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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Library Trustees 2018-09-11 AgendaAGENDA SAN RAFAEL LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 DOWNTOWN SAN RAFAEL PUBLIC LIBRARY MEETING ROOM, 1100 E Street, SAN RAFAEL 6:00 PM MELANIE LEAVITT CANTARUTTI, BOARD CHAIR, PRESIDING APPROVAL OF AGENDA APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING OF AUGUST 14, 2018 PUBLIC COMMENT This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the Board on all items, agendized or not. Presentations are generally limited to two minutes. STAFF PRESENTATION • Pam Klein, Supervising Librarian, Adult Services CORRESPONDENCE REPORT FROM INTERIM LIBRARY DIRECTOR (Henry Bankhead) REPORTS FROM LIBRARY SUPPORT GROUPS • Friends of the Library (Henry Bankhead) • Library Foundation (Henry Bankhead) • Special Library Parcel Tax Committee (Henry Bankhead) OLD BUSINESS • New Library Facilities Project timeline update NEW BUSINESS • Meeting Summary vs. Minutes • Quarterly Budget Update • Library Policy – Guidelines for Library Use - Amendment to allow limited eating. ADJOURNMENT American sign language interpreters and assistive listening devices may be requested by calling 415-485-3064 (voice) at least 72 hours in advance. Copies of documents are available in accessible formats upon request. To allow individuals with environmental illness or multiple chemical sensitivity to attend the meeting, individuals are requested to refrain from wearing scented products. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SAN RAFAEL LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2018 DOWNTOWN LIBRARY MEETING ROOM 6:00 P.M. MELANIE LEAVITT CANTARUTTI, CHAIR, PRESIDING MEMBERS PRESENT: MELANIE LEAVITT CANTARUTTI JAIMI CORTES JOSH LIBRESCO ROBERT ROSS MEMBERS ABSENT: DOUG VAN GESSEL, SCOTT HARRUP (ALTERNATE) OTHERS PRESENT: HENRY BANKHEAD, INTERIM DIRECTOR JILL HARRIS, YOUTH SERVICES SUPERVISOR CHRISTINE SORENSEN, LIBRARYASSISTANT II APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was unanimously approved on a motion by Libresco and a second by Cantarutti. APPROVAL OF MINUTES July minutes were approved 4-0 on a motion by Libresco and a second by Cortes. PUBLIC COMMENT None. STAFF PRESENTATION Jill Harris provided a summary of the summer reading program statistics. Jill Harris and Christine Sorensen then explained the various virtual reality technology that the libraries are currently offering to the public. They are: The Oculus Rift, The Oculus-Go and the Vive. Several board members opted to try out the Epic Roller Coaster experience using the Vive. CORRESPONDENCE None. REPORT FROM LIBRARY DIRECTOR Interim Director Bankhead provided a brief account of a severe incident involving several patrons that required a police response that occurred recently in the library. Bankhead also briefly discussed the National Night Out event involving the San Rafael Police Department and the community and highlighted the participation of the Pickleweed library in this community event. Libresco suggested that the Friends call on high school students to help with set up and take down of the sale. Bankhead also reported that there was no new information about the library director position, and that there was a delay in the process due to the resignation of the HR director. REPORTS FROM LIBRARY SUPPORT GROUPS AND OTHER RELATED GROUPS Friends of the Library: The Friends of the Library are focused on preparing for their big summer book sale on August 25 on the library lawn SRPL Foundation: Foundation meeting for August was cancelled for lack of a quorum. Special Library Parcel Tax Committee: The Committee will be meeting on October 22nd. There is currently an opening on the committee due the resignation of one of the members. OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS New Library Facilities Project Update Bankhead reported that the second of three sets of outreach meetings to the community had been scheduled on the previous week - tentatively set for October 16, 18 and 20. A brief discussion ensued about the timeline for the project and the necessity of sustaining an ongoing outreach effort. The Board requested that Noll and Tam make more aggressive outreach efforts that include increasing attendance at public meetings as well as surveys and other forms of outreach. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 7:48pm. Respectfully submitted by Henry Bankhead September 2018 TO: San Rafael Public Library Board of Trustees FR: Henry Bankhead, Interim Library Director RE: Monthly Report to the Board Facility Updates Recently a thread on the local NextDoor appeared on September 1st and was titled “Shame on the San Rafael Library” I am shocked and disappointed to find of this animal trap next to the library building. She's poison kill animals by bleeding them to death. It is slow and agonizing. Please find a humane alternative and take steps to seal off the building. This thread took issue with the fact that the library is taking an active role in limiting rodent infestation at the downtown library and assumed incorrectly that poison was involved. The crux of the extensive thread of conversation seemed to revolve around concerns about the perceived cruelty of the method of rat elimination of the rat traps currently in place. Library staff contacted the pest company, We Care, and verified that no poison was currently being used and that the traps were being checked regularly. We Care is the pest prevention contractor whose contract with city buildings is managed by the city facilities department. We Care staff visited the library to demonstrate the functioning of the traps to staff and highlighted the use of peanut butter as bait in the fully mechanical traps. Library Personnel Updates The library has an open recruitment for a permanent, benefited Library Assistant I position at 53% (20 hours/week.) This position was recently vacated by Betsy Boyle who accepted full time employment with the Sonoma County Library. Applicants need to apply by Wednesday, September 26 for first consideration. Recent Library User Comments • Sofia's an avid reader (100+ pages a day), but her little sister didn't get really excited about reading until your summer reading program. The diverse set of challenges helped her to find new content and ways of consuming it that were delightful and she now even wants to give books as gifts for her friends' birthdays. Thank you SO much! Thanks for choosing such an easy to use and reliable program. • Having access to a free library system is a privilege. From the library staff to the online resources, Marin County Library System is excellent. Monthly Librarian’s Report to the Library Board of Trustees, p. 2 Library Activities Employee Bocce Tournament On Wednesday, September 5th, the library participated in the annual all employee Bocce Tournament for the City of San Rafael. We fielded two teams, The Dewey Decimators and the Bocce Bolognese. Both Teams won their first frames, but sadly were defeated in the second frame and did not advance to the semifinals. Library staff contributed two gift baskets to the raffle and enjoyed pizza and bubbly drinks courtside. A good time was had by all. Thanks go out to Ashley Howe from Community Services for organizing and thanks to all library staff who were brave enough to attend. 3D Printing Update DID YOU KNOW? Our 3D printers are working hard everyday printing out adorable and practical things, demonstrating this awesome technology and wowing our customers. You too can stop on by to view our printers in action at both the Downtown and Pickleweed locations. And if you want a Flexi-Rex or Fish Fossil or Twist Puzzle Box to take back to your desk, just ask! We are even taking orders so if you need a new knob for your dishwasher, or a Groot for your air plant come on in! VR+ @ Pickleweed by Joshua Alperin This week the Pickleweed Library will start a twice monthly program called VR+ that will take place on Wednesday afternoons. This program for children ages 8-13 will highlight our newly acquired tech toys, a state of the art Lulzbot Mini 3D printer and an Oculus Rift Virtual Reality set as well as include other ‘maker’ activities. The VR set is being housed in the Teen Room of the Al Boro Community Center. A big thanks to the Center staff for teaming up to make this available to the Local community. Monthly Librarian’s Report to the Library Board of Trustees, p. 3 Tilt Brush Program for Vive Virtual Reality System San Rafael Libraries have been busily deploying our various Virtual Reality Technology at both our locations. Participants in Vive programming will now be able to experience painting in 3D as the library has recently installed Tilt Brush, an immersive painting program. The photo to the left is an example of the potential for this 3D painting medium. Trilogies to Trails - Trip to Crissy Field with the National Park Service By Jill H. I was so excited when the downtown library was offered the chance to be part of Trilogies to Trails, a National Park Service program that connects public library patrons with public lands. As a San Francisco resident, I admired the program when it started as part of SFPL's Summer Stride program, and we all saw how successful it was at Pickleweed when they first branched out to Marin last year. It was a dream program. All we had to do was promote the trip, register participants, and make sure everyone arrived in time for the bus. Since we had the budget for it, I decided to provide boxed lunches to all participants, just to make the trip that much easier and more accessible. Ranger Jasmine and the National Park Service arranged transportation to and from Crissy Field, organized Rangers to staff the event, planned activities, and acquired the grant money to fund it all. I was nervous leading up to the big day – will the lunches be ready on time? Will everyone show up? Will the bus know where to park? What if someone gets lost, or hurt, or we leave someone behind? In the end, the trip was an incredible success, and exceeded my highest expectations. Monthly Librarian’s Report to the Library Board of Trustees, p. 4 We ended up taking 35 people on the trip, including Serena and myself, and a few of our family members. The oldest participant was in her 90s, the youngest was my then 13- month-old daughter. We had families with children and teens as well as child-free couples. It was a gorgeous day at Crissy Field; sunny without being too hot, a nice breeze coming off the sparkling bay. Rangers Jasmine and Rafael met us at the Warming Hut and, after a quick snack, we split off into two groups. One group hiked to Fort Point near the Golden Gate Bridge. The other group hiked the other way along the shoreline, reading a newly installed story-walk of Dave Eggers' picture book "Her Right Foot" as we walked. The program was fully bilingual – both Jasmine and Rafael, as well as library staff member Serena, are bilingual – making the program completely accessible to Spanish speakers. After the ranger-led activities, we met back at the Warming Hut for lunch. Then families were free to explore, play soccer or hula hoop, or relax as they wished. Some families hiked, some laid on picnic blankets in the sun, some spent their time at the beach. Towards the end of the trip, I spoke to a couple, one of whom has a disability. I asked how the trip was going for them, and the person with a disability responded, "I don’t get to do things like this very often. I rely on Whistlestop to get around, and it's hard to get out to places like this. So, this is amazing." Then his partner remarked, "I feel like someone gave us an incredible gift." It's hard to put into words the warmth and good feelings this trip engendered in all of us. The rangers, and especially Jasmine, were so good at connecting with people, and in turn the participants connected with their public lands in a profound way. So many families remarked to me that they would normally never take a trip like this due to cost, transportation, language, distance, time, and other barriers. To see families simply enjoying a day out in nature, something I and many of us take for granted, was incredibly moving. It felt so aligned with our mission, such a powerful and important service for a public library to offer its community. It was easily one of the highlights of my career so far. Monthly Librarian’s Report to the Library Board of Trustees, p. 5 Visits to other regional libraries ~Jamie Poirier Library staff recently visited the Mill Valley Public Library and the Corte Madera Library, on August 24 and 31 respectively. These visits were to tour their facilities, observe best practices and workflow, and gather ideas that the San Rafael Public Library can use to make improvements. These visits also helped to strengthen the communication and relationships between San Rafael staff with our partner libraries. Some of the ideas we’re considering implementing include: o Streamlined work flow when returned items are checked in o Using an online form (in lieu of paper) for library card applications o Improved delivery area for items coming/going to other partner libraries o Updates to workspaces to improve efficiency September Library Director Activities • September 6 — Regional Emergency Operation Center “Yellow Command” • September 12— Friends of the Library Board Meeting • September 14— Library Foundation Meeting • September 20 — MARINet Board Meeting • September 20 — Rafael Theater Community Book event - Street Crazy Week • September 21 — Library All Staff Retreat • September 24 — Noll and Tam Site visit for Carnegie Library Building Inspection Upcoming Special Events 1 HOUR 2 GET READY! DISASTER PREPAREDNESS WORKSHOP September 25, 2018 @ 6:00 pm – 7:45 pm Library Meeting Room Disaster Can Strike at any time, are you Ready? Facilitated by San Rafael Emergency Manager, Quinn Gardner, this event is part of San Rafael’s participation in National Preparedness month: San Rafael Public Library will be hosting “1 Hour to Get Ready”. 1HR2GR is a brief overview of what you and your family can do in an hour to be more disaster ready and help create a more resilient community. The second hour will include Q&A and a guided opportunity to work on your family plan. Space is limited, so reserve your spot today! Spread the word- bring your neighbors! Noll & Tam: Updated Timeline for New Libraries Facilities Planning Project From Noll & Tam: Overall strategy: most effective time in which to distribute the survey will be between the 2nd and 3rd meetings, when there will be much more detailed information about each site for people to respond to. • Between now and the week of October 15 th: we’re developing proposed floorplans to go with all the different site options we have already identified, taking into account all the comments we’ve received. These will show walls, furniture – everything we need to give people a real idea of what features they would be able to have in each location, and at enough detail to support a good cost estimate. • Week of October 15th: 2nd round of public meetings. • Last two weeks in October: we incorporate the commentary and simplify the schemes into illustrations for the survey. • November and December: survey distributed, and responses collected. • January: schemes finalized, and cost estimate performed. • February: 3rd round of public meetings, summarizing input, and including cost data for each scheme. • March: Results compiled into final report. SAN RAFAEL PUBLIC LIBRARY 2017/2018 FOURTH QUARTER REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE BUDGET REPORT as of June 30, 2018 Summary This report provides year-to-date figures on the General Fund and Parcel Tax funding spending for the third quarter of 2017/2018. As of this report, 100% of the fiscal year has elapsed. The overall activity was 96% expended. General Fund expenditures ended at 99% of budget and Parcel Tax expenditures ended at 86% of budget. Parcel Tax was underspent due to the appropriation of the entire amount of the contract with Noll and Tam ($187,860) which has not been fully spent but remains in the Parcel Tax Budget for the next FY 18/19. Revenue Highlights • The Parcel Tax revenue provides 26% of the Library’s total operations budget. • The Friends of the Library provide 1% of the Library’s total operations budget. Expenditure Highlights • General Fund expenditures: 1. Extra hire expenditures are over-budget as we have had three staff out on paid multi-month medical leaves and have needed to hire substitute staff to cover their basic duties. 2. Expenditures on travel, conference, training, and instruction this year are high as we have been focusing a multi-year effort on professional development for all staff. • Parcel Tax expenditures: 1. Expenditures on training and instruction this year are high as we have been focusing a multi-year effort on professional development for all staff. GF Budget GF YTD Q4 GF % Total Spent PT Budget PT YTD Q4 PT % Total Spent Total Total YTD Q4 % Total Spent Total for Revenue (estimates)63,700 1,054,595 1,118,295 Regular Hire Salaries & Benefits 2,341,957 2,266,662 97%647,444 666,411 103%2,989,401 2,933,073 98% Extra Hire 100,096 129,502 129%124,765 112,914 91%224,861 242,416 108% Personnel Services 2,442,053 2,396,164 98%772,209 779,325 101%3,214,262 3,175,489 99% Bldg.Maint.Contracts 39,493 35,235 89%- - - 39,493 35,235 89% Maint.Bldg.Improv.24,610 19,825 81%- - - 24,610 19,825 81% Maintenance & Repair;Equp & Machine 4,000 3,123 78%- - - 4,000 3,123 78% Utiltities-Gas & Electricity 44,245 46,028 104%- - - 44,245 46,028 104% County Administrative Fee - - - 28,342 26,007 92%28,342 26,007 92% Contract Services (MARINet, security, etc.)305,500 344,058 113%202,860 54,142 27%508,360 398,200 78% Internal Service Charges (IT, phone, ins)233,809 233,809 100%- - - 233,809 233,809 100% Office Supplies 48,927 41,755 85%- - - 48,927 41,755 85% Books 57,890 58,512 101%120,219 98,056 82%178,109 156,568 88% Periodicals 7,000 8,407 120%6,250 5,192 83%13,250 13,599 103% Digital Branch Resources 3,000 3,000 100%56,353 55,012 98%59,353 58,012 98% Audio/Video Materials 27,000 24,839 92%- - - 27,000 24,839 92% Technology Supplies & Materials - - - 16,000 16,000 100%16,000 16,000 100% Travel & Conference 7,650 12,339 161%- - - 7,650 12,339 161% Training & Instruction 3,990 6,196 155%5,000 4,939 99%8,990 11,135 124% Professional Dues & Subscriptions 1,950 1,833 94%- - - 1,950 1,833 94% Credit Card Fees 756 440 58%- - - 756 440 58% Unbudgeted items - - N/A - - N/A - - N/A Non-Personnel Services 809,820 839,399 104%435,024 259,348 60%1,244,844 1,098,747 88% Total 3,251,873 3,235,563 99%1,207,233 1,038,673 86%4,459,106 4,274,236 96% Other Budget Sources Budget Sources Annual % of Total Friends of the Library (books, programs)$50,767 General Fund 3,251,873 72.11% TOTAL $50,767 Parcel Tax 1,207,233 26.77% Other 50,767 1% Special Funds TOTAL 4,509,873 100.00% Donation funds $91,799 Leprechaun fund $65,826 Kay Corlett Memorial fund $473,843 Kenneth Edlin Memorial fund $387,807 Robert and Lorraine Joses Memorial fund $1,292,079 Parcel Tax capital set-aside balance $541,195 Parcel Tax fund balance $126,376 Donation for new building $300 TOTAL $2,979,224 San Rafael Public Library Budget Fiscal Year 17-18 Budget and Expenditures 1 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES POLICY AMENDMENT PROPOSAL Sept. 11, 2018 TITLE: PROPOSAL REGARDING ALLOWING LIMITED CONSUMPTION OF FOOD IN THE DOWNTOWN AND PICKLEWEED LIBRARIES SUBJECT: ALLOW LIMITED CONSUMPTION OF FOOD IN SAN RAFAEL LIBRARIES SUMMARY: Best practices in public libraries throughout the San Francisco Bay Area allow limited consumption of food items within public libraries. Currently as part of the Guidelines for Library Use for San Rafael Public Library states: The following behaviors are prohibited on Library property to ensure everyone can enjoy the library, and may result in warnings, expulsions, or suspension of library privileges: Eating inside the library, except as approved for specific events. The proposal at hand would be to remove this section from the prohibited behaviors section and instead substitute in the allowed behaviors section: To enjoy library materials and services fully, the following are encouraged: Responsible consumption of individually packaged food and drinks; full meals and pungent foods should be consumed outside the library. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact from this report. RECOMMENDATION: Approve or Reject the proposal and/or provide feedback. ALTERNATIVE ACTION Any other action as determined by the Board Submitted by: Henry Bankhead Interim Library Director