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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/16/03 Library Board MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY BOARD OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY October 16, 2003 A REGULAR SESSION of the Library Board of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order by Acting Chair Skelton at 7:05 p.m. Present: Diana Kruzich Place 2 James Althaus Place 3 Lorraine Clark Place 4 Jayme Skelton Place 5 Wayne Bullard Place 6 Joan Sveinsson Library Director Jo Chantrill Library Secretary Absent: Sandi Gehrke Place 1 (business) Sue Parks Place 7 (personal) 1. Citizens input. None. 2. Consideration and approval of minutes of the board meeting held July 24, 2003. A correction was made to attendance list to correct the spelling of Member Skelton's name. The minutes were approved as corrected. 3. Library Director's Report: a. Status report re: operations: The new modular cubicle has been installed for the Support Services Clerks and an additional panel was installed in Circulation Clerk Conlee's cubicle to widen the entrance and expand the space to allow room for a book cart. Director Sveinsson has been present at several school events to promote the TexShare databases and to sign up new cardholders. Director Sveinsson presented information gleaned from the City Council retreat regarding the Status and Planning Guide (formerly referred to as the strategic plan) and major goals and issues for the City. The statistics reports for July, August, and September, as well as the Performance Measures reports for the last two quarters, were distributed and discussed. In FY 2002-2003, the Library experienced increases ranging to over 30%, depending on the activity measured. Most noticeable has been the continuing dramatic increase in use of the public access computers: user sessions, as well as average user sessions per hour, increased over 29% compared to FY 01-02. Circulation went up 7%, reference transactions went up over 22%, program attendance was up over 27%, and the number of books read by youth summer reading club members increased over 30%. Almost all of the department's performance measure goals were met or exceeded; the exception was the measure for electronic resources training. Staff is seeking to improve tracking of that measure. The NTRLS bid for book purchases went to a different vendor for fiscal year 2003- 2004. Staff is working with the new vendor to set up accounts and the profile for catalog records and processing. This vendor offers web-based ordering at no additional charge and does not charge for cataloging records. Staff will be __ experimenting with ordering some materials partially processed with the hope of increasing efficiency and reducing the time from materials receipt to shelf readiness. b. Status report re: FY 03-04 budget. The department's budget proposal was reduced by $12,000. The major reductions were in overtime, conference attendance, printing, and the mobile shelving unit for the picture book area. Savings in 02-03 expenditures allowed purchase of the mobile shelving unit from the 02-03 budget, as well as funding the printing of the items cut from the 03-04 budget. No additional staffing was approved; none of the activity enhancements were approved. Staff will be alert for grant opportunities to fund some of the furniture and shelving items. c. Status report re: Denton County Library Funding. The Commissioners Court decided in a 3-1-1 vote to include library funding according to the current formula of $1.25 per capita and up to $10,000 matching funds. At a subsequent session, Judge Horn moved to reduce it; her motion died for lack of a second. The current formula was included in the final approved budget. Some members of the Commissioners Court have stated that the libraries should expect reduced funding in the future and/or "weaned" off it entirely. d. Status report re: grants. The award letter for the FY 03-04 Loan Star Libraries Grant has been received, and -- the Plan of Action will be submitted to the State Library this month. For the past two years, this grant has been used to fund the majority of the cost of the Computer Assistants; staff will again propose to use the grant for this purpose. e. Status report re: legislation impacting libraries. In order to continue funding a reduced set of TexShare databases after the legislature eliminated the grant that had funded the databases in the past, the State Library implemented reductions in other areas of its budget. As part of these reductions, the State Library reduced the subsidy for the TEXpress courier service, which has resulted in a higher increase for TCPL's share of the cost. Director Sveinsson is discussing with Frisco Public Library staff the possibility of combining resources to make up the difference. Frisco was not planning to continue participating in the courier service due to the cost increases. As the service does allow libraries to consolidate, Director Sveinsson is proposing that Frisco pick up and drop off its packages for the courier at TCPL in return for funding the additional cost of approximately $800. If Frisco does not decide to consolidate, then the additional cost will be taken from TCPL's NTRLS menu allocation, which will reduce the amount of the a~location to be used for materials purchases. f. Update re: Friends of the Library activities. The Friends of the Library officers voted to sponsor a sigma-stack in memory of -- Clyde Chantrill. FOTCPL had a booth at the Business Expo held in conjunction with The Colony Five Star Complex Dedication Ceremony and Open House on September 6th. in addition to distributing literature about the Library and FOTCPL, the booth provided an opportunity to provide visibility for the plan for the Library's future location in the Five Star Complex. Photos with Santa will be held from noon- 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 6th; the book sale will be held the same day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That evening, the Parks and Recreation Department and the Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a Holiday Expo at City Hall from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.; Director Sveinsson will request a booth at the Holiday Expo to promote the Library and to sign up new cardholders. g. Long range planning: The future Five Star library facility was included in the list of future projects presented to City Council at the retreat for potential consideration, and the topic was included in some of the discussions. One suggestion brought up in the discussions was to explore the feasibility of combining a civic center on the same site as or in the same building as the library. There is a concern that the space on the site may not be adequate for implementing that concept. The Board members were reminded that the annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2003 at the Tribute. The next Library Board meeting will be held December 4, 2003. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. -- ~' ~-~. C"y~,~,,--~'~ ~ ~ O~:~ne ~elton, Acting Ch~ir ~ Chantrill, Secretary