HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-06-10 MinutesBoard of Trustees Meeting
Fayetteville Public Library
June 10, 1996
Present: Board members: Mark Burdette, Steve Singleton, Mary Parsons, Maury
Roberts, Michael Thomas, Library staff: Linda Harrison, June Jefferson, Mary Jo
Godfrey, David Johnson, Lolly Maxey, Lynaire Hartsell, Regional Director Karen
Duree, ORL Systems Librarian K. T. McCann, City Administrator Steve Davis, and
Chris Battle of the Northwest Arkansas Times
Call to Order: Thomas called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm in the Fayetteville
Public Library Meeting Room.
Approval of Minutes: Parsons asked if money spent by staff for the Night of 1000
Stars could be reimbursed. Jefferson said that documentation and receipts were
not kept or submitted by everyone involved. Since this was an unbudgeted project
for 1996, staff knew upon planning the event that there was no funding for
reimbursement. Roberts asked what our "service area" is. Harrison replied that
it is Washington and Crawford counties and the city of Rogers. Burdette moved
to approve the minutes of the May 13 meeting as submitted and Roberts seconded.
All said AYE.
K. T. McCann, ORL Systems Librarian, needed to leave early, so her report on the
ORL Automation Project was given first. The ORL Board chose the INNOPAC system
from Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a California company. INNOPAC is a
computerized cataloging system which is also used by the University of Arkansas
and the Fayetteville Public Schools. ORL bought the system and all member
libraries will have to purchase their own terminals. All library materials will
be bar-coded and information entered into a data base. McCann said the bar-codes
are bought from a printer in sheets and will be placed on the top back of the
book near the spine. Burdette questioned how the bar-coding process would take
place. McCann said some libraries partially close down to do the bar-coding, and
others bar-coded each book as it returned. There was some discussion of using
volunteers to move books or hiring some temporary help for the bar-coding. It
was emphasized that comparing information from the bar codes and the computer is
exacting work and will require staff trained in library work and cannot be done
for long stretches of time to ensure no mistakes from fatigue. Discussion
continued on the new wiring and cabling the library will need for the new system.
Harrison said Jeff Koenig is writing the specs for the wiring, as a volunteer.
Bruce Applegate, an electrical consultant, has been hired for Springdale, McCann
said. She suggested FPL hire him also, so the systems will be the same. He
charges $50.00 an hour. Roberts asked if this system will save us money. McCann
replied that it allowed the staff to provide better service and gives more
control over the collections, with a net dollar savings in staff and operations.
Computerizing the library catalogues will make them much easier for the patrons
to use. McCann said there will be a demonstration of the INNOPAC by Innovative
Interfaces on June 28 from 1-3 pm. Burdette moved to allocate up to $200,000.00
from the Long -Term Development Fund for the necessary purchases for automation.
Singleton seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Burdette noted that all of this
money has come from donations, not the city.
Back to the original agenda.
Correspondence: (1) Harrison noted a letter from Ann Sugg of the Washington
County Historical Society thanking the library for the use of the lawn for
camping at the Battle of Fayetteville celebration. (2) A Thank -You note to Mary
Jo Godfrey from Mrs. Tate's 8th grade History class at West Fork Middle School
for her help in their Genealogy project. (3) A special note of recognition was
made of the letter from Harold Dulan donating stock of Kinross Gold Corp. to the
library in appreciation of 50 years of splendid service. Thomas stated that it
is the policy of the library to sell any stock donated to it. The Board
authorized the sale of the stock. Dr. Dulan specified that he wanted books to
be bought with the donation. (4) Harrison noted a memo from Duree to members of
the Ozarks Regional Library system stating that at its meeting the ORL Board
agreed that the libraries in the ORL system would be referred to as "members"
instead of "branches". (5) Harrison mentioned a letter to Jefferson from Jim
Walsmith of the Arkansas Heritage Commission thanking her for her hospitality on
his visit to Fayetteville, and Jefferson's reply thanking him for his interest
and encouragement of our library.
Librarian's Reports
a. Statistical and Financial Reports: Harrison presented the statistical and
financial report. She said that there was an audio-visual gift of $16,841 and
that the 1920 census bill was reimbursed by the Advertising and Promotion
Committee. Mention was made by Thomas about the Landscaping company and the need
for some weeding to be done. Discussion followed about volunteer hours and the
need to document the hours volunteered for the Night of 1000 Stars event.
b. Patron Survey Results: Jefferson reported on the results of the FPL user
survey. She said that most of the comments were positive. 96.05% to 88.87% of
those responding to the questions answered "usually" or "always" receiving
satisfactory service, genuine interest and prompt assistance from the staff, and
perceiving the facilities as clean and comfortable.
c. Report on the Status of Office Equipment and Necessary Building Repairs: (1)
Harrison reported that she got a price of $350 + shipping and tax for a chemical
heat -activated fire extinguisher for the Book -Drop Area. This unit will cover
a 10' x 10' area which is larger than our Book -Drop area so we will not need to
enclose the area. This fire extinguisher is triggered by heat and will
automatically go off when a certain temperature is reached. Singleton moved and
Burdette seconded the purchase of the fire extinguisher. All said AYE.
(2) Harrison said that two air conditioning condensers have gone out since the
last meeting. The lowest bid on replacement is $2896 which includes the price
of a crane to lift the old units off the building and lift the new units onto the
roof, and evacuating the freon lines on the old units. Jefferson noted that the
roof had been leaking since people went onto the roof to check the air
conditioning. Harrison said that what she wanted to do was schedule Franklin
Roofing to be here when the old units are removed so they can patch under them
before the new units are set in place. Harrison said that money for the new air
conditioning will have to come from Building Maintenance. She said there is
enough money now for this expense, but that will cut it close for the rest of the
year. Singleton moved and Burdette seconded to purchase the new air conditioning
condensers. All said AYE. (3) Jefferson stated her appreciation for the
donation of the monitor through the personal attention of Roberts. It is being
used on the most -used computer in the library. Jefferson stated that she had
made numerous attempts to find a donated or used typewriter and fax machine with
no luck. Burdette asked how much these things will cost. Jefferson said $1400-
$1800. She said the low end may be a little lower since the price of fax
machines are going down, however the price of the particular typewriter that we
need has gone up since we have been talking about it. Burdette moved that we go
ahead and buy the typewriter and fax machine. Singleton seconded. All said AYE.
Thomas said that he knew of an ad agency that is going out of business and may
be selling off their assets. He said that he will give them a call, and for
Jefferson to wait on making these purchases until he makes this call. Discussion
followed about where the money will come from, and Jefferson said we have an
Office Machine Maintenance account and a Small Equipment account that this money
could come from but it will be a close call if we can make it through the year
without further repairs. It was noted that a number of the readers in Genealogy
are due for repair so that as many patrons as possible will have access to the
microfilm.
d. Change in opening hours for Ancestor Fair• Harrison stated that she had a
memo from Mary Jo Godfrey that she had just received today so it was not included
in the packet about the Genealogy Department being open on Sunday July 28 from
11-4 pm in conjunction with the Ancestor Fair. Since this is a change in normal
operating hours, this will require Board action. Harrison said she discussed
with Godfrey building security and that only the Dickson Street entrance be used
with no access allowed to the rest of the building. Jefferson asked if staff
should be paid for this time. Johnson replied that the staff had volunteered
their time. Singleton asked if the staff could be given "Comp Time", and
Harrison said that she thought this could be arranged. Roberts moved to open the
Genealogy Department on Sunday this one time for the Genealogical Fair, Parsons
seconded. All said AYE.
Trustee's / Committee Reports
a. Treasurer Report: Parsons said that she had nothing to report. She said
that she would take care of selling the stock.
b. Alternative Funding / Fund Raising Committee: Singleton said he did not have
much to report. He said he thought we were to hold off on fund raising projects
until we had long term goals in place. He said he felt that fund raising would
be more successful if we can articulate specific goals. Discussion followed
about using the computer project, or new lighting, or magazine subscription
renewals as specific fund raising goals. Harrison expressed concern about asking
the same people over and over again for money. Jefferson brought up a the idea
of recognition of donors by means of a plaque in the library with the names of
people who have given $500 or more for general operations. Similar plaques are
in place for Endowment and Friends donors. Harrison said we need to have
something in recognition of people who just give money or leave an inheritance,
etc. Singleton said he felt that he did not have enough information about the
financial workings of the library to be able to sell projects adequately.
Burdette said he felt the Automation Project would be a good thing to push. He
felt that there are a number of area businesses that would like to see this done
and may be willing to donate to it, since no one else in the area has this.
Singleton said he would like to have specific numbers, and Johnson said he would
give them to him as soon as they come in. Burdette said he felt that most people
didn't really care about the specifics. Singleton suggested a Board retreat to
discuss matters such as this.
c. Long-term planning: Roberts reported on a Strategic success Planning Seminar
that he attended in Little Rock. He discussed the Board's duty in the long-range
planning process as stated in the library policy manual. He pointed out that
things are changing so quickly these days that it is hard to even have a 5 -year
plan - that 1 or 2 year plans are more workable. He said strategic planning and
marketing starts in past values and the history of the institution as noted on
a schematic that Roberts passed out. The second step is to develop a mission
statement. The third step is strategies such as developing trust, how to get new
customers, etc. Roberts asked if we had anything for Welcome Wagon to give out
and Harrison said that Welcome Wagon did have our brochures. Roberts suggested
that maybe the Board members might take one Saturday morning to greet library
customers. Roberts handed out a questionnaire for Board members and library staff
to fill out with their thoughts on the library's strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats to be used as a long term planning tool and return
these to him at the next meeting.
d. Volunteers: Burdette reported on the Books on Wheels Project. He said that
letters have been sent out by Johnson to the Friends of the Library requesting
volunteers for this project. No replies have come in yet. Johnson reported that
the Meals on Wheels Program has a new director and the person that we were
working with is no longer there. The new person needs to understand her job
better first, but seems amenable to the Books on Wheels project. Burdette said
there will be a meeting on July 8 at 3:30 in the library to go over what has been
done the last year and how to increase volunteer participation.
New Business
a. Report on meeting with City Administrators regarding City/Library
relationship: Thomas reported that he and Harrison met with Phyllis Rice, Kevin
Crosson, Jerry Rose, and LaGayle McCarty to resolve the issue of the library
being a city division or not. The library is not a city department or division -
the library is a "function" of the city. If the library were a department of
the city, everything that we do would have to go through the city for approval.
The library does not want. this, nor does the city. The library can make its own
rules. Where we follow what the city suggests is because it is the law. We have
advantages by being a "function" of the city such as insurance. The city takes
care of the library to the extent that they can within the law. Thomas said that
since we need more money for the pay matrix adjustment, he will be going back to
the proper people in the city to try to get us more money. Thomas and Harrison
said that they both felt very good about the meeting and the library's
relationship with the city.
b. Policy Revision: Harrison reported on a policy revision to coinside with a
new ORL policy raising an applicants age to 18 without a parent's signature to
get a library card. Johnson said that he felt the library was doing everything
they could to maintain the presence of 14-18 year olds in the library. He said
that he did not agree in spirit with having a 17 year old having to get a parents
signature, even though he understood the legality of the matter. Harrison said
that if a parent had signed for a children's card, then the parent's signature
would not be necessary for an adult card. Duree said that she agreed with him
but there is the question of who is responsible for the things that they check
out. Duree said the policy is 18 at the Springdale and Rogers Libraries.
Singleton says that as the father of teens he feels that if they have to get the
parent's signature they may just not come back, and he feels that we should err
on the side of accessability to teens 14 to 18. Thomas said that if everyone
on the side of accessability to teens 14 to 18. Thomas said that if everyone
else is 18, that we should be 18. Burdette moved to change the policy to age 18
to get a library card without a parent's signature, Parsons seconded. Singleton
voted NAY, all others AYE.
The library will close for its annual Work Week August 26 - September 2.
Adjournment: Burdette moved to adjourn, Parsons seconded. Meeting adjourned at
6:15.
Follow - ups:
Harrison: (1) Purchase fire extinguisher and air conditioners
Thomas: (1) Call ad agency about typewriter and fax machine. (2) Speak with
proper people in city administration about more money for pay matrix.
Jefferson: (1) Purchase typewriter and fax after hearing from Thomas.
Parsons: (1) Take care of sale of stock from Dulan.
Johnson: (1) Give Singleton specific numbers on Computer Project for fund raising
All Board Members and Library Staff: Complete the questionnaire handed out by
Roberts on the library's strengths and weaknesses.
Respectfully submitted by Carolyn Diemente
