Library Advisory Board Minutes - 12/08/1998LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES
December 8, 1998
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Jim Snowden, Chair
At Sutko
Irene Lambert
Ruth Jones
Dr. Richard Day
Patsy Klein
Andrea Williams
ALSO PRESENT:
Robert Powers, Assistant City Manager
Linda Hughes, Library Administrator
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Jim Bracket
Valda Jones
The meeting was called to order at 4:22 P.M. by Al Sutko. Ms. Hughes introduced Ms. Tammy
Hickey, Library Assistant, Operations. Ms. Hickey explained her duties. She is in charge of the
Computer Laboratory, maintains supply inventory, ordering as needed, and also works the Circulation
Desk when the Lab is closed. Members were able to query Ms. Hickey about the use of the Lab.
Following Ms. Hickey's presentation, Dr. Snowden announced that a quorum was present. The
minutes of the October meeting were approved as submitted.
He then called on Ms. Hughes for the Librarian's report She said that cataloging was
experiencing a temporary backlog caused by the beginning of the fiscal year. All Librarians attempt to
spend their collection money by July 1. With varied discounts, it is hard to predict exactly what the total
of an order will be. The months of July through September are devoted to small orders of most frequently
requested materials to finish expending the collection money. In the meantime, Librarians are developing
selection lists of recommended materials to order as soon as money is again available, thus causing a
short -term backlog in cataloging in the late fall. Senior Librarians are helping Technical Services catch
up by doing record clean -up on materials which come with cataloging records. Ms. Hughes noted that she
had received numerous calls and letters of support from all over the country for the Library's position on
the book controversy since the airing of the PBS program In the Life. She said that Target was donating a
Christmas tree and decorations to the Library on December 23 which will be used next year. The tree
from the Kemp building had been ruined during the roof problems. She reported that Telecirc has been
brought on -line. This software calls patrons who have overdue or reserved materials. Patrons may call
Telecirc and use their card number to renew their books, check on fines, or hear what they have checked
out currently.
Under New Business, Ms. Ruth Jones queried whether anything could be done about the
handicap accessibility problem with the entrance doors of the Library. Mr. Powers replied that if the
remodeling was passed it could be a part of that, or it could be included as a capital expense in the next
fiscal year budget. Ms. Jones asked if the Board could have a copy of the budget. Ms. Hughes and Mr.
Powers said they would make the information available prior to the next Board meeting. In answer to a
query about the amount of State funding, Ms. Hughes said that the funding was limited and came through
the Library's membership in the North Texas Regional Library System. She added that Texas ranks 48`s
in support of its public libraries; only two states ranker lower. Also under New Business, Mr. Powers
administered the Oath of Office to the Board Members present as ordained by Council.
Under Old Business, Dr. Snowden inquired about the staffing problems in Genealogy. Ms.
Hughes replied that the department is being kept open by a Library Assistant She has some knowledge,
but not Ms. Mathews' level of expertise. Ms. Mathews is scheduled for surgery and then therapy before
she can return to work. This could be several more weeks. In the meantime, the City has placed a
temporary at the Library to fill in at the Circulation Desk and free up the Assistant's time to man
Genealogy. The department is now open almost as many hours as previously scheduled. Ms. Hughes
handed out copies of the revised Circulation Policy for the Board to read for discussion at the next
meeting.
Dr. Snowden called on Mr. Pipes for the Friends of the Library report. Mr. Pipes said that he
and some of the other Friends had attended an NTRLS sponsored seminar on fund raising and Friends
and Foundation boards. He said the Friends would have a meeting January 21 and were working on an
updated membership list. A new issue of Check It Out, the Friends newsletter, is due out soon. Mr. Pipes
said that he feels the Friends need to develop a focus and begin a more active role in fund raising for
special projects and needs of the Library.
Ms. Lambert reported on an article from the Dallas Morning News stating how many more
individuals are served by the Library than attend Dallas Cowboy games, and pointing out the discrepancy
in funding between the two. She suggested that the local paper investigate how many more people utilize
the Library and other arts centers compared to how many attend sports events.
Dr. Snowden and Dr. Day commented on the filtering case in Virginia in which the public
library lost a suit brought by ACLU concerning filtering on the Children's Internet stations. The Library
was ordered to remove the filters. Ms. Hughes said that the main problem with filters is that they do not
work well and frequently filter good information sites because of key words used. Additionally,
pornography sites change their address and format frequently in order to slip past filters of known sites.
Dr. Snowden announced the next meeting would be the 26ffi of January, 1999, at 4:15 in the
Library Conference Room. The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Hughes, Library Administrator
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