Loading...
Minutes 01-28-15Valerie Pleasanton, Secretary CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH Boynton Beach City Library Library Advisory Board Minutes January 28, 2015 The Library Advisory Board meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m. by Chair Jeannie Taylor. All board members except Debbie McHenry were present. The meeting minutes from October 22, 2014 and December 3, 2014 were approved as distributed. Correspondence: None. Public Audience: None. Chair's Report: Jeannie noted both Full and Alternate board positions are open. Board members were encouraged to help find people to fill the positions. Jeannie also discussed an article in the ALA Journal (January issue) that said 75% of Americans polled think libraries are important. Also mentioned was a surprising fact: Americans under the age of 30 read more than older Americans, but read mostly online Board Elections: Jeannie Taylor was re- elected as Chair, Barbara McGee was re- elected as Vice - Chair. Valerie Pleasanton was re- elected as Secretary for 2015. Unfinished Business: Library Director, Craig Clark distributed the Over Drive e -books report for December 2014. The report shows that Boynton's Overdrive patrons had twenty percent of the total checkouts from all fourteen participating libraries. Eighteen new Boynton users signed up in December. The Unique Management Collection Services report was also distributed to the board. The collection service has collected $8,995 dollars to date. In addition, the program has recovered over $19,000 in materials. During the staffing update Craig stated Pam Edwards is resigning as part-time Library Aide for personal reasons. Marc Cadet was promoted to fill a part-time Library Aide position. Open positions for Library Page were filled with people who are long time library users who grew up in the area. The Virtual Zone tour for board members was held after the meeting. Students using the new computer and music equipment demonstrated for board members how they use the technology. An AmeriCorps volunteer has an Art degree and is teaching the teens how to use some of the programs. The Transparent Languages Database is up and running and there are already 75 users signed up. English for French speakers is currently the most utilized followed by Italian. Zinio, the new online reader and magazine subscription database, will be up and running in February. The cost is less than $3,500 annually There are nine libraries in the consortium providing the service. Assistant Director, Anne Watts, distributed information about the Adult Reading program that just began. The prize for reading ten books is a red umbrella. The program which runs through April is expected to be popular. The AmeriCorps Adult Literacy Mentor who resigned will not be able to be replaced due to constraints with the timing and program funding. The adult literacy program will be put on hold until another volunteer is placed next year. Craig mentioned that the West Palm Beach library lost their volunteer also. New Business: The Comcast funded computer classes have resumed and are very popular with 74 students attending in December. Library Director's Report: Craig distributed the monthly report for December 2014 and made note of increased E -book circulation and Freegal music downloads. Craig distributed two articles published about the new language course and also the latest Friends newsletter. He also reminded the board about the Kinetic Art Symposium will be in the program room on February 8` along with the rest of the kinetic artwork on display on Ocean Avenue. The next library board meeting is February 25, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. in the meeting room.