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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Promotion Committee 12/19/2018CC ITL -1E CITY OF PALM DESERT REGULAR MEETING OF THE PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES Wednesday, December 19, 2018 — 3:00 p.m. Administrative Conference Room 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260 CALL TO ORDER Chair Marcuse convened the meeting at 3:05 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Member Marilyn Hahn (arrived at 3:30 p.m.) Member Louise Kermode Member Ella Manor Member Barbara Rosenberg Chair Carol Marcuse Also Present: Susan Marie Weber, Mayor Gina Nestande, City Council Liaison Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk Maria Sunio, Director of Operations - LSS Sue Duran, Desert Zone Manager James Gallagher, Special Events Coordinator Karen Gonzales, Friends of the Library Anne Berman, Guest Grace L. Rocha, Recording Secretary ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None CONSENT CALENDAR Absent: Vice Chair Lois Cardona A. MINUTES of the Palm Desert Library Promotion Committee Meeting of February 21, 2018. Upon motion by Member Kermode, second by Member Manor, and 4-0 vote of the Committee (AYES: Kermode, Manor, Rosenberg, and Marcuse NOES: None; ABSENT: Cardona and Hahn), the Minutes of February 21, 2018, were approved as presented. APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 Member Rosenberg noted she read the lengthy minutes from the last meeting and was inspired to make some comments. She said she has served on the Library Promotion Committee for a very long time, and early on it occurred to her it was their job to solve problem and make dreams come true. For example: 1) The ugly sight of the trash bins in the parking lot was solved by submerging it into the ground; 2) extra parking was made available by simply asking the artist who developed the front -lawn art to make it smaller, and he agreed; 3) when the Library needed to be repainted and re -carpeted, the project morphed into a complete and costly remodel, requiring a lot of temporary space at Westfield Mall and other libraries, and it was a project well done; 4) the remodel provided items requested by the users of the Library, like more computers, a story -telling area, enlarged children's library, better programs' space, and newly published books in greater multiples; 5) the Committee labored hard over trying to provide easy access to more readers, originally attempting to establish an off -campus annex, and instead provided a Bookmobile, which is providing access in a lot of places. She personally noticed very empty shelves in the new children's library, so she provided a considerable donation to fill them up, stating the Committee makes dreams come true. Also, the Library currently provides a lot of large -print books. She said it's no accident that the Palm Desert Library is very busy, and Ms. Klassen is right, it's not glitzy or super -endowed, but it is for everyone and very adequate. She said the Library Promotion Committee meets when needed and doesn't waste City Staff time needlessly, but when called upon, members have always shown up. Again, they solve problems and make dreams come true. V. NEW BUSINESS A. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR 2019. Member Manor nominated Carol Marcuse to serve as Chair of the Library Promotion Committee for 2019. Motion was seconded by Member Rosenberg and carried by a 3-0-1 vote (AYES: Manor, Rosenberg, and Marcuse; NOES: None; ABSTAINED: Kermode; ABSENT: Cardona and Hahn). Member Marcuse nominated Barbara Rosenberg to serve as Vice Chair of the Library Promotion Committee for 2019. Motion was seconded by Member Manor and carried by a 4-0 vote (AYES: Kermode, Manor, Rosenberg, and Marcuse: NOES: None; ABSENT: Cardona and Hahn). 2 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 B. PRESENTATION TO HONOR AND THANK LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR THEIR SERVICE AND CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2018. On behalf of the entire City Council, Mayor Weber presented the Library Promotion Committee members with a gift card for their service and contributions in 2018, stating it was a small token of the City's appreciation. She related that she'd grown up in a remote area, so libraries were her source of information and bookmobiles changed her life; it's wonderful the Valley has one. She went on to say she had purchased a book a couple of years ago by Anne Carroll Moore who wrote "Libraries for Children," and it's in her office if anyone wishes to look at it. The book is about what Ms. Moore did after she noticed there were no books on the shelves for children. Lastly, she invited Vice Chair Rosenberg to attend an upcoming City Council meeting to make a presentation, similar to the comments she made earlier here. VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS ►[�IMe " VII. OLD BUSINESS None VIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Council Liaison (Councilmember Gina Nestande) Mayor Pro Tern Nestande stated that Mayor Weber touched upon growing up with the library, and it was similar for her, but she grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She loved going to the library and recalled riding her bike excited to go check out three or four books. As a child, that still exists with the Summer Reading Programs. When her kids were younger, they would go to the PD Library very often, and a lot of those programs are still in place. She said it meant a lot to young families to have a free place to go with their children. She thanked all the Committee members, stating Palm Desert was very fortunate to have such great volunteers. 3 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 B. Librarian (Michael Mason) Ms. Duran provided the following personnel updates: - Michael Mason, Palm Desert Librarian, has been out since May, and he is still out on leave. They are currently looking for an Interim. Ms. Sunio announced they have extended an offer for the Interim position and hope to fill it soon. - Eileen Strain, Volunteer Coordinator, is on medical leave. Ms. Duran spoke with Ms. Strain today, who hoped to return to work soon. - Estefania Ortiz is the new Young Adult Service Coordinator. Ms. Ortiz comes to Palm Desert from Desert Hot Springs, replacing Shawn Cordon, who terminated his position in September. In the last two weeks, Ms. Ortiz has done three or four class tours at the Library with about 150 attendees. Additionally, 200 students from the 8th grade have signed up for a Library Card, and she continues providing tours of the Library. They are doing a lot of outreach in the schools. - Alexander Morris is the Children's Librarian. He's had three special events for the year, including Library Sign-up Month in September, Super Heroes Readers, and Gingerbread House Making. She said these events were funded by Friends of the Library. - Irazema Adkins was hired for the Service Desk. She will work 20 hours a week, also works at College of the Desert, and came highly recommended. Ms. Duran stated the Palm Desert Library was now fully staffed. Ms. Sunio announced they have a brand new County position in the coming year for a Familv Literacv Coordinator. They expect this person to help build upon the existing Adult Literacy Program and to support the Early and Family Literacy Programs across the County. This person will be based in the Desert and most likely will be working out of the Indio Branch. Also, staff computers at the Palm Desert Library were replaced at the beginning of the fiscal year, which will help things run more efficiently. In APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 Ms. Duran reported that as Zone Manager her overall goals for 2019 are as follows: 1) Program Form —effective January 1 anytime there is a program or activity, a form will need to be fill,3d out, which will go up the chain of command through a process. The purpose is for everyone to be informed about what is happening in the libraries and staying organized. Additionally the information gathered will include cost, location, and identify partners involved. All the information collected will create data for future planning purposes. 2) E-Blast — information about a progran i or event will be blasted to all other branches in the Desert, after going through her office. 3) Partnerinq with Cities — she is asking all libraries to partner with their cities/communities. If it wasn't already happening, she wants to see outreach done in this regard, adding she would like to see more interaction between the tH,o. 4) Inclusivity/Diversity - she will be ern;ouraging libraries to be inclusive and diverse, including outreach to LGBTQ, different cultures, and special needs constituerns. 5) Dia De Los Ninos - she wants all branches to host a Dia De Los Ninos event. 6) Spanish Heritage Month — participation during the months of September and October, including Palm Desert Library through Story Time, or a big or small event, bu : it will be something that the Library will participate in. 7) Audit of In-house Books — staff will be doing an inventory of all materials and books in the next three months. 8) On -going Review of Material — staff will be getting rid of outdated materials, e.g. health and medical textbooks, looking at popularity of materials, and removing those starting to look ragged, because people don't check them out. C. Special Events Coordinator (James Gallagl- er) Mr. Gallagher echoed Member Rosenberg's earlier comments, because many times people thank him for the services being provided. Parents of small children, paronts of teenagers, and parents that use the computers are very grateful. It's an amazing reservoir of services the Palm Desert Library provides to a lot of different people. He said staff is very march appreciated in the community, and it makes him happy. He went on to report on the following items: 0 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 Events & Activities Report — He talked about the Library's Special Events and ongoing programs, such as "Frankly Speaking," "Author Talks," "Hooked on Books," Meditation Series, and Introduction to the Internet. A new event that started last summer, "Tech Tuesday," demonstrating how to use the card system to look up books, is going well. He said they also introduced several one-time special programs. For example, his wife taught a Holiday Card - Making Workshop that drew 14 people where they made 3D-level fancy Christmas cards, and was so popular that they have been asked to do it again for Valentine's Day. He noted the Gingerbread House -Making Workshop drew in over 100 children and their families. In January, they plan to have a program called "Snow Fest," for children. He handed out the Fall 2018 - Palm Desert Library Events & Activities brochure and the Winter 2018-2019 Brochure. For printing of the brochures, he got a great deal on their design and printing. They now get 2,500 copies per issue, allowing for distribution all over town. Special Events Brochure — the brochure provides scheduling dates for the two signature series, "Sunday Sounds" and "Chefs Table" events, which started December 6, 2018, and runs through the end of March 2019. He noted Chefs Table is supported by Friends of the Library, and the Sunday Sounds is supported by the City. They are now in their 10th year of running this series and averaging 40 to 75 attendees for each event. Chair Marcuse inquired about automatic email notifications, stating she also belongs to another library and she receives an email every single day about the activities happening on that day. Mr. Gallagher replied that the PD Library has never done that, but thought it was a good idea to have an email blast account and build on the list. However, the Library has on-line services and a page on Facebook. If you go to Facebook and enter Palm Desert Library, it will come up and has all of the events, which he updates two or three times weekly. They also have a link through the Library System, but it's a little more complicated to go to the word "branches," drop down and look for Palm Desert Library, then click on events; it's a three -step process. He believed Facebook was more user-friendly. Chair Marcuse asked if there was a way to do an email blast, because she likes to know what is happening every single day. 1.1 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 Mr. Gallagher agreed to look into it and thanked Chair Marcuse for the idea. Ms. Klassen pointed out that activities are also listed in the City's BrightSide Newsletter. Mr. Gallagher concurred, stating that everything that appears on the three-month calendar also appears on the BrightSide Newsletter. D. Volunteer Coordinator (Eileen Strain) Ms. Duran stated she didn't have the Volunteer statistics, because she was anticipating that Ms. Strain would be able to attend this meeting and provide her report. E. Friends of the Palm Desert Library (Karen Gonzales) Ms. Gonzales provided the Financial Report, noting the starting balance on February 21, 2018, was $50,180.41, and the ending balance as of December 18, 2018, is $60,146.50. A breakdown of the income and expenses for that period was discussed. One of the highlights is that book sales have increased by 150%, pointing out they have been selling a lot of books on Amazon. Responding to question about whether the Library was registered with Amazon Smile, she said she knew of it, but wasn't sure if PD Library was registered. Also, the book store sales brought in more than $21,702.30. As part of the expenses, the County Account is paid $5,000 to cover things Friends of the Library is unable to purchase directly, but was unsure of the exact details in that regard. Ms. Sunio explained the County purchases books from publishers that serve libraries. The Friends have set up an account with the County to purchase items for the Library through this account with their funds. Responding to question, she confirmed this account is separated from other libraries. Ms. Gonzales further commented that she approves purchases for the public's benefit at the Palm Desert Library and denies those that are not — but those are the only ones she denies. As an example, one she denied recently was for the purchase of pizza for some teen volunteers. She went on to announce that the Annual Meeting for Friends of the Palm Desert Library is scheduled for January 3, 2019, at 10:00 a.m., with one of the agenda items being Election of Officers. Lastly, she stated that before he went out on leave, Librarian Michael Mason had requested a new display case, 7 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 which was then put on hold. However, she offered to discuss it with Ms. Duran to see if they could make it happen. Member Manor felt that purchasing pizza for the teen volunteers from the Friends monies was okay, because ultimately, the public benefitted. Ms. Sunio offered there was also a Volunteer Appreciation Fund Line in the budget where funds could be pulled for those types of purchases. F. Committee Members 3D Printers - Chair Marcuse inquired about the 3D Printer, because the City of La Quinta had one. Ms. Duran replied that the printer was "roaming," currently being housed in Cathedral City, but any library from the Desert can request it. Mr. Gallagher said the PD Library had the printer last year where special programing was created around it that included a Star Wars theme. Ms. Sunio pointed out that in addition to the 3D printer, the County also had sewing machines and robotic kits as part of the Maker in Motion Program that was State -funded last year. These items are making their way through different branches. Vice Chair Rosenberg shared that her replacement knees were made specifically for her with the use of a 3D printer. Introduction of Guest — Anne Berman stated she was attending today as an observer and has already submitted an application to become a member of the Committee. E:3 APPROVED MINUTES REGULAR PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2018 G. Staff Ms. Klassen thanked Committee members for their kind words and their continued support of the Library. IX. ADJOURNMENT With Committee concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 3:58 p.m. Gr ce L. Rocha, Recording Secretary 9