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Minutes 12-09-20 INUTES OF THE LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020, AT 6:00 P.M., VIA ZOOM ONLINE MEETING, IN BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: George Feldman, Chair Craig Clark, Library Director Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo, Vice Chair Jeannie Taylor, Assistant Director Elizabeth Sherlock Mike Naughton, Library IT Manager Robyn Boucard Ace Tilton Ratcliff (Arrived 6:31 p.m.) Victor Gaud Absent: Marcia Levine Lindsay Karten I. Pre-meeting announcement from Craig Clark, Library Director Craig Clark, Library Director, read a statement indicating how the meeting would proceed and how the public could participate. II. Call to Order — Board Chair — Introduce new Board Member (Alternate) Victor Gaud Cabrera Chair Feldman called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. and welcomed new member Victor Gaud. He advised nothing major was occurring, the members were just waiting to start volunteering at the Library, going into the community and talking about the new Library. New member Victor Gaud, internal auditor, explained his background is in accounting and he holds Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Accounting and Finance. He is an auditor and he reviews company controls on all departments. Prior to moving to Boynton, he was trying to join the Coral Springs/Broward Advisory Board, but there were not a lot of vacancies. When he purchased in Boynton, he saw the vacancies and wanted to become involved in the community as he views it as important. Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo welcomed him to the Board. Mr. Gaud will be a full voting member in Marcia Levine's absence. Mr. Clark also welcomed him to the Board. Meeting Minutes Library Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 9, 2020 III. Approval of Minutes — Meeting of October 28, 2020 Motion Ms. Sherlock moved to approve. Ms. Boucard explained she could not immediately find the places where some words were capitalized and in other instances they were not. It was noted on page four, the word City was capped and in another, it was not. Mr. Clark pointed out some of those areas in the minutes and asked if, in those instances, it was referring to the City of Boynton Beach, which in most instances it was. It was noted on page six, the second paragraph, 15th line the word Could should be changed to could. There was also a question about page four, last paragraph, third from last sentence: Ms. Boucard also asked about the sentence: "She was optimistic the long-term vision of the Library would serve the City's needs." and asked what those needs were. It was explained if the needs had been stated, they would have been listed. Dr. Hayden- Adeyemo seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. The minutes were approved as corrected. There was brief talk about member absences. Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo thought sending a gentle email to some members about attendance may be appropriate. It was also explained if a member misses three meetings, they are sent a warning letter that a fourth absence would result in removal from the Board and they would be ineligible to serve on any board for three years. IV. Correspondence and Communications - None V. Public Audience (Individual Speakers Will Be Limited to 3 Minute Presentations) Mr. Clark noted no one was present for public audience. VI. Chair's Report- None. VII. Unfinished Business: Staffing Update - Craig Clark Mr. Clark explained there is one full-time Library Associate position available in the Customer Relations Division and there were 261 applications received for that position. They will interview next Wednesday and hope to wrap it up and make an offer. Otherwise the Library is fully staffed. AmeriCorps Program — Jeannie Taylor Ms. Taylor explained AmeriCorps is a lot busier and since youth have returned to school, there is a need for homework help, so they are scheduling a lot more appointments. The 2 Meeting Minutes Library Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 9, 2020 volunteer who does handles the Adult ESOL made some schedule changes. Normally, they would have adult class in the morning and beginner and intermediate classes, but adults are not interested in classes right now because they do not want to sit in groups. Accordingly, the volunteer is holding one-on-one sessions and since some adults work, they want appointments later in the day. She has adjusted her schedule to accommodate them and has plenty of students. Ms. Taylor explained the AmeriCorps program was a program in partnership with the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition and they supply the volunteers. There are three full-time volunteers: one teaches Adult ESOL, and they are also working on other important issues such as citizenship. Another volunteer works with teenagers for homework help and college prep, and a third volunteer assists younger students with afterschool homework help. Ms. Boucard, asked regarding staffing of the applicants for the open position, how they would be a good fit for the candidate that will lead up to an interview. Mr. Clark explained applicants have to apply online through City's website and Human Resources assigns a recruiter to review the applications and narrow them down. Since there are so many, one preference is prior library experience, which creates a smaller pool. Once the recruiter narrows the pool, the recruiter conducts telephone interviews and further narrows it down. Staff reviews the remaining applications and determines who they would like to have an online interview. Ms. Sherlock asked if the standards for the Boynton Beach Library were the same as other libraries. Mr. Clark explained they follow the City's standards and guidelines and the City's hiring processes are different than other libraries and locations in general. Career Online High School - Jeannie Taylor Ms. Taylor gave a brief overview of the program for Mr. Gaud and explained they have scholarships for enrollees. The students have to be over 19 and a City resident. The scholarship allows the student to receive a fully accredited high school diploma and a career certificate. They have four current students who have 18 months to complete the program. Three students are in their 20's and the fourth is in their 30's. They have a prerequisite program to see if the students are serious about doing the work and if they can learn in that style and keep on schedule. One student just finished the prerequisite and she and Mr. Clark will interview the student for a scholarship. Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo asked about the ESOL and asked if there was a Plan B due to the pandemic. She asked if the sessions had to be live, in person or if they could be recorded as a webinar or web conferences. She thought the turnout may be greater and also thought one-on-one sessions would be tutoring. Ms. Taylor explained they offer the online resource, and let everyone know it was fine if they want receive the assistance in an online session. The ESOL volunteers have found ESOL resources they can refer students to work with, but a lot of them are at the beginner level, do not have computer skills and are not comfortable with it, so they need the one-on-one coaching. As they become more proficient and get to the intermediate level they have a lot of online resources and some are developing their own to view as a supplement. Dr. Hayden- 3 Meeting Minutes Library Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 9, 2020 Adeyemo asked if the students do not use web conferencing because they are not computer literate and they cannot log onto Zoom. She asked if log-on instructions could be translated into different languages. She asked if it was a step AmeriCorps does not do, the Library does not support or the students prefer one-on-one. Ms. Taylor explained AmeriCorps is open to all those options and discusses them with all the students; even children with homework help are offered online options. It is a personal preference. Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo thought AmeriCorps was about the community and making sure the grant is utilized the best they can as it pertains to the adult version because it is a community initiative to reach as many adults as they can. She did not think they should say they could not offer it because the people do not speak the language. They can make recordings, translate them into a different language and push it out. (Mx. Ratcliff joined the meeting.) Mr. Clark explained they had 11 or 12 language speakers in their AmeriCorps program in the past and it would be a lot of work to translate them into a different language. The program was also not a grant. AmeriCorps is a federal government program, but it is not paid for by grant dollars. It is paid for from the City's budget. Each state writes a grant to secure funding and the Literacy Coalition writes a grant to support 40 volunteers in Palm Beach County. The Library pays $7K for each of those three people per year to work at the Library. The Literacy Coalition is the grantee, not the Library. VIII. New Business: Library Information Technology Division Overview — Michael Naughton, Library IT Manager Mr. Clark introduced Mike Naughton, Library IT Manager. He explained he came aboard in 2007 and plays an important role in the Library. Mr. Naughton explained there are a lot of computers in the Library. Each day, Mr. Naughton and his team help patrons with job searches, resumes, employment benefits, social services benefits, which is the main part of it. They are now doing a lot of scanning, whether for an application for a water bill or scanning of driver's license or documents needed for public services or social benefits. The scanner is used most frequently in the adult area. Mr. Naughton announced the new laptops are a hit. Patrons enjoy that they can check out a laptop and sit where they want. Mr. Naughton praised his two technology specialists Juaquin Torres and Michael Bennet, commenting he would be lost without them as they are often helping patrons with the different needs they have. Chair Feldman asked about the laptops and if he assists them directly. Mr. Naughton responded he does and it all depends on the level the user is at. The Tech Specialists cannot leave their area. Ms. Sherlock used a laptop and was shocked how simple it was to use. She was very impressed. Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo noted the Library has come a long way, and praised the IT Department for going above and beyond. She thought they could use three more staffers and that, in addition to books and materials, Customer Service, Information 4 Meeting Minutes Library Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 9, 2020 Technology and the Tech Department was one reason people come to the Library. The public comes to the Library for the techs who allow for extra computer minutes and she noted the County does not even allow that much time. She announced that is a selling point and the workers are really knowledgeable. Ms. Sherlock agreed. Mr. Naughton explained he was open to suggestions at any time and he would be happy to speak with the members. He pointed out technology is evolving so quickly sometimes he thinks even he can learn new technology and he tries to pay attention to all the new trends. Mr. Clark advised there were over 100 computers at one time and they are currently at about 80 or 90, which Mr. Naughton handles. There are eight City computers that management staff uses to access financial systems so they use two different systems. Mr. Naughton oversees the automated materials handling system, three self- check systems, the security gates on both floors, and other responsibilities. LibraryU — Discussion of a new in-depth library tour program in the planning phase List of potential Library volunteer opportunities. Mr. Clark explained he came up with a new program called Library U or Library University that involves an in-depth tour of the Library to provide a more in-depth view of what they truly have. They are busy working and planning the program and when the program is put together, and post COVID, they could do more things in person. Board members could serve as Library docents. When the program is ready, they will contact members interested in serving as docents and tour providers after taking in-depth training sessions. When people make a reservation to come in and tour the Library, the members could take them. Ms. Sherlock inquired if it would be put it on Eventbrite. Mr. Clark responded it was a possibility. Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo thought the Library could schedule Read and Brunch events, especially when COVID is over. The City has the Cultural Center, but the Library can be a flex space. They could hold Mystery Nights. Ms. Sherlock volunteers at the Delray Library and she thought a good opportunity for the Library was to get on the Delray Library mailing list and see what they do. Delray has many exciting things the Board could enact without reinventing the wheel. Dr. Hayden-Adeyemo wanted the Library to be the best and be innovative, so people will want to come and Catch the Wave of what they do here. Ms. Sherlock. noted the Delray Beach Chamber represents the Delray Beach Library, but the Boynton Chamber is tied to the Boca Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Sherlock pointed out the City has different budget. The Board members know what is unique for Boynton, and what has worked well with nearby libraries, but they have not had a competitive analysis of what they are doing. There is a sharing of competition. Chair Feldman thought when the amphitheater is used, there will be hundreds of people next door that could come into the Library and there could be a lot of activity. Mr. Gaud passed through the Library when he met Mr. Clark, and noted the Library also has an inventory of movies and they can use a projector in the open space for a movie night. Mr. Clark explained the Library has a movie license. Ms. Sherlock noted the Boynton Beach 5 Meeting Minutes Library Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 9, 2020 CRA has Movies in the Park and they have a large screen that is used at ArtWalks. Chair Feldman thought when COVID was over, Library hours will be extended, and in the future, they will provide Sunday hours. Hours will be extended Monday to Thursday till 8:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Far in the future, they will be open on Sundays. Mr. Clark explained he did not include the list of volunteer opportunities because he was working from home, but it included LibraryU. He will forward an email from the Florida Library Association to contact legislators to advocate for funding public library services. Ms. Sherlock knew other entities, such as the Delray Downtown Development Authority, has volunteer training which is just as important as who the volunteer is. Mr. Clark agreed. IX. Library Director's Report/Statistics October 2020 Monthly Report Mr. Clark noted the AmeriCorps report names were substituted to protect the privacy for the individuals being helped. If anyone has a question, they can contact him. Circulation is increasing and they are getting busier as was computer use. One third of the patrons are using computers and many do not have computers at home. Ms. Boucard was reviewing the statistics and thought it was great to see the positive numbers. While she saw some negative numbers, she understood it was due to COVD, but the overall circulation and activity counts reflect staff was doing a great job. She thought it was a great report and thought the Library was the hub of all workforces. Ms. Sherlock thought the most beautiful quality of the new Library was the new book section and wished when she entered the Library, there would be a sign and arrow that said "New Books over here." Mr. Clark explained he would get the list to the members. He further explained the new books are around the corner and they have a map they give patrons showing the location. Chair Feldman asked if they have a movable table with wheels to be put just outside the Library to show what was going on. Ms. Taylor explained there are two pieces of furniture they call "wedding cakes" they use to feature the new items in the front between the two self-check kiosks. Whatever materials arrive they want to feature for all to see, but they cannot place the tables outside of the security gate. Ms. Sherlock noted the materials on the wedding cakes are not the top 10 best sellers of fiction or non-fiction. Ms. Taylor explained they are generally newer books they leased and books that are sought after. Mr. Clark explained the book on the non-fiction wedding cakes were about racism and social equality, which are not necessarily in the top ten. Mx. Ratcliff saw them and thought it was great. She was excited and glad to see the list as well as it was part of the Library and it was effective and front and center. Mr. Clark explained the list is being updated reflecting new books added. Ms. Sherlock hoped there 6 Meeting Minutes Library Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 9, 2020 would be best sellers. Mr. Clark explained the wedding cakes are not for best sellers only. X. Announcements Next Library Board Meeting — January 27, 2021 — Via Zoom Meeting Chair Feldman announced the next meeting wished all happy holiday. XI. Adjournment Motion Ms. Bouchard moved to adjourn. Ms. Sherlock seconded the motion and praised staff for all their efforts. The motion unanimously passed. Chair Feldman thanked Mr. Clark for his patience putting all together. Mr. Clark wished all a happy holiday and hoped all would stay safe. The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 p.m. OatittoitOlta)/, Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 7