HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 1969.12.16 MINUTES OF THE MEETING
OF THE
BURLINGAME PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD
DECEMBER 16, 1969
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 by Chairman Cohendet.
ROLL CALL:
Trustees Present: Trustee Cohendet, Trustee Hechinger, Trustee Phelan, Trustee DeMartini
Trustees Absent: Trustee Lynes - Excused, school meeting
MINUTES:
The minutes of the meeting of November 18, 1969 were approved and adopted.
BILLS:
Bills in the amount of $4,181.36 were ordered paid on a motion by Trustee DeMartini,
seconded by Trustee Hechinger and carried.
LIBRARIAN'S REPORT:
The Librarian's-report was read and ordered filed. There was some discussion regarding
the C.L.A. Convention in San Francisco.
COMMUNICATIONS:
The Librarian read a letter from Mrs. Ethel Langsdorf, of the A.A.U.W. sending a
gift of $20.00 to be used for books in memory of Mrs. Julia Farrell. It was decided
that the Board should acknowledge this letter and that a letter be sent to Mrs. Farrell's
husband, informing him of this gift.
OLD BUSINESS:
San Mateo Libraries Cooperative Project: The Librarian informed the Board that while
he was attending the C.L.A. convention notice was received from the State Library
Consultant questioning several items on our application, one of which was the fact that
he could not find approval of the application by the City of Burlingame. The Librarian
got in touch with the City Manager, who contacted the City Attorney and received the
Attorney's approval of the application. This approval was then transmitted to the
State Library.
Building: The Librarian stated that the subject of our building was to be taken up by
the Council at their work session the first Wednesday in January. He stated that he
had compiled a list of furniture for the use of the library decorator, and that he
thought that most of our present furniture could be used. There was some discussion
of this, with emphasis on the fact that all furniture used should be in excellent
repair and correlated to any new furniture purchased.
Automatic Typewriter: Mrs. Patricia Thomas, cataloger, reported to the Board on the
advisability of purchasing a new automatic tape typewriter for use in typing catalog
cards. She brought out several points - 1. Library of Congress Cards and Wilson cjlrds
are extremely stow in reaching us, sometimes as long as eight months, after the books
have been received. This delay necessitates our typing some three sets of catalog
cards ourselves for interim use in order that the books may reach the public. 2. This
involves a great deal of typist time, which could be eliminated if three sets of
cars could be run at once frixny Y 60 we. 3. Combined cost of L.C. cards and Wilson
car s per year is approximate JJ This cost could be eliminated. 4. Cataloger
must keep records and follow-up on all books which do not have L.C. or Wilson cards.
This entails additional expense for her time. 5. Typewriter can also be used for
other office work, such as making several copies of the same report or letter.
After Mrs. Thomas report, there was considerable discussion, in which the Librarian
brought out the fact that while this typewriter costs $4,000, it could be paid for at
the rate of $759.00 per year, and that it could be leased or rented for $22.00 per
month. Trustee De Martini asked the number of man-hours required for each book in
cataloging and was informed it was about 1/2 hour per book. Trustee Hechinger inquired
if other libraries of our size used this typewriter and was informed that it has just
come out - that some libraries used a more sophisticated machine, such as San Mateo
County which has one costing $19,000, but that the Librarian has seen nothing comparable
for such a low cost. He also noted that possibly some of the City offices would like
to use the machine occasionally. Trustee Hechinger asked what the result would be if
we bought the machine and entered into the cooperative system with joint cataloging.
The Librarian stated that even if we did join, there would be much back-up work to do.
After more discussion, it was agreed that the machine should be demonstrated to the Board
sometime in January, if possible, so that they might form more conclusive opinions.
NEW BUSINESS:
Chairman Cohendet informed the Librarian that the Board members would be pleased to
contribute a ham for the employees' Christmas party.
ADJOURNMENT:
Trustee Hechinger moved the meeting be adjourned, Trustee Phelan seconded, motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 P. M.
Respectfully submitted,
Georg e�1 Lechich
Clerk of the Board