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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 01 16 2020 LABMinutes 11 21 2019 LAB Page 1 Library Advisory Board January 16, 2020 Assembly: The Library Advisory Board met in Regular Session on Thursday, at 2:00 p.m. at Main Library in Wilmington, NC. Board Members Brewington, Jan PRESENT Chadurjian, Denise PRESENT Conlon, Dennis PRESENT Damutz, Amy PRESENT Dodd, Scott PRESENT Guenther, Joy PRESENT Miles, Linda PRESENT Montwieler, Katherine EXCUSED Shore, Sam PRESENT Smith, Ida PRESENT Smith, Paul PRESENT Zimmer, Ronna EXCUSED Staff Members & Board Reps. Tom Brimberry (FOL Rep), Paige Owens (Library Director), Yvette Mays (Admin) Welcome Denise Chadurjian convened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Public Comment None Agenda Review Agenda was approved by consent. Approval of previous minutes The minutes from the past board meeting on 11/16/19 were sent to the board prior to the meeting for review. Motion: Amy Damutz MOVED, SECONDED by Dennis Conlon, to accept the minutes of the 12/21/19 meeting as written. Upon vote, the MOTION WAS CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Correspondence Paige Owens reported that the library had received two positive emails from patrons, which she shared with the board. Friends of the Library Tom Brimberry presented the following report: The January annual planning meeting reiterated three purposes for FOL: Support, Advocacy & Service. Minutes 11 21 2019 LAB Page 2 For 2020, the three priorities identified are: 1. Increase community awareness about library services and the benefits of the library to the community 2. Increase awareness about The Friends activities that support the library 3. Increase community participation in the Friends & Library activities FOL Goals:  Work with Paige Owens & Susan DeMarco to improve Story Walks  Increase volunteer assistance with book sale  Film downtown historic library stroll  Develop a new library tour  Explore establishment of new book clubs and a guest speaker  Promote LEAD awards o Paige Owens stated that the FOL had recently received recognition in the State FOL magazine for their LEAD Awards Director’s Report Paige Owens distributed and discussed the following Director’s report to the board. New Hanover County news  The Partnership Advisory Group on researching options for the future of NHRMC, released a request for proposals January 13 with responses due back on Monday, March 16. While the RFP is out, the PAG will examine options for NHRMC to remain a stand-alone county-owned public hospital.  New Hanover County received a bid of $1,240,000 for the former Myrtle Grove Library site that was accepted by the Board of Commissioners. It went through the upset bid process and an upset bid was not submitted. The county will move forward with the original bid and a closing date has been set for January 31, 2020. NHCPL News Facilities Pine Valley  One commissioner floated the idea of glass walls to enclose the children’s riser area so it could be used for programs without impacting the rest of the library. Property Management researched this idea and found the code requirements make this impractical. Staff have adapted to the space and expressed satisfaction with the current configuration.  Coffee service continues to be a conundrum. We welcome input from the board. We do not see a solution that would pay for itself without a large impact on staff. Patrons asked for it in the building plan and express support for maintaining it, but donations do not offset the expense.  Parking lot painting was a great benefit. Now patrons are noting that there is a curb at the crosswalk access point. We will consider options with Property Management.  A contract for carpet installation in The Nest has been authorized. Acoustic panels have been affixed to the walls.  We intend to use donated funds from the McCartney Trust (access for older patrons) to pay for an automatic door opener for the adult room.  Pine Valley will be a primary early voting site February 13-29. Minutes 11 21 2019 LAB Page 3 Northeast Library  Senior Resource Center is undergoing renovations and the library will house their VITA tax preparation service in the Northeast computer lab beginning in mid-March. Main Library  No news on Project Grace Pleasure Island  Preliminary information on the neighboring space is 1600 square feet at $1820 per month. This will be included in budget requests. The space would be used for library programs and public meetings. Technology  A budget proposal for improved public access computers is being prepared. Staff  Staff Development Day coming up February 17.  Hires have been made for the 20-hour weekend assistant at Pleasure Island (Frances Reyes started this week) and an ALOHA Associate (to begin January 28).  The library’s reorganization plan has been implemented  Library Strategy Group (LSG) planning tour of Richland County (Columbia, SC) public library March 30. Budget Several budget requests are being prepared for submittal by the deadline of January 24:  Public Access Computers ($75,000 year one)  40-hour children's associate, NE ($45,448 annually)  Eliminate fines on children's materials ($48,000)  Casual part-time budget increase (10%, approx. $20,000)  Pleasure Island lease arrangement ($21,840 annually plus up fit)  Northchase Library (numbers updated. ($935,714 in FY22-23; $7,779,124 in FY23-24)  Renovation NE (working on numbers--$50,000?)  Renovation Main (working on numbers--$50,000?) In addition to the budget requests, some low-to-no budget impact policy/work process changes are being considered:  Meeting rooms limited to nonprofit only (loss: $7,500 annually)  Expand preprocessing of materials (RFID tags) ($14,000—can be absorbed in current allocation)  contract with Unique Management for delinquent patron accounts (budget neutral)  Call center for incoming public calls (pilot planned for under $5,000)  PV landscape enhancements (Foundation and Friends donations $30,000-plus) Committee Reports none Minutes 11 21 2019 LAB Page 4 New Business Review of LGBT reply letter The board reviewed and discussed the patron letter and reply letter at length. A reply letter was drafted by the board and signed by the Chair to be mailed this week. Old Business Bird Boxes in Story Park Amy Damutz reported that she has met with Andy Wood of Habitat Gardens (former director for the NC National Audubon Society) to assess the viability of erecting bird/bat boxes adjacent to Storybook Park. The on-site assessment shows that while bird boxes are viable, they are not ideal for all birds. Options to consider would be bat shutters, butterfly boxes, toad homes, murals. Amy asked the board for their direction and thoughts on the project. She was asked to provide photo ideas at the next meeting. Final Business Denise Chadurjian stated that due to time constraints, the final two topics under Old Business would be carried over to the next meeting. 1. Community Engagement Discussion 2. LAB Volunteer Opportunities at the Library Adjournment Meeting adjourned 3:55 p.m. Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the Library Advisory Board meeting.