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Library Advisory Board Minutes - 02/15/2011LIBRARY ADVISORYBOARD MINUTES February 15, 2911 MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeff Tillman Amy Bobrowitz Jennifer Andrews Cari Guidry Arthur Bea Williams Julie Carter _ .Jean Hall -- - - - -- - - - - - - -- ------ - - - - -- Carrie-Ann Taylor - - 1026 EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS PRESENT: Jack Murphy, Director of Parks & Recreation Jenny Bechtold, President Friends of the Wichita Falls Public Library Lesley Daly, Library Administrator A quorum was present and the meeting was called to order at 4:18 pm. Wo "ITY CLERWS OFFICE DATE: ,Y. ?, � TIME: a : a o' Librarian's report: Staff Update: Ms. Daly reported that the Library Page position had been filled and that the library's new hire, Natalie Jones, would be able to start work within the next week. The library has also been the lucky recipient of a free audiobook and related promotional materials from author Susan Mallery. An anonymous library patron registered Wichita Falls Public Library as their favorite library on Ms. Mallery's facebook page and the library was automatically entered in to a national drawing for the giveaways - staff are now on the look -out for Susan Mallery fans in order to thank them! Statistics: Ms. Daly presented the Board with the following statistics from January: Jan 3 929 Jan 10 660 Jan 17 649 Jan 24 799 Jan 31 834 Feb 7 1026 This table reflects door counts on Mondays during January and February. The library typically sees a jump in statistics immediately after a holiday, so the January 3 figure was not unexpected. The figures for January 10, 17 and 24 are representative of what would be usual for the month, and the slight increase recorded January 31 was arguably due to a number of people getting out and about before the first major snow storm hit the area. The library was closed February 1, and re- opened on Wednesday February 2 through Friday February 4 with shortened hours of 10-4. On those days, door counts went from just over 100 to almost 300. Saturday February 5 was a normal day for staff, and the door count of 384 was a normal read also. The stand -out figure is that of February 7 - with the library having effectively been closed for a week, to have 1062 people come in and return approximately 1600 items and check that many more items out kept everyone on their toes. The count for Tuesday, Feb 8 was 931 - also considered high, and again, arguably due to people getting out before the second storm came through. New Business: Ms. Daly shared some sobering news from the State Library, including a letter from the State Librarian Peggy Rudd (attached) and some figures from the initial budget proposition from the Texas Legislature proposed in House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 that would see the State Library's budget reduced by over 70 %. The State Library has already identified 4 priorities for funding that it intends to highlight and focus on during upcoming hearings. Today, February 15 is Legislative Day for libraries, and Ms. Daly indicated that a core group of librarians from the North Texas area has traveled to Austin to speak to local area representatives as well as to Senate committees. The first priority of the State Library is to try and protect the acquisition of the TexShare databases - WFPL currently has access to 49 databases through this service which contain over 14,000 fulltext journals, over 2,600 newspapers, 5,000+ reference books, over 420,000 primary source documents and over 28,000 electronic books. The current subscription fee for WFPL based on population served is $2,505 - - the value (cost) of these databases if pursued under an individual license would be $325,883. The elimination of the Loan Star Libraries program would also cause considerable financial strain for WFPL: historically federal and state monies have always been used to fund the annual Summer Reading program as well as to help with the annual unforeseen emergency expenses (for example, furniture and equipment replacement). In response to questions as to what could be done, Ms. Daly agreed to share correspondence from the State Library with information on contacting representatives as well as advice on how to articulate concerns. Arthur Bea Williams raised the possibility of a program idea that the Friends and the Board could become involved with: an Alice in Wonderland - themed event with a tea -party and silent auction as a main fundraiser. The idea met with considerable interest and enthusiasm - Jean Hall mentioned that she has had past experience with just such an event and that there are local groups who already have `Alice' related items such as costumes and croquet sets. It was agreed that Ms. Williams and Ms. Bechtold would discuss this further at a later date. Friends: Jenny Bechtold, the Presidenfof the Friends of the Wichita Falls Public Library, told the Board that the first silent auction held during January had been extremely successful, raising over $966. The second silent auction is already underway with the books being showcased in the East display cases at the front of the library. Ms. Bechtold announced that the Friends have also recently purchased a practical stroller/book- carrier that will soon be delivered and made available to library patrons. Finally,.Ms. Bechtold mentioned the upcoming Dr. Seuss celebration being planned for Saturday, March 26 and invited board members to sign up for volunteer slots for the event. There being no further business., the meeti as adjourned -at 5 :05 pm, Nextrpeeting: March 15, 2011,.4:15 pm r� Amy )/obiowitz, Chair and Archives Commission . 3 February 2010 To: Texas Librarians and Library Supporters Thank you for your concern about the Texas State Library and Archives Commission's FY2012 -2013 budget as proposed in House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1. TSLAC has responded to the Legislative Budget Board detailing the impact of the proposed budget reductions and offering an alternative proposal to restore some of the state funding. The agency's alternative proposal includes four priorities. .orenzo de Lavala ;tare Archives and Priority 1: TexShare Databases .ibrary Building H.B. 1 and S.B 1 propose eliminating $8 million in General Revenue (state '.O. Box 12927 funds) support for the TexShare databases and substituting $8 million from ustin, Texas increased TexShare database fees. We have requested restoration of T '8711-2927 StinT $3,500,000 in General Revenue over the biennium for the TexShare databases, a reduction in the anticipated revenue from TexShare database fees, plus changes to some of the bill riders (technical amendments). .201 Brazos Street Tnsrin, Texas Priority 2: Loan Star Libraries Program '8701 H.B. 1 and S.B. 1 eliminate General Revenue for the Loan Star Libraries Program of direct assistance to public libraries. We have requested vww.tsl. state. tx.us restoration of $3,000,000 in General Revenue over the biennium for the Loan Star Libraries program. We have also asked for changes to some of the technical amendments, including restoring functions of the Continuing Education and Consulting Services and some grant programs. :ommission Chairman andra J. Pickett Priority 3: Restoration of TSLAC's Capital Budget We have requested restoration of the agency's capital budget of $212,000 for Members 1haron T. Carr computer resources for desktop workstations and maintenance of TSLAC's Martha Doty Freeman network. .arry G. bolt x'm. Scott McAfee Priority 4: K -12 Public School Library Databases ,ally Reynolds Aichael C. Waters We have requested $3,000,000 over the biennium for school library databases, with funding to come from the Texas Education Agency, which is )irectorand Librarian the current source of funding. leggy D. Rudd In addition, we have asked for the restoration of 5.7 FTEs. assistant State Librarian Award Seidenberg Because the reductions in the appropriations bills are focused on General Revenue funding, our response to the Legislative Budget Board was narrowly constructed to address funding priorities for those programs for which General Revenue was the only or primary source of funds. bIa ,ving n formation cork or all "xans 02 -03 -2011 Letter to Constituents Page 2 of 2 Compounding our budget situation is the impact of General Revenue reductions on the amount of federal Library Services and Technology Act funds TSLAC will receive in future years. The amount of General Revenue appropriated to the agency determi -nes our eligibility for federal funds,.the- amount of federal funds we .receive, and the programs that may be supported by_federal funds. We understand the need to reduce spending, and we have already made painful cuts this biennium. The restoration of a portion of General Revenue will help TSLAC manage budget cuts to ensure that valuable programs and services are not reduced beyond their ability to recover when the economic climate is more favorable. We are preparing additional materials to illustrate the impact of the proposed cuts on the many programs administered by the agency. Please let me know if you have questions or comments. Thank you again for your support and concern. Sincerely, AJ Peggy D. Rudd Director and Librarian