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2008 5-15Library Advisory Board May 15, 2008 Members Present: Elizabeth Bryan, Kemp Burdette, Mary Hatcher, Bettie Harrison, Tami Hinshaw, Eleanore Lipscomb-Warren, Jacqueline O’Grady, Gwen Rohler, Elizabeth Stanfield-Maddox, Paul Walker Staff Members: David Paynter, Harry Tuchmayer Absent Members: Conrad Luhmann, Frank Oddo Meeting began at 2:30 PM Public Comment & Agenda review: No public comments this month. The May Agenda was approved. MINUTES: April 2008 Library Advisory Board Minutes Approved. CORRESPONDENCE: The Library received a very nice note from Marie Spencer who recently retired as Reference Librarian. The Library was recognized for the 5th year in a row as being a Safe Workplace. The Children’s department, at the Main branch, received flowers and hand-made thank you cards from 4th & 5th grade New Horizons students. DIRECTORS REPORT: The Board reviewed the May 2008 Customer Service Survey. Almost 1,000 surveys were conducted and results were positive. The Library will reword “look for materials” under th?e Purpose for Visit category to find out if this was for Reference or for Check Outs. The percentages for Library programs and meetings was lower than expected and may have been due to low meeting room booking on the particular day of the survey. Michael Van Hout, a popular local artist, displayed his life-size zebra sculptors at the Main Library. Myrtle Grove Library will celebrate their 15-year anniversary on Saturday, May 31st at the branch. Beverly Tetterton, Local History Librarian, has just acquired an 1863 Civil War map of Eastern NC that shows the areas of the coast under blockade. It was purchased by the Friends of the Library for the NC room. The Star News has contacted Beverly about giving their entire photo collection to the library. The collection consists of over 20 file cabinets full of material and will be a great addition to the NC room. 1 David Paynter formally announced his retirement to the Board. His last day will be Friday, July 25th. There will be a retirement party held at the Main Library on the 25th from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. There will be an open search process to fill his position. The Board moved that they would like for the County Commissioners to include them in the interview process. Alice Sheridan, Consumer Health Librarian, has offered to fill in as an interim director until the position is filled. A complete copy of the customer survey and the Director’s formal monthly report will be attached to the minutes. FRIEND’S REPORT: John Danylyk, President of the Friends of the Library, has resigned. Janice Milligan may be stepping into this new position. COMMITTEE REPORTS: NOMINATING – The board will present the new slate of officers in August and will vote in September. OLD BUSINESS: Myrtle Grove: A public meeting was held to discuss the plans for Battle Park. The public expressed that they do not want to sell the property and were very upset that the County Commissioners did not attend the meeting. At this point, it is uncertain if the park will be part of the Myrtle Grove expansion. 2009 Budget: David Paynter went over the recommended Library budget with the board. The Library was pleased to see a small increase in Temporary Salaries. The Director’s formal report, containing addition budget information, will be attached to the minutes. Library Day: On May 21st the following board members will be heading to Raleigh for Library Day: David Paynter, Harry Tuchmayer, Eleanore Lipscomb-Warren, Jacqueline O’Grady, Gwen Rohler, Mary Hatcher and Elizabeth Stanfield-Maddox. Mr. Paynter has reserved a County van to travel in. NEW BUSINESS: Summer Reading Club: Margaret Miles, Children’s Librarian, demonstrated the new Evance registration software. It is currently displayed on the Library’s website home page. This years Summer Reading Club will be for kids, teens and adults. Online registration began last Saturday (5/10/08) and already 89 people had registered. Members will be able to not only log their books and time reading, but they can write a review that may be posted as public or private. Meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m. Attachment: David Paynter’s April Director’s Report 2 May 2008-Library Director’s Report I had an opportunity to visit the North Regional Branch of the Durham County Library last month. This is a “Lead Certified” building, which means it incorporates environmentally sensitive building techniques. What most impressed me was the amount of natural light in the building and the sense of spaciousness this created. The Director said in their next branch he would be making several changes: increased reliance on self-checkout, and a single service desk which had a lower profile. Juvenile use is very high since the library sits between two schools. The picture below gives you a good sense of the natural lighting in the building. This is one reason that I support building our own facility for Myrtle Grove’s replacement rather than lease space in a shopping center. Regarding leasing, the North Carolina State Library, finally responded about that option as it relates to Myrtle Grove, which was built with federal funds. I have included the message in its entirety. David: I've conferred with staff at IMLS regarding your query about the Myrtle Grove branch. First, as you remembered, the Federal Government retains an interest in the building (a percentage based on the original cost) for 20 years following completion. That interest or share rolls over 3 4 to a new building if such occurs before the 20 years is up, or you pay the Federal Govt back in proportional share --based on today's value. In the case of a leasing option, the leased building should be an improvement of the existing building, be at least as many square feet, provide handicapped access etc. And still, the Federal share cannot exceed 50%. Bottom line: IMLS tells us that it would not be impossible for the leasing option to take place, BUT it would have to be approved at the Director (of IMLS) level, and would require a special petition to the director. The percentage of Federal interest would be a factor. Based on the final completion report on the Myrtle Grove project, the Federal share is about 28.02%. Final total cost was reported as $825,164, and the LSTA amount was $231,238. There would have to be quite a bit more conversation about this, but I hope this answer is some help to you and your county manager. --Penny The County Manager’s recommended budget is supportive of the library. Especially gratifying is the full support of the library director’s recommended budget. While no new positions were supported, there was a small increase in the part-time account. The plan to move towards replacing our current Integrated Library System (ILS) is moving forward within the Information Technology budget where it is the number one priority. A copy of the recommended budget is Library staff met with IT and staff from the manager’s office to go over the County reorganization. We feel comfortable that the library will be well served under this arrangement. The library’s system analyst and support specialist will still reside in the library and interact with staff here. While there will be some work with other cultural agencies, that work should compliment library activities. Online registration for the Summer Reading Club begins May 10. The themes are Catch the Reading Bug (younger children), and Metamorphosis (teens). Margaret Miles will be at the meeting to discuss the library’s program. This will be the first year the Library will be using the new E-Vance online registration product. This is the same product which produces the online calendar on our website. We are currently testing the meeting room booking component. Looking forward to Library Day. Rumor has it that the Lt. Governor, Beverly Perdue, will make an appearance reading to kids from Wake County.