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Minutes - 2007 - Eagle Public Library - 11/12/2007 - Regular EAGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MINUTES November 12,2007 Community Room Board President Margo Walter called the EPL Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:05 PM. Present were Board Members Danae Curtis,Jane Mans,Nancy Marshall,Margo Walter,City Council Liaison Stan Bastian, Library Director Ron Baker,and EPL Administrative Assistant Terri Lenigan. Councilman Bastian left the meeting at 8:40 PM. Jane Mans made a motion that the agenda be approved as printed;Nancy Marshall seconded the motion and the agenda was unanimously approved. Minutes for September 10,2007 were reviewed,changes were made,and the document will be approved at the next meeting on December 10,2007. Minutes for the October 8,2007 meeting were reviewed. Jane Mans made a motion that the minutes be approved;Danae Curtis seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. Jane Mans made a motion that the bills be approved for payment;Nancy Marshall seconded the motion and the bills were unanimously approved. Friends of the Library Report(Friends'President) Library Director Ron Baker reporting for the Friend's President stated the fall book sale netted approximately$1,400. This was less than last year's sale. The Friends are considering doing away with the annual sale and relying on the daily book store,which nets between$500 and$600 per month. Requests for fiscal year have been submitted to the Friends. Six items have been suggested,including more pull out shelving for the CD music collection and oversized 11"shelving to be placed in Mr.Baker's office for archive and library records.Creating the archive will involve time and effort. Councilman Bastian suggested that perhaps some of the work could be contracted out. Director's Report Statistics:Circulation increased by approximately 3,500 for the month of October. There has been an upsurge of Meridian patrons using EPL as indicated by the increase of holds placed and actual circulations. At each of the LYNX! Ada County libraries,patrons will soon be issued cards for their own library,based on their taxing district. For example,a patron paying taxes to Boise will be issued a Boise card at any of the five libraries. Each library will stock applications and cards from all libraries. Recruitment Progress Report: Cathy Hardy has accepted the full time Youth Library Assistant position to start December 01,2007.After orientation and training,she will be responsible for some weekly programming beginning in January,2008. Four candidates were interviewed for the part-time Reference Librarian. Three of the four were very strong candidates and Mr.Baker is confidant that we will be able to fill the position. 1 Director Baker will be out of state for the Thanksgiving holiday from November 21-24. He can be reached by cell phone,if necessary. Library Liaison/City Hall Reports(Councilman Stan Bastion) After two years of extensive testimony,the comprehensive plan for the foothills has been stalled by the election of two new councilmen. The new council members will have to be brought up to speed before going any further. The foothills should be part of the comprehensive plan to ensure planned growth by the City. The comprehensive plan will have a great impact on library services and policy for the future good of the community. Unfinished Business Comp and Class Study:Progress Report: The Director reported that the Mercer Group had been contacted for a bid. Their estimate of$18,000 included the current Library and City Hall employees only. A new bid,which includes the new Public Works department,was over$27,000. This crossed the State bid threshold of$25,000,so new bids may be necessary. Request for Qualifications could be sent prior to a Request for Quote,thus eliminating some firms from the bidding process. Mercer Group is an excellent company to work with as it has experience working with a full spectrum of municipal and county services. If we can get their bid within the budget amount,they could begin the project in the later half of January,2008. EPL Board Recruitment: An announcement has been posted on the Web page and posted in several places around the city. The deadline for application is December 10,2007. This will give prospective applicants time to attend the December le meeting. Aaron Ricks,an Eagle resident and member of the National Guard,has expressed interest in the position. He is currently in training and due back on February 08,2008. We will need further information regarding his plans and military service. The Board felt they would like to keep Mr.Ricks in consideration for the position. Since there is a quorum,there is no immediate need to fill the vacancy and perhaps we can hold off until next year. New Business Sub-LYNX! Agreement: The following policy changes were discussed: Policy change on filtering: EPL is the last library to have filtered computer labs. Explaining this policy is an undue burden on the circulation staff. As other libraries will be processing new cards,it will be especially burdensome to have to follow our policy,including special marking of the card. We would like to set all computers to filter only. At earlier times when all of the computers were set to filter only,there were no patron complaints. Adult patrons can ask for unfiltered access.We are investigating a free Microsoft program and patron authentication program. EPL Management Team recommends the default be set to filtered. Policy change in AV circulation to minors: EPL is the only library in LYNX! to restrict minor children to No R or PG-13 movies using card blocks. Again,this has been a burden to EPL staff and will be problematic for neighboring libraries issuing our cards. We would like to change the policy to an"all or nothing"check out. Minors may have access to checkout all DVDNideos regardless of rating or none at 2 all. It will be up to the parents to decide if they will allow their minor child to checkout DVD/videos. A systematic notice would be sent to parents of children with AV blocks to notify them about the policy change. The new policy would be made clear to patrons applying for new cards or renewing cards. Fines for late movies can be quite steep at$1 per day. This may help alleviate some of the fines,as parents would have better control about what is being checked out. EPL Management Team recommends we change the policy to all or nothing. Discretionary power to Director for setting loan periods:The Board and EPL Management Team would like to have EPL loan periods become the standard for all consortium libraries. Considering the ramifications for circulation staff,the Management Team has stressed that any compromise to loan periods is acceptable to standardize service and explanation of services. An Ada County Library Director's meeting is scheduled for Tuesday,November 13th to discuss this issue and come to agreement. Mr.Baker has asked the Board's approval to have discretionary power to negotiate with the other Directors regarding this issue. He will try to persuade the other Directors to adopt EPL standards,but knows he may have to compromise. Jane Marrs made the motion to accept Staff recommendations for above policy changes and to give Mr. Baker discretionary power to negotiate loan periods. Danae Curtis seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously approved. Credit Card Machine Purchase: In a memo to Sharon,City Clerk,Mr.Baker noted that we have not been invoiced by First Data Merchant Services Corp for the past two months. First Data is a very difficult company to work with. We have had to do our own billing and payment history. City Hall bought their credit card machine out right. The library was reluctant to do so,as there was no warranty.First Data is the only company that works with Well Fargo Bank. Because it is so difficult to work with First Data,we would like to buy out the lease. As of October 29,2007,we owe$1,356. We will be sending a$90 payment,noting that$37.50 is the usual monthly payment due. In the opinion of the Circulation Manager, having the option to pay by credit card is well received by the patrons and payments are approximately $500—600 monthly. It is the staff recommendation that we buy the machine. Nancy Marshall made the motion to accept Staff recommendations to buy the machine;Jane Marrs seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously approved. Pro Bono offer by Robert Niblett and Associates,Architects of Boise:Robert Niblett and Associates has generously offered to be the architect,Pro Bono,for a library project. The children's wing expansion at the north end of the building would be an excellent opportunity. The firm has done several area buildings. Currently,it has three Eagle projects. The firm's Public Relations Director,who specializes in capital campaigns,would also donate her time to help us with fund raising. $8,500 has been earmarked in the General Fund to pay for preliminary site plans and building elevations. The only negative seemed to be Mr.Neblitt's reluctance to plan any non-children's use of the space. He seemed to fixate on the children's wing and was not receptive to designing other uses. The Board suggested that we invite Mr.Niblett and any other associates to a meeting. At that time,he could bring some designs and get to know the Board members. Margo Walter will send a letter of invitation. Awnings:The original awnings are in deplorable condition and must be replaced. There was no maintenance preformed on the awnings,which caused them to deteriorate. It was suggested that a maintenance contract should be purchased for the new awnings. The awnings should last for 10 years. A 2-tier awning has been suggested with a separate valance and the top and sides to be a different color. Rather than Staff and the Board picking from swatches,Nancy Marshall suggested that a decorator be consulted and awning fabric chosen from the decorator's recommendations. Also,a picture of a similar completed installation would be appreciated before making the fmal selection. 3 The building awnings are functional as well as decorative. The building looks quite industrial without the awnings. If the awnings will not be replaced,filter film could be placed on the windows for protection. However,this option was not well received. More information is needed,such as the cost of yearly maintenance. Who is responsible to pay for this maintenance? Would it be considered a General Fund expenditure for exterior building maintenance? This issue will be discussed again at the next meeting. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Executive Session was to meet regarding yearly review for Library Director's review of accomplishments. However,the Board did not have all the necessary information needed for discussion. Margo Walter will disseminate Accomplishment List and Letter to Mayor to other Board members. Executive Session may be called at the December 10,2007 meeting. Additional Items or Public Comment: Since Councilman Bastian is retiring,a new liaison will be appointed by the City Council. Board would like to recognize Mr.Bastian's years of service. At the October 8 meeting,Jane Marrs advised that a further handout from the Idaho Nonprofit Development Conference would be passed out at this meeting. Upon review,it was determined that the handout did not include enough pertinent information and would not be passed out to the members. Staff Christmas Party: The Staff Christmas party will be December 15 in the Library Community Room. It will be catered by the Wild West Bakery. The staff is asking for permission for wine and beer to be served. There were several concerns raised by the Board: • Drinking and driving • Number of Staff who would like alcohol to be served • Public knowledge of use of alcohol by Library Staff when it is not allowed for other groups • Is a variance necessary from the Board or from City Council • City lawyer should be consulted Mr.Baker will get further information and e-mail the Board. Margo Walter may know someone who would like to play Santa for the occasion. Selection of Next Meeting Date: December 10,2007 Adjournment:Jane Marrs made a motion to adjourn the meeting;Nancy Marshall seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 PM. Respectfully Submitted By: Terri T.Lenigan EPL Administrative Assistant December 05,2007 4 TOPICS • Statistics: Increase for Month of October 2007 • Patron Cards to be issued at all Treasure Valley Libraries • Comp and Class Study: Possible New Bids to be requested • EPL Board Recruitment • Change in Policies for Sub-LYNX! Agreement: Filtered Computer Labs AV Circulation to Minors Loan Periods • Credit Card Machine Purchase • Pro Bono offer by Robert Niblett and Associates,Architects • Awnings 5