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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes_LAB_01.16.2018Minutes of the Meeting of the Library Advisory Board City of Georgetown January 16, 2018 The Library Advisory Board met on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 6 p.m. in the second floor Small Conference Room, Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. 8th Street MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Michael Barnes, Lindsay Cooper, John Hudson, Pete Rose, Linda Schaffer and Thom Sinwell. MEMBERS ABSENT: Pat Baldwin STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: Eric Lashley - Library Director. Chair Rose called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. Regular Agenda 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. No action required. B. Review of minutes of the December 19 2017 Library Advisory Board meeting. — Pete Rose, Chair. Motion by Barnes; second by Hudson to approve the December 19, 2017 Library Advisory board meeting minutes. Approved 6-0 (Baldwin absent). C. Consideration of the Library Director's re ert. --- Eric Lashley, Library Director. Lashley reviewed the monthly statistics, discussed upcoming events, and read patron comments from the library's suggestion box for January 2018. Sheri Miklaski, Community Outreach Librarian, hosted a volunteer open house in January to introduce herself. No action required. D. Review of Community Resource Coordinator's report — Eric Lashley, Library Director. Lashley distributed Patrick Lloyd's monthly report (attached). Noted highlights were a referral for a City employee, financial assistance, grief/loss support, drug treatment, and winter clothing for the homeless. No action required. E. Review of WOW!mobile report. - Eric Lashley, Library Director. Lashley passed out Kalena Powell's monthly report (attached). Noted were two new stops in Berry Creek, adjustments to the home delivery program and modifications to the bus interior. Staff is researching the possibility of using the Postal Service for delivering items to patrons who cannot visit the library or bookmobile due to physical constraints. No action required. F. Discussion regarding Board's tour of Austin's Central L.ibr— Pete Rose, Board Chair. Following the tour of Austin's Central and Twin Oaks branch libraries board members discussed their findings. Topics included, but were not limited to, public art, technology, utilization of outdoor spaces, expansion of library programs and services, and eco - friendly building options. Board members agreed that the Austin Public Library system is a great model of a futuristic library. No action required. G. Consideration of future meeting dates. — Pete Rose, Board Chair. The February meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. No action required. Chair Rose adjourned the meeting at 7:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, .n) Pat Baldwin Pete Rose Secretary Chair GPL Community Resources Monthly Report: January 2017 This month library staff conducted 16 interviews with high -need patrons; in December 2016 we conducted 7 interviews. Presenting needs shifted dramatically in January with significant increases in emergency housing, physical health, and legal aid. We also saw a large jump in patrons with questions regarding a variety of education topics including ESL and low-cost art classes. Library staff other than CRC completed the survey tool on three occasions versus once in December 2016. Patron Needs V mf�rV(?ncy Ilousing Fin. A4sistancf,� Benefit Assistance Mental Health 11hy,IcaI IieaIt1.) ep"a1 0t11e J,an -'I Ute( H) We continue to see a majority of female HNPs. We continue to observe that about two-thirds are female. Patrons with children in the home seem to fluctuate: in January just 19% had children in the household; in December that number was 57%. This may be attributable to the holidays as parents searched for financial help to buy gifts for their children. We continue to see that about 12-15% of HNPs have either a veteran in the household or are/have been victims of domestic violence. We were able to refer patrons to resources within Georgetown in just 44% percent of interviews conducted. This month, unmet needs are primarily emergency housing and legal aid. Twice we have now interviewed patrons of means who are coping with complicated real estate/legal problems following the death of a spouse. These individuals may own several pieces of property in other states and cities. They are older adults. Properties may be in the name of the deceased spouse leaving the surviving spouse to try to navigate a complicated probate/real estate system across state lines, often with little available funds as their money is tied up in the properties they are attempting to sell. In one person's case these challenges were further complicated by serious illness. With an aging population, it's anticipated that these kinds of problems will continue to appear. WOW REPORT BERRY CREEK Starting February 2018 we will be adding Berry Creek to our regular schedule. There will be two stops, two different days of the week (one a.m., one p.m.) visiting on a biweekly schedule (V & 3rd ). Here are the details. Berry Creek Country Club (Sheri M.) Wednesdays 10am-11am Berry Creek Tennis Club (Kalena P.) Tuesdays 4:30pm-5:30pm There is also talk of possibly adding story time or yoga time to the schedule in the future. We'll see how the first 3 months develops and we'll go from there. Eric has marketing details.... SHERI MIKLASKI We've already started making improvements in operations thanks to the insightful suggestions of our new Outreach Leader! Possible printing changes in Apollo to wowmobile reserved items and the delegation of checking out wowmobile reserves to Sun City patrons on Monday evening with free up a tremendous amount of time to let our growing Outreach Team spend their time collaborating, focusing on growing and improving services and being available in-house to stay connected to the main land. Sheri will be operating the wowmoble on the VY and 3rd Wednesdays of the month starting January 2018. This day includes Berry Creek Country Club, The Oaks Retirement, Georgetown Charter Academy and Cypress Creek Apartments. Kalena will be at Main on Wednesdays and will provide desk coverage in addition to routine weekly wowmobile scheduling, operations and related duties. SAMUEL MILTON ANDERSON Sam was a wowmobile patron in the Algerita neighborhood for at least 5 years. He absolutely loved to read and enjoyed the escape. His taste in authors spoke to his intellect and perhaps reflected a life he used to live, We had long conversations about the works of McCarthy, Hemingway, Hesse, Faulkner and Chaucer. My fondest memory of Sam was from the Summer of 2016. We were talking about All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy which led to a conversation about a Peter Paul and Mary song called Hush a Bye (All the Pretty Little Horses) that my mother used to sing to me when I was a little girl and I sang to her in her last few hours before she passed. Sam tried to recall the lyrics to his favorite Peter Paul and Mary song, Stewball. He was having trouble, so I googled the lyrics and read them aloud. As his recollection returned he began to recite the lyrics with me and wept aloud. He excused himself for crying to which I replied there was no need. He then looked straight at me and asked me if anyone had ever told me that I have," soulful eyes". "No, Sam. I don't believe so. Thank you." He smiled, thanked me and exited the bus. Sam backtracked a few steps, poked his head inside the door and said, "Hey, don't tell nobody that I cried" with a gentle smile on his face. I told him I wouldn't, so I suppose I'm breaking my promise. Sam passed away in September after a lengthy battle with cirrhosis of the liver and Hepatitis C from years of alcohol abuse and heroine addiction. He was found by his buddy and neighbor, Travis, who took care of Sam the last few months of his life and shared the news with Sheri and me last week. "I bet on ttt€v grey mare, I bet on the bay if I'd have bet on of Stewr all, I'd be a free man today. Oh they Groot owl, she hollers, and the tUrde dove. rnot ns, I'm 11 poor boy in trouble, I'm a lora; way From hc�rnez " Peter Paul and Mary/Stewball