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2008 3-201 Library Advisory Board March 20, 2008 Members Present: Elizabeth Bryan, Mary Hatcher, Betty Harrison, Tami Hinshaw, Conrad Luhmann, Jacqueline O’Grady, Elizabeth Stanfield-Maddox, Paul Walker Friends of the Library: John Danylyk Staff Members: David Paynter, Harry Tuchmayer Asst. County Mgr.: Chris Coudriet Absent Members: Kemp Burdette, Eleanore Lipscomb-Warren, Frank Oddo, Gwen Rohler Meeting began at 2:30 PM PUBLIC COMMENT: None NEW BOARD MEMBER: The board welcomed a new member, Bettie Harrison. Mrs. Harrison is from Connecticut and moved to Wilmington 13 years ago. She had worked for the Library for the past 12 years a Substitute Reference Librarian. She will be a great addition to the board and will be able to provide great prospective. MINUTES: February 2008 Library Advisory Board Minutes Approved. CORRESPONDENCE: None this month. The Library did receive 3 comment cards from patrons. Two sisters each filled out cards in the Children’s dept. One loved this library and the other could not find what she? needed. The third card was requesting a map of the library’s layout. Mary Kleinfeldt, our Children’s Librarian agreed to create one for us. She had previously developed one for the Children’s dept. DIRECTORS REPORT • The Library’s courier van has been replaced by a 2002 Dodge Mini-van. It is 2 years old and has 24,000 miles. This van is much easier to drive and side doors allow better access to the cargo. In addition, the back seats can be reinstalled to allow for groups to travel to library events. David Paynter also commented on how quickly and efficiently Vehicle Management reacted to the situation and replaced the totaled van in record time. 2 • The Madafo Lloyd Wilson story time was a success and 65 people were in attendance. • P’08try @Your Library – Patrons of all ages were asked to write a poem about size, scale or measurement (see “BIG” and “little” exhibits at Cameron Art Museum for ideas). We received 57 poems. • The local chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution gave the Library an 18th century copy of the London Chronicle describing the stamp act defiance in Wilmington. • Asia in Focus series on March 10th was very well received. Many home-schooled and charter school students attended the program. • Over 400 people attended the Career and College Fair at the Main Library on March 8th. It was sponsored by Jack & Jill, an African American service organization devoted to education and family support. • Track students from the University of Buffalo (SUNY) “camped out” at the Northeast Library the week prior to their competition at UNCW on March 14th. • The Library hosted over 100 Librarians from eastern NC for training on the 2008 North Carolina Summer Reading Program. • The day following the February Library Advisory Board meeting, Tim Rogers, the Executive Director of NC LIVE, North Carolina’s virtual library, visited Wilmington. Staff were able to provide Tim with their perspective on how well NC LIVE serves the public library community. This is especially important since all the resources of NC LIVE will be up for renewal next year. A survey recently completed by library staff throughout North Carolina indicated that there were very few NC LIVE products which various communities of interest did not wish renewed. The major challenge will be to find the funding to support those areas in which more resources were requested: literature, science, and history. Tim was very complimentary of our facilities and thought the Northeast Regional Library was the finest branch library he had seen in North Carolina. • Later in the week (Feb 29) Harry and I attended the library’s budget session. The library’s capital request for a new Integrated Library System has been transferred to the Information Technology department budget ($242K), and is that department’s number one priority. We both stressed the need for additional staffing at the Library given increases in library use and our inability to adequately staff service desks with the current level of personnel. Historically, the number of library staff has lagged significantly behind both the rate of population growth and rate of growth in county government. Staffing levels are below the state average while library services are consistently in the top quartile. There was very little comment from County administration other than to note the financial difficulty faced by New Hanover County because of slower economic growth and inflated revenue projections. • Library use continues to grow with a 13% increase in circulation. This was across all branches and included all formats. Last month olds & Loans have increased by 30% and interlibrary loan by 78% 3 Circulation Totals by Location 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 Main Northeast Myrtle Grove Carolina Beach ALOHA Growing Readers Web Gatew ay Current FY Previous FY • The VITA program continues to be extraordinarily successful with over 700 returns filed to date. This was their estimate for the year. The stimulus package has had a great deal to do with this and many of the customers are here to file their first income tax in years. NPR aired this story on Morning Edition, March 5, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?a tion=1&t=1&islist=fals e&id=87912370&m=87912343 • Our Genealogy workshops, with David Norris, have been very well received with over 100 in attendance at each meeting. On March 15, the Library was honored by the presence of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. At the end of the month Earl Braggs, creative writing professor will read his poetry as a southern tea party, where the guests are to attend with appropriate attire (Hat-tidues: A Party with Poetry). • • Plans are being made for Library Day on May 21 in Raleigh so keep that date open. The library community is trying to get additional funding for collections. We will be highlighting services offered by libraries and will have a number of story book characters wandering through the halls of the General Assembly. The Library will be taking a van so please make your reservation. • In April, all library branches will be conducting Fill Rate Surveys. It will basically be the same format as the one we conducted last year. It will be an exit survey so that we can get truer results. This year we will add the library’s new wireless access to the survey. Two years ago, we had added a question regarding internet access to the survey. Many patrons were not aware of this feature until they took the survey. We hope that adding questions regarding the addition of wireless access will draw the same awareness. We will have the final results by the May meeting. FRIENDS REPORT The Friends of the Library Board of Directors met on March 11. Three issues dominated our discussions: Advocacy, the Spring Book Sale, and the Program for the Annual Meeting of the General Membership in November. 4 • Advocacy: Tami Hinshaw resigned from the Board of Directors. Our work on Advocacy presses on, however, with the President and the Book Sale Committee Chair leading the charge. All Board members are encouraged to attend meetings of the County Commissioners to advocate for the library. The FOL Board approved a draft text for a Letter to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners protesting the cut in the library’s budget in 2008 and announcing the beginning of a publicity campaign to increase the library’s budget. The “Letter” – as well as a Letter to the Editor of the Star-News – will be “in the mail” by week’s end. Informational materials and a petition opposing any cuts in the library’s annual budget will be on an “Advocacy Table” at the Book Sale. • Book Sale: Preparations for the Spring Book Sale (April 4-10) are in high gear. Help will be needed every morning beginning next week (March 24-28) in setting up tables at Northeast Regional; Board members are encouraged to help. The date for Fall Book Sale remains the same (October 3-9). Dates for the Spring 2009 Book Sale have been tentatively set for April 24-30. In addition to pushing our Advocacy goals at the Spring Book Sale, the Friends will begin publicizing our Annual Meeting (scheduled for November 13). We have an outstanding speaker committed for the event. • Annual Meeting: Set for Thursday, November 13th at Northeast Regional, the Friends have a commitment from Dr. David Carr. His program is tentatively titled “An American Library in an American Community.” On the heels of the Presidential elections, Dr. Carr plans to address civic themes, notably “civic discourse and the community library as a place for conversation.” • Membership: As of March 11, the Friends had 597 members. The FOL Board will meet again on Tuesday, April 14, at the Main Library at 2PM. COMMITTEE REPORTS Nominating The Nomination committee (Paul Walker & Elizabeth Stanfield-Maddox) recommends the nomination of Mary Hatcher in the special election to fill the vacancy of Vice Chair. The motion to approved and elected by acclamation. OLD BUSINESS Myrtle Grove We are still looking at potential sites. Nancy Pritchett was interested in the Home Depot site. David Paynter forwarded his request to purchase a site versus leasing one. Myrtle Grove had used an LSCA Grant ($300,000) for their existing site. $500,000 was applied towards the creation or planning of a park. We are not able to use this money towards a replacement facility. We may be able to connect a new Library to a 5 park. Chris Coudriet and David Paynter will be working with the Bond Attorneys to find out how the money can be used effectively and legally. 2009 Budget David Paynter meet with Chris Coudriet at the recent budget hearings. They are waiting for guidelines from the County Commissioners. NEW BUSINESS Advocacy Workshop David Paynter attended a two day advocacy workshop sponsored by the North Carolina State Library. Using the Public Library Association toolkit, Libraries Prosper with Passion, Purpose and Persuasion! The speakers talked about the need for libraries to link their advocacy efforts to issues within the community and community values. There were also sessions on how to frame the appropriate message for a particular audience. The notebook, itself, gave some great templates for surveys, return on investment, and action plans. It was unfortunate that a board member was unable to attend since I think they would have found it helpful. Trustee Conference David Paynter and Mary Hatcher attended the Trustee Conference in Sunset Beach. Mary shared with the board a statistical report of all North Carolina Libraries. New Hanover County raked 8th in population with a total operating income of $3,943,266. A complete copy of the report was emailed to all board members. National Library Workers Day April 15th is National Library Workers Day. The Board was asked to write thank you notes to all the Library staff members. Library Day in Raleigh May 21st is Library Day in Raleigh. All board members are encouraged to make plans to attend. Jim Crawford’s Bill Jim Crawford will be introducing a piece of legislature. The bill would provide every library with a $10,000 allocation. Be sure to contact your representatives and ask them to support Jim Crawford’s bill. You can go to the General Assembly website to get names, addresses, emails and phone numbers. Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.