HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_LAB_01.13.2003Georgetown Public Library Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes
January 13, 2003
In attendance: Judy Parks, Jerry Sensabaugh, Gerald Carson, Ema Fielder, Zora Evans, Jackie
Cuozzo, Judy Griffith and Georgene Richaud. Eric Lashley, Library Director was also present
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed. A correction to paragraph
2 was made. Sentence should read, "A grant of $75,000 from the state library, which involves
cooperation with the school district is being considered » With this correction, Gerald Carson
moved and Zora Evans seconded a motion to approve the minutes as amended. The motion
passed unanimously.
Director's Report: Eric Lashley reported the following:
Statistics are up. January has been a very busy month. The City hosted its annual Employee
Recognition Luncheon on December 13th. Kathleen Burnop was honored as the Library
Employee of the Year and the following employees were recognized for their length of service;
Maria West and Fran Fitzner for five years, Lee Sparks and Rosa Garcia for ten years and Dixie
Hanna for fifteen years.
An intern, who is a student at UT, has been hired for cataloging. A decision will be made soon
on who will be hired for the public technology coordinator position. Eric continues to work on the
application for the $75,000 cooperative grant from the state library. The application is due in
March. The individual hired under this grant will be in an outreach position to assist the schools
and library with literacy, particularly with Spanish-speaking students. This individual would also
assist students in getting books out of the library as well as promoting the library's services during
the summer.
Eric reported that a possible future site for the library is still being discussed. The Draeger
property on Austin Avenue is still under consideration.
The next City Council meeting will include a discussion about how advisory board members are
appointed There may be a change that will make the Council more involved in the process.
There is a CTLS meeting in Cedar Park at the end of this month. Eric and Judy Parks will
attend.
The state library has hired a consultant to consider the restructuring of the state library. It is
possible that as part of their fact finding, a representative of the consultant may visit our library.
Agenda Items:
Hours of Operation of the Library
Eric has concluded a study of the requisite costs for the expansion of library hours. To have the
library open on Sundays would require an additional 10-11 hours per week. The most cost
effective way to accomplish this would be to change the status of certain employees from part-
time to full-time. The added payroll and benefit costs would be approximately $55,500. There
would be a rise in support costs, i e. utilities, supplies etc. However, this increase is difficult to
project. Eric estimates that the Sunday hours of operation would generate an additional usage of
70,000 items per year. This is very cost effective based on the average cost per item.
Eric will finalize his proposal and submit it to the city manager for inclusion in the budget for
fiscal year 2003-2004.
Letter to the City Manager regarding the Location of the Library
Judy Parks read a letter that was sent to the city manager on behalf the of the advisory board.
The letter strongly recommended that any future site of the library be in the historic downtown
section of Georgetown. The letter enumerated the reasons prompting our recommendation. The
city manager has sent a copy of the letter to the city council.
Legislative Day
Eric announced that Legislative Day will be the 11th and 12th of February. Anyone wishing to
accompany Enc and Judy to the Legislature on that day should contact Eric. They will be leaving
at 8:00 AM on the 12th. A discussion was held on the importance of contacting your legislative
representatives conceming the continuation of the TIF program. Enc has emailed the advisory
board members regarding a web site that contains information on the success of the program.
Agenda items for Next Meeting:
Cooperative Grant with State Library — Eric Lashley
Composition of the new Library Advisory Board — Eric Lashley
CTLS Report — Eric Lashley and Judy Parks
City Budget Schedule — Eric Lashley
City of Georgetown Labor Day Bookfest — Gerald Carson
There being no further business, Zora Evans moved and Ema Fielder seconded a motion to
adjoum. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 7:07 PM.