Norman Public Library Board Meeting

Norman Library Board Meeting June 20, 2023 Norman Central Public Library, 103 W. Acres St., Norman, Oklahoma 73069 Meeting Minutes Meeting Called to order at 4:45pm Roll Call Bianca Gordon (Chair), Jayme Shelton, Jason Bingham, Sue Ringus (Vice Chair), Megan Straughan (Secretary), Jody Foote Not in attendance: Sarah Moran, Debra Engel [note: Tim Mauldin has vacated his seat due to term limitations] Introduction of Staff and Guests Mike Pierson, Norman West Branch Manager Joshua Caudill, Information Services Manager Kelsey Williamson, Norman East Branch Manager Lauren Hinton, Information Services Librarian Reagan Schreier, Business Outreach Specialist Caroline Dulworth, Associate Director Consider and vote to approve/ disapprove/ take other action on minutes from previous meeting Member Shelton motioned to approve the minutes from the previous week, Secretary Straughan seconded. Verbal vote, minutes were unanimously approved with no changes. Branch updates Central ● Traveling programs on Mondays (one Saturday) including yoga with alpacas ● Regular programming continuing (story time Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday), STEAM programs in the afternoons, Tuesday night program with children reading to dogs ● Maker lab is doing weekly “camps” (parents stay to supervise) with daily presentations on coding, 3D design, etc. ● Book discussion groups continuing, including a new Booktok book group ● Drop in resume assistance, VHS conversions, Teen connect program Mondays and Thursday, Hip hop dance class ● Murder mystery programming  ● Lauren Hinton: working with teen programming around mental health, time management, social connections, arts/crafts, Mondays 1:00-2:30 and Thursday 2:00-3:00. Working with Crossroads Youth and Family Services ● Programming “Weekends at the Well” and farmers market cooking classes ● Jazz in June Clinics were successful ● Room use has been up, with most rooms filled most of the time West ● Story time continues Tuesdays ● Tai Chi Wednesdays ● Teen programs Wednesdays at 6:00 ● Adult programs Tuesday evenings ● Kids programs Thursday afternoons at 2:00 ● American Sign Language Course (for adults) in July Monday evenings ● Cooking classes including Summer Smoothies East ● Story times/Children's programming on Wednesdays ● Children/Tween Thursday afternoons ● Teen programming Tuesday evenings ● Intergenerational/family activities for the summer, story time and STEAM activities focused on siblings/family activities ● Friday friends- Teen interns create and facilitate family programming ● Shade awning is now installed for outside activities ● Healthy mocktails patio night July 6th 6:30-8:00 ● Norman East turns 5 this year July 20th, celebration July 17th 6:00-8:00 General ● Summer Learning Challenge and programming o Sign up through the website or PLS app o Paper logs available for kids o Anyone who has issues with the app can go to the library for help o Already 8 million points in to an 11 million point goal ● Kelsey Williamson gave a presentation on the sign up and process for the Summer Learning Challenge o Link available on the main library website for signing up, logging points, and finding challenges o 1 point per minute of reading, plus lots of activities with points values that encourage learning, activity, time spent in nature, etc. o Reading Timer available or you can log your own minutes o Once you reach 1,000 points children get a prize (free books!) and for each additional 1000 points adults and children get another entry in the drawing for the final prize o Library staff asked the board to talk about the Summer Learning Challenge in the community  o Chair Gordon brought up displaying names of high point earners/people who have completed the challenge ▪ each branch does something differently, displaying names, giving opportunities to recommend books, etc. ● Loren Hinton presented on the Teen Summer Intern Program o Volunteer program is now an intern program to provide more work experience/resume building for teens o Interns are more involved in activities including working in each department, creating programming, and having diverse duties that provide views into several library careers and job experiences o Mentorship opportunities for teens to work with librarians o Interns focus on collection maintenance, programming, resource utilization, and ongoing library upkeep o 13 interns at Central, 13 at East o Interns are involved in developing the intern program for future years o Open to ages 12-17 (sometimes open to 18 year olds who are still in high school) o Application and interview o Interns are provided a schedule in 3 hours shifts 2x/week o Past volunteers have come back, provide peer mentorship, and sometimes apply for shelving jobs or become adult volunteers o Summer positions have closed but will be back open in the Fall Old Business ● Landscape issues- invasive plants were taking over the gardens at central o PLS and the city have been working together ▪ The city will be maintaining parts of the area around Central and PLS will be responsible for other areas o Buffalo grass will be planted in some of the areas o Visibility is better o Water removal plants will be trimmed o This is considered a “reset” with invasive plants being removed ● Kelsey Williamson updated the board on the Norman East branch’s new Patio awning o Awning is complete and some summer programs will be able to be held outside New Business ● Reagan Schreier presented on the Online High School program ○ Free accredited high school for people over the age of 24 who have not completed high school (8th grade education required) ○ Must have library card ○ Application available through the PLS website ○ Accepted by most Oklahoma universities (OU, OCU, OSU, etc) ○ Up to 2 full years to complete the program ○ Can transfer previous credits (up to 16, complete program is 21.5 units) ○ 4 graduates so far  ○ Some graduates have only taken months to complete the program ○ Even if you don’t have a previous transcript, you can participate ○ Scholarship based program (complete 2 courses in the first 30 days to get awarded scholarship) ○ 10 current students ○ Reagan Schreier and Heather Thompson administer the program from the library and provide the contact with students ○ Advertised through billboards on bus stops over town, announcements on KGOU ○ Previous program was age 25+, and an influx of students occurred when the age was lowered to 24 Board Comments Chair Gordon complimented library staff on reengaging patrons after the pandemic Member Bingham noted how busy the rooms have been Vice Chair Ringus complimented the Maker Space which she has been using, and identified how helpful the book displays are Secretary Straughan noted she has been using the children’s programming this summer and complimented the children’s librarians and story time programming Chair Gordon has been using the digihub and staff has been very helpful Comments from the Public None Next Meeting: Monday, September 18, 2023 at Norman Library - West Adjournment Member Shelton moved to adjourn, Vice Chair RIngus seconded, verbal vote to adjourn was unanimous It is the policy of the City of Norman that no person or groups of persons shall on the grounds of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, marital status, including marriage to a person of the same sex, disability, retaliation, or genetic information, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination in employment activities or in all programs, services, or activities 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