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Minutes - 2009 - Eagle Public Library - 02/09/2009 - Regular EAGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MINUTES February 09, 2009 Community Room Board President Margo Walter called the EPL Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:03 PM. Present were Board Members Danae Curtis,Nancy Marshall, Mary Berent, Library Director Ron Baker, and EPL Administrative Assistant Terri Lenigan. Member Aaron Ricks and Councilman Norm Semanko were absent. Special guests included Julia Gleed, Friends of the Library, Jeanie Comerford, EPL Operations Manager, and Carol Berry, EPL Circulation Manager. Danae Curtis made a motion that the agenda be approved as written; Nancy Marshall seconded the motion and the agenda was unanimously approved. In the minutes for the January 12, 2009 meeting, Danae Curtis noted a misspelling of her name in paragraph four, which was corrected. Nancy Marshall made a motion that the minutes for the January 12, 2009 meeting be approved as corrected; Danae Curtis seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. Mary Berent made a motion that the bills be approved for payment; Danae Curtis seconded the motion and the bills were unanimously approved for payment. Friends of the Library Report(Friends' Secretary) Julia Gleed reported in the absence of the Friends' President. This year, the Friends were very pleased to have participated with library staff members at the annual Eagle Customer Appreciation Day held Saturday, February 7, 2009. They look forward to next year's event. Two book sales have been planned: • Special Spring Sale to be held on Saturday, February 28, 2009 in the Community Room, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The storeroom is chock-full and inventory needs to be reduced. • Annual Fall Sale to be held on Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11, 2009 in the Community Room. Further details to be announced. The Friends have purchased "The Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society" for the library's reference collection. Shared/EPL Admin/Board Minutes/February 9,2009 -1- Director's Report Statistical Reports: Refer to Handouts: EPL Statistics for January 2009 and EPL System Statistics Report-January 2009 Annual Statistical Report to State Library Commission: The report was e-mailed to the Committee and a follow-up copy mailed well before the deadline. Board members reviewed a copy of the report at the meeting. Janice Campbell's return: During Janice's absence, staff members were able to handle the ordering of new books and the distribution of donated books. Director Baker was pleased with the training and the willingness of staff to pitch in and keep the process going. We are pleased to announce the Janice's surgery and recovery were successful and are glad to have Janice back at work. January tax collections: The January tax collection of 54% exceeded the anticipated amount generated by the Library's tax levy. This amount coupled with full reimbursement Open Access payments from BPI, and ACL have met our revenue target to this point for the year. Meeting with Mayor and City Clerk on mid-year cutbacks: Difficult economic times require prudent fiscal responsibility. The Mayor and City Clerk are exploring ways to save money from the General Fund and have decided no expenditures will be made for capital equipment,travel, or training for the City. They have requested the Library Department look at its expenditures and determine where savings can be made. We have identified approximately $23,000 from various expenditure accounts to hold back until July. After the July tax collection, we will review this list again to see what further reductions may be necessary, if revenues are down. For the present, the Library will operate with the same personnel and budget until July. Community participation: Special Olympics and Customer Appreciation: Library staff and Friends members report good participation at the annual Eagle Customer Appreciation Day. Although only three new card applications were written, most everyone stopping by the booth already had a card, reinforcing the belief that library usage is up in down economic times. One hundred and twenty five Special Olympic athletes from many different countries walked through the library and were given a plush"Sno-bun," an ice-hockey Snoopy. The Opera Idaho program was a remarkable success. Over eighty participants of all ages enjoyed the performances given by members of the Opera Idaho Company. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Birthday Celebration was a huge success with over four hundred participants. With everything from soap carving to washing clothes on a scrub board, the event was a spectacular accomplishment for the Youth Services department. Shared/EPL Admin/Board Minutes/February 9,2009 -2- Director in California, Feb 15-19: Returning Feb 20, in time for the LYNX! Director's meeting. Operations Manager's Report Public service costs/hour: Refer to the report prepared by Jeanie Comerford, Operations Manager, costing the manning of all public service desks under a 48 hour open schedule. This is a worst case scenario should the library be forced to reduce open hours from 58 to 48 weekly. BPL Patron Redirection Campaign: progress report: Continuing meetings with Kevin Booe, BPL Director, and Joanne Hinckle, BPL Public Relations Manager, have reinforced the need for the redirection campaign to alert BPL patrons to use their new facilities. Currently, the committee is tracking what BPL patrons use EPL and will try to pinpoint these addresses on a map. This could include as many as 400—475 individuals and involve up to 5,000 circulations per month. A letter campaign and follow-up phone calls are planned, although the letter has not been written as yet. Report of Committee on Open Hours and Circulation Staffing(Carol Berry, chair) This committee was tasked with the responsibility of creating a contingency plan to include alternative circulation staffing should changes to the existing library schedule be necessary. Given economic uncertainties,the Mayor and City Council will decide upon a budget target. It will then be up to the Board to decide where cuts will be made. We know the Open Access Reimbursement of$103,000 from BPL and ACL will not be available and that these monies will have to be found elsewhere. It is unfortunate that the success of this program is its undoing. No one anticipated that this service would grow beyond LYNX! resources. No one could predict the explosive growth of the Treasure Valley and the skyrocketing use of libraries. Our first responsibility is to serve Eagle taxpayers' best interests. Refer to the Committee report, which outlines two plans. Plan A considers a possible scenario if the library were to close 10 hours, but keep full membership in the LYNX! Consortium. Plan B suggests what would happen if the library were to close 10 hours and move to a"tier-two"membership in the Consortium. This would mean leaving Open Access, which may not be in the best interests of EPL patrons, and going to an interlibrary loan(ILL)program. Currently, 40% of EPL circulation serves patrons from other libraries. The cost to subsidize continuously other library patrons is becoming prohibitive. This puts us in a precarious position. This is obviously a service that patrons want. However, we must make patrons aware of the cost of this service and how it impacts our library. The Board must carefully consider the contingency plans presented in this report, so we will be prepared if cutbacks to staff and services become necessary. Library Liaison/City Hall Reports (Councilman Semanko) Due to Councilman Semanko's absence, no reports presented. Shared/EPL AdminBoard Minutes/February 9,2009 -3- Unfinished Business Strategic Planning: Due to economic conditions the Mayor and Director Baker agree that this is not the time to prepare a new 5-year plan. There are too many unknowns, including the possible restructuring of the LYNX! Consortium and an uncertain income stream. A two-year extension of the current plan seems more appropriate. The current strategic plan ends September 30, 2010. We should start to consider how to proceed, determine where we are and where we need to go. A committee must be formed, which should include at least one Board member and Library staff member. Other members should come from the community. The existing plan should be evaluated to determine what has been completed and what still needs to be done. The plan should also be evaluated to determine what we could maintain in these hard economic times. The new addendum should state clearly what is needed and identify future problem areas, such as major equipment that will have to be replaced. Retain, replace, and maintain will be major themes for this new,tactical plan to get us through the recession. The Board will have to approve the addendum and send its recommendation to the City Council. A kickoff workshop for the Board and new Committee to review the existing plan would be a good way to get the project started. Mary Berent made a motion that a draft addendum to the existing plan be prepared; Nancy Marshall seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. New Business Approval of expenditures for capital equipment and wireless connection: Refer to Operational and Capital Account Expenditures as of 12-Jan-2009. This report identifies expenditures of$23,562, which can be delayed until July 2009. The majority of savings are from the Capital Equipment budget. The report titled"Equipment List, Budget Year 08/09"defines which equipment is of immediate need and which can be delayed until July. Director Baker has asked the Board to approve purchase of the equipment identified as immediately needed. Nancy Marshall made a motion to authorize the purchase of this equipment; Danae Curtis seconded the motion,which carried unanimously. Wireless service: There is a clear need for the Library to offer wireless Internet service to patrons. Two study carrels are already electrically wired and are available for patrons to plug in their lap top computers. Funds have been budgeted for the necessary wireless transponder for the adult areas to have wireless access. Therefore, we will be proceeding with this project. Future plans could include wiring more study carrels. However, at this time, the bid proposals we have received for drop down electrical poles are cost prohibitive. Other options will have to be considered for further expansion. Selection of Next Meeting Shared/EPL AdminBoard Minutes/February 9,2009 -4- The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be Monday, March 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room. Adjournment There being no further business, Mary Berent made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Danae Curtis seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 8:48 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Terri T. Lenigan Administrative Assistant Motions: Draft addendum to existing strategic plan Authorize purchase of capital equipment identified as immediate need Topics: Monthly Statistical Reports Annual Statistical Report to State Library Commission January 2009 tax collection Mayor, City Clerk. City mid-year cutbacks Community participation: Eagle Customer Appreciation Day Special Olympics Opera Idaho Laura Ingalls Wilder Birthday Celebration Public service costs/hour Report of Committee on Open Hours and Circulation Staffing BPL Patron Redirection Campaign: Progress Report Strategic Planning—2-year Addendum Approval of expenditures for immediate need capital equipment and wireless connection Shared/EPL Admin/Board Minutes/February 9,2009 -5-