HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 1970.11.17 MINUTES OF THE MEETING
OF THE
BURLING'AME PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD
No 17, 1970
CALL TO ORDER:
A regular meeting of the Burlingame Public Library Board was held on the above given date.
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P. M. by Chairman Cohendet.
ROLL CALL:
Trustees Present: Trustee Cohendet, Trustee Phelan, Trustee Hechinger, Trustee DeMartini
Trustees Absent: Trustee Lynes (excused)
MINUTES:
The minutes of the meeting of October 19, 1970 were approved and adopted. With regard to
the transportation of books from the Branch library, both Trustees Phelan and DeMartini
questioned the liability of the City and/or the Library and Board of Trustees in the event
of bodily injury or property damage by the driver of the transporting vehicle. The Librarian
stated that the driver himself would be covered by Workmen's Compensation, and it was agreed
that probably liability would be taken care of under the City's blanket policy. However,
the librarian will look into this and report to the Board at the next meeting.
BIL'_S:
Bills in the amount of $4,744.69 were ordered paid on a motion by Trustee Hechinger seconded
by Trustee Phelan.
LIBRARIAN'S REPORT:
The Librarian's report was read and ordered filed. Regret was expressed at the illness of
Dennis Finney, Reference Librarian, from which he is not expected to recover.
CORRESPONDENCE:
There was no correspondence.
OLD BUSINESS:
Purchase of Steinbeck Propertx: The Librarian informed the Board that the City Council had
agreed to purchase the property; their offer had been accepted; and at the Council Meeting
of November 16 City Manager Schwalm had been instructed to proceed with the purchase. He
spoke briefly of his visit with Mr. Steinbeck just before his death; and stated he did not
know how soon the house would be demolished for the use of the parking district. In reply
to a question from Trustee Phelan, he stated he thought the parking lot would hold about
thirty cars in addition to those left in the present lot.
Refurbishing of Library: The Librarian informed the Board that Mr. J. H. Comey, library
consultant, had given the City Council at a study meeting his estimates for library
furnishings and his fee for consultation and other services. This would be 5% of the total
gross of materials and services, the amount to be a minimum of $3,000 and a maximum of
$4,000. The City Council had then asked Mr. Comey to submit more specific figures in order
that a contract may be put together. This has been submitted and accepted by the City
Council and the City Attorney has been instructed to draw up the contract.
The Board then discussed the extra cost of the rug replacing tile in the old building and
the decoration of the large beam in the future reference room. The Librarian stated the
Council would take up this subject at some future meeting.
NEW BUSI!IESS:
C.L.A. Convention: Trustee Phelan gave a very comprehensive report on this recent convention
in Los Angeles. Some of the highlights were her attendance at:
Session on Children's Literature: The publis has many criticisms in this area, particularly
with regard to sex, violence, racial values, physical problems, and moral values. The
public even questions "What is a classic?" It was brought out in this session that 50%
of criminals are juveniles, 10% of these are less than 16 years of age, and the impace of
libraries in counteracting this is great.
Library Buildings Section: One of the salient points of discussion was the question,
"Is a main library important in the canter of a city?"
Trustees Meeting: During this meeting the importance of the library trustees' jobs was
stressed. The value of a good working relationship between the Board of Trustees and the
City Council is great. It was stated that the job of the Board is to make responsible
recommendations, take full responsibilities for the plant, book department and staff; and
keep all meetings at a high level. Mrs. Phelan stated that there has been some discussion on
the Trustees forming a separate division of C.L.A.
Friends of Library Meeting: Mrs. Phelan found this quite informative, and felt that she
had gained a great deal from attending this convention in relation to her responsibilities
as a trustee.
The Librarian mentioned the membership meeting, in which was discussed the possibility of
changing the structure of C.L.A. from a line organization into separate divisions; for
example, the professional librarians in one group and business administrators and trustees
in another group, with overlapping responsibilities. He spoke of the variety of the exhibits
and of how valuable they were to those attending.
Holt Report. This report was discussed and it was agreed that it made no great contribution
to our building p-ogram, with the point being made that most library consultants are well
versed in library organization per se, but do not know enough about architecture and
practical structural applications for library buildings.
Friends of Library Book Sale: The Librarian reported that about $650.00 was realized from
this sale.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:40 P. M. on a motion by Trustee Hechinger seconded
by Trustee Phelan.
Resp�ctfull submitt ,
George Paul Lechich
Clerk of the Board