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Minutes 12-14-22 Minutes of the Library Board Meeting Held on Wednesday, December 14, 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 Jeannie Taylor, Assistant Director Thomas Devlin Mary Cassell, Senior Librarian Marcia Levine Margaret Newton Absent: Lindsay Karten Nicole Prado I. Call to Order— George Feldman, Board Chair Chair Feldman called the meeting to order at 6:04 P.M. Self-Introductions were made. A quorum was present. II. Approval of Minutes — October 26, 2022 Motion Chair Feldman moved to table the minutes to the next meeting. Mr. Devlin seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. III. Correspondence and Communications Mr. Devlin stated that at the last meeting, he spoke about Civil Air Patrol youth programs. He said that it would be a good way to expand youth programs in the Library and to other groups. He stated that there is an entire set of books for grades 1 through 6, that will be sent for free to the educators for the students and have STEM kits for appropriate grade levels. He explained that the educator will then fill out a survey indicating how many students they originally had, how many participated and finished, and then they can request the next class. He noted that this program is used for home schooling, and the Palm Beach County Library signed up two of their employees to be educators. He reviewed the paper airplane class for the youngest students. Mr. Clark stated that they are without a Children's Librarian at the moment and that when they hire a replacement, they can look at it and either order the kits for home schoolers here or find a volunteer to teach it. Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2022 Discussion ensued regarding Mr. Clark and Ms. Taylor signing up as educators and reviewing the lessons, and then delegate to a volunteer. Mr. Devlin advised that when students become 11 and 12, they become cadets and they will teach students the materials. Mr. Clark said he would pay the $35 fee. Ms. Levine advised that the City has free movies and concerts. She said that she mans the information booth and Mr. Clark provided her with a lot of Library materials about the different departments. Anytime there are new materials pertaining to the City, she will pick it up and bring it. She also thanked the Library staff. She announced that she put in an order to get a book that is difficult to get, but she got the book quickly. IV. Public Audience (Individual Speakers Will Be Limited to 3 Minute Presentations) None V. Chair's Report— George Feldman, Board Chair None VI. Unfinished Business: Staffing Update — Craig Clark Introduce Mary Cassell, Senior Librarian-Customer Relations Mr. Clark introduced Mary Cassell, Senior Librarian for Customer Relations Ms. Cassell stated that she lives in Delray, and worked in Broward County, but she is excited to be part of the City Library, its local efforts and organizations. Career Online High School Program Update — Jeannie Taylor Ms. Taylor announced their 15th graduate from the Career Online High School Program who will celebrate the event at the City Commission meeting in January. She said that the student finished the program in four months, when it usually takes 18 months. She stated that they have nine students in the program. She explained the graduates receive a Certificate of Achievement and that some students are from other countries, but their education does not translate here. She elaborated that it is very expensive for foreign students to have their transcripts evaluated, so the diploma really helps. She noted that the program provides a fully accredited high school diploma and graduates work on one of eight career certificates in different fields, certifying them in a vocation. 2 Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2022 Mr. Clark explained that the cost of the course is over $1,295, but students are awarded free scholarships and information on the program is on the website. He advised that the State funding for the scholarships is depleted and funding will not occur until June. Ms. Taylor explained that hopefully, they will have two scholarships left and when, but when the Library funds a scholarship, the student must be a City resident; when the State funds it, the student can be from anywhere. AmeriCorps Program Update —Jeannie Taylor Ms. Taylor stated that the Afterschool Homework Help Program is going strong. She mentioned that she has other volunteers who need more hours, so when they are done at the school, they come to the Library to help. She explained how volunteering with the ESL class works. VII. New Business Holiday Food Drive — Sponsored by the Friends of the Boynton Beach City Library and City of Boynton Beach Mr. Clark stated that the City is having a holiday food drive, as noted above. He included a flyer in the packet regarding the needed items. He said that the City is accepting donations until Friday and they will help put the baskets together. Chair Feldman spoke about volunteer opportunities to give Library tours. Mr. Clark explained that staff gives the tours and if a volunteer wants to offer a tour, they should contact staff and they will arrange it. Ms. Taylor announced that they had a tour for 22 women from Palm Chase who wanted to know about the Library and there were several presentations made during the tour. She said that by the end of the tour, they had 21 new card holders. She advised that now tours are limited to 25 people. Ms. Levine recalled that last year, they had a women's group tour for 40 or 45 women of the downtown, including the Library, and all were amazed. She noted that with the Kinetic Event being held on January 28th and 29th, they can showcase the art and Library. VIII. Library Director's Report/Statistics October, November 2022 Monthly Reports Mr. Clark reviewed the October and November reports, and he stated that Library visits, in general, were increasing. 3 Meeting Minutes Library Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida December 14, 2022 Chair Feldman said he thought they needed a bigger sign for the Library, since some people do not know where it is located.. IX. Announcements Free Youth education programs available from Civil Air Patrol https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/aerospace-education/for- educators Next Library Board Meeting — January 25, 2023 Mr. Devlin said that on Saturday, at the South Florida National Cemetery, they will be holding a Wreaths Across America Event, which is comprised of a short ceremony and then they place wreaths on the graves of all of the Veterans. He invited the members to attend early to sign up to participate. X. Adjournment Motion There being no further business to discuss, Mx. Ratcliff moved to adjourn. Ms. Levine seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:48 P.M. Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 4