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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Promotion Committee 12-16-2009 � CITY OF PALM DESERT /"�--�---''.. � � PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE APPROVED MINUTES ' ' Wednesday, December 16, 2009 — 3:00 p.m. Administrative Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Kermode called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Present: Absent: Member Joan Beasley Member Betty Carepellese Member Marilyn Hahn Vice Chair Bobbie Rosenberg Member Ella Manor Chairman Louise Kermode Also Present: Jean M. Benson, Councilmember Barbara Bowie, Desert Zone Manager, Riverside County Libraries Jeannie Kays, City Librarian Mary Arnold, EventNolunteer Coordinator Rachelle D. Klassen, City CIe�TTY COUNCILACTiniv Mary P. LaCross, Recording ��ir,D [�fi�,����� _ _�__ _ __ RECEIVED t F� �''_ (�"! i i x•::2 ______, III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ___.__ -_ .__ __ ._ _ MEF.TING DATE S�l 3��C�/G ._ ___.___. .___.._. None AYF,S:�Sc1� ��Tc�s��S ��� - r�Q.�f�f:._ _. _ NOES:-1�(�n e �_----.__---- _______._ _ IV. CONSENT CALENDAR a�srNT: ti �n� ------.___ ._. _ A13STAIN:�1 ar�� -----._.__. _. . A. MINUTES OF THE �jf�I�F��'�'"T ' '��^�" o�nnnnTlaC�LC�I__��/"� ,�JT COMMITTEE MEETIN r��a.�l�'`���w��ty Clcrk's O��xicc Rec: By Minute Motion, approve as presented. Upon motion by Member Beasley, second by Member Manor, the Minutes of the Library Promotion Committee meeting of July 15, 2009, were approved as presented by a 4-0 vote. APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 V. NEW BUSINESS A. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR 2010 Member Manor moved to, by Minute Motion, retain the current Committee Chair (Louise Kermode) and Vice Chair (Bobbie Rosenberg) for an additional year. Motion was seconded by Member Beasley and carried by a 4-0 vote. B. PRESENTATION BY COUNCILMEMBER JEAN M. BENSON Councilmember Benson noted that this was the time of year when the Palm Desert City Council wished to thank all those individuals who served on City Committees and Commissions. She said the Council was proud of what the City had become, and what it is today is due in no small part to the efforts of the various boards. As a token of the Council's appreciation, she presented each member with a thank you card and gift certificates to be redeemed at either the Palm Desert Visitor Center or at Desert Willow Golf Resort. VI. CONTINUED BUSINESS None VII. OLD BUSINESS None VIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS A. Councilmember Jean M. Benson Councilmember Benson noted that she had just attended the dedication of the "Roy's Desert Resource Center," a homeless shelter in Palm Springs named in honor of late Supervisor Roy Wilson. She said it might be nice to have a small library for those staying there. Member Beasley said she felt that was a wonderful suggestion. She said money donated to a non-profit was supposed to be returned to the community, and this was a great way to use some of the funds from the Friends organization. Page 2 of 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 Councilmember Benson suggested that Member Beasley contact Amanda Keil at CVAG to discuss this. She added that tomorrow was the first day the shelter would be allowing people to stay overnight. Upon question by Member Manor, Councilmember Benson responded that there was something similar at the Jean Benson Children's Center, although those books were geared toward preschool children. B. Librarian (Jeannie Kays) Ms. Kays said she would also like to say thank you to the City and this Committee for serving the Library and for being so supportive. She provided an update on various Library activities: Summer Readinq Proqram — 732 sign-ups (556 children and 176 teens). She noted the first time she had a summer reading program for teens, there were only 14 participants, so it was great to have 176 teenagers participate this summer. Total attendance for the program was 2,084, and there were a lot of volunteer hours donated as well. Tarqet0 National Night Out — an annual event where police, fire, and local agencies get together and have family night. This year the three Valley Target0 stores got together and had one giant event in Cathedral City. Back to School Night — In the last several years, the Palm Desert Library has really focused on outreach for Back to School Night. Either Alice Coe (Children's Librarian) or Lisa Brock (Young Adult Associate) visit as many of the schools as they can. "S is for S'Mores" — This was a November event with an indoor camp-out at the Library, including tents in the community room, fake campfires, oven "s'mores", and a storyteller (author of "S is for "S'Mo res"). Ginqerbread Tradition continued this year but with a gingerbread train instead of a gingerbread house, and over 130 children participated. Page 3 of 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 U.S. Census — Riverside County Library System is partnering with the U.S. Census, providing meeting rooms to do training, workshops, testing, etc. for Census workers. Tax Preparation — As was done last year, the Library will be participating in a program this year to provide free tax preparation assistance. California Council for the Humanities — Five or six libraries in the County are participating in a program with this organization called "Making a Difference." Each received a grant for $1,000, and the Palm Desert Library was doing three programs tied in with major holidays to create a civic dialog in the community. A program was being done around Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Caesar Chavez Day, and Memorial Day. For the first event, the Library was bringing in Victor Villasenor, author of several books, including Rain of Gold, which was on the high school reading list. She noted that Mr. Villasenor had been compared to John Steinbeck and said she highly recommended his books. She added that besides just having a regular program where people attend and go home, the Library was having a program with a discussion group on one of the chapters in his book Burro Genius to kind of tie in non-violent protests, struggles in school, racism, etc. The event had been advertised to the public; however, she had also been in contact with the High School probation officers, and they would be bringing in a group of students who are on probation to participate in their own group discussion. If it turns out there is more interest from the community, the Library might have a second discussion group that would be open to the public. She distributed copies of two flyers as informational items. She encouraged anyone interested in participating in a discussion group to contact Mary Arnold, who would be taking reservations and setting up a special time just for adults. She also noted that the Palm Desert Library was partnering with the Cathedral City Library on the author events, so people could attend either one. Statistics — Ms. Kays distributed the Palm Desert Public Library Statistics comparison for July 2005 — July 2009. Page 4 of 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 Carpetinq — Ms. Kays noted that she and Ms. Klassen were members of a subcommittee, and several meetings had been held to discuss the Library refresh, which definitely included carpeting and paint. She said they had also identified several other areas they would like to have evaluated or designed. Ms. Klassen added that funds were available for this purpose. She said the City had executed a pass-through agreement when the Library was built. Under this agreement, funds had been set aside that are County funds, and those monies would be used for this project. The College had agreed to partner with the City to do the carpet and painting of the entire facility, both sides, at one time. On the City side, consideration was being given to updating some of the furnishings such as occasional chairs. An RFP (Request for Proposals) would be done for a library designer to come in and help make sure things are done the right way (i.e., best configuration, number of chairs, additional seating areas, etc.). The last meeting was Wednesday, December 9th, and the Subcommittee was identifying specifics as far as scope of work. She said she hoped to have a proposal ready to present to the Library Committee at its next meeting, with presentation to the City Council as an informational item at its January 28th meeting. The County Board of Supervisors would also have to give its approval to move the project forward and get proposals. She added that there were also some ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) issues that needed to be brought up to par because certain things were not required when the Library was built but will be required now that changes are going to be made. Ms. Kays noted that other areas they were hoping to address included improving technology to streamline staff duties, self check- out stations for those Library patrons who want to use that service, etc. With that comes conveyor belt self check-in stations where the machines will check in the items and sort them into different bins, which will be really helpful and improve security of the items. She said they would also like to add more computers, improve the restrooms, relocate the reference desk, etc. Page 5 of 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 Member Manor noted that this Committee had discussed self check-out in the past, but it did not happen because the College would not help pay for it. She asked whether the College had now agreed to help. Ms. Bowie responded that she did not believe it was because the College was not going to help pay....it was going to wait until the College was out of that building, and it would be included as part of the remodel. C. Event and Volunteer Coordinator (Mary Arnold) Ms. Arnold circulated copies of the Library Volunteers group photo taken at their a�preciation luncheon at Ruth's Chris Steak House on December 4t . She also distributed copies of the event calendar for the current season as well as the monthly calendar for January 2010. She noted that the Youth Services Calendar had just gone to the printer today and should be received next week. Member Hahn noted that she had recently received a 3-4 page publication from the Friends of the Rancho Mirage Library outlining their activities for January, February, and March. She asked whether the Palm Desert Library sent its activity calendars to members and said she would be happy to help start something like that if it was not being done. She said she would personally enjoy getting something in the mail showing the activities. Ms. Arnold responded that the Library events were published in the City's BrightSide newsletter that was delivered to all City residents monthly. Ms. Bowie added that the calendar was also on-line for people to access. Ms. Klassen provided a copy of the City's current BrightSide newsletter to Member Hahn. Ms. Arnold noted that the programs were going strong, with 80-100 people attending the very popular chef programs. Page 6 of 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 Ms. Kays noted that for the chef programs, the Library had hooked up a video projection of the chef table so that audience members further away from the chef table could watch on the screen what the chef was doing. She added that all that was needed was a camcorder and projector they already had as well as one small $25 cable. D. Budget Review Group (Ella Manor/Betty Carapellese) None E. Friends of the Palm Desert Library (Joan Beasley) Member Beasley distributed the mid-December 2009 Financial Report, noting that income was down a little from last year but not enough to cause problems. On-line book sales dropped some this year as well; however, they recently received a donation of some very expensive books and had them listed for sale on the website. She added that at the direction of their accountant, they had encumbered some of the funds -- $5,000 for Young Adult programs/materials and $10,000 for workroom improvements during the upcoming refresh/renovation. She said the Friends would also help underwrite the program costs for Mr. Villasenor, since it is a Young Adult program. In addition, they would be purchasing a large screen television for the community room. She stated that a more complete financial report would be mailed to Friends members in January. She reported that approximately 50 new members had been added, as she had decided that every Library volunteer would receive a free Friends membership for this year; in January 2011, they will each receive a renewal envelope. Member Beasley noted that several weeks ago, the umbrella group for the desert libraries had its meeting in Cathedral City, and she felt the biggest news item from that meeting was that County Librarian Nancy Johnson would be resigning. However, Ms. Johnson had given her assurance that the funding was still in place for this fiscal year to do all the improvement projects, etc. Page 7 of 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 Ms. Bowie stated that the County was required by State law to have a County Librarian, and that person must have either an MLS or MLIS degree. She noted that there was a person filling in during the interim; however, she did not have either of the required degrees, and recruitment would be taking place to fill that position. F. Committee Chair (Louise Kermode) Chairman Kermode noted that Lois Cardona, who was present at both the last meeting and this one and was interested in serving on the Library Committee, had recently been interviewed by several members of the City Council and was recommended for appointment to this committee. At the request of Chairman Kermode, Ms. Bowie explained that as the Desert Zone Manager, she oversaw the operation of the 11 County Libraries in the Coachella Valley, one Bookmobile, the County Library in Idyllwild, and the La Quinta Museum. She also oversaw, County-wide, the youth services and young adult services for the County Library. She noted the partnership (called the Coachella Valley Emergency Preparedness Network) between the various museums, including the Palm Desert Historical Society. As part of this partnership, the museums will provide assistance to each other in case of fire, flood, etc. She stated that there was a new and interesting golf exhibit that would be opening at the La Quinta Museum this coming Friday or Monday, and the Museum was open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. She added that it was located by the park near Old Town La Quinta, just off Eisenhower, and was free. G. Committee Members None H. Staff Ms. Klassen introduced Administrative Secretary Mary LaCross as the Committee's new Recording Secretary. She noted that back in 2001, the City presented nice, brass bookmarks to the Library Committee and volunteers. There were Page 8 of 9 APPROVED MINUTES PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 16, 2009 some extras left over after the presentations, and these were found during the recent move from her old office to her new one. She offered them to the Committee members, noting that whatever was left would be given to the Friends to perhaps sell. IX. ADJOURNMENT Member Beasley moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:45 p.m. Motion was seconded by Member Manor and carried by a 4-0 vote of the Committee. u Mary P. L Cr s, Recording Secretary Page 9 of 9