Brownsville Public Library System Advisory Board

Brownsville Public Library System Advisory Board Monday May 9, 2022 Minutes Hybrid Present Absent Guests Alma Knopp Rubi Gonzalez Josephine Balboa Lazaro Castro Rachel Ayala Maribel De Leon Sarined Garcia Cynthia Lizardi-Burlette Lisa Rodriguez Jose Gonzalez Chris Pineda Cassandra Mendez Kayla Trevino Alisha Hernandez Courtney Taylor George E. Olivo 1) Call Meeting to Order – Meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. 2) Discussion and Action of Approval of Minutes – Mr. Pineda motioned for approval. Ms. Lizardi Burlette seconded. All voted aye, and minutes are approved. 3) Citizen Comment – No Comments 4) Library Report a. Marquee Update – Mrs. Balboa explained that the old marquee at the Main Branch has been demolished and that the vendor will be working on erecting the new marquee, which will be the same design as the Southmost Branch, with the exception that instead of purple for the sign they went with a green to match the Main Branch’s interior. The Southmost Branch marquee is still pending PUB to come in. b. Adult Services i. Adult Computer Classes/AARP – Mr. Gonzalez stated that the response has been phenomenal, and the library is coming down to its last classes for this season. They will begin classes once again in August and they will run through October. The classes began small but have slowly grown. The community has been receptive; communication and engagement has improved. Attendees have been encouraged to continue to come to the library to ask more questions. Mr. Pineda asked what are the type of questions or areas of technology the public asks or are interested in? Mr. Gonzalez answered that the questions have been diverse, but most of the patrons attending were fearful to even touch a computer, and this has allowed them to alleviate that fear. ii. Little Lending Libraries – Mr. Gonzalez reported that he and Ms. Dulce Espinosa delivered books to 5 different little lending libraries, which were the Brownie  Headstart, Lopez Early College High School, Brownsville Municipal Court, Leon Gardens Head Start and Brownsville Sports Park. They will continue to find little lending libraries the library can support. Ms. Lizardi asked if the library knew how many little lending libraries were in Brownsville? Mr. Gonzalez explained that they use the lending libraries app, but not all the ones they have discovered are on the map, and that many others have been either removed or are being replaced or repaired. iii. Other Adult Programming in June – July – Mr. Gonzalez continued with the upcoming adult programing for Summer Reading Program during June and July. These programs will be the Father’s Day Appreciation Event, which is taking place right after the meeting, the DIY Beach Frame event, the Beach in a Bottle and B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Book) Club. c. Youth Services i. Summer Reading Program Kick-Off – Ms. Kayla Trevino began with introducing Ms. Sarined Garcia, who is the new librarian and will be overseeing teen programing soon. Ms. Sarined introduced herself to the board. Ms. Trevino continued to explain the summer reading program, and that the library had over 500 registrations thus far. The libraries’ goals are 700 total registrations, with at least 350 submitted reading logs (begin accepting on June 25), the same 50 patrons attending at least 5 programs, and 400 attendees at the Fintastic Summer Bash at the Southmost Branch Library. The library plans to do brag tags that would allow the patron to submit no less than 5 brag tags to enter the giveaway, and it will increase their chances of winning a prize. During the Fintastic Summer Bash the library will have RGV Aerial performing aerialist stunts, Brownsville Fire Department, Cameron County Sheriff’s Department, vendors, food, and games. The kickoff party just passed, and patrons came in registered for the program, and were able to do a treasure hunt, and display their names on little fish which are displayed in the children's department. Lastly, Ms. Trevino told the board about outreach the children's dept. did at Ben Brite Elementary. d. MakerSpace Services i. Updates – Mr. Lazaro Castro updated the board regarding 3D printing; this is steadily growing, especially at the Main Branch. Patrons ranging from 6years old and up have come in to ask on how to set up and send for prints. At the of the school year, the library had several students in engineering and modeling come in and send requests to print for school assignments. Southmost MakerSpace renovation continues to move forward, and the progress is great. There’s only a few more things needed before the space is completely usable and functional. Finally, MakerSpace helped kick off the Summer Reading Program with the steamboat event. Kids were given a straw, a piece of foam, and a balloon and were asked to make a boat out of it. While the kids and parents panicked, they eventually came together to build their boats and got to race them. The kids took their boats home, and there were three winners that day. One for the fastest boat, one for the longest lasting boat, and for the most best-looking original boat. e. Outreach i. Jubilee Family Fun Day – Ruben Torres Livingway – Ms. Courtney Taylor explained Family Funday and all the fun stuff the library got to do with the  community during this event. The event was outside, and the library joined the Fire Department and other outside vendors to promote the city and the library. The library was able to reach approximately 130 people through this event. ii. Jubilee Family Fun Day - Ms. Taylor went on to explain that the library was invited once more to another Fun Day, and the library was able to join the Police Department and other entities to promote library and city services. This event was a lot smaller, and the library was able to reach 94 people. iii. International Southmost Community Meeting – This event took place at Gonzalez Park and was in collaboration with Grants department. They were joined by ROCA and other entities, and this was to promote the Southmost area and what else we can do to better this area. The library reached 772 people during this event. iv. Mexican Consulate – This is a recurring event that happens through a partnership with Bebe Leche, and the library was able to reach 61 people during this event. v. Hurricane Fair – This event was hosted by AARP and Office of Emergency Management. The library was able to reach 408 people and was able to promote non-traditional library services that can help during time of severe weather. Mr. Pineda stated that he was unaware of all these events and asked if the library would be kind enough to forward the board flyer or notices when events are going to happen. 5) Adjournment – Ms. Ayala made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mrs. Hernandez seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 6:33 pm.