Minutes 03 19 09
1 Library Advisory Board March 19, 2009 Members Present: Rick Andrews, Kemp Burdette, Bettie Harrison, Mary Hatcher (Chair), Tami Hinshaw, Conrad Luhmann (Secretary), Marilyn McConnell,
Jacqueline O’Grady (Vice-Chair), Gwen Rohler, Paul Walker Staff Members: Harry Tuchmayer Asst. County Mgr.: Chris Coudriet Friends of the Lib: Rita Lewis Absent Members: Frank Oddo (excused),
Eleanore Lipscomb-Warren (excused) Meeting began at 2:05 PM The meeting was called to order by the presiding officer, Mary Hatcher. Public Comment & Agenda review: No public comments
this month. The March Agenda was approved. MINUTES February 2009 Library Advisory Board Minutes were approved. CORRESPONDENCE Mr. Tuchmayer reported that the Library had received several
comment cards regarding limited parking at the Northeast Branch. Susan Wood, Business Librarian, received a complementary card regarding her assistance to a patron who needed to learn
how to use the computers and printers. FRIENDS REPORT Rita Lewis, newly appointed President of the Friends of the Library, was welcomed by the Board and introductions were made. Mrs.
Lewis reported the following: Read Across America (Feb 28th, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) netted just under $400. The focus of purchases was younger children category. This is the first year that
the Friends have participated in the event. Membership is the focus for 2009. As of March 11, 2009 there are 291 members. Membership cards will be made available during the Spring Booksale
.
2 Publicity and Volunteer Committees are working tirelessly toward the success of the Spring Booksale. Booksale set-up is scheduled for April 8-23 with the sale beginning: April 24th
– Members preview April 25-30 – Open to the Public See attachment for pricing. Mrs. Lewis shared with the Board the posters and flyers for the Spring Booksale. Members will be receiving
a pink postcard Booksale reminder. If they show their postcard at the door, of the Booksale, they will be granted quick entry to the sale. The goal is to reduce check in time for the
members and volunteers. In addition, the Committee has also created a reference list of Frequently Asked Questions to assist the staff. NEW BUSINESS Due to time constraints, the Strategic
Goal #3 will be moved to next month’s meeting. BUDGET As mentioned in the news this week, the county has had to lay-off employees from various departments. The Library did not lose any
full time staff, but will be forced to reduce part-time hours and hours of operation. Harry Tuchmayer, Library Director, explained to the Board the importance of part-time staff to cover
library shifts on a day-to-day basis. In addition to the cuts that were made this year, the library has been asked to cut another $100,000 from its proposed budget. $60,000 of which
will come from the part-time account. After looking at all options and discussing various proposals with the board, we have no option but to reduce hours of operations to the public.
Mr. Tuchmayer presented the following hours of operation, starting July 1, 2009. We feel that the new hours will allow the Library to maintain a high level of service to the public with
the staff we have. Main Library, Northeast, and Myrtle Grove Monday and Tuesday 9 AM to 8 PM Wednesday and Thursday 9 AM to 6 PM Friday and Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM Sundays Closed Carolina
Beach Monday thru Friday 1 PM to 5 PM Saturday 9 AM to 1 PM After much discussion and concerns that cuts to the library’s part-time budget did not adequately address the growing public
need for library services, the motion was made by Conrad Luhmann and seconded by Rick Andrews. The Board voted unanimously to pass
3 the proposal with the hope and expectation that once the economy turned around the library’s full funding needs would be restored. OLD BUSINESS MEETING TIME At the last board meeting
the meeting time was moved up to 2:00 p.m. Mary Hatcher, LAB Chair, asked the Board if they would like to move it up to 1:30 p.m. or keep as is. After a brief discussion, the Board agreed
to keep the meeting time at 2:00 p.m. at this time. FOOD FOR FINES Tammy Baggett, Asst. Library Director, presented the NHCPL’s Food for Fines Proposal/Action Plan to the Board. As discussed
last month, the concept is that food would be donated in place of the patrons paying for Library fines. The goal is to encourage those patrons with long overdue material to return those
items and clear their accounts. Since we are about to convert over to a new ILS system this would prevent us from having to transfer over old debts/records. The Board discussed the pros
and cons of the plan. The recommendation was made as the motion and Conrad Luhmann seconded it. The Board voted unanimously to pass the proposal. Tammy Baggett will prepare the plan
to begin in May and it will run for one month. Publicity plans will begin to get the word out to the Public. A copy of the Proposal will be attached to the minutes LIBRARY DAY Jacqueline
O’Grady announced that on February 25th several Board members attended Library Day in Raleigh. Those in attendance were Harry Tuchmayer, Tammy Baggett, David Paynter (past Library Director),
Eleanore Lipscomb-Warren and Jacqueline O’Grady. It was an opportunity for the Director and Board to meet with our local legislature to lobby for funding. We did very well and were able
to meet with the Representatives (Carolyn Justice, Sandra Spaulding Hughes, Daniel McComas and Julia Boseman) earlier than expected. Harry Tuchmayer sent thank you letters to the Representatives
upon his return. FURNITURE AT NORTHEAST Harry Tuchmayer presented photos of the new study area furniture installed by Big Sky Designs at the Northeast branch. The groupings were placed
along the back wall of the Library and were immediately being used by patrons. Purchase of this furniture was made possible through a portion of the unused funds raised to build the
Northeast branch. LAB/FRIENDS ADVOCACY COMMITTEE Mary Hatcher reminded the Board that it is time for the LAB to partner with the Friends to create an Advocacy Committee. Those interested
need to contact Ms. Hatcher.
4 DIRECTORS REPORT Harry Tuchmayer distributed the March Director’s report. In addition to the report, Mr. Tuchmayer highlighted the following:: Evaluations of the 3 ILS proposals have
been completed. Although Innovative was the first choice, the cost exceeds our budget. The library was able to negotiate a lower cost but we would have to give up too many of the needed
features to meet that total. TLC offered a better cataloging system than what we currently have, however their poor presentation has raised concerns regarding staff training and future
services. The staff would like to go with Polaris if we can negotiate the proposal to fit within our budget. We may have to ask the County for some additional funds in order to finalize
the purchase. The Director’s complete monthly report will be attached to the minutes. MARK YOUR CALENDAR If an ILS proposal reaches the Commissioner meeting for approval we will contact
the Board to make the aware of this. Meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 16th at the Main Branch at 2:00 PM