Library Board of Trustees Meeting

Escondido Public Library Board of Trustees Board Meeting Minutes Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 2:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: President Guiles called the meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. Members Present: President Ron Guiles and Trustees Elmer Cameron, Gary Knight, and Mayra Salazar. Members Absent: Trustee Mirek Gomy Staff Present: Joanna Axelrod, Deputy City Librarian; and Misty Breymeyer, Division Coordinator. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. MINUTES: Agenda Item 1. Approve Minutes from the September 12, 2017 meeting. Motion by Trustee Cameron, seconded by Trustee Salazar to approve the September, 12, 2017 minutes as written. Motion carried unanimously. CURRENT BUSINESS: Agenda Item 2. Discuss with Library Systems & Services (LS&S) staff, the Trustees' specific role in the operation of Escondido Public Library provided for in California Education Code §18910 and the Professional Services Agreement for the operation of the Escondido Public Library. President Guiles welcomed Library Systems & Services (LS&S) representatives Chief Financial Officer Todd Frager and Regional Director Barbara Howison to the meeting, and asked Mr. Frager to update the Board on the transition process. LS&S staff are working with Deputy City Librarian Axelrod and City Attorney McGuinness on defining the City's relationship with the company, and determining what needs to be addressed prior to the transition date of January 15, 2018. City staff are collecting information on the Library's current workforce to provide LS&S a full picture of individual staff positions, salaries, and benefit accruals. That information will be used by LS&S to create formal offer letters which will be presented to staff the 1 week of December 11,2017. In the meantime, the Library is hiring temporary staff through an agency to maintain operations and help cover vacancies and time-off requests. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod explained that City management allowed her to fill leadership roles through intemal recruitments in addition to hiring temporary staff to accomplish operational responsibilities. Once the staff roster is finalized it too will be provided to LS&S. Trustee Knight questioned what the staffing levels would be going forward. Mr. Frager responded that the additional hours will be evaluated against the staffing numbers at time of the transition date. A more concrete picture of staffing levels will be developed once a better understanding of operational needs becomes clear. President Guiles referenced page four of the contract where it suggests a greater level of responsibility required of the Board in helping to manage the Library, whereas the previous practice was limited involvement. He questioned what that might look like under LS&S. Mr Frager responded that the company follows the structure set forth by the municipality they are working with, and they take their que from the overseeing Board. President Guiles replied he would like the Board to have more input than they have in the past. Ms. Howison said her experience with other contracts is that LS&S suggests policy changes, then the Board approves or creates the policy before sending it to the City Council if that is required. Trustee Cameron stated he assumed the Board will meet the new Library Director prior to the transition. He wanted an idea of the potential operational changes this person may make, and what the communication process would look like. Mr. Frager responded that prior to making any changes, the Director will review cost implications and communicate proposed recommendations or changes to the Board. Their feedback and approval would be required in the decision making process. Ms. Howison added operational changes will also be communicated to her, as she serves as the Regional Director, and with the City to ensure measurement goals are being met. As is the current practice, the Board will not be involved in day-to-day operations, that responsibility will fall to the Director. Trustee Knight guessed once the budget is determined they must work within set parameters. Mr. Frager responded this is correct, financial information will be brought to the Board prior to final budget creation. The Board and the City are the customers so their direct involvement is necessary to make sure LS&S is producing what the community wants. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod added grant relationships will remain between with the City and the funding agency. Current practice dictates that grant funding sources and program ideas be presented to the Board where they provide feedback, and approve or deny the direction of those programs. After the Board is informed, the Director will go to the City's Grants Committee and the City Council for final approval and acceptance. President Guiles questioned the intended role of the volunteers. Deputy City Librarian 2 Axelrod explained the current structure of managing volunteers will remain the same. The Volunteer Coordinator will work with City staff to place volunteers somewhere within the City based on their interests and needs. They will be City volunteers, not volunteering for LS&S. The Volunteer Coordinator will be a LS&S employee that works closely with the City to ensure a seamless process of onboarding and training. President Guiles asked if the Board is liable and has to carry insurance of the Library. Deputy Librarian Axelrod responded the City will maintain this coverage. President Guiles asked what the strategic planning process would look like. Ms. Howison stated that part of the plan is to seek community involvement for the development of a strategic plan. The community will help define what the Library should look like and develop a five-year plan. The Board will be very heavily involved in this process as they represent the community to LS&S. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod added the strategic plan will include the measurable outcomes of success. President Guiles asked how LS&S intends to survey the community and when the first survey would be done. Ms. Howison spoke about the various ways to achieve this and suggested working with the local universities or colleges. The survey should be done sooner rather than later as information collected will help to develop the strategic plan and future program planning. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod added that the intention is to get input from a variety of geographic, socio-economic, and age demographics across the city. The challenge is to be strategic and not create survey exhaustion that counteracts effective change. Mr. Frager added this might involve hiring professionals to advise, help build consensus and community involvement, and eliminate bias. Trustee Salazar asked if they were involved in previous expansion projects, what the community involvement looked like, and were those projects already approved in the budget when they took over. Ms. Howison said Upland and Moreno are currently expanding and these projects were not a bond related expansion. She has been involved in several projects as Riverside County went from 24 to 35 libraries in the last 20 years. Mr. Frager said the key is to get the average citizen to vote yes on the ballot, that can be accomplished by painting a picture or vision that they can get excited about. The ultimate goal is to get those in the community that are already passionate about the Library re-engaged; this can be accomplished by ensuring their satisfaction with day-to-day operations. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod added that the City's bond discussion has evolved into being more than just a Library. The City is investigating whether to make this a larger project and what the best strategy will be to get a bond passed. Trustees Salazar asked what changes LS&S has identified that they want to make to the Library. Mr. Frager does not want to disenfranchise those that love the Library but instead broaden the reach and bring in those not already utilizing the Library. The community dictates what the Library will be based on their response to programs and services. LS&S will give professional advice but it will be up to the Board to follow it or not. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod added there is always room for improvement, 3 and LS&S is going to build on what is already working and make that better by tapping into their existing resources. Trustee Knight asked what LS&S needed from the Trustees for a successful transition. Mr. Frager responded nothing at this time but that he is grateful for their support and involvement. Trustee Cameron asked if the Board should be meeting more than once monthly to be more effective. Mr. Frager responded that it is unlikely the Board will need to meet more often as work can be conducted via email between meetings if necessary. Overall, LS&S wants thing to look the way it did prior to the transition. OTHER REPORTS: Deputy City Librarian Axelrod shared recent staffing changes including the promotion of Monica Barrette to Senior Librarian of Adult Services and the Pioneer Room, and explained that Dan Wood, Senior Librarian of Literacy & Youth Services, has shifted his focus to take a more active role in Literacy. RFID/AMH Update • Construction on the project has been going well thanks to interdepartmental participation and is almost complete. The new self-check stations, which will accept credit cards payments, will be here next week with testing to follow. The rest of the equipment will be installed before the end of the calendar year. Current and Upcoming Programs • On December 2, 2017 the Library will be hosting Books & Beer: Intro to Craft Brew. This program will be presented by a certified cicerone and will incorporate a short history of San Diego's craft brewing success and beer tastings. • Read Local, Shop Local discount program started in September and staff have seen a lot of interest thus far. This year the program has been extended to last throughout the year and includes additional participating businesses. Next Meeting: The meeting is scheduled for December 12, 2017 at 2:00 PM, and will be moved back to the Library's Board Room to accommodate programming needs. ADJOURNMENT: 35r;?"'li'Y Motion by Trustee Salazar, seconded by Trustee Cameron to adjoum the meeting at Ron Guiles, President, Library Board of Trustees/M. Breymeyer, Division Coordinator 4