Library Advisory Board Minutes - 09/23/2008LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES
September 23, 2008
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Ellen Williams
Nell Lister
Jeff Tillman
Amy Bobrowitz
Teresa Wilcox
EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS PRESENT:
Lesley Daly, Library Administrator
Dorothy Roberts Burns, Council Liaison
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Richard Sutton
Stephen Dodge
Joe Clement
A quorum was present and the meeting was called to order at 4:23 pm.
C ,�11
Ms. Daly reported that she had received Joe Clement's reluctant resignation from the Board and had forwarded it to the
City Clerk. Since the Board is not currently at full quota, the appointment of a Chair for 2008 -9 was postponed until
October's meeting.
Librarian's report:
Ms. Daly reported that a new fiscal year is now underway, and that included in the budget for this year is a re- carpeting
project. No firm date has yet been set for the project to begin, but having consulted with Building Maintenance, next
February/March is a likely timeframe. Hopefully this can be undertaken with minimum disruption to library routine: it
is possible that the facility may need to close to the public for a short period of time, but this will be determined closer
to the project start date.
Ms. Daly re- capped the Summer Reading program, noting that the number of adults participating in the reading portion
of the program was more than double that of previous years. The game theme was popular with all ages, and program
attendance averaged 100 audience members at each event. The celebrity story times were very popular, as were the
weekly crafts. In keeping with the game theme, the library has also introduced video - gaming as part of a regular
program. A Nintendo Wii and Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) platform have been purchased, and ongoing
tournaments are planned for the coming year, with all age groups being invited to attend.
Ms. Daly reviewed door count and computer use statistics (attached), noting that totals for 2008 only include 11 months
of reporting, with September figures not yet available. Also included in the report was an update on the new digital
audiobook collection supplied by Overdrive and sponsored through a collaboration with the North Texas Regional
Library System (NTRLS) consortium. Wichita Falls is one of seven libraries in the consortium, and currently boasts the
most checkouts in the group. Numbers of registered patrons have been rising steadily, and the current collection has
around 300 titles available.
Using FY2008 Loan Star grant money, the library is about to introduce a new collection: Playaways. Playaways are
compact digital audiobooks with no moving internal parts. 142 titles have been purchased to date, and the price has
included full processing, which means that the library has not had to divert manpower and hours from the regular
receiving and processing schedule.
The Friends of the Wichita Falls Public Library have generously donated a new mobility scooter for use by library
patrons. This is greatly appreciated by many of our regular visitors, and has already made its debut on local television.
Next meeting:
The date of the next Advisory Board meeting will be October 28, 2008 at 4:15 pm in the Library Conference Room.
There being no further items for discussion, the meeting adjourned at 5:05 pm.
1
• Approximately 50 circulating collection codes
Years reported are fiscal years — Oct -Sep
Table 1: Circulation totals — includes computer usaee
� 0
� 0
Table 2: Most popular types of items checked out in Adult, YA and Youth collections
# of checkouts
2008
2007
2006
2005
Total Circ
1362079
358630
1356979 1457294
60749
Table 2: Most popular types of items checked out in Adult, YA and Youth collections
# of checkouts
2008
2007
2006
2005
Adult Fiction
67484
63820
62594
60749
(incl pbk +
leased
Adult
50401
52072
53264
55592
Nonfiction
incl leased
10766
9379
8567
YA Fiction
11866
incl bk
YA Nonfiction
6158
7157
5568
4664
r
y
3"
Youth Picture
24074
27132
25318
25144
Books
Youth Fiction
18246
18319
18329
17939
incl bk
Youth
15777
17056
15687
17797
Nonfiction
DVD
22967
19095
11424
8065
Video
16398
23474
28611
30958
Table 3: Totals from electronic gate counts — includes proeram attendance upstairs
2008
2007
2006
12005
Door Count
1207566
201991
195165
1207304