Minutes 07-27-22 Minutes of the Library Board Meeting Held on
Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 6:00 PM at
City Hall Commission Chambers, 100 E. Ocean Avenue
Boynton Beach, Florida
Present:
George Feldman, Chair Craig Clark, Library Director
Ace Tilton Ratcliff, Vice Chair Jeannie Taylor, Assistant Director
Lindsay Karten
Ace Tilton Ratcliff, Vice Chair
Nicole Prado
Absent:
Marcia Levine
Thomas Devlin
I. Call to Order— George Feldman, Board Chair
Chair Feldman called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Introduce Nicole Prado, New Library Advisory Board Member
Ms. Prado briefly introduced herself.
II. Approval of Minutes —June 8, 2022
Motion
Ms. Karten moved to approve the minutes. Mx. Tilton seconded the motion. The motion
passed unanimously.
III. Correspondence and Communications None.
IV. Public Audience (Individual Speakers Will Be Limited to 3 Minute Presentations)
Ernest Mignoli, 710 NE 7t" Street, Unit 407, stated that he thought he was moving to a
quiet family-oriented place and announced that he thinks it is corrupt. He said that he
does not know if the public is aware of the amount of debt the City has regarding the
Library, but that the monthly overhead debt is staggering.
Meeting Minutes
Library Board
Boynton Beach, Florida July 28, 2022
V. Chair's Report— George Feldman, Board Chair None
VI. Unfinished Business:
ARPA Grant Update — Brianna Tabil, Public Technology Trainer
Mr. Clark stated that 15K people go to the Library each month. He thought staff was doing
a great job.
Brianna Tabil, Public Technology Trainer, gave statistics for the classes and attendance
she held for March, through July. She explained that when she first started in February,
her first patron was a recent immigrant from Haiti who did not know any computer
technology, and three weeks ago she learned that the student passed her citizenship test
by repeatedly typing the answers to the questions that were on the citizenship test. She
said that she worked very hard, so now she is a citizen and she is computer literate. She
mentioned that she also has one-on-one sessions for resume writing, which has been
incredibly successful. She explained that she offered two major programs through Career
Source of Palm Beach County and the Florida Women's Business Center, and mentioned
how many people can attend each.
Chair Feldman noted that he has observed people all around the campus being taught
new skills and the Library has become a magnet for the community. He mentioned that
there were no chairs in the Library available when he came in the other day and he
disagreed with what the earlier public speaker in the meeting. He suggested that Librarian
Christina Graves offer walk throughs of the equipment and explain the classes that the
Library provides.
Mr. Clark responded that a tour is available to anyone and that the second floor has a lot
going on, including some Saturday programs. He recommended looking on the Library
Program calendar.
Mx. Tilton inquired how the Library decides how many classes and what classes to offer,
and learned that it is based on what people ask for. They explained the classes that are
offered, and said that the Library also has feedback surveys and meeting room
availability. They explained that Ms. Talib schedules office time for herself, as she is often
in different areas of the Library and has Tech Talk Thursdays. They announced courses
that are coming up next month and how many students can be accommodated.
Staffing Update
Mr. Clark announced that they have a new Senior Librarian for Customer Relations
starting August 15th who has a lot of varied experience and she interviewed very well.
Career Online High School Program Update
2
Meeting Minutes
Library Board
Boynton Beach, Florida July 28, 2022
Jeannie Taylor, Assistant Library Director, stated that the Library celebrated an Online
Career High School graduate at a City Commission meeting and it was so exciting. She
said that the graduates brother came in, signed up and he is doing very well, and that
there are currently 11 students in the Online High School and two are close to graduation.
She noted that Governor DeSantis vetoed funding for the program, but staff will keep it
going until it is funded again. She stated that there have been 12 graduates so far.
Summer Reading Club Update
Ms. Taylor announced that they are having their closing party tomorrow for the Reading
club and they will celebrate the teen volunteers. She said that it will be the last chance
for children who kept their reading logs to come in and get a surprise. She reported that
is has been very successful, having had well over 100 people participating.
VII. New Business
None
VIII. Library Director's Report/Statistics
May & June 2022 Monthly Reports
Mr. Clark pointed out that in May they had 11,698 people come to the Library and over
15K in June. He noted that Monday through Thursday are the busiest days.
IX. Announcements
August 2022 Library Programming
Next Library Board Meeting —TBD
Mr. Clark reviewed Library programming, Federal Financial Aid, and stated that every
Tuesday, the Library has career and employment assistance with Career Source, which
is excellent. He reviewed several of the classes and activities for the month of August. He
announced that he will be out of the country next month and he recommended they cancel
the August Meeting.
Motion
Chair Feldman moved to meet the on September 28th. Mx. Tilton seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Clark announced that because the meeting in November and December fall around
Thanksgiving and Christmas, they usually merge the two meetings and meet in early
December.
Motion
3
Meeting Minutes
Library Board
Boynton Beach, Florida July 28, 2022
Chair Feldman moved to merge the November and December meetings and meet on
December 7t". Ms. Karten seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
X. Adjournment
Motion
There being no further business before the Board, Chair Feldman moved to adjourn. Ms.
Karten seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:43 P.M.
Catherine Cherry
Minutes Specialist
4