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Minutes 04 18 2013 LABLAB Minutes 04 18 2013 Page 1 Library Advisory Board April 18, 2013 Assembly: The Library Advisory Board met in Regular Session on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the New Hanover County Public Library, 201 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, NC. Members Present: Gwendolyn Brown, Kemp Burdette, Nancy Cox, Mary Hatcher (Chair), Conrad Luhmann, John Osinski, Virginia Teachey Members Excused: Carroll Jones, Ellen O’Malley, Deloris Rhodes, Elizabeth Stanfield, Harry Tuchmayer Members Absent: Mary Springer Library Staff Members: Paige Owens FOL Rep: Harriett Smith The meeting was called to order by Chair, Mary Hatcher at 2:00 p.m. Chair Hatcher called for a minute of silence for the Boston Marathon tragedy. Chair Hatcher informed the Board that Elizabeth Stanfield was not in attendance today due to the death of her sister yesterday. Public Comment and Agenda Review No members of the public were present. Chair, Mary Hatcher asked if any members of the board would like to remove or add any item(s) from the Agenda. Being no changes, the board accepted the Agenda. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting The Board approved the minutes from the February 2, 2013 meeting as written. CORRESPONDENCE Paige Owens reported that the Director had received a letter from a patron who commented on our online renewal system and excellent customer service. She also shared one of the Star News articles relating to the recent Book Sale. LAB Minutes 04 18 2013 Page 2 FRIENDS’ REPORT Harriett Smith reported the following:  The March Book Sale was a huge success. We made more money this time and had fewer books leftover.  The Friends had a half day workshop/meeting with Library staff to set up the calendar for FOL sponsored events at the library.  The Friends are now using an online subscription service, Evite, to invite members to events.  This Sunday (4/21) at 3:00 p.m. there will be an event at the Northeast Branch to thank all library volunteers. DIRECTORS REPORT Harry Tuchmayer was unable to attend today’s meeting. In his absence, Paige Owens, presented the board with a Director’s report which she discussed with the board. In addition to the items covered in the report, Paige reported on the following:  TLC (The Library Catalog System) has asked the Library to host the June 12-14, 2013 conference at our Main Library. The advantage for us is that our staff will attend the conference for free.  County IT staff is working on new GIS (Geographic Information Systems) mapping & data software. The Library had asked them to insert a list of our patrons into the software to determine where patrons live in relation to our library locations. The results of this data will be presented to the County Mangers at the next GIS demo.  Hiring is underway for new Circulation Assistant at the Northeast Branch.  Three new part-time/weekend staff members have recently been hired.  Storywalk Update: The next book “Bug Safari” will be featured at the Arboretum. Followed by the book “For Just One Day” which will possibly be installed at Empie Park. COMMITTEE REPORTS Grounds Enhancement – Carolina Courtyard Park The Committee (Virginia Teachey, Kemp Burdette & Mary Hatcher) reported on the following:  The County has agreed to commit a portion of the Parks Bond money to the project to be used for renovations.  Plans are to develop the Park layout so that the public can only enter the park through the library.  We will create a learning garden with native plants.  The Art Museum has expressed interest in relocating the sculpture in the fountain to the Art Museum. They personally know the artist and will be in contact with him.  We have met with B&O Designs to inquire about plans for an enclosed garden/park. They have submitted a proposal with a fee not to exceed $3,000. Asst. County Mgr., Tim Burgess, has approved the proposal for us to move forward with B&O. Mary Hatcher asked the board if they would be comfortable with the design & layout change. All members present agreed to move forward. LAB Minutes 04 18 2013 Page 3 Myrtle Grove Expansion Harriett Smith, Committee Chair, stated that the committee met with Harry Tuchmayer at the Myrtle Grove Branch to discuss options and tour the facility. The decision was made to keep that Myrtle Grove branch where it is and contact architects to present plans for the expansion of the branch. Harry Tuchmayer sent out requests for proposals to five architects. He has met with 4 of the 5 interested. Dates will be sent for the Committee (Harriett Smith, Conrad Luhmann, Ellen O’Malley & Elizabeth Stanfield, Mary Hatcher, & Bob Mayo) and H. Tuchmayer & P. Owens to meet with the architects to hear presentations in early May. Once an architect is selected, H. Tuchmayer will meet with the County Managers to have the project added to the agenda for approval. Harriett Smith commented that on April 3rd she toured the State Library in Raleigh. They have a state of the art facility that we can learn a lot from. Many ideas can be applied to the functionality of the Myrtle Grove Branch. OLD BUSINESS Library Budget Update Paige Owens reported that not a lot has happened to date. We are hearing positive feedback from our Budget Analyst. Effective June 20th, the Smart Start – Growing Readers program will no longer be funded by the State. We have asked for a 50,000 adjustment to our budget to create our own program, “Every Child Ready to Read”. This would allow the Library to hire two part time staff members. If passed, we will revamp our children’s programming. Library Legislative Day Report Harriett Smith reported that the group had productive meetings with Senator Thom Goolsby and Representative Ted Davis. They met briefly with Rep. Rick Catlin and were unable to see Rep. Rabon. Adjournment There being no further business, Chair Hatcher adjourned the meeting at 3:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kemp Burdette New Hanover County Library Advisory Board Yvette Mays NHCPL Administrative Support Specialist Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the Library Advisory Board meeting.