Library Board Meetings

Helen Hall Library Regular Board Meeting Minutes Tuesday, March 15, 2022 Library Board Room 1. Call to order The meeting was called to order at 6:32 pm. 2. Roll Call of Members Board members Tommy Frankovich, Kathleen Nenninger, Roxann Lewis, Kyrsten Garcia, David Hoffman, Lillian Murphy, Jeanne Avandsalehi and Mark Lardas were in attendance, along with City Librarian Teresa Potter, Assistant City Librarians Darla Rance and Meredith Layton, and Administrative Assistant Julie Orff. Also taking part in the meeting was Parks and Cultural Services Director Chien Wei. 3. Opportunity for Citizens to address the Board No citizens were present. 4. Approval of minutes The minutes for the Board meeting held on February 15, 2022, were approved as submitted. 5. City Council comments No Councilmen were present. 6. Chairman’s comments No comments were made. 7. Reminder of Boards and Commissions Reception Dinner on March 23 City Librarian Teresa Potter reminder the Board of the dinner and added that Board members are now allowed to bring one additional person to the dinner. 8. Board of Trustees are invited to the Teen Advisory Board meeting on April 6 Teresa Potter invited the Board to attend the TAB meeting to meet these fabulous, young ambassadors of the library in their own setting. These teens attend outreach events for the library as well as plan teen programming. They love to talk about how great the library is. This will be a one-hour meeting. 9. Discussion of Fine Free Report Board members were presented a brief recap of the Fine Free Report presented by Assistant City Librarian Meredith Layton at the last Board meeting in February. The Board’s next steps are to discuss the pros and cons and make a recommendation. There were two options up for discussion. Option 1: Make no changes to the library’s current fine and fee structure and continue charging late fines and replacement costs for outstanding materials. Option 2: Change to only charge for the replacement cost of outstanding materials after 30 days. Teresa Potter asked for the Board’s comments. Tommy Frankovich mentioned that he read the report and felt that there were points to think about. He felt that waiting over one month was too long to charge for a missing item. He prefers charging at 30 days late. Teresa confirmed that the patron would get a refund if they paid and then found the item within a given time frame. Lillian Murphy questioned what started the fine-free discussion. Teresa mentioned the trends of libraries across the country and in Galveston County only the League City, Hitchcock, and Friendswood Libraries are currently charging fines. All other GCLS libraries have gone to fine free. Hitchcock is a very small town, and the current librarian works one-on-one with her patrons to get late items returned. The Friendswood library is beginning the fine-free discussion. Lillian asked how much time it takes the library to bill a patron for an overdue book. Teresa advised that it is not billing that requires time, but rather the time is spent at the circulation desk to collect the payment and handle contested charges. Roxann Lewis asked what the incentive is to return a book if there are no fines. She felt that it could go both ways. Meredith Layton explained that there is no evidence to prove that fines encourage timely returns; the data just is not there. Teresa Potter added that there is a current block on $20.00 for a patron’s account. Once a patron has reached this limit in fines, they are no longer allowed to check out materials. Most of the cost of our materials would still reach this limit if the item was not returned in 30 days. Mark Lardas commented that ten cents a day is not much of an incentive. He also confirmed that fines that are currently collected do not get returned to the library’s account but instead to the City’s General Fund. Given the small size of the total fines, he feels that the most important thing is to get the materials back regardless of the fine system. Teresa Potter mentioned that there is a common misconception that the library fines equal the replacement cost of the item. These are two separate types of fines, but both go the General Fund account. Mark sees the obvious need to replace lost books, but late fines do not replace overdue books. Jeanne Avandsalehi was not surprised to hear that the fines do not go back to the library’s fund but asked if there is a certain cohort that does not bring Library materials back on time. In general, most patrons try their best to return books and should not be charged for a day or two late. The extreme procrastinators still won’t return their books. Teresa mentioned that League City residents are pretty good at returning materials. David Hoffman likes the idea of going fine free. He feels the most compelling argument is for accessibility. There are many Title 1 schools in the area where teachers are pleading with students and their families to read more. The library wants people to have books. It is straightforward and to remove the barriers and let the people have access is something of which we should be proud. Kathie Nenninger came with a list of pros and cons that others had also touched on including - increase library circulation, increase returns, give no grief or embarrassment, and the replacement charge is still there to replace the books. She mentioned that customer service should be our goal, and boundaries should be removed so that people have access to the materials. Outreach to the community outweighs the cost. Kathie feels that going fine free is the right thing to do. Kyrsten Garcia agrees with Kathie. Kyrsten thanked Meredith for a beautifully written report that was easy to read and easy to understand. Kyrsten feels that shame is a powerful motivator. She remembers as a child there were times when they couldn’t visit the library as there were not enough funds to pay the fine. This should be changed where all families have access. Going fine free could optimize staff time and effectiveness, improve staff and patron morale, and improve the culture of the library. The staff can focus on strategic priorities instead of chasing patrons down for fines. Krysten was surprised to hear that the fines go to the city’s general fund and not returned to the library directly. She also suggested a way of incentivizing those that do bring their books back on time by giving positive reinforcement instead of negative. Tommy Frankovich added that with the growth of the city, getting across town can be difficult. One or two days late can make a large difference. Kathie Nenninger added the patrons want to return items. David Hoffman  suggested a “tip jar” offering those who wish to donate their fines. Teresa mentioned that the Friends of the Library does have such a donation container on the desk. Kathie Nenninger had a copy of the Rosenberg Library’s article in the Galveston Daily News. She added that this could be a positive publicity. The Board members commented about how great the Library’s Birthday party was and the possibility of a “Fine Free Fiesta” celebration. The Board members asked Teresa and Director Chien Wei what was next. Chien commented that the Board’s recommendation would be the start. City Management would discuss what would happen to those with current fines and whether they would be erased or sent for collection. Mark Lardas made a motion to approve the concept of changing to only charging for the replacement cost of outstanding materials after 30 days. Kathie Nenninger seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion was approved unanimously. 10. Staff Reports a. City Librarian Report given by City Librarian, Teresa Potter i. Library Update The Friends of Helen Hall Library sponsored the library’s 50th Birthday party. Thank you all for attending. Over 1,000 people attended in the fun! The Birds Eye View Painting and its accompanying needlepoints are being transported to the city’s new Community Center. (The 1938 CCISD school building located at 400 S. Kansas Ave.) and will be on display there. More citizens can view the historical pieces and will be kept safe. The library, and all other city departments, are working with the Office of Emergency Management to create and implement Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) for any kind of disruption of service. The plan includes setting lists of delegations of authority, software and hardware required to continue services, and alternative locations should the library’s facility be compromised. The library will work on this “What Happens Next” plan and present it to the Board in April. The document is due to the city in May. Some library programs are shifting focus to balance art with the STEM curriculums from the area. As Meredith pointed out, CCISD has a Science Magnet program, but no Arts Magnet program. The library hopes to be the balance for the community. Galveston County Library Director Mike Miller will be asking the county commissioners for a 3.5% budget increase, which will be the first increase asked for in three years. 1. Staffing update The library is currently fully staffed, and summer positions are being filled. 2. Budget Budget preparations kick off on Monday, March 21. Library Administration is gathering information from supervisors to best determine their needs. Library Administration is considering dropping EBSCO Discovery Services and instead using Kanopy services.  More Galveston County funds will be used for the Baker & Taylor leasing program due to its success. Beginning in September, we will be able to designate book club copies and juvenile award list copies to the leasing titles. ii. Friends of Helen Hall Library The Friends of Helen Hall Library will be hosting a used book sale on Friday, May 20, and Saturday, May 21. Friday is for members only. Saturday is open to the public. Non-members can join on Friday and shop. Kathie Nenninger asked if the Friends could notify the Board of their upcoming meetings. The Friends would like to explore sponsoring museum and area attractions passes for the public. b. Assistant City Librarian’s Staff Reports i. Public Services given by Assistant City Librarian, Darla Rance An exciting new family program will be on March 26, the Family Gem Dig. With help from the Parks Operations and the Clear Lake Gem and Mineral Association’s John Caldyne, the public is invited to dig for gems across the street. Shovels and bags will be provided. Our Eggciting Eggs to Chicks program is next week and we have 36 eggs in an incubator in children’s that should start hatching next week. Some of the eggs have started to wiggle. 1. Children’s One of the largest achievements for February was being informed that we received the Family Place Libraries grant. Our parenting collection has begun to arrive. Darla Rance and Children’s Librarian Kate Guynn will attend a virtual FPL training during May. Furniture and interactive play items will be purchased for the space. The Children’s Department hosted our first Chinese New Year program with A Tiger Spring Festival. We received positive feedback from 41 attendees. Our Toddler Time and Preschool Storytime have seen increases in attendance this month and we partnered with Campbell Elementary providing a StoryWalk for a school event with 789 children attending. Children’s Librarian Ziba Cyrus created four interactive displays for Black History Month. Kate Guynn received an email from a patron thanking the library for the display that represented her family. 2. Teen Services Love Stinks! Anti-Valentine’s Day Bash was held and over 25 teens made cards, buttons, colored and watched Scooby-Doo Zombie Island, a movie that the teens chose. This was a very successful event for the teens. The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament is this week and Bedrock City Comics in Clear Lake is sponsoring the event with over $100 in prizes. Teen Librarian Sheldon Stevens and Children’s Librarian Sarah Hultman submitted entries for the TLA’s Branding Iron Award and we should hear the results by the end of the month. 3. Adult Services  Houston Galveston Council for Aging (HGAC) began hosting another Medicare program which was well received by seniors getting a better understanding of their options. There was an uptick in attendance for adult programming including local author Terry Fisher’s review of her mystery title along with a trailer she produced for her new book. The February’s cultural initiative-oriented programs brought in new patrons with a total of 43 in attendance. These included a presentation on the book Lost Restaurants of Galveston’s African American Community and a talk by local author Debra Konrad about her great-grandfather Alex Winfield. Caris Brown created a Teddy Roosevelt book display using her own Teddy Bears. 4. Volunteer Services Volunteer Services recorded 375 hours in February between teens, adults, and the Friends Bookstore group. Our Neighborhood Storytime volunteers hosted several families at Ghirardi Watersmart Park. One storytime had nine children and six adults. Most notable, the teen and vocational groups from Clear Falls and Clear Springs loved preparing bags of beads for the February 26th event Beads and Bark celebrating Mardi Gras hosted by League City. They also put together 48 chicken and bunny baskets for the “EGGciting” Eggs to Chicks program on March 24th. ii. Access Services given by Assistant City Librarian, Meredith Layton Circulation and Technical Services are working with Volunteer Coordinator Colleen Ragsdale to provide more opportunities for our volunteers. They are gearing up for summer with the posting of seasonal positions and planning a follow-up event to the successful book speed-dating event – Christmas in July: White Elephant for Book Lovers! We are working with the developer of myLIBRO to introduce a new mobile app and user engagement tool. This will help customers interact more with the online catalog and provide the library with the ability to push out notifications. New budget year, new collection priorities! We are planning to expand leasing, explore Kanopy a video streaming site, evaluate circulation trends, look at increasing costs, and evaluate how to get the best return on our investments. Research Support Services – providing one-on-one research help – has been launched and is being advertised. This formalized and specially promoted service helps meet objectives of the strategic plan: expanding and enhancing services and increasing visibility and awareness of core services. 1. Circulation Services Circulation Clerk Kate Northrop represented the library at the City’s Tweet Heart Trail Walk event and Circulation Supervisor Kelsea Meza represented the library at the City’s Beads and Bark event.  Circulation Clerk Elizabeth Whitworth has submitted her application to become a Notary with the State of Texas; soon the library will be able to offer notary services for patrons who inquire. Circulation helped decorate for the library’s Birthday party. Especially notable was Dom Guest’s vision of the balloon arch in the tree. 2. Technical Services All parenting collection materials have been updated and are represented in the catalog. It is award season and children’s award-winning books have started arriving and are being labeled. b. Statistical Reports The County is still somewhat struggling to gather and share the statistics from the system’s libraries. We like to see everyone’s numbers, but other libraries don’t use the data in the same way. We hope to include GALCO numbers in a statistical dashboard in the future. Program attendance is great, even with the successful birthday party attendees, numbers are up. Mark Lardas asked what a VIP user is, and Teresa explained that it is a patron that is 65 years or older that receives an additional week on lending materials. Kyrsten Garcia commented on the fiscal year numbers and Teresa confirmed that it was October 2021 to date. A special “Did You Know” page was included in the Board’s binder that included some fun comparisons using our statistics including that we could fill NRG, Minute Maid Park, and the Toyota Center (twice) with our patrons that walked through our doors last year. c. Calendar of Events The library will host the crafts for the City’s Sunday in the Park on Sunday, March 27. The theme is throwback to the 80s and guests can make Shrinky Dinks and custom safety pins. The board is invited to the April and May pop-up storytimes. A fabulous video was then shown that was made by Fire Station 3 showcasing their event on March 4th. Fire Station 3 did an incredible job with swag, demonstrations, and fantastic interactions with the kids. 11. Board Comments Jeanne Avandsalehi felt the Black History Month boards in the Children’s Department were excellent. Kathie Nenninger attended the I Too Am League City event and loved the program. Especially seeing the excitement when two young boys commented how they wanted to research their family history. The Local History program on the San Jacinto Museum was also great and it was exciting to see the library there that has been hidden from the public due to COVID. Kathy thanked the library staff for a wonderful birthday party including the delicious cookies. Kyrsten Garcia commented that her daughter is shown enjoying the party in this month’s Pocket Highlight.  Chien Wei thanked the DJ, Sarah Greer-Osborne’s husband, for donating his time and services. 12. Review of follow-up items generated during meeting There were none. 13. Adjournment 7:36 p.m.