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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-06-10 PLB MINUTES3400 South Elati Street, Englewood, CO 80110 303-762-2560 Voice 303-762-2576 FAX Minutes Englewood Public Library Board June 10, 1997 Call To Order/Roll Call The meeting of the Englewood Public Library Board was called to order by Chairperson, Mary Dounay at 7:35 p.m. PRESENT: M. Dounay, M. Giffin , A. Leonard , S. Smithers, B. Williams, Youth Member, Summer Witt, and Council Member Alex Habenicht. REGRETS: R. Greiner, S. O'Leary, S. Ostema, M. Schwindt, and Youth Member, M. Heberling. ALSO PRESENT: Hank Long, Library Director, and Joan Clayton, Recording Secretary. 901d Business 97-16 Motion: That the Minutes of the Library Board Meeting of April 8, 1997 be accepted as written. Moved by: Bervette Williams Seconded by : Sonia Smithers The Motion passed. 97 -17 Motion: That the Minutes of the Library Board Special Meeting of May 5, 1997 be accepted as written. Moved by: Bervette Williams Seconded by: Sonia Smithers The Motion passed. Ms. Williams reported on the recent Big Book Sale that had been held Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8. Lots and lots of books were sold, many compliments were heard and a profit of $3.169.71 was realized. Congratulations were given to Ms. Williams for her successful chairing of this event. Ms. Williams indicated she would serve as a Co -chair for next year's book sale if several other people were willing to help. In addition to the profit, 9 new members 9were signed up for the Friends. The Book Discussion Group was canceled in May due to Ms. Ostema's illness. The group will be discussing "A Woman of Independent Means" at the June meeting, Tues., June 24. Ms. Leonard reported for the Save the Bookmobile Committee. This committee has given $300 toward the programming for the summer story times to be held on the Bookmobile this summer. This money will go toward the purchase of paperback books to be given to r participants at the summer programs. Ms. Giffin said she would be willing to help with e storytimes this summer. Ms. Leonard reported on the latest Cultural Arts Commission meeting that she had attended. The Arts Commission has adopted the "plane" in Belleview Park as a project. The plane, or more correctly the missile , is to be moved approximately 15 feet west. Martin Marietta has donated a plaque to commemorate and describe the missile. The dedication will take place as part of the Fourth of July Celebration. The Arts Commission is forming a committee to facilitate a committee to start planning the 1001 h Celebration of Englewood to be held in the year 2003. Ms. Leonard said she would like to see participation from the Library Board and the Library on this Committee. Ms. Leonard volunteered to be the Library Board's representative on this new committee. Mr. Long will either go to the formation meeting or see if another staff person is interested in serving on this new committee. Ms. Leonard raised several questions concerning the monthly statistics for May for the Library. Her questions centered around the statistics for withdrawn items. She asked what the difference is between withdrawn and discarded; what percentage of those items withdrawn were fiction, non-fiction and periodicals. Mr. Long said that items withdrawn are items which have been discarded from the collection due to age of materials, condition of materials and lack of circulation of materials. Ms. Leonard said that she wanted to officially protest the weeding of the Library's collection. Her feeling is that the Library is a repository of books, especially in this era of Internet access as well as other electronic data. Mr. Long explained that there is not enough room in libraries to possibly keep all published materials. The reference staff uses the Library professional standard, CREW method of weeding. This method uses the following criteria to determine whether to pull material; condition of item, how often the item has circulated, and if the information contained in the item is current. Ms. Giffin, who has worked professionally as a media specialist for the Sheridan Schools, said that all libraries need to weed their collections based on the CREW method, or some other professionally recognized standards. There simply is not enough room in libraries to hold all the printed matter published. There is also the problem of information becoming outdated. Ms. Leonard said that she could see the value of weeding non-fiction based on inaccurate information; her concern however centers around the weeding of fiction. Ms. Leonard feels that it is the responsibility of libraries to have available older fiction as well as current fiction for the public. Ms. Giffin said that the Library of Congress is charged with the responsibility of maintaining collections of materials in that manner. All libraries cannot do this due to storage space and demands of the community. Ms. Giffin said she felt that Englewood Library keeps more older literature and fiction books than many other libraries in the area. The collection, said Ms. Giffin should reflect the needs of the community it serves as well as having good literature of a classic nature. Ms. Habenicht expressed concern that a well-rounded and comprehensive collection be maintained. As an example she said that she had found only 5 titles by Heinlein on the science fiction shelf, and of those 5 , 3 were the same title. A discussion followed concerning what constitutes a well -rounded collection, personal preferences and the demands of the public being served. Mr. Long assured the Board that the staff is aware of the public's concerns surrounding the weeding of the collection and they are trying to balance these concerns, the budget, and the need for classics in the collection. Ms. Habenicht said she was expressing concern as a citizen. Mr. Long reported that Mike Hurley, the operator of the coffee cart, is anticipating opening 9soon. A menu was in the handouts for the Board at this evening's meeting. Mr. Long has received 2 letters recently complaining about the opening of a "coffee bar" in the Library. All present expressed hope for the success of the new venture. The policy of the Library will be that only food and beverages purchased in the Library may be consumed in the Library. There was a brief discussion of the Englewood School Summer Program. The Library Board, the Library staff and the Friends of the Library donated scholarship money for this summer program. Ms. Dounay said that these scholarships are much appreciated by the school district. 250 coupons for the recent Book Sale were given to the program, of the 250 given out only 4 were redeemed. Mr. Long referred to the calendar for the remodeling project in the Board's packet and asked if there were any questions. Those present indicated that they felt everything was clearly stated in the calendar and attached comments. New Business 97-18 Motion: That a letter of appreciation be written to City Council for their support of the remodel project in the Library and for supporting the coffee cart. Moved by: Margaret Giffin Seconded by : Bervette Williams .ye 4 Nay 1 Ms. Dounay had received a thank-you note from retiring staff member, Joy Gautier, thanking the Board for their retirement gift of a gift certificate to Tattered Cover. 97-19 Motion: That in the future retiring staff members receive $35 gift certificates to the Tattered Cover Bookstore. Moved by: Ame Leonard Seconded by: Margaret Giffin The Motion passed. Mr. Long next addressed a recently challenged item, a children's video which was part of a Fairy Tale series. A patron had filled out a complaint form about the video being inappropriate for children . Staff reviewed the video and agreed with the patron that the video contained inappropriate material. The video was withdrawn from the collection. Mr. Long apologized that the video was unavailable for the Board's review. When the video was taken off the shelf it was reviewed by 2 staff members as per the current policy. They agreed with the points raised by the patron and the tape was in turn withdrawn from the collection and discarded. In the future all such materials will be brought to the Board for their review. All present said they feel they need to see the challenged materials so that they can address concerns from the 9community should they be asked about these decisions. Discussion followed. It was recommended that the Library try to obtain the challenged video through Inter Library Loan so the Board could review it. Mr. Long asked that Board Members review the Library policies included in their packets for e this month and bring any comments to the July meeting for discussion. With regard to the 1998 Budget, 3 capital items are to be requested. They are; 1.) new service desks for the circulation and reference areas; 2.) new furniture in the public areas of the Library; 3.) new shelving modifications for bottom shelves of book shelving units throughout the Library. Mr. Long said he had a quote of $17,000 to modify shelves to make them slant shelves. 97-20 Motion: That the Public Library Board recommends that the 3 capital budget items listed in the Agenda of the June 10, 1997 meeting and discussed at that meeting be included in the Library Director's 1998 proposed Budget. Moved by: Margaret Giffin Seconded by: Sonie Smithers The Motion passed unanimously. 97-21 Motion: That the meeting of the Englewood Public Library Board scheduled for Tuesday, August 12, 1997 be canceled. Moved by: Ame Leonard Seconded by: Sonie Smithers The Motion passed. Discussion followed with regard to the replacement of the public word processors. The cost of replacing the word processors is approximately $4,500. Mr. Long was asked where the money will come from for these new computers. He said there should be savings from book discounts and staff savings. If not completely covered by these items then he will ask City Council for supplemental money. Other departments have asked for supplemental money in the past, though the Library has never had to do so. Mr. Long has informed to the City Manager about the need to replace the word processors. The decision was made to spend the money to replace the computers as they have been such a popular service with the public. Those present concurred unanimously with Mr. Long's decision. Ms. Habenicht expressed concern about the monitoring of the Internet terminals by placing a mirror over the terminals. Mr. Long explained that this was no different than mirrors placed in store to monitor areas not in full view of staff, in this case full view of the reference desk. Since the placing of the mirror and moving the printer for the Internet terminals the printing of questionable material has ceased. Behavior of teens has also become less problematic. Ms. Habenicht said she was concerned that this was a privacy issue. It was decided that the mirror would be left for now and see if the public had complaints with regard to the placing of the mirror. Member's Choice Ms. Giffin said that she had recently retired from the Sheridan School District after 25 years. ~he will be working with her church 's missions as well as doing volunteer work. All present ~ongratulated her and wished her well. Mr. Long showed pictures of his recent car accident. The picture is a comment on the worth of seat belts and air bags . Ms. Williams said that her son, Clay had a book review published in the May 151 h issue of the Library Journal published by ALA. She was able to see the review in the Library's copy of the Journal. She was very pleased to be able to have copies of the review to send to family. Ms . Smithers invited everyone to the Taste of Englewood , a Chamber of Commerce event . scheduled for June 12 at Colonial Bank from 5 - 7 p.m. Ms. Dounay said that the 1996-97 school year had been a very good year for Englewood Schools. Graduates of Englewood High School had received many scholarships, 2 young men had appointments to West Point and the Air Force Academy and once again there was a Boettcher Scholar from Englewood High School. Flood Middle School also has received national recognition by being chosen as a Blue ribbon School. Ms. Clayton added that for the sixth straight year Colorado 's Finest Alternative High School, an Englewood School had received the John Irwin Award as a school of excellence , a state wide recognition. Ms. Dounay commented on the memo Mr. Long had included in the packet about attitude , mentioning she had enjoyed reading the memo . • here being no further business the meeting adjourned at 9:1 O p.m. 6/97 jc