HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 1994.06.21 BURL(NGAME '
Burlingame Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes
June 21st, 1994
Call To Order:
The meeting of June 21st, 1994 was called to order by President Taylor at
4:30pm.
Trustees Present: Cannon, Dunbar, Herman, Robertson & Taylor
Trustees Absent: None
Staff Present: Mr. Alfred Escoffier, City Librarian
Mrs.Judy Gladysz, Administrative Secretary
Others Present: Marti Knight, Burlingame Resident
Bills:
M/S/C (Robertson/Dunbar) unanimously to approve the payment of City
and Special Fund checks.
Minutes of the Meeting of May 17th, 1994:
The Minutes were approved as written and ordered filed.
Correspondence and Communication:
Correspondence was mailed in the Trustee packets. Trustee Dunbar asked
Librarian Escoffier about the "realized" and "unrealized" losses to the Duncan Fund
maintained by the Peninsula Community Foundation. Librarian Escoffier showed
the Board the Financial Audit. President Taylor asked Librarian Escoffier to write a
letter to the Foundation and request a clearer explanation.
Reports:
City Librarian's Report
During budget hearings, Mayor O'Mahony suggested that Burlingame
contribute to Project Read as a part of community contributions. Burlingame is the
only library on the peninsula that does not offer a contract for such a program. The
Board members said that they unanimously support Project Read and would like to
see Burlingame contribute.
�- 480 Primrose Road • Burlingame, CA 94010083 • (415) 342-1038 9 Fax (415) 342-1948
Trustee Herman made a motion for Mr. Escoffier to write a letter of behalf of
the Library Board to City Council requesting funds for Project Read. The Motion
was seconded by Trustee Cannon and carried. Librarian Escoffier will request
further information and statistics on the program from the San Mateo Library
Director.
System Advisory Board: Trustee Cannon
Trustee Cannon gave a brief report regarding the goals of the System
Advisory Board.
Foundation Task Force: Trustees Herman & Cannon
Trustee Herman said the Task Force has made a tremendous amount of
progress. She said she was happy to report that there are 9 Board members already;
Loretta Blevins, Former Library Commissioner; Midge Bolton, former Peninsula
Foundation Board Chairman; David Campbell, CEO of Burlingame Bank and
Trust; Sheri Galvin, Friends President; John Root, Director of the San Mateo
County Fairgrounds and Expo Center; Lailee Van Dillen, Author; Don Roberts,
Attorney; Mary Herman, Library Trustee and Kris Cannon, Library Trustee. She
said that Librarian Escoffier is Board Member, ex-officio. Trustee Herman said the
Task Force is still looking for a few more members. Librarian Escoffier thanked
them for all of their hard work and support.
Unfinished Business:
Trustee's Mailboxes
Librarian Escoffier asked the Trustees if they preferred to have items in their
mailboxes or mailed. President Taylor said that they prefer to keep their mailboxes
the way they are and only have the Board packets and other important, timely
things, sent to them in order to save postage.
New Business:
a. Election of Officers for July 1994 -June 1995: Trustee Cannon nominated
Secretary Robertson for President, and Trustee Dunbar for Secretary. Trustee
Herman seconded the nomination and it was unanimously carried. President
Taylor thanked everyone for all the support she received during her year as
President.
b. Holiday Closures: Librarian Escoffier reviewed holiday schedules. The day
after Thanksgiving is an expensive day to remain open. He suggested the Board
may wish to consider closing on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Trustee Cannon felt
very strongly about remaining open. She stated that if the library closes the day
after Thanksgiving that it would be difficult to reopen at a later date. She noted a
similar situation with the Branch schedule. They gave up hours and now they are
unable to get them back. The other Board members concurred.
Page 2
c. Temporary Quarters: Librarian Escoffier brought the Board up to date on
temporary quarters for the library during construction. He asked the Board
members for input regarding criteria for temporary quarters.
Trustee Cannon stated that a major priority would be to maintain the current
�- level of service that the library now provides. She further stated that during
construction it is important that the Library maintain goodwill and keep the public
as happy as possible during the transitional phase.
Trustee Dunbar asked about "'closed vs. open" stacks. Librarian Escoffier
explained that closed stacks are stacks that the public does not have access to. Staff
retrieve books for the public. This allows a smaller space in which to house the
books and the stacks would not have to meet ADA requirements. This type of book
arrangement is labor intensive however.
The Board members felt that "closed stacks" would not allow the public to
"browse", as they're used to doing. A large portion of users go directly to the stacks.
Trustee Herman said she thought parking is a big issue. She would like to
have enough parking for the convenience of the patrons.
Librarian Escoffier handed out a fact sheet on "Space Requirements" to the
Board members. Trustee Cannon asked how much space would be needed to
accommodate the entire collection. Librarian Escoffier said it's possible to maintain
open stacks, service desks and staff offices in 20,000 square feet.
On the issue of dividing the collection, Trustee Cannon asked how one
would go about deciding which part of the collection would stay and which part
would not. Librarian Escoffier explained that this task (dividing the collection) is
extremely labor intensive. Staff has to pull each book to be stored, change the data
base to reflect the status, store the books; when the construction is finished staff
would need to reverse the process, update the database and reintegrate the books.
There was some discussion regarding the possibilities of putting modulars on
one of two parking lots; either Ralston or near Howard between Park & Lorton. The
Board felt that the Howard parking lot, although larger than the Ralston lot, might
inconvenience those who use that parking lot more than Ralston. Ralston
however, might not allow enough patron parking.
Trustee Cannon noted that the Board and staff have been working on
temporary quarter options for the past 4-5 months. She reviewed the six options
developed to date.
(page 5
After further discussion, the Board members agreed: Priorities for Interim
Operations are:
a. Large enough to house the entire collection and services
b. Accessible location,with parking
`-- c. Maintain an "open stack" policy for materials.
d. Maintain current service levels
e. Maintain current service hours (73 hours per week)
f. Maintain current staffing levels
g. Operate more hours at the Easton Drive Branch Library for user
convenience
From the Floor:
Adjournment:
The meeting of June 21st, 1994 was adjourned at 6:15pm. The next regular
Board meeting will be held on July 19th at 4:30 in the Duncan Annex.
Respectfully submitted,
Alfred H. Escoffier
City Librarian
06/22/94 Minutes-June
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