HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/26/95 Library Board MINUTES OF TEE LIBRARY BOARD
OF THE
CITY OF THE COLONY
JANUARY 26, 1995
A REGULAR SESSION of the Library Board of the City of The Colony
Texas, was called to order by Chairman Althaus at 7:00 p.m.
Present:
Ken Wood Place 1
Diana Kruzich Place 2
James Althaus Place 3
Dorian Barton Place 4
Jayme Skelton Place 5
Patricia Riggs Alternate 1
Wayne Bullard Alternate 2
Joan L. Sveinsson Library Director
Valeta J. Eimer Secretary
Secretary Val Eimer was introduced to the members of the Board.
1. CITIZEN'S INPUT.
None.
2. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING HELD
DECEMBER 15, 1994.
Minutes stand approved as presented.
3.CHAIRMAN'S REPORT.
None.
4. NTRLS LAY REPRESENTATIVE'S REPORT.
The East Region meeting will be held in Lewisville, at 10:00
a.m. on February 21, 1995.
Lay Representative Tricia Mooney attended the NTRLS workshop
re: grant writing.
5. NEW TECHNOLOGIES COMMITTEE REPORT.
None.
6. Election of Chair.
Member Wood was nominated for Chair by Member Kruzich; the
nomination was seconded by Member Skelton. Member Wood was
elected by acclamation to serve as Chair for 1995.
1-26-95 Page 1
7. Election of Vice-Chair.
Member Kruzich was nominated for Vice-Chair by Member Barton;
the nomination was seconded by Member Skelton. Member Kruzlch was
elected by acclamation to serve as Vice-Chair for 1995.
8. LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
Val Eimer, the Library's new secretary, started work on
January 24th.
Technical Services Librarian Pam Allen has installed the new
version of the Library's circulation and catalog software (Data
Trek Manager Series v. 7.0). Staff and patrons are adjusting to
the new screens.
Three applications have been received so far for the Youth
Services Librarian position.
The Library Volunteer Recognition Ceremony will be held
Sunday, February 12, at 3 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
Library Volunteer and Board Member Diana Kruzich has been
recognized for her community service work via the Women Who Make A
Difference award. Library Volunteer Edith Maguire was a nominee
for this award.
Texas Library Association Legislative Day is scheduled for
Wednesday, February 15, 1995, in Austin. Orientation sessions
will be held on the preceding evening and on Wednesday morning.
It was noted that Member Althaus, who has represented The Colony
at TLA Legislative Day in the past, will be unable to attend this
year. Board members were encouraged to participate.
The company who owns and maintains the public access coin-op
typewriter in the Library no longer wants to maintain the current
arrangement. Options presented by the company included 1) selling
the equipment to the Library for $150, 2) eliminating the service,
or 3) having the Library collect the monies, provide the supplies,
and send the balance to the company. Director Sveinsson asked the
Board members for their input. It was generally agreed that the
typewriter service is needed, although it was noted that some
patrons would prefer a public access computer. The Library has
received a donation of a Brother Word Processor/Typewriter; staff
is in the process of determining whether it would be feasible to
put it out for public access; it is rather difficult to use and
has no coin-op mechanism; maintenance may also be a problem;
Alternate Bullard confirmed that this equipment is difficult to
use. Suggestions from the Board members re: the coin-op
typewriter included 1) asking the company re: donating the
equipment via the Friends of the Library which would provide the
company with a tax deduction, 2) trying to get the company to come
down on the sales price, 3) asking if the company would provide a
coin-op computer instead, 4) the Library take the company's option
3, via the Friends of the Library, if the company will maintain
the equipment.
Director Sveinsson also asked for Board member input re: a
request received from a patron whose job takes him away for four
weeks at a time (he works on a ship). He has requested an
extended checkout period. Director Sveinsson is leaning toward a
five week checkout period, which is one week more than the
1-26-95 Page 2
combined total of the Library's checkout and renewal periods. In
response to Board member questions, Director Sveinsson noted that
such a process would be easy to do on the computer -- there is an
option to manually assign a due date, the materials checked out on
the extended loan could be limited to items that are not on the
best-seller list nor have a reserve list pending, and that the
number checked out could be limited. Various numbers were
discussed for the limit. Director Sveinsson was asked her
opinion; she stated she would like to be able to accommodate
reasonable requests from patrons who are interested in using the
Library's services; the patron is a taxpayer and such an
arrangement would allow him to receive benefit of this tax-
supported service. The Board agreed to leave the matter to
Director Sveinsson's discretion, understanding that staff would
monitor the situation carefully.
The November and December 1994 monthly reports had been
distributed to the Board at the beginning of the meeting.
Director Sveinsson responded to questions re: the reports. The
research into the problems with the facility's foundation was
discussed. The structural engineer's report indicated the
presence of water under the building; the tests conducted so far
have been to rule out the possibility of broken or leaking water
or sewer pipes. It is suspected that the water is natural ground
water. Some of the sprinkler heads have been removed from the
irrigation system and steps are being taken to better direct
watershed away from the foundation. The door frames have
shifted again, making it difficult to lock the inner lobby
doors. The Public Works Director is still monitoring the
situation.
Statistics provided in the December 1994 report included in the
Board packets yielded the following information:
Cardholders: 17,013 (up 12% from December 1993
Collection: 48,388 (up 7% from December 1993
Circulation: 6,016 (up 1% from December 1993
Patron Visits: 4,727 (down 10% from December 1993
Incoming calls: 508 (up 7% from December 1993
Revenue: $ 938.41 (down 4% from December 1993
Volunteers: 19 (up 6% from December 1993
Volunteer Hours: 190 (up 5% from December 1993
YA Volunteers: 1 (up 100% from December 1993
YA Vol. Hours: 5
Operating Hours: 176 (down 1% from December 1993)
Employees: 6.475 (down 19% from December 1993)
Employee Hours: 955 (down 11% from December 1993)
At this point, Member Wood arrived, the time being 7:55 p.m.
Members were reminded that first discussion of goals and
objectives in relationship to development of a long-range plan
will be on the agenda for next month. Members provided input as
to the desired format of the discussion and the materials needed.
The idea of a brief public survey was also discussed; a one-
1-26-95 Page 3
question surveys "Tell us what you want from the Public Library"
was proposed. Various survey methods were discussed; Director
Sveinsson noted the difficulty in getting responses to in-house
surveys in the past. It was suggested that contact be made with
the editor of The Colony Leader re: printing the survey in the
paper; Member Wood volunteered to contact the editor to set up a
meeting; Members Wood, Riggs, and Director Sveinsson would attend.
If there is a cost involved in placing the survey in the paper
(for example, in a 2 x 2 ad space), it was suggested that the
Board approach the Friends of the Library to fund this expense.
Drop boxes could be set up at various City offices to collect the
survey responses; responses could also be mailed to the Library.
The Board discussed other services and activities that the
Library might sponsor. The idea of a book discussion group was
mentioned. Director Sveinsson noted that, while patrons have
voiced an interest, none have wanted to volunteer to organize it.
In some libraries, leadership of a book discussion group is
handled by library staff; our library does not have enough staff
to free someone to handle this task at this time. Member Riggs
expressed a willingness to work with staff on this project.
Alternate Bullard has contacted an author who may be willing
to visit the Library for a book signing. It was suggested that
this event might tie in with other promotional events, such as the
used book sales (upcoming sales are March 4 and June 3) or
National Library Week (week of April 10th). Alternate Bullard
will continue to pursue this project.
Members were reminded of other upcoming events, including the
City's Board Banquet on February 18th and the reception for the
Art Exhibit on April 25th. The next meeting of the Friends of the
Library Executive Board is 7 p.m. on February 7th.
The meeting adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
Ken Wood, Chair
1-26-95 Page 4