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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPPROVED 07-18-2016 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Board of Library Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2016 - 5:00 p.m. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – Secretary Johnson-Tucker called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. Secretary Johnson-Tucker welcomed the recently appointed Trustees Douglas Coulter and Paul Watkins. II. ROLL CALL - Roll call by Administrative Support Specialist Elaine McMillion Trustees Present: Secretary Jill Johnson-Tucker; Board Member Paul Watkins, Board Member Douglas Coulter Trustees Absent: Chair Jerry King, Board Member Janet Ray Staff Present: Library Services Director Tim Hetherton; Library Services Manager Natalie Basmaciyan; Support Services Coordinator Melissa Kelly; Branch and Youth Services Coordinator Debbie Walker; Administrative Support Specialist Elaine McMillion III. ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Board of Library Trustees shall nominate and elect Board Members to serve as Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary for FY 2016-2017. Secretary Johnson-Tucker announced that the election of officers would be continued to the August 15, 2016, meeting when all Board Members are present. IV. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC Noted by Secretary Johnson-Tucker. V. PUBLIC COMMENTS Secretary Johnson-Tucker indicated she would allow public comments after each agenda item. VI. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Consent Calendar Items 1. Minutes of the June 20, 2016 Board of Library Trustees Meeting Secretary Johnson-Tucker, the only Board Member present at this meeting who was in attendance at the June 20, 2016 meeting, noted that this item would be continued to the August 15, 2016, meeting when all Board Members are present. 2. Customer Comments Monthly review of evaluations of library services through suggestions and requests received from customers. Board Member Watkins noted that the customer comments are very helpful, and that staff member Helen Medina who was mentioned in a comment, was not listed in the City staff directory. 3. Library Activities Monthly update of library events, services and statistics. 4. Expenditure Status Report Monthly expenditure status of the library's operating expenses, services, salaries and benefits by department. 5. Board of Library Trustees Monitoring List List of agenda items and dates for monthly review of projects by the Board of Library Trustees. Secretary Johnson-Tucker will discuss with Chair King the list of items for the upcoming August meeting. Secretary Johnson-Tucker and Board Member Watkins requested that staff provide at the next meeting the number of staff in each Library position, qualifications for each position, and an organization chart. Jim Mosher noted the survey results that were included in the Library Activity Report and suggested that updates of this survey would be helpful. Motion made by Board Member Coulter, seconded by Board Member Watkins, and carried (3-0-0-2) to approve Consent Calendar Agenda Items 2 through 5. AYES: Johnson-Tucker, Watkins, Coulter NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENCES: King, Ray VII. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review 6. Corona del Mar Branch Project Update Staff, Public Works Deputy Director Mark Vukojevic and Architect Kelley Needham will report on the progress of the Corona del Mar Branch Project. Deputy Director Mark Vukojevic reviewed the progress of the Corona del Mar branch project. Bids will be solicited just after Labor Day, with a contract being awarded in October, 2016. Board Member Watkins inquired whether the branch would remain open as long as possible prior to construction. Deputy Director Vukojevic explained that remaining flexible on the closure date would mean less notice to the community. When the City opens the project for bid, then a projected date for closure will be more certain. Board Member Watkins understands the compromise, and likes the idea of a set date while keeping the branch open as long as possible. Secretary Johnson-Tucker asked about the length of time between awarding the contract and tearing down the building, and noted the citizen involvement in the branch planning. Deputy Director Vukojevic stated that awarding of the contract is scheduled for October 14, 2016. The contractor likely will not begin work right away. The Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays will be a consideration, and the contractor may decide to begin work in earnest after January 1. Jim Mosher advised that a tab on the City's website that provides updated information on the project needs updating. A possible second library/fire station combination in Balboa was noted. He inquired whether there were any plans or discussions around that library/fire station combination. Deputy Director Vukojevic indicated that the website will be updated. Preliminary planning for the Balboa branch is scheduled to begin in 2017 or 2018, and is also noted in the City’s Master Plan. Director Hetherton noted that a needs assessment has commenced. The Board thanked staff for the update. Deputy Director Vukojevic excused himself from the meeting. 7. Statistical Comparison Report of Regional Peer Libraries Staff will provide a sample statistical comparison of the Newport Beach Public Library and regional peer libraries. Director Hetherton reported that the Newport Beach Library system was ranked in the upper half. Areas of good performance were collection expenditures per capita and a consistently large budget for print materials. With respect to e-books, the demand was highest for popular fiction items. Library Staff is small in comparison to other libraries and comprised of quite a few part-time employees. Board Member Coulter complimented Library staff for their friendliness and helpfulness. Secretary Johnson-Tucker inquired whether donations from the Friends of the Library and the NBPL Foundation were included in the reporting. Director Hetherton stated the City's information did not include those donations. Support Services Coordinator Kelly added that the donations were part of the report, but were separate line items. She suggested the large number of databases could be supported by individual donors. Secretary Johnson-Tucker questioned whether other cities utilized more full-time staff than Newport Beach, and it was noted that the number of staff at comparison libraries seemed high. Support Services Coordinator Kelly clarified that the City's information provided the actual number of people employed in the library system which totals 75 people. Board Member Watkins inquired about the number of branches for each of the comparison library systems. Director Hetherton listed the number of branches as he recalled them, and that the Library was doing particularly well in circulation. Secretary Johnson-Tucker noted that the report would be reviewed and analyzed at the upcoming retreat. Director Hetherton noted that the survey results would be reviewed at the retreat to determine the services customers wanted, and wanted to obtain additional responses to the survey. Board Member Coulter inquired whether libraries were independent or part of county government. Director Hetherton advised that the libraries were chosen for their similarity to Newport Beach. Jim Mosher questioned whether other cities included public domain e-books in their data and whether Newport Beach had a reciprocal agreement with other California libraries for databases. 8. Proposed Library Closures for Winter Holidays 2016 Staff report requesting library holiday closures as specified in written report. Director Hetherton reported the City was typically open a half day on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, both of which fell on Friday in 2016. Friday was a big day for the library system. He proposed opening all locations from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on December 24 and 31. The City and Federal holidays were December 26, 2016, and January 2, 2017. He proposed December 26 as a holiday for library staff. If the Board determined libraries would be open January 2, then staff could take a day off later at their choosing. Libraries should be open when people had discretionary time off. He provided data for library usage on December 24, 2015. Secretary Johnson-Tucker concurred with closing for the holiday on December 26, 2016. At least one branch should be open on January 2, 2017. Director Hetherton could agree to opening from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on January 2. Board Member Coulter suggested 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Secretary Johnson-Tucker thought the library should be open on January 2nd, but was concerned about staff requesting time off for January 2nd. Branches and Youth Services Coordinator Walker advised that more people requested time off for December 26th. She would recommend one location being open on January 2nd no later than 6:00 p.m. Secretary Johnson-Tucker asked if opening from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. would involve two shifts of employees. Staff replied no, only one shift. Board Member Watkins felt the public probably had an expectation for the library to be open on January 2nd. He would support one branch being open on January 2 from 9:00 to 6:00. Secretary Johnson-Tucker concurred with shorter hours on December 24 and 31, closing on December 26, and shorter hours on January 2. Board Member Coulter preferred closing on December 26 and January 2, but he would support the decision of his colleagues. Jim Mosher recalled historically branches closed early on Christmas and New Year's Eve, and closed completely only on major Federal holidays. Director Hetherton was inclined to follow the City's holiday schedule. The difficulty came when the City closed the entire week between Christmas and New Year's. Mondays were typically a busy day; however, people could assume the libraries would be closed because of the Federal holiday. He preferred closing on January 2nd. Board Member Coulter proposed closing all branches on December 26, 2016, and January 2, 2017. Secretary Johnson-Tucker suggested continuing the item to the August 15, 2016 meeting. Board Member Watkins concurred. Secretary Johnson-Tucker wished to know which days similar libraries were closing for the holidays. 9. Feasibility of an Auditorium Facility at the Central Library Site Staff will provide an update of a potential auditorium. Director Hetherton met with the architect to discuss the feasibility of an auditorium on the Central Library site. The architect agreed to consider various locations on the site and to share potential sites at a meeting on August 15, 2016. Secretary Johnson-Tucker recalled the Board's long-held wish for an auditorium on the site. Board Member Coulter suggested building a room on some of the Civic Center parkland. Secretary Johnson-Tucker reported the parkland was promised to the residents as parkland. Board Member Watkins asked if it was possible to enlarge the Friends' Room. Secretary Johnson-Tucker indicated the architect was considering that as one possibility. One consideration for an addition was the number of parking spaces that might be lost. Board Member Coulter questioned whether some events could be held in the Civic Center Community Room. Secretary Johnson-Tucker advised that this had been tried, and that space was not larger than the Friends Room. A raked floor was also a necessity. 10. Selection of Board of Library Trustees Liaisons The Board of Library Trustees shall nominate and elect Trustees to serve as liaisons to the Friends of the Library, NBPL Foundation and the DSLS Committee. Secretary Johnson-Tucker recommended this item be continued to the August 15, 2016 meeting. B. Monthly Reports 11. Library Services Report of Library issues regarding services, customers and staff. Director Hetherton announced Natalie Basmaciyan was promoted to Library Services Manager. Summer reading programs were in full swing. Two Staff members received grants from the Public Library Staff Education Program to pursue higher education in Library Science. Staff would concentrate on training, both peer-to-peer and class-style. He would return in August with strategies to obtain additional responses to the survey. 12. Friends of the Library Liaison Report Trustee update of the most recently attended Friends of the Library Board meeting. Director Hetherton advised that the Friends were group was working on increasing exposure and would likely have a table at the Pacific Symphony concert. The Friends were anticipating a sale of excess materials from the Corona del Mar branch and have made a targeted gift toward the new Corona del Mar branch collection. 13. Library Foundation Liaison Report Trustee update of the most recently attended Library Foundation Board meeting. Secretary Johnson-Tucker indicated the Library Foundation rescheduled its meeting to July 22nd. Toby Larson thought the meeting had been cancelled. 14. Witte Lectures Committee Liaison Report Trustee update of the most recently attended Witte Lectures Committee's monthly meeting. Secretary Johnson-Tucker stated John Prichard was no longer serving the Board of Library Trustees, and the Board would need to replace him as liaison. The Board discussed the lecture series and Library Live. VIII. BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) Board Member Watkins suggested delaying additional training for Trustees, to which Board Member Coulter agreed. Secretary Johnson-Tucker reiterated the request for the number of each library job title and job descriptions to be presented by staff at the August 15 meeting. Board member Coulter complimented the Library’s entire operation. Board Member Watkins inquired about a gift for former Board Member Grant for her service. Secretary Johnson-Tucker reported that Director Hetherton had given her a gift. Board Member Watkins inquired about a replacement for Ms. Basmaciyan. Director Hetherton has submitted a recruitment request for the position. IX. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Jim Mosher hoped the Board would consider, as specified in his written comments, attending a half-day training session for library boards offered through the CA Public Library Advocates. He noted that due to the low public attendance at the Board meetings that interaction between the Board and the public was not very good. Perhaps the Board could request an update regarding the new library website and the new Cenic computer network system. Secretary Johnson-Tucker noted that some Board agenda items had drawn a great deal of public interest, and attendance at previous Board meetings. X. ADJOURNMENT – 6:26 p.m. Submitted by: Jerry King Chair Approval of Minutes