SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD |
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| Minutes of the REGULAR Meeting of April 1, 2004 |
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| To Be Approved |
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| A REGULAR meeting of the Library Board was called to order by Chairperson, Kenneth Breisch, at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 1, 2004 at the Montana Ave. Branch Library, 1704 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. |
Call to Order |
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| PRESENT: |
Chairperson Breisch, Vice Chair Edwards, Boardmember Field, Boardmember Oppenheim and Boardmember Stern |
Roll Call |
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| ALSO PRESENT: |
Councilmember Pam O’Connor and Esther Smicklas Greg Mullen, Assistant City Librarian and Rachel Foyt, Administrative Analyst |
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| No report. |
Communications from the Public |
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| Vice Chair Edwards made a motion to approve the minutes of the Library Board meeting of March 4, 2004. Boardmember Oppenheim seconded the motion. The minutes were approved in a unanimous voice vote. |
Approval of the Library Board Minutes |
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| The Board heard a report from the March 8, 2004 Friends of the Library Board meeting. The Friends of the Library Fairview Paver Fundraising Campaign has sold 62 $100 pavers and 91 $200 pavers. Pavers will be sold until June 30th. |
Report from the Friends of the Library, a Library Support Group |
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| The Friends are continuing with their marketing survey for a capitol fundraising campaign for the new Main Library. |
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| At their April 12th Board meeting the Friends of the Library will approve their annual budget for 2004/05 and elect Friends boardmembers. |
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| Boardmember Field gave a report from the March 27, 2004 CALTAC workshop. The program for the workshop was visibility, advocacy in the 21st Century and changes in library service. State Librarian, Dr. Kevin Starr was the scheduled guest speaker but was unable to attend. Waynn Pearson, Director of the Cerritos Public Library and Barbara Custen, Director of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System, spoke about making libraries more visible and relevant. |
Report from the CALTAC workshop |
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| Boardmember Field was a member of a panel that spoke about developing techniques and a plan to get your library’s message out to the community. |
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| Several speakers urged library staff, boardmembers and Friends of the Library groups to participate in Legislative Day. Legislative Day is the day when Library advocates meet with the legislators in their district to urge support on library related issues. |
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| Library staff recently met with architect, Moore Ruble Yudell and CNI Design to approve interior and exterior color selections. |
Main Library Building Project Report |
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| Mr. Mullen showed the exterior color board containing samples of accent colors, various exterior paving materials and the pre-cast concrete panels planned for the exterior walls. The Library Board reviewed and discussed the exterior color board. |
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| Mr. Mullen reported to the Board that the parking structure for the new Main Library is almost complete. The contractor is currently finishing pouring the top level of the parking structure and the steel columns are being raised. In a few weeks they will begin to pour the ground level of the new Library. |
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| Library staff has been involved in ongoing discussions of the book stack height in the new Library. Code requirements suggest limiting shelving height to 72”. However, in order to allow for growth and interfiling of oversize items the books stacks need to be at least 90”. Library staff did receive the approval to go up to 90”. |
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| Susan Annett, Principal Librarian for Public Services, updated the Board on the Citywide Reads program. This year marks the centennial of the birth of Christopher Isherwood. In honor of the centennial the selection for this year’s Citywide Reads is The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood. |
Citywide Reads Update |
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| The Berlin Stories is comprised of two related novels, “The Last of Mr. Norris” and “Goodbye to Berlin”. The book discussion groups are designed in such a way that if you only read one of the novels you can still participate in the discussion. The program launch is April 17th. |
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| Ms. Annett distributed resource guides and encouraged the Board to read The Berlin Stories and attend one of the many Citywide Reads’ programs at the various venues around the city. |
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| The Board watched a video on the Pike’s Place Fish Market in Seattle, Washington. This training video presents a lighthearted approach to four principles called the FISH! Philosophy (Play, Make Their Day, Be There and Choose Your Attitude) which when applied to the work environment can improve customer service and employee satisfaction. |
FISH! Philosophy |
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| Library staff is changing the way of viewing and developing the collections and services for the new Library. Supervisors need a different approach with staff too. |
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| The FISH! Philosophy is a way of getting staff to think about their jobs in a different way and help them develop the flexibility to go beyond what they are use to. |
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| The Board discussed several journal articles. One article dealt with safety in libraries. The article emphasized that as libraries are getting larger staff size is decreasing and this can lead to safety issues. |
Nationwide Current Library Trends - Review of Library Journal Articles |
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| Mr. Mullen assured the Board that the City Manager’s priorities for the new Library are safety and maintenance. Positions for additional security staff and custodial staff are in the Library budget. |
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| Boardmember Field, Library staff, and members of the Friends of the Library attended a tour of the Library construction site given by Alex Parry from Civil Engineering. Mr. Parry distributed floor plans to help attendees orient themselves to the site. A mock up of the pre-cast concrete panels for the exterior of the building was on display. |
Secretary’s Report Construction Site Tour - Report |
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| Recently at the City Council budget session the Santa Monica Historical Society requested $75,000 to archive and catalog a collection of photographs, correspondence and documents. This collection was a donation from the family of Senator Jones, who was one of the founders of Santa Monica. City Council recommended that staff to look at ways to help the Historical Society archive and catalog the collection. |
Senator Jones Collection |
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| The first step is to evaluate the collection and decide what steps should be taken to properly conserve the collection. |
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| No changes in the 2005/06 budget. |
Budget Update |
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| Mr. Mullen reported that a patron has come forward and is interested in making a significant donation with relation to the oral history project. The funds would expand the project from a one-time event and establish an oral history program. |
Donation |
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| Staff plans to create a merchandising area at the Temporary Main Library. New books and materials would be in an arrangement similar to items in a bookstore. Staff plans to experiment with this area to entice patrons to browse. |
Temporary Main Library Merchandising Area |
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| Six Library staff members received service awards for their years of service to the Library. |
Service Awards |
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| The Library Board asked that interior color boards be included in next Library Board agenda. |
Agenda Building |
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| Boardmember Field moved to adjourn the meeting. Vice Chair Edwards seconded the motion. The motion was approved in a unanimous voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm. |
Adjournment |
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| Attest: |
Approved: |
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| Greg Mullen |
Kenneth Breisch |
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| Assistant City Librarian |
Library Board Chair |
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