Minutes - 2009 - Eagle Public Library - 07/13/2009 - Regular �Vcr+ r
EAGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES
July 13, 2009
Community Room
Board President Margo Walter called the EPL Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:09 PM.
Present were Board Members Danae Curtis, Mary Berent,Nancy Marshall, Library Director Ron
Baker, Assistant Director Janice Campbell, Jeanie Comerford, Operations Manager, Terri
Lenigan, Administrative Assistant, Friends Secretary Julia Gleed, and Councilman Norm
Semanko. Observing the meeting were Claus Eggers, Ivy DeHart, Maureen Germano, and Cole
Kosydar, candidates interested in filling the Board vacancy.
Nancy Marshall made a motion that the agenda be approved as written; Danae Curtis seconded
the motion and the agenda was unanimously approved.
Danae Curtis made a motion that the minutes for the 08 June 2009 meeting be approved as
written; Mary Berent seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved.
Nancy Marshall made a motion that the bills be approved for payment; Mary Berent seconded
the motion and the bills were unanimously approved for payment.
Friends of the Library Report(Friends' President absent)
Julia Gleed reported in the absence of the Friends' President. The July parking lot sale was a
success:
Book sales $792.22
Cash donations 55.22
Total $847.44
To generate interest, bookmarks were handed out at the Saturday Market.
The next sale, to be held in the Community Room, is scheduled for Saturday, 10 October and
Sunday 11 October, 2009. Use of volunteers will be the key to a successful sale.
Boy Scout Weston Beckley's Eagle Scout project has become quite successful. To ensure a
successful book drive, a notice is circulated within a subdivision, announcing books will be
collected at a certain time and date. Weston has delivered the first installment of fifteen boxes of
books, collected from just three subdivisions. He plans to collect from more subdivisions,
building an inventory in time for the fall sale.
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Director's Report
Statistical reports (handout): With a 31% cut in hours and loss of one-third of our staff, a 10% to
15%cut in services was anticipated. However, statistics show very little change,just a three
percent difference and no apparent loss of clientele. The difference of total circulation for the
month of June 2008 and June 2009 is less than 1,000 or about two percent. Total circulation for
the year is still about 10,000 ahead of last year. Circulation of EPL items indicates an increase in
books, but a decrease in new books, which was predictable due to the scaling back of dollars
allocated for collection development. The number of new cards issued is on the rise after a
decline in April and May of 2009. The number of Eagle cardholders appears to be down;
however, this is due to the annual purge of inactive accounts. Approximately 600 new items
were added to the collection bringing total holdings to approximately 88,000. After a dip in
May, computer lab usage is on the rise. Overall reciprocal borrowing is up. There is an increase
in borrowing by EPL patrons while borrowing by BPL patrons is down slightly. Borrowing by
ACL patrons stayed the same. Staff responded to 1,464 reference questions during the month of
June 2009.
It is obvious from the statistics, that work flow is a major concern, with staff burnout at the top
of the list. The 4th of July holiday epitomized the problem. EPL was the only area library open
on July 3rd. Needless to say, since we were the only open library, business was overwhelming.
It really brought to the fore the extent and magnitude of the problems caused by the cut in hours
and staff.
Every staff member performs at a maximum effort, often times being called upon to perform
tasks not normally within their job description. Having no dedicated reference staff mandates
that Circulation often shoulders the responsibility for this duty. Staff members are often pulled
away from their appointed duties to fill in other positions vacated due to emergencies, illness,
vacations, or other circumstance. Youth programs have been eliminated or down sized. To date,
only 700 participants have registered for Summer Reading, down from 1,200 last year. There is
no teen program this year. Instead, teens wishing to participate are enlisted as volunteers or sent
to the Star Library. Despite cutting hours and staff, this library is as busy as ever, with no relief
foreseen for the near future.
Draft FY 2009/10 budget to City Council, Tuesday July 21, 2009: The FY 2009/10 draft budget
must be presented to the City Council on Tuesday, July 21, 2009. In order to meet this deadline,
there will be a budget Board meeting in the Community Room on Thursday, July 16, 2009,
starting at 4:00 PM. The agenda will be to review and approve the staff recommended budget to
be presented to the Council.
Personnel changes: Personnel changes were required to manage effectively the circulation desk
and the summer reading program. Initially, an LAII staff member had been assigned to the
Youth Services department to cover the position vacated during the RIF. However, that was the
wrong classification as the position should have been filled by an LAI. Therefore, the LAII staff
member was re-assigned to fill in a much needed circulation position with six hours retained for
reference duty in the Youth department. One of the RIF employees, already classified as an LAI,
was hired for 6 weeks at a cost of$1,200 to assist Youth Services during Summer Reading.
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Boise reimbursement: The revised Open Access reimbursement policy is based on the number
of Boise households serviced at EPL. As of this date, Boise has not been provided the final
figures, but anticipates the reimbursement will be approximately $25,000. We may also consider
asking Boise to give us access to some of its commercial data bases as part of the reimbursement.
New Webpage, reassignment: Due to economic conditions, our Web Master, Tim Bunch, was
forced to take a full-time position, limiting our access to his services considerably. Therefore,
we have reassigned completion of the new webpage to LA III Ryan Pfleger. Ryan will divide his
time between his circulation and IT duties. He has the necessary skills to complete this job with
incidental help from Mr. Bunch.
July 4th holiday closure: report: See above "Personnel Changes"
Summer reading program: initial report: See above "Personnel Changes"
Director's reports to Council and Chamber: Due to a full calendar, the Director's reports to the
Council have been postponed until the first August Council meeting. The Director will also
speak at the Chamber's August general meeting to discuss the Library's campaign to get donated
magazine subscriptions.
Library Liaison/City Hall Reports (Councilman Semanko)
Councilman Semanko reports that the smoking ban ordinance has been tabled and the decision
made to send a letter asking the State Legislature to review and possibly update the State
ordinance to include concerns raised by Eagle city residents.
The Council is also busy resolving many city issues such as new appointments to various vacant
positions, design and review of the new Fred Meyer shopping complex at the corner of Chinden
and Linder Roads, and of course, budget issues for the current fiscal year and upcoming FY
2009/10. Topping the list is focusing on what to do for next year to ensure a health carry
forward from the current fiscal year.
Unfinished Business
EPL Board Member recruitment: We were very fortunate to have eight, highly qualified
candidates interested in filling the Board vacancy. The Board has decided upon two final
candidates and will re-interview prior to making a final decision. If not selected, the candidates
will be made aware of other opportunities to serve the library, such as:
o Volunteer Coordinator
o Strategic Planning Committee
o Fund Raising
o Expansion Project for the new wing
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FY 2009/10 draft budget (Action Item?): The 2009/10 budget will be dependent upon a sizable
carry forward. The cuts in hours, staff, and expenditures taken during the current fiscal year will
be applied toward that carry forward. As of July 13, 2009, expenditures for the Operations and
Maintenance accounts as adjusted for roll over decreases are right on target at 79% spent. There
are two accounts where further savings might be realized at FY 2008/09 year's end. They are:
Account .52-00 Utilities—Potential Savings of$2,029
Account .58-00 M&O/Office Equipment—Potential Savings of$5,744
Major considerations for the FY 2009/10 budget are:
I) Personnel Expenditures: Since the RIF, there has been only one full month of
personnel costs. As such, it was very difficult to predict expenditures, resulting in an
overage of$11,000 in part-time salaries. This unpredicted overage was due to gaps in
the circulation desk schedule that needed to be covered by relief personnel and
several unexpected sick leaves.
II) Personnel Issues:
1. Augment Circulation and Youth staff: Full-time LAII position returned to
Circulation with six hours allotted for Youth Reference desk duties; restore LA1
position to Youth Services at approximate cost of$11,000.
2. Addition of LAII for mending for 3 hours per week.
3. Fund fully part-time staff 988 hours; currently part-time staff is only partially
funded for 912 hours, leaving seven positions underfunded.
4. Inflated health care costs; up 7.5% from previous year.
5. Unemployment insurance
6. Worker's Comp for performers at library-sponsored events
III) Operations and Maintenance: The budget incorporates the following:
1. Expand DSL Broadband; cost $972
2. Additional DSL Modem; cost $100
IV) Capital Equipment: The budget incorporates the following much needed equipment:
1. Two replacement public access computers; cost $2,600
2. Nonfiction shelving, 72 linear feet: cost $1,800
3. External back-up software for server; cost$500
4. External back-up drives for server: cost $200
Any reimbursement received from BPL will be needed to stay at current service levels. There
will be no monies available to increase hours or staff, without an unexpectedly large roll over.
No action was taken on the budget at this time. A budget meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 16
July 2009,to review and approve the staff recommended budget to be presented to the City
Council. A special meeting of the Council will be held on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 at 5:30 PM.
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Fall Hours (Action Item?): The Board must have more statistical data before any decision can be
made about shifting hours in the fall. This topic will be discussed at successive meetings when
more information can be presented for consideration. No action taken at this time.
New Business
Periodicals campaign: The periodicals budget for the coming fiscal year will be cut 50% from
the previous year's budget. As some subscriptions are very expensive, this will mean that the
Library will drop approximately 70% of its holdings from 186 titles to only 55 titles. Patrons are
always asking what they can do to help. The staff proposes to ask patrons to sponsor a
subscription. Please refer to the document handout"Sponsor a Subscription." This document
explains how patrons may sponsor a subscription and lists titles to be sponsored. The document
will be updated as titles are sponsored. The Chamber of Commerce is considering ways of
helping with this campaign. Director Baker plans to contact local businesses either in person or
by letter for sponsorship.
Mary Berent made a motion to adopt the "Sponsor a Subscription" campaign as put forth in the
document;Nancy Marshall seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Additional Items or Public Comment
The Board thanks all prospective candidates for attending the meeting and will advise candidates
of their decision to fill the vacancy. The prospective candidates were dismissed.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Personnel I.C., 67-2345 (1)(a):
At 8:454 PM.,Nancy Marshall made a motion to call an Executive Session to discuss I.C., 67-
2345(1)(a)to consider nominees for the Board vacancy; Mary Berent seconded the motion,
which passed unanimously. The Executive Session ended at 9:48 PM and the regular meeting of
the Board continued.
Selection of Next Meeting Date
The Board has scheduled a business meeting for Thursday, 16 July 2009, at 4:00 PM in the
Community Room to discuss the FY 2009/10 budget. The next regular monthly Board meeting
has been scheduled for Monday, 10 August 2009, at 7:00 PM in the Community Room. Terri
Lenigan stated that she will not be able to attend the 10 August meeting, so a substitute Secretary
will be appointed for this meeting.
Adjournment
There being no further business,Nancy Marshall made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Danae
Curtis seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
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Terri T. Lenigan
Administrative Assistant
Motions:
Periodicals Campaign—"Sponsor a Subscription"
Topics:
Friends' Parking Lot Sale nets $847.44
Draft FY 2009/10 budget to City Council
Personnel changes
BPL reimbursement
Webpage reassignment
July 4th Holiday closure report
Summer Reading initial report
EPL Board Member recruitment
FY 2009/10 draft budget outlined
Fall hours tabled to successive meetings
Periodicals Campaign—"Sponsor a Subscription"
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