HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/15/94 Library Board MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY BOARD
OF THE
CITY OF THE COLONY
DECEMBER 15, 1994
A REGULAR SESSION of the Library Board of the City of The Colony
Texas, was called to order by Chairman Althaus at 7:05 p.m.
Present:
Ken Wood Place 1
Diana Kruzich Place 2
James Althaus Place 3
Dorian Barton Place 4
Jayme Skelton Place 5
Wayne Bullard Alternate 2
Toby Pollard Council Liaison
Joan L. Sveinsson Library Director
Absent:
Patricia Riggs Alternate 1
1. CITIZEN'S INPUT.
None.
2. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING HELD
NOVEMBER 17, 1994.
Minutes stand approved as presented.
3. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT.
The January agenda will include election of Chair and Vice-
Chair. The February agenda will include the beginning of a long-
range planning process.
4. LIBRARY FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
Library Director Sveinsson met with Executive Director Seay.
Plans for a January Foundation Board meeting were discussed, but
no date has been set as yet.
5. NTRLS LAY REPRESENTATIVE'S REPORT.
The NTRLS office staff sent a list of items from the office
which they are removing from their inventory; each member library
has been invited to submit a request for any of the items. The
list includes equipment and supplies. Director Sveinsson has
polled the Library staff and will be submitting a request.
6. NEW TECHNOLOGIES COMMITTEE REPORT.
Director Sveinsson shared information from two articles
published in the December 1994 issue of Government Technoloqy.
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7. LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
Reference Librarian Sapp checked out a total of 23 books at
the "Top of the Crop" outreach program. She will be evaluating
this trial program next month and requests Board input. The
members of the Board expressed support for continuing this program
of service.
The Library is now faced with vacancies in three of its nine
staff positions. Library Page Scarbrough has relocated to
Arizona, Secretary Becky Betancourt has transferred to General
Administration as Secretary to the City Manager, and Youth
Services Librarian Blossom is taking a position at Bedford Public
Library. The Page and Secretary openings have been advertised and
applications are being accepted. To date, two applications have
been received for the Page position. The Youth Services Librarian
position will be advertised soon; applications will be taken
throughout January, with the hopes of filling the position by
March 1.
Given the staff shortage, members of the Board asked if the
Library will need to reduce hours. Director Sveinsson responded
that the staff would try to avoid that situation; however, the
Library will not remain open unless at least two staff members are
present -- security and safety considerations preclude operating
the facility with only one staff member present. Currently, some
evening shifts will only have two staff members on duty; if
someone calls in sick and no replacement is available, the staff
would have to close the facility.
Technical Services Librarian Allen selected, set up, and
installed new barcode scanners. These CCD scanners are more
tolerant of a wide range of barcode conditions, are light weight,
and have almost eliminated keying in of barcode numbers. Thanks
to the City Manager and Finance staff, approval of this purchase
was expedited; the City Manager was aware of the impact on the
staff of having to manually key in the majority of the Library's
transactions-especially with the department facing a major staff
shortage.
The need for additional facility space was discussed; the
department is rapidly outgrowing the current space. Expanding the
current facility vs. new construction was discussed; concerns were
expressed re: expanding the current facility, both in terms of the
limitations of the current design and available space for
expansion and in terms of the structural concerns regarding the
current facility. Director Sveinsson reported re: the findings
thus far concerning the facility's structural problems and the
work planned by the Public Works Director to further define the
cause and to limit further problems. Director Sveinsson was asked
to provide copies of the original floor plans which show the
architect's outline of future expansion space. Potential sites
for new construction were discussed, as was the possibility of
combining a bond election for funding construction of a new
facility with the streets bond election that will probably occur
in the next 2-3 years. The City's Economic Development
Coordinator has already begun to research grant funding
possibilities for expansion or construction; Director Sveinsson
will invite her to attend a Board meeting in the near future to
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discuss this topic.
The November 1994 monthly report had not yet been completed,
although the statistical sections were available for Board members
to review; these sections yielded the following information:
Cardholders: 16,911 (up 12% from November 1993)
Collection: 48,244 (up 6% from November 1993)
Circulation: 8,107 (up 21% from November 1993)
Patron Visits: 6,536 (up 6% from November 1993)
Incoming calls: 585 (up 13% from November 1993)
Revenue: $ 867.76 (up 13% from November 1993)
Volunteers: 22 (up 16% from November 1993)
Volunteer Hours: 220 (up 16% from November 1993)
YA Volunteers: 2 (up 100% from November 1993)
YA Vol. Hours: 10
Operating Hours: 166 (up 5% from November 1993)
Employees: 7.950 (up 14% from November 1993)
Employee Hours: 1,105 (up 7% from November 1993)
Complete reports for November 1994 will be included in the next
Board packet.
The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
oan L. ~in~son~, Acting S~-c~re~ary
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