HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_LAB_03.17.2014Minutes of the Meeting of the
Library Advisory Board
of the City of Georgetown
March 17, 2014 at 6:30 P.M.
in the staff conference room, Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street
The Library Advisory Board met on Monday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the staff conference room at the
Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Michael Barnes, Stephanie Blanck, Lois Case, Tom Hagen, William
Hammonds, Linda Nix, and Margaret Thompson
Regular Session — began at 6:30 p.m.
A. Citizens wishing to address the Board. As of the deadline, no persons were signed up to speak on
items other than what was posted on the agenda.
B. Introduction of all members -Eric Lashley — Eric Lashley, library director, introduced himself to the
board and each board member introduced themselves to the other board members. Lashley has
worked for the City of Georgetown approximately 18 years. Linda Nix is a retired educator and is
serving her 4th term on the Library Advisory Board. She also is the lay representative for CTLS
(Connecting Texas Libraries Statewide), an organization that provides training to libraries statewide.
Lois Case is a Sun City resident since 2001 and is a retired social worker. Bill Hammonds has lived
in Sun City 11 years, but is preparing to move back to Tennessee. Tom Hagen is also a resident of
Sun City since 2005. He served on another library board in another city. Michael Barnes has lived
in Georgetown since 1989. He is married to Ethel Barnes, a former employee who retired from the
library, and this is the sixth board or commission he has served on for the City of Georgetown.
Stephanie Blanck moved to Georgetown in 1980. She is a retired school psychologist. She is
heavily involved with the Boys and Girls Club and the Chamber of Commerce. Margaret Thompson
is currently a teacher and has recently taken the library certification test.
C. Consideration of minutes of the December 16, 2013 meeting. —Hagen made the motion to accept
the minutes of the December 2013 Library Advisory Board Meeting and Case seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
D. Review and discuss Library Advisory Board bylaws — Eric Lashley — Lashley reviewed the bylaws
for the board. He noted another role the Library Advisory Board serves that is not spelled out in the
bylaws: according to Library Policy, the Library Advisory Board serves as the judge of community
standards when an individual challenges library materials and asks that the materials be removed
from the collection. Lashley explained the process that would occur if a person made a challenge
and wanted to appeal the decision of the director.
E. Review and discuss the City Council Attendance Policy for Board Members — Eric Lashley —
Lashley noted that the City Council requires 75% attendance for meetings. There are provisions for
an excused absence due to illness.
F. Review and discuss recommended meeting procedures — Eric Lashley —
Lashley noted the most complicated issue that the board addresses often occurs when citizens
attend the meetings. Citizens are only allowed 3 minutes to address the board at the beginning of
the meetings or 3 minutes to address the board on agenda items and they are not allowed to
participate in the discussion of the agenda items.
G. Set day and time for the future Board meetings — Eric Lashley — Director Lashley noted the Board
could change the date and time of the monthly meetings if they wished. Margaret Thompson
made the motion to keep the meetings on the third Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. Hammonds
seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
H. Elect the Vice Chair of the Board — Eric Lashley — Hammonds moved to nominate Case for the
position of Vice Chair. Hagen seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
Elect the Secretary of the Board — Eric Lashley — Hammonds moved to nominate Thompson as
Secretary. Hagen seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.
J. Overview of library staff, budget, and policies — Eric Lashley — Director Lashley passed out a
directory of library staff members and explained each staff member's position and role. He
distributed a copy of the library's budget and informed the board of the budget requests the library
will be submitting for next fiscal year. Lashley also distributed a packet of the library's policies.
Thompson asked that an agenda item be placed on the April agenda to discuss the censorship
policy.
K. Consideration of Library Director's reports for December 2013 -February 2014 — Eric Lashley —
Director Lashley reviewed the reports for the members. He noted for the new members the areas
of the report he focuses on each month: circulation, visitations, bookmobile, OverDrive, volunteers,
and computer usage.
L. Review and discussion of City's bicycle lending program — Eric Lashley — Lashley reviewed the
bicycle lending program. He noted this is a joint program with the Convention and Visitors Bureau
(CVB). As a member of the Downtown and Community Services Division, the library is working with
CVB and in the future with the Parks and Recreation Department to make the downtown more bike
and pedestrian friendly by connecting the downtown to the hike and bike trails. The new Downtown
Master Plan also calls for the downtown to be more bicycle friendly.
M. Report on Anne Frank exhibit that is on display at the library until May 4 — Eric Lashley — Director
Lashley noted the Anne Frank exhibit has been a big success. The members of Congregation
Havurah Shalom of Sun City have done a great job scheduling tours and the exhibit is bringing
more traffic to the library. Lashley recommend each board member take a tour.
N. Consideration of dates of future Board meetings — Eric Lashley — Lashley noted this particular
agenda item allowed for meeting dates to be changed if a quorum would be difficult for future
meetings. No accommodations needed to be made, so no changes were made to the future
meeting schedule.
Chair Linda Nix adjourned the meeting at 7:40 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
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Margaret hompson, Secretary Linda Nix, C air