Board of Library Trustees Meeting

MINUTES LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Regular Meeting Wednesday, September 28, 2011 5:30 PM LIBRARY COMMUNITY ROOM, 625 PACIFIC STREET MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Trustees Present: Castagna, Leyva, Reneker, Yamanishi Trustees Absent: Roberson Staff Members Librarian Henry, Community Services Director Bui-Burton, Present: Assistant Library Director Holtzman, Reader Services Manager Labeaune, Museums, Cultural Arts and Archives Manager Copeland, Youth Services Manager Brown, Special Services Coordinator McCombs, Library Assistant II Schwirzke, Librarian Stansbury, Library Assistant I Baca, Library Assistant I DeMordaunt CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Castagna called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENTATIONS 1. Recognize Library Assistant I Joslyn Baca for 6 years of service to the Monterey Public Library and the City of Monterey Joslyn Baca first started working at the Monterey Public Library as a Library Page while she was a student at Monterey High School in February of 2001. During her first four years working as a Library Page, her evaluations from several supervisors document her work performance as “calm, courteous, and exceptional.” While working as a Page, Joslyn began filling in as an on-call Library Assistant. Her excellent reputation followed her. On November 10, 2005, Joslyn accepted a position in the Circulation Section of the Reader’s Services Division as a regular part time Library Assistant I. Everyone was excited to see Joslyn promoted to having much more of a role in the day-to-day operations of the library. A Library Assistant in the Reader’s Services Division provides customer service in so many ways. While working at the Library Help Desk it is Joslyn’s responsibility to issue library cards, resolve customer questions regarding their accounts, place holds, receive payments for late fees and replacement charges, and check laptops and other materials in and out. During the busy day, a Library Assistant also helps customers at the Self- Check machines, the photocopiers, the print release stations, the microfilm reader/printers, and at the occasional door alarm, all the while making reservations for and issuing internet guest passes, signing customers in and out of meeting rooms,  Library Board of Trustees Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 retrieving items from the basement, and promoting and issuing program tickets. In addition to all of this, a Library Assistant finds time to shelve and straighten holds and materials - all while staffing the Library Help Desk. Such demands require a strong multi- tasker with good people skills. As a supervisor wrote in 2006, Joslyn “works quickly and efficiently, and has excellent customer service skills.” Many Circulation functions take place behind the scenes. These off desk tasks are rotated through the Circulation Section on a regular basis, so that all staff are cross- trained, and ready to fill in for each other as needed. During the past six years, Joslyn has mastered all of these assignments, from checking library card applications for accuracy, to processing returned mail, to compiling statistics. She is an invaluable resource to her co-workers thanks to her proficiency with these tasks. Currently, one of her off-desk assignments is to maintain contact with customers through the circulation email account. When a new log-in was created for the circulation email, Joslyn was the first to learn the new procedures for using proxy to allow logging-in to the correct email account. Another off-desk duty for Joslyn is to keep track of the snags—or, items returned with one or more pieces (such as a dvd) missing. She is professional and friendly when she contacts customers. Joslyn has undertaken many special projects at Monterey Public Library. In 2009 she drafted the Circulation Desk schedules, and when the Library switched to a combined desk, she was the first to undertake the daunting task of combining all three desk schedules into one – a challenge she performed with cheerful alacrity. During our transition to a combined service desk, Joslyn took the lead in training co-workers about laptop printing – a complex process. Joslyn has always shown a high comfort level with new technologies. When the laptop program was first introduced, Joslyn was an invaluable resource for basic trouble-shooting, since her own personal laptop was the same model. In 2007 she joined the blog team and helped us count down to the last book in the Harry Potter series. Joslyn’s can do attitude doesn’t stop inside the Library’s walls. She has marched many times with the Bookmobile in the 4th of July parades. When traveling in Sacramento in 2009 Joslyn video-taped scenes from the Carmichael Library so that our staff could watch footage of a single service desk in action. Her talents as a videographer were put to use again to film a bookmobile video which can be viewed on YouTube. Joslyn is a clear communicator and an important voice for the Library. When facilitating Library Help Desk staff meetings or Library Assistant update meetings, Joslyn takes careful minutes and delivers them to staff quickly. She has acted as time-keeper as well as facilitated LHD meetings and is consistently professional and engaged during staff conversations. Joslyn participates positively in meetings and contributes her thoughts and ideas. Joslyn demonstrates a clear style of communication—both written and in our conversations/updates together. Customers and staff frequently consult her for reading recommendations. As an avid reader, she always has a book to share. Thank you Joslyn for six plus years of “calm, courteous and exceptional” service to our community. I look forward to working with you for many years to come. 2. Recognize Museums, Cultural Arts, and Archives Manager Dennis Copeland for 10 years of service to the Monterey Public Library and the City of Monterey Dennis Copeland began working in the Library in June 1997, as grant-funded staff for the Library Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 2 Library Board of Trustees Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 California History Room improvement project. His value to the Library and the community was quickly apparent, and he was promoted to a regular part-time position in 1999, a full- time contract position in 2000, a regular full-time position in 2001, a more responsible position in 2002 and a reclassification to a shared Library and Museum management position in 2011. When Dennis arrived in 1997, much of the Local History Collection was housed in disorganized boxes in the basement, and many books in the California History Room (CHR) were uncataloged. Only a few people in the community knew about the Room and the collection, and the Library had only informal and occasional contact with nearby local history organizations. Today, the CHR is recognized by the community and researchers worldwide as a model small-library local history service and an essential resource for early California and Monterey history. The collections are archived, catalogued and conserved. The CHR's appearance and furnishings reflect the significance of our historical community and its memories. Dennis has been tireless in preserving the valuable and fragile collections he oversees; rehousing, repairing, and duplicating the materials themselves, monitoring environmental conditions and ensuring needed improvements. He has assumed a leadership role in preparing Library staff for responding to any disaster which might damage or threaten collections, as well as with local historic agencies, through Historic Monterey, in a coordinated disaster response effort. Dennis also worked with Assistant Director Doug Holtzman on securing grant funding for a pilot digitization project, resulting in a collection of CHR images which are available 24/7 from the Library’s website for residents and visitors from the around the world. Dennis has participated in or overseen major cataloging projects, making uncataloged CHR books and pamphlets, Colton Hall and Mayo Hayes O'Donnell books, and Library archival collections visible in the catalog. He has created thousands of original catalog records based on library and archival standards. He has also provided support and expert advice to other public library and academic archivists and librarians. Perhaps most important, Dennis is an outstanding spokesperson for the CHR, the Library's role in preserving and interpreting history, and the value of archives and history in community life. He has given hundreds of presentations to diverse groups of all ages and interests. He has organized a multitude of workshops, programs, and events. He was the key trainer in four Shades of Monterey Photo Days and worked with Special Services Coordinator Jeanne McCombs on the grant-funded and wildly successful Shades and Stories of Monterey project. He has written articles, co-written and assisted with many local history books. He organized a Round Table of area historical collection managers and chaired Historic Monterey committees. He is one of the most active and stalwart members of the Historic Monterey collaborative. With visibility has come donations and other collection development opportunities. In addition to selecting books for the CHR, Dennis has effectively shared the Library's commitment to archival stewardship with many donors, resulting in acquisition of several enormously significant collections, including the Pyburn Family Collection, the Wing Chong Company grocery and squid industry records, the Monterey Fish Processors records, the Rey Rubell photographic collection and many more. And he takes special delight in being able to provide the stewardship of the Edward F. Ricketts Papers, for which he is known internationally. More recently, Dennis has become our “secret weapon” for fund development, with his wealth of knowledge, treasury of stories and Library Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 3  Library Board of Trustees Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 ability to “inspire, delight and educate” all. To accomplish all these things, over the past decade Dennis has skillfully trained and supervised volunteers and staff. He has been instrumental in several expansions of the volunteer program, most recently combining recruitment and training with the Museum and Cultural Arts Division to develop more knowledgeable and flexible Monterey History Volunteers. After the loss of Museum Manager Jim Conway in 2010, Dennis stepped in as interim Museum Manager while continuing to ably perform his responsibilities as Library Archivist. In the summer and fall of 2010 both the Library Board and Council concurred in approving a new shared position for Dennis, managing the California History Room, four City Museums, collections, art, monuments and statuary, and supervising more staff and volunteers. Dennis’ passion for Monterey’s places, people, culture, art and history, his dedication for preservation of our community’s memory and his vision of our history engaging the present and shaping our future are now shared even more broadly across Monterey. As Doug noted in Dennis’ five year recognition, “It is fair to say that Dennis Copland has completely transformed both Library staff members' and the community's picture of what the Library can and should contribute to preserving and presenting Monterey's memories, and done most of the coordinating and hands-on work to fulfill this vision.” Dennis, we thank you for your tremendous efforts and look forward to working with you to continue that vision in the many months and years ahead! 3. Recognize Librarian Dina Stansbury for 15 years of service to the Monterey Public Library and the City of Monterey Dina Stansbury joined the Monterey Public Library staff as a regular part time contract employee on June 27, 1996. For fifteen years she has been the Library’s liaison to elementary school students, teachers and families. Under her leadership, the Homework Pals program grew from an idea to a full-blown program. Through this program she supervised hundreds of satisfied volunteers and expanded the relationship between the Library and our schools and afterschool programs. Thousands of hours of support were provided to children who needed it, a service that was so much appreciated by harried families – and afterschool program leaders. Since 2007, Dina has coordinated our shift to online homework assistance. To promote the service, she created a full-color brochure and even a promotion attached to every take-out pizza box. At the same time she’s been coaching thousands of teachers, kids and parents on the use of Homework Help Now and the library’s other online homework links. Through her efforts, Monterey Public Library has supported our schools through the loss of school librarians and most library funds, through No Child Left Behind, increased testing, and expanding class sizes. She has played an important role in adapting our services to meet these changing needs. In the past year, she has taken this cooperation to a new level with Library Partners, our donor-funded project to support school libraries. She works with three other public libraries, 14 school libraries and their staff, and (perhaps the greatest challenge) with district administration staff. The “bullying” booklist and workshop are great examples of her responsiveness to educators’ concerns. Library Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 4 Library Board of Trustees Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 Dina has brought literature presentations and other cultural programs to classrooms, afterschool sites, and school libraries as well as setting up special programs for parents, teachers, volunteers, and kids at the library. Dina has become a master storyteller, increasing her use of this art in her work. She has taken extra classes on her own time. She has been a featured storyteller for adults at the Library and given several storytelling workshops for multilingual adult students as well. Recently, Dina has taken on setting up all the elementary school-age programming, including the monthly pajama storytime, wearing pjs, and often incorporating her interest in folk dance. She’s brought in music groups, authors, and set up most of the summer reading programs too. With the reduction of youth services staff, Dina also began to provide preschool and toddler storytimes, again incorporating storytelling, sometimes making flannel boards or puppets to adapt the stories to younger audiences. She is especially good at making kids laugh. Another thing that Dina has taken on due to staff reduction, is the development of the youth services web pages and flyers. We knew that this would not be easy, and it became even more challenging when the City changed its web development and publishing software. In many ways, Dina began at step one – twice! Yet she kept her high standards, her willingness to keep learning and asking for help, and her good humor. She even took on starting some new web features – a storytime blog, a changing slide show, online video storytime, and two online contests. One of these contests, based on Martin’s Big Words, was especially successful, with hundreds of children participating, - thanks to Dina’s promotion in the schools and on the web. She led the establishment of the teen and youth graphic novel sections and helped to set up the Teen Zone. She played a major role in the reorganization of the Youth Area, especially in the trimming of the nonfiction section. Every day Dina provides professional reference, reader’s advisory, and circulation service at the Library Help Desk. She has learned many new skills as the Library Help Desk has evolved and has also learned to provide bookmobile service. She continues to work with volunteers and is currently mentoring an intern. Customers of all ages in the Library and throughout our community appreciate her approachability, easy manner and hard work. As do all her colleagues here at the Library! Thank you, Dina, for fifteen great years of service. We look forward to many more! CONSENT ITEMS Approval of Minutes On a motion by Library Trustee Yamanishi, seconded by Library Trustee Reneker, and carried by the following vote, the Library Board of Trustees approved the August 24, 2011 minutes as revised: AYES: 4 TRUSTEES: Castagna, Leyva, Reneker, Yamanishi NOES: 0 TRUSTEES: None Library Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 5  Library Board of Trustees Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 ABSENT: 1 TRUSTEES: Roberson ABSTAIN: 0 TRUSTEES: None RECUSED: 0 TRUSTEES: None 4. August 24, 2011 Other Consent Items 5. Request Appropriation of Friends of the Monterey Public Library Donations in the Library Trust Fund On a motion by Library Trustee Reneker, seconded by Library Trustee Yamanishi, and carried by the following vote, the Library Board of Trustees approved the Appropriation of Friends of the Monterey Public Library Donations in the Library Trust Fund: AYES: 4 TRUSTEES: Castagna, Leyva, Reneker, Yamanishi NOES: 0 TRUSTEES: None ABSENT: 1 TRUSTEES: Roberson ABSTAIN: 0 TRUSTEES: None RECUSED: 0 TRUSTEES: None ***End of Consent Agenda*** PUBLIC COMMENTS Vice Chair Castagna opened the floor for public comments: No public comments PUBLIC APPEARANCE New Business 6. Approve Library Holiday and Closure Schedule for Calendar Year 2012 On a motion by Library Trustee Reneker, seconded by Library Trustee Castagna, and carried by the following vote, the Library Board of Trustees approved the Library Holiday and Closure Schedule for Calendar Year 2012: AYES: 4 TRUSTEES: Castagna, Leyva, Reneker, Yamanishi NOES: 0 TRUSTEES: None ABSENT: 1 TRUSTEES: Roberson ABSTAIN: 0 TRUSTEES: None RECUSED: 0 TRUSTEES: None 7. Approve Fiscal Year 2011-12 Fund Development Plan On a motion by Library Trustee Leyva, seconded by Library Trustee Yamanishi, and carried by the following vote, the Library Board of Trustees approved the Fiscal Year 2011-12 Fund Development Plan with the exception of section III.B. The Vice Chair appointed Trustees Leyva and Yamanishi to a subcommittee to work with the Fund Development Coordinator to present a proposal at the October 26 meeting for Library Library Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 6  Library Board of Trustees Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 Trust Fund development offering donors a choice between Trust Fund and Endowment contributions. AYES: 4 TRUSTEES: Castagna, Leyva, Reneker, Yamanishi NOES: 0 TRUSTEES: None ABSENT: 1 TRUSTEES: Roberson ABSTAIN: 0 TRUSTEES: None RECUSED: 0 TRUSTEES: None 8. Receive Report on Library Services to Schools, Students, and Educators Old Business 9. Receive Report on the Strategic Planning Process TRUSTEE COMMENTS Trustee Yamanishi: Reminder to purchase tickets for the Lisa See author talk. Limit of 200 people. Attended training session at Community Foundation about Boards who don't like to ask for money. Trustee Leyva: Shared information about a pilot program Mill Valley Library is beginning that partners with local retailers for discounts. "Your Library Card Saves You Cash" allows cardholders to receive discounts at local businesses. Trustee Castagna: Attended MPUSD's public forum. All Superintendents and administrators from the schools were in attendance. 34,000 mailers sent out, but only around 18 public members; Annual Report was impressive. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS & STAFF COMMENTS Community Services & Library Director Bui-Burton: Delighted to announce that Monterey Public Library now able to offer ebooks for Kindle. Staff will have special training and then public training sessions will be offered in the evenings. Recently received two new grants: 21st Century Skills Academy funded by the California State Library and also the California Reads grant which is also a partnership with the Japanese American League funded by the California Council for the Humanities. Spoke at the League of California Cities and is currently working on a report regarding the State of Libraries. Attended interesting session on creating the best retail environment for a downtown. The most successful retail environments offer services not available online. Assistant Library Director Holtzman: Added that many of the books Monterey Public Library had access to in the non eBook friendly PDF format are now available in ePub resulting in many more titles available for popular readers. CLOSED SESSION Board adjourned for a break from 7:00 p.m. to 7:06 p.m, reconvened at 7:07 p.m., Library Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 7  Library Board of Trustees Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 adjourned for closed session at 7:07 p.m. and then reconvened in open session at 7:49 p.m. 10. Public Employee Performance Evaluation Title: Library Director ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION Assistant Library Director Holtzman announced that the Board met in closed session to present the Library Director's performance evaluation and instructed staff by unanimous vote to agendize approval of the Director's Goals and Objectives for Fiscal Year 2011-12 at the October 26 meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Douglas Holtzman Mary Castagna, Vice Chair Assistant Library Director Library Board of Trustees Library Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 28, 2011 8