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2013-07-18 PEARLAND LIBRARY BOARD MEETING MINUTESPearland Community Library Board Meeting Minutes Pearland Westside Library, 2803 Business Center Drive, Ste 101 July 18, 2013 7:00 p.m. In attendance: Lisa Loranc (County Library representative), Ginny Koenig (manager, Pearland Westside Branch, Andrew Fearn (manager, Pearland Branch), Board Members - Crystal Carbone, Terry Ruiz, Geoff Tonini, Elizabeth McLane, Catherine O'Brien Absent: Sammy Lucario, Geiby George Call to Order Terry Ruiz called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. Minutes Minutes of the April 18, 2013 meeting were reviewed. Elizabeth made a motion to accept the minutes; Crystal seconded the motion. Minutes approved. Treasurer's Report Because he was running late, Geoff sent the information via email. He recommended that the CD be rolled over for another three months. He reported that he was unable to roll over the $300, and that he couldn't resolve the financial statement. Catherine made the motion to roll over the CD for another three months; Elizabeth seconded the motion. The motion was approved. Pearland Community Friends Report Andrew reported that there was no July meeting and that the next meeting of the Friends group will be the third Tuesday, September 17, at 7 p.m. The Friends are sponsoring a presentation by Dion McInnis, author of Daddin': The Verb of Being a Dad on Tuesday, July 10, at 7 p.m. They will be providing refreshments, and will receive a portion of books that are sold. There was a discussion about publicity for the Friends. Lisa reported that each Friends group has 2 contact emails per year. Terry said that she is willing to help Mona with a joint event or with a newsletter. Lisa said that both organizations are registered and separate, but that they can do joint activities. The group has bags to give away to new members, but most members enroll online. Lisa said that the county allows merchandising within reason. Friends of Pearland Westside Report Terry reported that the groups need more active people because they are losing some due to moves. Terry reported that they still have sufficient funds, but have given out some. Lisa said that they Freeport Friends have an annual author dinner, and that Alvin had an author with their membership luncheon. BCLS Board Representative Report Terry reported that the dinner is August 29, at the Fair Grounds. Doors open at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 6:30. Mickey Gilley will play, and J. D. Davis will discuss his book, Unconquered: The Saga of Three Cousins. They will be autographing the books. Tickets are $40, with sponsorship levels of $100, $250, $500, and $1000. Tickets are available at each library. There will be no baskets for a silent auction this time. Brazoria County Library System Director's Report Lisa reported that Cathy sends her regrets. She is retiring on August 30. There is a reception at the Court House (West) Annex in Angleton from 2-4 p.m. Invitations with go out at the beginning of August. The county has posted the position for director and is accepting applications. The annual report has been submitted. A copy is available at the branches. The 2014 budget has been submitted to commissioner's court, with a marginal increase in materials and to support the Pearland expansion. The county library held its staff picnic. The book sale is July 25-27, with set up on Thursday and sales all day Friday and Saturday. Most of the help is required on the evening of July 25. Geoff reported that he notified the man about picking up the leftovers like he did last year. Lisa said they will be ready on Monday, after the sale. Lisa reported that the state legislative session went well for libraries this year. They recovered most of the TexShare databases, including K-12 schools. ISDs pay only a portion of the fee, but at a significant discount over what it would normally cost. Three much-needed archivists were restored. There was $1 million for the Sam Houston Center in Liberty. It is a historical and tourist site. Restoration of the funds strengthened the case for maintenance of effort, so the library system may not lose as much in federal funding as anticipated. Representative Thompson passed legislation that allows counties to access civil penalties for fines and issue warrants. Enforcement could create publicity issues. Any number of cities has a checkmark whereby you can donate money to the library through the water bill. The money accumulated cannot supplant existing funds. The board may want to keep an eye on this. The city should portion out the money between the two branches. Crystal will investigate. There is a coffee vending machine in the meeting room. The county is considering an RFP to determine the popularity among patrons. The county is not looking to make a profit. Pearland Westside Branch Manager's Report Ginny reported that they have everything from the contractor, but they have not heard from the property manager. If they need to get action, Ginny will let Cathy know to acquire the city's assistance with the lease holder. There was a discussion around the lease which includes a prohibition of outside groups holding meetings in the library. Meetings are restricted to the library board, Friends groups, library events, and voting. It doesn't include groups such as Girl Scouts, or even book clubs. Several meetings had to be cancelled, including one with a city employee. The city is looking into the issue. The library opened 8 weeks ago and has been very busy. The circulation is around 60,000 1 the first 8 weeks. That is averaging 54 items/ person/ hour, when the average in the system is 12.1 items/ person/ hour. The Pearland and Westside branches account for % of the system's circulations. The children's section has been changed by moving it to the corner. This has reduced the volume of noise and playing, which in turn reduces the chance of injury. The summer reading program has led to 1500 new card applications, double the number of patrons. There is lots of attendance at the program and sign ups continue. People are still discovering the branch. They will be putting in a self check machine. They are shifting one shelver, possibly two, to the branch as positions come open. They are considering splitting a position between Pearland and Westside when Andrew hires the next position. One of the board members asked how this compared to other branches after they opened. Lisa explained that the last branch to open was Danbury, but it was much smaller and probably not a good comparison. When Alvin reopened after the fire, there was an initial increase in attendance that leveled off after 9 months. Lisa suggested waiting until January to getting a clearer picture of attendance. Pearland Branch Librarian's Report As a result of the budget meeting with the city, adjustments were made to accommodate the additional library branch. Andrew reported that the city no longer appears to be turning the air conditioner off when the library is not open. Climate issues appear to have been reduced. Problem with the contracted custodians hired through a Georgia company—that is, the same company being used by the commissioners. An M&M was left on the floor for over a week. They do not appear to be vacuuming, and if they are not cleaning the floors regularly, it begs the question about the cleanliness of the bathrooms. Documents distributed to the board included branch statistics, monthly performance measures, the current budget and the proposed budget. The board discussed the expansion of the Pearland Library and the possibility of reviewing the plans. From the county's perspective, increasing space affects staffing and the county needs to be included in the conversation. Catherine made a motion for either Sammy or Terry to contact the city manager for a presentation on the planned expansion to date; Geoff seconded the motion. The motion carried. It was mentioned that as the building is repurposed, the circulation desk has to be reworked. It is too big for the library. The board discussed the repair of the artwork. Several companies were suggested—Aaron Brothers, Texas Art Supply, and Hobby Lobby. Andrew explained that two self -checks need to be moved, but no decision has been made about their relocation. AED training will occur in August. Ginny mentioned that they would like to have First Aid training at the Westside branch. After business was concluded, Elizabeth made a motion to adjourn; Geoff seconded. The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Catherine O'Brien, Secretary