SANTA  MONICA  PUBLIC  LIBRARY  BOARD

Minutes of the REGULAR Meeting of NOVEMBER 7, 2002

To Be Approved

A REGULAR meeting of the Library Board was called to order by Chairperson, Gene Oppenheim, at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, November 7, 2002 at the Main Library in the conference room, 1343 Sixth Street, Santa Monica.

Call to Order

PRESENT:

Boardmember Breisch, Vice Chair Edwards, Boardmember Field, Chairperson Oppenheim and Boardmember Stern

Roll Call

ALSO PRESENT:

Wini Allard, City Librarian; Gordon Anderson, Assistant City Manager

Ms. Allard reported to the Board a compliment the staff received regarding the programs the Library held in conjunction with the Statewide reading program California Stories:  Reading the Grapes of Wrath.

Communications from the Public

Boardmember Field made a motion to approve the minutes of the Library Board meeting of October 10, 2002.  Vice Chair Edwards seconded the motion.  The minutes were approved as mailed in a unanimous voice vote.

Approval of the Library Board Minutes

Ms. Allard reported that at the October 14 meeting of the Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library Board of Directors elections were held for officers.  Officers will serve a term of two years.  Three new members were elected to the Board of Directors:  Evelyn Lee, Suzanne Trimbath and Lynn Stokes.  Jon Arenberg was elected as Chair; Sherrill Kushner, Vice Chair; Harriet Cutler, Treasurer; Paula Schneiderman, Recording Secretary.  

Report from the Friends of the Library, a Library Support Group

The Friends allocated $4,500 for the Library staff holiday and farewell to the library party being held on December 13.

Michele Wittig, Chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition addressed the Board on the issue of naming the auditorium in the new Main Library in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  At the October 28, 2002 meeting of the Coalition “A motion, to request that the City name the auditorium in the new main Santa Monica Library after the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was made (by Nathaniel Trives), seconded (by Clyde Smith), and passed with no opposition.”

Martin Luther King Jr. Westside Coalition

Discussion from the Library Board followed. 

Boardmember Breisch made a motion to support the Coalition’s request to have the auditorium in the new Main Library named after the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Vice Chair Edwards seconded the motion and the motion passed in a unanimous voice vote.

Louix Escobar, Fairview Branch Manager, reported to the Board on the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Grant. 

National Network of Libraries of Medicine Grant

The grant is for a National Network of Libraries of Medicine education program to train staff and patrons to use three medical databases medline plus, topmed and trials.gov to do accurate medical research. 

Vice Chair Edwards made a motion to approve Mr. Escobar’s request to submit the National Network of Libraries of Medicine grant proposal as described in the handout the Board received.  Boardmember Field seconded the motion and the motion passed in a unanimous voice vote.

Gordon Anderson, Assistant City Manager, reported to the Board that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) would need to be re-circulated for 30 days.  The analysis work that was done in the previous EIR did not take into account the cumulative impact of all projects going on in the downtown area.  Intersections that were not taken into account during the initial circulation of the EIR will need to be added and the EIR will need to be re-circulated. This will lengthen the schedule.   

Main Library Expansion - Update

Staff is currently in the process of getting the approvals done for the work to begin on the temporary Library.  The temporary Library will not be able to open until the EIR is certified. 

No report.

Nationwide Current Library Trends – Review of Journal articles

Secretary’s Report

The City Clerk’s office has asked the individual departments to post their Board and Commission agendas on-line.  Library Board agendas and minutes are now available on the Library’s website at http://www.smpl.org/library/involved/libboard.htm. 

Library Board Agendas/Minutes available on-line

Ms. Allard reported that Vanna White read “The Adventures of Capitol Kitty” by Sharon Davis, the First Lady of California, to third graders at the Main Library on October 26. Verizon sponsored the event for “Make a Difference Day”.  Ms. White from Wheel of Fortune is Verizon’s literacy champion.  The First Lady of California attended and spoke to the children about writing and literacy.  Verizon presented the Friends of the Library with a $25,000 grant check for a youth technology center.

Make a Difference Day

Reported previously.

Temporary Library

Library Staff met with the Director of the Museum of Flying and the Museum has agreed to allow the Library access the all the photographs in its collection.  The Library plans to make copies of the photographs, digitize them and add them to the Library’s Image Archive Collection.  Cynni Murphy, Image Archive Librarian, has begun the preliminary work on adding the collection.   

Museum of Flying Report

The Public Arts Committee wants to review the design for the column at the entryway of the new Main Library at a future Public Arts Committee meeting. 

Public Arts Committee Report

In order to enhance the pedestrian experience around the Library Moore Ruble Yudell is investigating placing quotes at pedestrian level around the exterior of the new Library.  

Ms. Allard reported to the Board on artist Carl Cheng’s design for the canopy above the café in the courtyard.

The Board discussed attending the Public Library Association Conference that will be held in Chicago March 6-8, 2003. 

Public Library Association Conference

Chair Oppenheim informed the Board that an additional judge is needed for the panel of judges for the Young Adult Photography Contest. 

Chair Oppenheim reported that he attended a benefit for the Squaw Valley Community of Writers put on by the Pier Restoration Committee and co-sponsored by the Friends of the Library.  The event featured readings by writers Alice Sebold, Janet Fitch, James Krusoe and Glen David Gold.  Aimee Bender moderated the event.

The Library Board asked that the following items be included in next Library Board agenda:  themes for the gardens and Young Adult Photography Contest.

Agenda Building

Vice Chair Edwards moved to adjourn the meeting.  Boardmember Stern seconded the motion.  The motion was approved in a unanimous voice vote.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:55pm.

Adjournment

Attest:

Approved:

Winona Allard

Gene Oppenheim

Secretary

Library Board Chair