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BM 2010 04-08 LB MEMORANDUM TO: Library Board FROM: Kathleen P. Metz Edwards, Library Director DATE: April 5, 2010 SUBJECT: April’s Report for Library Board Library Board meets on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 6:00pm in the Library Program Room. Regular meeting follows the Council Work Session in the Library Board Room. Workload Indicators: March circulation is leveling out with a 1% increase. This is good as we cannot sustain double digit increases with existing resources. Holds have come down for a second month. I am not ready to call it a trend but the change in pickup time could be causing folks to think twice about tying up a best seller. Again, this policy decision was driven by demand vs. resources. The new Internet computers showed a substantial increase, 4% over last year. The old Internet computers were a source of frustration for all. They provided service for 7 years which is several “lifetimes” when one considers pc life! The library supported the largest number of WiFi users since we began the service – 982 sessions! Loan Star Libraries: The final phase of the LSL install, six service desk computers, is now complete which completes the grant process for State Fiscal Year 2010. Joint Council Work Session with Library and Park’s Boards and Library Expansion Feasibility Study: Sandwiches will be provided for supper. The joint work session with the Thursday April 8, 2010 at City Council and the Library and Park’s Boards will be held on 6:00pm in the Library Program Room. Denelle Wrightson, PSA/Dewberry architect will present the Study findings. This item also appears on the Regular Board meeting agenda. Discussion FY 10/11 preliminary budget: The budget is due on April 14, 2010. The budget has been prepared as directed by the City Manager’s Office. Board input from the Five Year Plan discussion in the Fall was considered. Staff were initially directed to prepare a flat budget on the “O&M” side (all but personnel accounts). As the year has progressed, staff were told to prepare a budget with additional reductions. 501 C3 Foundation: City Attorney David Dodd responded to the question posed at the last meeting. The foundation is a separate body. The quorum problem exists if the foundation members discuss board issues. 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. 3-4-10 – I appreciate the new internet workstations. I prefer the old way of assigning workstations – i.e. in sequence from 1 up. If I have printing to do I am assigned 14. it’s a lot of walking back and forth. Tom A. Response from Vicki Chiavetta: We received your comment form re: the assigning of internet workstations in the library and appreciate your input. I'd like to explain why we have changed the order of assignments. Last summer we upgraded the Internet computers, at which time we switched from a random assignment to one that put people in numeric order. When we did that, we had several complaints about people being seated next to each other early in the day. It appeared that the early users liked the old way of being assigned in such a way as to be spread out. Therefore, when we replaced the computers in February we changed it back to a random order. I apologize for any inconvenience it has caused you and also want to let you know that you do have an option of waiting to print all of your documents at one time. The print queue retains what you have sent to be printed for 2 hours. If I can be of further assistance, please let me know. 3-6-10 – This library is a jewel and I have not one complaint, although I do have a few suggestions. I wish we had a volunteer program to benefit the citizens. A used book drive would be a way to benefit the library. Some municipalities have been newsworthy of late as they raise monies and encourage citizen participation in programs and services of the library. How about asking former First Lady Laura Bush to visit our library and selling tickets to a lunch? This library is one of my favorite (personal) library to hang-outs of all time. In the past I have been a volunteer at local libraries, but was a little saddened that volunteers were not “needed” here. When told this, I was a little surprised, as I have never heard of a library (or any such organization) that didn’t welcome volunteer partnership and participation. LindaS My response to the suggestor. It is lengthy but I wanted to let the citizen know that we do have a strong volunteer program. Thank you for taking the time to complete a Compliments and Suggestions Survey and to give me your contact information. I really appreciate having the opportunity to get back to citizens. I also appreciate your comment that “This library is a jewel”. You stated that you “wish we had a volunteer program to benefit the citizens”. Indeed, we have a very successful program that provided more than 1000 volunteer hours in FY2009. The library’s Volunteen Program has provided support for the Summer Reading Program for many years. We have had to cap the program as we have more students than we can oversee. Volunteens assist in all facets of the program including distributing logs and incentives, assisting in “crowd control” for the programs and working with younger children on their crafts. The Volunteens must be between 12 and 16. Coppell is youth-friendly and support for the program is very evident. You mentioned a used book drive as a possible suggestion. The library has an ongoing book sale where we sell weeded and used books. In FY2009, the library collected $2856.25 in used book sales. Since the library does not have a Friends of the Library group, the staff collects the payments which are deposited into the City’s General Fund. Several years ago the Library Board worked really hard to establish a Friends of the Library group which typically provides a venue for adult volunteers. They were not successful as they discovered the citizens were very busy and did not want to take the leadership to launch the group. The Library Board is now working on a 501 C3 Foundation. The paperwork has been submitted to the IRS and when approved, we will be seeking support. Programs that you mentioned such as inviting the former First Lady Laura Bush would be funded and organized by such a non-profit group. In smaller and rural communities, adult volunteers assist in library operations and other projects. The Coppell Library is extremely busy and enjoys one of the highest circulations per capita in the State. To meet the growing demand without adding staff, we have had to reconfigure workflows and move to automated processes such as self-check which accounts for nearly half the library’s circulation. While we have discussed possibly using volunteers for these functions, we have to deal with the reality of the library’s schedule. Our busiest times are in the evenings and weekends, not typically times volunteers wish to work. The other issue we must address with workflow is the sophisticated technology. The software is complex and requires a considerable investment in training. Patron records are confidential and will not be opened to volunteers. Also, volunteers are not permitted to log into the city’s secure network. The Information Services Desk is staffed with librarians who have Master’s degrees in Library Science and by library technicians who have Bachelor’s degrees and specialized library-related experience. The Library occasionally works with degreed librarian volunteers who are seeking to broaden their experience in a busy public library. We do at times have needs for adult volunteers for large projects such as scrubbing the program room furniture and one-time projects which typically involve physical work. Coppell adults are not interested in doing this kind of work, so we have been using Teen Court “volunteers”. Occasionally we do have other types of volunteer projects. We will keep your contact information and will let you know when such an opportunity comes up. City policy requires a Background Check for all adult volunteers. Another volunteer opportunity you may wish to consider is the Library Board. The Library Board is comprised of nine citizens each serving two year terms. City Council appoints members and will be seeking applicants August 2, 2010 through September 24, 2010 for terms beginning January 2011. The City sends out a mass mailing to all Coppell households alerting citizens to this opportunity. The City also advertises in the local papers, in the water bill insert and in its electronic newsletter Coppell Clips. If you do not receive Clips and would like to, you may sign up by going to the City’s webpage, www.coppelltx.gov and clicking on MyCoppell which you will find on the upper left-hand corner of the page. I do appreciate your thoughts and I will keep them in mind. If the Board revisits the Friends of the Library, I will pass on your contact information. Again, thank you again for taking the time to complete survey. See you all on Thursday.