01/10/2008 - Minutes TIGARD PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD MINUTES
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Call to Order: 7:04 p.m.
Roll Call
Present at the meeting: Brian Kelly, Chair; Board members Jan Thenell, Richard Heath,
Scott Libert, Cecelia Nguyen, David Burke, Karen Levear and Alternate Jennifer
Vasicek; Library Director Margaret Barnes and Alison Grimes, Executive Assistant.
Minutes
The December 13, 2007 Board meeting minutes were reviewed and, there being no
additions or corrections, the minutes were approved as read.
Motion — Libert Second —Thenell
Burke —Abstain Levear—Abstain
Heath —Aye Nguyen —Abstain
Kelly—Aye Thenell -Aye
Libert —Aye
Agenda Additions and Deletions
Added Library Survey to Other Business.
Call to the Public
Paula Walker, the Library's Public Information Coordinator, was introduced by Barnes.
A familiar face to some of the Board members, Walker has been with the Library for
over 6 years and was Acting Library Director previous to the hiring of Barnes. Due to the
increase in activities and, therefore, publications, Walker now spends a portion of her
time at the Library creating and/or editing materials sent to the media, plus reviews in-
house publications such as book lists, flyers, posters and bookmarks. Working with the
City's Office Services division, Walker feels the look and the quality of in-house
publications have been enhanced and that library staff are creating publications that
show professionalism and consistency. Walker believes it is getting easier to get
information to the public as the public is so supportive of the Library. She also touched
briefly on the Annual Library Survey, scheduled for the first two full weeks in February.
Two of the four survey questions are open-ended, which Walker prefers as they
produce more information than simple yes or no questions. She is also gearing up to do
the Annual Report, where she will compile information gathered during 2007.
Before leaving, Walker asked each Board member what they felt their greatest
revelation about the library was since joining the Board. Their responses:
Nguyen — the amount of programming
Levear— also the programming and the amount of foot traffic/gate count
Libert — surprised at the continual growth and feels that the library is on top of things,
technology-wise
Heath — is amazed at the monthly statistics - the amount of new library cards issued
each month and the volunteer statistics
Kelly — the quantity, quality and complexity of staff; the wonderful support
Vasicek — amount of programming and outreach to the public
Burke —felt that Tigard Library was the best-run institution he's ever been involved in
Thenell — agreed with Burke and felt Tigard Library was a great example of what a
library should be
Walker also informed the Board that the Tigard Library passed the one million mark in
circulated items during 2007 (1,014,456), making the library the largest net lender within
WCCLS in 2007.
Monthly Reports for December, 2007
The monthly statistics for December, 2007 were reviewed. The Library's Inventory
Project is progressing well; the number of lost/missing items is very low. Barnes
informed the Board that the Cultural Passes will now be purchased by WCCLs — in the
past the Friends of the Library purchased them. She also noted that the Holds report
shows that the #1 DVD now has more holds on it than the #1 bestseller book.
Annual Meeting With City Council
The Board will meet with City Council during their March 18 workshop. Discussion
centered on topic areas as the meeting will be the opportunity to promote the Library's
benefits to the community and to thank the Council for their support. Possible topics to
present to Council were:
➢ Growth — balance growth figures with human stories
➢ Passage of the levy and what can now be accomplished
➢ Before/after restoration of hours
➢ Data compilation
o Circulation numbers
o Gate count
o Programs
o Program attendees
o Number of new cards
Board discussed the possibility of providing a tour of the Library before the Council
meeting; if that wasn't feasible, they discussed taping a video to show them during the
meeting. Barnes will check with the City Manager to see if a tour is possible.
Library Survey
The Annual Library Survey will be held the first two full weeks in February (February 3 —
16). 2,300 English copies of the survey have been printed and a Spanish version of the
survey will be available. The survey will also be found in February's Cityscape, on the
Library's home page and on several survey-only computers at the Library. Staff is
scheduled to work one-hour shifts at the survey table, but volunteers are welcome. As
Board members indicated their interest in assisting, Trish Stormont, Volunteer
Coordinator, will send emails to the Board requesting their help.
Other Business
Levear noted that she will attend the January and February CCI meetings.
Library Trends: Some academic libraries are now providing a way to publish and/or
index papers other individuals might find interesting or useful — sort of an academic
"Google". Another trend libraries are providing are downloadable audio books and
videos. Amazon.com offers an electronic device that is an MP-3 player, a video player,
FM radio, a photo viewer and an a-book reader, plus offers a choice of over one million
downloadable e-books from their site. Currently, WCCLS offers downloadable audio
books and is investigating downloadable e-videos.
Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting
adjourned at 8:47 p.m.
The next Library Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 7:00
p.m. in the Conference Room at the Tigard Public Library, 13500 SW Hall Blvd.