HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 2001.04.17 ' r BURLIIYGAME I
I I
B U R L I N G A M f
L P U B L I C
LIBRARY
Burlingame Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes
April 17, 2001
I. Call to Order
The meeting of April 17, 2001 was called to order by President
Cecile Coar at 4:30 pm.
II. Roll Call
Trustees Present: Cecile Coar, Jane Dunbar, Andrew
Gurthet, Mary Herman
Trustees Absent: Jeff Berger
City Attorney: Larry Anderson
Staff Present: Alfred Escoffier, City Librarian
Sidney Poland, Recorder
IX. New Business
E. Easter Sunday Closure - Trustee Dunbar proposed a
motion to change the order of the agenda and move the discussion
of Easter Sunday closure to the first item of business. M/S/C
(Dunbar/Herman).
1. Easter Closure Inquiry - City Librarian, Al Escoffier,
stated that the reason for agendizing the subject of Easter closure
resulted from an inquiry made by David Johnson to the Mayor, Joe
Galligan, and subsequently to Board President, Cecile Coar. Mr.
Johnson questioned whether closing the Library Easter Sunday
and not on Passover constituted a violation of the Constitution
based on church and state provisions.
4 8 0 P r i m r o s e R o a d • Bu r 1 i n g a m e • CA 9 4 0 1 0 - 4 0 8 3
Phone ( 650 ) 342 - 1038 • Fax ( 650 ) 342 - 1948 • www . pls . lib . ca . us / pls / pls . html
2. Constitutional Issues - City Attorney, Larry Anderson,
�- stated that the following three key questions had to be considered
when dealing with the issue of Easter Sunday closure:
a. Is there a clearly secular purpose? Is the Easter closing
being done for a clearly governmental purpose?
b. Is the primary effect of the closing to advance a religion or
a religious belief?
c. Is there an excessive entanglement with a religion?
Mr. Anderson cited two court cases to illustrate to the Trustees
how these above questions were interpreted by the court.
3. Areas of Discussion - Some specific factors considered by the
Trustees in reviewing Easter Sunday closure were as follows:
a. Closure - The Burlingame Library has closed Easter
Sunday for at least the past 30 years and most likely longer. All
PLS Libraries are closed on Easter Day.
b. Cost - Opening Easter Day would cost approximately
double the cost of a regular Sunday; staff would have to be paid at
a premium rate. Also, additional costs for HVAC and electricity
would be a concern.
c. Staffing - To staff on Easter Sunday would require a
"meet and confer" session for employee bargaining groups since
this holiday falls under the "past practice" category for the City.
d. Traffic - Traffic is anticipated to be much lower than on a
regular Sunday due to Easter activities both of a religious and non-
religious nature.
4. Board Action
a. The Trustees agreed to defer further discussion on this
matter until the May meeting when Trustee Berger can be
present.
b. President Coar will contact Mr. Johnson to advise him
that the Library Board of Trustees is in the process of discussing
his inquiry.
c. The City Librarian will find out if San Francisco Public
Library is open on Easter Sunday.
III Warrants & Special Fund
The Trustees unanimously agreed to approve the warrants as
presented. M/S/C (Herman/Gurthet)
Library Board of Trustee Minutes 2
April 17, 2001
IV. Minutes
�-' The Trustees unanimously agreed to approve the minutes of the
March 20, 2001 meeting. M/S/C (Herman/Gurthet)
V. Correspondence
Correspondence mailed in the packets was reviewed.
A. Filtering and Federal Funds - Larry Anderson referred
to Alameda County Superior Court Case No. V-015266-4 Kathleen
R. et al, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. City of Livermore, Defendant
and Respondent which the Trustees reviewed at the March
meeting. He advised that Congress is not passing a law about
filters. The legislation states that if a public entity wants federal
money it has to filter certain Internet websites. The Burlingame
Library is fortunate in that it does not need federal funding The
Library is supported entirely by local funds.
VI. From the Floor (Public Comments) None
VII. Reports
A. City Librarian's Report - Al Escoffier
The City Librarian reviewed his report highlighting the following
issues.
1. Budget - The Library budget has been submitted to
the City Manager with a total increase of 11% from last year.
2. Easton Branch - Hal Brandes of Dahankar Brandes
Architects has submitted a proposal for the Easton Branch
renovation.
3. Energy Update - A cost estimate to rewire the 24
hour lights through the software program is underway. The
purpose of the project is to reduce wattage used by the
Library when it is closed.
B. Foundation Report - Mary Herman
Merger of the Friends of the Library and the Foundation
should be completed by the end of 2001.
C. System Advisory Board Report - Mary Lou Morton
Mary Lou Morton informed the Trustees of the new pilot
Internet service program known as Q and A Cafe (Questions and
Answers) 80 Librarians have currently been trained. San Bruno,
and Tiburon are the beta sites for the program. Since librarians
have training in doing research and accessing search engines, the
information should be a reliable resource for public access. The
program will eventually offer 24/7 service.
Library Board of Trustee Minutes 3
April 17,2001
VIII. Unfinished Business
A. Change of Board Meeting Date - The May 131h Board
meeting will be changed to May 22nd. M/S/C (Herman/Gurthet)
B. Donor Wall - Andrew Bradford of Copper Iron Designs, Inc.
will visit the Library on April 26th to measure the pillars for the
new donor wall vine.
C. Generator - A generator for the library will be requested in
the Capital Improvement Program for 2002.
IX. New Business -
A. Legislative Breakfast - This event will be held Saturday,
April 28, 2001.
B. Volunteer Tea - A "Thank You" tea for all of the Library
volunteers will be held April 18th.
C. ALA Attendance - The annual ALA conference will be held
at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco June 14-June
20, 2001. Events for Library Trustees will be held on the weekend.
D. Joint Meeting Agenda Items - The Trustees will meet with
the City Council May 7, 2001 at 6:30pm to discuss Library issues.
Agenda items suggested were Easton Branch renovation and
energy conservation.
X. Announcements - None
XI. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:45pm. M/S/C
(Herman,Guerthet) The next meeting of the Library Board of
Trustees will be held May 22, 2001 in the Library Conference
Room.
Respectfully Submitted
az
Alfred H. Escoffier
City Librarian
Library Board of Trustee Minutes 4
April 17, 2001