Library Advisory Board Minutes - 03/25/2008LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES
March 25, 2008
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Joe Clement
Jim Semoe
Jeff Tillman
Dr. Richard Sutton
Nell Lister
EX- OFFICIO MEMBERS PRESENT:
Dorothy Roberts -Burns, Council Liaison
Lesley Daly, Library Administrator
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Ellen Williams
Stephen Dodge
Alison Reynolds
Teresa Wilcox
G'►'1 S
HEGEIVED IN
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
Date - S- aUC)F'
SY C/Yl - Time
A quorum was present and the meeting was called to order at 4:15 pm by Vice -Chair Dr. Sutton.
Minutes from January 22, 2008 were approved.
Librarian's report:
The library anticipates being full- staffed within a month: Ms. Daly announced that interviews for the three Librarian I
vacancies have been completed, and candidates have been selected. All three individuals live locally, and should have
firm start dates once Human Resources completes final paperwork. The vacant page position was recently closed to
applications, and again, Ms. Daly expressed the hope that this can also be filled within the coming month.
Ms. Daly also reported on the highly successful family event sponsored by the Friends of the Library on March 8, 2008.
This was the Dr. Seuss birthday bash with local celebrities reading their favorite Dr. Seuss books, a Seussical play
performance, a variety of games and activities, pastries and drinks provided by the Country Club, and free books and
plush toys given away. Attendance was estimated at close to 400 throughout the afternoon, and the Friends are to be
thanked and congratulated for all their hard work in making this such a success.
National Library Week runs from April 13 -19. Activities this year have been curtailed somewhat by staff shortages and
the concurrent Texas Library Association's annual conference being held in Dallas. This event is usually attended by
just 1 or 2 staff members, but with the close proximity this year, we hope to send several more people to experience the
library workshops, exhibits and showcases. At the library, the annual children's bookmark contest will still be held,
and patrons will receive small incentives for checkouts during the week.
The library is introducing at least 2 new collections this year: Ms. Daly showed board members an example of the
"Book Club To Go" kit that is now available for checkout. This collection was made possible largely thanks to a North
Texas Regional Library System ( NTRLS) Mini Grant, and was developed as a way of extending the shelf life of titles
purchased for the library's own book discussion group. The kits are intended for use by other local book discussion
groups, containing at least 5 copies of a title, plus a binder containing discussion questions, author information etc. The
checkout period for these kits is 6 weeks rather than 3, with a $1 daily fine rather than l Oc.
Replacement costs for each component vary, and will be assessed on a case -by -case basis. A list of available titles
currently 31) is published on the library's webpage (www.wfpl.net) under the "Book Club To Go" link.
The second new collection is downloadable audiobooks, and should be introduced to the library catalog in mid -May.
The library has entered into a consortium agreement organized by NTRLS that currently includes 6 other North Texas
libraries. NTRLS brokered an arrangement with Overdrive, a national vendor, to be able to provide a shared collection
of downloadable media. This is a service that WFPL had considered in the past, but had deemed too expensive to
initiate. To date, most of the `behind -the scenes' work has been completed, and within the next few weeks, the group is
expected to come to agreement on what titles will comprise the opening day collection. For the first year at least, only
downloadable audiobooks will be purchased, but in the future, the group is hoping to expand to provide downloadable
ebooks, music titles, and possibly even video.
Ms. Daly illustrated recent circulation trends over the past 3 months. As expected, December statistics ran lower than
January and February, but computer usage has remained consistently high, with daily logins averaging close to 240.
Wireless activity has also shown marked increases from month to month, with a peak of 376 sessions logged in January.
Old Business :
Survey response: There were several comments on the community survey indicating that people would like to see more
DVDs in the library's collection. In fact, the library has over 1500 available titles, but due to the popularity of the
collection, they are rarely found on the shelf. In an effort to increase the visibility of the collection, the staff has
proposed that a limit of 5 DVDs per person be established (checkout limit is currently 10), and this will become
effective May 1.
The survey also produced several comments concerning the use of the public phone, which has often been abused and
caused disruption at the Circulation Desk. The Board raised no objections to more restrictive use or removal of this
service, and Ms. Daly plans to consult with staff as to what changes will be made to current procedures.
It was confirmed that the Safety & Security subcommittee is not necessarily defunct: any action was tabled, but should
there be any further feedback from the City Council, the subcommittee will be prepared to reconvene to discuss possible
courses of action.
New Business:
Board members were reminded of the upcoming Boards & Commissions Appreciation Luncheon being sponsored by
the City on Monday, March 31 at the MPEC.
Next meeting:
The date of the next Advisory Board meeting will be April 22, 2008 at 4:15 pm in the Library Conference Room.
There being no further items for discussion, the meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.
W�
Alison Reynolds, air