Minutes 07-27-11 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH
Boynton Beach City Library
Library Advisory Board Minutes
July 27, 2011
The Library Advisory Board meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chair Jeannie Taylor. All
Board members were present except Valerie Pleasanton, Barbara McGee, and Bernice Begleiter.
The minutes of the June 22, 2011 meeting were distributed and approved.
Correspondence: None.
Chair's Report: Jeannie attended the American Library Association Conference in New Orleans.
She went to workshops, author's breakfasts, and teas. Jeannie also toured five libraries in the city
which are being rebuilt. She noted the sad trend of designing information kiosks in central locations,
which indicates the economic lack of staff to man separate areas.
Unfinished Business: Assistant Library Director, Anne Watts reported that nearly 800 students are
enrolled in the Summer Reading Program. Of those, approximately 200 students have completed the
requirements. The Library's partnership with Boynton Beach High School is due to end on Saturday,
July 29, 2011. The 79 Boynton Beach High School students enrolled in the Summer Reading
Program must complete reports on what they have read in order to be eligible for a drawing for a new
computer at the August 15` pizza party. Anne also informed the Board that attendance has been very
high at all summer programs for children.
Library Director, Craig Clark related that the Board of City Commissioners approved retention of
Unique Management Collection Agency on July 19, 2011. Craig will purchase the SirsiDynix
Module. He has to give an updated report to the Board of City Commissioners in three months.
The Library's Nook e- readers are very popular. There is a waiting list of 28 people for the three e-
readers. There are currently 22 -24 titles on each e- reader. Craig will add a few titles from the New
York Times bestseller list each month, at a cost of $12 -$13 per title. Feedback, in the form of 9
questionnaires returned to the Library, indicates that readers become aware of this service by seeing
the counter card. Adult readers of all ages are signing out the units.
Regarding service to shelters, Craig is in the process of contacting the City Attorney for advice. One
question is whether people without a permanent address can be assigned a temporary library card.
Jeannie mentioned that she spoke to a woman at the ALA conference who is running a program for
shelters, and experiences a loss of approximately 50% of the materials loaned.
Craig informed the Board that $375 has been restored to the Library's budget for historical archive
memberships. There was some discussion at the budget hearings of cutting the Library's hours from
54 per week to 48 per week. No final decision has been made.
The Adopt A Magazine program has received approximately $780, about the same as last year.
Craig needs to give an updated order to vendors next month, so the program will end at that time.
New Business: None. S .h �+�a 1 - ` 44
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Library Director's Report: Craig and Anne went to the ALA conference. One goal is to improve
the website in the next several months. They also got information regarding scanning older, fragile
materials into .pdf format so they are searchable. Anne explained that 8 city directories will be sent
to an independent, insured company which will return paper reprints for the archives, as well as
digitalizing the material. The projected cost is $2,000. Anne hopes to raise funds to scan older local
newspapers, many of which have a single use left. Unfortunately, the Library was overlooked during
the NEH Newspaper Project many years ago, local newspapers do not maintain archives, and all
foundation funding for digitalization is no longer available.
Craig distributed the monthly report for June 2011. Of particular note are a 10% decrease in adult
circulation and an 8% decrease in computer usage. Craig also discussed that he is in the process of
removing old and low circulation DVDs from circulation.
Finally, Barbara Ehrlichman's new novel, "One of a Kind," has been donated to the Library. The
book will be sold on Amazon. The Board congratulated Barbara on her achievement.
The next library board meeting is September 28, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.
Laurie Sulzer, Board Member