HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Library Committee March 16, 2011CITY OF PALM DESERT
PALM DESERT LIBRARY PROMOTION COMMITTEE
APPROVED MINUTES
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 — 3:00 p.m.
Administrative Conference Room
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Kermode convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present:
Member Joan Beasley
Member Aaron Bonner
Member Lois Cardona
(arrived at 3:55 p.m.)
Member Ella Manor
Chairman Louise Kermode
Also Present:
Absent:
Member Marilyn Hahn
Vice Chair Bobbie Rosenberg
Jean M. Benson, Mayor
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager
Barbara Bowie, Desert Zone Manager, Riverside County Libraries
Jeannie Kays, City Librarian
Tonya Kennon, County Librarian
Robin Stewart, Palm Desert Library Special Events Coordinator
Eileen Strain, Palm Desert Library Volunteer Coordinator
Mary P. LaCross, Recording Secretary
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS CITY COUNCIL ACTION
APPROVED DENIED
None RECEIVED OTHER
MEETIN PAT —
AYES:
NOES: N
ABSENT: _ E enSCr _
ABSTAIN:
VERIFIEyD BY: ✓�
Originall :on File with City Cler s Office
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING
IV. CONSENT CALENDAR
MARCH 16, 2011
A. MINUTES of the Palm Desert Library Promotion Committee
Meeting of February 16, 2011.
Rec: Approve as presented.
Upon motion Member Beasley, second by Member Bonner, the Minutes of
the Library Promotion Committee meeting of February 16, 2011, were approved as
presented by a 5-0 vote.
V.
VI.
NEW BUSINESS
A. PRESENTATION ON REDEVELOPMENT IN THE CITY OF PALM
DESERT (Donna Gomez, Visitor Center Manager)
Visitor Center Manager Donna Gomez gave a brief overview of how
redevelopment agencies operate in general and what the Palm
Desert Redevelopment Agency has done specifically in the Palm
Desert community, noting Governor Jerry Brown's proposal to
eliminate community redevelopment agencies in California. She
provided a handout to the Committee members, a copy of which is
on file and of record in the City Clerk's Office.
Ms. Gomez encouraged everyone to contact their State
representatives to voice their opposition to Governor Brown's
proposal.
CONTINUED BUSINESS
None
2
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
VII. OLD BUSINESS
A. CONSIDERATION OF INCORPORATING A FREE-STANDING
DRIVE -UP BOOK DROP RECEPTACLE INTO THE REFRESH
PROJECT AT THE PALM DESERT LIBRARY (Continued from the
meeting of February 16, 2011).
The following is a verbatim transcript of this portion of the meeting:
Key
LK Louise Kermode, Library Committee Chair
SP Sergio Pena, Riverside County Economic Development Agency
JMB Mayor Jean M. Benson
JB Joan Beasley, Library Committee Member
JK Jeannie Kays, City Librarian, Palm Desert Library
EM Ella Manor, Library Committee Member
RDK Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
AB Aaron Bonner, Library Committee Member
TK Tonya Kennon, County Librarian
BB Barbara Bowie, Desert Zone Manager, Riverside County Libraries
ES Eileen Strain, Volunteer Coordinator, Palm Desert Library
LK Old Business .... do you have some input on this book drop outside, inside?
. •
LK Wonderful.
SP I have some handouts here.
LK Do you want to join us at the table?
SP So the handouts are rather ... have some information on them that is rather
small, so we did bring in ... we blew up the most pertinent areas to this
discussion, and we also have a large board there. So, feel free to stand
up at any time if you want to read some of the content.
LK Do you have one more because Marilyn...
SP Absolutely.
3
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
LK There are two more people that aren't here.
SP Two more?
LK Well, there are three of us that aren't here...
SP Okay. Here you go.
LK Maybe I can collect them and take them (unclear). Thank you very much.
SP So, first off, I'd like to say that this is a very conceptual sketch, even
though it looks like it's a finished product, okay? It took various ideas to
come to a conclusion of what we're showing here. The first page shows
the entire drawing. We're going to skip that page and go to the second
sheet. And the second sheet ... you see a couple of arrows, one pointing
upwards and the second one kind of slanting towards the left. Right
above those ... those symbolize automobiles. And in between them, what
you see is a book drop with a median that separates the cars traveling.
The dotted lines that you see, that would be a conveyance system above
the vehicles. And then you see the conveyance system going towards the
right. It cross a dark, dashed line ... that's the penetration through the
building. And then you see the dotted squares... that's the book sorter.
So, let me talk a little bit about the conveyance system. So you have two
areas where you can place books, either from incoming traffic or outgoing
traffic. Once you drop it in the bin, the conveyance system senses the
type of book or media it is, and then there are actually two belts, so it
actually can pull the books in a vertical condition and then up and over into
the building. Once it gets into the building, if you turn to the last sheet, this
is an example of the conveyance system and how it could interact with the
book sorter. So it would drop it in between, and then the machine would
do the sorting through RFID.
?? Do the cars go on the planter?
SP So....to answer Ms. Benson's request, we found, we believe, a rather
simplistic but elegant way to accomplish what was done at Rancho
Mirage.
JMB To go into the building.
SP To go into the building.
151
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
JMB I went and looked at it.
SP And actually, I think it's a better solution than what Rancho Mirage has
because what they have is hundreds of feet away from the actual sorting
machine. Here we feel we've combined both the drop-off area with the
book sorter, and it's a rather short distance. Now let's talk about cost.
JB Excuse me, Sergio.
SP Yes.
- - you come up to the front door of
the Library, is that where (unclear) is?
SP We actually did have to modify ... thank you for bringing that up. Right
now, the entire front side of the Library for the City of Palm Desert and the
College is painted red as a fire lane, and it's actually chained off where
you have a pedestrian kind of mall, right? We would need to open that up,
and we would have to talk to the City Fire Department to see if they would
allow cross traffic in that area. Sometimes they don't.
JB It looks to me like the book drop is on the College property in that area.
SP It's actually on our side, but you would have to drive onto their parking
area to be able to get out.
LK (unclear) somebody today who tried to drop a book off at the Rancho
Mirage Library, and she said there's no night drop-off_ She didn't know it's
way at the end of the building, so she didn't even know it was there.
SP I feel we got close to the intent. It's not a very polished solution in terms of
did it figure out every detail that, you know, the structural analysis and the
electrical side of things. But we feel it's close enough for you to make an
assessment of hey, does this fit for our Library. So, at this point, what I'd
like to do is kind of turn it over to Jeannie. She has some statistics for us.
Oh, that's right, before the statistics come out, the bottom line.
JK Before we fall in love with this, tell us the price.
SP Okay. So there are some site improvements, and I did not talk to a
contractor, I did not do unit costs, quantity take -offs, so this is my
5
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING
MARCH 16, 2011
judgment of what it's going to cost. I believe the site improvements are
going to be in the range of about $50,000, and then the equipment costs
of the conveying belts and the structure that goes along with it, about
$100,000. So the total ... about $150,000.
EM How high would it be ... your idea?
SP I would say about ten, eleven feet, enough for your service trucks,
because you do have service trucks coming across here, to get through
with enough clearance. I mean, as high as it needs to be, really.
LK
SP
LK
JB
LK
JB
SP
LK
SP
(Inaudible)
Does COD use this too?
The book drop?
Yes.
They can.
Do the books get...
The books come back to the Library. They're checked out at the front
desk, and they come back.
At the book sorter, we would have a bin that's specifically either non-RFID
or just College books, so it could get incorporated.
Would they consider any of the costs?
Well...
SP We did have a discussion with the College. As required by our current
cooperative agreement, we have to notice them that we're doing
improvements in the Library. In that conversation, they expressed their
limited desire to put monies into the building for the long-term effect of
them building their own facility down the road. So, I'd like to think they
would say no.
RDK And the Fire Marshall has not see this yet.
C
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING
SP No. Yes...
AB Would it be available for walk-up drop-offs?
JB Yes, the real book return is right there to walk up...
MARCH 16, 2011
SP I guess you could. I mean, we could set up like a (unclear) where it only
operates when vehicles drive by so that you don't mix pedestrians with
vehicles like you do in drive-ins ... you do it for safety, or we could leave it
open to both.
JB Well, if somebody's walking, they can walk to the (inaudible). Why would
-._estion. Have you looked at other
libraries that have an exterior book return like we're going to build?
SP There's only one that I know of.
JB I'm wondering if people would put other things in there besides books.
SP Tonya?
TK I don't think any more than they do in our book drop there in the parking
lot because they could feed other things in them as well, so...
JK I read in the fine print here that it has a sensor that it would not allow
anything on fire.
TK They do kind of have kind of a longer neck to prevent reaching in and
taking anything out or putting things of unproportionate sizes, so...
JB I was thinking about other types of things because that has a lot of traffic
there. That sidewalk where that's going to be located, there's a lot of foot
traffic and, you know...
JK Right, that's right where everybody walks through.
JB Right where everybody walks, especially on the (unclear). I don't know, I
shouldn't think that way, but...
SP Any other questions on this? This is really a rough cost estimate, so I'm
hoping the answer is what you asked for, but if we do pursue this, I need
7
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
to rectify myself on the cost. Okay, Jeannie, I think we're ready for your
statistics.
JK Well, and you have this ... the Book Drop Survey ... we just did a real quick
and dirty survey ... let's ask a hundred people what they do, just to see. Of
course, this is not scientific, but the majority of our customers actually
return their items inside. They just bring them in. And some of them even
emphasize, and you'll see here 23 of them, 19% of the people, said that
they hand them to a Library employee (unclear) for example, because
they were concerned that their items wouldn't get checked off their
account. So they wanted to make sure their items were taken off, so out
new self -check -in system would check it in for them. They can see, you
know, check them in, and that should take care of those customers.
JB So this 11 % that do the book drop (unclear)
JK No, we don't get as many items in the book drop, and I didn't count it, you
suggested that I count it, but we haven't done it yet. But the number of
items in the book return outside are nowhere near the (unclear)
JB (unclear) 32,000 items (unclear)
JK Right. So, we do get a few hundred items, I would estimate, but...
JB I mean, if you think the average person puts four books in there, and
you're taking out two to three hundred a day, then (unclear). I've had a
few people come up to me this week and say you're not going to do away
with the book drop, are you?
LK This is kind of you talking to people in the Library. You've got to talk to
people that are out.
JK But these are the people checking out. They're the ones leaving the
Library with books, so we don't know where they're going to return them.
We just surveyed 100, actually 121 random people, not as they returned
because then we would know. Barbara has a story.
BB We left this meeting last month and went back to the Library and were
walking in, and a car drives up in the parking lot and gets as close to
where this system that Sergio... parked right there, the wife gets out of the
car while he sits in the car, she walks with her books down to the book
drop, put her books in, came back, and went all the way down to the front
Ni
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
of the Library and went in to the Library to get a request that she had
waiting for her. So, as far ... I mean, she could have carried her books in to
the Library and returned them there. But we had to chuckle over it.
JB Well, you know what, I think it's a service issue. I mean, if we build this
Library and repair it, and then we don't do this, and then the community is
a little upset, it's too late after that. You know, I mean if there are a lot of
people that complain. So it's kind of tricky. (unclear)
LK Well, I would like to iterate what I said last week, or last month. Is the
purpose (unclear) to serve the community or is it to make it a little simpler
for the Library? I feel the other does a service to the community. I don't
"pith that many books that are in the
book drop, people are using it, so...
JK Well, but we're installing an alternative right there on the sidewalk...
JB That's true.
JK ...so it's ten feet further for them to walk. It's not that we're eliminating
exterior returns at all. We're installing a really high-tech one, a state-of-
the-art system that will check it in right away.
LK But that's for you, not for the...
JK No, it's for the customer, too. It's to give them...
JB They can use it when the Library is closed.
JK Yes, they can use it when the Library is closed.
BB And it gets the books back on the shelf...
JK Faster.
BB Much faster.
JK And Bobbie made a really good point last month that, you know, not just...
the way that it is serving the community better if we're saving them money
by not installing them. You know, we can do whatever, we can come to a
compromise on this, but I'm not, you know, it's not "my way or the
highway" but we were trying to present you with some options that would
0
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING
MARCH 16, 2011
bring us up to date technologically and in addition save us some money by
putting a duplicated system, redundant (unclear) save everybody a lot of
different things — time, money, convenience — and it would bring all the
items back to the shelf a lot faster, too.
ES And, Jeannie, it would save the books from being damaged...
JK Yes, the books and the videos.
ES They don't care...
LK (unclear) Jeannie says, if they're damaged, then you charge them.
BB They may not be the person who damaged it.
LK Well, whoever it's checked out to.
BB No, no, it might be the person whose books went in after that that
damaged the book.
JK Right, that smashed it.
ES Louise, I used to open the bins, and the books would be opened, and stuff
was on top of them, and they would take plastic bags with books in them,
push it in, and drop it. And they're ruining the books, and they're ruining
the videos, because sometimes the video cases are cracked because it's
a lot of weight. The video case is on the bottom, and you get tons of
books on top.
LK Well, they're not supposed to put them in there.
JMB Well, I think it takes some education, but I don't know why a sticker can't
be on the movies, "These cannot be returned in the outdoor box." It might
take a while to get them to do it, but if they're checking it out, they certainly
would read that notice. If they know they're going to get fined for
something if it's found in that box, the one that's checked it out is the one
that dropped it in there.
LK There was a sign on the bins that...
JMB On the movie itself.
10
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
LK But on the bin as you put them in.
JMB And on the bin as well not to drop them in there.
JK Well, our new system will eliminate the damage and the need for the
education because they're going to go right in the building and get sorted.
JMB I think the whole thing is going to need education as far as the new
system. When I went down to Rancho Mirage, the people were lined up to
put the books in that because they couldn't figure out what they were
doing, and I thought well, you've got more problems than an outside drop
if you don't know how to work the inside one.
EM We will need that even at the self -checkout at first.
LK The Rancho Mirage self -checkout is not being used.
(inaudible)
AB I agree about the convenience (unclear). I think it would be beneficial for
the overall community. They won't have to worry about not getting the
books (unclear) ... if I'm in class and I have some books to return (unclear)
if I'm going to walk up because my car is parked all the way over in the
other parking lot. That is my only concern.
SIP I can answer that. You don't either have (unclear) or the one at the side of
the building. You still have the one on the side of the building where you
can always walk up, and that'll be 24/7. So long as you have a book with
an RFID tag to open up, you can (unclear)_
AB Overall, I think it's a great idea (unclear).
SP Well, I'd like to propose ... I know I'm not on the (unclear) ... is that the
proper term? That, you know, if we don't have an agreement, that you
can still defer this decision further down the road. We can move ahead.
We can leave the book drops, or book bins, fixture, one book bin. We
would replace the three with the one, per request, and if there's a
consensus down the road, then maybe we can modify what we have right
now. But I would hate for us to linger on a topic for too long.
LK Are you suggesting that we have one outdoor bin, is that what you are
suggesting?
11
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
SP Correct.
EM I would suggest that we do away with all of them, and I make that a
motion.
LK We have a motion on the floor to do away with all the outside bins. Is
there any ... what's the next procedure? Do we discuss it?
RDK A second, and then discussion.
LK Is somebody going to second that?
JB It dies for lack of a second. I think Sergio's suggestion that we get busy
with the renovation approval and that, if nothing else, we keep one for
people that have to have one, and then we don't have to build all the
special stuff on the outside and change the parking and the driving
(unclear)
LK Do you want to make a motion?
JB I make a motion that we approve the plans for the renovation of the
Library, with the stipulation that perhaps one book bin would be kept for
those people who feel they need to be able to put a book in it.
LK I'll second that motion. All in favor.
JB Aye
AB Aye
LK Aye
EM Aye
LK All opposed. Ella?
EM No, I voted for it.
LK Oh, did you vote for it? Is that a unanimous vote, then?
RDK Yes.
12
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
LK Alright.
JB I think we have to move this along and start getting approvals and bids or
we're going to be in trouble.
SP Yes, yes, and yes.
B. UPDATE ON LIBRARY REFRESH PROJECT
=ran�a ipt of thic., � portion of the meeting:
Key
LK
Louise Kermode, Library Committee Chair
SP
Sergio Pena, Riverside County Economic Development Agency
AR
Andrea Redewill, Holt Architects
JB
Joan Beasley, Library Committee Member
JK
Jeannie Kays, City Librarian, Palm Desert Library
EM
Ella Manor, Library Committee Member
LC
Lois Cardona, Library Committee Member
RDK
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
JMB
Councilmember Jean M. Benson
LK Is there any more discussion? We have some pictures and things to see
SP Yes, absolutely. At this point, I'd like to give Andrea a couple of minutes
to set up. What you're going to see is ... well, let me talk about the design
process. We have a project, and we have a design process. We start
with the program, all the things you want, the schematic design. We start
putting these conceptual ideas together and seeing if the whole program
fits together, if you like it, design development, we start bringing in the
finishes and the materials and start putting them together. Between that
stage and construction documents, we do some renderings to see if we
like what it looks like.
LK A little louder, please.
13
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
SP Between design development and construction documents, we do some
renderings to see if it's exactly what we want, but that doesn't mean this is
it. We still have about 60% to go. So what you see here is our good
attempt to illustrate what we have to date.
AR I brought the actual color boards because sometimes actual images distort
the colors a bit.
(Note: Committee Member Lois Cardona arrived at 3:55 p.m.)
AR The first image that you see here is an image of the marketplace area,
which we talked about quite a bit, and over here, to my right ... the
combination of really just opening up the space and adding a lot of display
and seating and kind of giving it that bookstore feel for people to browse
the new books, the audio, the CD's... a strong combination of different
types of furniture, not only for display but as well as to provide a place for
Jeannie and her staff to really store all of these items that get circulated
quite frequently. The majority of this area will be where the higher
circulating material shelves and CD's, audio books, new books, new
releases and such...
JB Is this section of the Library from walking in the door through where
(inaudible) is now?
AR Well, this section here is actually where the current circulation desk is...
JB And that door at the back, is that door to the staff room?
AR Yes. So this window and door is actually in the staff room, so as you enter
the Library today, you don't actually see this because it's all blocked off.
So with the changes that we've made in the program and the plan, it will
actually open this area to add some natural light from that area from the
existing window that we can take advantage of.
LK May I make a comment on this...
AR Sure
LK On the third picture ... I don't happen to like the blue in the third picture.
(inaudible)
14
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
LK Well, I don't know ... I'm just saying that blue...
SP Is too bright. We got it, we agree.
LK On the computer section, that's okay (inaudible) in my eyes
AR We can maybe talk about all the images as we go through. All the
feedback is welcome. There's also kind of (inaudible) the checkout area
here will have regular height as well as accessible height for others.
There will be six stations total; two of those will be lower at an acceptable
height (unclear) that area. There's a lot of just a mixture of seating and
browsing area, and I think it's going to really open up that spacing
:ind Sergio mentioned, the
materials... they're representative ... they may not be the exact pattern or
color, but the tones, the general tones, and such are kind of representative
back to our color board that we presented to you at the last meeting.
JB Where is the slider that shuts off the public library when they have it
closed? Is it behind that...
AR You can't see it. It's more over in this direction. It's not in that view per
se.
LK Andrea, what is this thing that says "CD's?"
AR That will be a CD carrel, which is kind of like a stand, a stand-up CD carrel
that you put through the CD's that will be encased in there. Underneath,
we're proposing to have storage as well for Jeannie and her staff to have
additional space for the inventory on the floor.
LK And that will accommodate all our CD's?
AR Yes. That's one of the things we will make sure that we're
accommodating all her storage needs. We have numbers of all that
inventory, and we'll look at capacity further of all the furniture that's being
proposed to make sure she has sufficient space because there is a lot of
material to house, and we want to do it in a way that's appealing both for
the users as well as for the people operating the Library. Does anyone
have any questions on the check-out area, or the marketplace area?
Okay, moving on to the ... this is just a view of ... you're coming in the
marketplace area, and you turn right towards the City side of the Library,
you start walking through, and one of the areas that you'll see on your
15
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
right side, which is the computer area ... I believe we're going to have 40
computer stations. It's going to be a great impact and a great upgrade to
your library. (unclear) seating and stacks, some nice furniture and
complementary colors (unclear) really opens up the Library.
SP Probably something to note, because I know when you see this you
see ... when I see this, I think of a lot of people, a lot of action, very vividly.
So if you move back towards the space onto the left-hand side, that's
where your quiet area is, and you have your study rooms, your ... what's
the...
JK The non-fiction room?
SP Thank you.
(Inaudible)
JK Southeast end of the Library.
SP We do understand this generates a lot more noise.
AR This is going to be, you know, kind of where more activity happens. You
have the computer area adjacent to your kids' area, a little more activity,
as Sergio said. As you go further into the Library and over to the left,
that's where you have a quieter area, your periodical section, your group
study area, as well as the area where there'll be individual study carrels
and additional seating as well.
JB Where will the reference...
AR The Reference Desk, and again, it's not exactly in this view, but it will be
right behind, basically, the bank of computers, between the computer
section and the stacks will be a large reference area as well as the search
computers and....kind of right back in this area ... really central as well as
allows for a lot of visibility from the Reference Desk to the rest of the
Library.
JB How about the ... we have a person who kind of answers questions now
and shows people how to do (unclear) We have somebody up at the front
who kind of does that when people come in.
AR The Welcome Desk?
16
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
JB Yes
AR That will be part of the ... in the marketplace area, again, towards the right
as you first enter the Library. It's actually... before you kind of get to this
section, we'll have basically almost two stations that kind of work together
into one desk, and one will be for the kind of welcome staff person,
answer those questions, and the other two people or two stations at that
station will be customer service, service -oriented assistance that you will
provide.
SIP Would you like to see that? I don't have something to show visually for
"A +c A- if it's okay ... for those that
would like to see the most current plan, we have an extra copy, and we
can kind of answer some of those questions. I think what our intent today
in giving you an update is to show you the quality of the space, the feeling
of the space, and how it generally functions. I think the most striking thing
about all of the computers is that on the right-hand side, you're going to
have a Reference Desk. On the left-hand side of it, you're going to have
the Welcome Desk, with the two...
JK It's going to be our circulation desk, and we're going to call it Customer
Service because they will issue Library cards and take care of (unclear)
AR And also, it's in close proximity to your self -check-out area as well
(unclear) can check out and can be easily accessible to anyone having
any issues or questions.
SIP If I could maybe add a couple of differences between how the Library is
now and how it is planned to be. Circulation desk is getting smaller;
reference desk is getting smaller. The reasons for that is that now we
have people checking out by themselves, kind of like ... has anyone been
to Home Depot or somewhere where you check out on your own? You're
now able to do that here. And so, we're hoping that that frees up Library
staff to help people in the Library instead of just checking out books. And
same with Reference, we're hoping that ... we're creating a small work area
so that the people that actually work there are helping the patrons instead
of just hanging out behind the desk.
AR So moving on to the teen place ... we have a combination of just some fun
seating and booths. There's a pretty limited space, but it's something that
you guys haven't had before in a really defined space that's personalized
17
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING
MARCH 16, 2011
for the teens. The blue is a little bright and, again, these are somewhat
representative, but I can promise you it won't be that bright when it
actually gets done.
JB (unclear) now with the Reference Desk.
AR Correct, right in that back corner. So on this, if you look at (unclear) back
in this corner back here. This is kind of an up close enlarged version.
And just some fun seating for them to really kind of gather and ... there's
some privacy a little bit but not too much, so there's still a lot of
supervisory visual angles and such ... there are some strong sight lines to
that area, but it still gives them a strong place to gather and do homework
or, you know, just have fun. Does anyone have any questions in that
area? Lastly, we don't have a rendering of this area, but I believe it's one
of those sections at our last meeting where we kind of ... the children's
area, and making sure that it wasn't going to be too boring or....but we're
still incorporating some fun things, and these are just some images and
such of some of the things we'll be incorporating into that area to really
give it some light ... some cute chairs with different animal cutouts and
some fun pieces, stools and such. We have these chairs ... I've got some
of the fabrics that I can show you ... just out in that area ... some fun shapes
and geometric colors to really liven it up. From the computers, and for the
early learners, we'll have a small computer station. You know, the
technology for kids is a little more catered to help them learn ... color -coded
keyboards and it's just really catering to bringing them up to speed and
really them learn and educate them in the space that they have. A
combination of seating to encourage not only just children to sit within the
area but also parents and kids who are there with the children, to sit
together, to read together... book bins, which again, they're seeing kind of
cutout areas, animals ... and just play with what is existing. We have a
beautiful mural that we don't want to overshadow, and whatever we put in
that area we just want to complement the space as well as the blue skies
and such that are also in the Library itself in that children's area. Any
questions? Do you kind of like where it's going, or...
JB Good job. Thank you for putting this together so we can see it.
EM I like it.
AR It brings it a little more ... we look at plans every day, and sometimes it's
hard to visualize until you really start seeing it in three dimensions and all
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
the hard work that everyone is putting forth in making decisions, and it's
really coming to life.
EM Nice fabric, and it won't show the dirt.
AR That's definitely something... there's been a lot of consideration into the
type of materials, the colors, and to really make sure that what we're
putting into the Library is going to last and is not going to be stained or...
LC These fabrics are for the children's room?
AR Yes, those are some that are being proposed in that area.
LC These are really good. I'm a retired teacher. You have ovals, you have
rectangles, you have squares, and here, you have triangles of various
sizes, and diamonds... this is good.
AR Well, I'm really glad you like it. And that's exactly kind of where the ideas
were coming from. It's something a little more playful, and in the adult
area is a little more sophistication, but in the kids' area is an opportunity to
really bring in some shapes and colors and really brighten it up.
SIP Unless there are any other questions... I'd like to say thank you. I know it's
very difficult on a remodel to show the impacts we're doing. New
buildings, I believe, are a little easier. You can show, you know, the entire
effect of where the dollars are going. On remodels, it's a little harder to
do. I think you've done a good job. Thank you. 1 appreciate you coming
out.
AR You're welcome.
LK And I want to thank you for all this work you've done.
JK Could you pass around the adult fabrics?
AR Oh, yes ... I'm sorry.
JK They are very nice. If you could put the color board up.
AR Back on this main place area ... this section over here, the seating area
that's adjacent to the courtyard, right now you kind of walk by that, and
we've really opened that area up to allow for some really nice seating.
19
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
And this fabric here is proposed in that area. It's mainly a blue color, and
it looks really great with the carpet sample ... some nice pattern to it as
well, but nothing too busy. We don't want to overwhelm the space. And
then these chairs here ... there's kind of ... we're in between either this kind
of color or maybe more of a brown. We're showing in the renderings a
more darker color, which again should help with staining or discoloration
over time. There's a pattern to it, so it allows a lot of variation, but it's still
kind of yet to be determined but something that will be complementary.
And what's not shown on these chairs is that these chairs will actually
have tablets on them so that when you're sitting down, there's almost like
a half table on top of the arm for you to read or place your book on or if
you want to write.
LK They're always right-handed, too.
AR We'll make sure we're catering to the lefties as well. And then ... this is a
sample of the fabric that's shown in the marketplace area right now. It's a
combination of just different colors that really, really complement... the
strongest area, and you can see it very well here, is this existing (unclear)
that's to remain, and that's been something that we've really worked
around and really tried to bring in and complement because it's such a
strong presence in the Library that you really can't ignore, so we'll use it to
benefit the space.
JK I just wanted to comment about the one that almost looks like fish in the
marketplace. The way it's on here is not exactly how we talked about it.
We talked about doing a solid color on the seats, the seat and the back,
and then just have the arms with the pattern, so it's not overwhelming.
EM I'm not crazy about that fabric
JK I think if we put it on the side ... it's not my favorite one, either, but we
talked about putting a really nice solid color that would dominate the view,
the visual, aspect of it. And then this would just be on the sides of the
chair and the backs. A little excitement but not as much as shown here
because these look almost like the chairs (unclear)
AR And we'll take a look at that and see. These are just examples. Again,
they're not necessarily set in stone, but they're to give a general idea of
what is being proposed. Thank you again.
all
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
SP Okay. I'll leave this behind, if that's okay. It'll show the updates up to last
week.
JB Sergio, what is the next step to take?
SP Well, we do plan to now show the City Council our progress to date.
RDK Next Thursday.
SP I believe we wanted to have a consensus with this group first before we
went to that group, and I believe now we have that. So, we'll show this to
the City of Palm Desert Council, the contract. I still have to talk about
,._....-... . - ,.., :such time we have. I know...
RDK We have the Mayor on our side.
SP So maybe you can (unclear).
JMB You probably... maybe they'd want to do it like two, like we do so many
other presentations, do it at two o'clock, two to three...
RDK We've got it scheduled for next Thursday... there's already a Study
Session this coming Thursday with the CVA...
JMB Yes
RDK ...but I will have an item on the Agenda to ... a status update on the project.
I've included a schematic in the report and some of the finishes. We've
got that ready. And then...
JMB And how long does that take?
RDK Would he have 15 minutes? As it looks now, we don't have a very large
Agenda, not huge, so would 15 minutes... how does that sound?
JMB That's alright with me if it does him ample time.
RDK 15 or 20 minutes?
SP We'll structure our presentation accordingly. What we want to do is we
want to make sure we make the City of Palm Desert as involved as
requested. So if get the feeling from the City -- hey you guys are doing a
21
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
great job, keep going — and so, they really just want like a two -minute
"hey, is there any problems" kind of update. So that's a little different than
I think what we're doing here, where we get into a little bit more detail.
JMB I would think 15-20 minutes you'd be fine.
SP Okay.
JMB Any longer and they just get antsy.
AR And I think we were wanting to speak about ... I mean, this will be the first
time they're really hearing about some of the things that we've discussed.
So kind of the background behind how we've gotten to where we have.
The automated system is a big topic that I think they'd be very interested
in as well as the LEED aspect of the project, the LEED certification that
we're moving forward with.
RDK The Council has been receiving all of your approved minutes on an
ongoing basis, so they've been getting those in their packets right along.
SP Great. Would it be safe to say that we have the advisory committee's
backing on the project to date?
(Committee Members nodded their heads in agreement)
SP Great. So aside from the City of Palm Desert, we have a notice that we
need to send out to the College of the Desert, and we're planning as part
of that notice to tie in a few things that we felt were loose ends on the
cooperative agreement. And we also are getting ready, in about a month,
I would say two to four weeks, to submit to the County Board of
Supervisors a request for approval of the plans and specs for
authorization to bid. So, that is happening before we have approval from
the State Division of Architect, but that's how we're able to start in July.
We have to stagger these approvals.
JMB Is there any indication that you can start earlier now if we're going to close
it?
SP Well, I've been thinking about that. My general frame of mind today is that
we don't close down until I have a construction contract executed by the
Board of Supervisors. I feel like we could close down the Library in about
two weeks. Two weeks to close down and move them to the Sheriff's
22
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING
MARCH 16, 2011
basement. And I feel I can do those two weeks after the contract is
awarded because if I (unclear) we could extend the closure, and I don't
want to do that.
JMB So we do have the Sheriff's Substation to put books in?
SP So far so good. We just need to make sure that we have enough space
for everything we have, and it looks like we do because we're not keeping
a lot...
JMB And that's controlled climate in there.
SP We have to figure out the logistics of how to get down there, but we'll
figure that out. Does that answer your question?
JB Yes, it does. Thank you.
SP You're welcome.
JB Cross your fingers that everything goes well in Sacramento.
SP I do have a question for the group. We've been coming almost on a
monthly basis, which 1 feel is a good thing. I get to say hello to everyone,
so thank you. Do I need to envision that going forward, or do I need to
bring Andrea? I don't know how much more we need to present. A lot of
the work left is kind of back of the house stuff that engineers get involved
with. Do you want to hear that?
JMB Maybe if you gave a written progress to Rachelle to put on the Agenda or
attach to the Agenda.
SP Okay.
JMB For every other meeting...
SP Okay. I'd be happy to come. I'm just asking the question.
JMB I don't think there's a need for you to come down from Riverside as long
as there's a progress report.
23
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
SP Okay, thank you, I appreciate that.
JMB And then when you feel it's necessary, then....so we don't forget what you
look like.
SP I think that the points in time where'd I like to come by and say a few
words are maybe when the bids come in...
JMB Yes, right.
SP And, you know, an explanation of where the budget is. I think that's a
great time because the question there is going to be, okay, not when you
start but when you finish. So I'd like to have the answer for that as well.
So thank you, everyone, for having us.
LK Alright, we're ready to go to Section VIII.....
Vill. REPORTS AND REMARKS
A. Council Liaison (Mayor Jean Benson)
►=
B. Librarian (Jeannie Kays)
Ms. Kays distributed copies of the Palm Desert Public Library
Statistics Comparison for February 2006 — February 2011. She
also noted the following:
-- Teddy Bear Sleepover tonight, March 16, 2011 — children are
encouraged to bring their teddy bears to the Library, and the bears
will stay overnight for an adventure. Photos will be taken of the
bears enjoying the many fun activities that have been planned for
them, and the children will return the next day to retrieve their
bears.
-- April 6, 2011, is the 13th Annual "Libraries are Fun" festival. It is
also being called the "Dia de los Ninos" and "Dia de los Libros". In
the past, there have been two celebrations, and this year it will be
combined into one big event to celebrate children, the books, and
the Library. The celebration will feature Magician Joel Ward.
24
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
-- The Library is participating with In-N-Out Burger, which is doing
its annual cover to cover reading club. When children read five
books, they receive a certificate for a free burger, and they can
earn up to three coupons for that.
-- The Library recently participated with a movie promotion
company for the movie "Rango". Children had an opportunity to
win a screening for 100 of their friends. She said the Palm Desert
Library did have one child win a runner-up Toys-R-Us $20 gift card.
C. Special Events Coordinator (Robin Stewart)
' .-us winding down its adult programs.
Many of the patrons and people who had been attending the
program were leaving the Valley, as evidenced by attendance
numbers. Approximately 50-60 people attended the last Chef
Series as opposed to 175 that had attended other events.
Approximately 60 people attended the Dr. Gudelunas series held
the last two weeks.
Going forward, more cost-effective programs were being
considered for April and May, things that are fun but don't cost a lot
of money; i.e., the Mango foreign language program, a career and
resume webinar in May, a blood drive in May, etc.
Ms. Stewart stated that the Library was in a little bit of a standstill
right now as far as planning programs for next year, as it was not
known right now when the Library will reopen after the
remodel/refresh. She noted, however, that the chefs and the
musicians who had participated in the programs this year wanted to
come back next year.
D. Volunteer Coordinator (Eileen Strain)
Ms. Strain reported the following for February:
Volunteers: 55
Volunteer Hours: 516
Homebound: 10
Visits: 6
Items delivered: 31
25
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
She also noted four adult and six teen volunteers were assisting
with the Teddy Bear Sleepover, as Library staff was expecting
approximately 60 children to participate.
E. Friends of the Palm Desert Library (Joan Beasley)
Ms. Beasley noted that the Friends were still selling books, income
was staying about the same, and staff had been very frugal this
year.
Ms. Stewart stated that April 19th was the 15th Birthday of the Palm
Desert Library, and there was going to be some sort of celebration
to recognize that milestone.
Ms. Kays said she felt the celebration should be something small,
and a larger event would be planned for the reopening of the
Library following the remodel. She said she was thinking about
having cookies and perhaps gathering up some door prizes to give
away to people who come in that day.
Ms. Klassen stated that the City's Visitor Center could provide
some items to use as door prizes, and she asked that Ms. Kays let
her know how many are needed.
F. Budget Subcommittee (Ella Manor/Bobbie Rosenberg)
Ms. Bowie stated that everyone was just waiting to see what the
State of California decides about the budget. As it stands now,
there will be no funding for the literacy program. In addition, the
reimbursement program for the sharing of books between libraries
was being eliminated. For example, if a patron finds a book in
Rancho Mirage and it comes over to Palm Desert, then Rancho
Mirage would receive funds from the State. The libraries would still
be expected to share the books, even though neither would receive
any funds for that. She added that there was Public Library
Foundation money, given to each public library in the State to help
with their general budgets, and it had been communicated that
those funds were being eliminated as well. Elimination of these
three programs would have a major impact on all of the libraries in
the State.
26
APPROVED MINUTES
PALM DESERT LIBRARY
PROMOTION COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 16, 2011
G. Committee Chair (Louise Kermode)
None
H. Committee Members
None
I. Staff
IX. ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Kermode moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Motion was
seconded by Member Beasley and carried by a 5-0 vote of the Committee.
Mary P. aC ss, Recording Secretary
27