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Minutes - Library Commission - 2/1/2012 Approved Minutes For the Boulder Public Library Commission February 1, 2012 COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT Sam Fuqua Annette Mitchell Anne Sawyer Celeste Landry Donna O'Brien LIBRARY STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Valerie Maginnis, Library & Arts Director Jennifer Miles, Deputy Library Director Kathleen Janosko, Administrative Specialist II (Finance) Melinda Mattingly, Reference & Collections Manager Leanne Rizzo, Administrative Specialist II Gwen Holton, Branch Library Specialist Mary Jane Holland, Children and Teen Library Manager CITY STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Jennifer Bray, Internal Comm-Public Relations Coordinator COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT None PUBLIC PRESENT Richard Demuth, Kathy Wellman, Cindy Cornelius, Nina Judd, Judy Volc, John Maginnis, David Mendosa, Chris Holland, Kathy Gard, Alice McDonald, Bill Sackett, STAB members Esther Reed, Erin Adams, Kate Mooney, Zach Ashton, and Nick Bozik, and Camera reporter Mitchell Byars. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:45 p.m. The meeting was moved from the Arapahoe Conference Room to the Boulder Creek Room to accommodate the large numbers of public present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of January 4, 2012 were unanimously (3 in favor) approved as amended by Commissioner Sawyer. Two Commissioners abstained as they were absent from the last Commission meeting. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION -8 minutes • Bill Sackett, leader of the Great Books group since 1993, noted that the bulletin board on the wall of the ramp near the Boulder Creek Room was removed at the end of the year and stated that this seems to be part of a general trend, citing removal of kiosks. He requested the Commission find out why the book discussion leaders were not consulted. He also said that the black-and-white flier for his group which was posted at Meadows is no longer available. It has 1 been replaced by one monthly flier for all the groups. He also referred to the former black-and- white schedule for the month which listed each book group and what it was discussing. When the library went to a color publication in 2008, it stopped listing the titles of the books. He feels that the volunteers for the book discussion groups have been ignored and questioned why. • Kathy Wellman stated that Judy Volc is the epitome of storytelling and, after recently attending Judy's storytime, believes that she is still "on top of her game as she has always been." She suggested keeping Judy as mentor to get others trained as readers. She said that she was shocked by the library's decision to dismiss Judy, had read the stated reason in the newspaper but felt "it didn't hold water," and she came to the meeting for some answers. • Nina Judd stated that she didn't come to speak but to support the position that Kathy took and to see what might be said about the subject. • Judy Volc stated that even though she has plenty of opportunities to volunteer elsewhere she would like to continue doing programs in a public library where the books are free, which is the thing that she loves the most. She has counted the number of programs that the library offers and it seems to her that there is still room for volunteers to do programs. She said that she doesn't understand why there is not room for her and would like an answer for that. • Chris Holland explained that his wife works in the children's department and stated that he understands what others are feeling but Mary Jane lives and breathes for this institution and she's not the only one. He doesn't believe that people are getting both sides of the story. He said that they are caring, compassionate, dedicated people [in the library.] COMMISSIONERS' RESPONSE: See Commission Priority Discussion - Branch Storytime Discussion and Matters from the Commission - Other - Reduction in Bulletin Boards and Book Group Flyers. COMMISSION PRIORITY DISCUSSION • Boulder Public Library Teen Advisory Board (BTAB) Presentation (20 minutes)- Nick Bozik, BTAB's longest serving board member, presented a PowerPoint presentation (attached) regarding the Teens' suggestions for a new and improved Teen Space in the library. The suggestions included: a need for more space, better signage, more computers, a new microwave, a reading area with a fireplace, a study room, a stage for teen performances, a secure storage space for backpacks, a video game area, a kitchen unit and water source, new furniture, a moveable white board, a mural perhaps painted by teens, good lighting, a green screen and a video editing bay, etc. The top three requests on behalf of BTAB were more space, more computers, and more welcoming area (art, comfortable tables and chairs). Commissioner O'Brien asked the teens what they viewed as the biggest obstacle to bringing more Teens into the space. Mr. Bozik answered that some people simply do not know that the Teen space exists. Commissioner Fuqua thanked BTAB for their presentation and thanked Commissioner Sawyer for her work with BTAB. • Branch Storytime Discussion (30 minutes) - Commissioner Fuqua began by asking Director Maginnis to reiterate the Judy Volc decision and the direction in which she sees the storytime heading. Director Maginnis informed the Commission that the library is revising its storytime programs at the branches to implement best practices in early childhood learning as offered in the Main Library. Director Maginnis met with Ms. Volc in December to explain the transition. She asked Judy Volc to continue volunteering in another capacity at the branch library storytime 2 but Ms. Volc declined. Director Maginnis made a format change in which library staff present stories to the children and their families effective the week of January 23, 2012. o Commissioner Sawyer stated that with 50 years of storytime experience Ms. Volc is an asset to our community and that we should be welcoming her. Putting Ms. Volc on the sidelines where she can greet parents and help them pick books would seem a demotion. She stressed that the library is a place for the community to come together, and volunteers are an important part of that. The library needs volunteers and the more times we can incorporate volunteers, the better. Commissioner Sawyer sees many opportunities for expanding storytimes and asked what harm there is in having different styles of storytime available. Director Maginnis responded that the library is hoping to explore different options with storytime, including surveying branch patrons in March to find out what additional storytimes they would be interested in. At this time the library is not inviting Ms. Volc to return to storytime as a reader. The current focus is to have a uniform program throughout the library. o Chairman Fuqua stated that he would prefer that the changes in overall vision for storytime programs come to the Commission before the changes are implemented. Commissioner O'Brien seconded that statement saying that not knowing about the decision put her at a disadvantage when dealing with the public. Director Maginnis stated that she did include information in the February Commissioners' packets; received on January 27 regarding a plan of service for the Youth Services Program which outlines possible program models and opportunities and invites the Commission to offer their feedback on it. Commissioner Mitchell concurred with Commissioner O'Brien's comments. o Commissioner Landry questioned whether the change in storytime format was to align with best practices or for another reason. Director Maginnis explained that what are considered to be best practices in the field are a strong emphasis on children's early learning skills in which libraries partner with parents and caregivers so that children are ready to learn and read when they reach school age and also to create a community of lifelong readers. Models of children's programs for best practices begin with programs for infants and continue to ages 3 and 4, incorporate reading, movement, sound, interaction and engagement between the child and the parent or caregiver and the storyteller. BPL is pursuing becoming a Family Place Library. Commissioner Landry read a statement from one parent who felt a main contribution of Ms. Volc was to teach children to sit still and focus on a story rather than offer children the opportunity to move around. Commissioner Landry supported Commissioner Sawyer's statement that the library could support different styles of storytime rather than have a uniform program. o Commissioner Landry asked if there have been complaints about Judy Volc's reading at storytime. Director Maginnis said that she has not had a complaint about her reading at storytime. o Commissioner Sawyer expressed concern that Director Maginnis is not listening to the community. Commissioner Sawyer believes that the library is a community resource and a community service. It is the responsibility of the library to listen to the community, and the commission has heard the community "loud and clear." She stated that she hasn't seen any movement on Director Maginnis' part to consider the community's reaction to the Volc decision. o As the commission is an advisory board, Chairman Fuqua offered advice but didn't want 3 it to be taken to reflect negatively on the dedicated children's staff. He suggested a compromise position [paraphrased in the motion below]. o Commissioner Landry stated that she has been concerned about the library's budget during her tenure on the commission. She now sees that a volunteer is being replaced with a paid staff member. She also pointed out that the library sometimes asks the voters for money. She believes that we have lost a lot of goodwill in the community. Chairman Fuqua asked if Director Maginnis anticipated any of the services that the children's staff provides suffering as a result of this program change. The director replied that we are able to provide these services without adding any additional workload to the staff. Commissioner Mitchell, after reading the comments on the Camera article, also felt that getting voters to approve library funds would be difficult in the future. o Commissioner Landry asked that asterisks be inserted in the Youth Services Program information to denote the changes proposed to current programs. o Commissioner Sawyer proposed and Commissioner Landry seconded a motion which was unanimously approved (5 in favor) that stated, "Commission recommends that the library reinstate storytime with Judy Volc as a reader in a manner that works for Library Administration and Judy Volc while still promoting and supporting staff storytime development." MATTERS FROM THE COMMISSION: • Emails to Commission o The Commission requested that their webpage include a statement indicating 1) who will be receiving any e-mail sent to the Commission [aka Libcom] via the website (Deputy Director Miles confirmed that only 7 people receive the e-mails: the Library Commissioners and the Library Director and Deputy Library Director) and 2) that these e-mails are public record. Director Maginnis agreed to include those statements. o Commissioner Mitchell asked who will respond to emails from members of the public. It was concluded that the chair of the Commission or a designee would respond to a-mails sent to the Commissioners. Any Commissioner may respond privately to Libcom e- mails, but it wasn't clear if those responses are part of the public record or not. It may depend on if the Commissioner makes it clear that he or she is responding as a private individual. o Commissioner Landry asked if the a-mails should go to the Director and Deputy Director or just to the Commissioners. Commissioners Fuqua and Sawyer were okay with the two staff members getting the e-mails, but Commissioner Sawyer suggested that the Commissioners have the option of having their personal e-mail address on the webpage as was the case on the city's Library Commission webpage which existed until about 1% weeks ago. Director Maginnis said she would look into getting city e-mail addresses for Commissioners. • Library Commission Meeting Minutes- (carried over from previous month) e Chairman Fuqua confirmed with Director Maginnis his understanding that both the Staff Summary of the Commission meeting as well as the approved and signed minutes will be submitted to the City Clerk (within 5 days of the Commission meetings) for inclusion in the City Council packet. Commissioner Sawyer pointed out that City Council brought up this issue at their January retreat and that they and the City Clerk are in agreement 4 with the plan. Director Maginnis informed the Commission that they will receive a copy of the Staff Summary, a practice that started 1 month ago. e Commissioner Landry asked if her request to have a link in the library's eNewsletter to the Commission's webpage had been fulfilled. Director Maginnis said that she would follow up on the request. Commissioner Sawyer suggested that if the Commission wanted input on a topic, it could ask for an announcement to be put in the eNewsletter, similar to the announcement about the Jan 28 tour of Front Range Libraries. • Staff-Commissioner Communication- (carried over since the November meeting) o Chairman Fuqua stated that at a previous meeting it was stated that Commissioners should communicate with the Director whenever possible when asking about a department within the library for efficiency, in order not to surprise an individual staff member, and to keep the Director in the loop. Director Maginnis stated that there should be open communication between the Commission and staff. She stated that there will be times when she won't know the answer and that a query to the specific manager would be appropriate. She asked to be copied on the communication. She also clarified her comment on this, in the past, was not intended to discourage friendly conversations between Commissioners and staff. o It was decided that 48 hours is the expected staff response time to a Commissioner's e- mail. • Library Commission Web Page- Commissioner Landry suggested that the web page distinguish between the upcoming meeting and past meetings. Since this web page is the Commission's face to the community, Director Maginnis suggested that the Commissioners mark up a print- out of the current Library Commission webpage as a way to provide suggestions for improvements. • Role of the Library Commission Secretary- o Chairman Fuqua reiterated the current role of the Commission Secretary including swearing people in and keeping the rough time for agenda items. Commissioner Sawyer, as Commission Secretary, offered to start bringing a Commission reference binder with one year of approved minutes and important documents to the monthly meetings. Commissioner O'Brien supported this idea. Librarian Melinda Mattingly pointed out that minutes are kept in the reference section of the Main Library. o Commissioner Landry suggested that perhaps the Commission Secretary review the Draft Minutes before they go out to the other members of the Commission. Currently, the Staff Secretary takes the minutes, and the Library Director and the Deputy Director see the minutes before the Commission does. Commissioner Sawyer said that having the minutes with amendments presented to the Commission before the meeting could speed up the process for getting approved minutes in the public record as is the case in the current meeting. Commissioners Mitchell and O'Brien were not in favor of one Commissioner seeing a document without the other Commissioners seeing it at the same time. o Commissioner Sawyer pointed out that having the audio recording was very helpful when discussing changes to the minutes. She asked that the audio recording be placed on the Commission's web page. • 2012 Commission Meeting Schedule- Among the Commission tasks for 2012 are the Master Plan revision and the Capital Improvements Projects. o Because of the big workload, Commissioner Landry suggested that the Commission 5 meet in July. There is currently no meeting in July due to the July 4th holiday. The Commission agreed to tentatively set July 11 as a meeting date and confirm the date at the March meeting. (Note later: the Boulder Creek Meeting Room at the Main Library has been scheduled for the Commission meeting on July 11.) o Chairman Fuqua asked if additional meetings might be necessary this year. Commissioner Landry pointed out that the Commission already had two meetings in January counting the library tour special meeting and that the Commission will be holding some public meetings to gather input on Measure 2A. c For the March meeting Commissioner Sawyer requested a plan with tentative dates for what staff will need from the Commission in the coming year and suggested creating an annual Commission calendar. Commissioner Landry requested a proposed timeline for master plan revision with particular emphasis on the Commission's involvement. • Other - Reduction in Bulletin Boards and Book Group Flyers: Chairman Fuqua asked Director Maginnis to address the reduction in bulletin boards and to express her ideas about improving communication with book groups. She explained that the library distributes a monthly program card for the book groups throughout the library system. The library can also spotlight the different book groups in the eNewsletter and-promote all library programs including the book discussion groups on new. Digital signs at the Main Library and at the branches. Director Maginnis took responsibility for the decision to get rid of the bulletin boards. She confirmed that neither she nor Grayson Hardman, the volunteer coordinator, had consulted with any of the book group leaders before removing the bulletin boards. Staff member Carol Heepke organizes many events which often utilized flyers, but Bill Sackett said that he inquired and that she was not consulted either. Commissioner Sawyer suggested that the library de consider having bulletin boards for use of advertising again in the future, as sometimes those can be more easily accessible for patrons. • Other - Communication from Staff to the Public: Commissioner Mitchell thanked Commissioner Landry for writing the letter to the editor of the Camera and suggested that if written communication comes from the Commission to the public, then she would prefer that it be discussed at a public meeting. Commission Landry suggested that if another urgent topic arises, the Commission should call an emergency meeting for 7 days later (required for public notice) rather than wait for the regular Commission meeting. MATTERS FROM THE DIRECTOR & STAFF: • Re-cap of January 28, 2012, Front Range New Library/Remodel Tour- Chairman Fuqua and Commissioner Sawyer thanked Director Maginnis for organizing the tour. She announced that the data gathered from the participants would be made universally available in a transparent way for all, including the design consultant. She thanked Commissioner Sawyer for posting photos from the tour on Flickr. Commissioner Sawyer requested any additional photos be sent to her, for inclusion with the other photos. The photos may be viewed at http:/Iwww.flickr.com/photos/annesawyer/. • Opportunities for Public Involvement in Bond-Funded Renovation Projects (Measure 2 A) - Director Maginnis explained that public meeting opportunities will be coordinated by the design consultant but hopes that the Commission will collaboratively host the meetings. She mentioned the possibility of a "wall" to collect written comments from the public as well as collecting comments electronically. Commissioner Sawyer requested that the PowerPoint presentation that the Teens presented tonight, be sent to the contractor/designer of Measure 6 2A's implementation. Director Maginnis stated that the library will purchase a new microwave and brightly lit sign for the Teen Space soon. • Patron Suspension- o James Layton- Director Maginnis informed the Commission that James Layton appealed his suspension on January 31, 2012. He was suspended on December 16, 2011 for 364 days (the maximum suspension) for disabling the PC Reservation software. The decision regarding this appeal will be shared with the Commission within 10 days of the appeal when it is rendered. The patron had been suspended in the past as early as 2007. o Suspended Patrons Attending Commission Meetings: Commissioner Sawyer felt strongly that a suspended patron should be allowed to attend public participation at Commission meetings. She suggested that the patron should be escorted by a security guard to and from the meeting. Director Maginnis planned to consult the City Attorney's office and respond to Commission. • E-Reader Update- As of Jan 26 the 24 Nooks had circulated 73 times with 126 holds to check them out. The process seems to be going smoothly. Commissioner Sawyer noted that the large number of holds is true for all of the library's electronic resources. Commissioner Sawyer expressed what a great job staff are doing in order to teach patrons (herself included) how to operate the library's Nooks. Commissioner O'Brien echoed that statement. • Other - Flag: Commissioner O'Brien requested a new flag be flown at the Reynolds Branch Library. Staff will report this to Parks and Recreation. (Note later: new flag is now being flown at GRB). • Other - Seal vs. Logo: Commissioner Landry previously met with Director Maginnis and they are asking that during discussions we distinguish between the City of Boulder Library & Arts "department seal" and the "library logo". Commissioner Sawyer also mentioned the need for a discussion regarding where each of these symbols will be used, perhaps at the April Commission meeting. • Other - Library's Revised Rules of Conduct: This was supposed to be discussed at the Commission meeting, but it is still in the City Attorney's Office. It is the Commission's job to approve the rules of conduct. • Other - Policy on Court-Ordered Community Service Volunteers: This agenda item was postponed. Commissioner Landry stated a preference to have the volunteer coordinator attend the meeting when the Commission discusses this topic. • Other - Coffee Vending Machine Sales: Commissioner Landry requested the sales number for the coffee vending machine. Kathleen Janosko reported that this information is available monthly and will be reported to the Commission soon. • Other - Announcements: 1) February 11, 2012 at 10am is another yummy BTAB bake sale. 2) February 12, 13, and 14, 2012 will be the first annual Children's book sale in the Pulse Point and all of the proceeds will be dedicated to purchasing children's library materials. Some of the books for sale are donations and others are books weeded out of the library's collection. Cost 25 cents per book or 5 for $1. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m. 7 Please note: The next monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 7th at 6:45 p.m. at the Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave. ATTACHMENT BTAB PowerPoint slides Approved By Date 1 7 r 8 3/6/2012 BOULDER PUBLIC LIBRARY Teen Space Proposal IT IS A CLOSET ;p 1 3/6/2012 ONLY THREE COMPUTERS ~r r u~ . PAINFIn. FUITNITLT.F.. DEt~ru.; Ali: .~`PC'i;'?N UNIT 2 3/6/2012 TEEN SOCIALIZING AREA e, TEEN STUDY AREA .ti WHERE AM I? 3 3/6/2012 trt"'. STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRONIC : o More Space ...Ploase!!!! o Fake Fire Ptaco and Reading Area o Separate, Enclosed. Teen Study/Conference Room o Stage for Teen Performances u Storage Space for Teen Backpacks o Videogame Area, enclosed enough to stop noise pollution o Kitchen Unit, where Teens can prepare hot beverages and food o Sink or Water Source s - INTERIOR DECOMt TING o Furniture • Soft • Rocyr-led Materials • Easy to Clean • Comfortable • Plume No Floor Chairs White Board, Please Not on the Wall (Separate so we can move and clean it) e Mural (Painted by Teens) o Green Screen and Video Editing Bay Computers Good Lighting c Signs to Show Location 4 3/6/2012 T The Houider Teen Adv-ry Board