CITY OF PEORIA, ARIZONA LIBRARY BOARD MEETING Sunrise Mountain Branch Library January 8, 2007 A meeting of the Library Board of the City of Peoria, Arizona was convened in open and public session at the Sunrise Mountain Branch Library, 21200 North 83 Avenue in Peoria at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Shirley Berow, Chairperson; Members, Ed Comtois, Rhona Cohensitt, Steve Poe, Barry Spiegel. Members Absent: Cheryl Compton and Alicia Snarr Member Emeritus: 0 Other Municipal Officials Present: Deborah Tasnadi, Library Manager, David Hunenberg, Branch Librarian, and Lynn Lindell, Administrative Assistant. Audience: 0 MINUTES: A motion was made by Ed Comtois, seconded by Steve Poe and upon vote, carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the November 13, 2006 meeting of the board. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Branch Library Update Deborah Tasnadi said that City staff met this afternoon with the design/build team. She said that they are working on a preliminary design to present to the City Manager and the Council very soon. They are working on a 22,000 square foot building, and the proposed design is quite impressive. The architecture is very interesting. 2. Review progress of 2007 budget Deborah said that the 2007 budget spending is on target. The materials budget spending is going well and selectors continue to work on building a really good collection at SML to take along to the new branch location. Staff has also been able to select some ergonomic chairs in this budget year and have really appreciated the improvement to their workspaces. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Approve Acceptable use policy The board reviewed revisions to the Acceptable Use Policy for use of the Internet in the Library. Ingrid Landon made minor revisions citing ARS statutes which pertain to the use of the Internet. It makes reference to the library as “a public institution open to use by minors” as the reason for restricting access to certain materials as described in the “Arizona Harmful to Minors Act.” It also cites as unacceptable the destruction of equipment or software belonging to the library, and the display of offensive images as disruptive behavior. The policy states that the Library will provide primary access to the Internet, and will assist users in accessing the Internet, but each user is responsible for his or her own search. Staff cannot provide in-depth personal training. Use of the Computer Labs has continued to climb and as a result the library began to limit computer use to 2 hours per day per user. Rhona Cohensitt made a motion, seconded by Shirley Berow , and upon vote carried unanimously to approve the revised Acceptable Use Policy as presented. 2. Update of LSTA Grants Grant projects are going well. RFID money has been spent. Tags have been attached to all of the Youth Collection and most of the Adult Fiction Collection. Staff and volunteers will next move upstairs to the Teen area, and the non-fiction collection. The “More than Training” project is almost complete. The Lab has already undergone major transformation, and the room has turned out really nice. The board members were encouraged to stop by the Main Library and take a look. Tween Computer Classes will begin soon. Staff has been asked to start planning for future grants to benefit the library. Some ideas are already being considered. 3. Plans for LibraryFest 2007 Staff has begun planning for LibraryFest 2007, which will take place on March 16 and 17 to coincide with the City Celebrate the Arts event. The Library will remain open until 8 p.m. on Friday and will feature Brian Dewelles and his Astronomy program. On Saturday the library will continue the celebration with author visits, and the Friends of the Library Spring booksale. Board members were encouraged to participate and come meet those working in the Library Friends group. 4. Review of 2008 Budget Process Library budget requests for FY 2008 have been submitted. The base budget is a “zero base budget”, however as of now several supplemental requests have been submitted. They include a one time request for an increase to the library materials budget, added hours to cover increases for non-benefited employees, re-upholstery of Main Library furnishings, update of presentation equipment in the Willow Room, added computers for staff and six additional public computers, and part time circulation clerk hours for Sunrise Mountain Library. The proposed budget will be reviewed by the Deputy City Manager this Wednesday, and should go to the City Manager and City Council by the end of the month. REPORT FROM THE LIBRARY MANAGER: 1. Staffing update Deborah Tasnadi reported that the Library is currently fully staffed. 2. Library Statistics Deborah said that the Library statistics continue to show major increases in most areas. She distributed reports for second quarter, and semiannual statistics. She also distributed copies of a new brochure which demonstrates the value of Library services in Peoria. Staff members were asked to complete a survey recently and answer questions about their job satisfaction and impressions of the Peoria Library system. Deborah said that she was pleased that many had already returned the survey with very positive comments. She said it is very important to her that people are happy in the work that they do. 3. Friends of the Library update David said that members of the Friends group helped promote the Library at the annual City Holiday event in downtown Peoria. It was a very cold evening and they showed up to pass out information for the library. They are working on getting ready for their Spring booksale which will take place during LibraryFest on March 17th. Deborah encouraged the board members to come out and meet the Friends. 4. What Do I Do? Deborah said that after two years as Library Manager, she thought it was time for her to do the “What Do I Do?” presentation for the board. She said that in addition to creating statistics, and reports, she monitors the budget and finances, and helps to select for the fiction collection. She said that she tries to keep up with staff and what they face in each area by spending time working each of the desks. It gives her an opportunity to learn and check on how things are going. She said that she feels most effective at the front desk where she can hear what customers are asking for, what they like, or don’t like about the library. She also tries to get to know library volunteers and shows appreciation for the job they do for the library. REPORT FROM SML BRANCH: 1. New Tot-Program David Hunenberg, Branch Librarian said that a new Tot-Program started last week for children under two years of age. Space is limited in this new program to ten participants and their caregivers. Children’s Librarian Monique Clapp obtained a sponsorship to purchase puppets and other items for this new program. 2. Special Displays and Staff Picks Branch staff continues to put out special book displays and they have been very popular in checking out items on selected topics. The new “staff picks” shelf has also proven to be very successful. The selected books seem to “fly off the shelf”. 3. Upcoming The annual Chess Tournament will return to Sunrise Mountain Library again this year. The date has been set for the last weekend in April. REPORT FROM THE BOARD: 1. Board/Friends Get Together The Board members commented that they would be interested in planning a dinner or some other sort of get-together to get to know the members of the Library Friends group. The next meeting date is to be announced, as the March meeting will be at LibraryFest. 2. Board Resignation A new board member will soon be selected to replace Cheryl Compton, who has submitted her resignation from the board. She cited added responsibilities and travel in her full time job as the reason for her resignation. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the board, Steve Poe made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Rhona Cohensitt seconded the motion. The meeting was duly adjourned at 8:20 P.M. ______________________ _________________________ Shirley Berow, Chairperson Lynn Lindell, Administrative Assistant