HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/21/96 Library Board MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY BOARD
OF THE
CITY OF THE COLONY
NOVEMBER 21, 1996
A REGULAR SESSION of the Library Board of the City of The Colony, Texas, was
called to order by Chair Dorian Barton at 7:07 p.m.
Present: Pat Riggs Place 1
James Althaus Place 3
Dorian Barton Place 4
Jayme Skelton Place 5
Wayne Bullard Place 6
Joan L. Sveinsson Library Director
Sandra Vondersaar Secretary
Absent: Diana Kruzich Place 2 (Family business)
Place 7 is vacant.
1. Citizen's Input.
None.
2. Consideration of approval of minutes of the board meeting held October 24, 1996.
Minutes stand approved.
3. Review of schedule of fines and charges for recommendations to be presented to
the Fees Committee.
Director Sveinsson furnished the Board members with information published in
School Library Journal (3/96) and Publishers Weekly (3/20/95) regarding average
book prices, along with a spreadsheet summarizing the FY 1995-96 fines and charges
revenue by category.
After discussion, it was agreed that the revenue generated from the non-resident
fee over the last two fiscal years was too Iow to justify the staff time involved in
determining residency, collecting the fee, and tracking the annual renewal. Only four
non-resident cards were sold in each of these years, generating only $40 per year. It
was also noted that some area libraries charge a fee to The Colony residents because
we charge their residents (example: Farmers Branch). Dropping this fee would create
additional opportunities for The Colony residents to access other area library
collections. The Board members agreed to consider dropping this fee as one of their
recommendations to the Fees Committee.
It was agreed that Board members would review the information provided at this
meeting along with the Library's current schedule of fines and charges. Further
recommendations for revision will be discussed at the December 1996 meeting.
Pa§¢ I
4. Reports:
a. Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee Representative's Report:
Board Member Bullard reported that a draft of the base-line study portion of the
plan has been distributed to the committee. Corrections to this draft will include using
the population assigned to The Colony by the Texas State Library (29,352) and
applying it to the .75 sq. ft. per capita standard for public library space planning.
b. Library Assessment Committee: None
c. Chairman's Report:
Chairman Barton reported that he has notified the City Secretary that he does not
want to be re-appointed to the Board due to business demands on his time.
d. NTRLS System Representative's Report: None
e. Library Director's Report:
Staffing: Library Page Sharon Hoyt has tendered her resignation; her last day
will be December 3r~. Secretary Sandy Vondersaar has accepted the position of
Secretary to the City Manager; her last day in the Library department will be Nov. 25th.
Interviews are underway for the Circulation Clerk position.
Internet Access: The Colony has the opportunity to participate in the North
Texas Regional Library System Internet Access Project which is being funded via a
State grant and which is being administered by Arlington Public Library. Two public
access workstations would be required to meet State standards; the grant would pay
for one of the workstations. Local matching funds would be required to participate in
the project and to fund the second workstation and some of the other associated costs.
The Friends of the Library have been raising funds for this purpose since April 1995.
To date, over $1,900 has been raised. Director Sveinsson has included a plea for
additional donations in her column to be published in the next Friends newsletter.
Director Sveinsson is currently researching the equipment specifications and costs
associated with the project. Costs will include hardware, software, phone line
installation and on-going charges, intemet service provider charges, furniture, and
supplies. Comparisons will be made between the costs of dial-up, ISDN, and T1
service.
Staff training: The Library staff will be touring at least two area libraries during the
Dec. 2nd in-service training day. The tours last spring were helpful in preparing staff
for space and services planning, as well as in seeking improved methodologies.
Director Sveinsson attended the Texas Municipal League conference and the Public
Library Administrators of North Texas conference this month; both yielded useful
information and contacts.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.g/'~ · / ~ ..~.~ .,~..~/~' ~'~- -~~'~~
Dorian Barton, Chair
~Joan L. Sveinss~n,' Acting secre~ar~'--
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