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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_LAB_01.11.2010Minutes of the Meeting of the Library Advisory Board Of Georgetown, Texas January 11, 2010 MEMBERS IN ATTENDENCE: Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Glenn Mautner, Marisue Miller, Anjeanette Courtin, David Ciambrone and Kathryn Morehouse. ABSENT: Shana Nichols STAFF IN ATTENDENCE: Eric Lashley, Library Director OTHERS IN ATTENDENCE: Linda Nix (CTLS Lay Representative) and Megan Higginbotham (Georgetown Citizen Academy) MINUTES: The meeting was called to order by Chair Betty Ann Sensabaugh at 6:30 PM. David Ciambrone made the motion to accept the minutes of the December 2009 Library Advisory Board Meeting and Marisue Miller seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: Director Lashley reported that circulation continued to increase for the month of December. Eric announced a retirement reception will be held in honor of Fran Fitzner on January 21 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Fran's last day at the library will be January 22, 2010. Staff will have a farewell dinner in Fran's honor on January 23, 2010. Eric handed out copies of the flyer staff designed to advertise the romance novel swap being held in April. Rachael Pattillo designed the faux covers of 1960s romance novels. Eric made known the Friends still have Book A Day calendars on sale in Second Hand Prose for $3.00. Eric announced tax season is beginning and there will be tax assistance at least 4 days a week. Tax forms have already been placed in the lobby of the library. Director Lashley announced the library would be participating in a Sisters In Crime (Mystery Writer's Group) "We Love Libraries" photo drawing. Libraries are encouraged to submit a photo of a staff member with 3 Sisters In Crime author's books via the Internet. Each month a photo will be randomly selected and the featured library will receive $1,000. David Ciambrone is the President of this organization. Eric discussed the patron comments and agreed to make some of the suggested changes. Eric agreed to add shelving in the restrooms and will consider changing the checkout periods for the DVD collection. After much discussion, Board members asked to have an item placed on the February meeting to discuss the checkout period for DVDs. Director Lashley handed out a report analyzing the seven most popular library collections. The report showed how certain collections were heavily used and drove the circulation statistics for the library. Another report listed the five most popular authors and the number of Reserve Express holds each of these authors currently have and the number of titles ordered when one of their new books are ordered. This report does not take into consideration the number of reserves that will be placed on the title by patrons that have not selected the author through the Reserve Express feature. The reports indicated there are a number of factors the library uses in deciding how to best spend limited resources. Introduction of a library staff member — Eric Lashley: No staff member was available to attend the meeting. Life-long Learning Coalition — Eric Lashley: Eric said he had little to announce due to the fact the previous meeting of the subcommittee had been moved to January 12. The goal of the Chamber of Commerce's subcommittee is to establish a vision for lifelong learning in Georgetown. Holocaust Exhibit — Eric Lashley: Eric announced final preparations have been made for the Reason to Remember Holocaust exhibit which will begin Sunday, January 17. School group tours have been organized and docents will be available each day to provide information to the public. A presentation by author C.S. Ragsdale will be held on Wednesday, January 27 at 2:00 PM. Ragsdale is the author of the book Living Longer than Hate the story of Holocaust survivor William Morgan. Bookmobile — Eric Lashley: Director Lashley reported the Friends of the Library have formed a committee to determine whether it will be feasible to take on funding a bookmobile for the library. Eric announced there were two major grants available to help fund the program, but the Friends would need to commit to the project before efforts would be made to apply for the grants. The earliest a bookmobile program could be established is October 2012. Library's Technology Issues — Eric Lashley: Director Lashley notified the Board the library will be receiving twelve new public computer stations this month. He also reported the City is changing the framework of our computer network from Novell to Active Directory. This transition may cause interruption of library services in mid- February. Eric is working with the Information Technology department to minimize disruption of library services. Eric also reported the City's telephone system is being upgraded and the Information Technology department has indicated it wants the library to go to a menu system when patrons call the library. After much discussion, the Board requested an item be placed on the February agenda to discuss phone services in regards to customer service. Chair Betty Ann Sensabaugh adjourned the meeting at 7:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, Anjeanette Courtin, Secretary Betty Ann Sensabaugh, Chair DIRECTOR'S MONTHLY REPORT GEORGETOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY January 2010 HIGHLIGHTS The Holocaust exhibit, sponsored by Congregation Havurah Shalom of Sun City, has brought hundreds of additional visitors to the library. More than 200 people attended both the opening lecture by William Morgan and C.S. Ragsdale's presentation on International Holocaust Day, January 27. Feedback regarding the exhibit has been positive. It will remain in place until February 13. Meeting room use was especially intense during January due to the guided tours associated with the Holocaust exhibit, Senior University classes resuming, City staff training, and training of volunteers who will do tax preparation. • Eric Lashley and Linda Nix attended the quarterly CTILS meeting in Salado on January 22. • Fran Fitzner, a thirteen-year member of the library staff who handled all of our purchasing, retired on January 22.