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Minutes 05-24-17MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD AT THE BOYNTON BEACH CITY LIBRARY, CONFERENCE ROOM A 208 S. SEACREST BOULEVARD, ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017, AT 4:00 P.M. PRESENT: Deborah Hoban, Chair Dr. Stephanie Hayden Christopher Montague Tracy Tebow Robert Welter ABSENT: Kimberly Bain, Alternate Roger Zona, Alternate Craig Clark, Library Director Ann Watts, Assistant Library Director Jeannie Taylor, Division Head Librarian I. Call to Order - Introduce Kimberly Bain and Roger Zona, Alternate Board Members Chair Hoban called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. Mr. Clark noted Robert Zona was not present and Library staff had been unsuccessful in their attempts to contact Kimberly Bain. Mr. Zona had been present at the last meeting, but there was no quorum. Self -introductions were made with the above members noted as present. II. Approval of minutes: October 26, 2016 Motion Mr. Montague moved to approve the minutes as written. Dr. Hayden seconded the motion that unanimously passed. December 7, 2016 - No meeting took place. January 25, 2017 Motion Mr. Montague moved to approve. Dr. Hayden seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 24, 2017 III. Correspondence and Communications. Mr. Clark had not received any correspondence or communications. Mr. Montague had emailed Mr. Clark updating him on Mr. Welter's address and tried to remind the members to think of new meeting times to ensure they will have a quorum. IV. Public Audience (Individual Speakers will be limited to three-minute presentations.) None. V. Chairs Report - None VI. Unfinished Business: • Discuss possible new time for Library Advisory Board Meetings The members reviewed their schedules to determine a different time to hold the Library Advisory Board meetings. Mr. Clark explained changing the time will require an amendment to the By-laws which details the date and time of the meetings. The day will remain the same, the fourth Wednesday of every month and after further brief discussion, there was agreement to meet at 6 p.m. Chair Hoban requested a motion to change the meeting time to 6 p.m. every fourth Wednesday of the month. Motion Mr. Montague so moved. Mr. Welter seconded the motion that unanimously passed. It was noted the next meeting will be June 28th at 6 p.m. Mr. Clark advised he would be out of state, but Ms. Watts would handle the meeting for him. A question was posed if attendance is still taken when there is no quorum and if it counts as an absence and learned it did. • Career Online High School Ms. Taylor announced the program awarded nine scholarships: one student graduated, another will graduate in the next week and three other students made it to the program's halfway mark. He noted funding from the State for the scholarships has ended this year. Mr. Clark pointed out the State budget has been forwarded to the Governor and if the Governor does not veto this line item, the program will again be funded at $750,000 next year. If vetoed, the program will end and new scholarship applicants will be turned away. Participants in the current program will be able to finish the program as the scholarships were already awarded. Dr. Hayden inquired if Boynton Beach is the only library in Palm Beach County that has the program and learned it was. Boca Raton will go online if it is funded in July. The Broward County Library system is involved in the F Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 24, 2017 program, but the Palm Beach County Library System was not at the moment. Boynton Beach has the only City Library in Palm Beach County. City libraries in Broward County, such as Oakland Park are involved in the program as is N. Miami Beach. Mr. Clark advised it is a great program. Oakland Park has 10 students enrolled and Broward County likely has hundreds because they have a 49 -branch system library. Mr. Welter inquired what would occur after students graduate from the program and learned one Boynton Beach participant signed up for college classes. The upcoming graduate is planning to go to college as well. Ms. Taylor hoped to recognize the student at a City Commission meeting. She explained staff started the program with only five scholarships to see what was involved and how difficult it would be to administer. The program will provide a fully accredited high school diploma as opposed to a GED. It has been very successful. VII. New Business: • Adult Computer Classes. Ms. Taylor distributed the schedule for the .lune computer classes and commented there is a lot of interest in basic computer classes. The iPad classes are popular and staff limits the class size to five people as the students all have their own devices. The Intermediate Word class was just introduced and students are starting to ask for more. The Library also started offering Excel classes. Attendance has been good and as soon as the flyer and the dates are issued, individuals sign up. It was persons 18 years old and older are considered adults. The two instructors are temporary City employees that go through the same screening process as regular employees and are paid a flat rate. Mr. Clark explained the Library has not had this program in a while. In the past, it was managed by a former employee who volunteered his time to teach the classes, so there was never really a formal program. The courses are part of the Library's plan to improve services to the public. Ms. Taylor is managing the new program and advised the public loves the classes. Ms. Taylor explained each class member is surveyed for preferences for potential new classes. Staff also provides members with information on all the course work they have online that can be used as a follow up to the class. Mr. Montague suggested a Macintosh (Mac) class as many people were having difficulty and many appointment -based businesses use the program for scheduling or salon type work. Mr. Clark explained he could ask if the instructors have experience with Mac computers and noted the Library has a few Macintosh laptops and iMacs. Dr. Hayden suggested polling patrons or using social media to learn their preferences. Website design was also suggested; however, Mr. Clark recommended staying on the basic side of classes. It was noted there are lots of resources and self -learning materials for patrons to learn website design once they get the basics. 3 Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 24, 2017 Library courses are usually offered in the mornings, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. There was agreement the Library would try to offer a Saturday or an evening class to see what kind of response is received. Mr. Clark explained classes are usually taken by senior citizens, but the last Word class offered had a much younger demographic. Ms. Taylor advised students taking English as a Second Language also take computer classes. Ms. Watts explained they offered upper teens and adults combined classes a few years ago, but the pace and speed of learning was different and it did not work. Additionally, evening classes would not be attended by senior citizens and Ms. Watts was unsure youth would as well. Mr. Welter commented there is a trend at libraries and civic institutions to add informational classes for senior citizens and suggested timing a class for a targeted audience. Working within a civic/cultural institute, they program more for groups, have senior program activities, teens and young adults. Ms. Taylor explained the Library is offering a new First Time Homebuyer Course and was reviewing the curriculum. Mr. Clark agreed to try to offer a course in Mac. • Florida Library Association - 2017 Legislative Issues Mr. Clark explained he is a member of the Florida Library Association Legislative Committee which puts a platform together every year and has its own lobbyist to lobby for the Association's interests. He gave an update as follows: State Aid to Public Libraries is due for an $800,000 increase. This year, the Library received about $71,000 as part of its State Aid allotment. The increase would result in receiving another $5,000 to $10,000 next year. Public Library Construction Grants were zeroed out. The State House was going to approve all 15 grants. The Senate pulled two of them and would approve 13, and at the last minute, they were cut. Mr. Clark explained years ago, Boynton Beach had applied for this grant and received $500,000 to expand the Library. There are five other Multi -Type Library Cooperatives in the State. The City Library is a member of the Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN) which provides a lot of cooperative programing and a lot of training for staff. The Library pays a membership fee each year and Mr. Clark is a member of that Board. He announced SEFLIN will be funded $2 million dollars, which is the usual funding. The Smart Horizon Career Online High School was due to be funded $750,000 unless vetoed by the Governor. • State of Federal Library Funding/IMLS Mr. Clark explained the State Library of Florida was moved under the Governor in 1996 under the Secretary of State. The entire department is funded by the Library Services C! Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 24, 2017 and Technology Act (LSTA) which are federal funds that trickle down to the states from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) which is a federal department under the President. IMLS funding is in place this year. Mr. Clark has been forwarding legislative information to the members if they wish to participate and advocate for these funds. Mr. Welter commented both US Representatives Rubio and Nelson have not indicated what side of the issue they are on. There is an opportunity to lobby in support of funding. Mr. Clark explained if no State or Federal Library/IMLS funding is approved in the next year's budget, the State may have to fund the Library which could result in the State Aid being reduced and disappearing. This coming year there will be LSTA funding and Mr. Clark explained the City is applying for an LSTA grant to digitize the Lake Worth Herald from 1912 to 1970 at a cost of about $50,000. Mr. Clark sits on the LSTA Advisory Panel that recommends funding to the Secretary of State, and will recuse himself from voting on the City's application. Mr. Clark got involved with LSTA because libraries in South Florida were not receiving any LSTA funding. Mr. Clark explained funding is a big issue and if IMLS is not funded next year, the Library would not be able to apply for federal grant dollars. If State Aid is cut, it will have a direct impact on the Library. The Library has a roiling four-year plan to replace 110 computers and the Library would not be able to replace computers very often. Each year some of the computers need to be replaced. Mr. Clark planned to purchase 41 computers this year, and then 20 to 25 computers each year for three years, then repeat the cycle. Staff always replaces the most computers the first year of the four year cycle since the Library was fully operational in 2009. Mr. Welter asked what other sources fund the Library and learned the majority of the funding comes from the City's General Fund, but each year they receive about $71,000 from the State. The Friends of the Library raise about $34,000 which is discretionary. The Library gives them a budget request and they approve or deny it in April for the following fiscal year. The Friends of the Library pay for all the Library programing, specifically youth and teens, some adult programming such as the adult reading club, prizes, and for the paid programming. The quilters also raise money for the Library. Mr. Welter queried how the Town Square Development would impact the Library. Mr. Clark explained it would depend on the final plans for the new City Hall. He thought services would improve and expand and hoped more funding would come with the development. Dr. Hayden thought Library parking would be impacted. Mr. Clark explained charrettes will be held in the future for the new Town Square area. A plan has not yet been approved. Mr. Montague inquired how the Library computer technology is managed and thought swapping computer parts may be more economical than total computer replacement. Mr. Clark explained Library computers are managed in-house, and cheaper is not always better. The Library has a four-year plan and extended warranties. When four 5 Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 24, 2017 years are up, the warranties expire. This year, staff decided not to buy monitors. The Library has three Information Technology Technicians. Two technicians help the public. The City IT manages the phone systems and Library IT manages the Library site and computers which are all the public computers. The City manages the Library's eight computers used by staff. They are two separate systems that cannot be comingled. • 2017-2018 Library Budget Request Mr. Clark explained the Schoolhouse Children's Museum budget is part of the Library's budget and the City supports the Museum by $259,971. The request for the Library budget was $2,298,792 which was a 2% increase from the prior year. He noted the Library budget was flat for many years. When the Library was expanded, six new full- time positions were supposed to be added. Mr. Clark hired three IT positions and then the recession hit and he gave up five full-time positions. Mr. Clark requested a $10,000 increase in the book line item noting the Library received an increase of $10,000 the year before; however, he pointed out buying power is much less due to expenses and having to outsource some items. He explained many of the books, library materials, DVDs and books on CD come shelf -ready. They used to have staff people process them, and some employees still process some of the books, but the buying power diminished to 2006 levels. Mr. Clark had also again requested a digital librarian position and had been asking for one for five years in a row. He requested an upgrade for an Administrative Assistant position, which did not involve a monetary increase, only a grade increase. Contractual services had a larger increase. Mr. Clark advised each AmeriCorp member cost $6,000 a year and Mr. Clark had been paying them from the donation account. The City is required to pay $6,000 to the Literacy Coalition per full-time volunteer which usually covers their health insurance. Mr. Clark was trying to include the expense in the general fund. Mr. Montague commented the Library is not open six days a week and closing Fridays and Sundays throws him off. He inquired why not ask for funds to be open six days. Mr. Clark explained during the recession, City Hall used a four-day work week. The Library was open six days and had to drop one day. When City Hall returned to the five-day work week, the Library did not get the day back. Mr. Montague thought there had to be a way for the CRA to fund the Library and commented the Library is in the CRA District and the Library helps low-income people make a better life which eliminates slum and blight. He noted the Delray Beach CRA funds the Delray Beach Library. Additionally with the increase from new development, Library Services needs to increase commensurately. Mr. Clark advised he needs at least 2.5 more employees which would cost $160,000. Mr. Welter inquired if they could lobby for changes with the increase in capacity. He noted the City wants a lively City center and one way to accomplish that is to have the Library open on all days. He also would like to see how the Board could lobby on the local, state and federal levels and suggested going to City Commission meetings to see why it could not be funded. Mr. Clark explained a citizen asked him what he could do to Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 24, 2017 be a voice for the Library. Mr. Clark explained anyone from the public can attend the budget hearings or any City Commission meeting during public comment and speak to the Commissioners. Discussion followed libraries were looking at the possibility of government funding being pulled. Development in the community would add to tax revenues and will impact the Library's physical location. Mr. Welter asked what increases would result and if there would be an investment in the Library. Mr. Clark hoped so. Staff has ideas to create a makers space and improve economic development. Discussions are ongoing and appear to be supported. Mr. Montague suggested attending City Commission meetings and emailing Commissioners in support of the Library and thought the Board should have a unified voice. He also noted a new building is required to provide public art and the Library will be at the epicenter of the Town Square. Mr. Clark reminded the members about the Sunshine Law and advised Advisory Board meetings is the forum to discuss issues. It was noted the next City Commission meeting will be held on May 30th. (Dr. Hayden left the meeting at 5:09 p.m.) The members discussed and supported expanding Library Services and having as robust a Library as possible. Mr. Montague thought there was a lot of room for development subsidies and dialogue ensued about a tax on new construction or impact fees. Mr. Welter had mentioned broadening the Wi-Fi as everyone knows they can access information from the Library. The Library is a place for free public information. Mr. Clark explained he would do what he could. • Library Director's report/statistic The members reviewed the report compared to the same month the year before. Mr. Clark explained electronic books were increasing and print books were decreasing. The same amount of people were attending the Library. Staff issued a "Push Alert" for the Library Advisory Board on Facebook, for the Library Career Online High School and staff was working on archive activities and the LSTA grant. The AmeriCorp members are phenomenal. There are about 25 adult students a day taking ESOL classes comprised of Haitian Americans, eastern Europeans, and a larger component of Spanish speakers. There will be about 4,500 sessions with AmeriCorp volunteers and staff applied for three more AmeriCorp volunteers to begin in September. The Library started using a collection agency in 2012 and submitted $165,000 worth of library accounts and received a 58% return. The Library uses emails and no fines, but if a patron loses a book they are charged. Library cards expire every two years and staff updates patrons' physical and email addresses. Mr. Welton had seen A Day of Forgiveness to forgive library fines. Mr. Clark explained November is Food for Fines. One food item will reduce the fine by $1 and the food is donated to the Community Caring Center. Patrons 18 and under can read their fines off at a rate of 10 cents a 7 Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida May 24, 2017 page. For some libraries, Amnesty Days may be their only option, but most materials are usually returned. • News/media - None. IX. Announcements • Next Library Board Meeting The next board meeting is June 28th at 6 p.m. Mr. Clark will amend the by-laws and submit them to the City Clerk after the proper signatures are obtained. Chair Hoban requested the members attend the budget workshop in City Commission Chambers. Mr. Montague asked what the turn -around time to be appointed was and learned June 20th was the next available meeting to be appointed if an application was submitted this week. Applications could be submitted online. Mr. Welter asked about the purpose of the Advisory Board aside from advocacy. Mr. Clark explained the Board speaks for the public and citizens about library services, making suggestions for improvements. Ms. Tebow takes Library Calendars and distributes them in the community. Mr. Clark explained his goals are to improve services and he advocates for the Board and serves on State Committees to increase funding. Ms. Taylor noted the Library is an anchor in the community which other organizations, such as the Mental Health Committee, could use. Ms. Taylor served on the Library Board for 11 years before becoming an employee and there were times she attended City Commission meetings and advocated for the Library and funding. Mr. Montague explained Facebook Live is being used to broadcast events. Unlike other posts, it notifies everyone who likes your page and is easy to implement. Mr. Clark thought it could be discussed in the future. • Public Input Budget Workshop, Tuesday, May 30, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. City Commission Chambers X. Adjournment Motion There being no further business to discuss, Mr. Montague moved to adjourn. Ms. Tebow seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m. Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist L-3