Minutes 041609 LAB
1 Library Advisory Board April 16, 2009 Members Present: Rick Andrews, Kemp Burdette, Bettie Harrison, Mary Hatcher (Chair), Tami Hinshaw, Eleanore Lipscomb-Warren, Staff Members: Harry
Tuchmayer, Tammy Baggett Asst. County Mgr.: Chris Coudriet (absent) Friends of the Lib: Rita Lewis (absent) Absent Members: Frank Oddo, Jacqueline O’Grady (Vice-Chair), Conrad Luhmann
(Secretary), Marilyn McConnell, Gwen Rohler, Paul Walker Meeting began at 2:00 PM The meeting was called to order by the presiding officer, Mary Hatcher. It was noted that they are not
enough board members present for a quorum. Public Comment & Agenda review: No public comments this month. The April Agenda was approved. MINUTES The March 2009 Library Advisory Board
Minutes were approved with a correction on the adjournment time. CORRESPONDENCE Mr. Tuchmayer reported that the Library did not receive any comment cards or letters this month. The Wilmington
Star News ran two articles concerning the Library. The first article ran on March 31st titled, After 62 years, class ring finds way home. The article mentioned that Joe Sheppard, with
the Local History room, helped search old yearbooks to find the owner of a missing class ring. Soon after this article ran, Mr. Sheppard was contacted by another person who had found
a class ring and was requesting his assistance to find the owner too. The second article ran on April 14th titled, Story yeller makes learning, reading fun. This article featured Scott
“Scooter” Hayes who is a library employee through a position funded by Smart Start. Mr. Hayes makes learning fun for kids through his song and dance. He recently created a rap song for
a school project on how to use the Dewey Decimal system to find books. You can view the video on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHiUQb5xg7A Copies of both articles were shared
with the group.
2 FRIENDS REPORT Rita Lewis, President of the Friends of the Library, was unable to attend the meeting today due to preparing for the upcoming Booksale. Mr. Tuchmayer distributed the
Friends of the Library Report (below) on her behalf. He also reminded the Board of the upcoming Booksale at the Northeast Branch. Membership applications are also available at all branches
to encourage new membership before the Booksale. Friends of the Library Report Note: I am in the process of setting up the Spring Book Sale and so will not be able to attend the April
meeting. Book Sale is scheduled for April 24 (Member’s Preview) through April 30. Membership: Currently have 357 members. There are membership applications now available at all four
library locations. The applications and payment are secured in a lockable box located in high traffic areas at each location. The FOL is hoping this will result in additional and renewed
memberships. Publicity and Volunteer Committees have been amazing during the set-up of the Spring Spring Book Sale. Book Sale Committee volunteers to be commended for the number of hours
and level of expertise given during this spring season. The work has been more strenuous this sale as the amount of books is greater than ever before. Advocacy – advised the FOL Board
and specifically the FOL Advocacy Chair of the plans made for coordinating the collection of comments, complaints and compliments at all library locations. John Day was given Tami Hinshaw’s
contact information. The FOL nominating committee has recommended three additional Board members to join the Board in June. There will be a new president of the Friends Board at that
time. Submitted by, Rita Lewis Acting President, Friends of the Library Board NEW BUSINESS PARKING DECK SPEED LIMIT Mary Hatcher requested that we post speed limit signs on the Main
Library Parking Deck. Harry Tuchmayer stated that he has looked into this in the past. The Parking Deck is controlled by the NHC Finance department. He will submit the request to the
NHC Property
3 Management department and will also request they mark the corner parking spots for compact vehicles only. LIBRARY HOURS OF OPERATION (CAROLINA BEACH UPDATE) After last month’s approval
by the board of the decreased Library hours of operation, Mary Hatcher stated that on a personal note, “It bothers me that the Library cuts are equivalent to 3 full time employees and
the County has said that we have not cut Library staffing.” Should we change the house to strictly Monday – Friday? Would the pubic stand up for us? Harry Tuchmayer stated that we need
to do a better job of getting the word out into the community about what the Library offers and why people use Libraries. The Board wants to let it be known that when the economy gets
better that we want to see the Library hours restored. The Board will draft a letter to the County Commissioners regarding this request. Mr. Tuchmayer stated that the Carolina Beach
hours were originally passed with an option to make adjustments as needed. After discussion with staff and reviewing the patron usage counts, we feel that we should change the hours
to the following. 9AM – 1PM Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 1PM – 5PM Tuesday & Thursday CLOSED Sunday This will be the Summer Schedule, effective July 1st – September 30th. At the
end of the summer we will review the need for another change in hours. ~ There were not enough members present for a vote, so this request will be added to the next month’s agenda. ~
GOAL #3 – CHILDREN & JUVENILE Margaret Miles, Children’s Librarian, presented the board with Goal #3 from the Strategic Plan. After the PowerPoint presentation, the Board viewed Scooter
Hayes’ You Tube video. OLD BUSINESS FY 09/10 BUDGET UPDATE Harry Tuchmayer shared the upcoming dates of importance regarding the FY 09/10 budget. April 30th Recommended budget will be
presented to the Commissioners May 4th County Manger presents the recommended budget at Board of County Commissioners Meeting. Commissioners establish budget work sessions. May 18th
Public Hearing on FY FY 09/10 budget
4 June 1st Adopt budget The Board may want to attend the public hearing on May 18th. You will want to wear your NHCPL badge. ILS VENDOR UPDATE Harry Tuchmayer stated that at 4PM today,
the County Commissioners will meet to go over the agenda. Our recommendation to purchase the TLC program is on that agenda. TLC was selected, by the Library Staff and the NHC IT department,
as the best product for the public, the staff and cost wise. Their best feature is their willingness to work with us to include digital record keeping. The digital content feature will
be provided by a third party vendor by the name of Online Computer Learning Center, Inc. (OCLC). We are looking to go live on September 15th with the new system. LAB /FRIENDS ADVOCACY
COMMITTEE Two draft publications prepared by the Friends of the Library were distributed. The board was asked to email their Representatives to Maintain State Aid at Last Year’s Level.
DIRECTORS REPORT Harry Tuchmayer distributed the April Director’s report. In addition to the report, Mr. Tuchmayer highlighted the following: All library branches are now accepting MasterCard
& Visa credit card payments. MARK YOUR CALENDAR May 18th Public Hearing on FY 09/10 budget Meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 21st at 2:00
PM