Brownsville Public Library System Advisory Board

Brownsville Public Library System Advisory Board June 12, 2023 Minutes Hybrid Present Absent Guests George E. Olivo Alisha Hernandez Josephine Balboa Kayla Trevino Rubi Gonzalez Bertha Peña Lisa Rodriguez Katie Hernandez Nora I Garza Chris Pineda Brenda Trevino Melinda Clayton Cynthia Lizardi-Burlette Sarined Garcia Courtney Taylor Jose A. Gonzalez Lazaro Castro 1) Call Meeting to Order – Meeting called to order by Mr. George E. Olivo at 5:34 pm. 2) Discussion and Action of Approval of Minutes – Ms. Cynthia Lizardi-Burlette motioned for approval. Mrs. Rubi Gonzalez seconded. All voted aye, and the minutes approved. 3) Citizen Comment – No Comments 4) Library Report a. Adult Services – Jose A. Gonzalez presented first on the adult services in order to attend the pending adult program Daddy and me. Mr. Gonzalez presentation starts with the Little Lending Libraries visited for the month of May, totaling 8 libraries with 420 books delivered. A new library was found at a residence around Ruben Torres and the one located at the El Centro Cultural was replaced. According to a parks employee another Lending library is up at a park behind the Walmart on Ruben Torres, Mr. Gonzalez states they will be visiting it soon. Mr. Olivo mentions a new lending library being place in Prax Orive Park. Ms. Lizardi-Burlette asks if Mr. Gonzalez also donated books to the new library. Mr. Gonzalez informs the board that it was already full. Next, Mr. Gonzalez updates the board on the Adult Computer classes, which has on average of 10 attendees. The class received a certificate for completing a typing test. Adult services also hosted a recipe swap at the Southmost Branch library and a cooking class at the Main branch library. These programs are alternated between branches. The Mom and me occurred at both branches with a craft and a giveaway for the attendees. The Talking Book Program in partnership with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission makes the Southmost Branch Library a demonstration site for library services qualifying Texans with visual, physical, or reading disabilities. Patrons can demo the equipment and receive an application to apply for the device, which will be mailed to them. Mr. Gonzalez switched to the upcoming programs for the month of June, including the Daddy and Me, the World Cooking class, which included Chia tea, Naan, and Chutney. Mr. Gonzalez highlights the new partnership with Autismo en Mi Vida, staring up again when school starts. Ms. Rubi Gonzalez ask if these are at both branches, Mr. Gonzalez states these are only at the Southmost Branch. Ms. Rubi Gonzalez suggest sending out info about the partnership with Autismo en Mi Vida to the schools, especially the Idea, Life skills departments, as well as the school counselors. Mr. Gonzalez highlights BPL’s 2nd Annual Play, The Three Little Pigs, stating the costumes were bought by the parents and the library provided the refreshments for the day of the performance. There were 102 attendees. Ms. Lizardi-Burlette asks what the draw is for this kind of event. Ms. Kayla Trevino pointed out that the kids participating in the play would invite their family and friends, who then invited more people. Ms. Brenda Trevino pointed out that this was one of the task force ideas that was implemented. b. Youth Services – Ms. Kayla Trevino updated the board on the start of the Summer Reading Program, including the Kickoff party with a total of 473 registrations at the Main Branch Library and 296 for the Southmost Branch Library. Ms. Trevino was happy to say that the goal was surpassed by the second day of the summer reading program. At the time of the meeting, the total number of registrations was 1,052 for both branches. The age group with the largest number of registrations is 5 years to 11 years old, followed by Adults. Ms. Trevino points out that whenever parents come to sign up their children's staff is encouraging the parent to sign up as well. Ms. Kayla Trevino showcases the upcoming events of June. The theme of the Summer Reading Program is Around the World. Both branches will host Kid’s Night crafts, which are Chinese Dragon and Japanese Carp Streamers. Ms. Trevino provides examples of the crafts. Next is the Family Dance Workshop in partnership with ROCA, Revival of Cultural Arts. Mr. Olivo and Ms. Rubi Gonzalez mention seeing the Program posted on Facebook. Another Kids’ Night will be a STEM challenge, of building a castle and mosaics. Kayla Trevino goes on to list the Father’s Day event, Root Beer Floats with Dad, the Glady’s Porter Zoo presentation, and the Summer Bash for the midpoint of the Summer Reading Program and the Start of accepting the reading logs, which will have a toddle soft play station for children 5 and under. This will be a safe space for kids too little to get on the larger activities, such as the water slides. Mr. Olivo ask to be sent the dates of the upcoming events. Ms. Trevino points out that the Summer Bash is also an Incentive to return the reading logs, patrons will get an extra chance at winning a giveaway. Ms. Rubi Gonzalez exclaims that she loves all the programs and that they look very engaging. Ms. Bertha Pena also mentions the Brag tags and how popular they were. Ms. Trevino states there will be 100 at each specified event and there will be a designated table to sign in and receive the brag tags. Ms. Pena suggests that the library reaches out to the Boys and Girls Club, so they can post the flyers and help promote the programs. Ms. Lizardi-Burlette adds that the Mitte Cultural District might also be interested, and the library can contact Daniela Lopez. Ms. Kayla Trevino states she will reach out to them. c. Teen Services – Sarined Garcia presented on Teen Services for May, starting with the Job Fairs, which had 564 attendees. The Job Fair had 2 full school buses arrive for the event. Ms. Garcia highlighted the different organizations at the Job Fair, such as the STARS and an organization that helps students fill out resumes, college applications, and scholarships. The Teen Anime Club continued to bring both teens and other age groups. Teens were able to vote for the new logo for the club. The month of May also included the Yoga workshop at Southmost and Main’s took place on June 1st. The Teen Advisory continues to meet and build membership. The Teen Lock-in took place at the Southmost Branch library with a total of 25 teens. Ms. Garcia stated it was a good learning experience. The different areas were open to the teens, they were able to try out the areas of the library throughout the night. Ms. Brenda Trevino pointed out that some of the teens from the Lock In also joined in for the Summer Reading Kickoff party. Upcoming events for Teens include the Maid Café, Mosaic Style Diamond Painting, and the Main Branch Lock In at the Library. d. MakerSpace Services – Mr. Lazaro Castro updated the board on Makerspace, which now has iMac computers available at both locations for patrons wanting to create their own designs. In the future, these will have software for photo editing. The iMacs help fulfill the requirements for the TSLAC Grant. Makerspace has also added two Ultimaker S5 at each location and is pending a laser cutter and Dell laptop to fulfill the CDBG grant. The Makerspace also hosted a STEM program, Build a Bridge, which tested the patron's ability to engineer a bridge that would not break when weight is added. For the summer,  Makerspace is also having a Tech Petting Zoo, DIY Machines, and the Exploration Theater. Ms. Brenda Trevino offers to send the calendar of events. Ms. Lizardi-Burlette suggest that the library contacts Mr. Chavez with BISD about passing along the information to the students e. Outreach – Ms. Courtney Taylor updated the board on all the events and locations the library visited in April. The first event attended was at the Mexican Consulate, they promoted services on 3D printing and explained information on Makerspace machines reaching out to 30 people. The second event they attended was B-Metro. Staff promoted the Three Little Pigs Play and the audiobooks patrons can listen to while they commute on the bus. The next event was the Career Expo, which is part of Cameron Workforce in Harlingen, reaching out to 692 people. They had a trivia during the event, they asked what people can check out other than books, and multiple answers they received were Check out a Librarian. Tropical had a Children's Mental Health Awareness fair, they were talking about different portions of the City of Brownsville where they can offer their services. They were able to show bus routes and speak about the check-out a librarian service, reached out to a total of 64 people. Attended Jubilee Career Day as part of the Gear Up Grant program, they spoke about library services such as the computer classes, Makerspace, LinkedIn Learning, and new equipment in Makerspace purchased with grants, they saw a total of 579 people. There was a collaboration with the city departments for National Travel & Tourism Week. It had to do with the One City One Brownsville concept, and all the different parts of Brownsville, whether it's from the Southmost Community or Main Branch. They were able to see 191 people. Attended the Vela Bilingual Community Bash where they promoted the Teen Advisory Council and Summer Reading Program, they were able to speak to 68 people. The East Brownsville Little Miss Kickball Tournament was suggested by Ms. Lety, technical department services, they were able to see 145 people and promoted Teen Lock-In and SRP. Attended Brownsville Farmers Market, the staff displayed 3D prints and promoted new 3D printers that were purchased with CDBG grant and saw a total of 100 people. Librarian Bertha Gomez continued to visit adult day cares, and they suggested they liked to take field trips to the library, their director is looking into seeing if they can do that. Attended the Mexican Consulate, Ms. Lissette was able to promote that they are allowed to use their US passport and Matricular Consular to get a library card, and they do not need to get a library card to visit the library. The outreach total is 10,902 which surpasses last year. Ms. Courtney asked for any questions or concerns. Ms. Rubi Gonzalez mentioned it’s barely halfway through the year, and that is an amazing job that the library is doing. Mr. Olivo asked if there were any other questions, he proceeded to say, everyone is doing a great job in all areas, and working very hard and asked how the library board can help to make the programs even more successful. Ms. Garza commented she lets her Facebook friends know about the programs and tries to reshare all the events and programs. Ms. Lizardi-Burlette asked Courtney about Adult Daycares and if there is a way to give vouchers for them to purchase books from Friends of the Library. Ms. Courtney mentioned Ms. Bertha and Mr. Jose have taken donations to adult daycares, she mentions she will talk to Lazaro about making Makerspace certificates and will need confirmation from Friends of the Library about the vouchers. Ms. Courtney asked if there will be a library board meeting in July, Mr. Olivo said he will talk to Mr. Guerra. 5)Adjournment – Motion to adjourn by Mr. Olivo and seconded by Mrs. Rubi Gonzalez. The meeting adjourned at 6:17 pm.