Library Board of Trustees

MEETING MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY Held in the Mary Riley Styles Public Library 120 N. Virginia Avenue Falls Church, VA 22046 April20, 2016 1. CALL TO ORDER Board Chair Brad Gernand called the meeting to order at 7:03p.m. The following Board members attended the meeting: Brad Gernand Chet DeLong Ed Rose Jeff Peterson Stephanie Oppenheimer Don Camp Terry Zawacki Councilwoman Karen Oliver, Library Director, Mary McMahon, and her assistant, Claudia Gutierrez, were also present. 2. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS None. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 16, 2016 MEETING MINUTES Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the March 16, 2016 meeting minutes with some minor changes. 4. ARTS AND CULTURAL DISTRICT TASK FORCE (CATCH) REPORT Ed Rose informed the Board that the Task Force met to critique art work, but that there is nothing concerning the library taking place at this time. 5. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT Don Camp told the Board that the Foundation is deciding on how to support a library bond referendum for the expansion/renovation of the library if there is one in November. Chet DeLong suggested that the Foundation wait before deciding on a course of action until the Board learns what Council has decided in regard to a library referendum. Don informed the Board that several ideas have been talked about: sending letters to all their contributors informing them about the referendum and asking them to vote for it and buying yard signs for people to display in support of the referendum. The Foundation would like other suggestions on how it can help and also welcomes volunteers. 6. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Councilwoman Karen Oliver informed the Board that the Council is working on the FY17 budget. It looks like the library has the support of the majority of the Council for its CIP submission. She said that Council has moved the high school and middle school project out to FY18 in the CIP, so if there is a referendum, the school project would not be on the same ballot as the library project. There would be a special election in May 2017 for the school project. She also informed the Board that the City Manager's budget with a proposed increase of2.5 cents was rejected by the majority of Council members. She said there is no information about a possible library referendum as yet. The Director said that she had talked with the City Manager about an answer from Council regarding the need for a library referendum, and he suggested waiting until the budget is adopted before asking for a formal answer from Council on this matter. Karen also said that Council is concerned about the affordability of the entire CIP and will revisit it in May and June even if the CIP passes as it is now envisioned. She also recommended that the Board wait until after the budget is adopted before asking Council for a formal decision regarding a library referendum. 7. DRAFT OF THE 2016 USER SURVEY- FIRST READING The Director explained to the Board that the 2016 User Survey contained many ofthe same questions that have appeared in past years, but that several new questions have been added after the standard ones. One Board member suggested a question about the Find It VA app to see if people know about it and use it. The Director said she would be glad to add that question and delete the one about paying online since the library is still not able to do that at this time. The Board also suggested reorganizing the services and programs listed in Question 11 so they are grouped by categories. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the 2016 User Survey with all the changes suggested and voted not to require a second reading of the Survey. 8. DRAFT OF THE LIBRARY PROGRAMS POLICY-FIRST READING The Director pointed out two additions to the present policy. First, it includes a sentence stating that performers must have a W9 on file with the City in order to perform and be paid. Second, the library will not provide change for performers who sell their merchandise after a performance. The Board asked the Director to remove a sentence from the policy that says that any Director's decisions about a program can be appealed to the Board because they do not want to override the Director's authority. Upon a motion duly made and seconded the Library Board unanimously approved a motion to remove the sentence about library programs: "Decisions may be appealed to the Library Board". Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the Library Programs Policy as amended on its first reading. 9. DRAFT OF THE GROUP VISITS AND LIBRARY TOURS POLICY- FIRST READING The Director informed the Board that there is only one change proposed in this policy. There is a minimum of2 weeks advance notice to schedule a library visit so that staff can prepare for it and to be sure that adequate staffing is in place the day of the visit/tour. The Director said that at least one chaperone is always required with a group, even for high school students. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the Group Visits and Library Tours Policy as amended on its first reading. 2 10. DRAFT OF THE INTERNET, WI-FI, AND COMPUTER USE POLICY-FIRST READING The Director informed the Board that she reworded the statement regarding three logins a patron can have a day according to their previous request. The Director explained that the computer sessions are half an hour at the main reading room computers on the first floor and an hour on the rest of the computers. Each session can be continued for as long as a patron needs if there is no one waiting rather than limiting a patron to a certain number of hours per day. This practice is similar to other libraries in the area, and it helps maximize computer usage. The Director also noted that Number 11 in the policy is new-it states that the computers in the Youth Services room are reserved only for children, teens and their caregivers. The Board asked the Director for some minor changes in the policy. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the Internet, WI-FI and Computer Policy as amended on its first reading. 11. DRAFT OF THE CHAIN OF COMMAND POLICY-FIRST READING The Director informed the Board that there were substantial changes to this revised policy from its original form. Additional staff members/positions were added to the Chain of Command, particularly from the Youth Services department. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the Chain of Command Policy with no changes on its first reading. 12. DRAFT OF RESEARCH ASSISTANCE POLICY-FIRST READING The Director explained to the Board that this policy is to define how much homework help staff will give to students. A Board member wanted to make sure that the staff does not do the work that the student is supposed to do. Another Board member wanted to reword several of the actions that staff would perform. This policy will be reworked, and the Director will bring it back for its first reading at the next Board meeting. 13. DRAFT OF UNATTENDED CHILDREN'S POLICY-FIRST READING The Director said that the policy was reformatted following the State and City guidelines for child care, but this one is a little stricter. One of the changes included: the waiting time for parents of children left at closing time changed from 30 minutes to 20 minutes. If the parent does not come during that period of time, the person in charge will call the police and have them come take the child into safe keeping until the parents arrive. The Director said that if children are waiting outside for their parents, staff waits with them, especially during the winter when it is dark. Because the Board made numerous suggestions for this policy, the Director said it would come back again for its first reading and would be on next month's meeting agenda. 14. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Director informed the Board about the status of the new library InMagic database. She said that the data has been migrated, and now it is being customized and standardized to present it to the public with all the information that accompanies each record and how it is 3  indexed. The database will be available to the public around mid-June. She also said the local history staff is very pleased with the flexibility of the database. • The Director mentioned that the elevator inspection will be done next week. Public Works staff will repair the back stair treads that are coming off. She informed the Board that she has been talking to City Hall staff about the installation of four card access doors in the library. All staff would have access with their City ID badges. The Director also mentioned that the police will contribute money from their seized asset fund to provide 3 or 4 security cameras for the library. The cameras will be placed in strategic places around the library and will be monitored by the police. She also informed the Board that other safety measures are being upgraded as well. • The Director told the Board that on May 11th there will be a general library staff meeting. There will be a building tour for neJ staff to go over where safety features are located and to become more familiar with areas they do not frequent often. • The ESL class is continuing and has been well attended with 10 to 12 people per week. • The Director said that she talked to the City Manager Wyatt Shields about the parking lease negotiations status. He said that he J as talking about it with Cindy, and they will go over it when the budget work is over. • The Director also told the Board that she talked to the City Manager about the referendum and that the Board would like a formal answer from Council concerning whether a referendum will be required or not. To date there has not been an official response from Council to the Board about the letter it sent them requesting that no referendum be held, but to proceed with the project based on their own adopted policy. The City Manager stated that once the FY17 budget is adopted, that would be the time then to ask Council about their response. • The Director said that the City Directors were asked to help identify $401,000 additional cuts to the City's FY17 operating budget. This amount is what would have to be found if the budget is to remain flat per Council's wishes. She noted that the library's budget did not seem to be affected by potential cuts. • The Director let the Board know that she will be going to Staunton, VA to attend the annual Virginia Public Library Directors Association conference. She will be gone Thursday, April 21st and Friday, April 22nd . • The Director asked the Board for a decision on the request she made at the last Board meeting about closing the library on Saturday, December 24th since the library would be closed half a day on Friday, December 23rct, and also on Sunday, December 25th and Monday, December 26th due to the holiday closings of the City. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved closing the library on Saturday December 24th. The Director thanked the Board on behalf of the library staff. • The Director brought up the article that was in The Atlantic magazine saying that fewer Americans are visiting local libraries, but that overall satisfaction with libraries remains, high-90%. The article stated that fewer visits were not due to technology, but were a direct correlation to smaller budgets for public libraries. The Board agreed that the headline of the article was disconcerting. 4  15. BUSINESS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. 16. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Mary W. McMahon Library Director Approved: ~~ Bradley E. Gemand, Chair Copies: Board ofTrustees, City Manager, Library Reference Desk, Staff Bulletin Board, City Clerk, Library Web Page The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit ofthe Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5032, TTY 711. 5