Brownsville Public Library System Advisory Board

Brownsville Public Library System Advisory Board Monday April 11, 2022 Minutes Hybrid Present Board: Rubi Gonzalez, Alma Knopp, George E. Olivo, Cynthia Lizardi-Burtlette, Rachel Ayala Guests: Juan Guerra, Brenda Trevino, Josephine Balboa, Maribel De Leon, Cassandra Mendez, Lisa Rodriguez, Courtney Taylor, Jose Gonzalez, Lazaro Castro 1) Call Meeting to Order – Meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. 2) Discussion and Action of Approval of Minutes – Mrs. Knopp motioned for approval. Ms. Ayala second. All voted aye, and minutes are approved. 3) Citizen Comment – No Comments 4) Library Report – a. Youth Services i. New Children’s Furniture at Southmost Library – Ms. Trevino began with a presentation on the new children’s furniture for the Southmost Branch Library. She suggested that after the meeting she would lead the board on a tour of the newly remodeled branch. She broke down what was purchased and displayed before and after pictures. She also explained why the library went with these designs. ii. Easter Eggstravaganza – The event was held on the on the 7th at the Southmost Branch. The Main Branch will have their event this coming Thursday the 14th. Ms. Trevino mentioned that 395 attended the event at Southmost which is almost double the attendees from last year. The event consisted of an egg hunt, pictures with the easter bunny, prizes, and a special egg hunt with 3D eggs that the kids were able to keep once found, plus an extra prize. iii. New Story-Walk Southmost Trail – The book has been changed on the Story-Walk Southmost Trail to “What the Road Said” by Cleo Wade. The final four stands have been added to the trail, so now the trail extends from International to Southmost Rd. trailhead. b. Adult Services i. Book Donation for Existing Mobile Libraries – Mr. Jose Gonzalez did a presentation on the three (3) little libraries that the library donated books to. First was Prax Orive Sunrise Park, which is located on Palm Blvd. The  second park was Harry E. McNair Park located on St. Charles St. The third park was Joe & Tony Olivera Park located by Pace High School. The library left several books at each location and plan to continue and to add different locations to the list. c. MakerSpace Services i. Utilization of Services – Mr. Lazaro Castro did a presentation on the updates for MakerSpace. He stated that 3D printing is continuing to grow both from patrons and internal departments. The heat press, Cricut, and silhouette services have a slower but steady increase of usage. Patrons are required to bring all materials needed for this service, or they must purchase the items from the library. The usage is set by appointments. The library is also working with other city departments to extend promotion of services. For the moment patrons are using the MakerSpace advisor computers, but the library is working on getting computers dedicated to these services. Interest has come from patrons of all ages. MakerSpace is also hosting other activities such as Perler Bead night and have participants from STEAM week returning to finish their projects. d. Outreach – Ms. Courtney Taylor presented about outreach after COVID, it began with the Christmas at Main Square with the Tree lighting. The library also participated in Día De La Muerte at the Event Center where staff gave out information and a mini spa in a bag. The also gave away library merch and prizes for individuals who could answer specific questions. The library also participated in a Dr. Seuss birthday reading at a school. One of the last events the library attended was the Work Force 2022 Career Expo, where the library was able to interact with hundreds of kids from different schools in Brownsville and provided information on working at the library. 5) Adjournment – Ms. Knopp made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Olivo seconded. Meeting adjourned at 6:25 pm.