[EBR Library Board of Control on March 16, 2023.]
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I'D LIKE TO CALL THE, UH, MARCH 16TH, 2023 EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL MEETING TO ORDER, UH, CANDACE, WHY DON'T YOU LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE? OKAY.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
PLEASE CALL ROLL NICOLE LARSON.
LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM APPROVAL OF A MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 16TH, 2023.
I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES A SECOND.
ANY OPPOSE? THE MINUTES ARE ADOPTED.
THERE'S NO SPECIAL ORDERS REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR, MR. RONNIE PIERCE WILL GIVE THE FINANCIAL REPORTS WITH 2022 EXPENDITURES CLOSING TODAY ACROSS THE CITY PARISH LIBRARY, OPERATING EXPENDITURES ARE CURRENTLY AT 86.49% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR 2023.
AS OF FEBRUARY 28TH, EXPENDITURES ARE $11,741,809 AND 36 CENTS, OR 13.03% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET THROUGH FEBRUARY.
WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT NO MORE THAN 17% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET.
CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2023 ARE AHEAD OF THOSE COLLECTED LAST YEAR AS WE ARE APPROXIMATELY $2,060,000 AND 4.27% AHEAD OF 2022.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.
MS. MARY STEIN WILL DELIVER THE AROUND THE PARISH REPORT.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND PAGE ONE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE ARE OFF TO A TREMENDOUS MARCH WITH PEOPLE MARCHING INTO THE LIBRARY ALL OVER THE PLACE.
WE HOSTED SUPER TAX DAY WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE CAPITOL AREA, UNITED WAY, AND SO MANY COMMUNITY PARTNERS WE'RE HERE.
THERE YOU SEE THE FABULOUS GEORGE BELL, UH, VISITING WITH SOME OF THE NONPROFIT HELPERS WHO WERE SCATTERED ALL OVER THE PLACE.
OF COURSE, UNITED WAY IS THE INSTIGATOR OF THIS WONDERFUL HELPING EVENT, AND WE EVEN HAD SOME VISITORS, I DON'T WANNA SAY FROM THE EAST, FROM THE SOUTH, AS YOU SEE IN THE BOTTOM, UH, THE, THE SAINTS AND THE PELICANS MADE AN APPEARANCE HERE, UM, TO GET PEOPLE'S SPIRITS UP AS THEY PREPARED THEIR TAXES.
PROGRAMS ON, USUALLY AT OUR HOUSE, BUT WE LOVE TO BE INVITED OUT.
SO THEY, UH, THERE YOU SEE OUR SMALL BUSINESS LIBRARIAN, AUSTIN LANGLEY, SHARING TWO THESE WONDERFUL SENIOR CITIZENS WAYS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.
UH, AND HE COVERED EVERYTHING FROM LOTTERIES, FUNERALS, TECH SUPPORT, SCAMS. I MEAN, WE'VE ALL BEEN INVITED TO SHARE MONEY FROM OVERSEAS OR HELP SOMEBODY OUT OF A BIND.
THERE ARE MEDICARE SCAMS. THAT'S A HUGE THING.
AND I KNOW AS SOMEONE WHO GET PROBABLY FOUR CALLS A DAY ABOUT MEDICARE AND MY INVITATIONS TO SAVE MONEY, UM, INVESTMENT SCAMS, AND THEN THE SWEETHEART SCAMS, ESPECIALLY SINCE SOCIAL MEDIA, SWEETHEART SCAMS ARE EVERYWHERE.
SO AUSTIN WAS ABLE TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION WITH THEM, AND THEY WERE REALLY RECEPTIVE TO HIM.
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I KIND OF THINK THEY THOUGHT OF HIM AS THEIR GRANDCHILD, AND THEY WERE WILLING TO LISTEN TO HIM.WE HAD OUR, WE, WE'VE ALREADY HAD THE BIG BANG, BUT LAST WEEK WE CREATED PLANETS.
SO WE'VE GOT EXOPLANETS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
THE SERIES WILL CULMINATE, NOT THIS WEEKEND, BUT NEXT, WHERE WE, UH, LOOK AT THE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT Y'ALL, BUT, UM, I FOLLOW JAMES WEBB ON, ON, UH, TWITTER AND FACEBOOK, AND HE'S ALWAYS SENDING ME BEAUTIFUL PICTURES.
BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE DAYTIME EVENTS WITH THE FOLKS FROM THE LSU SPACE CONSORTIUM, UH, LSU PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY, LSU MU MUSIC DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME TEEN VOLUNTEERS, SOME ENGINEERING STUDENTS, VOLUNTEERS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE ACTIVITIES, FAMILY RELATED ACTIVITIES.
WE WILL BE DOING STOMP ROCKETS BECAUSE WE LIKE TO MAKE NOISE.
THERE WILL BE A UNIVERSE OF STORIES UNDER THIS GRAND STAIRCASE.
THE LECTURE THAT DAY IS ON JAMES WEB.
AND AS YOU GO INTO THE LIBRARY ON THE FIRST FLOOR AND THE SECOND FLOOR, YOU MIGHT SEE, UH, BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS, UM, REALIZED AT LEAST SIX FEET TALL OF, UH, THE, THE VIEW FROM THE BEAUTIFUL HUBBLE A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
AND NOW WHAT WE'RE SEEING THROUGH JAMES WEBB.
SO THEY'RE DUKING IT OUT ALL OVER THE LIBRARY THAT EVENING.
YOU'RE INVITED BACK FOR A PERFORMANCE OF MACRO LOGOS, AND THEN A PANEL DISCUSSION ABOUT THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND MUSIC.
THERE WILL BE MOON PIES,
WE WENT BACK IN TIME, NOT AS FAR BACK AS THE HUBBLE AND THE JAMES WEBER TAKING US, BUT WE WENT BACK IN TIME WITH THE DINOSAUR EXPERIENCE.
AND, UH, THIS GENTLEMAN, WE'VE, HE'S COMING BACK EVERYWHERE HE WENT.
UH, THESE PICTURES ARE FROM THE MAIN LIBRARY HERE, BUT WHETHER HE WAS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE PARISH OR THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE PARISH, THE LARGEST ROOM IN THE SMALLEST ROOM, HE REALLY ACTIVATED THE SPACE AND THE KIDS LOVED IT, AS DID THE PARENTS.
SO HE'S DEFINITELY ON OUR GOOD LIST.
ALSO, THINKING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING.
AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN HAVING DISASTER ISLAND, THE LEGO PROGRAM, AND THEN THE ADULTS, EVERY NOW AND THEN, THE ADULTS WHINE LONG ENOUGH AND LOUD ENOUGH THAT THEY GET TO DO PROGRAMS TOO.
SO WE'VE STARTED DOING LEGOS FOR ADULTS, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAD A FULL ROOM.
WE ALSO HAD A LOVELY CROWD FOR THE THOUSAND BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN, WITH AUTHOR WILL HILLENBRAND COMING IN AGAIN TO, UH, CONGRATULATE THE KIDS, READ TO THE KIDS, SIGN THE PERSONAL BOOK TO OVER TO THE CHILDREN.
AND HE ALWAYS MAKES IT VERY PERSONAL, AS YOU CAN SEE.
HE, UH, TOLD STORIES, AND THEN HE TOOK THE CHILDREN OUTSIDE THROUGH THE STORY WALK AND, UH, AGAIN, TALKS ABOUT THE STORY AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
AND WE LIKE TO FEATURE ONE OF HIS BOOKS.
SO HE TELLS THEM WHY A PARTICULAR PICTURE APPEALED TO HIM, OR WHY HE DESIGNED SOMETHING THE WAY HE DID.
AND SPEAKING OF MARVELOUS THINGS, THE HOME LIBRARY PROJECT IS JUST COMING ON DOWN THE STRETCH FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
THERE, YOU SEE, I LOVE THIS PHOTO.
JEFFERSON TERRACE P WITH THIRD GRADERS, AND OUR, OUR LITERACY COORDINATOR, P ARNOLD.
I'M SAD TO TELL YOU THAT SHE SAID SIARA CLEANED OUT HER OFFICE THIS MORNING AND TURNED IN HER KEYS.
SHE JOINED US AS A STUDENT LIBRARIAN BACK IN 1993.
AND, UH, THEN BECAME A FULL-TIME LIBRARIAN ONCE SHE GOT HER MLS AT, UH, JONES CREEK AS A CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN.
AND THEN CAME OVER TO THE MAIN LIBRARY AND THEN TRANSITIONED INTO THIS KIND OF NEWLY, NEWLY REALIZED, UH, LITERACY OUTREACH COORDINATOR POSITION.
SO SHE'S STILL GONNA HANG AROUND AND DO A FEW THINGS FOR US.
UH, BUT, BUT PRETTY MUCH SHE'S PLANNING HER TRIP TO ISTANBUL.
ORIENT EXPRESS, ANOTHER PICTORIAL JOURNEY.
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WE WERE HERE IN THIS ROOM WITH, UH, JAY DARDEN, WHO IS THE CREATOR AND HOST OF WHY LOUISIANA AIN'T MISSISSIPPI OR ANY PLACE ELSE.AND HIS RESEARCHER, KATHY BERRY, WAS HERE WITH HIM.
AND LP B'S EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, LINDA MIDGET WAS HERE.
AND THEY KIND OF HAD, THEY, THEY SHOWED A FEW THINGS AND THEY HAD A CASUAL CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THE DOCUMENTARY CAME TO BE AND HOW THEN THE COMPANION BOOK CAME TO BE.
AND THEY, UH, GIFTED THE LIBRARY WITH A BEAUTIFUL BOOK, WHICH WE HAVE ASSIGNED TO THE BATON ROUGE ROOM, THE NON CIRCULATING COLLECTION, CUZ HE WROTE ALL OVER IT TO THE, TO THE CITIZENS OF EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE HANGING ON TO THAT ONE.
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF L P B, YOU CAN FIND IT ANYTIME YOU WANT THROUGH PASSPORT.
IT REALLY, UM, IT REALLY MADE YOU FEEL ALL THE GOOD FEELS ABOUT HOW LOUISIANA IS SPECIAL.
AND I'M NOT FROM LOUISIANA, SO I CAN TELL YOU IT IS SPECIAL.
AND THAT'S WHY WE PICKED THE BLUES, THE AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE OF MY MUSIC AND CULTURE FOR OUR ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY SERIES WRITTEN BY CHRIS THOMAS KING.
YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH TABBY THOMAS.
YOU MAY LISTEN TO W B R H ON THE RADIO IN THE AFTERNOON.
ROB PAY HAD A LONG RUNNING SHOW WITH TABBY, AND WE PICKED THIS BOOK.
IT'S FATTER THAN I USUALLY LIKE FOR OUR ONE BOOK COMMUNITIES, BUT IT'S REALLY IN TWO BIG CHUNKS.
IF ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS PEOPLE AND BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION, READ THE SECOND HALF OF THE BOOK.
IF YOU'RE FASCINATED BY THE IDEA THAT THE BLUES PERHAPS DID NOT, NOT ORIGINATE IN THE DELTA, MISSISSIPPI DOES NOT GET TO OWN THE BOO BLUES THE WAY CHRIS HAS RESEARCHED IT, AND HE'S DONE EXCELLENT RESEARCH.
HE DID 10 YEARS OF RESEARCH AND HIS THEORY, UH, THAT HE PRESENTS VERY MASTERFULLY IN THE FIRST SECTION OF THE BOOK IS THAT REALLY, IT'S MORE COSMOPOLITAN.
IT'S URBAN, IT'S CONGO SQUARE, IT'S SUNDAY AFTERNOONS AFTER CHURCH SORE BLUE.
THINK OF BLUE LAWS AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM, THAT WAS EVERYTHING THAT WASN'T IN CHURCH.
SO WE ARE KICKING THAT OFF RIGHT HERE ON THE PLAZA.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, FOUR TO SIX IS GOING TO BE BEAUTIFUL.
THE MICHAEL FOSTER PROJECT IS GOING TO BE PLAYING MUSIC.
UH, AND CHRIS WILL BE HERE WITH COPIES OF HIS BOOK.
OTHER BLUES ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE HERE.
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION MUSEUMS, THE ALL THE USUAL SUBJECTS WILL BE HERE AND THEN THROUGHOUT THE SPRING, I CAN'T, I JUST LOVE SAYING, UH, OF COURSE TEDDY OF TEDDY'S JEWS JOINT JEW JUKE JOINT WILL BE JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT, UM, HIS LIFE.
JOHN WORT, WHO WROTE HUEY PIAN SMITH AND THE ROCK ROCKING PNEUMONIA BLUES.
I, HOW CAN YOU NOT BE HAPPY? WHO CAN BE BLUE WHEN YOU HEAR THINGS LIKE THAT? WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A CONCERT, WELL WE JUST HAD AT SAM IRWIN LAST NIGHT, BUT A, A CONCERT BY JONATHAN BOOGIE LONG.
I MEAN, AGAIN, YOU CAN'T HELP BUT BE HAPPY.
THERE'LL BE PROGRAMS IN THE BRANCHES.
WE'LL BE SHOWING SOME DOCUMENTARIES.
WE'LL BE HAVING SOME READING AND DISCUSSION GROUPS.
AND@READONEBOOK.ORG, BECAUSE WE'RE ADDING PROGRAMS ALL THE TIME.
WE HAVE STARTED OUR STRICTLY BUSINESS VIRTUAL CONVERSATIONS.
THE ONE THAT I LISTENED TO YESTERDAY WAS WITH JOSH DESANT, WHO HAS REBRANDED ETEL INTO REV.
UH, SO THIS TAKES THE PLACE OF BUSINESS FORUM AND THESE ARE HALF HOUR LECTURES.
THEY'RE FAST, THEY'RE ENGAGING, UH, THEY'RE BUSINESS INSIDER INFORMATION.
OUR VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK SERIES CONTINUES.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A COOKBOOK AUTHOR, UM, AND HIS NAME.
DELICIOUS DISHES FROM MY AMERICAN TABLES TO YOURS.
AND THIS IS A SOUTHERN CELEBRITY CHEF ARD WELLS.
I'M KIND OF EXCITED TO HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY.
UH, AND REMEMBER THE PREVIOUS ONES ARE ARCHIVED.
THERE NEEDS TO BE A DOT C AFTER E B R P L ON THAT SLIDE.
BUT WHEN YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND CLICK IT, YOU'LL GET THERE.
UM, ONE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SHARE.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, YOU MAY BE, IF YOU'RE
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WATCHING TELEVISION OR LISTENING TO THE RADIO OR READING THE NEWSPAPER OR 2 25 OR IN REGISTER OR ANYTHING ELSE, YOU MAY BE SEEING THE BLUES AND VARIOUS ITERATIONS OUT THERE.UH, YOU MAY BE HEARING ABOUT IT ON THE RADIO.
YOU MAY BE, UH, SEEING A STAFF PERSON BE INTERVIEWED ON TELEVISION.
WE'RE GETTING WONDERFUL, UM, ENGAGEMENT FROM THE MEDIA BECAUSE THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THIS TOPIC.
UH, BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU, IT'S NOT JUST THE BLUES.
WE HAVE THE CONCERT BAND COMING UP.
THE CIVIC ORCHESTRA WILL BE DOWNTOWN.
AND I WANNA ESPECIALLY INVITE YOU TO WORK ON YOUR EDIBLE FOOD PRE CONTEST PREPARATION, CUZ ON APRIL FOOL'S DAY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR SECOND EDIBLE BOOK CONTEST.
LAST YEAR, ONE OF MY, I BROUGHT YOU THE GRAPES OF WRATH, WHERE I MADE LITTLE ANGRY FACES ON MY GRAPES.
ONE WAS MASHED POTATOES AND THE FIELD PEAS WERE FIGHTING THE GREEN PEAS
UM, SKITTLE WOMEN WAS A CROWD FAVORITE, AND IT WAS THE ONE THAT WAS MOST EATEN.
THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT AT THE END OF THE CONTEST, BUT YOU HAVE TIME AND YOU CAN DO TEAM ENTRIES.
UH, KIDS ENTERED LAST YEAR AND IT WAS A KIDS' KIDS' BOOK THAT WON.
UH, SO THAT'S COMING UP ON APRIL FOOL'S DAY.
AND YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO PLAN YOUR EDIBLE BOOK.
AND THEN I'M GOING TO BE SENDING YOU INVITATIONS FOR NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK, WHICH IS AT THE END OF APRIL.
WE WILL HAVE SOME OPEN HOUSES.
OUR FRIENDS GROUP WILL SPONSOR THESE.
AND IT'LL BE A TIME TO JUST RESET, REFLECT WHO ARE WE, WHERE ARE WE, INTRODUCE THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO THE PUBLIC, YET AGAIN, INTRODUCE KRISTEN TO THE PUBLIC YET AGAIN.
AND, UM, GET ON WITH OUR LIVES.
SO, ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, I'M GONNA GET OUT OF THE WAY.
OTHER REPORTS? ALL RIGHT, NOW IT'S MY TURN TO STAND UP HERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
FIRST, WE'LL GO WITH MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CAPITAL REPORTS.
UH, WE HAVE HAD PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE ON OUR AUTOMATIC DOORS AT BAKER BLUE BONNET, CARVER CENTRAL, DELMONT GARDENS, EDEN PARK, FAIRWOOD JONES CREEK, GREENO SPRINGS MAIN PRIDE, UH, THE RIVER CENTER IN ZACHARY.
UM, ALVIN AND I PERFORMED INTERVIEWS FOR OUR NEW MECHANICAL OPERATIONS MANAGER POSITION.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL BE FILLED RELATIVELY SOON HERE AT MAINE.
UH, THE GUYS, GUYS WORKED VERY DILIGENTLY AND CHANGED ALL OF THE BOATERS ON ALL THE AIR HANDLING UNITS THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING, BECAUSE AS WE KNOW, THEY RUN 365 DAYS A YEAR, 24 HOURS A DAY.
AND SOME PEOPLE PROBABLY HEARD IT, SO IT SHOULD BE A LITTLE BIT QUIETER IN THE BUILDING.
UM, THEY DID KEEP THOSE MOTORS AS A, AS A WAY TO REDUCE REUSES AND RECYCLE.
AND THEY ARE BEING REPURPOSED AND REFURBISHED SO THAT IF WE NEED, WE'LL HAVE MOTORS AVAILABLE TO HOT SWAP OUT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS.
UM, THE RIP IN THE CEILING TILE IN THE CHILDREN'S, UH, FABRIC CEILING TILE.
WE FINALLY GOT THE PO IT ONLY TOOK SIX MONTHS.
SO, UM, BUT WE'VE SCHEDULED A CALL, UH, WITH THE VENDOR ON THE 27TH TO FINALIZE ANY LITTLE DETAILS.
AND HOPEFULLY SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WE'LL ACTUALLY HAVE THE WORK SCHEDULED AND, AND THAT WILL BE ALL FIXED.
UH, WE RECEIVED NEW SCREENS IN ROOM 1 0 2 AND IN THE CHILDREN'S ROOM, THIS SCREEN REQUIRES A LITTLE BIT MORE WORK.
SO IT WILL BE BEING REPLACED ON THE 24TH NEXT FRIDAY.
SO WE ARE GONNA GO TO FINALLY REPAIRS BEING MADE AT JONES CREEK FOR THE WATER MAIN RUPTURE.
THEY HAVE RESTORED MY FAITH IN CONTRACTORS.
WE HAD A PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING ON THE 2ND OF MARCH.
THEY SAW CUTTED AND GOT ALL OF THIS OLD STUFF OUT OF THE WAY, AND IT'S ALSO ACTUALLY ALREADY BEEN REPORTED.
AND BY NEXT WEEK, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE THE LOADING DOCK AGAIN, JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME.
I ASKED, I SAID, IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN FIX JUST THE CONCRETE BEFORE OUR NEXT VOTE AT JONES CREEK, WE'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
AND THEY DELIVERED, WHICH WAS AWESOME.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S READY FOR USE.
THE, THE, THE THING THAT'S ACTUALLY GONNA TAKE TIME IS FIXING THE DOORS BACK THERE.
THE DOORS ARE A LONG LEAD TIME, SO IT'S GONNA TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS FOR THOSE TO COME IN, BUT THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM.
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THE AREA SECURED, SO JUST WAITING ON THAT.AND THEN WE HAVE OUR OUTREACH, UM, PROJECT, WHICH WE HAVE OUR MONTHLY MEETING TOMORROW.
SO THEY'VE STARTED TEARING OUT THE CEILING, AS YOU CAN SEE, ALL THE LOVELY, UM, INSULATION THAT WAS ABOVE THE AREA WHERE OUR, UH, EMPLOYEES WORK EVERY DAY AND WHERE THE COLLECTION IS.
SO THEY'VE BEEN MAKING REALLY GOOD WORK ON THAT.
UM, HOWEVER, THEY DID, UH, THEY'RE WORKING A BIT OUT OF SEQUENCE AND I HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THAT, BUT I'LL WE'LL ADDRESS THAT TOMORROW.
AND THEY DID TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE PARKING LOT THAN THEY ORIGINALLY HAD TOLD US THAT THEY WOULD.
AND SO THAT FORCED US, UNFORTUNATELY, TO CANCEL OUR BOOK SALE AT THE END OF FEBRUARY ON PRETTY SHORT NOTICE, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING OUT OF A LITTLE BIT OF SEQUENCE.
AND ON MONDAY OUR STAFF ARRIVED AND THEY DID NOT HAVE WATER FOR THE FIRST COUPLE HOURS.
SO THAT WAS A BIT OF A SURPRISE.
UM, BUT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND LIBRARY STAFF ARE WORKING VERY DILIGENTLY TO TRY AND KEEP ON TOP OF THEM.
AND ANY OF THESE CONCERNS WILL BE ADDRESSED TOMORROW MORNING.
BUT THE WORK'S GETTING DONE, SO THAT'S GOOD.
UM, BLUE BONNET, WE HAD A DESIGN MEETING ON THE 22ND.
WE HAVE A DESIGN MEETING ON THE 22ND TO FINALIZE THE CIRCULATION.
AND THEN AFTER THAT'LL, WE'LL JUST BE WAITING ON CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE OUR, UM, COMMENTS BACK TO THEM, UM, WHERE I GET STARTED.
ON THE NEXT PART, WE UNFORTUNATELY DO HAVE, UH, SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT OUR ROOFING PROJECT.
UM, YESTERDAY WE HAD THE O E P HERE IN THIS ROOM TO DO A KICKOFF TRAINING FOR THE COMMUNITY'S MASTER PLAN.
AND I WAS ABLE TO MEET, UH, JOSEPH BUTLER, THE NEW HEAD OF BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS AT D P W IN PERSON.
AND HE LET ME KNOW THAT HE WILL BE ATTENDING ALL OF OUR MEETINGS MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.
UM, BECAUSE THIS PROJECT IS AT MINIMUM OVER 60 DAYS OVERDUE, THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DONE IN THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY, AND WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK, UM, THAT'S BEING DONE.
THEY'RE VERY MUCH WORKING, UH, NOT IN ANY TYPE OF SEQUENCE THAT WE CAN DEVISE, MAKES ANY SENSE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE VERY LIMITED ON WHAT WE CAN DO AS FAR AS TELLING THEM HOW TO DO THEIR WORK AS A CONTRACTOR.
UM, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN PAINTING IN LOCATIONS AND UNFORTUNATELY, A SUPERINTENDENT IS NOT ALWAYS ON SITE.
WE ARE PRETTY SURE THAT THEY ARE PAINTING THINGS BEFORE THEY ARE PRESSURE WASHED AND PREPPED, UM, IN THE BEGINNING.
SO ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES WILL BE RECOMMENDING THAT WE REJECT ALL OF THAT WORK.
WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE HOW WE'RE GONNA GO BACK AND, UM, TAKE OFF SOME OF THE PAINT THAT'S BEEN APPLIED TO DIRTY STUCCO, BUT I'M SURE WE CAN WORK WITH THEM AND THE PAINT MANUFACTURERS TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, UM, REMEDY THAT SITUATION.
UM, ROBERT GRAY FROM ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES SPENT HIS WEEKEND LAST WEEKEND ACTUALLY COMING OVER TO BLUE BONNET.
THANKFULLY HE ONLY LIVES A COUPLE MINUTES AWAY, BUT THE STAFF CALLED HIM TO LET HIM KNOW THAT, UM, THE PAINTERS WERE THERE WORKING AND HE POPPED OVER TO TAKE PICTURES AND VERIFY THAT THE WORK, UM, WASN'T REALLY BEING DONE TO SPECIFICATIONS.
SO WE DO HAVE A GOOD BIT OF DOCUMENTATION.
UM, WE STILL HAVE SMALL LEAKS AT ALL FOUR LOCATIONS.
UM, FLASHING AND DRIP EDGES ARE NOT BEING INSTALLED, AND THE CONTRACTOR IS WAITING UNTIL THE LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT, UH, IN MOST INSTANCES TO SEND US INFORMATION.
AS FAR AS COORDINATING WORK, THAT REALLY DOES REQUIRE COORDINATION, UM, WITH THE LIBRARY, WE ARE, UM, HAVING A MEETING AGAIN NEXT WEEK, WEDNESDAY.
UM, HOPEFULLY ALL OF THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDRESSED.
IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE MEETING, AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE WORK, UM, OR HAVE SOME OTHER AVENUE OF, OF, UM, PROCEEDING IN A WAY THAT IS, HAS THE LIBRARY'S BEST INTEREST.
UM, SO WE WILL KEEP YOU UP TO DATE.
UM, AND AS FAR AS THE MISCELLANEOUS REPAIR PACKAGE GOES, UM, OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THAT WORK IS INTERIOR WORK TO FIX, UM, TO FIX SOME DAMAGE THAT WAS DONE BECAUSE OF THE ROOF LEAKS.
SO SINCE WE STILL HAVE, UM, LEAKING ROOFS AT A COUPLE OF THOSE LOCATIONS, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE PHASING SCHEDULE THAT THEY PUT TOGETHER.
WE ALSO, UM, THE ARCHITECT AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR PHASING PLAN ANYWAYS, SO THAT, THAT WE HAVE TO WORK OUT.
UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO THAT CONCERN BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO GO IN AND PAINT,
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UM, BELOW THE CLEAR STORIES AT MONT, AND THEN THEY'LL HAVE A LEAK AND IT RUINED THE WORK THAT THEY DID, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY HAD JUST DONE.SO WE STILL DO NOT HAVE A NOTICE TO PROCEED ON THAT.
UM, BUT THEY WERE JUMPING ON A CALL, I BELIEVE TODAY.
SO WITHIN, AGAIN, LIKE THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON, UM, WHEN THAT PROJECT IS GONNA BE ABLE TO KICK OFF.
JUST ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? WELL, WE HAVE CONCERNS, BUT I MEAN,
UM, BUT I WOULD SAY OUR, OUR, OUR BRANCH MANAGERS HAVE BEEN, UM, REALLY DILIGENT IN DOCUMENTING WORK TOO.
SO, UM, SO I'M CONFIDENT WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A GOOD RESOLUTION.
IT JUST UNFORTUNATELY IS GOING TO TAKE LONGER THAN WE REALLY WANTED OR ANTICIPATED, SO.
HEY, UM,
THE PEOPLE THAT ATTENDED ALL OF THEM HAD VERY POSITIVE COMMENTS, UM, TO SAY TO ME AS I WAS LETTING THEM OUT THE DOOR, UH, AT 3:00 PM TO, TO GO ENJOY THEIR, THEIR MARDI GRAS HOLIDAY.
THEY REALLY APPRECIATED THE VIDEO THAT Y'ALL SHOT.
AND, UH, IT IS UP FOR VIEWING ON OUR INTERNAL INTRANET, UM, PAST THAT DATE.
AND IT WILL LIVE ON AN INFAMY, AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING
SO, UM, SO THE CONSENSUS IS THAT WE WILL HOLD ANOTHER STAFF DAY NEXT YEAR.
AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT SOME ALTERNATIVE DATES, UM, USING SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT BRYCE HAS BEEN PUTTING TOGETHER ABOUT OUR, UM, BUSIEST AND LEAST BUSIEST DAYS OF THE YEAR.
UM, ACTUALLY LUND GRAS WAS NOT ONE OF THE TOP 10 LEAST BUSY DAYS OF THE YEAR, SO WE'RE GONNA, UH, LOOK AT THAT, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.
UM, OUR WEBSITE, SO WE HAVE VENDOR PRESENTATIONS ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.
UM, WE NARROWED IT DOWN TO SIX, BUT ONLY FIVE VENDORS CONFIRMED.
AND, UM, AFTER THE PRESENTATIONS, WHICH ARE AN HOUR AND A HALF LONG, UM, WE WILL MAKE OUR SELECTION OF THE FINALISTS BEFORE THE END OF THAT WEEK SO THAT WE CAN KEEP ON TIME FRAME WITH, UM, EXECUTING THE CONTRACT AND GETTING THAT INFORMATION OVER TO COUNCIL.
BUT, UM, THEY ALL DEMONSTRATED, UM, REALLY GOOD KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OF WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE AND, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF, UM, USER EXPERIENCE AND USER RESEARCH SO THAT OUR COMMUNITY WILL HAVE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE EVERY TIME THEY VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE.
UM, MARY PATRICIA AND I HAD A MEETING WITH HR AND IS TO, AGAIN, ESPOUSE THE MANY, UH, DIFFICULTIES THAT OUR STAFF HAVE WITH THE, UM, SCHEDULE AS IT IS.
UM, WE LET THEM KNOW AND WE STILL NEED TO SHARE WITH THEM THE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SCHEDULING, UH, CONSULTANT THAT WE ENGAGED.
UM, BUT THAT NOTHING WAS REALLY A MAGIC BULLET TO FIX THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY.
UM, BUT WE WILL BE, UM, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING WHAT THE CONSULTANT TOLD US.
PATRICIA'S GOING TO HAVE A MEETING WITH THE BRANCH MANAGERS NEXT WEEK, UH, TO GO OVER SOME OF THOSE SPECIFIC, UM, IMMEDIATE WAYS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR STAFF.
SO, UM, WHEN WE SPOKE WITH HR, WE TOLD THEM THAT WE WOULD BE WILLING TO HIRE AN HR, UH, PERSON TO HELP ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PAYROLL PROCESSING WORK THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
UM, THEY SEEMED SOMEWHAT RECEPTIVE, BUT IS WOULD FIRST LIKE TO REALLY REVIEW THE WORKFLOWS IN THE CURRENT SOFTWARE TO SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT MORE STREAMLINED AND SEE IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT WHEN THE INITIAL SETUP WAS DONE, MAY NOT, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN THE BEST CHOICE.
LOOKING BACK NOW THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A TRACK RECORD WITH THE SOFTWARE, IS THERE SOMETHING BETTER THAT CAN BE DONE AS FAR AS THE PROCESS GOES TO MAKE IT A LITTLE SMOOTHER? UM, AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THAT BEFORE ANY NECESSARILY COMMITTED, UM, COMMITMENT ON OUR PART TO HIRING SOMEONE, THOUGH WE SEE THE BENEFIT OF THAT, NOT ONLY WITH PAYROLL, BUT ALSO WITH, UM, THIS, UH, RESTRICTED HIRING
[00:30:02]
PROCESS THAT WE, THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE OF ONLY BEING ABLE TO PUT OUT TWO CLASSIFICATIONS AT A TIME.SO, UM, THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UH, THEY'RE STILL, THEY'VE, THEY KEPT ME UP TO DATE.
THEY'RE STILL, UM, NEEDING A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO RESEARCH WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN OFFER A CONTRACT FOR THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR POSITION.
UM, BUT I SHOULD HAVE SOME INFORMATION FROM THEM BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
THE RESEARCH WAS DUE FROM THEIR, UH, THEIR ASSISTANT, UM, I BELIEVE YESTERDAY THAT'S WHEN THEY WERE, THEIR DEADLINE WAS.
SO NOW, UM, THE CONTRACT ATTORNEY AND THE PERSONNEL ATTORNEY SHOULD HAVE ALL THE RESEARCH AND IS REVIEWING IT TO SEE WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT THEY COULD PUT TOGETHER FOR US.
UM, BUT WE ALSO AT THAT MEETING, DISCUSSED SOME OF OUR MORE FREQUENT, UM, PROBLEM PATRONS AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IF THE LIBRARY WERE TO, OR THE CITY WERE TO NEED TO PURSUE SOME TYPE OF LEGAL ACTION.
CUZ I DON'T, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG LADIES, I DON'T BELIEVE WE'VE DONE THAT BEFORE.
SO JUST WANTED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
AND, UM, SO THEY OBVIOUSLY ASSURED US THAT THEY'RE THERE TO SUPPORT US, UH, IN WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY NEED, THAT WE NEED FROM THEM.
UM, THEY ARE WORKING UP A SCRIPT TO HELP OUR STAFF HAVE SOMETHING KIND OF IN HAND THAT THEY CAN REFER TO IF SOMEONE WERE TO COME BACK THAT HAD BEEN SUSPENDED.
UM, AND, UH, HOW TO ASK THEM TO LEAVE POLITELY AND THEN IF THEY DON'T, WHAT EXACTLY TO DO WHEN THEY REMAIN ON THE PREMISES, WHEN THEY'RE BITTEN TO LEAVE.
AND, UH, THEY DID SOMETHING SIMILAR WHEN THE FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT, PEOPLE CAME AND THEY ACTUALLY CAME TO CITY HALL.
SO WE, UM, ARE EXPECTING THAT I DO NEED TO CHECK BACK IN WITH THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK TO REMIND THEM THAT I'M EXPECTING THAT FROM THEM.
AND, UM, THEY ARE EXPECTING TO REVIEW AN UPDATED PATRON RULES OF BEHAVIOR, UM, POLICY FROM US.
UM, THEY HAVE A COPY OF THE CURRENT ONE.
UM, AND YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT AT THE END OF NOVEMBER OR AT THE NOVEMBER MEETING, WE DID, UM, DO A POLICY UPDATE FOR THAT.
BUT THAT WAS JUST TO, UM, ADDRESS A COUPLE OF IMMEDIATE BEHAVIOR ISSUES THAT CAME UP.
UM, BUT WE REALLY DO NEED TO DO A FULL SCALE, UM, REVIEW OF THAT.
AND SO IT WAS EVIDENCED NOT ONLY BY, UM, BY THAT END OF THE YEAR THING THAT CAME UP, BUT ALSO FROM THE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM STAFF, UM, IN, IN ADVANCE OF STAFF DAY.
A LOT OF IT WAS, YOU KNOW, PROBLEM PATRONS AND SAFETY CONCERNS.
SO WE CREATED A SEVEN MEMBER, UH, INCIDENT REPORTING AND, AND PATRON RULE OF BEHAVIOR COMMITTEE.
UH, THEY MET FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY.
I REVIEWED WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, FIRST COMES THE POLICY.
WE HAVE TO REDO THAT BEFORE WE CAN UPDATE THE SOFTWARE MODULE, CUZ IN THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO SELECT WHICH SPECIFIC RULE THE PATRON BROKE.
SO WE HAVE TO UPDATE THE SOFTWARE WITH THE NEW RULES, BUT WE GOTTA HAVE THE NEW RULES FIRST.
SO THEY'LL BE FOCUSING ON THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, LOOKING AT A LOT OF EXAMPLES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY OF SIMILAR, UM, POPULATION SIZE AND, UM, DEMOGRAPHICS.
SO ONCE THEY HAVE A DRAFT, THEY'LL PASS IT ON TO US, WE'LL LOOK AT IT, MAKE ANY CHANGES, AND THEN WE WILL SEND IT OVER TO THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THEM TO REVIEW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING ILLEGAL.
WE'RE NOT INFRINGING ON ANYBODY'S RIGHTS, UNINTENTIONALLY.
WE WOULD NOT DO THAT INTENTIONALLY.
AND THEN SOMETIME IN THE SUMMER, UM, WE'LL BRING YOU A COPY TO REVIEW AND THEN HOPEFULLY BY THE FALL YOU'LL ACTUALLY VOTE ON IT, IF NOT SOONER.
I DIDN'T WANNA BRUSH THEM TOO MUCH CUZ OBVIOUSLY IT, IT'S A LOT OF WORK.
AND, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT THE PROCEDURE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THE STEPS OF THE PROCEDURES WRITTEN DOWN.
UM, CUZ THAT TENDS TO HAPPEN IS KIND OF LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT YOU'VE, THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN HERE FOR SO LONG AND YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS MAYBE BEHIND THE SCENES AFTER YOU'VE SUBMITTED SOMETHING BY HAVING IT IN WRITING SO THAT ALL THE STAFF CAN SEE EXACTLY WHERE IT'S GONNA GO, WHO'S GONNA MAKE THE DECISIONS, UM, ONCE IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN PASSED ON THAT WE DO WANT TO, UM, SUSPEND A PATRON FOR, FOR MORE THAN THE TWO WEEKS.
SO, AND THEY'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THE STAFF PROCEDURE AND POLICY BOOK THAT WE JUST, UM, FINISHED WILL ALSO ALIGN WITH WHAT WE'RE TELLING THEM TO DO.
SO, CUZ YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN A MAJOR CHANGE, BUT IT, IT'S ENOUGH OF A CHANGE THAT WE NEED TO
[00:35:01]
MAKE SURE THAT THEIR TRAINING MATERIALS FOR INCIDENT REPORTING MATCH UP WITH THAT.SO, ALL RIGHT, WE TALKED ABOUT THE SCHEDULE STUDY, UM, AND THEN LAST WEEK, UM, OUR ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW CONSULTANT WAS HERE ALL WEEK.
SHE SPOKE WITH 29 MEMBERS OF OUR STAFF.
SO IT WAS A VERY LONG WEEK, UH, FOR HER, A LOT OF INFORMATION GATHERING.
UM, WE DID A LITTLE TOUCH BASE MEETING WITH HER ON FRIDAY BEFORE SHE LEFT.
UM, WE DISCUSSED SOME OF THE MORE OBVIOUS, UM, OPPORTUNITIES THAT SHE SAW RIGHT AWAY AFTER TALKING WITH OUR STAFF MEMBERS, UM, THAT WE COULD DO TO IMPROVE.
UM, AND ONE OF THEM WAS COMMUNICATIONS.
AND SO WE'VE ALREADY ENGAGED A FORMER STAFF MEMBER, UM, TO, WITH A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AGREEMENT.
AND WE'RE GONNA BRING BACK, UM, THE LIBRARY NEWSLETTER THAT APPARENTLY Y'ALL HAD, UM, A WHILE BACK TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY REALLY IS FEELING LIKE THEY'RE, UM, GETTING THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE IN 15 DIFFERENT BUILDINGS AND IT'S SPREAD OUT BETWEEN THIS MANY, UM, SQUARE MILES AND, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO JUST RELY ON THE TRICKLE DOWN OF THE COMMUNICATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO, UM, THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE'RE ALREADY JUST KIND OF GONNA ACT ON AND NOT WAIT ON, UM, FOR HER FULL RECOMMENDATION.
BUT SHE IS GOING TO DILIGENTLY COMPILE ALL OF THAT, PLUS LOOKING AT OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL CHARTS OF OTHER, UM, SYSTEMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY DOING THE SALARY STUDY.
AND, UM, HOPEFULLY WE WILL, THE PLAN IS TO GET THAT REPORT SO THAT WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE 2024 BUDGET PROCESS, Y'ALL WILL HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU.
Y'ALL WILL UNDERSTAND MORE SOME OF THE, UM, THINGS THAT WE MAY INCLUDE AS FAR AS STAFFING AND PERSONNEL AND ALLOTMENTS GOES, BECAUSE IT WILL COME FROM THIS VERY IN-DEPTH RESEARCH ORIENTED REPORT THAT SHE'S PUTTING TOGETHER FOR US.
SO SPEAKING ABOUT THE 2024 BUDGET
UM, SO I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A, A COUPLE CAVEATS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY WE STILL HAVE TO VOTE AND APPROVE ON IT IN JULY.
JULY IS ALWAYS VERY POPULAR WITH EVERYBODY'S VACATION SCHEDULES.
PLUS THIS YEAR WE HAVE THE LOUISIANA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION IS ACTUALLY BEING HELD IN JULY HERE IN BATON ROUGE.
SO I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO HAVE OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP BEFORE ALA ANNUAL, WHICH IS JUNE 21ST.
SO JUST KIND OF, KIND OF THINK ABOUT THAT NOW.
ROSANNA WILL STILL PUT TOGETHER A POLL OF SOME DATES FOR Y'ALL SO THAT WE CAN, THAT WE CAN NARROW IT DOWN, BUT IT JUST MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT SOONER THAN I THINK IT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY THE EARLIEST IT'S BEEN SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE.
UM, IT MAY HAVE BEEN EARLIER THAN THAT IN THE PAST, BUT, UM, BUT JUST WANTED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THAT.
AND I'M GONNA QUICKLY GIVE YOU A COUPLE STATS BEFORE I GET MARY UP HERE BECAUSE YOU'RE SICK OF HEARING ME TALK.
UM, KIOSKS
THAT'S 50,985 ITEMS. WE HAD HAD 359 CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS AND THAT'S 300 AND OH FOR A TOTAL OF $5,808 AND 47 CENTS.
AND THAT'S SEVEN 13.7% OF ALL PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE BY CREDIT CARDS.
UM, HOTSPOTS HAVE CIRCULATED 820 TIMES THIS YEAR BY 400 PATRONS.
AND OUR COMPUTER SERVICES STA STAFF, THERE WERE SEVEN HUNDRED, ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY NINE TICKETS CREATED AND 165 OF THEM HAVE BEEN RESOLVED.
AND NOW MARY IS GOING TO COME UP AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE EARL K LONG START BRANCH AND I'M GONNA GET OUT OF THE WAY.
THINK BACK TO SEVERAL YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE REALLY THINKING ABOUT OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN OVER THE NEXT MANY, MANY YEARS.
CUZ AS YOU KNOW, WE PLAN FOR THE AGES AND SPENCER, UH, GAVE US THE IDEA OF THE START BRANCH AND START STOOD FOR, CUZ WE LOVE A GOOD ANAGRAM OR WHATEVER, STRATEGICALLY TARGETED ACCESS FOR RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGY.
SO BE KIND OF LIKE AN EXPRESS BRANCH.
THEY'D STILL BE OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
[00:40:01]
SQUARE FEET, WHICH TO US IS A SMALL BRANCH TO SOME PLACES IN THE WORLD THAT'S A GINORMOUS PLACE.BUT FOR US, IT WOULD HAVE POPULAR READING, IT WOULD HAVE COMPUTERS, SOME STUDY ROOMS, SOME PLACES TO TELEHEALTH OR, YOU KNOW, GET ONLINE AND FILL OUT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION.
IT WOULD HAVE STAFF, IT WOULDN'T JUST BE, UM, AN OPEN AIR KIOSK OR ANYTHING, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT WOULDN'T DO ALL THE PROGRAMMING THAT YOU SEE, AND IT WOULDN'T HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF MEETING ROOMS, UM, IT WOULD BE A LITTLE SMALLER SCALE.
SO THIS EXPRESS BRANCH, WE LOOKED AT THE MAP AND THE MOST, UH, THE PRIORITIES WAS NORTH AND SOUTH.
NORTH NEAR EARL K, LONG AND SOUTH NEAR WOMEN'S HOSPITAL, OR FLIPPING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PARISH NEAR RIVER BEND, LOOKING AT WHERE WE HAD THE BIGGEST HOLES.
WELL, EARL K LONG HAS BEEN PART OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH HOUSING AUTHORITY REDEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
THEY HAVE STARTED TO ACCUMULATE LAND.
IN FACT, THEY HAVE PURCHASED LAND.
UH, THEY HAVE A VARIETY OF FUNDING MECHANISMS IN PLACE, AND THEY HAVE ANCHOR PARTNERS IN CARE SOUTH.
UH, THE Y W C A BR, THE COUNCIL IN AGING NEW SCHOOLS, BR THE ARTS COUNCIL WORKFORCE COMMISSION.
AND THEY INVITED THE LIBRARY TO BE PART OF THE PLANNING FOR THIS.
AND, AND OF COURSE WE HAVEN'T, HAVEN'T COMMITTED ANYTHING.
WE JUST AS, AS WE DO, WE WERE LIKE, WE'RE INTERESTED, THIS COULD WORK REALLY NICELY WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
WE WROTE THEM LETTERS OF SUPPORT AND THEY ASKED US TO A MEETING, UM, UH, TWO WEEKS AGO.
AND AT YOUR SEATS YOU HAVE THE AGENDA FOR THE MEETING AND YOU HAVE A LITTLE MOCKUP OF WHAT THE CONCEPT FOR THE MASTER PLAN.
THERE'S ALSO A QR CODE WHERE YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND KIND OF SEE THE ARTIST RENDERING THE, UM, THE ARCHITECTS RENDERING COLEMAN, UH, IS IS THE ARCHITECT THAT'S HELPING THEM WITH THIS COLEMAN PARTNERS AND THE LIBRARY WOULD BE AT THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER RIGHT NEXT TO THE COUNCIL IN AGINGS FACILITY.
AND THEY IMAGINE THIS TO BE AN ACTIVATED SPACE.
THERE'S ALSO GOING TO BE HOUSING.
THERE'S GOING TO BE, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVING NEAR IT.
BUT THEN, UH, VERY NICELY DEVELOPED, ESPECIALLY WITH BRECK AND THE ARTS COUNCIL DOING, UH, PLANNING EVENTS AND SPACES TO KEEP IT ENGAGED AND ACTIVATED.
AND FRANKLY, IT'S RIGHT OFF AIRLINE HIGHWAY AND WITH THE CARE SOUTH HEALTHCARE FACILITY, AND THERE IS A DRUGSTORE HOP SKIPPING A JUMP AWAY THAT WILL GUARANTEE THAT THE SPACE STAYS ACTIVATED.
SO, UM, WE HAVE THE ANCHORS AND NOW THEY'RE INVITING US TO PUT A LITTLE BIT MORE THOUGHT TO, TO WHAT, UH, WE MIGHT DO, HOW WE MIGHT SEE OURSELVES IN THIS KIND OF EMPTY PLACE THAT THEY'VE RESERVED FOR US.
THEY WOULD LIKE US TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
IDEALLY, THEY WOULD LOVE SOMETHING IN WRITING, UH, A LETTER OF INTENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE HAVE TOLD THEM, AGAIN AND AGAIN, WE ARE MOVING AT THE PACE OF GLACIERS
THEY'RE READY TO, UM, PUT SHOVELS ON THE GROUND.
UM, IF I WOULD LIKE YOU TO GO ONLINE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE RENDERING, UH, LOOK AT THE LITTLE WEBSITE THAT THEY'VE, UH, SHARED WITH US.
AND, UH, THEY'RE, WELL, THEY'RE MORE THAN EAGER TO COME AND DO A PRESENTATION TO THE FULL BOARD.
THEY'RE HAPPY TO MEET WITH YOU INDIVIDUALLY, THEY'RE HAPPY TO SEND US THINGS.
THE TRAIN IS GONNA LEAVE THE STATION AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF WE'D LIKE TO BE ON IT.
SO IF, IF, IF, SAY WE, WE, WE BUILD A FACILITY WITHIN THIS, THIS PLAN, I MEAN, HOW MANY LIBRARIANS IT'S GONNA TAKE, THE STAFF, THIS TYPE OF, I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? I MEAN, JUST KIND OF BALLPARK, DO WE KNOW OR WE HAVEN'T FLESHED IT OUT.
IT WAS NOT GOING TO BE AS MANY AS CARVER OR FAIRWOOD OR PRIDE.
IT WAS GOING TO BE MAYBE HALF THAT STAFF.
[00:45:01]
IT.AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR KIOSK ENGAGEMENT BEING AT 30%, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, WE ARE A PART OF THE SCHEDULING TOO, LOOKING AT IS WHAT IS REALLY THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF STAFF THAT WE NOW NEED, UM, WITH SOME OF THIS AUTOMATION THAT WE HAVE, UM, IN HOUSE NOW.
SO IT, IT'S NOT THAT IT'S JUST DO WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE THERE AT THE SAME TIME DURING THE OPEN HOURS? AND IF THIS IS AN 8,000 SQUARE FOOT, UM, YOU KNOW, FACILITY, WE MIGHT NOT HAVE ACTUALLY A CIRCULATION DESK.
KIOSKS AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE SOMEONE AVAILABLE AT A SERVICE DESK THAT WOULD BE PERFORMING A LITTLE BIT MORE ALL IN ONE SERVICE, UM, FOR PEOPLE.
SO, SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS RIGHT, WE WOULD BUILD OUR BUILDING ON THIS IN THIS THING, AND SO THAT WOULD HAVE TO, WE'D HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT IN OUR BUDGET.
AND THEN OPERATIONALLY DOWN THE LINE, I WOULD THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE IN THE NEXT MILLAGE AND NOT YEAH, IT'S GONNA, WE, WE MENTIONED IT IN THE LAST MILLAGE THAT THIS WAS A FUTURE PLAN, BUT I MEAN, FOR THE STAFFING IT WOULD BE FOR THE NEXT VILLAGE STAFFING WOULD BE IN THE NEXT MILLAGE.
AND, UH, THERE WOULD BE AN HOA JUST FOR THIS ASSOCIA, THIS GROUPING.
UH, BUT WE WOULD, UH, TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN PLACE.
NOW IF ALL THE OTHER, IF ALL THE OTHER FRIENDS WERE TAKING CARE OF PROGRAMMATIC NEEDS AS FAR AS ACTIVITIES, THAT WOULD MEAN THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS DOING SPECIAL THINGS ALL THE TIME, OR TEEN LIBRARIANS.
WE KNEW WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THE COMPUTER HELP, BUT MAYBE WE DEPEND ON THE ARTS COUNCIL AND SOME OF THESE OTHER, UH, MAYBE THE COUNCIL ON AGING TAKES CARE OF EVERYTHING OVER, YOU KNOW, MY AGE AND UP.
AND SO THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE NEXT MILLAGE YES.
AS FAR AS CONSTRUCTING AND THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO THAT BIG CHART THAT WE HAD, UH, LAST SUMMER AND SHARED WITH YOU ABOUT FUND BALANCE AND SOME OF THE USES OF FUND BALANCE, THE START LIBRARIES WERE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM AND WE WERE JUST ANTICIPATING THE BUILDING AND THEN THE OPERATION.
WHO, WHO'S, UM, UH, IS THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN, FIRST OF ALL IS, UH, WHO'S IN IN CHARGE OF THAT? THAT, AND THEN SECOND OF ALL, UM, HOW MANY HOUSING UNITS SHOULD THEY ANTICIPATE IN PEOPLE? IT LOOKS LIKE A, A A POD TYPE SITUATION.
UM, WELL, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT KIND OF ORGANIZATION, BUT JAY DANIELS WITH THE EBR, R P H A A EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH HOUSING AUTHORITY IS WORKING ON IT.
UM, JOE'S STI WITH COLEMAN PARTNERS IS THE ARCHITECT OF RECORD.
UH, THEY OF COURSE HA UH, SENATOR REGINA BARROW HAS HELPED THEM MAKE THEIR PARTNERS AND COLLABORATIONS AND HELP THEM FIND SOME FUNDING AND IS SUPPORTING THIS.
UM, YOU SEE ON THIS AGENDA, UH, THEY'RE ANTICIPATING OVER A HUNDRED, UH, RESIDENTIAL UNITS, UH, FOR THE SENIORS AND THEN TOWN HOMES.
THEY'RE ANTICIPATING A LOT OF OFFICE COMMERCIAL SPACE, AND THEY ALREADY HAVE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE THERE AGAIN WITH HEALTH SOUTH THERE AND A DRUG STORE.
UM, THERE ARE SOME QUALITY OF LIFE TYPE, UH, PEOPLE THAT WANT TO BE THERE.
UH, THEY'RE VERY, THEY'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH, SO IT'S A BIG PACKAGE FOR REDEVELOPMENT.
AND, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HAPPY TO SHARE ALL THE INFORMATION.
LET'S SEE, WE WOULD HAVE OUR OWN PARKING.
UM, IT'S CALLED NORTH POINT MASTER PLAN.
THAT'S JUST THE NAME THEY'VE GIVEN TO IT.
UM, AND I, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK OUT OF TURN AND SAY SOMETHING THAT'S INCORRECT, BUT MR. DANIELS IS THE C E O FOR THE HOUSING AUTHORITY.
AND, AND HE AND SENATOR BARRA ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
I I THINK THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD PROBABLY LIKE TO INVITE THEM TO DO A PRESENTATION TO THE FULL BOARD.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS? YEAH, I'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON IT.
I NEED TO DO A LITTLE MORE INVESTIGATION TO SEE WHAT'S, WHAT'S GOING ON, JUST TO MAKE SURE IT'S A GOOD FIT.
LIKE I SAID, WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY AND JASON KIND OF ASK THE QUESTION THAT I WAS GONNA ASK, BUT I GUESS JUST SO I CAN HAVE CLARITY TOO, THIS, UM, TIMELINE IS IN THE SAME, UM, TIMELINE
[00:50:01]
WE ALREADY HAVE FOR THAT, A START BRANCH IN THAT AREA.IS IT IN THE SAME TIMELINE ALREADY OR IS IT, WOULD IT BE US MOVING A LITTLE SOONER THAN ANTICIPATED? WELL, THEY WOULD LOVE A LETTER OF INTENT TO LOCK IT DOWN, EVEN IF THEY KNEW WE WEREN'T GONNA ACTUALLY BUILD FOR A WHILE.
UM, BEFORE MOVING FORWARD, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS DISCUSSED UNDER ROMAN NUMERAL FOUR ON THE AGENDA REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR? SEEING NONE, UH, WE HAVE NO COMMITTEE REPORTS.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS UPDATE ON SOUTH BRANCH LIBRARY, MS. PATRICIA HUSBAND, WE'LL GIVE THE UPDATE.
WELL, WE, UM, DID RECEIVE THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS AND THE SPECIFICATIONS, UH, FLOOR PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS, UH, ON FEBRUARY 20TH.
UM, I GOT A COPY OF THEM ON THE 27TH AND I'VE BEEN REVIEWING THEM AND, UM, SUBMITTING THE RESPONSES BACK TO THE ARCHITECTS.
SO I'M ALMOST FINISHED WITH THAT.
AND WE ALSO GOT A TIMELINE FROM, UM, ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
SO MARCH 17TH IS WHEN THE REVIEW COMMENTS NEED TO BE BACK AT POST.
AND SO I'VE BEEN SENDING THE, THOSE INFOR THAT INFORMATION FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, AND THEN ON APRIL 3RD, BY APRIL 3RD, THEY NEED TO REVISE THIS CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS.
UH, FOR THE BID PACKAGE, APRIL 6TH, WE'LL SEND THE BID PACKAGE TO PURCHASING APRIL 14TH, THE FIRST AD, APRIL 22ND, 21ST, THE SECOND AD, APRIL 25TH, THE PRE-BID CONFERENCE, AND APRIL 28TH, THE THIRD AND FINAL AD WITH A TENTATIVE BID OPENING OF MAY 11TH.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE THINK WE'RE GOING WITH THIS, AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO STICK TO.
SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW, OF COURSE, WE'LL HAVE TO GET THE BIDS AND THEN HAVE ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES, REVIEW IT FOR RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, AND THEN AWARD THE BID.
IT'LL GO TO THE CO TO THE METRO COUNCIL.
THAT'LL HAVE TO BE ACCEPTANCE OF LOW BID.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A CONTRACT, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A, UH, NOTICE TO PROCEED.
SO THAT WILL PROBABLY TAKE SIX WEEKS OR SO ONCE THE BIDS ARE IN.
SO WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE, UH, END OF JUNE, MAYBE, MAYBE JULY.
FEBRUARY'S, EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDING TO THIS CASE.
SO THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE FOR YOU AT THIS POINT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO, THANK YOU.
UPDATE ON SCOTLANDVILLE BRANCH LIBRARY.
SO THE ARCHITECTS ARE WORKING ON THE VE REVISIONS FOR BOTH, UH, THE LIBRARY AND THE ARCHIVES.
THEY'RE STARTING WITH THE ARCHIVES, AND THE PLAN IS TO REBID THE ARCHIVES FIRST AND THEN THE LIBRARY.
SO WE'VE GOT A TENTATIVE TIMELINE.
IT HAS NOT COME FROM ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
IT IS ONE PROPOSED BY THE, BY THE ARCHITECT THAT, UM, THEY'RE HOPING TO SUBMIT THE CDS FOR THE OWNER REVIEW MARCH 20TH.
AND THEN, UM, HAVE THE CHANGES INCORPORATED BY MARCH BY APRIL 11TH, AND THEN A PURCHASING SET UP AND A BID, UH, STARTING THE BID AROUND JUNE 1ST.
UH, NOW THAT DOESN'T HAVE AS MUCH DETAIL AS THE OTHER ONE BECAUSE ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES HASN'T, YOU KNOW, PLACED IT OUT.
SO WE'D STILL HAVE TO HAVE THREE ANNOUNCEMENTS.
WE'D HAVE TO HAVE A PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING AND THEN A BID OPENING, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE REST OF THE PROCESS.
SO THIS IS JUST A TENTATIVE TIMELINE THAT, THAT THEY'VE WORKED ON.
AND ONCE THEY GET THE ARCHIVE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS DOWN THE ROAD AND READY TO BID, THEN THEY'LL START SUBMITTING.
THEY'LL SUBMIT THE LIBRARY REVISED VA CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS FOR US TO REVIEW.
SO IT WON'T, WE WON'T WAIT, UH, TO WORK ON THOSE DOCUMENTS UNTIL THE ARCHIVES ARE DONE.
WE'LL BE KIND OF WORKING ON THOSE ONE AFTER THE OTHER.
SO WE'RE STILL WAITING ON A FINAL TIMELINE FOR THE LIBRARY.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW.
SO I ANTICIPATE GETTING SOME DOCUMENTS NEXT WEEK AND, UM, GETTING THOSE PRINTED UP AND THEN STARTED STARTING TO LOOK AT THOSE.
[00:55:03]
ANY QUESTIONS PROCESSES MOVING FORWARD? YES, IT IS.LIKE AN ICEBERG MADE OF MOLASSES LEFT.
IS THERE, UH, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS DISCUSSED UNDER ROMO NUMERAL SIX ON THE AGENDA? UNFINISHED BUSINESS? SAY NONE GOING ON TO NEW BUSINESS, VOTE TO ADOPT UPDATED COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY STATEMENT.
UH, I THINK WE HAVE A COPY THAT WAS PROVIDED TO US.
UH, DOES ANYBODY WANT TO GET UP AND TALK ABOUT IT? OR, THAT WOULD BE MS. MARY STEIN.
YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU THE OLD ONE 18 PAGES OF IT AND THE NEW THREE PAGE POLICY.
UM, ONE WEIGHS MORE THAN THE OTHER.
UH, AS WE MENTIONED TO YOU, THE CORE OF THIS IS NOT FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT.
UM, THERE'S NOT A HUGE SHIFT IN WHAT WE WOULD, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SAY THAT WE COLLECT AND HOW WE CHOOSE IT AND HOW WE COLLECT IT, AND WHO WE COLLECT IT FOR.
UM, THE OLD ORIGINAL POLICY IS ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD.
IT HAS LOTS OF INFORMATION THAT'S NOT NECESSARY TO LIVE IN A POLICY, TRY TO PULL THE PROCEDURES OUT THAT WAY.
PROCEDURES CAN COME AND GO WITHOUT YOU HAVING TO BLESS THEM.
NOW YOU DON'T REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT VHS.
UM, OR AT LEAST BETA TAPE WASN'T IN THERE.
AND AUDIO CASSETTE TAPES WEREN'T ON THE LIST.
LOOK, WE USED TO HAVE PROJECTABLE BOOKS.
Y'ALL
SO WE, WE MADE THOSE KINDS OF TERMS MORE GENERIC BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.
FEW YEARS AGO, WE DIDN'T HAVE WONDER BOOKS A FEW YEARS AGO, WE DIDN'T HAVE PLAYAWAYS, UM, WHO KNOWS WHAT, WE WEREN'T CIRCULATING THINGS THE WAY WE ARE NOW.
SO WE, WE, WE TOOK A HIGHER VIEW, YOU KNOW, LIKE ONE OF THOSE THREE, SIX, THOSE 350 FEET UP VIEWS, UH, AND TALKED ABOUT MATERIALS IN MORE GENERIC FORMS. AND WE BASICALLY CONNECTED IT WITH THE SAME WORDS THAT WE'RE USING IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
WNET MADE SENSE TO DO SO THAT KIND OF STRENGTHENED THAT BOND BECAUSE AFTER ALL, EVERYTHING EMANATES FROM THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO WE, WE DID, WE DID INCLUDE THE MISSION, VISION, MISSION, VISION AND VALUES RIGHT AT THE FRONT, EASY TO READ.
WE, WE, WE REORGANIZED THE SECTIONS, UH, THAT WE HAD IN THE OLD ONE.
AND, AND TO ME IT MADE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE CLEAR OF WHAT'S OUR OBJECTIVE, WHO'S GONNA WORK ON IT, HOW THE SCOPE OF IT, HOW WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY AFFECT THAT SCOPE, WHAT ARE THE, THE OVERALL CRITERIA? AND THEN A LITTLE BIT OF ABOUT THE NITTY GRITTY.
BUT NOTHING THAT WE FELT WOULD BE DATED IN FIVE YEARS OR 10 YEARS.
UM, WE, WE INCLUDED THINGS ON SELF-PUBLISHED MATERIALS.
CAUSE MORE AND MORE, THAT IS, THAT'S AN ISSUE WITH US WITH THE EASE IN SELF-PUBLISHING.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ACTUALLY, FOR 30 YEARS AGO, IT WAS NOT REALLY THAT BIG OF A DEAL.
UH, BUT NOWADAYS WITH PRINTING ON DEMAND, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD THAT ARTICULATED.
WE MENTIONED THE RECOMMENDATION FORM AS WELL AS THE STATEMENT OF CONCERN FORM.
SO, UH, YOU HAVE THE OLD AND THE NEW, AND WE ASK RESPECTFULLY THAT YOU APPROVE THIS OR TELL US HOW YOU WOULD LIKE US TO REVISE IT.
IS, IS THIS IN LINE WITH OTHER LIBRARIES? THIS, I ASSUME Y'ALL PROBABLY ALL GET TOGETHER AND SHARE, SHARE AND, YOU KNOW, CUT AND PASTE AND DO EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT.
SHE'S OUR NEW COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT LIBRARIAN, UH, MANAGEMENT FOR ADULT SERVICES.
UM, SO, UH, JENNA HAS, UH, BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS FOR GOOD MODELS THAT WEREN'T TOO WORDY THERE.
UM,
SO WE TRIED TO GET RID OF THE $5 WORDS AND TRY TO MAKE IT LESS LIKE THIS AND MORE REAL.
[01:00:01]
AND WE LOOKED AT A VARIETY OF POLICIES AND WE LIKE THE SHORTER ONES.SO, UH, ESPECIALLY LIKE THE SYSTEMATIC CRITERIA FOR SELECTION THAT, UM, IS PROACTIVE AND MAYBE HEADS OFF SOME UNWARRANTED DISCUSSION IN GROUPS.
AND SO SOMETIMES YOU MIGHT SEE SOME OF THE WORDS LIKE MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS, WHERE IN THE PAST IT WAS THERE, BUT IT WAS PERHAPS NOT AS OBVIOUS, UH, THAT WE ARE TRYING TO STRESS THAT WE ARE A LIBRARY FOR MANY DIFFERENT FOLKS AND WHO WANT ACCESS TO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINGS AND MANY DIFFERENT SUBJECTS, MANY DIFFERENT FORMATS.
AND THAT OUR JOB IS TO BE HERE AS A PROVIDER OF THOSE THINGS.
SO, ANYTHING ELSE, ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS OTHER THAN MARY? DO Y'ALL HAVE TO REPLACE THIS, THE SCIENCE AND THE, UH, COMPUTER BOOKS? MUCH YES.
MORE OFTEN THAN WE, YES, WE DO.
WE HAVE, UH, IN INCREASED THE, THE CHURNING OF THOSE, UH, MATERIALS.
UH, SOME OF THEM, AS WE SEE DIGITAL PRODUCTS COMING OUT, THE NON-FICTION, THE HARD SCIENCE IS INCREASINGLY FOUND IN THE CLOUD AND, AND, UH, THE HARD SCIENCE PRINT, WE ARE VERY PARTICULAR ABOUT THE DATES, ESPECIALLY FOR MEDICAL INFORMATION.
UH, YOU CANNOT HAVE OLD MEDICINE ON THE SH ON THE SHELVES.
AND SADLY, IT W BROKE MY HEART WHEN PLUTO HAD TO LEAVE.
UH, BUT IF EVERYONE'S SAYING PLUTO, YES, IT'S, IT'S EITHER A PLANETOID OR A DWARF PLANET, BUT WHERE ARE ALL THE OTHER PLANETS? WE CAN'T BE SHARING INFORMATION THAT WILL GIVE KIDS ADULTS THE WRONG INFORMATION.
UH, SO, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CONSIDER.
AND THE COMPUTERS, YES, THE HALF-LIFE, IT'S THE HALF-LIFE THEORY.
UH, IT, IT'S, IT'S EX IT'S ACCELERATING FOR THOSE TOPICS.
THE OTHER THING IS THE, UH, WHEN I LOOK THROUGH THE, THE NEWSPAPER, THE OLD LOUISIANA NEWSPAPERS, THEY'RE, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MAIN NEWSPAPER, THE THOMAS BI, THE THE ADVOCATE, YOU CAN GET THAT.
BUT A LOT OF LOUISIANA NEWSPAPERS DON'T SEEM TO BE EITHER AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORMAT.
THE SMALLER PAPERS AND STUFF ARE, WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET THEM.
SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THEY WERE SIMPLY, UM, NOT AVAILABLE OR WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEM IF, IF THEY ARE AVAILABLE.
AND WE ADDED THE LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER BUNDLE.
UH, LAST YEAR WE HAD ALREADY DIGITIZED THE, THE ADVOCATE OURSELVES.
UM, I WAS QUITE FRANKLY WORRIED THAT SINCE IT WAS A HOME OWNED PAPER, THAT SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN WHEN ALL THE NEWSPAPERS WERE KIND OF LIKE CANNIBALIZING EACH OTHER.
UH, AND WE WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT WE WOULD LOSE OUR HISTORY.
SO WE DIGITIZED IT, AND THEN WE PICKED UP THE TIMES PICAYUNE.
WE HAD ALREADY DIGITIZED THE GREERE, Y'ALL REMEMBER THE GREERE WE'RE WORKING TO TRY TO DIGITIZE COUNTRY ROADS AND TIGER RAG NOW.
UH, BUT WE PICKED UP A BUNDLE THAT INCLUDED SOME OF THE SMALLER LOUISIANA TOWNS.
AND WE HAVE THEM IN THE DIGITAL LIBRARY AS FAR BACK AS THEY GO.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH SOME OTHER PARTNERS IN THE STATE, UH, TO SEE WHO, WHO'S GOT WHAT AND ARE, ARE THEY GONNA SHARE, UM, AND HOW ARE THEY GONNA SHARE? BECAUSE IF EVERY PLATFORM IS DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, IT GETS A LITTLE, IT GETS A LITTLE, UM, JUMBLED AS FAR AS ACCESS.
SO THAT'S WHY WE TRY TO, LET'S JUST HAVE THREE KINDS OF ACCESS.
SO THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT OUR REFERENCE DEPARTMENT AND OUR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, AND I WORK ON, I, I'M, I'M, I'VE BEEN NAGGING THEM FOR YEARS.
AND WE, WE HAVE OFFICIAL, OFFICIAL APPROVAL FROM COUNTRY ROADS AND TIGER RAG TO, TO DIGITIZE THEIR PRODUCTS.
UM, ONE OF THE ISSUES WITH THE, UH, THE BIG WORKFORCE ISSUES THAT COMPANIES ARE HAVING ALL OVER THE US, THE MAJOR VENDOR WE WOULD'VE PICKED TO DO IT IS HAVING WORKFORCE ISSUES.
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KNOW, AT A CERTAIN POINT, YOU GOTTA MOVE ON.WHEN YOU ASK 'EM FOUR TIMES, GIVE ME A BID, GIVE ME A BID, GIVE ME A BID.
IT'S LIKE, WELL NOW I FOUND SOMEBODY NEW.
IS THE STATE LIBRARY FUNDED WELL ENOUGH TO, UH, NO.
IF THE STATE LIBRARY HAD FUNDING TO ACQUIRE THESE NEWSPAPERS, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO USE, UH OH YES.
BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF FUNDING THIS.
UH, AND AS OF NOW, WE ARE WE BUYING THEM OURSELVES? OH, YES, YES.
THAT'S PART OF OUR COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT BUDGET.
THE DAY-TO-DAY, UH, COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT WORK, I KNOW THAT Y'ALL ALL SIT, WE SET POLICY.
Y'ALL SIT IN YES, THE BIG CHAIR, BUT WHO DOES THE, THE DAY-TO-DAY WORK FOR THEM? SO, CHILDREN'S ROOM, THEY HAVE A LAUREN TOMLIN WHO DOES MOST OF THEIR CARTING, LOOKING THROUGH ALL THE NEW CHILDREN'S BOOKS, READING THOSE REVIEWS IN TEEN SERVICES.
WELL, IT WAS JENNIFER TOLA, BUT WE JUST HIRED HER TO JOIN JENNA.
IN ADULT SELECTION, WE HAVE ERIC BABIN WHO SELECTS THE BLUE RAYS, THE CDS AND THE AUDIO BOOKS.
AND, UM, ANDREWS SELECTS DATABASES.
YOU KNOW, WE, IT KIND OF FLOWS DEPENDING ON WHO IT IS, A NETWORK OF PROFESSIONALS THAT OH, YES.
AND, AND SO WE DO READ REVIEWS, BUT WE ALSO LOOK AT WHAT OUR, WHAT CIRCULATES.
AND IF ALL THE OTHER JAMES PATTERSON CIRCULATED, EVEN IF THIS ONE WASN'T REVIEWED, WE'RE GONNA BUY IT.
WE ALSO LOOK AT PATRON REQUESTS.
THERE WERE MONTHS WHERE WE WERE GETTING OVER A THOUSAND A MONTH.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS NOW, JENNA? UM, FOR PRINT OR WHAT, WE GET THE FORMS ONLINE.
WE GET ABOUT LIKE HUNDRED HUNDRED 50 A MONTH.
WHAT WE GET ON OVERDRIVE IS A LITTLE WARM.
SO WE GET, THERE'S PROBABLY LIKE 50 OF THOSE WEEKLY.
LIKE TWO PEOPLE NEED TO REQUEST A TITLE BEFORE IT GETS TO US.
CAUSE WE WOULD HAVE LIKE HUNDREDS A MONTH.
ARE THEY GENERALLY REQUESTING BOOKS THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN PRINT AND THEY JUST WANT IT DIGITAL FORMAT OR THESE ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT TITLES? SOMETIMES IT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT.
SOMETIMES, UM, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF THINGS, SMALL THINGS THAT POP UP.
SOME ARE ALREADY READY, SOME ARE, SOME ARE LIKE, I WANNA IN KINDLE FORMAT.
SO SOME THINGS WE JUST CAN'T ALWAYS GET.
AND SOME ARE VERY LIKE SELF-PUBLISHED, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO IT'S JUST, IT REALLY VARIES.
AND, AND WE DID USED TO GET OVER A THOUSAND A MONTH, AND THAT'S WHY WE SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? LET'S JUST WAIT UNTIL AT LEAST MORE THAN ONE PERSON ASKS FOR IT.
SO I'M NOT WHAT CHILDREN'S GIFTS IN THOSE FORMS. AV GETS A TON.
THEY GET MOST, PROBABLY MORE THAN EVERY.
AND, AND THE AV REQUESTS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN A CART WAITING TO COME THAT EVERYBODY, LIKE RIGHT NOW, IF I WENT ONLINE TO OUR V UH, OUR, OUR REPORTING PLATFORM,
180 OF THESE CHECKED OUT THE, AS PEOPLE WERE CATCHING UP ON THE AWARD WINNERS, UM, BECAUSE THOSE STILL MOVE HERE.
IF WE WERE NEW YORK CITY, IT WOULDN'T BE THAT WAY.
BUT HERE IN LOUISIANA WITH THE STREAMING, UH, BANDWIDTH ISSUES IN THE HOMES, PEOPLE DO STILL CHECK OUT PHYSICAL AV.
SO AS FORMATS CHANGE, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THINGS AND, AND WE DO HAVE TO HAVE THE SAME BOOK IN REGULAR PRINT, LARGE PRINT, AUDIOBOOK, PLAYAWAY.
OH, NOW THEY WANT AN EBOOK ON KINDLE.
YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, YOU CAN'T ALWAYS DO EVERYTHING AND NOT EVERYTHING IS AVAILABLE IN ALL THOSE FORMATS.
SO IT, IT'S AN INTERESTING, INTERESTING WORLD, BUT, UH, THEY'RE BUSY, BUSY, BUSY PEOPLE.
WELL, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE THAT, UM, THAT WE ADOPT THE UPDATED COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY STATEMENT.
ANY OPPOSED? UH, COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY HAS BEEN ADOPTED.
BEFORE MOVING ON, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON, ON ITEM SEVEN ON THE AGENDA? NEW BUSINESS? OKAY.
[01:10:01]
BY THE BOARD.IF THERE'S NO COMMENTS, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN OUR MOTION? SECOND.
ANY OPPOSED? WE ARE ADJOURNED.