The regular meeting of the Rochester Public Library Board of Trustees was called to order by President Paul Barton. Also attending were Dick Hall, Ed Haskell, Betty Hutchins, Frank Iossi, Ann Larson, and Naomi Lipsky.
Absent with notification: Susan Lee and Jeanne Parker.
Staff Present: Audrey Betcher, Acting Library Director; Kim Edson, Head of Extension Division; Frank Hawthorne, Information Services; Jean Jahn, Head of Automation Division; Judy Kereakos, Acting Assistant Director; Roger Leachman, Information Services; Louise Moe, Head of Information Services; and Kathy Olson, Administrative Assistant.
Ed Haskell moved, Dick Hall second to approve the meeting minutes from July 12, 2000.
Dick requested that the wording be changed to "alleged crime" in the paragraph on data privacy.
Minutes approved as amended.
The bills include payments for the work associated with the handicapped access grant. Half the costs will be covered by the grant from the state, with the remainder from an
appropriation from the City. None of these costs will be paid from the operating budget.Year to date circulation and door count is slightly higher than this same period last year. Interlibrary loan activity is showing a 62% increase over 1999; we are guessing this is because users can see other libraries holdings more easily in Epac.
The figure for dialin is true dialin, not Internet usage. Because of Internet that number keeps dropping and the dialin service will be discontinued at the end of this year. More renewals are being done on epac, which is a figure we have not been counting but will add.
The online reserve requests figure is low since there was a problem with a DRA software update, and some statistics were lost.
We are changing procedures to allow checkout of magnetic media on the selfcheck machines. We are hoping use of the selfchecks increases as a result of this change.
Ed asked if items having to do with staff members could be discussed earlier in the meeting and routine administrative matters be moved to the end. Consensus was to experiment with changing the agenda order for the next meeting.
There will be an event with Hamilton Jordon on October 10 in the library auditorium, with a limit of 200 attendees. There will be a fee charged as a fundraiser for Foundation.
Judy Harris was re-elected president of the Executive Board. The Board discussed establishing an emergency fund for libraries, but the consensus was that it was the responsibility of cities to take care of costs associated with emergencies such as flooding.
SELCO has two new staff members in training and automation and two staff members leaving: Shirley Taylor and the bookkeeper.
DRA is starting to move customers to its new system (TAOS). SELCO may want to look at other systems since whether they stay with DRA or move to another system it will be totally new. Jean Jahn will be on planning committee when the time comes.
The Personnel Committee is proceeding with Audrey's appraisal. They still need to talk to the City Administrator before the appraisal is finalized. The committee suggested that an Executive Board meeting be scheduled for Thursday, August 24, at 4:30 in the Conference Room to discuss the appraisal.
The City Council has asked every department to make a presentation on anticipated changes in service levels, types of services, revenue sources, etc. No date has been set for these review sessions, although the library will be one of the last departments to make its presentation. Audrey reviewed a draft of discussion items for the City Council review.
In reviewing the points to be made, the administrative team discussed fines and fees. The library purchased collection agency software in late 1999. In reviewing how this software would be implemented, staff have had concerns about the charging of overdue fees and being able to target collection agency action to only those patrons who have not returned items, not those patrons who have returned items but have a large balance of overdue fees. There are public relations implications if the collection agency tries to collect on both lost items and overdue fees. If we did not charge overdue fees, we would more aggressively target patrons who have not returned items.
There has also been discussion that overdue fees are a barrier to service to underserved populations. They cause problems with immigrant populations with economic barriers and language issues.
There have been studies done on the effectiveness of overdue fees and return of materials and there is no difference in the return rate if overdue fees are not charged.
The board discussed that these Issues should have been raised before the software was purchased. They requested staff to prepare an analysis of the issues, including the dollar value of materials lost, the cost to repurchase materials when they are not returned, the impact on the budget, impact on public relations, etc.
The focus groups and interviews have been completed, and staff surveys have been submitted. The Board requested a draft copy of the study before the September board meeting.
The Board discussed whether to continue to have student representatives on the Board. To date there have been mixed results, but it is useful to have student input at Board meetings. The consensus was to continue to have student representation and to send the matter to the Policy and Planning Committee for a recommendation on how to structure student participation.
The Board was questioned whether Board information, other than names, should also be available on the library's home page and the consensus was to have photos and additional information only available on the Intranet. The Board discussed what information they wish to make available to staff and agreed on work experience, educational background, and other volunteer efforts. Kathy will send an e-mail to Board members asking them to provide this information.
The Board requested that they have access to the Intranet so they can get to know staff since staff pictures will also be posted on the Intranet.
Roger Leachman, Frank Hawthorne, Kim Edson, and Audrey Betcher highlighted activities and workshops they attended at the ALA Conference in Chicago.
Children's programs this summer have been so successful that there have been issues with the auditorium becoming overcrowded and unable to maintain aisle space. Staff is dealing with the problems to ensure safety for everyone. We now have a counter at the door and are only allowing a limited number of people in; at today's performance staff had to turn away 30-40 people. Staff is also talking with performers to see if they are willing to do three programs rather than two programs.
Nonfiction videos will soon be moved to the second floor, either as a separate collection or interfiled with nonfiction books. We have done some surveying of patrons to find out if they browse or are looking for a specific subject or video. Whether we interfile or keep the collection separate, some patrons will be upset. The physical arrangement makes it easier for staff to interfile although we are looking at other options.
Feature videos will remain on the first floor.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Olson
Secretary Pro Tem
The next regular Board meeting will be Wednesday, September 13, 2000, at 4:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B on the second floor of the library.