BM 2010 03-08 LB
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Library Board
FROM:
Kathleen P. Metz Edwards, Library Director
DATE:
March 4, 2010
SUBJECT:
March’s Report for Library Board
Library Board meets on Thursday, March 11, 2010 in the Library Board Room at 7:00pm.
Workload Indicators:
February continues the trend toward increased circulation – 4% overall
and 9% for books. Holds were down 1%. In FY08/09 Holds varied throughout the year with 10
months showing increases and 2 months decreases. Overall year-to-date, Holds are up 5%.
WiFi usage continues to increase.
New City web page
www.coppelltx.gov : The City has a new redesigned webpage. Please note
that all emails have been changed to the new domain. If your security requires that you have an
entry in your address book, you need to add library@coppelltx.gov to receive email notices.
Loan Star Libraries:
The public internet computers were deployed on February 19, 2010 and
have been busy ever since. The first 18 days of February, there were 915 Internet sessions over
13,540 minutes. The last 10 days, there were 979 sessions over 37,809 minutes! The old
machines needed replacement. There are still six service desk computers that need to be
deployed. Staff are working on those now.
2009 Texas Public Library Survey:
Tom signed the report and it has been sent off to the State.
This report contains compiled statistics the Board received in FY 08/09. It also reports the
audited City funding of the library.
Library Board Chair’s Report to Council
: Tom gave an excellent report. I have attached for
your information.
Joint Council Work Session with Library and Park’s Boards and Library Expansion
Feasibility Study:
A joint work session with the City Council and the Library and Park’s
Thursday April 8, 2010 at6:00pm at the Library
Boards will be held on . This item will be
placed on the March Agenda for discussion. The City Manager has requested that Denelle
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Wrightson, PSA/Dewberry architect be prepared to discuss study findings on the 8. I have sent
the City Manager additional information from local libraries regarding recent projects.
501 C3 Foundation:
There were two follow-up items from the January meeting. The first, is it
ok for board members to serve on the library board and the library foundation or was this a
conflict of interest? City Attorney David Dodd’s response: The people can serve on both
boards. No conflict exists as long as the individuals do not gain a personal benefit from either
board. The second question, are the Foundation meetings subject to the Open Meetings Act?
David Dodd addressed the open meetings act question in 2006. The Foundation meetings are not
subject to the Open Meetings Act.The Foundation is not a City department.
eBranch:
This was on the February agenda. The Program Room was booked. The demo will
be scheduled as time permits.
City Desk
: The Water Bill insert for March is incorrect. The joint Council/Parks/Library
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meeting is on April 8 at 6:00PM at the library NOT April 5 at Fire Training as listed.
Comments and Suggestions:
Suggestions relating to the acquisition of new books, movies and
periodicals are given to Public Services staff for evaluation and follow-up. Appropriate items
are ordered or interlibrary loan is offered for those not appropriate for the collection.
2-1-10 - Coppell should look at providing ebook (Sony Reader) downloadable books.
Surrounding libraries are able to (Frisco and Denton). That would be a great addition. JM. Ms.
Ko’s email response: Thank you for your suggestion that the library purchase e-books that can
be transferred to offline readers that are Adobe compatible. We are currently working with
NetLibrary to implement this service for our citizens. We evaluate all our services based on
budget and staffing to support those services. We welcome citizen interest in the collection and
will seriously consider all requests for materials that meet the selection policy.
2-16-10 – Would like to suggest that you add a Mango Language (ESL) Hindi to English to learn
English. CS. Ms. Ko emailed this requestor and let her know that we have all the languages that
Mango offers. She recommended a CD which the requestor checked-out
2-16-10 – You should get automatic doors so you don’t have to set down your books when you
are leaving. Anonymous.The doors are ADA accessible. We implemented the automatic doors
at the external entry but decided against the automatic doors separating the lobby from the main
portion of the library due to the noise they make. Prior to the remodel in FY2005, noise was the
number one complaint.
2-22-10 – I would be great if you had another courtesy station. Anonymous. We may consider
this in the future space permitting. The new integrated library system needs space for a desktop
for users entering their own library card data. There is limited space at the standing carrel. The
decision was also made for the Express Station to be a standing station as it was not designed to
support lengthy Internet session.
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See you on Thursday
I would like to thank the Mayor and Council for the opportunity to speak tonight…
FY2008/2009:
In FY 08/09, the William T. Cozby Public Library circulated 611,821 items, or
15.4 items per capita, in nearly 300,000 visits. State-wide average for FY2008, which is the
latest year available, was 5.58 per capita. Circulation, in Coppell, increased 9% over FY 07/08.
This reflects an increased demand for all library services including use of the Internet and WiFi
which increased a whopping 76% with 7,545 WiFi sessions. Increased use of public libraries has
been documented throughout the country. Circulation of books increased 16% - so, so much for
the demise of the book. Once again, use of the library documents the library as a “Community
Gathering Place”.
The Library used its FY08/09 Loan Star Libraries grant to enhance the popular eBranch. The
Library’s FY09/10 Loan Star Libraries grant from the State will be used to replace all the public
computers.
As a side note to both the eBranch and the public computers, one other interesting statistic is the
number of catalog searches. In January, there were just over 2.3 million searches. This statistic
documents the increased growth of the eBranch and its electronic resources, whether users are in
the library or at home or work. The continued growth in Holds is also an indication of the
eBranch success. Last FY, the eBranch supported over 70,000 Holds’ requests. Holds have
increased 6.6% in FY10. This is a very popular service. Because of increased demand for
popular materials, the library has had to reduce the pickup time for Holds from 7 to 4 days. This
has caused some concern but it is a budgetary/space constraint.
Statistics trending for FY2009/2010:
For FY 2010, Year-to-Date, circulation is increasing
nearly 12% over the busy FY2009. Book circulation has increased 19%. WiFi usage is up 57%.
These statistics reflect citizens coming into the library for services.
Library Board Goals & Objectives for FY2009/2010:
Supporting the completion of a solid
feasibility study through collection of public input; supporting the advertisement and promotion
of potential library expansion throughout the community; and the final steps in the completion of
the establishment of a 501 C3 Foundation for the library.
Joint Program with CISD.
On October 8, 2009 the library participated in a nationwide event to
set a world record for the most number of people reading the same book on the same day. The
book was A Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The library began with reading the book at
story time and held readings every 30 minutes for the rest of the day. Children were invited to do
a caterpillar craft afterward. A teacher at Coppell Middle School East offered to have her middle-
school students read the story to elementary children which resulted in a high number of
participants. Consequently, the library reported that 3,051 people read the story that day.
Teen/Tween Survey and Services:
An important constituency among the Library patrons
continues to be the Teen/Tween group. Library staff surveyed this group at the end of the
Summer Reading Program. The survey was voluntary and staff received 53 responses.
Respondents provided useful and specific input. The input and the program developed by staff
as a result, were presented at the January 2010 Board meeting. The Library has created the Teen
Interest Group (TIG) to develop ideas for teen programming. TIG meets the third Friday of
every month with occasional special programs throughout the year and provides a number of
entertaining and educational programs for the participants. Public Services staff met with the
CISD librarians in December. Library staff are working with the CISD librarians on the 2010
Blue Bonnet program which is scheduled for April 20, 2010 in the Town Center Plaza. The
library program room will serve as a weather backup. The C-FB librarian for Riverchase
Elementary has also been included in the planning.
FY2009/2010 Architectural Review and Engineering Study:
The Library’s Coppell 2030
Strategies included expanding the Library to serve its citizens and its businesses. The Library
Board met with Architect Denelle Wrightson at the November 2009 meeting. Denelle explained
the scope of services to the Board. She also took Board input and answered questions relating to
the study. Staff provided feedback to the architect on the first draft. The architect incorporated
the input and delivered a second draft, December 15, 2009. With all the input – the Board’s and
staff’s, the building would need to be 49,467 SF.
Preliminary Recommendations:
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These will be discussed at length by the Architect at the April 8 joint Council/Boards meeting.
Preliminary recommendations include:
Increase the collection to 3.5 items per capita (currently 2.4) due to large use by citizens.
Increase quantity of best sellers and AV materials (books on CD/MP3/downloadables).
Merchandise collection, especially popular, teens’ and children’s materials.
Implement RFID (Radio Frequency ID) to increase self-check use.
Implement Automated Materials Handling to allow for robotic check in.
Expand program room to seat 200.
Create the following spaces:
small program room for 30.
auditorium with 125 fixed seats.
Teen program room for 40.
Eight group study/collaborative learning rooms for students and home-based
businesses.
Define an acoustical solution for the hard surfaced barrel ceiling without
destroying its spacious feel.
Concluding Statement:
The Library Board appreciates the support the city council has continued to give the library and
hope that as the city completes forward looking plans, we are able to meet the growing needs of
the community’s library services.