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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 10/18/2012Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 18, 2012 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, October 18, 2012, in the City Council Chambers, 515 Clark Avenue, with Acker, Bradley, Campbell, Manus, Rawlins, Schill, and Stow in attendance. Trustees Budd and Meier were excused. Interim Director Carey, Construction Advisor Heemstra, and Library staff members Ann Dobbs and Tracy Briseño were also present. Call to Order: Board President Stow called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Consent Agenda: Moved by Acker, seconded by Manus, to adopt a resolution approving the consent agenda: 1) Minutes of the regular meeting of September 20, 2012 2) Claims Report 9/1/2012 – 9/30/2012 Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted. Public Forum: None Financial Reports: Interim Director Carey said that the reports showed everything to be on track. She noted that funds for electronic collections and adult reference would to be allocated to the correct lines this fall. Campbell asked if staff had a sense of how electronic collection expenses were differentiated across age groups. Carey said she believed they were mostly spent on adult materials at this point in time. Electronic subscriptions cost less than individual titles and picture books are a quite different format. Activity Reports: Staff Report: Carey said the library had had to close a couple hours early the previous Saturday afternoon because there was a major sewer backup which seeped across a bathroom floor into the auditorium and even got into the sheetrock. Staff was afraid, at first, that the problem had something to do with the street project; instead, it turned out that someone had stuffed paper towels down a toilet. Fortunately, a drain technician solved the problem, Bo Duckett stayed late, and the library was able to open on Sunday. Carey said the Douglas Avenue Reconstruction Project is going well and is on time. The Library’s water was shut off one morning before the building opened; that will probably happen one more time this week. She added that the Methodist Church also closed the alley twice this week, so the public has been challenged in getting to the library. Interviews for the Teen Librarian position are scheduled for Saturday. Carey said they are being done via Skype, since there were many out-of-state applicants and the library doesn’t have a budget to pay for transportation. Applicants sent in DVDs of storytimes they presented in a natural setting, that process seemed to work well. Carey reported that there had recently been a lively discussion on a state-wide list serve about circulation statistics. All libraries report their circulation statistics going down, even though the activity level is very high. She said the phenomenon may be a result of the improving economy, although APL also has the complicating factors of getting into the building and preparing to move. Agenda Item 1 2 Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) Report: Trustee Acker relayed news from the APLFF Board of Directors’ meeting held the previous week: • The Budget and Finance Committee will have money available for meals and t-shirts for workers during the move. • Over $10,000 was gained from the fall book sale. Several hundred people stopped in on Monday to take as much as they could for $1 and that helped get rid of a lot of material that could not have been moved. • A Holiday Sale will be held on November 10. • On October 22, the Book Sale Committee will start to staff the 809 E. Lincoln Way site to accept donations. • The Fundraising Committee reported that over $50,000 was received as a result of the mass solicitation and many new donors participated. • There is no plan to send a holiday mailing this year. In the past, it has brought in about $10,000, but staff is stretched too thin to take that on. • The group handling the farewell party will be meeting twice this week. Stow pointed out that anyone who is interested in making an end-of-year donation is more than welcome to do so. Library Building Project: Renovation and Expansion Abatement Work: Moved by Bradley, seconded by Campbell, to adopt a resolution accepting the tabulation of bids and recommending that the City Council award the contract for the Renovation and Expansion Project Abatement Work to Abatement Specialties, LLC of Cedar Rapids, IA, in the amount of $49,659.00 pursuant to its response to Invitation to Bid No. 2013-041 prepared by the City Purchasing Division. As noted in the bid document, this award shall be contingent upon receipt, by the bid due date of November 15, 2012, of a responsive general construction bid from a responsible bidder not greater than the amount budgeted for the general construction contract within the Ames Public Library Renovation and Expansion Project budget. Stow pointed out that seven companies submitted bids to do the abatement work; the offers ranged from $49,659 to $117,361. He thanked the City Purchasing Department for its help in the process. Construction Advisor Heemstra said he was pleased to see this number of bids. He explained that the original estimate was fine tuned and the scope of work was reduced and clarified—that allowed the project to come in at a much more reasonable price. Carey expressed appreciation for Heemstra’s role in bringing the project to a realistic level. Campbell asked if it were typical to have such a wide range in the bid offers. Heemstra said he was not really surprised, although he found it interesting to see that the low three were relatively close. He noted that the three lower bids were also from local firms, so those firms’ travel costs would not have been as high. Vote on Resolution: 6-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution declared adopted. Project Cost Summary: Heemstra pointed out that item 5.05b in the Owner Costs section had been reduced to reflect the price for the Asbestos Abatement work just approved and the excess was transferred into the project contingency (item 6). He said the other numbers will not be adjusted until the construction bids come in on November 15, except that the cash on hand Agenda Item 1 3 (included in the Current Project Budget figure) increased by $50,000 to represent the most recent transfers from the APLFF to the City of Ames. Stow pointed out that this month’s changes brought the project contingency up to 2.6%, whereas it was only 1.2% last month. Acker asked where Heemstra would like to see the contingency. He replied that it is typically a little higher on a renovation project, but the budget also includes a change order allowance (item 3.01). The total cost of furniture, fixtures, and equipment will also be adjusted as the project moves forward. Heemstra said that 70 sets of plans and specifications have already been issued—over a dozen general contractors hold plans. The first pre-bid meeting will be held next week. Questions will be called in to the architect and answers will be distributed to all plan holders as addenda. Library Renovation Project Financial Report: Carey said the report will show a new column in the future because the Library received notice earlier in the day of a $15,000 commitment from the Kinney-Lindstrom Foundation. The Kinney-Lindstrom Foundation supported the last APL building project and a plaque was installed in recognition. Carey spoke about all the activity going on at the sites the Library will be leasing in Lincoln Center and about the off-loading of excess furniture, old equipment, and craft supplies. In accordance with the City’s procedures, the Library’s second “exchange” will allow other City departments, ASSET-funded non-profits, and Story County Libraries to select items they have a use for. A public sale of the remaining items will be held on Saturday, October 20. The graphics office has been set up at 809 E. Lincoln Way and the network services office is being set up now. Staff is trying to do as much work as possible prior to November 16. When asked if the Library had received a response to a call for volunteers, Carey said the first request was for those who can physically help with the move. Forty-nine persons responded in the first week; the next step will be to try to fill in shifts with other City employees. Carey said the Library is also starting to get offers of support from local restaurants and caterers. Policy Review: Conduct in the Library Policy: Moved by Rawlins, seconded by Schill, to adopt a resolution approving changes to the Conduct in the Library Policy as presented/amended. Information Services Librarian Ann Dobbs stated that the Conduct in the Library Policy is an important tool for keeping the Library comfortable and safe. She said that staff looked at some of the problems that have occurred since the last review of this policy and included a list of examples. They also opted to include a reference to the American Library Association (ALA) “Guidelines for the Development of Policies and Procedures Regarding User Behavior and Library Usage” in the documentation. Dobbs said the most important thing the ALA document offered was a recommendation that libraries make use of existing laws. The previous versions of APL’s policy did not reference the Municipal Code of the City of Ames or the State Code of Iowa, but both sources are now cited at the end. Dobbs acknowledged the Iowa City Public Library for providing a nice listing of the state laws in its conduct policy. Dobbs stated that many examples of misconduct were included in the policy because it is helpful for staff to be able to point directly to a written list when a conversation needs to take place with customers. She said items covered by state or local law have been moved to the top. Those are followed by general rules of conduct and more specific examples. Agenda Item 1 4 When asked how training about the policy was handled, Dobbs said it is mostly done through the individual departments. A new version of the policy goes to all members of staff and the department heads go through the details with their employees. Carey added that Dobbs has been asked to present this policy to everyone as part of the annual All Staff Day in February. At that time, some law enforcement representatives will also discuss how to address specific situations. The Trustees and staff discussed the proposed changes and also collaborated on multiple changes in wording. It was suggested that staff should incorporate the changes and present a revised version of the policy for approval. Moved by Bradley, seconded by Acker, to table the motion until staff brings back a modified version of the policy. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion carried unanimously. Circulation Policy and Library Fines and Fees Addendum: Circulation Supervisor Tracy Briseño explained the proposed updates, one of which would require information about where a person resides (rather than an address, which could be a post office box), so staff would know the physical location where people were taking materials. The other changes are intended to clarify the management of family accounts. In response to a question from Trustee Manus, Briseño said the person who has agreed to take responsibility for the family account can add or remove anyone without the others’ consent, and other individual members may also remove themselves from a family account. Moving on to Library Fine and Fees, Briseño said that referral to debt collection is being included under Standard Fees, rather than standing alone, and the charges were reorganized to list whole items first, parts of items second, packages of items third, and then auxiliary items. She also noted that the threshold for referral to debt collection has been removed. At present, customers are referred when their fines total $25. Staff would like to change that to $30 so that it would corresponds to the $10 increments that trigger notification from staff. Raising the threshold will allow staff one more opportunity to interact with account holders before making the referral. Referring to the section about Library Accounts, Trustee Rawlins inquired what the Library considered a signature and whether communication via e-mail would suffice. Briseño said e- mail correspondence is acceptable, but it usually involves a back and forth for confirmation. Stow recommended including a list of the information needed so that the requirements would be clear to everyone, whether the request were made by phone, e-mail, in person, or another method. There was discussion about the sentence that says “Customers may have only one Individual Account and/or be the responsible adult on one Family Account.” Staff stated that it is possible to have both types of accounts. Rawlins suggested that the policy state that—she felt the “and/or” was confusing. Trustee Campbell asked if a person could get results from a search if he typed in “how to close an account” on APL website’s home page. Carey said staff would check. Moved by Manus, seconded by Bradley, to adopt a resolution approving changes to the Circulation Policy and Library Fines and Fees Addendum with clarification on the signature requirements for closing accounts and review of the second sentence Agenda Item 1 5 under Account Types. Vote on Resolution: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution declared adopted. Agreement with Ames Historical Society (AHS) for housing the Farwell T. Brown Photographic Archive: Moved by Acker, seconded by Manus, to adopt the following resolution: Whereas, Ames Public Library will be relocating temporarily and will be unable to make the Farwell T. Brown Photographic Archive available for a period of 21 months; and Whereas, Ames Historical Society desires access to the collection during that time period; Now, therefore, the Board of Trustees, Ames Public Library, enters into an agreement with the Ames Historical Society for temporary housing of the Farwell T. Brown Photographic Archive. Trustee Campbell asked where the photographic archive would be housed and if the location had been vetted. Carey said it would reside in the Ames Historical Society’s building on Douglas Avenue. An APL staff member, Mike Quinn, serves on the AHS Board of Directors. He has seen the location and discussed the issue with that board. She added that the City Attorney and City’s Risk Manager had seen the agreement. Vote on Resolution: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted. Trustee Comments: Manus acknowledged the library staff for all the work they are doing and encouraged them to keep it up. Schill also thanked staff members for their efforts. Rawlins said she understood the amount of work that goes into reviewing and revising the policies, and thanked staff for doing it, in spite of all the other activities going on right now. Bradley expressed thanks to everyone. Acker recalled that the previous month there was a lot of tension about not having secured a temporary location for the library and said she was grateful that that issue has been resolved. Stow commented that keeping the library up and running in the midst of the building project is a monumental task and he commended staff for doing such a good job. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by consent at 8:09 p.m. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, November 15, 2012, at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers, 515 Clark Avenue. ____________________________________ ___________________________________ Karen C. Thompson, Administrative Assistant Laura Rawlins, Secretary of the Board Agenda Item 1