HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 1980.10.21 BURLINGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES
OCTOBER 21St, 1980
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting of October 21st, 1980 was called to order by Chairman Nagle at 4:30pm.
ROLL CALL: Trustees Present: Chairman Nagle, Trustee Parsons, Trustee Hechinger, Trustee Fricke
and Trustee Weatherbe.
Trustees Absent: None
Also Present: Mrs. Joy Molder, Assistant City Librarian
BILLS: Checks in the amount of $17,260.43 were ordered paid on a motion made by Trustee
Parsons, seconded by Trustee Weatherbe and carried. Special Fund checks in the
amount of $1,201.31 were paid on a motion made by Trustee Fricke, seconded by
Trustee Hechinger and carried.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 16th, 1980: Minutes of the meeting of September 16th, 1980 were
approved as written and ordered filed.
LIBRARIAN'S REPORT: Librarian Bergsing asked if the Board members had any questions regarding the
Librarian's Report, and they did not. Chairman Nagle however, commented about the
"Outreach Report" stating that Mrs. Stamnes was requesting some new "large print
books" for the program. Mrs. Bergsing explained that the Lions Club has provided
for these books in the past and she is in the process of preparing a proposal for
the Lions Club to purchase some additional titles through a "standing order"
arrangement. If the Lions Club chooses not to continue purchasing the large print
books, she will submit a request to the Friends or the Library Board. Chairman
Nalge noted that Mrs. Stamnes was doing an excellent job supervising the service to
Shut-Ins and he congratulated all the volunteers connected with the program. Special
note was made of the fact that June Weatherbe, a Board members, also serves as a
volunteer.
CORRESPONDENCE: Chairman Nagle read a letter from Mrs. Geer, commending Pat Harding on her performance
"over and above the call of duty" at the Easton Drive Branch Library. Mrs. Geer
found Pat to be extremely helpful when Mrs. Geer's daughter needed information.
Congratulations went out to Pat from all of the Board members. The Board requested
that a copy of the letter, and Mrs. Bergsing's reply, be forwarded to the City Council.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Feasibility of an Automated Circulation System: There was a lengthy discussion
regarding the report on circulation that the City Librarian had distributed to the
Board members the previous week.
Chairman Nagle raised the following questions:
"Since the 'state of the art' of computers is changing so rapidly, will the
equipment be obsolete in a few years?" "If so, will we be able to upgrade the
system?"
He also questioned Burlingame's depending on the County. He further asked about
afeguards against the computer "going down", and the possibility of losing the
files stored in the memory. He felt, if possible, we should have some memory
capability in Burlingame.
Mrs. Bergsing replied that the "request to the vendors" would include some possibilities
for upgrading the equipment, but she would check further for more information. She
also agreed to check about back-up for the data files, and the memory capabilities
available to Burlingame. She agreed that entering into a cooperative automated
system with the County and other P.L.S. libraries was a 'big step', and would
represent a change in policy for Burlingame. However, she felt automation in a
shared system was the best and least expensive way to maintain current library services
in the face of the increasing volume of business and the increasing cost of personnel.
In answer to a question from Trustee Weatherbe about the option of Burlingame installing
its own automated circulation system, Mrs. Bergsing replied that she thought it would
double the cost.
After more discussion, the Board set the date of October 29th at 9:OOam to go to
the Palo Alto Public Library to look at their automated circulation system.
There was also discussion about the Joint Board and Council meeting on November 15th;
who would attend, what the agenda would be, the role of the consultant, the time
and place, etc. Chairman Nagle suggested that he and Mrs. Bergsing get together
sometime shortly before the 15th and go over all the details.
Uniform Circulation Policies: The Board discussed the recommendations for changes
in Burlingame's current borrowing rules to help establish some uniformity among
P.L.S. libraries. On a motion made by Trustee Weatherbe, seconded by Trustee Parsons,
the Board voted unanimously to approve the following changes:
1. Change from a two-week loan period to a three-week loan period for
children's materials, older adult fiction and non-fiction, and new
adult non-fiction.
2. Change to a three-week loan period for records and cassettes, pamphlets,
documents and maps.
3. Reduce the fines on records and cassettes from 15fi per day to 10� per day.
4. Establish a maximum fine on Children's materials at $1.50 instead of
$2.00.
NEW BUSINESS: Status of Mrs. Roger Duncan's Property - 404 Primrose Road: There was brief discussion
about Mrs. Duncan's Will and the status of the property at 404 Primrose Road. Mrs.
Bergsing stated that she knew nothing about the entire matter beyond what the Will
stated. Mr. Ngale explained a little about the legal background and technicalities
reqgarding charitable trusts, and agreed to contact the law firm handling the estate
on behalf of the Board.
Attendance at C.L.A. Conference in Pasadena: All the Board members had received
information about the annual California Library Association Conference in Pasadena
on December 6th through the 10th. Trustee Alice Fricke stated that she plans to
attend. The other Trustees expressed pleasure that Alice could represent them,
since their committments would not make it possible for them to go. They requested
that Alice give them a full report upon her return. After discussion, Trustee
Hechinger moved that Trustee Fricke's "reasonable expenses" be paid for out of the
Special Fund, since the City was no longer able to provide for Trustees' Conference
expenses. The motion was seconded by Trustee Weatherbe and passed unanimously.
New Meeting Time: After discussion, there was a motion made by Trustee Weatherbe,
seconded by Trustee Fricke to change the meeting time to 7:30pm, on the third
Tuesday of each month, to allow for the public to attend. The Board agreed to try
this new time through December, and if there isn't any signigicant attendance they
would consider reverting back to the old time. Mrs. Molder will issue a press
release to the newspapers to inform the public of the change.
Booksale: Trustee Fricke reported that the booksale was fun and most successful. She
said that they netted a little over $3,500.00 She will give an exact figure as soon
as all of the money has been counted. She further reported that there was a potluck
dinner that followed the sale with an attendance of approximately 20 people. She
announced that Woody Knudsen and her husband will chair the next booksale in May of 1981.
Branch Circulation: Chairman Nagle requested that the minutes reflect that there was
once again, an increase in the circulation figures at the Easton Library.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting of October 21st, 1980 was adjourned at 6:10pm, with the next meeting
scheduled for November 18th, 1980 at 7:30pm in the California Room.
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia M. Bergsing
Clerk of the Board
PMB/jag