Library Board of Trustees Meeting

Escondido Public Library Board of Trustees Board Meeting Minutes Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 2:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: President Guiles called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. Members Present: President Ron Guiles and Trustees Elmer Cameron, Gary Knight, Mirek Gomy, and Mayra Salazar. Members Absent: None Staff Present: Joanna Axelrod, Deputy City Librarian; and Misty Breymeyer, Division Coordinator. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None MINUTES: Agenda Item 1. Approve Minutes from the November 14, 2017 meeting. Motion by Trustee Cameron, seconded by Trustee Knight to approve the November 14, 2017 minutes as written. Motion carried unanimously. CURRENT BUSINESS: Agenda Item 2. Update on Transition to Library Systems & Services Management (LS&S) President Guiles welcomed LS&S representatives Chief Financial Officer Todd Frager, Vice President of Business Development Ed Garnett, and Regional Director Barbara Howison to the meeting. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod explained how staff have been sharing information with LS&S to prepare them for the transition date of January 15, 2018. Shawn Townsend, former Escondido Senior Librarian, now manages LS&S's collection development team. She met with Library staff to discuss the new collection development process. Ultimately, Library staff will retain local control with purchases getting tagged and processed prior to delivery. This will allow Librarians to remain focused on areas they have expertise in, while freeing Library Technicians to focus on other, more critical needs. Staff felt confident this will be a positive relationship and are working out logistics between the two different acquisition modules. LS&S representatives are on 1 site this week to meet with Library staff to deliver their written offers of employment and to discuss marketing and technology planning. Further details need to be discussed to make concrete operational plans on these functions. Trustee Cameron asked if allocated collection funds are fixed. Deputy City Librarian and Mr. Frager responded the set amount defined in the contract is $250,000 per year for the next 10 years. Donations from the Friends of the Library will be added to this amount. LS&S would to go through the same budget process each year as City staff do. Financial requests to change allocated funds for the collection, technology, or the facility must be determined as part of that process. LS&S would need to present requests to the Board for approval to move forward, then the Council will make a final decision on funding anything outside the scope of the current contract. In the end, LS&S will bring to the table their purchase leverage power to ensure the Library gets more for the same amount of money given. LS&S representatives are presenting job offers to staff this week. Staff are given a week to think about the offer prior to accepting. In addition, several staff have been promoted or shifted into new positons to better align with their talents and experience. The goal during the transition is to build the most effective team possible ensuring the Library's success. Newly promoted staff have the knowledge necessary for the unique projects and programming plans already in the works. Only three volunteers have left due to the outsourcing, but several more have been brought on. In addition, two have been converted into staff, a decision that occurred prior to the LS&S contract vote, but was delayed as a result. As part of supporting staff needs, Library Administration entered into a short-term contract with MuniTemps Staffing Agency. They are providing temporary staff to help cover time-off requests during the holidays, to fill low-level vacancies, and to assist in RFID tagging of the collection. The MuniTemps contract is set to expire on January 14, 2018. LS&S will have an opportunity to enter into their own contract with the agency to ensure a seamless transition, and for added support until the workforce and the logistics of adding hours can be evaluated. Candidates for the Library Director position are being reviewed. The Board will meet with potential candidates and provide LS&S with feedback. Either one-on-one meetings will be scheduled or a special meeting will be created if necessary. The new Director will be the point of contact for the Board. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod will continue to guide this person until they are comfortable in their new role. Trustee Cameron asked if LS&S offers staff continuing education reimbursement programs and reminded the group that the Friends of the Library offer grants for staff to pursue their educational goals with no requirements to remain an employee. LS&S offers reimbursement up to $3,000/year towards professional development and to previous student loan debt. Participating staff must remain with the company for a year or the amount would be prorated; it is available to both part-time and full-time staff. 2 Trustee Cameron asked to what degree LS&S would be involved in the new library project. Mr. Frager stated LS&S would be a valuable partner to the City and offer their resources in marketing to and educating the public as well as their connections with architects, designers and consultants to help to get the project done. As LS&S would not own the property they would not invest in the infrastructure. President Guiles added everyone will we need to be patient regarding a new library; in order to gain buy-in from the public for a successful bond, they need to see the library is running successfully. In the meantime, Trustees should continue to advocate for this project to the Council. PUBLIC COMMENT: Patricia Borchman, Escondido; thanked the board for allowing the public to speak, and appreciated the comments made by Trustees during the meeting. The outsourcing decision has been difficult on the public and to her it is nice LS&S and the Trustees recognize those difficulties. Ms. Borchman asked how will the process move forward with the lawsuit. President Guiles responded that until the Board receives direction otherwise from the courts, the transition must proceed as planned. Ron Kohl, San Marcos/Escondido (Border); stated previous to the Council vote that he felt the contract with LS&S had already been approved. This subject has been a thorn in the side for some people in this community. Mayor Abed said we would try it for a year, but the contract has a large buyout cost. He then asked several questions including: who is in charge of paying a buyout; how many people have lost their jobs; and where are the homeless and poor to go to get out of the cold or escape the heat. President Guiles replied the buildings are still in the City's care; only operations and staffing are the responsibility of LS&S. President Guiles also stated that the Board will now have additional advisory power under the contract, and he was unaware of any staff leaving that did not do so voluntarily so no one has lost their job. Trustee Cameron added that he has read through the contract in its entirety multiple times, and there is language in the contract that gives the Board more power and influence than it previously had. It is their responsibility to share concerns with the Council. Victoria Tenbrink, Escondido; thanked the Board for their support to not turn over the management of the library to LS&S. She recommended the transition should not proceed until the courts make a formal decision. Ms. Tenbrink asked how many people have already left the Library and how they are being replaced. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod stated only three staff members have left and vacancies have been remedied by promoting from within. Temporary staff have also been hired to assist with operational responsibilities. Ms. Tenbrink asked when/if LS&S could change the salary and benefits for their staff. Mr. Frager explained that open enrollment happens each year in all organizations which may result in changes. Compensation can legally be raised or lowered at anytime, but LS&S has not lowered their employees' salaries. President Guiles stated the courts are dealing directly with the City and in this they 3 must take their direction. Trustee Salazar added it is in the best interest of the community to move forward and work with LS&S. LS&S has been very open to the staff and Trustees' input and recommendations which is a huge relief to her. She continued that it would be unwise to not work with LS&S because the people who would be hurt by that would be the staff and the community. The community's interests come first and right now everyone is working together to create the best outcome. Agenda Item 3. Update on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Automated Handling (AIVIH) Implementation Deputy City Librarian Axelrod gave a brief history of the project, including the funding process which started in fiscal year 2015-2016. This project went out to bid and staff evaluated the most cost effective vendor. Though the original implementation goal was for completion by the end of December, delivery of equipment has been delayed due to weather issues during shipping. Part of the project is to now accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment. Testing the technology to make sure the data lines are secured still needs to be completed. The remaining equipment will be delivered and installed the week of January 8, 2018. The updated goal is to have the project fully implemented and staff trained by the end of January. A grand reopening could happen as early as the first week of February. The old self-check machines have been removed as they were no longer functional. A temporary desk has been set up in the lobby to accommodate patron needs. New self-check stations will be located along the wall where the holds used to be. Opening up the lobby has allowed staff to re-envision the lobby space for displays or showcasing equipment like 3D printers. A new service desk, which will extend into the lobby, is getting created. This will increase visibility and help staff monitor the self- check machines. New security gates will also be installed at the front doors and in the Pioneer Room as part of the project. A new ramp to the staff door has been installed; a necessary step to bring the door up to ADA standards. The ramp will be used to bring book bins directly to the Circulation area. In additional, the external book drops have been removed to make room for the materials handling equipment. Patrons are directed to return items to the book bins in the parking lot or to the induction wall inside the lobby. The return wall has also been extended to the support pillar and electrical and data work needed to be added to accommodate the equipment. City staff were used for construction needs to kept costs to a minimum versus going outside to private vendors. This project prompted changes beyond the Circulation area. Furniture and shelving areas were rearranged to ensure best use of space. A collaboration area has now been added where the old media service desk used to be. The allows staff host virtual reality programming, where the public can come to collaborate in groups or tutor others, and is now referred to as the collaboration corner. 4 PUBLIC COMMENT: Greg Dean, Escondido; asked if the RAD project started prior to LS&S and if tagging would include Pioneer Room materials. Deputy City Librarian Axelrod replied that the RFID project was approved by City Council in the 2015-2016 fiscal year and that it will include all materials — even those in the Pioneer Room. Items that are not checked out to the public will be done last items tagged to ensure an efficient implementation. OTHER REPORTS: Deputy City Librarian Axelrod shared news of a recent internal promotion. Kathleen Duperry has been promoted to Senior Librarian for Technology & Support Services. She has been ready to move into a leadership role for some time, and maintains a positive outlook of moving the organization forward. Pioneer Room staff have been working with the City Clerk's office on a project to digitize minutes from the City's board and commission meetings. This includes all Library Board of Trustee's minutes 1898 to the present. Next Meeting; The meeting is scheduled for January 9, 2018 at 2:00 PM. ADJOURNMENT; Motion by Trustee Cameron, seconded by Trustee Gamy to adjourn the meeting at 3:57 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Ron Guiles, President, Library Board of Trustees/M. Breymeyer, Division Coordinator 5