support dedicated public scanning workstations. Plan for one or two public scanning workstations located in the general proximity of a service desk so that assistance can be provided as needed. • Provide hard -wired headphones at all public workstations. Some libraries provide jacks wired to the front of public workstations and either provide headphones for checkout or require customers to bring their own headphones. • Provide jacks and work spaces to support customer laptops. 7be City of Allen Public Library Master Plan VI Executive Summary I Library Facility Expansion The recommendations related to the future facility space needs, site location information and facility size are contained in a second volume, "Master Plan Background Information Report," prepared by Florence Mason & Associates in association with Hidell and ' Associates Architects. This report is available from the Allen Public Library. The key Master Plan recommendations as accepted by the City Council are the following: ' Construct a new Central Library in two stories of 50,000 SF for library space and 10,000 for a performing arts space. This would be Phase 1 - 2001-2010 of the expansion plan. The building would be expandable horizontally in a second Phase if population increases ' warranted an expansion. The Phase I building would have a capacity of 170,000 volumes, serve a population of 85,000, and have 300 parking spaces. The construction cost is estimated at approximately $7.5 million, with a total project cost estimated at $9.2 million ' excluding land costs. Final cost figures are subject to a final cost analysis. ' The library would be located at a site near the Allen downtown business district. The library could possibly be accommodated on a site of 7 acres in size but an 8 -acre minimum size site would accommodate the building, adequate parking and landscaping. Four sites ' were identified and described, a final decision on the site will rest with the City of Allen. ' Summary The Master Plan is intended to provide the Allen Public Library with a framework for the ' expansion of its facility, assistance in developing the direction of new programs and services to meet city residents' needs over the next few years, and to assist the director ' and staff in focusing the mission and goals of the library to address new priorities and needs. ' The response from the focus groups, meetings and city council sessions indicates that Allen residents are receptive to the idea of an enlarged facility and enhanced library services. It is anticipated that the library advisory board, director and staff will plan well ' and work hard to carry out the recommendation of this Master Plan. t 1 ' 77re City ojAllen Public Library Master Plan VII Executive Summary i, L ' Section One: Study introduction and Background ' The City of Allen contracted with F. Mason and Associates to prepare a Master Plan for the library to set forth the library's long-term goals and policies on facilities, collection ' development, services, programs, staffing, technology needs and funding from the present to the year 20151. ' Study Methodology and Activities ' In preparing the Master Plan the consultants visited the library, conducted meetings with informed stakeholders, including members of the library's advisory board and representatives from the school district and Arts Alliance group. Staff were interviewed ' and meetings were held with the Library Director. On-site information was supplemented with background information about collections, services, programs and ' technology. Other sources of information include the City of Allen's Comprehensive Plan; the Allen Community Survey, conducted in 1997 by the library; the 1999 Community Attitude Survey conducted by the Survey Research Center, University of ' North Texas; and the results from focus groups with library users, conducted by Lamar Veach in January 1999; and focus groups and meetings conducted by F. Mason & Associates. 1 Description of the City of Allen and the Library The City of Allen is located north of Dallas and Plano and south of McKinney in Collin County. Geographically, Allen is compact; it encompasses a total of 27 square miles in ' contrast to the size of the City of Plano, for instance, that comprises 70.6 square miles. Both Allen and Collin County are among the most rapidly growing areas in the state. The Allen economy is changing from agriculture to a retail and service economy. As this growth occurs the city is seeking to establish a unique identity for itself at the same time that a large number of new residents are moving to the city. Interviews with Allen civic leaders indicate that the City leaders are interested in promoting the development of a ' progressive city environment. They say they are interested in attracting good businesses to the city, and business and economic development are important. As a result of the City's efforts, Allen is seeing rapid business development along the I-75 corridor. ' The growth of residential neighborhoods is also proceeding at a rapid rate and planners expect the build -out of the city to occur within 10 years. It is expected that most of the The consultants acknowledge with thanks the help and support provided by the staff of the Alleo Public Library and in particular the assistance of Barbara Buehler, Library Director sod Mary Vail, Special Advisor to the project. ' The Ctry of Allen Public Libray Master Plat 1 I growth will be single-family houses located in planned developments. This type of ' growth is occurring rapidly in all areas of the city. ' While the transportation corridors of I-75 and SH 121 have the potential of segmenting Allen into distinct neighborhoods, city leaders express the need to build Allen's city services and infrastructure in a manner which will not cause east/west divisions. Allen ' wants to build services so they are equitable for all, not split services geographically, and civic leaders support the re -development of the historic downtown Allen central business district (CBD). The demographics of the Allen population are changing as newcomers move into the city. Census data shows that the majority of Allen residents are middle class and will remain ' so even with the rapid growth. Many new residents are moving in and the University of North Texas survey shows that 37 percent of the respondents in the library survey have lived in Allen three -years or less, consistent with the overall changing demographics of ' the city. Socio -economically speaking, Allen residents are prosperous: 75 percent of Allen ' households earned $50,000 or more, and the median house price for a house in Allen in 1998 was $146,450. There is little low-income housing in Allen and most blue-collar workers commute to work in Allen from elsewhere. 1 Census data shows that the population of Allen is highly educated and the UNT survey confirms this. Seventy two percent of University of North Texas survey respondents said ' they had at least some years of college. If they have moved to Allen from another state, particularly the east, they are likely to have used libraries. Having lived in the older urban areas along the East Coast, they are likely to bring their expectations about libraries ' with them when they move. ' Allen residents are young with children in the home. The UNT survey shows that seventy percent of Allen residents are 25-44 years of age. Residents are also likely to have school-age children. There are few seniors in the community at this time, but the ' population is aging overall and the needs of this group will become more important over time. ' Ethnically, Allen's population is homogeneous with 92.7 percent of the population white, 1.8 percent black and 2.3 percent Hispanic. English is the primary language spoken, but this may change as Allen's proximity to the I-75 technology corridor may attract more ' residents of Asian background to the area. The demographic data on Allen shows that the City's residents are strongly middle class ' with income and education that predicts that they are likely to be users of libraries. It is also likely that Allen residents follow national trends in that while they have a strong socio-economic status, they are also likely to commute to another city to work, feel ' pressed for time, and have expectations of good customer service from organizations and businesses they patronize. Their age and the presence of school-age children in the home The City ojAllen Pvblic Library Master Plan 2 1 I also means that the quality of the local school programs will be important and that these ' children are also likely to use library resources, both at the school and the public library. ' Section Two: The Library and its Service Roles ' The library began as a project of the Epsilon Sigma Alpha organization in 1967. The library first occupied the Woodmen of the World building on Main Street. It was staffed by volunteers and had a minimal budget and limited service hours. After a gift to the city ' of Allen by the McDermott family of facilities for the city and fire station, the library moved to City Hall in 1970 and became a city department. In 1974, the library moved again, this time to a 1,500 SF frame stricture at 102 Allen Drive. This facility is ' presently the Senior Center. Following a bond election in 1979, the library renovated its building and was able to purchase land for a new building site. In 1985 the voters again approved funds in the amount of $2.5 million which was used to build and furnish a new ' library. The library moved into its present building near City Hall on McDermott Drive in July 1989 and occupies that site today. The library opened with 6.5 staff and was open for 44 hours per week. The library building has 20,000 SF and is located on one floor. The building is steel frame with brick veneer. The building plan is an open floor plan layout with a central ' circulation spine from which open the fiction and non-fiction and reference collections, the children's room, and large auditorium/ meeting room. Oriented north, the clearstory windows admit light to the interior. For approximately the past 18 months, the library's meeting room has served as a temporary City Council chambers while the Allen City Hall is being expanded. Although the building was designed to accommodate a second and ' third floor expansion, current plans for the expansion of the city municipal complex have ruled out the expansion of this space to three floors. ' In 1989, the Allen Public Library prepared a Plan of Service 1993-1998 based upon the Planning and Role Setting for Public Libraries At that time the library adopted a mission statement and selected roles to guide library services. The mission statement states that ' the Allen Public Library is " dedicated to improving the quality of life of its users by supporting their lifelong learning and information needs." The planning process formulated these goals: ' Goal 1: Meet the lifelong learning and information needs of users by providing a sufficient number of library resources based on state and national standards and user ' demands. • Increase the minimum number of library resources to 2.5 items per capita by ' 1998. • Increase the number of users who have their requests for specific information ' and/or resources filled. The City ofAllen Public Library Master Plan 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 The library has not yet achieved its goal of providing 2.5 items per capita, although it improved the collections and increased the per capita ratio from 1.7 in 1989. The library continues to monitor service quality through an annual survey of users. Goa12: Provide an ample number of well-trained, knowledgeable and helpful staff to maintain efflcient and effective customer service during all library hours. • Adequately staff all public service desks at all times the library is open by increasing circulation and public service staff hours. • Increase by 10 the number of open hours of the library. • Increase staff training opportunities by increasing budgeted funds and release time for staff to participate in training and education activities. The library achieved its objectives supporting the goals in this area. Staff hours were added and the library increased its hours from 50 to 61 hours. They were able to increase staff development to at least one conference and a minimum of one in- service activity per year per staff member. Goal 3: Assist school-agedyouth in meeting the educational objectives of their formal courses of study by supplementing resources available from their educational agencies. • Increase the number of elementary and secondary students visiting the library during the school term. • Increase the rate of meeting school -aged youth information needs. They have met their objectives for this goal by increasing the number of elementary and secondary children who visit and use the library's resources, but they have not increased the rate of use by young adults/teens. Goa14: Encourage young children to develop an interest in reading and learning through services for children, and for parems/caregivers and children together. • Stimulate library use by pre-schoolers and their parents by increasing weekly story hours and day-care programs. • Provide weekly programs during summer breaks and school breaks. • Provide at least one child development -related program for parents/caregivers Children's services has increased weekly story hours and day-care programs from one to four programs per week. They have added summer programs and provide at least one child development -related program per year. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan c I ' Goal 5: Provide and maintain a timely and accurate collection of reference materials. ' • Increase use of in -library materials per capita. The library conducts an annual survey, which shows they have achieved progress in this ' area. Goal 6. Develop an effective community relations program which will inform the public ' of current library services and materials avarlable for their use. • Provide at least four outreach programs annually to community organizations. ' • Prepare and circulate written publicity through local print media on a regular basis. t• Conduct tours and formal instruction in the use of the library and library materials as requested. ' While the library has increased its activities in marketing the library's services, and there is information about the library on the City's Web site. Library personnel feel, however, ' that the library has not fully achieved its goals of keeping the community informed about library materials and services. The library has added one or two outreach programs per ' year, and does conduct tours, but they have not been able to conduct formal instruction programs. 1 Goal7: Make appropriate use of technology to provide its users with increased access to a variety of resources to meet their learning and information needs. ' • Increase the number of public access terminals. • Evaluate six new CD-ROM products. t• Implement the acquisitions module of Dynix software to provide more information on books on order or in process. 1 The library has increased the public access terminals from three to six in adult services and from two to three in children's. The CD-ROM objective is now obsolete, and the Dynix objective has been achieved. Overall the rapidity and magnitude of technology change requires completely revised and expanded objectives in this area. ' Ninety six percent of Allen residents reached in survey said they had used the library in the past year, and 77 percent said they visited monthly as compared with 44 percent of individuals in other studies who had used public library services in the month prior. ' Eighty nine percent of those in the survey said they were satisfied with the library services. Traditional services and staffing received generally good ratings. ' The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 5 1 I ' The needs assessment surveys shows that respondents were most likely to use the library for recreational purposes. 32 percent of those responding in the UNT survey said they ' used the library for enjoyment reading, 20 percent said they used the library to obtain information for personal use, 19 percent can to obtain materials for school or class, and 8 percent said they used the library to keep up to date at ajob t Section Three: Analysis of the Library Existing Collections, Services and Resources ' An effective library collection is responsive to the unique population demographics of the service population, is built to respond to user needs and reflects the library's stated ' service goals and objectives. It is important that once a library understands its clients and community, that it translate this understanding into written collection development statements about how the collections are to be built and maintained. Users have high expectations for the collections and use these collections at a higher and more intense rate than other public libraries of similar size. ' Forty-three percent of UNT survey respondents who use other libraries said that they use other libraries because of better book selection. ' Focus group participants said they wanted: Access to expanded sources of information, Access to both traditional print and various electronic formats, More space for larger collections. More in-depth collection of books, More in-depth library materials, with expanded budget to support it. ' Analysis of the library statistics shows that: The number of volumes to population per capita count has declined over the past ' four years. The collection is more heavily used (turnovers) than the norm for libraries of its ' size. Circulation has increased over four years and has kept pace with the increase in population. ' The collection circulates at a higher rate than that of its peer public libraries. Borrowers borrow more items per circulation than they borrow at other libraries. ' Allen has 2.0 volumes per capita, Allen's interim goal is to achieve a collection size of 2.5 volumes per capita and a long-range goal of 3 volumes per capita. Staff indicate they need more shelving and find that as shelving space becomes tight they are shelving more ' materials on top and bottom shelves that are difficult for adults to access. Shelving staff The City ojAllen Public Library Master Plan 6 1 say that crowded shelving conditions cause damage to books when books must be shelved spine -down. Visual examination of the collections indicates that the library is managing its collections appropriately. Materials are housed neatly in shelving and although there is overcrowding in spaces, the collection is presented in an orderly and clear manner. The collection does not appear to include undue amounts of worn or outdated materials. Increase of Holdings per Year so 50 40 Add t Media 30 —k—Young +Jr M A — Jr Media 10 0 99 98 97 96 95 94 Years Holdings displayed in the above chart show that the library is continuing to add adult and juvenile materials at steady rate, and thatjuvenile media acquisitions, followed by adult media acquisitions have increased the most in the period 1996-1998. Funding for collections will continue, but in the future the library does anticipate steep increases from the City or from other sources in collection development money. Examination of the collection development plan and acquisitions budget shows that library is making progress in maintaining and adding materials to the collection. Librmy Master 7 t 1 1 1 1 1 Children's Collections and Services The children's collection contains both fiction and non-fiction materials, easy reading materials and audio-visual materials. The library's collection development plan called for 25 percent of the overall percentage for collections to be allocated to children's' materials. Fiction was allocated 35 percent, fiction 20 percent, easy books 35 percent, and audio-visual materials 10 percent. Children's Collection Statistics ' As can be seen from the chart, the collections have grown at similar rates with the exception of reference materials which have been added at a slower rate, and audio-visual ' which has had an annual growth of more than 20 percent but which still comprise only 3 percent of the collection. Staff indicated that they do not have enough copies of certain popular materials and they plan to buy more multiple copies of titles to meet demands. The library houses reference materials, for the most part, in the adult section of the library and a parenting collection is ' also housed in the children's' area which is designed for adult use These materials support the library's Parents as Teachers collection and the collection is used heavily. The library subscribes to only a few children's periodicals and there is limited space for ' display shelving. Staff also say they are buying different formats, including CD-ROM as well as audio cassettes. ' The library offers a number of programs for parents and for children. Programs include summer reading programs, pre-school story hours, toddler time story hours for smaller children and family story times. Staff indicated that there are more demands for ' programs for children of different ages and they would like to add other programs, if they had the resources to do so. 1 ' The City ofAllen Public Library Master Plan 8 1 September 99 September 95 1999 %of Collection Annual Aver.Gmwth Non Fiction 10,649 6,894 38% 54% - 13% annual Fiction 4,940 3 038 17% 62% - 15% annual Reference 303 240 1% 26% 6.5% annual Easy Picture 7 673 4 776 27% 60%-15% annual Easy Readers 1,668 1029 5% 620/6-15% annual Audio-visual 936 481 3% 4%-23%annual All Items 28,247 17,676 100% 126 60%-15%annual ' As can be seen from the chart, the collections have grown at similar rates with the exception of reference materials which have been added at a slower rate, and audio-visual ' which has had an annual growth of more than 20 percent but which still comprise only 3 percent of the collection. Staff indicated that they do not have enough copies of certain popular materials and they plan to buy more multiple copies of titles to meet demands. The library houses reference materials, for the most part, in the adult section of the library and a parenting collection is ' also housed in the children's' area which is designed for adult use These materials support the library's Parents as Teachers collection and the collection is used heavily. The library subscribes to only a few children's periodicals and there is limited space for ' display shelving. Staff also say they are buying different formats, including CD-ROM as well as audio cassettes. ' The library offers a number of programs for parents and for children. Programs include summer reading programs, pre-school story hours, toddler time story hours for smaller children and family story times. Staff indicated that there are more demands for ' programs for children of different ages and they would like to add other programs, if they had the resources to do so. 1 ' The City ofAllen Public Library Master Plan 8 1 I ' The following chart shows the summer reading program attendance statistics for programs from 1997 through 1999. 1 Number of Programs and Attendance at Children's Programs 1 t During the summer, the library had the following attendance at its age-specific summer programs for children. '1 Pre -School 362 311 275 Toddler Time 367 96 162 Family Time 1671 100 115 ' A review of the library statistics shows that attendance at children's programs in 1994- 1995 had a total attendance of 11,571, in 1995-1996 the attendance role to 12, 825, in ' 1996-1997 the attendance was 15,283 and the attendance in 1997-1998 was 15,788. Since 1997 however, the number of programs offered and the enrollment has declined somewhat. Staff attributed the drop in these numbers to the fewer number of programs ' they have offered and to the problems associated with limited access to parking and their limited ability to do more outreach with the community. ' The library offers Headstart and Pre -Kindergarten programs and they are developing a story time theme kit for programming. Staff note that as more children are enrolled in day care, it will become more important for the library to increase its outreach efforts to ' these agencies. ' The children's room is located on the south side of the entry atrium to the library. It provides space for collections and has a small area for programming, but limited staff work or storage space. Staff indicated that as more and more children's materials are t being developed in audio-visual formats, there is a need for more types of specialized shelving to properly store and house these materials. They find their space is limited. In addition they cite the lack of space for programming and outreach activities and the lack ' of staff work and storage space in this area. The library has a number of different types of seating options in the children's room. ' Staff indicate the seating is frequently at capacity and conditions crowded particularly after school and on weekends. tThe City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 9 1 1997 1998 1999 # of Summer 67 55 51 Reading Programs Summer 4,383 3,795 2,492 Reading Program Attendance t During the summer, the library had the following attendance at its age-specific summer programs for children. '1 Pre -School 362 311 275 Toddler Time 367 96 162 Family Time 1671 100 115 ' A review of the library statistics shows that attendance at children's programs in 1994- 1995 had a total attendance of 11,571, in 1995-1996 the attendance role to 12, 825, in ' 1996-1997 the attendance was 15,283 and the attendance in 1997-1998 was 15,788. Since 1997 however, the number of programs offered and the enrollment has declined somewhat. Staff attributed the drop in these numbers to the fewer number of programs ' they have offered and to the problems associated with limited access to parking and their limited ability to do more outreach with the community. ' The library offers Headstart and Pre -Kindergarten programs and they are developing a story time theme kit for programming. Staff note that as more children are enrolled in day care, it will become more important for the library to increase its outreach efforts to ' these agencies. ' The children's room is located on the south side of the entry atrium to the library. It provides space for collections and has a small area for programming, but limited staff work or storage space. Staff indicated that as more and more children's materials are t being developed in audio-visual formats, there is a need for more types of specialized shelving to properly store and house these materials. They find their space is limited. In addition they cite the lack of space for programming and outreach activities and the lack ' of staff work and storage space in this area. The library has a number of different types of seating options in the children's room. ' Staff indicate the seating is frequently at capacity and conditions crowded particularly after school and on weekends. tThe City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 9 1 U ' There is presently one terminal which provides electronic resources and three library catalog terminals. ' Reading and study spaces include the following: Number of Children's Seats Type Number Lounge seats 10 Study tables 32 Picture book tables 6 ' Computer workstation 1 Library catalog stations 3 Total 52 ' The results from the UNT survey and the focus groups show that children's services and collections are important to all who responded. Expansion and enhancement of services ' to children is a priority for both parents and older adults in most cases. The UNT survey showed that a secure area for children was rated as very important by 68.4 percent of the respondents. Respondents in 45.2 percent of the cases said that special library programs ' for children are very important. Non users said that more programs for children would increase the likelihood of their use of the library in 25 percent of the LINT non -user responses. Youth Services Young adult services (YA) which is the traditional term for "Youth" or "Teen" services, serve patrons who are young teens in grades 7-12. The Allen Public Library organization ' includes YA services with adult services. Currently, young adult materials are under the responsibility of the Adult Services Division and purchasing and management take place in this area. ' At the present time, the collections, space and services offered to this age group are limited. The library buys print collections in YA. No purchases of reference, audio- visual or reference materials are made for this age group. In September 1999, the library reported a collection of 3,746 YA items, up from 2,152 items in September 1995. Of ' these materials 1,429 were fiction (750 in 1995) and 2,317 are non-fiction ( 1,402 in 1995. The library does not provide seating or programming for this age group, nor do they do outreach. ' Staff indicate that the limited services for YA stem from a lack of space. Present staffing levels prevent the library from committing staffing to this area. Staff indicate they would ' do more outreach for Youth/Teens if staff were available. Staff also indicates that interest in Youth/Teens has increased and that there is more demand for their service despite staff and space shortages. ' The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 10 Information from the focus groups indicated that users were interested in an expanded and enhanced Young Adult area. Adult Services The discussion of adult services includes the adult fiction and non-fiction collection, reference materials, audio-visual materials, senior citizen services, special and historic collections, and business services. The library does not provide specialized departments or staff services but it does recognize that services to seniors and the business community require the purchase of specialized resources to serve these constituencies.. Adult Fiction and Non fiction Collections The library's existing collection development plan gives goals of purchasing 35 percent children's materials, 50 percent adult and 15 percent non -circulating (reference) materials. The following chart shows holdings for adult materials through September 1999. Adult Collection Statistics The City of Allen Public Librmy Master Plan 11 September 99 September 95 Increase in Collection Size Annual Aver.Growth Non-fiction 27,324 19,868 37.5% 9% Fiction 1,260 6,804 50% 12.5% Reference 2,307 1,619 42% 10.6% Lame print 159 104 521/6 13.2% Audio -vista 4,819 1,874 157% 390/6 All items 46,204 31,222 48% 12% The City of Allen Public Librmy Master Plan 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Percent Increase in Selected Holdings 16 18 14 14 12 12 g 10 10 j_AdWt et 8 8 1--o—Jr a, 8 6 4 4 2 2 0 0 99 98 97 98 95 94 Year As can be seen from the chart above, the acquisition of adult and children materials have increased at approximately the same rate. Audio-visual. The library has made good progress in adding these materials to the collection over the past four years and continues to select materials in different formats including audio, CD-ROM and videos. Users apparently feel the library could do more in this area since audio and visual materials satisfaction was rated lowest of all the library services with 62 percent of the UNT survey respondents giving audio services a " fair to poor" rating and 68percent rated video services "fair to poor". Survey participants noted that they want listening and viewing stations for audio/visual materials. Business and Career Development. The library has focused on adding materials in the area of business and job seeking. Staff says that the ability to add more materials on career development could lead to working with other city agencies. The library feels they could do outreach with the job center and adult programming featuring business and career materials if they had staff to carry out these programs. Popular/New Collection. The library maintains a popular/new collection. The library buys up to three copies of very popular materials and routinely orders two copies of books that are part of the Oprah Reading Club. The library's policy is to add an additional title when the item has accumulated five to six holds. The library maintains a McNaughton rental collection to supplement the new book collection. Special and Local History Services and Collections. The library does not have a genealogy collection, and they do not feel they should duplicate the service, which is already offered by the Plano Public Library System. The Collin County Genealogical Society provides money to Plano for this service. The City ojAllen Public Library Master Plan 12 I ' The library has a small collection of historical materials related to Allen history and maintains one or two display cases in which historical artifacts are displayed. A new ' historical society has recently been organized in Allen and the library would like to work with this group in gathering and preserving archives, preservation of local oral histories, and the collection and maintenance of local information resources such as historic ttelephone books and newspaper obituaries. Focus group participants supported the idea of space for local history materials, including ' a display area for historical information. ' Reference Services ' The library maintains a collection of 2,307 print items in its reference collection. The library's collection development plan calls for the library expending 15 percent of its reference budget for reference materials. Until recently most of the materials have been t in print or CD-ROM format. The library is beginning to move away from CD-ROM for reference materials as more materials become available via the Internet. The Texas State Library has negotiated license agreements for various full -text electronic reference tools ' that are now available to Texas public libraries. As these materials become more familiar to the public, demand will be likely to grow for these Internet resources. ' Reference request statistics show that reference requests have increased each year. In 1993-1994 the library reported 9,058 requests while in 1997-98 requests had risen to 15,702 requests per year. A review of the library's transactions statistics shows that the ' library answers fewer reference questions than other public libraries of its size. Due to the growth in reference service demands, the library has begun to staff the ' reference desk with two reference librarians during busy after school -hours and at other peak times. Until recently, however, two reference staff shared a single desk, phone and computer which impeded the staffs ability to serve customers waiting for assistance. ' This situation has recently been resolved but it is important that two reference librarians be available from approximately 3 p.m. on school days to assist customers. Staff feel the lack of shelves has hurt their ability to build a stronger reference collection, but they also ' believe that they have made significant progress in improving this collection in recent years. The library acknowledges that the small size of the Allen Library as compared to libraries in Plano and Richardson means that the library sometimes suffers in comparison with these larger libraries in the public's mind in regard to reference service. ' A number of focus group participants said they were less impressed with the library's reference services than the library's other services. A number of participants said they felt the reference collection was "inadequate." Survey results show that 62.8 percent of ' UNT survey respondents feel that reference materials are a very important library service. ' The City ofAllen Public Library ' Master Plan 13 I ' Periodicals ' The library subscribes to 124 periodical and newspaper titles. The library does maintain backfiles of periodicals (bound and unbound) that are housed in the staff work area due to lack of shelving room on the main floor. Between the years 1993 and 1997, periodical requests rose from 2,243 to 3,284 requests per year. Since 1997, requests levels have dropped and in 1997, patrons made 2,385 requests. The decline in periodical requests is accompanied by a rise in Internet use, from 773 uses in 1996-97 to 3,202 in 1997-98. The rise in Internet use and the fall in periodical requests may be related as more materials are directly accessible via the Imemet. ' The staff feel that they need more periodical shelving and more space for processing periodicals. They would also like to provide the public with more access to bound volumes of periodicals by shelving them in the public area, but they presently do not have ' the space to do so, and they are currently housed in the staff area. Staff also indicate that they will be moving to more Internet subscriptions and that this will affect their services ' in this area. ' Senior Citizen Services The library currently owns 159 large print titles. They rely upon the Northeast Texas Library System's (NETLS) rotating large print collections to supplement thew own ' collection. Census and population data shows that seniors presently comprise about 3 percent of the total population. The City of Allen has provided a Senior Center for seniors. Discussions with city officials indicate that more seniors are likely to request ' services as a large retirement development in Fairview, north of the city adds 1,500 homes there. The City of Allen Library provides library services to Fairview as part of its commitment to provide service to unserved county residents. The library could see an increase in the number of non-residents using the library if as many as 3,000 persons, many of them seniors, move to Fairview in the near future. A number of seniors in the community actively use the library and support the library's efforts to purchase large print materials. Government Documents The library does not purchase or maintain a separate collection of government documents. The staff acknowledges that more documents are likely to be accessible via ' the Internet and therefore the library will be providing reference services and access to more government document information in the future. Internal Revenue Service income ' tax forms are now available on the Internet which has eased the space needs for these type of materials. ' The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 14 I ' Support Services ' This division includes the library's Circulation and Technical Services. Circulation activity shows that the Allen Public Library has a high circulation both in relation to the size of its collection and also in terms of per capita circulation's. The following chart gives the figures for circulation. Circulation and Attendance Statistics 1 1 ' Staff and the administrators agree about the importance of providing adequate staffing during all hours that the library is open and extra staffing during heavy use times such as ' after-school hours. The library director has noted that the library has a high turnover rate for employees and since circulation, shelvers and pages are part-time, turnover in staff is likely to occur in this department. This continues to be one of the challenges faced by the ' library. The information from the staff indicates that the public is particularly interested in having easier methods of renewing materials. The library currently offers three methods of renewing items and includes returning items in person; renewing items by phone, or renewing items via the "teleCirc" program of the online catalog, which allows patrons to dial-up the online catalog after hours to renew materials. More information should be gathered to determine if the public is unaware of the options for renewing books or if other issues make renewals difficult for them. As circulation statistics show, the Allen Public Library has a high circulation and high turnover of the collection. It may be worthwhile for the library to experiment with variable circulation periods for customers, which may increase the efficiency of the collection. For example the library might consider allowing patrons to select a circulation length of one, two or three weeks for items. Survey respondents say they are interested in self check-out machines to allow patrons to check out their own materials. They feel this will speed up the circulation check-out process. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 15 Sept 98 Sept97 Sept96 Sept95 Se % Yearly circul. 323,766 304,700 261 999 223,445 189 680 %incR 6.2% 16.2% 17.2% 17.8% Attendance 172,489 170,226 147,636 138,208 126,717 %Ince 1.3% 15.3% 1 6.8% 9% ' Staff and the administrators agree about the importance of providing adequate staffing during all hours that the library is open and extra staffing during heavy use times such as ' after-school hours. The library director has noted that the library has a high turnover rate for employees and since circulation, shelvers and pages are part-time, turnover in staff is likely to occur in this department. This continues to be one of the challenges faced by the ' library. The information from the staff indicates that the public is particularly interested in having easier methods of renewing materials. The library currently offers three methods of renewing items and includes returning items in person; renewing items by phone, or renewing items via the "teleCirc" program of the online catalog, which allows patrons to dial-up the online catalog after hours to renew materials. More information should be gathered to determine if the public is unaware of the options for renewing books or if other issues make renewals difficult for them. As circulation statistics show, the Allen Public Library has a high circulation and high turnover of the collection. It may be worthwhile for the library to experiment with variable circulation periods for customers, which may increase the efficiency of the collection. For example the library might consider allowing patrons to select a circulation length of one, two or three weeks for items. Survey respondents say they are interested in self check-out machines to allow patrons to check out their own materials. They feel this will speed up the circulation check-out process. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 15 ' The technical services department provides book, material and resource processing services for the library. This function, which is typically largely invisible to the public, is the core functional area of the library. This area manages the most strategic library ' activities —the ordering, acquisition, cataloging and classification activities associated with the collections. Heavily dependent upon automated technology, this functional area has undergone a revolution in all libraries in the past fifteen years. Current staffing consists of one library associate, on catalog librarian and two one-half time clerks. Key issues related to this function are the decreasing amount of space available for ' technical services activities in the present staff work room. The staff workspace was planned without a separate technical services or processing room and these staff, like ' others in the building, do not have offices or conference rooms to support their functions. Technical services work is carried out in a staff -only work area located on the west side of the building behind the circulation and reference area. As the library has been able to ' add budget funds for collections, space needs to house and process incoming materials have increased. ' Increases in circulation and doubling of the book budget have caused a space crisis in the staff work areas. Staff share small workspaces and are increasingly displaced by the growing collection and increase in circulation which means shelving and books intrude ' on staff work space. Staff say their critical needs include more room for children's and adult programming, ' storage, an additional staff restroom, a staff conference roma, and an improved book drop closer to circulation services. ' Staff feel there should be private offices for managers. Presently, there is only one enclosed office in the library. Seating and Accommodations for the Public ' Current seating at the library consists of seating in the lounge area off the lobby, seats in the reference area, and tables and chair seating located along the north wall of the library. Additional seating at technology terminals is provided in the reference area and there are seats in two small study rooms and the board room, which is used for meetings and small groups. The children's area has child -sized seating at tables. 1 H I ' The City of Allen Public Library ' Master Plan 16 I ' Reading and study spaces include the following Type Number ' Lounge seats 26 Carrel seating 3 Study tables 72 ' Computer workstations 5 Microfilm seats 2 Library catalog stations 6 ' Total 114 ' According to the UNf survey results, survey respondents indicated that seating was important; thirty one percent of UNT respondents said that study spaces were important ' for doing research. Survey and focus group participants were interested in having a variety of discrete meeting and study spaces for various sized groups and activities. Focus group participants said they wanted the library to have comfortable seating with an ' ambience like the newer "Barnes and Noble" type bookstores. The library currently has 180 seats in the meeting room and 12 seats in the conference ' room. Focus group participants said they want meeting room space for community programs with adequate audio/visual facilities and refreshment service facilities. ' Section Four. Technology Analysis ' With the general availability of personal computers and an open international digital communication network, the world of information is expanding beyond traditional formats to include an exponentially increasing array of digital [a.k.a. electronic] information. ' These digital information resources are increasingly networked spawning a diverse and growing number of digital information offerings to anyone with the necessary hardware, ' software, telecommunications, and for an increasing amount of high quality information, access license agreements. There is no question that changes in information technology will change the ways in which libraries deliver information. It will affect "traditional" services and create new services. Technologically driven services have the potential to create both opportunities and challenges for the library, the public and the staff. The most direct impact will be the degree to which the community can "use" the library whether at home or in the library. Other changes may affect specific space needs; create a greater de -centralization of ' services, and cause greater needs for capital and operating funds. 1 ' The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 17 I These trends are significant in discussing libraries and technology: • Information technology is an important element in the library's future and will become ' increasingly significant as more homes and businesses acquire computers and connect to the Internet. For many community members, public libraries will be primary access points to the Internet and other electronic resources. • With an economic development focus on high technology and an accelerating ' movement to home-based businesses and telecommuting, the community will become more technically oriented and look to satisfy a growing portion of its information needs via electronic means. 1 • Library facilities should be complemented by offering remote access to library resources 24 -hours -a -day, seven -days -a -week. People should be able to experience the ' library in person or through the World Wide Web. ' • The Library should use the latest technologies to increase the public's access to business information. ' The Library should expand public access to the Internet and add remote delivery of services to the community, particularly for those without other options. ' Citizens in the UNf survey rated technology "very important" in 51 percent of the responses. Internet access was important for 30.6 percent of respondents. Seventeen percent of UNI' survey respondents said it was important that the new facility incorporate ' technology throughout, i.e. electrical and data wiring to accommodate present and future technologies. ' Patrons feel that the library should be providing more plug-in capability such as data ports for patron's laptop computers, and said the library had too few computers. A review of the library's technology platform shows that Allen is current and up-to-date with its ' integrated library catalog although the city information technology services are not as responsive as they could be. Staff observe frequent occasions when users must sit and ' wait to use the library's computers. Staff say the public wants instructional labs; the public wants more access to instruction on basic computing. The staff also wants a more reliable ISDN connection to improve reliability and space for a computing center with troom for a staff service desk. On-site assessment determined that overall the library's ability to address and respond to technology needs is adequate, although constrained by the extent of the availability of its resources. Several upgrades are planned for the Dynix system, including a Web interface and a new server. Several of the library staff members are familiar with the technology and help to support and supplement the city's support efforts. ' The City of Allen Public Library ' Masrer Plan 18 I ' Shared Online Catalog Agreement: The City of Allen has an Interlocal Agreement with the City of Plano to provide Integrated Library System (ILS) services to the Allen Public Library. The Plano Library System manages a Dynix system that is shared by Allen ' Public Library and Collin County Community College Library via Tl lines. The throughput on this connection is satisfactory. The agreement was effective as of July 28 1997 and extends for ten years. According to both libraries, the agreement is working ' well for both parties. ' Online Catalog System: The IIS provided by Plano is the Dynix Express System from Epixtech. This is a high-quality system from the vendor with the highest penetration into the public library market.. The Dynix Express system will reach the end of its product ' life cycle in the next couple of years. The replacement system is called Sunrise. Migration to Sunrise will require a conversion of the Dynix Express database. Sunrise is the next -generation Exixtech system and it utilizes modern software functionality. tThe catalog is tel -net based but the library system is working on an upgrade to make the catalog intemet-based. The Dynix Express system is hosted on a Data General UNIX ' server. The server will be upgraded to a modem Sun UNIX server during this fiscal year. In addition to traditional modules such as cataloging, circulation, and public access; ' Plano's Dynix Express system allows patrons to renew materials using a telephone via the TeleCirc system End -User Workstations. The library's personal computer workstations (PCs) vary in age and capability. The staff and public PCs at the Allen Library are a mix of Pentiums from new to several years old. A local PC assembler and distributor supply the PCs. Monitors ' vary from 15" to 17". Some of the PCs support multimedia applications. The operating system is Windows'95. ' Some staff and public access points to the IIS are based upon dumb terminals. However, as the Dynix Express system moves to a Graphical User Interface (GUI), the dumb terminals will be phased out and replaced with PCs. Graphical workstations are increasingly required to access networked digital information resources. It is important that Allen invest in graphical workstations to replace and expand its existing text -based ' terminals. Local Area Networks [LANs]. The library is part of the City of Allen's LAN network. ' The network itself is Netware and NT -based. The City's Information Technology Department determines developments in this area. ' Wide -Area Network [WAN]. Wide Area Networks [WANs] are the vehicles to connect LANs to the outside world. The WAN backbone provides access to the emerging digital ' information world popularly called the Internet, World Wide Web and information superhighway. There needs to be a T-1 or xDSL access to the Internet available for the library. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 19 I tElectronic Databases. Contrary to popular myth, all information available via the Web is not free. In fact, much important and useful information is available via the Web on a ' cost basis. For libraries, the most common arrangement to provide access to valuable electronic information resources is to enter into an annual subscription [similar to a subscription to a magazine] with the database provider. The details of these licensing agreements vary from vendor to vendor and database to database, but in general, unlimited use by authorized users [i.e. active library card holders] is generally made available from libraries, homes and offices. Cooperative database licensing agreements can be an economically attractive way to provide access to popular subscription -based databases. Allen currently enjoys access to a licensing agreement facilitated by the State ' Library. Web Site The City of Allen maintains a Web site with some library information included. Since the Web is increasingly the vehicle by which customers access an increasing array of electronic information resources from their homes and offices 24- ' hours -a -day, seven -days a week, the library should develop its own Web site. The library should also be considering providing Web -based reference services as a basic service. t Internet Access: The City of Allen utilizes an integrated services digital network (ISDN) for connection to the Internet. Throughput on the ISDN network is satisfactory for PCs that are not routed through the City's Proxy Server. However, during normal business ' hours, throughput on this network is unacceptable. The ISDN network should be upgraded to a network of xDSL or Tl capability. The Library's CD-ROM resources are based upon a NetWare 4.2 Compaq Prosignia 200 server. This system has not worked ' well. As CD-ROM resources are phased out in favor of online Internet resources, this problem will become less of an issue. Most of the City runs on either Novel NetWare or Microsoft NT networks. 1 CD-ROMs. They will expect to decrease their dependence on CD ROM towers and resources since much of this material may migrate to the Web. CD-ROM products will ' continue to be part of the library's collection but they will be phased out as multi-user reference products as Web access becomes the standard. ' Financial Support. Allen has not been able to significantly increase its support for information technology in the last three years. ' Peripherals: The staff and public PCs at the Allen Library are a mix of Pentiums from new to several years old. A local PC assembler and distributor supply the PCs. Monitors vary from 15" to 17". Some of the PCs support multimedia applications. The operating system is Windows 95. The library needs to upgrade to Windows 98, NT Windows or Windows 2000 soon. 1 Printers are in the Hewlett Packard LaserJet 4 and Hewlett Packard DeskJet classes. A number of staff PCs have pen or wand scanners for use with the ELS. There are no flatbed ' The City of Allen Public Library ' Master Plat 20 scanners for use with imaging and optical character recognition (OCR) software. The library will need to continually upgrade their printers and they should be adding scanner and OCR software. Some staff and public access points to the ILS are based upon dumb terminals. However, as the Dynix Express system moves to a Graphical User Interface (GUI), the dumb terminals will be phased out and replaced with PCs. Application Software: Popular Microsoft applications are used on staff and public PCs. These include Office 1997. Outlook 98 e-mail is available on staff PCs. Internet Explorer provides Web access. The library should be upgrading to Office 2000. Information Security: A proxy server protects staff PCs from harmful Internet activity. A proxy server works by allowing only authorized users to access the internal portions of the City's network. The library needs to address how they are going to authenticate users for fee-based or licensed access to databases on the Internet. This will be an important service issue related to extending fee-based or licensed access to electronic reference services to users. McAfee anti-virus protects staff and public PCs from malignant software and documents. New malignant code is authored each day. It is essential to update anti-virus signature files on a monthly basis. ' Fortres software from The Fortres Grand Corporation protects public PCs from intentional and unintentional modification and abuse. Other products in the Forties Grand Suite could add value to the security and reporting elements of microcomputer ' management. Cooler disables application features so that the parameters of a program such as Internet Explorer can't be changed. Historian keeps track of the usage of applications and files on a public PC. Technical Support: Allen is currently "typical" of its size -range of libraries in that it more likely to rely upon support from another agency than to employ its own system's librarian. Libraries the size of Allen who are NETLS members in 40 percent of cases rely upon their own cities for municipal IT support; the others apparently make other arrangements. The library's primary technical contact and first line of technical support is the Manager of Technical Services and Circulation. She is also responsible for the City's voice mail system. The City of Allen Information Systems Department provides the second line of technical support. Technical problems are prioritized along with other problems from the city. The library's support person is heavily committed already and cannot add additional duties. The City's support of the library also needs to increase. It is likely in the future the library will need at least two technical support persons in the library and perhaps there will be a need for a third person to serve as Webmaster. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 21 1 1 1 1 In summary as Allen Public Library moves toward the future, it faces many of the same challenges as most public libraries—providing and upgrading technology including Internet throughput, more and better PCs, need for training for the staff and the public, increased access to online full -text Internet resources, and sufficient technical support. Section Five: Organizational and Staffing Analysis The Allen Public Library is organized into the following departments: Administration, Support Services, Adult Services, and Children's Services. The library workforce currently is comprised of both full time and part time employees. There are 9 full time employee positions, which are all forty -hour positions. Part-time positions consist of 15 persons working in six different job categories. Professional reference and children's librarians are part-time as well as clerk, technician and page positions. Part time positions comprise a total of 7 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for a total of 312 hours. As noted in other sections of this report, Allen Public Library operates at a high level of t "efficiency" --the rate of conversion of transactions for dollars spent. They are also "efficient" in terms of staff, performing high levels of transactions for the number of full- time -equivalent (FTE) staff employed. 1 The staff have identified the following issues related to staffing: 1 1 1 1 • The library has difficulty maintaining a full staff complement, their turnover rate is now the highest in the city after the Public Works Department and the Police Department. • The continuing demand for services to children, youth and teens is placing additional demands on the children's service staff that they are unable to meet due to present staffing levels. • Continual change in technology and other services means that staff development and training will continue to be important. • The rapid dependence upon the Internet, the increase in information technology and the diversity in information technology tools has increased the need for staff with strong technology skills to assist patrons and to conduct training. • As rapid growth occurs in the City, the library will be challenged to introduce the library to new residents. More emphasis will be needed on outreach programs, particularly for youth/children and marketing the library's services. The City ojAllen Public Library Master Plat 22 I ' • In order to continue to add materials and services the library needs to diversity its funding to the extent possible. Staff resources will be needed to assist in fund raising and in managing volunteer activities. Staffing ' Staffing recommendations are based on the goals for library services, plus the extent of ' circulation activity and the number of open hours of the library. These principles have been applied in recommending staffing levels: • One FTE reference librarian for every building open hour. (61 hours x 51 weeks x allowance for benefits and training) t • One FTE children's librarian for every building open hour (61 hours x 51 weeks x allowance for benefits and training) ' • One circulation staff person for every 75,000 annual circulation transactions. • Provide clerk hours based on 1 hour for every four hours of professional time. ' • One shelver hour for every 75 items handled (includes circulating items and in -library use). There should be an allowance of 10 percent of the required hours for non -shelving activities (mending, etc.). ' The following chart provides recommendations for staffing levels by department. These recommendations relate to the current building and assume the library is open to the public 61 hours per week. ' The City of Allen Public Library Master Plmi 23 1 1 1 1 1 Staffing Recommendations Division and Job Description Present Level Recommended Phase I Level Administration 2.0 FTE 2.5 Library Director 1 FTE Secretary 1 FTE Markedn .5 FTE Support Services Fn 3.5 FTE 4.5 FTE Manager 1 FTE Librarian 1 FTE Library Associate 1 FTE Library Tech 0.5 FTE Technology Librn 1 FTE Orculadon 4.5 FTE 5.5 FTE Supervisor 1 FTE Clerk 1 FTE Clerk 20 hours Clerk 20 hours Clerk 20 hours Clerk 20 hours Clerk 20 hours Library Technology Clerk IFTE Reference 2.0 FTE 3.5 FTE Manager iFTE Librarian PT 22 hours Add 18 hours Librarian PT 20 hours Add 20 hours Library Tech.I Children's 2.75 FTE 4.25 FTE Manager I FTE Librarian PT 0.5 FTE Librarian PT 0.5 FTE Add .5 FTE Clerk PT 0.75 FTE Librarp Tech 1.0 PugerslShelvers 1.5 FTE 2.5 FTE PT —25 hours .50 FTE PT -18 hours .50 FTE PT 19 hours .50 FTE PT.PY 480 hours 480 hours total 1 FTE shelver ' TheCity ofAllenPublic Library ' Master Pkm 24 Section Five: Comparisons with Other Peer Libraries The following charts compare the City of Allen Public Library with 13 other public libraries in Texas and out of state. Results are arranged by size of service population, with the smaller service population at the left. Chart 1 Square Footage vs Circulation Per Capitia ue INEWINEE izo rj6, WIN n 100NO NN so din 4 , IRA 8 90 40 20 0 oil ,p �b ,g aid e'� Q.' g qt �w Q'2a'�'�,`aw Q'9 �Q'''�' 0 d� oPsa"' "�ti�eea��e�e�o�'l� v� ��`sse e� Circulation does not appear to correlate to square footage. Allen's circulation is average, on a square foot each basis, with its size peer libraries. The City oJAllen Public Library Master Plan 25 Chart 2 Holdings par Capita vs Circulation per Capita ♦5 IS > e 9¢ ve 3 e ,s 05 'f Chart 2 indicates that the Allen Public Library is more efficient than peer libraries in terms of circulation services provided. The library also has a higher than average collection turnover. "Collection turnover' refers to the number of times the collection circulates in a given year. It is a performance measurement of the intensity of use of the collection. The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 26 Chart 3 % Registered Borrowers vs Expenditure per Capitia +m Do +DD 50 p eD �D S ; a w8 a! a zD zD p p p +0 140 p 110�.D,p yD} pS �D 1.11 This chart shows that the number of registered borrows appears related to the expenditures per capita. As compared with its peer libraries, the Allen Public Library has a good ratio of registrations to expenditures. Chart 4 % Registered Borrowers vs Total Operational Expenditure l20 5000000 loo 0 .0000.45000a0 eo 3500000 50 300000000000 25 d0 20 000 00 1500000 20 1000000 s0o0ao 0 0 a5E •1P Q�V' c°N' a'dl' QW ryyD r�' rye rye�dl a .p ,�D T I 3Q� Op. E.penO e ' Chart 4 shows that in most Allen has a higher ratio of registered borrowers to expenditures — or lower cost for the number of registered borrowers. ' The City of Allen Public Library ' Master Plan 27 Chart 5 Expenditures per Capita vs Holdings per Capita 80 4 50 3.5 40 3 E 2.5 Y 30 2 i 8 20 1.5 i 1 10 0.5 0 0 3 0� 1��c�yJP1a_}QJ��'a� QJd� QJa��I QJ Q`d SQ`a =Ex P/CaPita OPP op —�Ho1E/Capita Chart 5 shows that libraries' expenditures are correlated to holdings with the exception of Harlingen. Allen has a close correlation of this dimension. Chart 6 Holdings per Capita vs Circulation per Capita vs Collection Turnover u s Iz �s IP 3'S y�XNWCXp11X X ]X ti—PMPXXX� y 1 ��CYI Tumow t 1.3 2 OX a u Chart 6 indicats that Allen is "efficient" in its collection utilization. There is a high rate of collection use to holding size. The City oJAllen Public Library Master Plan 28 Chart? Expenditure on Staff vs Reference Transactions per Capitia z.s 2 A ,.5 al o.s 9 0 e' � " a* o as ,B`� �f��m ao'asQy'0�.��yR �RxrreNr<Pitc Cfad" Chan 7 shows that as compared to its peer libraries, Allen has a lower rated of reference transactions than its peers. Chan 8 Expenditure per Capita on Staff vs Visits per Capita 35 8 30 7 c25 5n $20 5 2 815 3 10 2 5 t 0 0 stamcapit Of lea The City ofAllen Public Library Master Plan 29 I In all libraries, staff expenditures appear to relate to visits to the library. Allen's expenditures in this area are below those of peer libraries which are smaller than the Allen Public Library. Chart 9 Expenditure per Capxa vs X oldinps par Capita BO 5 so 4 5 .0 96 3 ! 30 2 > 20 1 5 10 O6 ysd0 0 3 �Jd�d S'P.StsJ��:A�J�S �" J� y—EZYICePHe Q��oS� F 1 Chart 9 shows Allen's expenditure per capita is lower than the expenditures per capita for ' its peer libraries are. The ratio shows that the library is more "efficient" than its peer in this regard. Chart 10 Expenditure per Capita vs Circulation per Capita w 1a w 12 e 0 10 ±� 6 10 2 0 0 The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 30 I ' Chart 10 shows that similar to the other charts, Allen has lower costs than libraries smaller than itself and below those of most of its peer libraries. Section Seven: Facility and Siting Analysis tThe information regarding future facility needs is summarized from the UNT survey and ' the focus group data The UNT survey results show that 84 percent of those surveyed said they were satisfied t with facilities. Users were least satisfied with hours and parking. Thirty-five percent said hours were not convenient and they want more evening and weekend hours, and 28.7 percent said parking was not sufficient. ' Users want a library that is warm, comfortable, and an inviting environment. Respondents talked about providing an atmosphere that is "friendly, not stressed." Some ' see going to the library as an important social event, not just as a means to an end, such as taking out books. The experience of accompanying children to the library is somewhat like going to the zoo or a museum, it involves interaction between the parent and child, which is seen as important. Staff also support the idea of the library being used as a social space by many residents particularly on weekends and during evening hours. ' Focus group and interview participants want to see a new library located at or close to its present location. Everyone wants it to stay `central" which means along the I-75 corridor on either side, at McDermott or Exchange. The library will benefit (in minds of all) ' being near to the Municipal complex. Participants were not strongly opposed to the library leaving its present building as long ' as the move would be a positive one for the library. ' There is cautious interest in the library building incorporating a performing arts center. There was no real interest among respondents in locating a new library facility at the ' Allen school/town educational park and no interest in developing ajoint school/public library. ' Focus group participants were not interested in the library establishing branches, particularly small branches. ' Focus group participants want adequate (abundant), convenient and safe parking. UNT survey participants want the same and 29 percent felt the parking was inadequate. The UNT survey found that 54 percent of the respondents stated that lighted parking lots ' were very important. Staff say their users have told them that the lack of parking has caused them to avoid coming to children's programs because they could not find a place ' The City of Allen Public Library ' Master Plan 31 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 to park. Last year the children's program dropped in attendance and staff believes that some of the drop occurred due to lack of parking. A number of focus group participants were interested in a computer/instructional laboratory. This area is envisioned as a computer lab with general tools such as word processing, access to the Internet and also catalog access. It would be staffed the hours the library is open and would have one to two people responsible for keeping up the equipment, helping with technical equipment and software questions. It would not necessarily be open to children, who would have their own lab. The lab would include some printers and scanners, PC's and software. Staff and users would like to see a separate and distinct children's area for programming activities. Children's programming activities should include storytelling, children's theatre, puppet shows, author visits, arts, crafts and culture programs, tours and school visits. Fourteen percent of UNT survey respondents thought a cafe/coffee show would be important. Focus participants would like a coffee/snack bar (vending) area. Focus group participants said the library should provide spaces for the display of community art activities and the inclusion of art throughout the interior and exterior of the new facility. Display space and secure storage areas for local, historic materials and displays would be important. Twenty-seven percent of UNT survey respondents said that art musical and other cultural exhibits would be important. Staff says they receive requests for exhibit space for art from patrons. There was interest in the concept of a copy center within the library that would provide special copying services, support with printer problems, and customer service. Staff were interested in a children's programming area for staff activities and supplies. A Friends group room could be a nice feature with some book selling space and some storage. UNT survey respondents and focus group participants want a drive -up book return and some want remote book returns in other parts of the city. Performing/Visual Arts Center The City of Allen has a unique opportunity for the consideration of the incorporation of elements of the arts in a proposed new library facility. This facility would bring a The City ojAllen Public Library Master Plan 32 focus to the community in a facility dedicated to the literary, visual and performing arts, serving the needs of a rapidly growing city. Within that context it is important to keep in mind that possibly no one facility will serve the needs and expectation of each and every arts constituency in the city. If the library has a performance arts center they need to increase the strength of their performing arts collections. The library space might include a listening room that would support performing arts activities. The performing arts facility might include • A tiered fixed -seating auditorium (350 to 400) with a stage floor space, sized to accommodate small performing and theatrical presentations. Seating to incorporate retractable writing tables. • Theater lighting, sound system, screen and projection capabilities, podium and other materials which would be useful for lecture, speaker, seminar, meeting and entertainment presentations. • Storage room(s) for equipment and added materials. • Public restrooms and an entrance to the outside of the Library for evening and/or off hours entry. • Additional small meeting room with seating for 25-30 persons with white boards and presentation equipment. Section Eight: Master Plan Recommendations Master plans involve examining a current situation and then posing a vision for the future. In preparing the strategic directions for the library, the consultant was reminded of the report issues in the 1970's entitled "The Limits to Growth." The report suggested that there were systemic factors that would cause the world economy to slow over time unless action was taken. The Club of Rome's message appears apt. The Allen Public Library's operating statistics and comparison with other peer libraries demonstrates that it is making full use of its resources; it is "efficient," operating at or near capacity. The library will soon reach a time, however, when progress will be achieved only if opportunities for growth occur. Three factors will affect the library's ability to develop the next generation of library services for Allen residents. The City oJAllen Public Library Master Plan 33 e Physical requirements— the library must have sufficient space and staff available to accomplish the program. e Financial parameters — Adequate capital and operating funds must be available. a Functional programming—A plan must be in place for programs, services and ' technology to guide the library's future development. All three of these limitations will influence the ultimate development of the Allen Public ' Library. These factors represent both opportunities and constraints to the planning process. ' Mission and Values ' The Allen Public Library has been guided by a mission statement that helps to define its role. The plan suggests that adding an additional statement such as "enhancing the reading enjoyment of Allen residents and supporting the personal development of Allen ' residents" would help to pinpoint the role of the library to a greater degree. Value statements are also important. These statements help to signal not only what the ' library values, but how the library and its staff intend to pursue their mission. To support the mission statement the library board and administration should also consider preparing a vision and values statement which might include some of the following: a Provide the community with cost-effective, quality library services a Provide knowledgeable, courteous staff ' a Provide the public with appropriate materials in a timely fashion. 11 11 1 ' The City of Allen Public Library ' MasterPlan 34 I ' Master Plan Goals for Services and Collections ' The functional core of the library is found in the collections and services offered daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. The Allen Public Library has directed its efforts to building an adequate collection and in increasing the number of services it offers. The Master ' Plan recommends that the library continue and extend the efforts begun in the 1993-1998 plan and makes these recommendations. ' Goals 1 and Z address the expectation that given the nature of the current Allen population and the nature of existing demand, that these traditional library services will continue to be heavily accessed and used by the present population as well as by newcomers moving to Allen. The priority services will have to be supported by focused commitment of resources to be achievable. Each priority must be linked to a plan of action and achievement. The Master Plan recommends the following six service goals: ' Goal l: Strengthen and expand the collection and services offered for children, youth ' and teens and the caregivers of children. . Collection strength in and non -print materials will be important. print a Reading materials should be provided in sufficient quantities to meet demands for new and current fiction, non-fiction and reference materials. ' . Additional staff work areas and programming spaces will be required for story hours, children/youth/teen programs and activities. ' . Space will be required for children/youth/teen technology workstations, instruction and related activities. . Effective technical services procedures will be important to obtain materials in a ' timely manner in sufficient quantities to satisfy demands. . The library should closely coordinate materials availability with reading, literacy and curriculum -related topics and programs. ' . The library should attempt to anticipate demands for materials such as the Bluebonnet books and school -assigned topics. ' . . Selection tools and materials selection activities by staff will be important. A staff knowledgeable about children, and teen topics and skilled in youth programming and outreach efforts will be important. 0A staff with technology skills will be important. ' . Additional staff skills will be required in technical services, collection development, service delivery, outreach and marketing, and technology. . Marketing will be important to publicize the calendar of events. 11 11 The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 35 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Goal 2: Strengthen popular and audio-visual collections and services • Collection strength will be important. • Technical services procedures should streamline ordering and cataloging, pre- processing may be important and multiple copy ordering and pre -publication order strategies should be considered. • Changes in circulation policies may be appropriate to enhance customer service. • Additional shelving and display areas will be important. Goal 3 is based on the fact that reference services have changed dramatically from print - based to electronic -based, significantly altering the nature of this service provision and requiring significant new investments in staff skills and technology support. Goa13: Focus on offering reference and information services electronically • Print resources will be supplemented increasingly by electronic sources. The library must add electronic resources for periodicals, reference tools, both fee-based and licensed. • The technological capability and capacity of the library will be critical. • The library's Internet capability and capacity and Web site will be important parts of an electronic reference service. • Additional staff skills and hours will be required to instruct and assist users. other staff will be required to maintain and manage additional technology. • High-quality library services will be important. • A staff with both technology and reference and selection of tool skills will be critical to this effort. • New ways of measuring service performance in the electronic environment will be needed. • Marketing will be important to ensure the public is informed about services. • Understanding the needs of newcomers, seniors, children and youth in particular will be important and will require staff time and resources for assessment. The library must make every effort to connect with its user groups and keep them informed about changes in services and capabilities. Goal 4: Define and increase outreach services, with a focus on service populations who need and desire these services. Additional staff will be required to be involved in activities in the community, speaking, teaching, etc. • Outreach staff will require space as well as programming activities associated with these efforts. • Establishing and maintaining cooperative partnerships with the schools, city departments, Senior Center, social service agencies, Arts Alliance, area museums will be critical staff responsibilities. • Explore how the library should increase the library's role in economic development activities with the City of Allen. Suggestions might include becoming a member of The City of Allen Public Library MasterPlan 36 the Allen Chamber of Commerce, participating in local business fairs, providing staff with specialized training to work with business persons, developing a Allen business directory, providing access to Year 2000 U. S. Census information, etc. Goal 5 is based on the fact that the City of Allen will experience rapid and sustained population growth over the next decade with many new residents moving to the area. The library, must build community awareness, inform both users and potential users of the nature of existing services, and update residents and users frequently about events, services and programs of interest to the community. Goal 5: Work on keeping the library continually visible to the community • The development of a marketing and public relations plan for the library will be central to this effort. • Additional staff skills and additional staff hours will be important to support this effort. • New library space should be programmed to provide spaces and functions, which make the library an inviting, accessible and flexible environment. • The library's Internet capability and capacity and Web site will be as important to its visibility as traditional activities. Goal 6 recognizes the reality that without a robust and sustainable financial base, the library will be unable to enhance its capability and capacity to deliver the next generation of library services. Goal 6: Develop a financial plan • The library director must provide leadership in the development of plan. • Interaction with the community will be important. • The library building will be critical to the success of a financial plan. • The library board and Friends will be central to the planning effort. Collection Development Planning and Recommendations Allen Public Library has a Collection Development Policy Manual which incorporates a Collection Development Plan. Both documents were developed and adopted in 1989. The policy manual includes statements on the philosophy of collection development, the responsibility and criteria for selection, special formats, use of selection aids, gift policy, collection maintenance and procedures for reconsideration of materials. The collection development plan includes sections on the purpose and goals and ' objectives of the plan, a timetable for development of sections of the collection 1989- 1994, evaluation and selection processes to follow and a table of the percentage distribution to be achieved by age and format. 1 ' The City of Allen Public Library ' Master Plan 37 I ' The master planning process is the appropriate time for the library to update its collection development policies and plan which should provide guidance for approximately five ' years before being reviewed and revised. Areas which are in particular need of updating include policies and plans for non -book and electronic media and a revision of the specific plans for specific areas of the collection. Collection Development Plan ' The plan for the collections should also be updated. To reflect the increasingly important role of non -book materials, the collection development plan might include the word ' "resources" as well as collections. The plan should re -affirm and provide an updated statement of the collection development goals. In the discussion of selection tools, selection tools and methods for non -book formats and electronic resources should be included. A statement on format choices should be included which should be discussed under what conditions the library purchases book, textbook, electronic or AN formats. ' A policy statement on whether multiple copies of books will be purchased should be included if this practice is followed for the popular collection. ' After consulting the American Library Associations' "Guidelines for the Formulation of Collection Development Policies" the library may wish to define levels of collecting intensity, such as basic, general interest and advanced interest, etc. The plan should ' provide a brief overview of the history and development of each of the collection areas, such as children's, adult, etc. For the Allen Public Library Adult Services these areas should be defined as fiction and non-fiction by Dewey Decimal categories (000-900), ' Biography, Fiction categories of mystery, western, science fiction. Reference resources, periodicals, large print, local history materials and resources, documents, foreign language, paperbacks, Compact Discs, AN materials, videocassettes, spoken word, ' DVD, laser. and interactive media. Children's and youth services in addition to the relevant categories listed above should include picture books, special readers, parenting resources, 1 The collection development plan should also try to determine the appropriate amount of electronic resources versus print resources to be added to a given area. This means ' assessing the extent to which electronic resources and print resources are to balanced in the collection. In addition, an assessment should be made as to the extent of budget ' which is devoted to electronic versus prim resources in each category. The selection and purchase of children's materials should remain a priority for the ' library. The service population should be children through 8'" grade, their teachers, parents and other adult caregivers. The materials which should be collected include fiction and non-fiction, easy books, picture and readers, audio-visual materials, particularly videos and CD-ROMs as well as book cassette kits and materials, and computer-based learning resources. A limited number of periodicals and reference materials should continue to be made available. The parenting collection should be ' The Cily oJAllen Public Library tMasterPlan 38 I ' continued. Materials in a foreign language should be considered for inclusion in the collection if these are appropriate to respond to an identified set of patrons or users. 'Youth/Teen Services Youth/Teen services should be retitled to reflect the title most favored by the age group ' using these services. Consider reorganizing Youth/teen services under a renamed children -youth department if this re -organization is appropriate according to available staffing resources. This would bring the collections and services and outreach efforts of a t department working with different age groups together and would free some staff in adult services to concentrate on adult and reference services. There should be a defined selection of materials and an area dedicated to this age group. A youth/teen collection should have fiction and non-fiction (paperbacks are important), books on tape, some popular CD's and audio tapes and perhaps some duplicate copies of ' high interest titles found in other collections. Youth/teens will want access to group study rooms, electronic resources and their peers. 1 The library should consider a Teen Advisory board to help increase awareness of the Youth/Teen Services. A Youth Advisory board might help define needs for t programming services, displays and other activities of interest to the youth/teen users. This strategy has been used successfully in other public libraries but will require staff assistance. 1 1 1 ' The City of Allen Public Libray Master Plat 39 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Staffing Recommendations The library's organizational structure is adequate to deploy the necessary staff skills according to the work to be accomplished. The only recommended change is that the Young Adult Services be moved under a retitled Children's and Youth Services Division. As the Allen Library becomes more dependent on technological tools and skills, technical support will become more critical. The level of available technical support may need to be upgraded. Dedicated library systems support staff would best keep the system running optimally. An alternative would be an increased level of municipal I. S. staffing. As Allen grows in size, the library should consider adding an IT support position attached to the library. Approximately 50 percent of the NETLS libraries have done so and 36 percent had a system librarian on staff. There is a need for more focus on training, staff development, and continuing professional education that will improve and enhance the skills, knowledge and expertise of the library staff at all levels. Topics include Internet training, reference skills training, customer service, basic library skills and technology skills. Technology Recommendations In the last few years, Allen has begun to build a technical and telecommunications infrastructure to support public access to the emerging networked global digital information world. The momentum has been created and will most certainly continue. This will have significant impact on the number of public workstations required in library facilities. It will be important that the library assume growth in the number of public workstations and the infrastructure to support these workstations when planning new facilities The pace of migration to electronic resources has picked up a great deal of momentum in 1999. A plethora of valuable online and full -text resources are available to public libraries at no charge via the Texas State Library. Every week information publishers announce new information now available via the World Wide Web. Remote access to these valuable resources is already important to many library patrons. People want to access reliable information resources in the comfort of their homes at any time of the day. Libraries need to organize resources and provide low-cost, secure, and authenticated access to these resources. The public warns easy-to-use graphical interfaces to library resources whether they are accessing those resources from the library or from home. Not only should the library catalog be available, but also other library services such as inter -library loan, reference, The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 40 I ' and perhaps even story -time. The public is growing accustomed to the personalization of information Patrons have access to 'My Yahoo,'My MS Home,' and'My NetCenter.' They expect library resources to be tailored to their interests as well. The'My Library' concept will become increasingly important. Partnerships with other bibliographic and technical entities will continue to grow in ' importance. The AMIGOS Bibliographic Council is offering a discount on access to electronic books via NetLibrary. The Northeast Texas Library System (NETLS) is evaluating value-added resources for its member libraries. Leveraging precious library ' dollars by participating in such group endeavors can help optimize the quality and quantity of information that is available to library patrons. ' If the library remains with the city support department, they require more support than they are currently receiving from this department. It appears that under the existing ' arrangements the city IT person assigned to the library is frequently too busy to support their needs. They will expect to decrease their dependence on CD ROM towers and resources since much of this material may migrate to the Web. They may or may not migrate their catalog to the Web. They will increase overall the number and location of terminals ' particularly in the areas of an adult technology center, children's area and in reference. Allen should pursue two priorities in developing its information technology: ' • It should provide access to, and training in the use of, a large and robust selection of digital information resources. Some of these resources may be locally mounted [i.e. t stand-alone or networked CD-ROMs] but the majority are likely to be available via the Web. Allen should endeavor to provide access to the emerging digital information world to the fullest extent possible from all libraries in the system. For authorized ' customers, access will also be available from homes and offices—including access to subscription databases that would otherwise not be available to the community. ' • As a second priority, ALLEN should provide access to, and training in the use of a full array of productivity software such as word processing software, presentation ' software, spreadsheet software, database management software, financial management software, etc. In addition, software to support graphics editing, Web page creation may be desired in the future. This will be an especially important service for customers who do not otherwise have access to these information technology resources. ' For both priorities training is critically important. Assisting people is a fundamental value of libraries and this `personal touch" is an enduring component of library service for most ' users. Allen should plan to provide customer training in evaluating and using digital information. In addition, Allen should plan to provide training in selected productivity software applications [i.e. word processing, etc.]. Training will be provided on various ' The City of Allen Public Library Master Plan 41 I topics including, but not limited to, searching electronic information resources, searching the Web [beginning & advanced classes and subject -specific classes such as business information, consumer information, etc.], word processing software classes [beginning & ' advanced], spreadsheet software classes, etc. Allen should consider spending 15 percent of its resources budget in 2000/2001 on digital ' resources emphasizing full text and full image databases. Considering the shat life -cycle of modem software applications, PCs should be on a three-year replacement cycle. That is, CPUs and other PC components should be upgraded or replaced in no more than three years. The number of publicly accessible PCs should be expanded in the new facility. Ten PCs should be implemented in a classroom environment. The PCs should have modem software applications. The classroom would be used to teach staff and patrons about the new methods of information access and creation. The PCs in the classroom would be available for public use when a class is not in session. Ten PCs should be implemented for public access outside the classroom. The expansion of the PC pool would reduce waiting time for these popular resources . Space/Infrastructure Recommendations to Support Information Technology The planned service offerings in the area of information technology have significant impact on space planning [both new and remodeled] both in terms of amount of space and ' quality of space. Even when these service offerings are clearly articulated, planning for information technology is a challenge. It is simply too early, and the IT environment is ' changing too rapidly, for "best practices" to have emerged. With these caveats, the following recommendations are provided as guidance to Allen management in planning the new library facility. ' Public Workstations/LANs. The number of public workstations needed is a critical issue for space planning. From a space planning perspective, plan for flexibility. The most ' important advice is to plan for three times as many workstations as you think you will need whenever you are building or remodeling a public facility. Like electrical outlets, it is much less expensive to include them in the initial construction than to add them later. ' When designing or redesigning facilities, think big in terms of the number of future workstations. ' In areas that will be accessible in the future, installing the current industry standard level of copper cabling [currently Category 5, but Category 7 is coming] is sufficient. If fiber or coaxial cable is needed in the future it can be added. Technological developments related to copper suggest that copper may be adequate in the future. ' The City ofAllen Public Library Master Plan 42 I ' The infrastructure to support the cabling and electrical requirements of an increasing number of workstations is also an important consideration for space planning. Include sufficient wiring closets to support the infrastructure—sufficient both in number and size. ' Each wiring closet should be fully air conditioned with unintemtptable power. In new and remodeled facilities install a central UPS [Uninterruptible Power Supply] and generator to support all wiring closets and key areas of the library [circulation, etc.]. ' Learning Labs. A learning lab is likely to be an essential component of future public ' library service. Although informal training in accessing electronic information resources will be provided one-on-one as part of the normal referencelinformation service delivery, more structured training will also be required. This training can best be executed in an ' environment designed for this purpose. Learning Labs provide an appropriate setting for training in accessing information resources [specialized databases, Web resources, etc.] as well as training for more specialized software including word processing, spread sheets, ' database management, multimedia creation, graphics editing, Web page creation, etc. Experience at other libraries suggests that rooms with 15 to 30 workstations are a good, manageable size. These facilities are best located near a service desk so that appropriate ' security and service can be provided. ' In addition to providing an appropriate environment for training, learning labs can be used to provide a separate location for specialized public workstations that provide services beyond the workstations in the public areas of the library. For example, workstations ' throughout the library might contain software to access information resources while specialized software [i.e. productivity, multimedia creation, graphics editing, Web page creation, etc.] might be located on workstations in the learning labs. Isolating specialized t software on a limited number of well-defined workstations has numerous advantages both in terms of providing user assistance and in terms of economics as fewer software licenses are needed. ' Printing. Public printing is an important consideration in every library. Space will be ' required for public networked printers. In all future and remodeled libraries plan for space to support public networked printing and space for the public to retrieve their printed items. The library will need to evaluate different printer cost -recovery methods in ' supplying printing to the public. Scanning. Scanning will become an increasingly demanded service by the public in the ' future. In all future and remodeled libraries plan for space to support dedicated public scanning workstations. Plan for one or two public scanning workstations located in the general proximity of a service desk so that assistance can be provided as needed. Public Headphones. As more information resources available via the net include sound ' bites [excepts from speeches, etc.] public headphones will become an increasing requirement. Some libraries provide hard -wired headphones at all public workstations. Some libraries provide jacks wired to the front of public workstations and either provide tThe City of Allen Public Librmy ' MasterPlan 43 I t headphones for checkout or require customers to bring their own headphones. No solution is perfect and each library must decide for itself how public headphones should be handled given its particular circumstances. ' Multi -Media. Futurists tell us that we are fast moving to a multi -media environment of video -conferencing and video -on -demand but at this time, the impact of this technology on ' libraries in not known. What effect will this have on future library facilities? One can speculate, that libraries might want to plan for several small rooms or carefully planned ' carrels where individuals and small groups can video conference [for example, participating in a job interview] or view a video -on -demand. Perhaps a larger room will be needed to support videoconferencing and distance learning for larger groups. The ' potential impact of multi -media is such that in the future planning for sound management might be as important as planning for lighting is today. ' Wireless. Like multi -media, the future impact of wireless communication on libraries is unknown. Some futurists predict that wireless links, will replace physical links making concerns about cabling moot. Others suggest that wireless connections will never be as ' robust as physical connections, at least not in the near future. Plan for physical connections until such time as wireless communication is proven. ' Laptops. In general, libraries have shied away from library -owned laptops for public use for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, they are more expensive to purchase, ' maintain and service. Second, many customers do not like the small screens and keyboard available on laptops. Third, security is a concern as laptops can be easily stolen. Fourth, there are software concerns in terms of configuring applications and providing network t security. Despite the appeal of portability, libraries have generally not provided laptops for public use. Customer -owned laptops are becoming increasingly popular and available. Therefore, in new and modeled libraries, plan for electronics, jacks and work spaces to support t customer laptops. Providing access to the library's LAN for customer -owned laptops currently presents significant security issues; recent developments in networking show that it is now feasible to secure use of customer laptops in libraries. ' Support Infrastructure: Storage/Staging Area. In the same general areas as the Computer Room and technical staff, plan for a central storage/staging area. A space with ' some industrial shelving and worktables and lots of open floor space is ideal. This space is needed to store equipment and equipment components for future use and to receive, unpack, test, and configure new equipment. Libraries generally order workstations in ' large quantities to take advantage of volume discounts and space is needed to handle large shipments. Given the reality that libraries, like other high-tech organizations, are ' continually purchasing new and upgraded hardware as part of a planned three year replacement cycle, having an appropriate work area for this ongoing activity is essential. tThe City of Allen Public Library ' MasterPlan 44 F ' Library Facility Expansion The recommendations related to the future facility space needs, site location information ' and facility size are contained in a second volume, "Master Plan Background Information Report," prepared by Florence Mason & Associates in association with Hidell and Associates Architects. This report is available from the Allen Public Library. The key Master Plan recommendations as accepted by the City Council are the following: Construct a new Central Library in two stories of 50,000 SF for library space and 10,000 ' for a performing arts space. This would be Phase 1— 2001-2010 of the expansion plan. The building would be expandable horizontally in a second Phase if population increases warranted an expansion. The Phase I building would have a capacity of 170,000 volumes, ' serve a population of 85,000, and have 300 parking spaces. The construction cost is estimated at approximately $7.5 million, with a total project cost is estimated at ' approximately $9.2 million excluding land costs. Final cost figures are subject to a detailed cost analysis. ' The library would be located at a site near the Allen downtown business district. The library could possibly be accommodated on a site of 7 acres in size but an 8 -acre minimum size site would accommodate the building, adequate parking and landscaping. Four sites ' were identified and described, a final decision on the site will rest with the City of Allen. tSummary ' The Master Plan is intended to provide the Allen Public Library with a framework for the expansion of its facility, assistance in developing direction of new programs and services to meet city residents' needs over the next few years, and to assist the director and staff in focusing the mission and goals of the library to address new priorities and needs. The response from the focus groups, meetings and city council sessions indicates that ' Allen residents are receptive to the idea of an enlarged facility and enhanced library services. It is anticipated that the library advisory board, director and staff will plan well and work hard to carry out the recommendation of this Master Plan. 1 1 ' The City of Allen Public Library ' Master Plan 45 Appendix A 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Allen Statistics 1 2 Source: Planning Department. City of Allen Demographics 1999. 1994-5 1995-6 1996-7 1997-8 Po ulation 24,493 27,219 29,468 32,539 Collection 51,623 56,497 62,914 70,445 Size Holding PC 2.10 2.07 2.03 2.16 Items 223,445 261,999 304,700 323,766 checked out Collection 4.1 4.7 5.0 4.5 turnover mean 2.5 mean 2.5 mean 2.6 mean 2.4 Items 9.1 9.6 9.3 9.5 checked PC Children 11,571 12,825 15,283 14,788 Attendance New Patrons 3,119 3,166 3,263 3,540 Added Reference 12,092 14,063 13,603 15,702 Requests Reference .4 .5 .4 .4 Requests PC mean 1.1 mean 1.0 mean 1.2 mean 1.2 Re fists 15,525 18,823 N/A 23,800 Regist % 58.4 64.4 N/A 61 Population Circulation's 12.4 11.9 N/A 13.6 Per (mean 9.3) (mean 9.7) (mean 9.6) Borrower 1 2 Source: Planning Department. City of Allen Demographics 1999. Appendix B Sources Consulted City of Allen. 1998 Comprehensive Plan. Adopted July 16, 1998. Comprehensive Plan Update Survey 1997. Demographics. 1999. 1999 Community Attitude Survey: Public Library Services. Survey Research Center, University of North Texas. June 11999. Allen Public Library. "APL Holdings, n.d. Children Program Statistics-- 1994-1998 Collection Development Manual General Policy Manual. Organizational Chart Plan of Service 1993-1998. Survey Findings. n.d. Yearly Statistical Report, 1993-1999. Job Descriptions. Standards Committee. Public Library Division. Texas Library Association. "Guidelines for Texas Public Libraries 1992." TLA, 1992. Lamar Vetch. "Focus Group Meetings for Library Expansion and Renovation." July 22, 1999.