Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_LAB_04.18.2017Minutes of the Meeting of the Library Advisory Board City of Georgetown April 18, 2017 The Library Advisory Board met on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in the Small Conference Room of the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street MEMBERS PRESENT: Pat Baldwin, Michael Barnes, Lindsay Cooper, Tom Milburn, Teresa Robinson, Pete Rose, and Linda Schaffer. STAFF PRESENT: Eric Lashley- Library Director Chair Rose called the meeting to order at 6:00 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. Review of minutes from the March 21, 2017 Library Advisory Board meeting. -Pete Rose, Board Chair. The board voted to amend the minutes from March, noting that Tom Milburn was absent that month. Motion by Milburn; second by Schaffer to approve the minutes as amended. Approved 7-0. C. Consideration of Library Director's Report. —Eric Lashley, Library Director. Lashley reviewed monthly statistics with the board, noting changes to the format and the addition of a statistic that tracks the number of patrons who check out materials each month. Lashley reported that lighting on the 8th Street parking will be installed soon. Negotiations between the City and Williamson County are moving forward to explore utilizing space across from the library as parking once the EMS department moves to their new headquarters. Lashley reported that the police were called to the library on two occasions in the past month. One incident involved an individual taking pictures of knives in the upstairs men's restroom. The other incident involved an individual who brought a handgun and drug paraphernalia into the upstairs men's restroom. No one was harmed and the Georgetown Police officers handled both situations very professionally. Lashley announced upcoming library events and read patron comments from the suggestion box. No action required. D. Consideration of Community Resources Coordinator's report. —Eric Lashley, Library Director. Lashley reviewed a copy of Patrick Lloyd's monthly report (attached to these minutes). No action required. E. Report on An Evening in Paris fundraiser. —Eric Lashley, Library Director. Lashley announced that the library's joint fundraiser with the Assistance league was a major success, earning approximately $12,000 to be split 50150 between the two organizations. Funds raised for the library will be used for children's programming and materials. No action required. F. Consideration and possible action regardingzthe mission statement and Goal I of the Library's Strategic Plan. —Eric Lashley, Library Director. Lashley distributed the mission statement and Goal I of the Library's Strategic Plan (attached to these minutes). Goal I of the strategic plan is: Improve access to information and collections of the library for all citizens of Georgetown. Lashley noted that Assistant City Manager Laurie Brewer asked him to consider changing the name of the library department to reflect the movement of Arts and Culture under the library and the work of the Community Resources Coordinator. Names to consider are: Department of Cultural Affairs, Department of Cultural Arts, Department of Communio) Engagement and Cultural Arts, and Community and Cultural Resources. Lashley read the library's mission statement and explained that employees will begin using the motto: Engage, Enlighten, Empower. Discussion ensued regarding use of vision and mission statements, and the evolution of libraries. The board recommended having a retreat to discuss these issues. Lashley will put an item on May's Library Advisory Board agenda to continue this discussion. No action taken. G. Consideration of future meeting dates. — Eric Lashley, Library Director. The next Library Advisory Board meeting will be Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at 6 pm. Chair Rose adjourned the meeting at 7:40 PM. Respectfully submitted, 0 Pat Baldwin Secretary Pete Rose Chair GPL Community Resources Monthly Report: March 2017 This month library staff conducted 12 interviews with high -need patrons. Half of needs accounted for under "other" represent education needs including U.S.citizenship test prep, food handler's certification assistance, and parenting classes, In the first quarter of 2017, education was the third most common need among patrons and will subsequently betracked asit's own standalone category Patron needs march 2017 r- ----- - - ------ ---- —'---------------��- - - - 6 FEW 5 - -------------------------- -�OWN 4 ------- -- --- �- Wemntinue to see a majority of female HNPs, with about two-thirds being female. This figure has remained consistent around 66% since November 2016. |n25%ofinterviews, patrons independently volunteered a history of domestic abuse as the victim. This figure has remained consistent near 22% since GPL began tracking this information. As this isnot information that isdirectly requested from patrons, we can expect that a significantly higher proportion of GPL patrons in need have a history of domestic violence. We were able to refer patrons to resources within Georgetown in 83.3% percent of interviews conducted in March, our highest local referral rate since November 2016. This is a reflection of the increase in requests for education information and financial assistance, needs that can be met by agencies including the Health Department, The Georgetown Project and the Caring Place. We remain unable to refer locally for issues of housing, legal aid, and domestic violence. Below are notes captured on referrals from this month: m Provided phone number for health dept. w Grandparents want custody ofgrandkids;reference TxRio Grande Legal Aid-Aushn m VVi|CoChildren's Advocacy Center • 5ervicios8i|in8ues • Reference: TX Rio Grande Legal Aid (PN 1) & Faith in Action (PN 3) * Reference: BBT (PN 1)and Hope Alliance (PN 2) = Minor child fleeing abuse/neglect p Reference: Goodwill and HiredTexas * Reference: Caring Place (PN 1)and Refugee Services ofTXinAustin (PN 2) • Reference: Caring Place (PN l)BBT (PN 2)Hope Alliance, SafeP|ace * Reference: Lone Star CoC,United Way, and Wilco patient navigator. 0 Family of 6; 4 children under 4yo; in need of shelter/affordable housing GPL has not encountered a patron in need who reported a veteran in their household since January 2017. GPL Community Resources Report: 2017 First Quarter In the first quarter of 2017 GPL engaged a total of 37 patrons in conversations regarding community resources. This puts us on pace to assess and refer 148 patrons in 2017. 61.1% of patrons interviewed were female and 33.3% were male; one survey did not check a box for gender. Our patrons' need breakdown is below. Patron need Q1 2017 Emergency Housing ❑ Fin. Assistance ❑ Physical Health ❑ Legal Benefit Assistance Mental Health ❑ Education o Other Needs included under 'other' and their frequency are listed below: o Transportation — 2 a Assistance obtaining permanent housing (typically a deposit on an apartment) — 2 • Grief/loss —1 o Domestic violence —1 o Substance rehabilitation —1 Legal aid, emergency housing, and education (GED, ESL, professional certifications, etc.) continue are our patrons' most prominent needs. Children in the household 29.7% of patrons in need stated that there were children in the household. |ntwo instances, patrons came toGPLwith their children intow. |nboth these cases, patrons reported being homeless under the Department nfHousing and Urban Development definition; their children would also qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Domestic violence 21.6% of patrons in need self -identified ahistory of domestic violence and would presumably qualify for services from DV -focused providers such as Hope Alliance and SafePlace. One patron was identified to be experiencing ongoing DV at the time of her interview (rather than only the repercussions of it) which is accounted for above by categorization under 'other! All patrons with stated histories of domestic abuse were women. The Community Resources Coordinator does not typically ask patrons directly if they have or are experiencing domestic violence. Patrons often volunteer this information. It Is reasonable to assume that the percentage of patrons in need who have a history of abuse is higher than 21.6%. Veteran Just 2patrons —orS/4%—stated that aveteran lived hnthe nopatrons reported being veterans themselves. Discussion GPLis able to refer patrons to some sort of service within Georgetown injust S8.4% of interviews. However, inmany instances, that referral may alleviate some of the patron's presenting problems without addressing it at the root. For example, a patron may come to GPL and report that she and her daughter are living with an acquaintanceshen1et online. She is unsure how long that living situation may last. She is unemployed and both she and her young daughter are without health insurance. Her most pressing needs are assessed and found to be financial assistance and benefit assistance. In such a case, the patron could be referred to the Caring Place for financial help and to the United Way and/or Lone Star Circle of Care to obtain family health insurance. However, her precarious living situation has not been addressed. in the event that her housing situation should deteriorate, she and her daughter would be living in a car. Such situation are common among GPLpatrons inneed. hmthe cases where patrons are completely unable tobereferred within Georgetown, common referrals are toTexas Rio Grande Legal Aid (Austin), Hope Alliance (Round Rock), SafePlace (Austin), and Foundation Communities (Austin). GPL remains unable torefer patrons bmagencies within Georgetown for Issues ofemergency housing, domestic violence, Library Services Strategic Plan Georgetown Public Library Mission: The Georgetown Public Library is dedicated to open and equal access to information, technology, lifelong learning, cultural enrichment, and the joys of reading for our diverse community. Purpose: The purpose of the Georgetown Public Library's strategic plan. is to clearly define the library's priorities and services for the next five years. Goal 1: Improve access to the information and collections of the library for all citizens of Georgetown. Objective 1: Insure staff is adequate to provide basic service whenever the library is open. Objective 2: Increase outreach efforts to citizens with limited mobility and access to transportation by use of a bookmobile. Objective,3: Provide reference service during all public hours Objective 4: Provide children's librarian in the children's area during all open hours. Objective 5: Enhance access to library collections through effective marketing strategies. Objective 6: Develop an aggressive publicity program designed to increase the frequency with which Georgetown citizens hear about the library. Objective 7: Develop a program that assists citizens in finding information regarding social services.