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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet - LB - 1979.01.16 BURLINGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES L AGENDA JANUARY 16, 1979 TRUSTEES PRESENT: TRUSTEES ABSENT: BILLS: Checks: $7,156.72 Special Fund: 977.44 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 1978. LIBRARIAN'S REPORT: CORRESPONDENCE: UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Easton Drive Branch: C.L.S.A. : Special Fund Savings Account: NEW BUSINESS: ADJOURNMENT: NEXT BOARD MEETING SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 20, 1979. BURLINGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MINUTES DECEMBER 19, 1978 CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Secretary of the Board, Trustee DeMartini, on December 19, 1978, at 4:45 P.M., in the absence of Chairman Hechinger. ROLL CALL: Trustees Present: Trustee DeMartini, Trustee Phelan, Trustee Weatherbe Trustees Absent: Trustee Hechinger, absent due to illness Trustee Parsons BILLS: Checks in the amount of $8,344.43 were ordered paid on a motion by Trustee Phelan, seconded by Trustee Weatherbe, and carried. Special Fund bills totaling $988.96 were paid on a motion by Trustee Phelan, seconded by Trustee Weatherbe, and carried. MINUTES: Trustee Weatherbe requested corrections to the minutes of November 21, 1978 as follows: Others Attending: "Mrs. Elaine White, Representative of A.A.U.W."; under Easton Branch--Library: "There were several members of the Citizen's Committee present to learn the dates and times of the special Board meetings regarding the Easton Branch Library." Minutes were approved with cor- rections noted and ordered filed. LIBRARIAN'S REPORT: Easton Drive Branch: Acting Chairman DeMartini reported that City Council, at their meeting of December 18, 1978, voted to allow the Easton Branch to remain open for 19 hours and did not con- sider the closing of the Main Library on Friday evenings nor the non-replacement of the half-time cataloger. Further discussion will be taken under Unfinished Business. Theft of Library Materials: Librarian Bergsing reported that we would be posting a sign in the library stating the section of the Penal Code relating to the theft of library materials. She stated that she had not yet discussed it with the staff, but will "inform them of the section of the Penal Code which includes theft of library materials and will develop procedures for such situations if they should occur. State and White House Conferences: Librarian Bergsing requested that this matter be included in New Business. Personnel: Acting Chairman DeMartini noted that Mrs. Judy Gladysz was on a maternity leave of absence and welcomed Mrs. Janice Tong who has returned to fill-in during Mrs. Gladysz' absence. CORRESPONDENCE: Letters to Mr. Warren Wickliffe from the Burlingame High School Adult Education Class thanking him for the class tour. Letters from Mrs. A. D. McIntyre and the A.A.U.W. regarding the Easton Branch Library were acknowledged. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Easton Drive Branch: Librarian Bergsing stated that there were some remarks made at the Council Meeting of December 18, that were erroneous and she wished to correct the information for the record. She began by responding to the comment that: books checked-out from the Branch and returned to the Main Library did not get returned to the Branch Library for circulation. She stated that this statement was not true; due to our circulation card system, books returned to the Main Library are always sent back to the Branch in order for records to be cleared. She thought however, that the remarks might refer to books which are periodically returned to the Main for consideration to be deleted from the collection at the Branch and subsequently cancelled to be sold at the Friends of the Library Booksale. Another comment referred to an inference that a number of people had volunteered to work at the Branch and something had happened to their applications. Librarian Bergsing stated that she had checked with the staff and no forms had been received from potential volunteers at the Main Library, and whatever applications were received at the Branch were forwarded to the Committee. She noted that she was not opposed to volunteers and that the Shut-In Program was staffed by volunteers, but that she looked at it realistically and that volunteers did not provide all the answers. The third point was the remark that the library staff was uncooperative. She stated that without the cooperation of the library staff and the many hours they had spent in compiling statistics for the Committee, that the Committee would not have had the information needed for their report. The Trustees present were in agreement that the remarks made were unfair. Some members of the Board expressed an adverse reaction to the comments regarding overstaffing at the Main. Librarian Bergsing noted that this week was always the slowest time of year due to the holiday season, and that a considerable amount of other work was accomplished during these slack periods. Librarian Bergsing reported that she had a brief meeting with the staff that morning to discuss recommendations for scheduling of the 19 hours the Branch would be open. It was the suggestion of the staff that the following schedule be implemented: Monday, 2-8 P.M.; Tuesday, 2-8 P.M.; Wednesday, 2-6 P.M.; and Thursday, 2-5 P.M. The Board was in agreement that the tentative schedule was acceptable. Trustee DeMartini commented that the hours should be flexible and if it was found that these hours were not meeting patrons needs others should be tried. However, the scheduling needs of staff should also be considered. Librarian Bergsing distributed copies of a survey of patron traffic taken at the Branch during the month of October and stated that they will begin to monitor patron traffic again as soon as the new hours are implemented. The Librarian announced that the staff had stated to the Board and Council that they would run the Branch at approximately $20,000. She will be working with the staff to develop a plan to cut expenses, with reduction in personnel, materials, etc., and will bring recommendations to the Board in January. Trustee Weatherbe brought up the possibility of receiving gift magazine subscriptions, which was mentioned in a memorandum to the Board. This is a program that the Millbrae Library has implemented. Librarian Bergsing responded there was a possibility of such a program for the Branch and that she would check with Millbrae Library for details after evaluating the final recommendations for cutbacks at the Branch. Trustee Weatherbe also suggested that a rental collection might be implemented at the Branch. Librarian Bergsing was receptive to the idea but stated that since the rental collection at the Main Library had just been initiated, would like to see how successful the program was before stating a collection at the Branch. NEW BUSINESS: Regional Conference: Librarian Bergsing reported that there would be a State Conference held in March and a White House Conference held in October on Libraries and Information Services. A Regional Conference will be held in January to select delegates to attend the State Con- ference; and at the State Conference delegates would be chosen to attend the White House Conference. The Librarian asked if any of the Trustees would be interested in attending the Regional Conference. Trustee Weatherbe expressed her interest in attending and Trustees DeMartini and Phelan deferred. Librarian Bergsing also asked the Board for suggestions of people whom they felt might be interested in attending. LIBRARIAN'S REPORT JANUARY 16, 1979 EASTON DRIVE BRANCH Since the December 19th Board Meeting, the staff has taken the following actions regarding the Branch: I. Beginning January 2nd, the new hours were initiated as approved at your December Meeting. Monday and Tuesday 2:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. Wednesday 2:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. Thursday 2:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. Not unexpectedly, there have been some complaints as patrons adjust to the shortened schedule. We propose to conduct a survey soliciting suggestions about what other alternative hours we should consider. II. We have begun the process of phasing back personnel from the Branch Library. For the next month or two at least, Barbara Rowe, the Branch Librarian, will continue to work Monday and Tuesdays at the Branch. We will bring the Library Assistant II back to the Main Library and fill-in the remaining Branch hours with Library Assistant I's. One of the students has been transferred to the Main Library to fill a vacant position, which leaves two student assistants at the Branch. We will continue to assess the work flow, traffic patterns , etc. for the next few months and make a adjustments as necessary. III. We are in the process of reviewing all standing order subscriptions received at the Branch. We propose to drop about half of these, primarily because they have not been circulating well . IV. We are in the process of reviewing all magazine subscriptions currently received at the Branch. By the end of January, we need to decide what we are keeping and what we are dropping for next year. We hope to notify Faxon Company, our jobber, before they produce their annual invoice sometime in February. We propose to drop some subscriptions which have not been circulating heavily, change all the subscriptions we can to a one-year renewal policy instead of the three-year renewal cycle they are currently on, and consider asking the Friends of the Library to pick up the cost for about half the remaining subscriptions for one year. This will reduce budget costs from $700 to approximately $300 to $350. V. We have instituted a book selection policy for the Branch that, in essence will mean, that we will order duplicate copies of all titles for which we would need more than one copy even if the Branch were closed. This will reduce the number of titles going to the Branch, but should provide copies of new popular fiction and non-fiction. We will delay the purchase of all reference titles for the next few months and only purchase the very popular children's books either new or replacements. If the Branch continues in operation for the fiscal year 1979-80, we probably will recommend using a lease plan to supply new materials. This would reduce cataloging and processing costs as the books arrive "ready for shelving". LIBRARIAN'S REPORT January 16, 1979 Page Two EASTON DRIVE BRANCH: Continued VI. We have adjusted the furnace to reflect the reduced service hours and will monitor the costs closely to assess any savings. VII. We have reduced the custodian's trips to the Branch and reduced the number of book deliveries. VIII. The staff is currently studying the possibility of instituting a rental collection at the Branch sometime in the next few months. This would be similar to the collection at the Main and would be financed initially by the Friends of the Library. IX. For the next several months we will monitor all Branch costs very carefully, so that we can have as clear a picture as possible for you, the City Manager, the Council and for next year's budget figures. C.L.S.A. SURVEY The second quarter figures are being compiled for the C.L.S.A. reimbursements.- I should be able to get them from the P.L.S. System Coordinator's Office in time for your Board meeting, and I ' li report to you then. Our total circulation for the survey period in December was slightly lower than the first survey period in September, so we may not be receiving as much as the $6,348 for the first quarter. REGIONAL, STATE AND WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCES The following people attended a preliminary meeting in Millbrae on January 10th for the San Mateo County delegates to the Regional Library Conference in San Jose on January 27th: Alice Fricke, Bill Nagle, June Weatherbe, and Patti Bergsing. The upcoming conferences were discussed and a number of issues were presented that pro- spective delegates felt should be addressed. The overriding concern, not surprisingly, was financing of public libraries. REFERENCE DEPARTMENT I am including with this report, a list of projects that the Reference Department (either individually or collectively) participated in and/or accomplished during this past year. Sometimes we don't realize how many projects and activities the staff is involved in during the course of the year. RENTAL COLLECTION The Friends Rental Collection has taken in over $100.00 to date, and it seems to be developing into a worthwhile new addition to our services. New titles are being added weekly. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY The Board of the Friends of the Library met on January 4th and reaffirmed their desire to help provide materials and/or services for the Branch Library. Several possibilities were discussed such as rental collection, a lease-book plan, and magazine subscriptions. The Board decided to move slowly and carefully and assess the needs and alternatives before committing funds too hastily. This matter will be discussed again next month. LIBRARIAN'S REPORT January 16, 1979 Page Three FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: Continued A program on the Tomb of Tutankhamen will be held on February 27, and a tour of the exhibit is planned for September. The Spring Book Sale dates were set for May 4,5, and 6; and Julia Gray was announced as the new Chairman of the Sale. PERSONNEL The Circulation Department is losing two pages. Kathy Krueger resigned effective December 31 , 1978 and Vice Colvin is resigning in mid January. Both students found that their school work was demanding more of their time. A page test was given to 38 applicants on Thursday, January 4, from which replacements will be hired. CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT A special holiday puppet program was presentedcn Monday, December 11 . Two professional puppeteers presented three short Christmas plays. This was made possible from funds received from the Burlingame Lions Club. Joan Riordan Leach spoke to a group of mothers from the United Methodist Church Nursery School about gift books for their pre-school children. The pre-school story hour will be resuming the first week in February at the Branch Library. SAN MATEO PUBLIC LIBRARY STUDY An outside consulting firm has just completed a study of the San Mateo Public Library. It suggests a number of changes in operations, staff demotions and/or reductions, services, fees, etc. This library should have a copy available here by the end of the week. REFERE=i E DEPARTMENT Projects/Accomplishments 1978 In addition to the regular duties of the reference personnel: public desk service, book selection, special collections main tenance,. public relations and class visits, the staff accomplished the following during 1978: 1. Revamping and reorganization of ILL Services to allow interface with State. 2. Began update of 130's collection. 3. Updated and weeded approximately 75 titles in the pure sciences. 4. Began revision of the Career File (Conserva). 5. Completed revision of the Map File (Porter) . 6. Completed revision of the Bibliography rile (Porter) . 7. Increased efficiency in ILL through streamlining of procedures. 8. Chairmanship of PLS ILL Committee (Van Niekerken) . 9. Chairmanship of PLS Cooperative Selection Committee (Escoffier) . 10. Streamlined supplies ordering and maintenance (Van Niekerken) . 11. Set up and supervision of volunteer services (Reiterman), 12.. Assisted with feasibility study of Rental Collection (Escoffier) . 13. Assisted with Library budget priorities. 14. Assisted as resource person for Citizen's Committee (Escoffier). �— 15. Revi: ed reference statistical reporting procedure. 16. Develop_d and implemented a plan for Business Reference Service, including the purchase of several new business services (Escoffier). 17. Added a number of new spoken word cassettes including the popular Berlitz series. 18. Developed anX A/V equipment program .to provide full AN services for community groups meeting in the Community Room. (Reiterman). 19. Assisted in the successful "Victorian Revival" program sponsored by the Friends. 20. Inventory of cassette collections. 21. Inven!:ory of record collections. 22. Added .14 new art prints. 23. Delivered a paper to a group of several hundred Bay Area Librarians on the subject of cooperative acquisitions (Escoffier) . - 24. Assisted with the library booth at Art in the Park. 25. Participated in the 1st annual Youth Art and Poetry Festival (Wickliffe) . 26. Edited and published the PLS Cooperative Selection Directory (Escoffier). 27. Conducted several non-resident use surveys. 28. Hosted a series of training sessions for system ILL personnel. CIRCULATION MAIN BRANCH Books: Adult, Non-Fiction 9,212 502 Child, Non-Fiction 993 2$5 Adult, Fiction 7,51T 1 ,230 � Child, Fiction 1 ,705 22 TOTAL: �1 ,424 TOTAL: 2,439 Periodicals: 1 ,242 440 Pamphlets (Incl . Maps & Sm. Press: 262 �- TOTAL: 1 ,504 TOTAL: 441 Moving Pictures: Audiorecordings (Incl . Rec. & Cass.) 1 ,069 40 Art Prints: 50 _0_ Equipment Loaned: 26 _O__ Slides: -0- -0- TOTAL: 1 , 166 TOTAL: 40 TOTAL CIRCULATION: 22,094 + 2,920 = 25.014 GRAND TOTAL CIRCULATION: 1977 Circulation: 26,450 % Increase Average Daily Circulation, Main Library: 834 5.74 -% Decrease Average Daily Circulation, Branch Library: 117 TOTAL DAILY CIRCULATION AVERAGE: 951 REFERENCE STATISTICS: Total Reference Questions: 2,226 ILL Borrowed: 71 GRAND TOTAL OF ILL Lent: 123 REF. ACTIVITY 2,4-.:_ ILL Total : 194 REGISTRATIONS: AS OF Nov. .30, 1978 ADDITIONS WITHDRAWALS TOTAL REG. PLS PATRONS TO Adults: 18,351 268 281 18,338 DATE: 6,806 Children: 3,051 51 30 3,072 Increase of Hillsborough: 2,519 44 -0 2,563 Other Non-Res. Patrons 332 62 1 393 TOTAL: 24,253 425 312 24,366 ACCESSIONS AND WITHDRAWALS: AS OF: 11/30/78 VOLUMES/TITLES VOLUMES/TITLES VOLUMES/TITLES VOLUMES/TITLES 0.dult,Non-Fic. : 131,622- 96, 197 326 - 203 72 - 17 131 .876 - 96,383 Child, Non-Fic: 17,666- 131 ,541 32 - 27 33 - 2 17,665 - 13,566 Y.A. , Non-Fic: 3,217- N.A. 4 - N.A. 3 - N.A. 3,218 - N.A. Adult, Fiction: 46,934- 39,357 127 - 70 67 - 3 46,994 - 39,424 :hild, Fiction: 13, 170- 9,4-0-2 53 - 38 17 - 1 13,206 - 9,439 Y.A. , Fiction: 2,681- N.A. I - N.A. 1 - N.A. 2,681 - N.A. TOTAL: 215,290' 158,497 543 - 338 193 - 23 215,64o - 158,812 ?AMPHLETS ADDED: 74 MAPS ADDED: -0- 'AMPHLETS DISCARDED: 34 MAPS DISCARDED: -0- - TOTAL: - TOTAL: 16.855 TOTAL: 1 , 170 IECORDINGS: AS OF: ADDED DISCARDED AS OF: Dec. 31 , 1978 UNITS / TITLES UNITS / TITLES UNITS / TITLES UNITS / TITLES Disc' s: 4,536 / 3,781 68 / 40 7 / 6 4,597 / 3,815 Cassettes: 484 / 375 19 / 15 0 / 0 503 / 390 TOTAL: 5,020 / 4, 156 87 / 55 7 ! 6 5, 100 / ,2.05 IEPOSITED WITH THE CITY TREASURER: MAIN: $1 ,556. 13 BRANCH: 91 .56 TOTAL: $1 ,647.69 IEETING ROOM FEES COLLECTED & DEPOSITED: $ 7.50 TOTAL: $1 ,655. 19 MONTHLY REPORT MONTH December, 1978 Outreach Activities 1. Volunteer Coordinator A. Hours worked 54 2. Volunteers A. Number of volunteers B. Hours- contributed . 47 3. Shut-in "Patrons—Individual Visits A. Number of .patrons 31 B. Number of visits made 72 C. Items circulated 295 4. Shut-in Patrons--Institutional Visits No. of Materials visits / Attendance j circulated A. Ba-�rie_.­R Conv. Hosp. 4(PLS) 4(BPL) 108 44 B. Burlingame Hacienda 2(PLS) 20 -- C. Burlirqame Inn l(PLS) D. Hillhavc�n Conv. cosp. 2(PLS) 2(BPL) 33 4 E. Marion Convent l(BPL) 18 P. 5. Totals (3 & 4) A. Shut-in patrons 222 B. Visits made 88 C. Items circulated 369 Co•-nntents/ac tivi ties Outreach activity follo:ved its regular p-ttern this month, viith no real variations on the routine of volunteers serving individuals and Susan Holmer serving institutional groups. We have discovered -� couple of individuals in our program who are elilgible for the Library of Congress Talking Books program, and they have been registered to participate through the library. Betty Hallock and I will bsgin to Make plans for our winter meeting of outreach volunteers, Which will probably tate place in February. Sue P-iteman CITY OF BURL1111oAl'it BUDGET EXPENDITURE _IBRARY FUND ACCOUi1T ilUi•1BER 03-750 FOR MONTH OF : JANUARY 197g NE . : This s To Budget EC NL ?r flonth Date Al l otidance Balance 11 Office-Expense 42.35 4,000.47 5,940.00 1 ,939.53 12 Special Department Expense -0- 2,215.51 4,830.00 2,614.49 12 . 1 Books and Maps 5,032.81 19,234.01 67,298'00 48,063.99 12. 2 Periodicals 63.55 5,195.39 7,450.00 2,254.61 12 . 3 Binding 206.25 801 .71 2,850.00 2,048.29 12 . 4 Cataloging 258.30 609.73 3,032.00 2,422.27 12 . 5 Records and Cassettes 34.55 1,309.10 3,610.00 2,300.90 13 Small Tools & Equipment -0- 22.81 225.00 202.19 16 Com.muni cati ons 134.38 1,034.76 2,232.00 1,197.24 1,053.41 6,890.75 16,522.00 9,631 .25 17 Utilities 1,422.98 5,170.00 3,747.0297. 19 Maintenance of Bldgs. & Grnd's: 242 . 20 Maintenance of Equipment -0- 120.17 866.00 745.83 58.59 122.13 250.00 127.87 20. 1 Operations of Equipment 20. 2 Maintenance of Sec. System -0- 333.00 240.00 (93.00) 21 Professional & Special Svcs. -0- . -0- 2,400.00 2,400.00 • 24 Dues and Subscriptions -0- 125.00 217.00 92.00 300.00 25 Travel 6.44 65.64 2.34.36 .250.00 25. 1 Conf. & Meetings - Librarian -0- 204.50 45.50 75.00 29 Other Charges 22.82 62.82 1 12.18 80 Capital Outlay -0- -0 3,000.00 _ ,3,000.00 TOTAL: 7,156.72 43,770.48 126,757.00 82,986.52