(Approved August 3, 2006)
07-20-2006
7:45 a.m.
Paseo Verde Library
Call to Order
Chair Colleen Bell called the meeting to order at 7:58 a.m.
Roll Call
Board Members Present:
Colleen Bell, Robyn Carr, Richard Derrick, Herb Hunter, John SimmonsBoard Members Absent:
Todd Hauge , Jacob SnowStaff Present:
Eric Bushman, Carolyn Easterby, Tom Fay, Orin Fielding, Mae Giaimo, George Greicar, Sean Hill, Gayle Hornaday, Therese Lamb, Michelle Mazzanti, Lynn Miller, Kenna Payne, Kristy Price, Joy St. John, Evelyn WalkowiczOthers Present:
Echo Galbraith Allen, Barbara Bloom, Ed Feldman, Florica Hagendorn, Linda Hanks, Betsy Johnson, Laurie Orton, Joan VaughanApproval of Agenda
Colleen Bell commented that item number one, under Old Business, will be tabled until the August meeting. John Simmons made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Herb Hunter seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Approval of Minutes
Colleen Bell asked that a typographical error be corrected on page two of the June 16 th minutes, under the heading “D iscussion and possible Board action regarding approval of Petition Policy” and requested a notation be made that this item will be presented to the Board for action at a later date. John Simmons made a motion to accept the minutes with the changes noted. Herb Hunter seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Review of Paid Invoices
The paid invoices were accepted without comment.
Director's Report
Possible Board discussion of the Director’s report or various staff reports highlighting various administrative and staff activities since the last meeting.
Security Report: The graffiti at Paseo Verde Library has been removed. Incident reports have been typical.
Mae Giaimo introduced Kenna Payne, the new Gibson Library Head of Children’s Department. Kenna Payne moved to Las Vegas from San Diego.
Gayle Hornaday distributed a summary of 4th quarter and year-end statistics. June 2006 set another circulation record. Year-end statistics indicate circulation is up 5.6%. Fewer library cards were issued in FY06, possibly due to the Malcolm Library opening in 2005, which resulted in a large issuance of cards.
The active patron (number of people with a library card, in good standing, during the year) totaled 65,281.
At the end of June, two new services were offered. 1) Playaways are MP3 players pre-loaded with books. Patrons may use their own headphones or purchase ear buds for $1.00. 2) The Claim Jumper shelf offers best-selling books for immediate check out. They are called “Claim Jumpers” because they can be obtained without waiting on the hold list.
Bryan Fearn gave year-end Reference Department statistics: total inquiries indicate over 100,000 people were assisted in the past year. The Reference Department conducted 100 computer classes with 70 attendees. 30 book club meetings were attended by 200 people. It is interesting to note that as much time is being spent helping people with technology as with reference questions.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Department statistics were presented by Therese Lamb. The new Polaris system allows input and tracking of ILLs. Prior to Polaris, all ILL records were kept on paper. This allows for all transactions to be reflected on the patron’s card, promoting better communication. All district-wide ILL borrowing has been consolidated out of the Gibson Library.
Joy St. John outlined activities for adults in the district. The Adult Summer Reading program is in its third year. This year’s theme is Wild about Reading. In 2005 there were 190 participants. Five weeks into the program this year there are 204 participants. The Grand Prize is a night’s stay and dinner at the Oasis Hotel in Mesquite, Nevada.
A database quiz has been offered the past two years to familiarize patrons with HDPL’s databases. Last year 7 people participated; this year there were 20 participants.
A Photo contest is being held with a grand prize of a year’s worth of dog food from the Purina Company.
A web blog was created at the end of March for the Reader’s Advisory. [Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption.] This innovative approach promotes HDPL’s Readers’ Advisory, an informal web-based reader’s advisory service appealing to patrons by providing staff reviews, author news and book lists. It is believed the Reader’s Advisory blog will generate more interest in our fiction and non-fiction book collections and strengthen our community relationships with our patrons. Reviewing library materials also allows employees to express their views and improve their writing skills. Individual postings help to strengthen the inter-library community. This program is still in its infancy and will continue to evolve. The Reader Advisory blog can be accessed from the front page of HDPL’s website.
Mae Giaimo said that the Gibson Library has 138,000 items. A major project has been undertaken to thin the collection to less than 100,000 items. During Artfest, staff removed 7,000 items. Items can be discarded, kept, sent to Paseo Verde Library or set aside for the ODC (Opening Day Collection). Temporary workers have been hired to work on this project throughout the summer. Thus far over 10,000 items have been removed from the collection: 8,000 items were transferred to the Paseo Verde Library; 2,000 items were withdrawn; 300 items were set aside for the ODC. This is an ongoing project. Robyn Carr asked how the books are categorized. Mae Giaimo explained that the temporary workers pull books and reference librarians inspect them and decide their fate. ODC books must be in good shape and have lasting value as they will be boxed up for a few years. Tom Fay said he applauds the coordination and hard work involved in thinning the collection and also in receiving the books at the Paseo Verde Library. Removing so many items will make the shelves more enjoyable to browse.
Senior Deposit Collections are made possible through a LSTA grant. Mae Giaimo said there are currently seven Senior Deposit Collections: Three have been in operation since last year; two have just recently opened. There are 2,100 items in these collections, which are heavily used. Circulation is almost 800, which is good considering the collections are only open four hours per week and staffed by volunteers from the senior residence. There have been many requests for library and ILL items.
Betsy Johnson, Head of Youth Services at Paseo Verde Library, gave the Youth Services year-end report: In the past year, there were 900 library programs with 20,500 children attending. 45 programs were held at daycares & schools with 12,500 children attending. Several HDPL employees completed PLA’s (Public Library Association) Every Child Ready to Read training, and then held six programs on early literacy training, with 50 adult attendees. Ninety teen volunteers contributed 3,450 volunteer hours. Reading with Rover is still going strong and assisted 100 children to improve their reading skills. There were 50 therapy dogs involved in the 5,500 Reading with Rover volunteer hours logged. This past spring, a new pilot program called Homework Help began at the Paseo Verde Library. Volunteers from Key Club manned a Homework Help desk from 4-6 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 150 children were assisted with homework assignments. Homework Help was a popular program and will continue in the future. Teen Reading Week featured a photo contest for teens and author Chris Crutcher spoke to 150 teens, teachers & librarians. The first Aspiring Young Authors Conference was held in October.
Michelle Mazzanti, Head of Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services, summarized ABS year-end statistics. Polaris allows easy database purges, and simplifies withdrawing materials. 68,324 items were added to HDPL’s database. Part of the increase was made possible by project DartClix which cataloged 24,000 websites (for a minimal fee). $1.3 million of list price materials were added to the collection. This amount is actually more than HDPL’s book budget due to discounts received. Donated materials (cash and materials) totaled $95,285.15. $11,000 worth of paperbacks was donated. It is interesting to note that HDPL generally does not purchase paperbacks. The paperback collection is acquired almost completely from donations. Patron satisfaction is an HDPL priority and patron purchase requests resulted in $46,152.27 worth of materials being added to the collection.
Evelyn Walkowicz, Outreach Manager, reported that Pittman has updated the collection; the collection now contains between 5-6,000 items and can be displayed attractively. The Pittman hours are working out well, patron counts are remaining steadily between 750 and 1200 per month. More adults are using the library, although the clientele is predominately children, given the proximity to the Henderson Boys & Girls Club.
Outreach staff, who are also the Pittman and Bookmobile staff, visited child care centers during the Week of the Young Child in April, providing storytimes and library information to children and parents. Outreach staff participated with Sewell and Hinman Elementary Schools’ Kindergarten round-up, emphasizing to parents the importance of getting a library card and visiting the library over the summer.
Plans are under way with the Valley View Recreational Center to provide the first-ever multi-generational programming, a holiday program for pre-school age children and seniors. This new concept will be a test run for future programming.
There was a car seat giveaway at Morrell Park, sponsored by Success by Six and the Henderson Police Department. Library and early literacy information was distributed to parents attending the event.
The bookmobile has had two full months of scheduled stops. The public response has been positive and a consistent customer base is being established. Henderson Parks & Recreation Department publicized the bookmobile schedule in their spring Henderson Happenings and also agreed to provide electricity to the parks’ locations so the bookmobile’s air conditioning can be used. There is a blog for the bookmobile, accessible from the HDPL website, and there have been e-mail inquiries from patrons. The fall bookmobile schedule was distributed to the Board.
Gayle Hornaday said the circulation goal for the next year is to hit 1,000,000. That is only an increase of 50,000. The Board was asked to assist in reaching the goal by checking out books.
John Simmons asked if the District is looking at the development of Centex homes, which will add 2,500 homes to the Pittman area. Tom Fay said as the area develops, the current Pittman Library will not be able to handle the population growth. As the remediation nears completion, it will be necessary to approach Landwell and Centex about how HDPL can serve the new area. The Tuscany housing development is adding growth to the area as well. John Simmons said a large library will be needed in that area to take care of both Tuscany and Centex residents. Tom Fay responded the area may be served with more, smaller storefront libraries. This will be the first phase of storefront libraries that can be fed from a warehouse or with books from the larger libraries that need to move material. All the developers seem to be conscientious and recognize the need to set aside land for libraries. Creative methods are being developed to make it happen.
New Business
Discussion and possible Board action regarding approval of the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan.
Tom Fay said the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan is required annually by Clark County. The list of improvements does not include books for the new Green Valley facility. Some of the notable increases are capital improvements and capital technology for the Green Valley facility. Colleen Bell asked where the additional office space will go at the Paseo Verde Library. Tom Fay said Gayle Hornaday is carving out office space which will be needed when the new library manager is hired. John Simmons said he likes what he sees and made a motion to approve the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan. Richard Derrick seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Discussion and possible Board action regarding approval of the Debt Management Policy.
Thomas Fay said the Debt Management Policy is required annually by the State. It shows what HDPL’s debts are and how they are structured. No additional debt has been established beyond the two commitments: Paseo Verde Library ($1.5M) and Malcolm Library ($1.2M). If HDPL needs to borrow again, it might be considered when the Green Valley facility opens. The timing would leave only 2 years on the original $1.5M debt. John Simmons asked when HDPL is taking over the Green Valley Library. Tom Fay responded January 2009. At that time the tax money for that area will be turned over to HDPL. Richard Derrick commented that HDPL is very conservative, has low debt. Even if the District must go into debt over the Green Valley Library there is plenty of capacity to take on more debt. Tom Fay responded the greatest success of the district is having the money freed up for operating so that all of the talented staff can get things done. There may be necessities in the future, but HDPL should remain conservative, if at all possible. Richard Derrick made a motion to approve the Debt Management Policy. Herb Hunter seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Discussion and possible Board action regarding approval of thresholds for Material Recovery Services to begin.
Gayle Hornaday said the collection agency trial period started the last week of April. As of July 14th, 328 patron accounts have been turned over to collections, the value of which is well over $36,000. Thirty-nine of the accounts have already paid in full, with a little less than $3,000 cost to the district and $5,200 value in materials and cash returned. HDPL will continue its engagement with Unique. HDPL and the materials recovery company may terminate the relationship with 60 days notice. The Board is asked to approve the thresholds for turning over accounts and credit reporting. The thresholds used during the trial period required an account to have debt of $35 or more, including unreturned materials, and remain unresolved for at least two weeks after receiving a bill from the library. The collection agency goes through a 120-day collection process. After the 120 days, the debt will be reported to the three major credit reporting agencies. HDPL has stipulated that only accounts owing $100 or more will be turned over to credit reporting. Currently 88 of the 328 patron accounts are at that level, ranging in debt from $101 to well over $800. The first 120-day cycle is nearing completion. In another month some of these things could be resolved before being turned over to credit reporting. Herb Hunter asked if the money owed is from fines or unreturned materials. Gayle Hornaday said there must be materials involved to go through this process. Usually it is a combination of materials and fines. Robyn Carr said she is mystified how a patron can get $800 of materials. Gayle Hornaday said most people don’t realize how expensive materials are. For example an unabridged audio book can cost up to $100. If eight are checked out that would be $800. Tom Fay said the average cost per item is $49 and the check out limit is 35 per patron. If only 20 items are checked out, the value is well over $800. Tom Fay said eventually the dollar value of materials checked out will appear on the patron receipt. This will make patrons aware of the value of the items they borrow. Tom Fay pointed out that in addition to the 120 collection process days, the patron already could have the item checked out for 9 weeks. The library staff then attempts to get the materials back for 45 additional days. That totals 208 days spent trying to get the materials back before the debt is reported to the credit reporting agencies. Gayle Hornaday said the 328 patrons referred to collections are actually only one half of 1% of our patrons. John Simmons said some collection agencies can be nasty when trying to collect monies owed. Tom Fay said this agency is as reasonable as possible when trying to collect the material, and patrons are referred back to Gayle Hornaday or Gayle’s representative to work out the problem. John Simmons made a motion to approve the thresholds for Material Recover Services to begin. Herb Hunter seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Old Business
Discussion and possible Board action regarding approval of new owners’ contract for Gilly Beans Coffee Shop.
Announcements
The next Board meeting will be held on August 17, 2006 at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson, NV. Tom Fay commented that the August meeting may need to be moved up to discuss the new owners' contract for Gilly Beans Coffee Shop.
Public Comment
Note: Pursuant to Nevada’s Open Meeting Law, action may not be taken on matters presented during this period until included on a future agenda as an action item.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:54 a.m.
Pursuant to NRS 241.020, written notice of the meeting of Henderson District Public Libraries’ Board of Trustees was posted by Friday, June 9, 2006, at least three (3) business days before the meeting, including in the notice the time, place, location and agenda of the meeting. Details of the agenda may be obtained by calling 492-6584.
Posted at Paseo Verde Library, James I. Gibson Library, Lydia Malcolm Library, Pittman Library, City of Henderson-City Clerk’s Office, and the HDPL website.