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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 1978.12.19 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.