[EBR Library Board of Control on July 20, 2023.]
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I'D LIKE TO CALL THE JULY 20TH, 2023 EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL MEETING TO ORDER.
UH, MARTHA, WHY DON'T YOU LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDERGONE INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
ALL ROSEANNA, PLEASE CALL ROLL NICOLE ALMOND RSON.
ALRIGHT, I'D LET THE RECORD REFLECT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 15TH, 2023.
ANY OPPOSED? MINUTES ARE ADOPTED.
NO SPECIAL ORDERS REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR.
MS. PINETTE WILL GIVE THE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2023.
OPERATING EXPENDITURES THROUGH JUNE 30TH ARE $20,837,050, AND 24 CENTS ARE 38 POINT 81% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET THROUGH JUNE.
WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT NO MORE THAN 50% OF THE BUDGET CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2023 REMAIN AHEAD OF THOSE COLLECTED IN 2022 AS WE ARE APPROXIMATELY $2.1 MILLION AND 4.3% AHEAD OF THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL REPORT? THANK YOU.
MS. MARY STEIN, WE'LL DELIVER THE AROUND THE PARISH REPORT.
AND FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, IT WILL NOT JUST BE THE AROUND THE PARISH REPORT.
IT WILL ALSO BE YOUR SIX MONTH CATCHUP ONCE I FIND IT.
WHERE'S THE FULL SCREEN GOING DOWN? SCROLL DOWN.
SO WE ARE TRYING SOMETHING NEW THIS TIME.
UM, YOU'LL GET YOUR USUAL FUN VIEW OF WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN ALL YOUR WONDERFUL BRANCHES, BUT IT'LL BE INTERSPERSED WITH OUR SIX GOALS AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED SINCE JANUARY ON THOSE GOALS.
ALRIGHT, SO GOAL NUMBER ONE IS THE PATRON EXPERIENCE.
I AM HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT, UM, LOVE MY LIBRARY.
HAPPY LITTLE SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE.
THE PATRONS PARTICIPATED WITH LOTS OF HEARTS, UM, FROM APRIL, MAY, AND INTO JUNE, AND THEY'RE STILL ASKING US FOR THINGS.
WE WILL BE SENDING A NEW COMMUNITY SURVEY OUT IN AUGUST, BUT MORE ON THAT LATER, WE BEGAN LOCALIZED MESSAGING USING OUR REGULAR MESSAGING SYSTEM.
BUT INSTEAD OF JUST SENDING ONE MESSAGE TO ANYONE THAT WE THOUGHT MIGHT CARE ABOUT GARDENS, SAY, WHICH WE STILL DOING, EVERY BRANCH GOT MESSAGES.
SO IF YOU NORMALLY WENT TO THE ZACHARY BRANCH, YOU WOULD GET A MESSAGE TWICE A MONTH THAT SAID, THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE ZACHARY BRANCH.
THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE CARVER BRANCH.
AND PEOPLE ARE OPENING THOSE MESSAGES.
MORE THAN 50% OF THE MESSAGES ARE GETTING OPENED, AND WE'RE GONNA BE INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
WE'VE JUST STARTED DOING THIS, AND BY THE WAY, WE'RE ALSO SENDING THOSE SAME LITTLE MESSAGES TO THE COUNCILMEN IN THOSE DISTRICTS.
UM, THE NET PROMOTER SCORE IS STILL SHOWING US EXCELLENT RATINGS, AND WE HAVE UPDATED THE PATRON COMMENT PROCESS THIS SPRING.
THERE'S A QR CODE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GONE HIGH TECH, WE STILL HAVE THE PAPER FORMS, AND, UH, WE'RE REALLY GETTING A LOT OF COMMENTS, AND I'M HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT IN ALMOST EVERY CASE, THEY'RE HAPPY COMMENTS.
IT'S MORE, AGAIN, OF THAT LIBRARY LOVE.
AND WHEN THEY HAVE A COMMENT THAT ISN'T JUST LOVING, UM, IT'S A SPECIFIC COMMENT THAT WE CAN ADDRESS.
WE HAVE UPDATED SECURITY POLICIES, INCLUDING THE PATRON RULES OF BEHAVIOR, AS YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, UH, MADE THEM SIMPLER, CLEARER.
AND, UM, SO IT'S NOT LIKE A BOOK OF NICKY NECKY LITTLE RULES.
AND THEN HERE, THE OVERRIDING PRINCIPLES
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BEHIND THAT.UH, ALONG WITH THAT, THE SECURITY REPORTING PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN UPDATED.
WE'VE HAD FRESH MEETINGS WITH OUR SECURITY GUARDS, OUR SHERIFFS, AND, UH, EVEN B R P D.
AND IT'S BEEN, UM, UH, VERY USEFUL.
WE'VE DONE, UM, SOME SMALL SIGNAGE AUDITS.
WE HAVE NEW JANITORIAL CONTRACTORS AT MAIN AND RIVER CENTER, RIGHT, GOING OUT TO BID, GOING OUT TO BID.
UM, AND WE'VE DONE A BOOK DISPLAY REFRESH, AT LEAST IN THE ADULT COLLECTION AT MAINE AND BRANCH LIBRARIES.
TEENS WERE ALREADY PRETTY SOLID AND WE'RE, UM, THE SUMMER GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY DRILL IN ON THE CHILDREN'S COLLECTIONS BECAUSE THEY MOVE SO QUICKLY.
SO THAT REALLY HELPS THE STAFF BECOME MORE, UM, CUSTOMIZED TO FRESH FRESHENING.
PEOPLE HAVE TO SEE FRESH, WONDERFUL THINGS WHEN THEY COME IN THE BUILDING.
AND I THINK WE'VE DONE A REAL GOOD JOB OF THAT HERE AT MAINE AND AT BRANCHES.
IN FACT, UM, THE COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT WAS, UH, OUT AT TWO BRANCHES JUST THIS WEEK, AND THEY WERE VERY HAPPY WITH WHAT THEY SAW.
STRATEGIC PLAN, GOAL NUMBER TWO, OUTREACH AND PARTNERSHIPS.
WELL, AS YOU KNOW, FROM PAYING ATTENTION TO PREVIOUS BOARD REPORTS AND LOOKING IN THE NEWSLETTER, YOU ARE VERY AWARE THAT WE ARE PARTNERING ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL.
HEALTH AGENCIES, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, GRANTING GROUPS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS.
WE INVITE OURSELVES TO THEIR SPACES.
UM, OUR STAFF DO CURATED DEEP DIVES FOR THEM SO THEY CAN BE BETTER USERS OF WHAT WE PROVIDE.
THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO.
AND OF COURSE, KEEPING THE COMMUNITY INFORMATION DATABASE AND THE CITY KEY AND OUR GRANT SERVICES AND THE BUSINESS.
SMALL BUSINESS SERVICES, ESPECIALLY FOR THE NONPROFITS UP, UP TO SNUFF WITH OUTREACH SERVICES.
IN THERE, YOU SEE A PICTURE OF COUNCILMAN DARRELL HURST WITH FRANKIE, THE, THE IMMUTABLE FRANKIE.
UM, AT ONE OF THE RECENT OUTREACH EVENTS THEY DID, WE WERE ABLE TO HIRE THAT COMMUNITY OUTREACH SPECIALIST THAT Y'ALL VOTED FOR US TO GET IN THIS, UM, BUDGETING YEAR.
WE KIND OF JUST GAVE UP ON THE BIG GUY, AND WE TOOK FOUR FOR ONE.
AND WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH THAT.
THE BUILDING IS CURRENTLY UNDER RENOVATION THAT WE REALLY HELP THEM.
UM, THEY WERE EXCITED TO KNOW THAT DROPS ARE COMING IN SOON.
UH, WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE VACANT LIBRARIAN FOR POSITION THAT IS OVER THAT WHOLE SERVICE GROUP.
IT'S CALLED THE OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING COORDINATOR.
AND WE HOPE TO ANNOUNCE THAT IN AUGUST, WE ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THE LARGE VEHICLES IN THE SHOP, IN ANY SHOP, IN EVERY SHOP, NEVER COMING BACK FROM THE SHOP.
UM, UH, AND THAT IS PART AND PARCEL OF HAVING A LARGE BOOKMOBILE.
THEY'RE NOT THE MOST EFFICIENT CREATURES.
THEY CAN, EVERY SINGLE ONE IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE THEY WERE THE LOW BID.
UM, NOT A SINGLE ONE IS THE SAME AS THE OTHER.
UH, THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT MECHANICS THAT ARE ALLOWED AND AUTHORIZED TO WORK ON THEM.
AND IT, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT THE MOST EFFICIENT SERVICE, BUT PEOPLE LOVE THOSE BOOKMOBILES, Y'ALL.
THEY, IT'S, IT'S LIBRARY LOVE ON WHEELS.
UH, RIGHT NOW, THE BOOKMOBILE STAFF, WITH OR WITHOUT THE BIG VEHICLES IS DEEP IN THE BACK TO SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF JU JUSTICE JUST TOOK PLACE THIS WEEK.
AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP THAT I WAS GONNA SHOW YOU ANYWAY, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE BA BAM STRATEGIC GOAL TOO.
WE HOSTED, THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HERE MONDAY MORNING, AND THEN THERE WERE ALSO PEOPLE DOWNTOWN AT COURT.
MEDIA WAS THERE, THERE WERE HELPING GROUPS.
OUR CAREER CENTER WAS ALSO ONE OF THE HELPING GROUPS.
UNITED WAY, OF COURSE, COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
AND THIS IS ALL, REMEMBER LAST MONTH I MENTIONED TO YOU, REVEREND ALEXIS ANDERSON, THE EVER READY BUNNY OF BATON ROUGE.
THIS IS ALL COMING FROM THE MIND OF REVEREND ALEXIS.
AND SHE WROTE, UM, SHE POSTED, UH, A THANK YOU ONLINE.
AND IT SAID, MY HEART WAS SO FULL YESTERDAY.
THERE WERE SO MANY POWERFUL MOMENTS.
BUT MY FAVORITE WAS WHEN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY STAFF STARTED TAKING CUPS OF ICE WATER ON A CART
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AND GIVING EVERYONE WATER.Y'ALL, THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HERE FOR HOURS.
THEY WERE JUST BEING NEIGHBORLY.
I HAVE MANY OTHER THINGS, BUT IT WAS SUCH A SUCCESSFUL EVENT.
UM, PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE CHANGED BECAUSE OF THINGS LIKE THIS.
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED WHO CAN NOW GET BACK ON THE ROAD AND GET BACK TO WORK.
THIS WILL NOT BE THE LAST ONE THAT WE DO WITH THEM.
WE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH GHOST EP, ALL THE EP.
WE'VE BEEN WELCOMING PEOPLE HERE.
AND THERE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN THE BOTTOM WITH THE BATON ROUGE CONCERT BAND OUT THERE FOR JULY 4TH.
ALMOST 600 PEOPLE ENJOYING THE PLAZA.
WE HAD OUR FANS, AND IT WAS AFTER DARK, SO IT WAS LOVELY.
UH, AND, AND OF COURSE, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND ALL THE MEDIA TELLING PEOPLE IF THEY'RE OVERWHELMED, COME TO THE LIBRARY, OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AIR CONDITIONING, COOL WATER, PLACES TO SIT, AND, OH, IT'S A LIBRARY.
LISTEN AND LEARN ABOUT THE OPIOID.
EP EPIDEMIC WAS ANOTHER POWERFUL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP THAT TOOK PLACE VERY RECENTLY.
AGAIN, LIVES CHANGE WITH OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND SOME OF OUR OTHER ADDICTION SERIES.
WE DO THOSE IN TWO WAYS BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE WHO NEED THE INFORMATION DON'T WANT TO COME OUT IN PERTH ARE UNCOMFORTABLE COMING OUT IN PERSON.
SO IT WAS ALSO VIRTUAL, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF ACTIVITY THERE.
UM, IT'S REALLY SPECIAL TO BE ABLE TO COORDINATE AND PRESENT SUCH SERIES IS POWERFUL, IMPACTFUL, CHANGE PEOPLE'S LIVES.
STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL NUMBER THREE ADDRESSES MY FAVORITE PROGRAM, SERVICES AND COLLECTIONS.
AS YOU KNOW, OUR PROGRAMS ARE MULTI-LAYERED.
WHENEVER WE CAN, WE BRING IN WHAT THE, THE BOOK COLLECTION, THE DATA COLLECTION.
UH, WE TRY TO GO ACROSS THE CURRICULUM, AS IT WERE.
WE TRY TO GO ACROSS AGES AND, AND INVOLVE LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS.
I'M HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT PRESS START.
RITA HAS MADE IT TO THE LETTER P UM, ONE BOOK.
WE HAD VERY SUCCESSFUL ONE BOOK FEATURING LOCAL AUTHOR CHRIS THOMAS KING, AND HIS, UH, AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL AND ACADEMIC STUDY OF THE BLUES, THE, AS HE SEES IT, WE'VE HAD VERY ROBUST SUMMER READING PROGRAMS, AND YOU'LL SEE A FEW PICTURES IN A MOMENT.
WE HAVE DIALED BACK ON VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING, UM, BECAUSE WE DON'T NEED IT ANYMORE.
WE, THERE'S A FEW THINGS THAT ARE STAYING VIRTUAL AND I'LL GET TO THEM.
BUT FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS, THEY LIKE TO GO AND DIP INTO THE HOW TOS THAT ARE ONLINE.
BUT PRETTY MUCH THE PARENTS WANT THE KIDS IN PERSON HERE.
AND WE ARE HAPPY TO SEE THEM WITH THE LIBRARY OF THINGS, WE HAVE INCREASED IT.
AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE ADDED CIRCULATING GAMES TO BLUE BONNET AND SCOTLANDVILLE WILL BE NEXT.
WE HAVE ADDED THE GET DOWN AND CLEAN UP LITTER KITS.
WE'VE EXPANDED HOTSPOT LENDING AND THE US KID PASSES.
WE'VE BEEN GETTING COMMENTS, UH, THANKING US FOR THAT.
IN THE LAST COUPLE OF, UH, WEEKS, ESPECIALLY.
SOMEONE TOLD SOMEONE WHO TOLD SOMEONE WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING, UM, THEY ARE MOVING AND IT'S A KIND OF A BULKY PROCESS TO ALWAYS CHECK OUT A THING AND BRING THE THING BACK.
SO ALL ALONG WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR AN AUTOMATED PLATFORM.
UM, THE LOCAL MUSEUMS ARE STARTING TO TURN IN MOUS WHERE THEY AGREE TO BE ON THIS AUTOMATED PLATFORM.
UH, SO THAT WILL BE THAT HOPE I SHOULD HAVE THAT COMING TO FRUITION LATER THIS FALL.
BUT, UM, NO ONE HAS SAID NO, SO THAT'S VERY GOOD.
SOME OF THE ADDITIONS TO THE DIGITAL LIBRARY IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS HAVE BEEN VERY EXCITING.
UM, LIKE MY FAVORITE HIVE CLASS WITH THOUSANDS OF WORKING, MOVING, ACTUAL PROGRAMS DESIGNED FOR KIDS, BUT PERFECTLY USEFUL FOR ADULTS OR SENIORS AND HUMAN BEINGS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.
WE'VE BEEN, UH, ZOOMING IN ON THINGS FOR CHILDREN WITH ACCESS VIDEO FOR KIDS.
GAVE THEM AN ALTERNATIVE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GO ON CANOPY.
THERE'S NOTHING THERE FOR THEM.
YOU CAN LEARN TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT.
THE STORYTIME PODS WILL BE COMING OUT VERY SOON.
AND THEN WE WILL START A NEW SERIES, UH, IN, IN A WEEK CALLED MOM METRICS.
THE CAREER CENTER'S VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
THE ADULT REFERENCE STAFF IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
THIS JUST DIALS ANOTHER LAYER INTO OUR LIFELONG LEARNING, CAREER READINESS, SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, ALL OF THE THINGS.
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AND OF COURSE, UH, WE TO JOIN THE ADVOCATE AND THE NEW YORK TIMES.WE HAD ADDED THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AND THE POST, AND WE'RE DELIGHTED THAT THE ECONOMIST HAS MOVED TO PRESS READER BECAUSE, UM, PEOPLE NEED IT AND WE WANT TO PROVIDE IT.
SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE PRESENTED JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS HAVE TAKEN US TO THE PAST AND REALLY EXPOSED IN A MOST WONDERFUL WAY, SOME OF THE RESOURCES OF THE BATON ROUGE ROOM, THE DIGITAL ARCHIVE.
WE PRESENTED OSCAR DUNN AND HIS RADICAL FIGHT IN RECONSTRUCTION, LOUISIANA.
UM, THIS WAS WITH A GUEST SPEAKER, UH, USED A LOT OF THINGS FROM OUR COLLECTION.
BUT Y'ALL, THE BATON ROUGE GALLERY AND THE HISTORY OF THE BATON ROUGE SWIM IN.
SHE CAME TO THE LIBRARY MANY TIMES.
WE HAD HER, WE, SHE WAS, UH, A WONDERFUL PATRON.
THIS IS AT THE BATON ROUGE GALLERY.
AND IF YOU TAKE YOURSELF THERE OR LOOK AT IT ONLINE, YOU WILL SEE THAT THE HISTORY OF THE BATON ROUGE SWIM IN IS WRITTEN BY NONE OTHER THAN OUR ARCHIVIST, MELISSA EASTON.
THEY CONSULTED HER IN PREPARATION FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT EXHIBITION.
I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GO TO IT, I DON'T KNOW, A WEEK AGO, UH, MAYBE TWO WEEKS.
IT'S, IT'S PHENOMENAL WORK WORKS.
WERE COMMISSIONED JUST FOR THIS.
UM, AND YOU MAY SEE SOME OF THOSE WORKS LATER ON IN THIS LIBRARY, BUT, UM, IT'S GOT LOTS OF WIDESPREAD, UM, A ADULATION, A APPROVALS SHARES.
PEOPLE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT STORY IN OUR OWN CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY, AND WE WERE PROUD TO BE A PART OF IT.
OTHER PARTNERS COMING FOR THE USUAL SUMMER PROGRAMS. WE HAD A LOT OF MOVEMENT.
UM, RICK KELLY, Y'ALL, HE MAKES THE PARENTS DO IT.
UM, THE BALLET, ALL THE KINDS OF BALLET, BATON ROUGE YOUTH BALLET TRY BALLET.
UM, I, I LOVE THAT LADY CHOPS GETS THE KIDS STRUMMING AND MOVING.
WE, WE FOUND HER KIND OF ACCIDENTALLY, AND WE'LL NEVER LET HER GO.
NOW, UM, WE ALSO HAVE A NEW GROUP, LIKE SAY WHAT? AND IT MEANS WORKING HARD ALTOGETHER, WHICH GOES PERFECT WITH THE SUMMER READING THEME, WHICH IS ALTOGETHER NOW, AGAIN, EVERYONE WAS MOVING.
THEY'VE BEEN AT EVERY PARISH, EVERY LIBRARY IN THE PARISH, AND WE ARE NEVER LETTING THEM GO.
THEY GET THE KIDS AND THE ADULTS INVOLVED.
UM, SOMETHING ELSE THAT GETS THE KIDS AND ADULTS INVOLVED AS ANIMALS, AS YOU KNOW.
NOW, FARMER MINER AND D DAISY, THE READING PIG HAVE RETIRED.
SO WHAT WAS GONNA FILL THAT VOID IN OUR HEARTS? SNAKE RATTLE AND ROLL.
THERE WERE PICTURES I DIDN'T PUT IN HERE.
THE KIDS HAD SNAKES ALL OVER THEMSELVES.
IT WAS JUST LIKE, OH, THANK YOU.
I WILL NOT ATTEND THAT PROGRAM.
I'LL GO OUT AND, AND BE THERE WHEN THE HORSES COME.
AND IT'S ALL EDUCATIONAL, OF COURSE.
AND, AND IT'S ABOUT TEACHING KIDS NOT TO JUST GO UP TO ANY SNAKE AND TOUCH IT TO BE RESPECTFUL, CAREFULLY RESPECTFUL, APPROPRIATELY RESPECTFUL, BUT NOT, BUT NOT FREAK OUT.
LEAVE THE FREAKING OUT TO PEOPLE LIKE ME.
SO, UM, WE ALSO HAD SOME OTHER ANIMALS, AND THEY WEREN'T REAL.
PROFESSOR UNIVERSE DID HIS ONE MAN SHOW, AND THAT MAN, WELL, HARVEY RABBIT, YOU KNOW, IS MY SPECIAL FRIEND.
UH, AND, AND THEY'RE BACK IN ALL THEIR GLORY.
BUT PROFESSOR UNIVERSE IS NEW TO ME, AND HE, HE HAS A SPECIAL PLATE IN MY HEART BECAUSE HE IS SHAMELESS.
UM, IT'S JUST HIM IN THAT BLACK SCREEN.
AND HE, AND HE TELLS THE, IT'S ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION AND THE OCEAN AND WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE THERE.
BUT HIS STORYLINE, BECAUSE YOU REMEMBER, IT'S ALL STEALTH, STEALTH LEARNING.
HIS STORYLINE HAS PROFESSOR UNIVERSE LOOKING FOR HIS LOST LOVE A MERMAID.
HE PRETENDS TO BE MANY ARMED CREATURES, I THINK IN ONE.
HE'S CERTAINLY A CRAB OF SOME KIND.
AND HE EVEN PLAYS THE MERMAID.
I WAS WALKING DOWN THE HALL TO GO TO A MEETING AND I HEARD RAUCOUS LAUGHTER.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU WANNA HEAR.
THE TEENS, THEY TAKE IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
UH, THEY ARE LEARNING TO TELL THEIR STORIES.
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CLAY AHE.IT WAS LEADING THE SERIES OF STORYTELLING, UH, CAMPS, FILM CAMPS THAT WE OFFERED FOR THE TEENAGERS ALL OVER THE PARISH.
ANOTHER STORYTELLING EXERCISE THAT TOOK PLACE HAD TO DO WITH OUR WONDERFUL PARTNERS AT L P B IN THIS VERY ROOM, THIS, A FEW DAYS AGO, WE HOSTED SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS.
ONE OF THE FILMMAKERS WAS HERE, NATHAN, THERE, YOU SEE HIM IN THE BOTTOM.
AND WE HAD POET LAUREATE, MONA LISA SAVOY WITH US.
IT WAS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL AFTERNOON.
UM, THERE YOU SEE, UM, L P B, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER LINDA, WELL LED THE PANEL DISCUSSION.
THERE WAS NOT ONE WORD SAID DURING THE WHOLE THING, AND IT WENT ON FOR TWO HOURS.
UM, WE WERE SO INTERESTED IN WHAT THEY HAD TO SHARE.
SO, STRATEGIC PLAN, GOAL NUMBER FOUR, TECHNOLOGY.
YOU'VE BEEN HEARING AS, UH, KRISTEN HAS SHARED IN THE MONTHLY REPORTS, THE WAYS THAT TECHNOLOGY IS BEING UPGRADED AND ENHANCED.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING REALLY IS THAT WEB DESIGN PROJECT, WHICH IS GOING TO BEGIN VERY SOON WITH THE NEWLY SELECTED VENDOR SYNERGY.
I'M SAD TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE A SOON TO BE VACATED WEBMASTER POSITION.
SO WE'LL BE ANNOUNCING THAT OPENING IN AUGUST.
BUT THE NEW PERSON WILL COME ON IN TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PLANNING PROCESS.
YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT THE WEB DESIGN, WEB SITE REDESIGN STARTS WITH COMMUNITY INPUT.
SO THE NEW WEB MASTER WILL BE PART OF THAT, WHICH ISN'T A BAD THING.
I LOVE, THIS IS A TECHNICAL TERM.
UPGRADING BROADBAND CAPACITY TO MELT YOUR EYEBALLS.
OKAY? I'M SURE YOU'LL FIND THAT IN, UM, UH, WHAT DO THEY CALL THAT, THAT ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA THAT WE NEVER USE.
NO INCREASED STAFF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INTRANET.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON OUR ONLINE TRAINING MODULES, AND WE'VE BEEN SHARING THAT OUT WITH THE PUBLIC.
A SKILL MILL IS BEING WELL USED, BADGING AT ALL THE MAKER SPACES.
WE'RE STARTING TO HAVE WAITING LISTS.
UM, HOTSPOTS, MORE HOTSPOTS JUST IN TIME FOR SUMMER.
UH, WE'RE PLANNING FOR THE TELEHEALTH, AND WE'VE OF COURSE BEEN WORKING WITH LOCAL PARTNERS AND NATIONAL PARTNERS AND STATEWIDE PARTNERS ON THE LAYERS FOR ALL THESE THINGS.
WHETHER IT'S STEM AND STEM EDUCATION, BROADBAND, THE NETWORK CAPABILITIES, DECREASING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, SHARING OUT INFORMATION, UM, ALL THOSE THINGS.
IN FACT, HERE'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE HOSTED JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO.
GOVERNOR EDWARDS, AS HE ANNOUNCED AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM, ACP AT THE LIVELY CARVER BRANCH.
AND Y'ALL, THEY EVEN WOVE IN THE WORDS, IMAGINE YOUR STORY INTO THEIR SPEECHES AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE.
UM, THERE YOU SEE THE GOVERNOR AND THERE YOU SEE DR.
KIM, UM, REALLY LOVELY, UH, STEM STUFF FOR ALL AGES.
IT'S NOT JUST FOR LITTLE KIDS.
UM, EVEN GROWNUPS CAN GET IN ON IT.
AND THERE, YOU SEE, UM, OUR, ONE OF OUR, UM, STEM LIBRARIANS, WESLEY OUT AT A JOB FAIR HERE.
YOU SEE TEENAGERS, UH, THEY'RE, UH, INVESTIGATING STRENGTHS.
UM, YOU SEE A LITTLE STEM BINGO GOING ON THERE.
THERE YOU SEE SOMETHING FROM THIS LAST SATURDAY WHERE WE HAD OUR SINGLE MOMS AT RIVER CENTER IN THE MAKERSPACE, GETTING SOME HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE, LEARNING COMMON HOUSEHOLD TOOLS AND HOW TO USE THEM SAFELY AND WHAT YOU COULD USE THEM.
THEIR KIDS WERE IN ANOTHER PART OF THE LIBRARY DOING A SIMILAR PROGRAM EXERCISE.
AND, UH, WERE VERY EXCITED ABOUT HOW SPARK YOUR SUMMER IS ROLLING OUT.
AND OH, THE TEENS, THEY'RE, WE LIKE EXPERIMENTS AND SOMETIMES THEY FAIL.
THAT'S ALL PART OF THE PROCESS.
STRATEGIC PLAN, GOAL FIVE, FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS.
WE ARE BEGINNING FACILITIES MASTER PLAN PHASE ZERO.
AND YOU WILL HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THAT VERY QUICKLY.
THE GOLD SHOVELS ARE UPSTAIRS.
UM, SO AS SOON AS WE GET THAT FIRST MEETING, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL GET SOME
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DATES TOGETHER AND WE'LL CHECK WITH SOME OF OUR, UH, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'LL WANT TO ATTEND AND IT'S GONNA HAPPEN.YOU'LL HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
BLUE BONNET RENOVATION OUTREACH.
YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THESE THINGS.
UM, THE EXCITING THING HERE AT THE BOTTOM, BESIDES HIRING A NEW MECHANICAL OPERATIONS MANAGER, YAY.
AND THE FACT THAT THE MAIN SERVER PROJECT WILL GO OUT, FORBID IN THE FALL, YAY.
UM, IS WE'RE STARTING TO GET OUR INPUT FOR THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN.
AND HERE'S A PICTURE,
OKAY? I KNOW PEOPLE ARE CALLING YOU.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE WE HATE THEM.
IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE JUST NOT READY.
SO EVERYBODY JUST HAS TO BE PATIENT.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE CURTAIN.
WE'VE HAD TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING.
WE'VE HIRED A TRAINING LIBRARIAN.
NEXT YEAR SHE WILL PLAN STAFF TRAINING DAY.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING AND ROLLOUT IS IN PROCESS FOR HIRING.
WE HAVE RESUMED THE DIRECTOR'S SEARCH, THE SALARY.
OUR OWN INTERNAL SALARY STUDY IS COMPLETE.
AND WE'VE SHARED IT WITH EVERYONE THAT WE NEED TO SHARE IT WITH.
THERE WILL BE A CITY PARISH SALARY STUDY, AND WE WILL BE PART OF IT.
WE'VE HAD SEVERAL ROUNDS OF HIRING SINCE JANUARY, AND WE HAVE FINE TUNED THAT PROCESS.
AS YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF OF HARD FOR US TO GET PEOPLE ON WHEN YOU CAN ONLY POST THE TWO POSITIONS AT A TIME PER CLASSIFICATION.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK IT ORGANIZATIONALLY.
IT HAS BEEN SHARED WITH YOU AND THE STAFF.
NEW PATHS, NEW TREES HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AND ADOPTED.
WE NOW HAVE A COMMITTEE FOR SECURITY INCIDENT REPORTING, WHICH IS VERY USEFUL.
WE'VE HAD TRAININGS IN THE COOP AND WE WERE ABLE TO AWARD SERVICE PINS.
SOME OF YOU WERE ABLE TO ATTEND THAT.
PEOPLE DON'T WORK AT THE LIBRARY FOR MONEY, YOU KNOW THAT.
UM, BUT YOU DO NEED OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW.
AND THAT HELPS WITH RETENTION.
WHEN PEOPLE CAN LEARN SOMETHING OR BE PART OF A PROJECT THAT'S BIGGER THAN THEMSELVES.
WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ASKED TO PRESENT AT, UH, THE RECENT CONFERENCE.
UM, OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE SPEAKING AT DIRECTOR'S BOOTCAMP.
OUR STAFF HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS AND WE'RE WORKING ON NEW PROTOCOLS TO MAKE THAT MORE OBVIOUS THAT YOU ARE WELCOME TO APPLY TO BE PART OF SOMETHING LARGER THAN YOURSELF.
AND, UH, A PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WELL APPOINTMENT WAS THAT ONE OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS, OUR STEM LIBRARIAN, ADAM ST.
PIER, WAS APPOINTED TO SERVE ON CORE'S EMERGING TECHNOLOGY TRENDS COMMITTEE.
AND HE WILL BE PRESENTING AT THAT CONFERENCE.
IT'S A BIG DEAL TO PRESENT AT A CONFERENCE, Y'ALL.
AND HE'S GOT TO DO WORK 'CAUSE HE'S REPRESENTING US.
HERE IS SOME A LOVELY, HERE ARE SOME LOVELY PHOTOS FROM THAT SERVICE PIN RECOGNITION.
AND THERE YOU SEE KRISTEN, OUR, UH, POPPLE BOARD PRESIDENT, JANE BYER AND VICE PRESIDENT CANDACE THERE.
AND IT WAS JUST A LOVELY THING.
THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY YEAR.
IT WOULD HAPPEN EVERY FIVE YEARS WHEN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE SENDS US THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REACHED MILESTONES WITHIN THE PAST FIVE YEARS.
SO OUR, UM, IT WENT ALL THE WAY UP TO 35 YEARS WITH RHONDA, RIGHT? NO, 25.
THERE WAS SOMEONE THAT GOT A 35 YEAR PIN.
YEAH, I DON'T REMEMBER EITHER.
AND, AND THEY BOTH RETIRED, DIDN'T THEY? SHOCKING
UM, I HAVE HAD A 35 YEAR, ONE YEARS AND YEARS AGO,
UM, HERE'S SOME PICTURES FROM STAFF WHO PRESENTED AT THE LOUISIANA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.
UM, TARA TALKED TARA DURING OUR CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN.
TALKED ABOUT THE LYRIC, YOUNG READERS CHOICE AWARDS.
AND JENNA JARI, UH, TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE HOT BOOKS FOR FALL.
UM, THAT'S ALWAYS, UH, WELL ATTENDED.
AND PATRICIA WAS FORCED TO PRESENT A PRE-CONFERENCE
BECAUSE WE KNOW FROM OUR OWN EXPERIENCE THAT YOU JUST, YOU HAVE TO BE
[00:30:01]
A GOOD CONSUMER.YOU HAVE TO BE A GOOD CLIENT TO GET A GOOD PRODUCT.
AND IT ALL STARTS WITH KNOWING WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? SO SHE DID A HANDS-ON PROGRAM.
WHAT'S MY FLOOR PLAN TELLING ME? UM, MOST MEASURES, AS IF YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING ALONG, UH, WHEN YOU GET YOUR STATISTICS EVERY MONTH, SHOW INCREASE IN OUTPUTS.
I ALWAYS TELL YOU NUMBERS ARE PRETTY MUCH UP.
UM, TO ME, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS IS THAT OUR PATRONS ARE REMAINING ENGAGED.
WE HAVE OVER 335,000 PATRONS AND LOOK AT HOW MANY ARE ACTIVELY USING THEIR CARDS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS.
AND YOU KNOW THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE YOUR CARD TO COME TO A PROGRAM OR JUST COME TO A MEETING OR USE THE WIFI.
SO JUST THINK OF HOW MANY MORE IT WOULD BE IF I COULD CHIP THOSE PEOPLE.
UH, THEY'RE NEVER GONNA ALLOW THAT GATE COUNT IS UP.
WHAT BUSINESS HAS THAT? CIRCULATION IS UP.
AND FOR A WHILE, PC USE WAS NOT UP.
UM, SO THAT'S GOOD MEETING ROOM USE.
Y'ALL STUDY ROOM USE IS AT, THAT'S GONNA MIRROR THE GATE COUNT BECAUSE AS PEOPLE COME IN, THEY FALL INTO THE, WHATEVER STUDY ROOM EXISTS AT WHATEVER BRANCH THAT HAS THEM, BOOKMOBILE VISITS UP STRONGLY.
AND PART OF THAT IS NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MANY VEHICLES, BECAUSE THEY DON'T, UH, IT'S BECAUSE THE CENTERS ARE OPENING UP.
E EVEN, UH, ESPECIALLY THE SENIORS CENTERS.
WE'RE DOING MORE THAN JUST LEAVE IT AT THE DOOR.
WE'RE GLAD THAT THEY'RE CONFIDENT.
OUR PROGRAMMING NUMBERS ARE NOT UP.
I THINK OUR PRO AND PART, THERE'S TWO REASONS.
UM, WE, WE, WE CUT BACK ON ALL THOSE VIRTUAL PROGRAMS BECAUSE YOU DO A LOT OF WORK TO DO THEM.
UM, WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME HERE IN PERSON.
'CAUSE IF THEY COME IN PERSON, THE ODDS ARE THAT WE CAN GET THEM TO CHECK OUT A BOOK OR SEE THAT THERE'S ANOTHER PROGRAM OR USE SOMETHING ELSE.
UH, THE OTHER REASON IS WE'VE CUT BACK ON THE GRAB AND GOES, WHICH IS A PROGRAM.
AND WE ALSO, UNFORTUNATELY HAVE STAFF SHORTAGES.
SO WE REDUCE THE NUMBERS OF PROGRAMS THAT WERE EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE AT EACH LOCATION.
AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT.
REMEMBER I SAID THERE'S TWO KINDS OF VIRTUAL PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE STILL PUSHING.
THE CAREER CENTER IS STILL DOING VIRTUAL PROGRAMS, BUT REALLY IT'S MORE LIKE, HERE'S OUR CANNED PRESENTATION.
AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE WATCHING THEM.
THE VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALKS, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT WE STARTED AFTER C O V I D.
YOU DON'T HAVE 400 PEOPLE WATCHING 'EM AT ONCE, BUT OVER THE LIFETIME OF THE PROGRAM, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE 400 PEOPLE WATCH IT.
AND THE LOCAL PROGRAM, UH, YESTERDAY, ISHA, UH, SPOKE, IF ANY OF YOU'VE MET HER, YOU KNOW, SHE'S A POWERHOUSE.
UH, WE STARTED THIS WITH A BUSINESS REPORT DURING COVID I, AND THEY GOT NATIONAL SPEAKERS, UH, TO, TO COME IN.
AND THAT WAS KIND OF A SHARED CONSORTIUM EVENT.
AND NOW WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT SHOPPING AT HOME.
Y'ALL LOOKING AT NEXT MONTH, IT'S CHRIS MEYER.
A LOT OF PEOPLE LISTEN TO THAT.
Y'ALL, TIM BARFIELD, UH, MIKE POL.
YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE.
AND THEY'RE TALKING, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE SHARING THEIR REAL TRUTH, THEIR REAL HINTS ABOUT HOW THEY GOT WHERE THEY ARE OR WHAT'S THEIR ADVICE FOR YOU IN THE BATON ROUGE MARKET, BECAUSE THEY KNOW BATON ROUGE.
THESE HAVE BEEN WELL ATTENDED, AND THEY'RE ARCHIVED FOR A LITTLE BIT.
SO, UM, WE'LL KEEP THESE GOING.
I WANT YOU TO SAVE THE DATE FOR THE MICROCON.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE MAKER FAIR IS 10 YEARS OLD.
SO IT'S THEIR 10 T I N ANNIVERSARY.
IT'S ALL GONNA BE ABOUT MEADOW, Y'ALL.
AND YOU GOT A FLYER ON, ON YOUR DESK, UM, NOT FOLDED AND PRETTY, BUT YOU GOT THE DRAFT TO SHARE FREELY.
WE WILL WELCOME CAROL BOSTON WEATHERFORD, WHO IS THE AUTHOR AND HER SON, WHO IS A SPOKEN WORD, POET AND ILLUSTRATOR, JEFFREY BOSTON.
WE WILL WELCOME THEM AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
SO Y'ALL, IT'S ALMOST SEPTEMBER, SO STAY WITH ME.
UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I LIKE THE WAY YOU ORGANIZED THE PRESENTATION.
AND THAT'S PROBABLY WILL HAPPEN AGAIN,
SO LET'S MAKE IT A LIVING, BREATHING DOCUMENT AND MOVE ON.
[00:35:01]
ELSE, MARY? HOW ARE THE, UM, THE, I WANTED TO SAY THE, THE, THE MAKER BADGES OR THE, ARE WE GETTING IN THE EQUIPMENT FOR, UH, THE OTHER BRANCHES? YES.SOME OF IT'S ON ORDER, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE, THE NEXT BATCH OF CRICKETS,
WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE'VE GETTING SOME REPLACEMENT THINGS BECAUSE SOME OF THIS EQUIPMENT IS NOT NEW ANYMORE.
AND IF IT'S USED AND USED AND USED, IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
SO, UH, BRYCE'S CREW, UH, THE STEM LIBRARIANS ARE WORKING WITH THE BRANCHES THAT HAVE MAKING SPACES AND THEY'RE TRYING TO STAY ON TOP OF THAT.
AND EVEN BETTER TO BE AHEAD OF IT.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE WITH THE COPY MACHINE.
YOU DON'T WANNA WAIT UNTIL YOU RUN OUTTA TONER TO ORDER NEW TONER.
SO THEY'RE MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE, UH, THE P L A, WHICH I LIKE TO CALL PLOW, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT, UM, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE PLASTIC THREAD THAT GOES IN THE THREE D PRINTER OR THE BLADES OR THE, THE, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE THINGS.
UM, THEY'RE MAKING SURE AND CABLES, Y'ALL CABLES.
HAVE WE, HAVE YOU PUBLICIZED ANY OF THIS, LIKE ON THE, SOME OF THE LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS? OR DO YOU WE DON'T NEED TO JUST WAIT A WHILE.
UH, TO DO THAT BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE EXTREMELY POPULAR, RIGHT? WE DID A LITTLE PUBLICI, WELL, WE DIDN'T, BUT THE RADIO STATION, ONE OF THE RADIO STATIONS, WELL, THEY ALL GET THE NEWSLETTER.
AND ON THEIR OWN, THEY DECIDED TO ADVERTISE THE SPARK SERIES FROM SATURDAY.
AND WE HAD SO MANY CALLS, IT WAS LIKE, THIS IS LIMITED REGISTRATION, THE ROOM IS NOT LARGE, AND THIS WAS SPECIAL.
IT'S, SO WE HAD THEM SAY, THIS ONE'S FULL, BUT WE WILL PLAN MORE LATER SO THAT YOU ALL CAN DO HOUSEHOLD REPAIRS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SAME THING WITH THE SKILL MILL.
YOU KNOW, UM, AS WE ROLL OUT MORE EQUIPMENT AND MORE BRANCHES GET REALLY MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE OCULUS, YOU'LL SEE EVEN MORE USE.
AND SOONER OR LATER WE MAY DO A BIG PUSH, BUT RIGHT NOW WE DON'T REALLY NEED TO.
OTHER REPORTS? I AM GONNA SAY IT'S STILL VERY MUCH NOT FAIR TO FOLLOW, MARY, IN ANY OF THESE MEETINGS.
COME TO THE BORING STUFF WITH THE MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO, UM, AN UPDATE ON THE BREVILLE ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM.
UM, THE, THE HARDWARE REPLACEMENTS ARE ABOUT 98% DONE.
THEY DID DISCOVER AT, UH, GREENWALL SPRINGS.
THERE WERE A COUPLE LOCATIONS THAT, UM, THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO INSTALL THE HARDWARE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HAVE ADEQUATE CABLING.
AND SO, UM, WE WILL HAVE TO GO BACK AND, UM, REPO SOME NEW CABLE BECAUSE IT IS JUST, IT DOES NOT SUPPORT ALL THE NEW HARDWARE SYSTEMS. UM, AND SO THE, UH, THE HARDWARE PIECES, SO WE CAN'T, UM, MIGRATE THOSE TWO, UM, TWO DOORS TO THE NEW SYSTEM.
UM, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THERE'S, UM, SOME OLD HARDWARE THAT IS NOT BEING REPLACED, THAT STILL HAS TO COME OUT.
BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE ARE 98% DONE WITH THAT PROJECT OVERALL.
UH, WINDOW WASHING IS COMPLETE AT ALL LOCATIONS, EXCEPT FOR A COUPLE HIGH AREAS HERE AT MAINE.
UM, H V A C AND OTHER, UH, CHILLER ISSUES WERE RELATED WORK, UH, DELMA GARDENS HAD DUCT CLEANING THAT WAS FINISHED ON JULY 9TH.
UM, JONES CREEK AIR HANDLING UNIT NUMBER 10, WHICH IS THE NEW ONE THAT WAS PUT IN TO SERVICE THE MEETING ROOMS TO HELP WITH THE EXPANDED, UM, SQUARE FOOTAGE FROM THAT RENOVATION.
IT'S HAD, UM, SOME ISSUES WITH THE PRESSURE SWITCHES PRESS.
UM, THEY WERE FOUND THAT THEY WERE BAD AND SO THEY WERE REPLACED AND SOME SETTINGS WERE UPDATED.
WE HAD ANOTHER POWER OUTAGE THERE ON JUNE 21ST.
SO THAT CAUSED EVERYTHING TO, UM, GO DOWN.
AND I THINK WE'RE, WERE WE CLOSED FOR, WAS IT TWO DAYS OR JUST ONE DAY? OH GOSH, IT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS IN.
WE CLOSED EARLY OF THE, WE CLOSED EARLY FOR PART OF THE DAY, CLOSED EARLY FOR PART OF THE DAY.
I WAS IN CHICAGO ATTENDING THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE WHILE ALL THIS WAS GOING ON.
SO, UM, BUT BECAUSE OF THE PROLONGED NATURE OF THAT POWER OUTAGE AND THE INTENSE HEAT THAT WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING,
[00:40:01]
UM, UNFORTUNATELY IT CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE CORE SWITCH.AND SO ALL OF THE INTERNET, NOT ONLY WAS IT DOWN BECAUSE THE POWER WAS OUT, BUT THEN IT COULDN'T BE BROUGHT BACK UP BECAUSE THAT SWITCH WAS COMPLETELY FRIED DURING ALL OF THAT HEAT.
'CAUSE THOSE THINGS ARE VERY SENSITIVE.
UM, THE CHILLER WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO BE BROUGHT BACK ONLINE, BUT THIS FUN NEW THING ABOUT EVERYTHING GOING TO TECHNOLOGY IS THAT YOU'VE CREATED A, A LOOP THAT YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF.
SO WITHOUT THE INTERNET, THE ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WASN'T ABLE TO FUNCTION.
SO THE CHILLER WAS ON AND IT WAS PRODUCING ALL THIS COLD AIR, BUT IT HAD NOWHERE TO GO BECAUSE NONE OF THE VALVES WERE OPENING BECAUSE THAT'S CONTROLLED BY THE INTERNET.
THERE WAS NO INTERNET BECAUSE THE INTERNET SWITCH WAS FRIED.
SO, UM, THAT WAS, THAT WAS FUN.
SO IT DID TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO COOL THE BUILDING DOWN THAN WAS EXPECTED, BUT WE GOT IT FIXED.
UM, AND WE HAVE INSTALLED SOME PHASE MONITORS AND THAT WE'RE HOPING THAT WILL HELP, UM, LESSENED SOME OF THAT DAMAGE THE NEXT TIME AROUND.
BUT AGAIN, THE IMPORTANCE OF A SUSTAINABLE POWER GRID.
THIS IS A ANOTHER EXAMPLE, BUT, UM, IN BLUE BONNET, WE ARE IN THEIR RENOVATION PACKAGE.
WE ARE PUTTING IN THE OPTION TO HOOK UP THE BUILDING TO A GENERATOR.
WE'RE NOT PUTTING IN A GENERATOR, BUT WE'LL AT LEAST HAVE THE HOOKUP THERE THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THAT.
UM, AND THIS IS A PERFECT REASON.
'CAUSE FOR WHATEVER REASON, THAT PARTICULAR BRANCH JUST HAS MORE, MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE OF POWER OUTAGES.
MAID HEAD A POWER OUTAGE WAS THAT MONDAY? I THINK IT WAS MONDAY.
SO THANK YOU FOR HAVING A GENERATOR.
UM, IT WAS ON GENERATOR POWER, I THINK FOR MOST OF THE AFTERNOON THAT DAY.
WE HAVE TREE PRUNING THAT WAS COMPLETED AT DELMONT GARDENS, JONES CREEK BAKER PRIDE, BLUE BONNET, AND ZACHARY.
THE, UM, UPSTAIRS OUTDOOR TERRACE WAS PRESSURE WASHED AT RIVER CENTER.
OVER, UM, JULY 1ST WEEKEND, UH, A NEW THING POPPED UP AT GREENWELL SPRINGS FOR A PLUMBING ISSUE.
THEY WERE HAVING SOME RECURRING BACKUPS IN THE STAFF BATHROOM, AND THEY FINALLY GOT THE VENDOR OUT AND FIGURED OUT THAT WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, BUT WHEN THEY LAID THE NEW PIPE OVER, UM, BEFORE THE RENOVATION HAPPENED, SOMEONE, SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THE CONNECTION TO THIS, IN THIS ONE AREA.
AND OF COURSE IT WAS UNDERNEATH WHERE WE JUST PUT NEW CONCRETE DOWN FOR THE RENOVATION.
SO THEY HAD TO JACKHAMMER THAT ALL UP BECAUSE THEY DID FIND IT WAS SLIGHTLY OUT OF ALIGNMENT.
AND SO IT WAS CAUSING ALL OF THESE BACKUPS.
AND THEN WHEN WE WENT TO TRY AND RELEASE THE BACKUPS, UM, OUR STAFF BROKE OFF PART OF THEIR, UM, MACHINE, THEIR LITTLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT CALLED? LITTLE SNAKE MACHINES.
SO THEY THEN HAD TO HAVE THE VENDOR RUN A MAGNET THROUGH THE LINE TO GET THAT PART OUT TO, SO IT WAS A, IT WAS A, IT WAS A INTERESTING EXERCISE IN, UM, PLUMBING, UH, REPAIRS.
BUT, UH, THEY, JACK HAMMERED IT UP ON THE 18TH, FIXED IT, AND THEY POURED THE CONCRETE, UM, YESTERDAY.
AND OUR MECHANICAL OPERATIONS MANAGER WENT OVER THERE TODAY TO KIND OF, UM, TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WAS ALL SQUARE SO WE CAN GET THAT PROJECT WRAPPED UP.
UM, BLUE BONNET HAS HAD THEIR MONUMENTAL SIGN REPLACED.
THERE ARE ACRYLIC LETTERS OVER AN ALUMINUM BACKING, SO THAT LOOKS, UM, VERY NICE.
IT REPLACED THE OLD TILE THAT WAS IN THE, UM, ARCHWAY OF THAT STUCCO, AT LEAST IT LOOKS LIKE STUCCO, MONUMENTAL SIGN.
UM, WE ALSO HAD SOME FUN WHERE WE THOUGHT THE ROOF WAS LEAKING, BUT IT WASN'T THE ROOF, IT WAS A SPRINKLER PIPE.
UM, SO THERE IS A CORRODED AREA IN THE MEETING ROOMS, BUT OUR VENDOR HAS GONE OUT THERE AND, UM, FIXED THAT.
I BELIEVE THEY WERE GOING THROUGH THE BUILDING AS WELL.
JUST KIND OF DOUBLE CHECKING, UM, SOME OF THE OTHER PIPES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANOTHER SIMILAR, UM, SLOW LEAK AREA.
UM, ALRIGHT, SMALL CAPITAL PROJECTS.
THE PRE-BID PRE-BID MEETING WAS HELD ON JUNE 27TH FOR THE FIVE FIVE LOCATION CHILLER PACKAGE.
AN ADDENDUM WAS ISSUED AND THEN THE BIDS CAME IN ON FRIDAY OF LAST WEEK, AND THEY WERE IN BUDGET.
SO THE, IT DOESN'T QUITE LOOK LIKE THE PICTURES THAT MARY SHOWED, UM, EARLIER TODAY.
THEY HAVE BEEN LAYING THE REBAR, UM, IN THAT FINAL AREA OF, UM, CEMENT POURING.
[00:45:01]
READY TO, TO GET THAT POURED DONE.UM, THE POWER POLES, I SAW THEM IN THE WORKROOM.
UM, THE LIGHTS AND THE CEILING GRID ARE ALL IN.
AND, UM, THEY'RE PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES ON THE VESTIBULE ON THE OUTSIDE, LIKE THE ROOF.
UM, THEY WERE OUT THERE HAMMERING AWAY.
IT'S SOMETHING WHEN CARSON AND I WERE OUT THERE TODAY.
UM, NOTHING'S MOVING ALONG AS QUICKLY AS WE WOULD LIKE, BUT IT'S MOVING.
SO, UM, AS FAR AS OUR FOUR LOCATION ROOF REPLACEMENTS, UM, THERE IS STILL NO WORD AS TO WHEN THE CUPOLA WORK AT JONES CREEK WILL BE PERFORMED, UNFORTUNATELY.
UM, BUT THE GUTTERS HAVE BEEN PARTIALLY INSTALLED AT JONES CREEK AND THERE WAS, UM, THE CANOPY, JUST AS YOU'RE WALKING UP TO THE, TO, TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING, UM, THEY HAD ERECTED SOME SCAFFOLDING IN THAT AREA A COUPLE WEEKS AGO SO THAT THEY COULD DO THE FINAL LITTLE TOUCHUP WORKS ON THE, UM, THE AREA, WHAT IS IT CALLED? BETWEEN THE ROOF AND THE STUCCO OVERHANG.
UM, THEY HAD TO GET BACK DOWN IN THERE, CLEAN IT OUT, REATTACH SOME STUFF, AND THEN, UM, CLOSE IT ALL UP AND PUT IN, UM, THE RIDGE VENT.
THEY ALSO INSTALLED A STAFF BENCH AT DELMONT GARDENS ALONG WITHIN THE ROOF REPLACEMENT.
'CAUSE IT WAS ALSO, REMEMBER A EXTERIOR MISCELLANEOUS REPAIR PACKAGE AS WELL.
SO, UM, THE MISCELLANEOUS INTERIOR REPAIR PACKAGE, UH, THE DELMONT FLOORING REPLACEMENT IS PARTIALLY DONE.
SAW IT AGAIN TODAY WHILE I WAS OUT THERE WITH CARSON.
BUT, UM, WHEN THEY PULLED UP THE SECOND HALF IN THE MIDDLE AREA WHERE ALL OF THE PATRON COMPUTERS ARE, UM, THERE WAS SOME STAINING, UM, WHICH WASN'T SURPRISING.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A FEW, UH, WATER INTRUSION ISSUES THERE OVER THE, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON WHY WE WERE REPLACING THAT FLOORING.
SO THEY HAD TO DO, UM, A MOISTURE TEST.
SO THEY'RE LETTING IT DRY OUT TO SEE IF REMOVING THAT FLOORING WOULD EVAPORATE SOME OF THAT, UM, TRAPPED MOISTURE.
SO THEY'LL GO BACK AND RETEST IT TO SEE IF IT MEETS THE, UM, REQUIREMENTS TO BE ABLE ABLE TO INSTALL THE FLOORING BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE WARRANTIED.
'CAUSE IF THEY, IF IT DOESN'T MEET THE WARRANTY OR THE MOISTURE TEST DOESN'T MEET THAT, THEN THEY WON'T WARRANTY IT AND THEY MAY NOT WARRANTY IT IF THEY USE A DIFFERENT PRODUCT THAN IS SPECIFIED.
UM, SO WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER WEEK BEFORE THAT SECOND TEST HAPPENED.
SO WE DON'T QUITE KNOW YET WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN WITH THAT.
BUT WHATEVER IT IS, WE WILL, UM, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE WITH THE ADVICE OF OUR ARCHITECTS AND THE CONTRACTOR AND THE MANUFACTURER.
SO THE DOCUMENTS WERE SENT OVER TO THE FIRE MARSHAL FOR AN INITIAL REVIEW, AND THEN WE, THERE ARE JUST A COUPLE TWEAKS LEFT, BUT I BELIEVE WE ARE STILL ON TRACK TO GO OUT FOR BID AT THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST.
AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE FOR MAINTENANCE QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, THEN I'M GONNA SIT DOWN.
I'M GONNA HAVE BRYCE COME UP AND DO COMPUTERS.
SO WE WILL BE RELEASING AN R F P NEXT MONTH FOR NEW R F I D EQUIPMENT, BOTH FOR THE SOUTH BRANCH AND TO REPLACE OUR EXISTING R F I D EQUIPMENT.
WE'VE HAD OUR OLDEST R F I D EQUIPMENT IS NOW FIVE YEARS OLD.
SO JUST LOOKING AT, UM, HOW TO REPLACE IT WHEN, WHEN THINGS AGE OUT.
SO WE'LL BE RELEASING THAT NEXT MONTH.
UM, I VISITED MANY R F I D VENDORS WHILE ATTENDING THE A L A CONFERENCE A FEW WEEKS AGO TO GET TO KNOW THE PRODUCTS THAT THEY OFFER.
AND AMANDA, OUR SYSTEMS LIBRARIAN AND I ARE WORKING TO FINISH WRITING THE R F P BY THE END OF THIS MONTH.
WE HAVE RECEIVED A PO FOR MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR OUR VARIOUS APPLE PRODUCTS AND DEVICES.
SO AS WE INCREASE THE NUMBER OF APPLE DEVICES THAT BOTH PATRONS AND STAFF USE, IT'S BECOME NECESSARY TO HAVE SOME SORT OF SOLUTION TO MANAGE THEM ALL IN ONE PLACE.
SO THIS SOFTWARE WILL HELP US STANDARDIZE THE CONTENT ACROSS APPLE DEVICES.
IT'LL HELP US SIMPLIFY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ON OUR END, AND IT WILL HELP US SUPPLY
[00:50:01]
OPERATING SYSTEM UPDATES WITHOUT US HAVING TO TOUCH EACH AND EVERY APPLE DEVICE THAT EXISTS IN OUR SYSTEM.AS MARY MENTIONED, WE'VE ROLLED OUT ADDITIONAL HOTSPOTS.
UM, THOSE CAME IN AND HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO THE SELECTED BRANCHES AND HAVE QUICKLY CHECKED OUT, UM, IN A MATTER OF DAYS.
AND AS KRISTEN MENTIONED, THE REVO SYSTEM HAS NOW BEEN UPDATED AND IS MOSTLY COMPLETED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF GREENWOOD SPRINGS FOR THE COMPUTER SERVICES STATISTICS.
AS OF JUNE 30TH, 30% OF CHECKED OUT ITEMS WERE CHECKED OUT AT A SELF-CHECKOUT KIOSK THIS YEAR.
THIS REPRESENTS 166,523 ITEMS. AS OF JUNE 30TH.
THERE HAVE BEEN 956 CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS MADE THIS YEAR BY 883 PATRONS FOR A TOTAL OF $14,575 AND 70 CENTS.
$191 AND 20 CENTS OF THIS AMOUNT WAS CONVENIENCE FEES.
AND THIS REPRESENTS 14.62% OF ALL PAYMENTS AS OF JUNE 30TH.
HOTSPOTS HAVE CIRCULATED 2,438 TIMES BY 738 PATRONS THIS YEAR.
UM, THIS IS A, A BIT HIGHER THAN USUAL MONTHS BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE OF HOTSPOTS THAT WE ROLLED OUT.
AND IN THE MONTH OF JUNE FOR OUR SUPPORT TICKETS, 233 TICKETS WERE CREATED AND 263 TICKETS WERE RESOLVED.
ANY QUESTIONS? HA HAVE YOU GOTTEN ANY FEEDBACK UPON, UH, WITH THE HOTSPOTS, IF THEY'RE WORKING, UH, PROPERLY OR, YOU KNOW, UH, ANY, JUST ANY FEEDBACK FROM THEM AND ARE PEOPLE RETURNING THEM LIKE THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO AND OR WHAT CONDITION ARE THEY IN? THAT KIND OF STUFF OR, RIGHT.
I, I WOULD SAY FOR THE MOST PART, THE FEEDBACK'S BEEN POSSIBLE.
WHENEVER THERE IS AN ISSUE, WE'RE CERTAINLY NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY AND WORK TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE.
AND, AND YEAH, FOR THE MOST PART, PEOPLE ARE RETURNING THEM.
THEY ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF, UH, CHECKING THEM OUT FOR CLOSE TO THE FULL 12 WEEKS.
THEY'RE ALLOWED TO CHECK THEM OUT, BUT THEY, UM, FOR THE MOST PART HAVE BEEN RETURNING THEM AND ESPECIALLY DAMAGE FREE.
ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU, BRYCE.
KRISTEN, BACK UP JUST FOR A SECOND BECAUSE I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE, UM, OUR CONSULTANT FOR PHASE ZERO OF OUR FACILITIES MASTER PLAN, WHICH IS OUR COMMUNITY AND STAFF ENGAGEMENT PORTION.
SO CARSON BLOCK, I MET HIM THROUGH A, UM, CERTIFIED PUBLIC LIBRARY ADMINISTRATOR PROGRAM CLASS.
AND THEN HE WAS BROUGHT ON AS A TECHNO LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT WITH THE SOUTH BRANCH.
UM, AND SO HE'S GOT SO MUCH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE AND HE'S EXTREMELY VALUABLE TO E B R P L.
AND SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE HIM HERE TODAY.
HE'S GOT HIS OWN LITTLE, UM, PRESENTATION.
AND THEN ALSO I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT OUR CHIEF ARCHITECT, SEAN JOHNSON, IS ALSO HERE TODAY BECAUSE HE WILL BE WRITING THE SCOPE FOR THAT R F P, FOR THE REST OF THE PHASE OF THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN.
AND HE IS ALSO ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THIS, UM, THIS GROUP.
SO I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CARSON SO YOU CAN, AGAIN, STOP HEARING ME TALK 'CAUSE I'LL BE BACK AFTER CARSON.
DO I PULL UP THE, UH, PRESENTATION? THERE IS A LITTLE TAB.
CONSULTANT, THAT'S, EVERYONE ALWAYS EXPECTS THAT, BUT THEN YOU GET TO A NEW COMPUTER, IT'S LIKE, I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS WORKS.
WE'VE ALREADY PULLED UP FOR YOU.
I'M NOT GONNA TAKE A TON OF YOUR TIME, BUT I DO WANNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON, UH, OUR KICKOFF.
I WANNA TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT.
AND THE BIGGEST THING I WANNA DO IS ASK YOU A FEW, OR ASK YOU ACTUALLY ONE QUESTION, JUST FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO ASK THIS QUESTION.
SO I HOPE YOU'RE READY TO GIVE ME A LITTLE FEEDBACK.
'CAUSE I, I AM LOOKING, UM, UH, TO YOU FOR THAT.
UM, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PLANNING PROCESS SO THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH, UH, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING, HOW WE'RE DOING IT.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LIBRARY TRENDS BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, THAT, THAT WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF, OF BRINGING SOMEBODY IN FROM THE OUTSIDE IS I GOT, I GET TO SEE A LOT OF STUFF.
I GET TO SEE HOW A LOT OF FOLKS ARE DOING THINGS.
EVERY LIBRARY IS HYPER-LOCAL, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD.
UM, I NEVER BELIEVE IN COPYING WHAT SOMEONE ELSE IS DOING UNLESS WE HAVE THE EXACT SAME OBJECTIVES BECAUSE OF THAT HYPERLOCAL PART.
[00:55:01]
A SENSE FOR INSPIRATION AS WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING THINGS AS WE GO FORWARD.UH, THE OTHER IS THE DISCUSSION.
AND I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION, AND I WANT YOU TO DEFINE FOR ME WHAT YOU THINK IS THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF INVESTMENT IN LIBRARY BUILDINGS.
BECAUSE THIS, IT'S QUITE AN INVESTMENT.
AND GUESS WHAT? ONCE WE BUILT THEM, WE'RE STUCK WITH THEM FOR SO LONG.
SO WE WANNA DO A GREAT JOB WITH THAT INVESTMENT.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT UPFRONT.
UM, AND THAT'S ONE THING I WOULD SAY.
UM, AS, UM, STAFF HAVE BEEN TOURING ME AROUND, WE HAVE BEEN TAKING LOTS AND LOTS OF NOTES ABOUT HOW WELL THE INVESTMENT'S WORKING AND WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE THINGS IN THIS INVESTMENT.
SO THAT'S PART OF THIS, UM, THIS STUDY THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
THE, UH, FIRST THING I'LL TELL YOU ABOUT IS THE PLANNING PROCESS.
AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE TAKING A PHASE ZERO APPROACH BECAUSE THE FULL FACILITIES MASTER PLAN IS QUITE AN UNDERTAKING.
IT'S A HIGHLY, UH, TECHNICAL PIECE, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WORTHY OF DOING.
AND SOMETIMES THE BEST APPROACH IS, UH, KIND OF DOING A PLAN TO PLAN, UH, SORT OF THING TO KIND OF ROUND UP THE INFORMATION THAT THAT EXISTS.
BUT IN OUR CASE, ESPECIALLY GET FEEDBACK, UM, UH, GET AS MUCH FEEDBACK AS WE CAN FROM THE COMMUNITY, FROM, UH, THE STAFF AND FROM OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING EACH OF YOU
SO WE HAVE THREE GROUPS ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN, UH, KIND OF THE MECHANICS OF THE PROCESS AS WELL AS, UH, THE LIBRARY BOARD.
UH, AND I'LL SHOW YOU THE NAMES OF EVERYONE THAT'S ON THAT STEERING GROUP.
THAT'S THE, THE ROLL UP TO SLEEVES RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD GROUP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE GOOD, UH, TRACTION AND THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BE AGILE.
THE, UH, THE OTHER WILL BE A COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
WE HAVEN'T FORMED THAT YET, BUT WE HAVE OUR CANDIDATE NAMES AND WE'LL BE FORMING THAT SOON.
AND THEN A LIBRARY STAFF GROUP THAT WILL STAY WITH US THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
SO THIS IS, UM, THIS IS KIND OF TAKING OUR MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED EVERYONE UP FRONT AND THAT WE BRING THEM ALL ALONG THE ENTIRE WAY.
UM, A PRIORITY FOR THE PROJECT IS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
AGAIN, REACHING OUT AND GETTING TO KNOW THINGS.
SO FOR THE COMMUNITY, UH, VERY SOON WE'LL BE LAUNCHING A COMMUNITY SURVEY.
UH, THINGS ARE, UH, UH, UH, PERK CLOSE TO BEING FINALIZED WITHIN INCHES, UH, BECAUSE WE'VE, UH, GONE OVER THE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW, WE'RE TESTING THE FORMAT.
UH, WE HAVE QUITE AN AMBITIOUS GOAL FOR THIS.
WE WOULD LIKE, UH, THE FEEDBACK TO EXCEED FEEDBACK THAT THE LIBRARY HAS DONE BEFORE.
AND YOU'VE HAD GOOD PERFORMANCE WITH SURVEYS.
IT'S BEEN BETWEEN TWO AND 4,000.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO EXCEED THAT FEEDBACK.
SO WE'RE GONNA WORK THE BEST THAT WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS.
THE FIRST STEP WAS ALL THE WORK ON THE SURVEY, SO IT'S NOT HARD TO FILL OUT, RIGHT? SO IT'S VERY SIMPLE, BUT IT'S VERY POWERFUL WITH THE INFORMATION.
UM, THE, UH, WE'LL ALSO, UH, LOOK AT FOCUS GROUPS AND ALSO INTERVIEWS WITH DIFFERENT COMMUNITY LEADERS SO THAT WE HAVE A VERY BROAD, UH, I'M SORRY, A VERY, UM, UM, BROAD BASED WAY OF GETTING THE SORT OF FEEDBACK BACK.
UM, UH, ENGAGEMENT WITH YOU IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND THAT'S WHY I'M HERE WITH YOU TODAY ON THIS KICKOFF DAY.
AND WE SCHEDULED THIS SO THAT IT WOULD COINCIDE WITH YOUR REGULAR MEETING STAFF IS SO IMPORTANT.
STAFF, UH, AT EVERY LEVEL, SEE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, THINGS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY REPORTED.
UM, AND THIS IS A BUSY LIBRARY SYSTEM, RIGHT? UM, AND SO CONNECTING WITH STAFF IN, IN A, AN AUTHENTIC WAY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO, UH, ANY PROCESS, UH, THAT WE DO.
AND ESPECIALLY FOR THIS BECAUSE STAFF LIVE WITH THESE BUILDINGS EVERY DAY AND THEY MAKE, UH, THE BEST USE OF THIS FOR PATRON SERVICES.
AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HONORING THOSE EXPERIENCES IN DOING THE BEST JOB WE CAN WITH UNDERSTANDING THEIR EXPERIENCES AND HOW TO TURN THAT AROUND.
ALSO, WE WILL BE DOING A TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S LIKE RIGHT IN MY WHEELHOUSE.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UM, UH, BRYCE FOR A WHILE ON, ON, ON A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS, UH, AROUND TECHNOLOGY.
BUT WE'LL ALSO JUST DO A PROPER TECH ASSESSMENT AS WELL.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING SOMETIMES THAT HAPPENS LATER IN THE PROCESS.
BUT SINCE I CAN DO IT, MAN, LET'S DO IT.
LET'S DO IT TOGETHER AND MAKE IT HAPPEN.
UM, OUR, UH, SCHEDULE, I'M SORRY, OUR SKIING GROUP, UH, CHRISTIAN, MARY, PATRICIA, BRYCE, UH, ALVIN RATTLE, A NEW, UH, UH, UH, UH, MEMBER TO THE TEAM HERE AT THE LIBRARY, UH, FACILITIES MANAGER, SEAN.
UM, IT'S BEEN GREAT HAVING SEAN AS PART OF THE, THE, THE GROUP, UH, AS WELL.
SO WE'RE THE STEERING, THE STEERING GROUP, AND WE'VE, WE'VE ROLLED UP OUR SLEEVES QUITE A BIT,
SO IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN GREAT.
UM, OUR PROJECT TIMELINE AND ACTIVITIES, UH, WE HAD OUR OFFICIAL PROJECT KICKOFF ON MAY 31ST.
WE ACTUALLY HAD A KIND OF A SOFT LAUNCH BECAUSE I WAS DOING SOME WORK FOR THE ST.
TAMMANY PARISH, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, UH, WITH THEM.
AND I HAPPENED TO BE IN TOWN, SO I WENT BACK TO THE AIRPORT THIS WAY,
AND, UH, WE STOPPED AND WE WERE ABLE TO, TO, TO DO SOME PRE-WORK.
UH, BUT OUR OFFICIAL KICKOFF WAS MAY 31ST, UH, HERE IN JUNE AND JULY, WHERE WE'VE BEEN GATHERING, UM, UH, AND REVIEWING CURRENT DOCUMENTATION THAT THE LIBRARY HAS.
WE'VE BEEN DESIGNING THE COMMUNITY AND STAFF SURVEYS.
AND OF COURSE MY VISIT, UM, UH, UH, UH, THIS WEEK IN AUGUST,
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WE WILL LAUNCH THE COMMUNITY AND THE STAFF SURVEYS.UH, THAT'S ALSO WHEN WE'LL, UM, INVITE OUR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY CITY OR A COMMITTEE.
SOMETIMES I'LL JUST CALL THAT C A C, BUT I'LL TRY NOT TO USE TOO MANY ACRONYMS BECAUSE WE LOSE TRACK OF THOSE.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL DETERMINE AND DESIGN ANY ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES, WHICH MIGHT BE FOCUS GROUPS, UH, OR OTHER FORMS OF ENGAGEMENT.
AND THE, THE IMPORTANT PIECE OF DOING THIS ITERATIVELY IS, UH, WHEN WE'RE GETTING THOSE SURVEY RESULTS, EVEN THOUGH THAT WE, UH, WE'RE GONNA GET AS MANY FOLKS COMING BACK, UH, WITH THEIR RESPONSES, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S REPRESENTATIVE OF THE, OF THE, OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND IN MOST OF MY EXPERIENCES WITH, UH, SURVEYS, UM, TYPICALLY THERE'LL BE A, A CERTAIN SEGMENT OF THE COMMUNITY WHO RESPONDS REALLY WELL TO THAT SURVEY.
AND WE WILL BE DOING ELECTRONIC, WE'LL BE DOING THEM, WE'LL BE DOING PAPER ONES AT THE BRANCHES.
WE'LL BE DOING THE BEST JOB WE CAN, BUT SOMETIMES IT'S HEAVILY WEIGHTED TOWARDS ONE, UH, GROUP OR ANOTHER.
SO WE WANNA, UH, UH, LOOK AT WHAT WE SEE FROM THE SURVEY AND THEN SAY WHO'S MISSING AND WHO SHOULD WE, UH, TRY TO TALK TO.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE REASON FOR, UM, UM, HOLDING OFF ON HOW WE IDENTIFY THAT UNTIL THAT POINT, SEPTEMBER THROUGH OCTOBER, WE WILL, UM, UH, COMPILE AND SHARE THE SURVEY RESULTS.
FIRST WITH THE STEERING GROUP, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE VETTING THIS INFORMATION, THAT IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE THAT WE'RE REPORTING IT ACCURATELY AND THAT IT MAKES SENSE.
UH, AND THEN WE WILL PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE AS WELL AS UPDATES TO, UH, OUR STAFF GROUP.
UH, AND, UH, ALSO HOLD OUR FIRST C A C MEETING.
THAT WILL BE PART OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST THING THE C A C WILL WANNA KNOW IS WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT? SO WE WANNA HAVE SOMETHING GOOD FOR THEM, UH, SINCE WE'RE INVITING THEM TO, UM, HELP US, UH, FOR THIS AND MAKE THAT VERY PRODUCTIVE.
UH, THAT'S ALSO WHEN I WOULD BE PROVI, UH, PERFORMING ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS WITH, UH, FOLKS THAT WE DETERMINE THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE REACH OUT TO, UH, THE HOME STRETCH.
THEN IT STARTS HAPPENING IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER.
DECEMBER, OF COURSE, THE HARDEST MONTH TO DO ANYTHING, TO GET ANYTHING DONE AND TO PUT ANY PRESSURE ON ANYBODY.
BUT, UM, THAT'S A GOOD MONTH TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE, UH, STARTED COMPILING THE FINDINGS AND ACTIVITIES, UH, WITH A STEERING GROUP REVIEW AND COMMENT ON THAT.
AND ALSO GIVING PRESENTATIONS TO AND FEEDBACK FROM THE STAFF, THE BOARD, AND THE C A C, JANUARY AND FEBRUARY.
WE WILL START THEN THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE CREATE PRIORITIES FROM THE INFORMATION THAT WE RECEIVE.
UH, I, FOR ONE, AM AM A BIG FAN OF FRAMEWORKS, UM, WITH A KIND OF A PLANNING TO PLAN PROCESS.
IT'S TOO EARLY TO PUT IN FIRM FRAME FRAMEWORKS, BUT WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT WHAT MAKES UP CRITERIA TO MAKE DECISIONS, BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY, UM, WHAT, UH, WE GO, GO TOWARDS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT A, YOU KNOW, A LARGE SYSTEM WITH LOTS OF FACILITIES, UH, AND LOTS OF NEEDS.
UH, WE WILL CREATE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, AS A TEAM, AND THEN I'LL DRAFT UP THE, THE FINAL REPORT, UH, WITH OUR TARGET OF BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND MARCH OF DOING FINAL PRESENTATIONS AND CLOSING OUT THE PROJECT.
SO, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS OR THE SCHEDULE AT THIS POINT? OKAY.
SO THE GOAL FOR, UM, UH, UH, UH, THE, THE, THE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, IDEAS, THINKING ABOUT VISIONING AND VISIONING FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, UH, AS BOARD MEMBERS, IS WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS, THE PHASE ZERO ACTIVITIES ARE ALIGNED WITH THE, UH, OBJECTIVES OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WITH ALSO THE SOFT, UH, OBJECTIVES, THE THINGS THAT HAVE COME FROM YOUR PARTICIPATION, UM, AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMMITTEE AND, AND, AND REALLY CARING ABOUT, UH, THE LIBRARY, AND THE LIBRARY DOING A GREAT JOB.
SO, TO START, I'M GONNA START WITH SOME VERY BASIC LIBRARY TRENDS.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GET INTO THE WEEDS, BUT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT, UH, SOME OF THE BIG THINGS THAT, IN MY EXPERIENCE, I'VE BEEN A CONSULTANT FOR, UH, 11, 12 YEARS NOW.
I'VE BEEN WORKING IN LIBRARIES FOR 28 YEARS OR SO.
UM, UH, UH, TRENDS IN LIBRARIES ARE REALLY WEIRD.
LIKE IN A LOT OF INDUSTRIES, THERE'S THESE, THESE VERY, UH, PRECISE TRENDS LIKE IN TECHNOLOGY ESPECIALLY.
UM, UH, BUT IN OTHERS, IN LIBRARIES, THEY'RE KIND LOOSE.
THEY'RE KIND OF AMORPHOUS BECAUSE EVERY LIBRARY LOOKS THE SAME ON THE OUTSIDE.
BUT I'M TELLING YOU, THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT WITH HOW THINGS ARE PRIORITIZED.
AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE CONNECTION TO THE COMMUNITY.
THE COMMUNITY THAT THE LIBRARY SERVES, UM, DEFINES THE WAY THAT THE LIBRARY, UM, UH, MIXES IT SERVICES.
SO, AS I'M TALKING ABOUT THESE TRENDS, THEY'RE HAPPENING IN DIFFERENT WAYS, IN DIFFERENT PLACES, BUT THEY'RE REALLY HAPPENING, UH, ALL OVER THE PLACE.
THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS.
IT'S A REALLY MESSY SORT OF PROCESS, BUT WITHIN THIS MESS IS OPPORTUNITY.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA LOOK FOR IN ANY TIMES OF TRANSITION.
I MEAN, THINK OF ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT EACH OF YOU DID IN YOUR OWN LIFE AS WE ALL GOT THROUGH COVID, RIGHT? THINK ABOUT WHAT THE LIBRARY HAS DONE IN TERMS OF ITS, UM, ADJUSTMENTS DURING COVID AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES.
IT, IT, THERE WAS A LOT OF HARD THINGS IN THAT, IN THAT, UH, PROCESS.
[01:05:01]
WHO HAVE LOST PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES IN THAT PROCESS, BUT THERE ARE ALSO TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO GROW AND TO BECOME STRONGER TOGETHER AS WELL.AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE WANNA ASPIRE TO AS WE'RE GOING.
THE FIRST IS THE IDEA OF LIBRARIES CHANGING FROM STATIC PLACES, PLACES THAT DIDN'T CHANGE VERY MUCH TO PLACES THAT ARE VERY ACTIVE, RIGHT? AND SO, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FACILITIES PLAN, WHAT THIS MEANS TO US IS THAT WE PROBABLY, WE'RE, WE'RE SUCH ACTIVE PLACES, WE PROBABLY NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT PROTECTING AREAS AND, AND HAVING SOME PLACES THAT ARE NOT ACTIVE PLACES THAT ARE FOR THERE FOR STUDY.
UM, UH, THERE ARE, UH, PLACES FOR CONTEMPLATIVE WORK, FOR, FOR SMALL GROUP WORK, AND EVEN ENHANCED SERVICES LIKE TELEHEALTH AND TELE TELEMEDICINE, RIGHT? THAT NEEDS TO BE A PERSONAL, PRIVATE, SORT OF QUIET SPOT.
UM, BUT LIBRARIES ARE VERY ACTIVE.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE WAYS YOU'VE PROBABLY EXPERIENCED THIS YOURSELF WHEN YOU'VE BEEN OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND YOU TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR BOARD WORK, YOU CAN TELL IF SOMEONE'S BEEN IN A LIBRARY LATELY, OR THEY HAVEN'T BY THE WAY THEY REACT, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT SAY, OH, YEAH, THE, THE QUIET, THE QUIET LITTLE LIBRARY IN THE CORNER WHERE NOTHING'S HAPPENING.
IT'S LIKE, AH, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE LIBRARY,
UH, THESE ARE VERY BUSY, VERY ACTIVE PLACES.
AND, AND AS SOME OF THAT WORKS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, THE, I WAS REALLY KIND OF BLOWN AWAY BY THE SHEER VOLUME OF ACTIVITIES THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T JUST, WELL, THERE WAS A COUPLE OF COOL PROGRAMS THAT I WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE GONE TO.
IT WAS ACTUALLY THE SHEER VOLUME OF ACTIVITIES AND SO MUCH, UM, AND SO REFLECTIVE OF THE PLACES I'VE TOURED, I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT, LIKE THINKING ABOUT, UM, UH, THAT IMPACT.
SO YOU, YOU ALSO, IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT, YOU'RE BUSY.
YOU'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON HERE.
UM, I THINK THIS GOES INTO THE SAME REPORT THAT, THAT YOU DID.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S THE MOST EXCITING FOR ME IS THAT THE, UH, THE WAY A LOT OF LIBRARIES ARE THINKING OF MEASURING THEIR VALUE, THIS IS A SOFT MEASURE BECAUSE THIS IS VERY HARD TO QUANTIFY, BUT, UM, UH, NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT TRANSACTIONAL DATA.
TRANSACTIONAL DATA IS STILL IMPORTANT.
SO THE, THE COUNTS THAT YOU JUST SAW, UH, IN THE REPORT, THOSE ARE STILL VERY IMPORTANT.
BUT THERE'S ALSO A VALUE IN HOW THE LIBRARY CONTRIBUTES TO THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE COMMUNITY INTO THE PLACE THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO BE.
AND SO MANY LIBRARIES ARE THINKING, WHAT IS OUR ROLE IN BEING, UH, AN AGENT OF THAT TRANSFORMATION, OF BEING A CATALYST IN THAT TRANSFORMATION? WHAT, HOW DO WE DO THAT IN A LIBRARY LIKE WAY? AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I SAW THAT IN THE REPORT
AND IN FACT, I, I WAS LIKE, YOU, CHRIS THOMAS KING IS A LOCAL, AND I MISSED THAT.
YEAH, BUT I WANNA TALK TO 'EM.
I WANT TO, YEAH, YOU KNOW, BUT I'LL LOOK AT THE ARCHIVE.
UM, BUT THAT, BUT THAT IDEA OF THE TRANSFORMATIONAL, THIS IS REALLY LIKE A BIG PICTURE THING, BUT I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD HELP DICTATE SMALL DECISIONS, RIGHT? WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE WANT TO INFLUENCE OUR COMMUNITY, WHAT ARE THE SMALL THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING OR WE COULD BE DOING THAT HELP US ON THAT ROAD TO REALLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY AND SOLVING COMMUNITY PROBLEMS, RIGHT? OR MAYBE IT'S NOT SOLVING A PROBLEM, MAYBE IT'S JUST MAKING THINGS GENERALLY AWESOME AND GENERALLY BETTER.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A TREND THAT I, I REALLY LOVE.
ANOTHER IS THE SHIFT FROM CONSUMPTION TO CREATION.
AND THIS IS OFTEN THOUGHT OF AS THE MAKER SPACES, RIGHT? AND, AND YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THOSE MAKER SPACES.
UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OF CONCEPTS GOING ON HERE, THOUGH, BECAUSE IN THE AGE OF INFORMATION, THE LIBRARY IS NO LONGER THE STOREHOUSE OF INFORMATION INFORMATION'S ACTUALLY IN, IT'S, IT'S IN THE AIR.
AND I CAN CAPTURE IT WITH THIS LITTLE DEVICE, AND SO CAN YOU.
UM, IT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT THE POINT, THOUGH.
THE TYPE OF INFORMATION THAT THE LIBRARY CAPTURES AND SHARES IS ACTUALLY GOES THROUGH A PROCESS OF VETTING, RIGHT? THERE'S A PROCESS OF, OF SELECTING AND CURATING THIS.
THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT THE HIP KIDS SAY WHEN, WHEN THEY DO THE SAME PROCESS.
BUT IT'S NOT IN A LIBRARY LIKE WE DO, WHAT WE CALL IT COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT.
THE HIP KIDS CALL IT CURATION.
WE'RE GONNA COME TO OUR CURATED COLLECTION, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S THE SAME IDEA.
IT'S SPECIAL, AND IT'S, IT'S DEDICATED AND IT'S THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE.
SO THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO HAVE A SAFE PLACE FOR COMMUNITY PEOPLE TO GATHER AND CREATE THINGS TOGETHER WITH THEIR HANDS.
IT CAN BE HIGH TECH, BUT HIGH TECH DOES NOT DEFINE A MAKERSPACE.
THOSE OTHER THINGS DO, BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER, UM, UM, TO CREATE THINGS TOGETHER, TO TRANSFER INFORMATION, TO MENTOR, TO, TO DO THOSE, THOSE THINGS.
THIS IS A VERY EXCITING ROLE FOR THE LIBRARY THAT'S VERY ACTIVE, RIGHT? GOING BACK TO THIS ACTIVE VERSUS PASSIVE, THIS IS KIND OF INSIDER BASEBALL, BUT I WANT YOU TO CONSIDER THIS FOR A MOMENT.
WE'RE GOING FROM JUST A FEW FORMATS TO MANY FORMATS AND GROWING, OKAY? THIS IS A HUGE, UH, UH, SHIFT FOR LIBRARIES.
UM, WHEN I SAY A FEW FORMATS, THE LIFE OF A LIBRARY WAS EASY.
WHEN WE SHARED THINGS THAT WE BOUGHT,
[01:10:01]
RIGHT? WE GO BUY SOMETHING, WE OWNED IT, WE CATALOGED IT, AND WE WOULD SHARE IT WITH THE COMMUNITY.THAT WAS STILL HARD, BUT IT WAS RELATIVELY EASY.
IN TODAY'S DIGITAL WORLD, WE NEED TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO THINGS THAT CANNOT BE BOUGHT
THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY CATEGORIZED IN AN EASY WAY, RIGHT? THEY'RE NOT EASY TO GET THEIR HANDS AROUND.
THINK ABOUT ALL THE, THE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT WERE PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
NONE OF THOSE, ALL THOSE ARE ENRICHMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
NONE OF THEM, UM, UH, ARE I I, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN FEES FOR, FOR, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE HELPING.
UH, SO MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE NOT PART OF THAT ECONOMIC EXCHANGE, AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE LIBRARY OWNS, BUT THE EXPERIENCE IS SOMETHING THAT IT SHARES, UM, WITH FOLKS.
UH, THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GRAPPLING WITH ON THE DIGITAL, UH, AGE.
AND WE WILL NOT GO DEEPLY INTO THAT, BUT IT IS KIND OF INTERESTING TO TRY TO THINK ABOUT AND NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MATERIAL TYPES.
SO IF WE'RE LOOKING AT BUILDINGS, UH, ONE ASSUMPTION THAT WOULD COME UP VERY EARLY IN MY CONSULTING PHASE THAT QUICKLY PASSED, AND I'M SO, SO THANKFUL FOR THIS.
CITY MANAGERS ESPECIALLY WOULD ASK ME, THEY'D SAY, OH, HEY, EVERYTHING'S DIGITAL NOW.
WE DON'T NEED ALL THAT LIBRARY SPACE.
RIGHT? AND I'D SAY, UH, NOT SO QUICK.
UM, YES, IT'S TRUE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF DIGITAL ACCESS, BUT TECHNOLOGY'S NOT AN EITHER OR, IT'S AN, AND SO WE HAVE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL.
NOW, I WAS SPIT BALLING ON THE FIRST TIME THAT SOMEBODY ASKED ME THAT.
I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER IT, BUT IT DIDN'T SEEM RIGHT TO SAY, OH, YEAH, EVERYTHING'S GOING DIGITAL.
WHEN WE LOOK AT YOUNGER PEOPLE, THEY LIKE PHYSICAL FORMATS.
'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T EXPERIENCE 'EM THE FIRST TIME AROUND, RIGHT? THEY, SO THEY, THEY ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED DIGITAL AND UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF DIGITAL, BUT THEY ALSO REALLY LIKE PHYSICAL FORMATS.
THINK ABOUT THE VINYL RECORD, WHICH NEVER REALLY WENT AWAY.
BUT, UM, VINYL RECORDS ARE SO POPULAR RIGHT NOW THAT THAT BANS, UH, PERFORMERS THAT SELL THESE TO MAKE A LIVING, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO GET THEM MANUFACTURED FAST ENOUGH.
THE, THE MANUFACTURING FOR THESE ARE, ARE, SO CHECK THIS OUT.
IT'S SO, UH, CHALLENGED ON L LPS ON VINYL PRODUCTION THAT BANDS ARE CONSIDERING REISSUING CDS IN YES.
SO THAT'S MY FAVORITE BECAUSE I'M A MUSICIAN AND, AND I NEVER GOT RID OF ANY OF MY FORMATS.
I STILL HAVE EIGHT TRACKS, AND I LOVE THEIR WARBLE, UM, UH, THE WORLY SOUND.
BUT THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING TO CONSIDER WHEN WE'RE LOOKING.
YOU REALLY NEED TO BE IN TOUCH WITH WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND WHAT PEOPLE WANT, WHAT THEY USE, AND WHAT IS WORTH SUPPORTING.
RIGHT? NOT A SIMPLE QUESTION, BUT YOUR, YOUR LIBRARY STAFF GRAPPLE WITH THIS A LOT EVERY DAY.
SO I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE INSIDER BASEBALL, BUT I WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
THE SHIFT FROM, FROM JUST FORMAL EDUCATION BEING VALUED TO SELF-DIRECTED EDUCATION, BEING VALUED.
THE LIBRARY'S ALWAYS BEEN THE POOR PERSON'S UNIVERSITY.
NOW, MORE THAN EVER, SOMEBODY, IF THEY DECIDE THAT THEY DO NOT WISH TO GET, GET HIGHER EDUCATION, EVERYTHING THAT THEY PROBABLY NEED CAN BE FOUND AT ANY OF YOUR LIBRARY LOCATIONS.
THERE IS ACCESS TO RESOURCES THAT COST MONEY.
UM, THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE THAT THEY CAN INTERACT WITH.
UH, THERE'S ACCESS TO THE, THE, THE TRAINING RESOURCES THAT ARE THERE.
UM, THIS IS NOT JUST ME TALKING AND SAYING, WOW, ISN'T THAT COOL? UM, PLACES LIKE GOOGLE ARE HIRING PEOPLE WITHOUT DEGREES AND SAYING, WE'LL, TEACH YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW, JUST COME WORK FOR US, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT JUST THAT.
BUT THE LIBRARY OFFERS THAT TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY EVERY DAY, 24 7, WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE ONLINE RESOURCES.
SO THIS IS EXTREMELY EXCITING, AND THIS WAS MORE OF A HUGE, UM, A REVELATION FOR FOLKS BEFORE COVID.
BUT WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED DURING C O I D.
EVERY EDUCATION INSTITUTION, INCLUDING, UH, HIGHER EDUCATION, RUSHED TO GET THINGS PUSHED ONLINE.
AND SOME OF THAT RUSH WAS BAD BECAUSE FRANKLY, SOME OF THOSE INSTRUCTORS ARE NOT GOOD ON TV
UM, SO A LOT OF PLACES HAVE LEARNED THAT.
BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS IS THAT WE, WE'RE NOT, WE DON'T NEED TO REALLY DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN WE DID IN THE PAST, OTHER THAN RECOGNIZING THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT COME TO US BECAUSE THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO LEARN AND TO, AND, AND TO REALLY ACTUALIZE THEMSELVES.
UM, THE, THIS ONE I, I LIKE A LOT.
YOU'LL SEE IT'S NOT A TREND FROM ANYTHING, BECAUSE WHAT WE HAD WAS HORRIBLE.
I'D NEVER LIKE THE TERMS, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE OR THE HAVE OR HAVE NOTS.
IT DESCRIBES A PROBLEM, BUT IT DOESN'T GIVE US ANY IDEA OF THE SOLUTION.
IT JUST SAYS, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S BAD.
BUT THIS IDEA OF THINKING ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION, WHICH INCLUDES ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT.
IT INCLUDES A DEVICE OF SOME SORT TO
[01:15:01]
BE ABLE TO ACCESS THAT INFORMATION.'CAUSE YOU CAN'T JUST PLUCK IT OUT OF THE AIR.
YOU NEED THAT DEVICE TO PLUCK IT OUT OF THE AIR, BUT ALSO THE POWER AND KNOWLEDGE TO BE ABLE TO USE IT POWERFULLY IN A PERSON'S LIFE.
UM, AND THERE'S A PROGRAM THAT LIBRARIES HAVE THAT THEY'RE, IT'S CALLED DIGITAL NAVIGATORS.
IT KIND OF PUTS THIS IDEA TOGETHER OF HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW TO FILL OUT A JOB APPLICATION, UM, UH, WHAT IT MEANS TO DO TAXES ONLINE, WHAT CYBERSECURITY OR JUST WHAT PERSONAL SECURITY IS ONLINE AND HOW THAT WORKS.
JUST THE FRUSTRATIONS, LIKE, THINK OF THE FRUSTRATIONS THAT A, THAT A AN ADVANCED OR A, A SAVVY PERSON HAS, TRYING TO INTERACT WITH AN ONLINE FORUM, LET ALONE SOMEONE WITH NO EXPERIENCE OR LITTLE EXPERIENCE.
SO THIS IDEA OF THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS POWERFUL, UH, USING THEIR DIGITAL TOOLS, UH, TO ME IS, UH, IS REALLY GOOD BECAUSE IT HELPS ME THINK OF A DESTINATION AND IT'S CUSTOMIZABLE TO EVERY LOCATION.
AND THEN FINALLY, MOVING FROM REACTIVE TO STRATEGIC.
BACK IN THE DAY, WE COULD WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO TELL US WHAT THEY NEEDED.
NOW WE NEED TO ACTUALLY ANTICIPATE WHAT MIGHT BE NEEDED AND NOT, UM, PUT ALL OF OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET, BUT REALLY BE STRATEGIC ABOUT THE WAY THAT WE SPEND OUR MONEY AND SPEND, ESPECIALLY, ESPECIALLY SPEND OUR TIME AND OUR EFFORTS SO THAT WE GET THE MOST EFFECTIVENESS.
SO THAT WAS A LITTLE RUNDOWN OF SOME OF THE TRENDS, UH, KIND OF, KIND OF THE HIGHER PICTURE, UH, SORT OF THINGS.
UM, I WANTED TO NOW, UH, GO TO THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU ALL AND DON'T FEEL ON THE SPOT.
IF YOU DON'T, IF THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU HAVE A, A THOUGHT ABOUT, UM, THAT'S TOTALLY FINE.
BUT I WANTED TO HEAR YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
AND WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN A BUILDING, IT'S BIG, RIGHT? IT'S BIG IN MONEY.
IT'S BIG IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IT TAKES TO PUT THIS TOGETHER.
AND THEN THE, THE BIGGEST THING FOR ME AS SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN A LIBRARY STAFF MEMBER, IS AFTER IT'S BUILT, IT IS THE CONTEXT FOR SERVICES FOR PATRONS AND FOR STAFF PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES.
IT'S A HOUSE WE ALL SHARE FOR A LONG, LONG TIME FOR, UM, FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS, FOR CAPITAL BUILDINGS.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO A GOOD JOB.
SO I WAS JUST WONDERING, WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS IDEA OF INVESTING, WHAT REPRESENTS THE BEST INVESTMENT TO YOU IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR A LIBRARY? I, I WOULD, I MEAN, I WOULD SAY THE, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THERE'S A LOT TO SAY, BUT, UM, I MEAN, I, I WOULD THINK LIBRARIES, UH, I MEAN, FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN IN MY TIME ON THE BOARD HERE, IS, IS MORE OF A, A CENTER FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
AND THAT COMES WITH MEETING ROOMS AND TECH.
SO, I MEAN, TO ME, UNLESS SOMETHING RADICALLY CHANGES THAT KIND OF CHANGES THAT PARADIGM, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE WE NEED TO DIRECT OUR ENERGIES IN, IN OUR FINANCIAL, UH, INPUT IN GETTING THESE BUILDINGS TO A POINT WHERE THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH THAT MISSION.
THANKS FOR KICKING OFF THE CONVERSATION TOO.
I'M SURE THERE'S MORE
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TRENDS WILL BE.
AND SO BEING ABLE TO QUICKLY AND MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL KINDS OF PATRONS, I THINK I WANT TO COMPLIMENT YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON STAT ON DATA AND STATS AND TRENDS, BECAUSE YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
YOU ONLY TELL US WHAT HAPPENED
BUT THEY CAN'T REALLY, THEY CAN GIVE, THEY CAN GIVE US AN IDEA OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN, BUT THEY CAN'T REALLY ACCURATELY PREDICT WHAT WILL FOR US.
THAT'S, UM, I HAVE A LONG JASON'S LINES BECAUSE, UH, SEVERAL OF OUR LIBRARIES, UH, ARE CENTERS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, THEY'RE NOT ONLY A MEETING SPACE, BUT A, A PROGRAMMING SPACE WHERE YOU CAN DESIGN IF YOU WANNA HAVE AFTER SCHOOL TUTORING OR WHAT THE COMMUNITY, UH, NEEDS, AND LOOK AT YOUR SPACE AS FAR AS, UH, FULFILLING COMMUNITY NEEDS.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT THE BRANCHES ARE OF THE LIBRARIES HAVE BECOME A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, ITSELF.
AND IT'S AN ANCHOR FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, AND I EXPERIENCED THAT IN THE VISIT SO FAR, AND THAT'S THE MOST DELIGHTFUL THING FOR FEEL
[01:20:01]
THAT ENERGY OF THE COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACE.JUST THE DRESS THAT PEOPLE PUT LIBRARIES HERE TO CHOOSE THAT.
THAT'S LIKE A, THAT'S LIKE A POWER UP
SO KATHY JUST CALLED ME OUT
UM, BUT I, I'M JUST SORT OF DOVETAILING ON WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SHARED.
UM, WHEN I, I LOOK AT THAT QUESTION AND SAY, WHAT IS THE BEST INVESTMENT FOR OUR FACILITY? UM, THE BEST INVESTMENT THAT WE AS A COLLECTIVE, UH, WITHIN THE LIBRARY SYSTEM CAN INPUT INTO OUR, OUR SPACES IS THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GET FROM OUR PATRONS AND OUR STAFF.
THE FEEDBACK FROM OUR, OUR OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERSHIPS IN TERMS OF NOT JUST, LIKE YOU SAID, THE TRENDS, BUT WHAT ARE THEIR, WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR? WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS? WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY NEEDS? AND THEN LETTING THAT DATA AND THAT INPUT AND THAT FEEDBACK FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS, FROM OUR STAFF, FROM OUR, UM, FROM OUR PATRONS, INFORM HOW WE THEN LOOK AT OUR SPACE, OUR, OUR FACILITIES.
AND THEN, UH, AS, AS IT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, ABLE, UM, BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT, UM, LET THAT INFORM US, AND THEN PIVOT AND BE FLEXIBLE IN HOW WE MAY NEED TO SHIFT, HOW THIS SPACE IS PRESENTED, HOW THIS SPACE CAN BE USED, AND THEN WHAT FURTHER INVESTMENTS AND RESOURCES DO WE NEED TO PUT TOWARDS THOSE EFFORTS.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS AT ALL? ARE WE ON THE RIGHT TRACK SO FAR WITH, UH, WHAT, WHAT YOU'VE HEARD? YEAH, I DON'T THINK SO.
WELL, WE'RE GONNA KEEP YOU POSTED AND KEEP YOU, UH, AS WE, UH, HAVE INFORMATION TO SHARE.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.
WE WON'T BURDEN YOU WITH MINUTIA, BUT WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED AND WE DO WANT YOUR FEEDBACK AS WE'RE GOING FORWARD, SO I CAN DO IT ANYWAY.
THE ESCAPE BUTTON DOESN'T WORK.
SO NICE TO HEAR, HEAR FROM OTHER PEOPLE.
SO CONTINUING ON WITH THE MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS.
FIRST OFF, UM, I WANNA RECAP THAT WE HAD SEVERAL STAFF MEMBERS THAT WENT TO A L A AND L L A, AND IT WAS A GREAT, GREAT EXPERIENCE.
UM, WE'RE HAPPY ALSO TO HAVE THE TRAINING LIBRARIAN POSITION FILLED SO THAT THAT PERSON NEXT YEAR CAN KIND OF, UM, COLLATE AND PUT TOGETHER ALL THE GREAT IDEAS THAT, UM, PEOPLE LEARN AND SHARE THEM IN A MUCH, UH, MORE FORMAL FASHION WITH THE REST OF THE STAFF SO WE CAN GET A LITTLE BIT MORE OUT OF THAT ENRICHMENT PROCESS.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAVEN'T, UM, HAD A WHOLE LOT OF TIME TO DEVOTE TO SINCE WE, WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT POSITION.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, MS. AMY SEDARIS, UM, BECOMING, UH, THE TRAINING LIBRARIAN, UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF, ACTUALLY AT THE END OF THIS MONTH.
SO, AND LIKE I SAID, THAT, THAT GOES BACK TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW STUDY THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A LITTLE BIT.
UM, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT AT A L A THE, UM, DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WAS PRESENT.
AND, UM, THEY SAID THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE FINALLY MAKING, UM, WIFI HOTSPOTS, E RATEABLE.
SO WE DON'T, WE DON'T KNOW WE WHEN OR HOW, BUT THEY FINALLY UNDERSTAND THAT INTERNET ACCESS AT HOME IS EXTREMELY
[01:25:01]
IMPORTANT AND THAT WE ARE A CONDUIT AND A WAY TO GET THAT OUT TO PEOPLE THAT NEED IT.SO WE MIGHT BE ADDING A LOT MORE OF THOSE HOTSPOTS IN THE, IN THE FUTURE, BRYCE.
SO, UM, WE HAD OUR LAST SCHEDULED MEETING WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN HUDSON YESTERDAY, AS A MATTER OF FACT.
WE SCHEDULED, WE DISCUSSED MANY POSITIVE THINGS, A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT, UM, THAT MARY, UM, COVERED IN HER, UM, PRESENTATION AS WELL AS SEVERAL OF THE BUILDING PROJECTS, AND JUST KIND OF CAUGHT HIM UP.
UM, IT WAS A VERY GOOD MEETING, UM, VERY POSITIVE.
HE ENJOYED HEARING THE GOOD NEWS.
HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THOSE TARGETED, UM, MARKETING EMAILS, UM, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, JONES CREEK AND HIS AREA GOES.
UM, AND HE TOOK THE LESS HAPPY NEWS IN STRIDE, WHICH WAS GREAT.
UM, BUT I WANNA SAY OVERALL IT WAS A VERY GOOD EXPERIENCE MEETING WITH ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WERE WILLING TO MEET WITH US, US, UM, IN PERSON.
UM, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE NEXT LIBRARY DIRECTOR, UM, SHOULD UNDERTAKE ON A, AT LEAST SEMI-REGULAR BASIS WITH THOSE THAT ARE, THAT ARE WILLING TO COME AND HEAR FROM US, WHICH MOST OF THEM WERE.
SO IT WAS A VERY GOOD EXPERIENCE.
I THINK WE LAID A LOT OF REALLY POSITIVE GROUND, UM, WITH OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO, UM, AND SPEAKING OF SOME OF THAT UNHAPPY, WELL, LESS THAN POSITIVE NEWS, BUT WE HAVE RECEIVED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS SOME COMPLAINTS ABOUT A PARTICULAR, UM, MEETING ROOM GROUP OR GROUP THAT USES OUR MEETING ROOMS. BECAUSE WE HAVE TO REMEMBER, AS YOU ALL SAID, UM, SPACE IS A SERVICE AND IT'S A PREMIUM SERVICE THAT WE OFFER HERE.
IT'S ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR, MOST IMPORTANT SERVICES THAT WE OFFER.
THERE IS AN APPLICATION PROCESS THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
UM, BUT WE ARE HERE FOR EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, WHEN WE RECEIVED SOME OF THESE COMPLAINTS, WE REACHED OUT TO THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UM, KIND OF JUST TO LET THEM KNOW, SEE IF THEY HAD ANY GUIDANCE FOR US.
UM, AND THEY STATED THAT AS FAR AS ANY RESTRICTION GOES FOR A GROUP THAT, UM, SOMEONE HAS DEEMED OF A PARTICULAR NATURE, THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT CAN, UM, HAVE ANY REAL SAY IN THIS TYPE OF DESIGNATION IS LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AND SO WE RELY ON LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO MAKE ANY TYPE OF DETERMINATION AS FAR AS A GROUP MIGHT HAVE A THREAT LEVEL.
UM, WE DID HAVE THIS GROUP, UM, THEY DID ASK LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS TO LOOK INTO THIS GROUP.
OUR, OUR LOCAL CHAPTER OF MOMS FOR LIBERTY HAS BEEN USING THE, UH, MEETING ROOMS AT JONES CREEK FOR QUITE SOME TIME, THREE YEARS.
THEY ARE A MODEL, UH, GROUP TO USE OUR MEETING ROOMS. AND SO, UM, UNLESS THEY, A GROUP HAS BROKEN OUR POLICIES OR THEY POSE SOME TYPE OF PUBLIC HEALTH OR SAFETY, UM, ISSUE, THERE IS NO REASON FOR THEM NOT TO USE OUR MEETING ROOMS. AND WE KNOW OF NO GROUPS THAT USE OUR MEETING ROOM SPACES THAT POSE A PUBLIC OR HEALTH, UM, SAFETY ISSUE.
AND EVERYONE SEEMS TO FOLLOW OUR POLICIES.
AND IF THEY DON'T FOLLOW OUR, YOU KNOW, POLICIES, WE HAVE LIKE A LITTLE CHAT WITH THEM AND USUALLY THEY STATE STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY, RIGHT.
AND IF THEY DON'T, THEN WE DO SUSPEND THEIR MEETING ROOM PRIVILEGES AS IS OUTLINED IN THE MEETING ROOM POLICY THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL.
SO ALL OF OUR PERSONAL FEELINGS AND VIEWS ASIDE, UM, WE ARE A LIMITED PUBLIC FORUM IF WE ARE PROVIDING ACCESS TO ONE, WE PROVIDE ACCESS TO ALL, UM, ALL GROUPS ARE ALLOWED TO USE OUR SPACES AND APPLY TO USE, UM, TO USE OUR SPACES.
UM, SO AGAIN, THE ONLY WAY WE CAN REVOKE USE OF ANY TYPE OF MEETING ROOM IS EITHER BREAKING A POLICY THAT WE HAVE OR ACTUALLY, UM, POSING SOME TYPE OF HEALTH OR PUBLIC SAFETY THREAT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE HERE FOR ALL, EVERYBODY HAS A RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH, SO ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH.
WHAT IS THE COMPLAINT EXACTLY? I DIDN'T, I MUST HAVE MISSED.
SO THERE, THERE, UM, PEOPLE ARE JUST WONDERING WHY THIS GROUP IS ALLOWED TO USE OUR MEETING ROOM.
BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS ALLOWED TO USE OUR MEETING ROOM.
SO WE ARE MOVING ON TO OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, UM, CONTRACT.
SO WE HAD A KICKOFF MEETING ON JULY 10TH WITH FRANK AND AND ASSOCIATES.
UM, IT WAS VERY BRIEF, BUT THEY'RE STARTING TO WORK ON ANOTHER STAFF SURVEY THAT WILL
[01:30:01]
GO OUT AFTER CARSON'S FACILITY SURVEY.SO WE DON'T HAVE TOO MANY SURVEYS GOING ON AT, AT ONCE.
UM, AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA START WORKING ON REVIEWING OUR INTRANET ENVIRONMENT.
WE, UM, SHOWED THEM OUR INTRANET AND THEY SAW A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO, UM, TO BRING MORE VALUE TO THE TABLE WITH THAT INTRANET AND, UM, USING ITS TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL.
SO THAT WILL BE ONE OF THE OB UH, OBJECTIVES OF THAT, UM, CONTRACT.
I KNOW IT'S, UH, IT'S TECHNICALLY OVER, BUT THE WORK STILL ISN'T DONE.
SO WE HAVE THE REPORT NOW WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO WITH THE REPORT.
UM, MARY ALLUDED TO IT IN HER SYSTEM REPORT A LITTLE BIT.
SO SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE'VE ACCEPTED AND KIND OF ALREADY STARTED MOVING, UM, FORWARD WITH, AS SOON AS, UM, WE ARE ABLE, WE ARE GOING TO BE RELEASING THE TWO VACANT LIBRARIAN FOUR POSITIONS.
UM, ONE FOR THE COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR, AND THE OTHER FOR THE MAIN LIBRARY, UM, MANAGER.
UM, SOME OF THE OTHER CHANGES THAT ARE COMING OUT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW ARE WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN THE LIBRARY BUDGET HEARING WITH THOSE PERSONNEL REQUESTS.
SO, UM, ANY, ANYTHING ELSE, WE'RE GONNA LEAVE UP TO THE NEXT DIRECTOR TO FIGURE OUT.
WE FIGURE THAT'S ENOUGH OF A BITE OF THE SANDWICH TO START CHEWING ON AND THEN FIGURE OUT WHERE WE REALLY KNOW, UM, WHERE WE REALLY NEED TO GO FROM THERE.
UM, NEXT WE ARE GONNA START OUR DISCUSSION ABOUT THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR.
SO, EXCUSE ME ONE MOMENT WHILE I GET A GOOD SWIG OF WATER IN
THE ANNOUNCEMENT WENT LIVE JULY 14TH AND IS OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 20TH.
AND I KNEW YOU GUYS WERE GONNA ASK ME HOW MANY APPLICATIONS WE GOT.
SO I ALREADY ASKED THE QUESTION.
IT IS UNFORTUNATELY NOT A GREAT ANSWER SO FAR.
IT IS THREE APPLICANTS, BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE UNTIL AUGUST 20TH, UM, THEY HAVE RECEIVED SOME INITIAL FEEDBACK THAT PAY IS STILL AN ISSUE.
SO NOW WE'RE GONNA DIVE IN TO THOSE PARISH ATTORNEY EMAILS THAT I SENT YOU ALL AND HOW WE CAN POTENTIALLY WORK ON WORK ON THAT.
SO FIRST OFF, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD ASKED FOR A FEW MORE WEEKS ABOUT CLARIFICATION ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO SET THE SALARIES FOR ANY LIBRARY EMPLOYEES, UM, AND WHY WE ARE SO TIED TO THE CITY PARISH SYSTEM.
SO IN THEIR OPINION, WE ARE A DEPARTMENT OF THE METRO COUNCIL.
HENCE WHY THEY APPROVE THE MILLAGE RATE THAT GOES OUT.
THEY APPROVE OUR BUDGET, THEY APPROVE THE ROLLBACKS.
UM, SO THAT IS THAT HOWEVER, THEY DID STATE THAT WE COULD SUBMIT, UM, A REQUEST FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR AN OPINION.
UM, SO BASICALLY THEY'RE SAYING IN THEIR OPINION, WE ARE, WE ARE A PART OF THE CITY PARISH.
WE HAVE TO USE THE CITY PARISH.
WE CANNOT SEPARATE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE CANNOT, WE CANNOT SET OUR OWN SALARIES.
HOWEVER, THEY ARE SAYING THAT THEY'RE GIVING YOU THE OPTION OF THE NEXT LEVEL OF ESCALATION, WHICH IS AN ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION, TO GO BACK AND REVIEW THE SAME DOCUMENTATION, UM, THAT THEY DID, UH, ALONG WITH ALL OF THEIR ATTORNEY, UH, GENERAL OPINIONS THAT THEY HAVE ISSUED ON LIBRARY RELATED OPERATIONAL STATUTES.
UM, SO I WANNA SAY THAT THE FACT THAT THEY'RE SAYING THAT YOU CAN DO THAT AS A BOARD DIRECTLY, YOU DON'T NOT HAVE TO ASK ANYBODY ELSE'S PERMISSION TO DO SO.
AND THE PARISH ATTORNEY IS WILLING TO HELP WRITE THE LETTER REQUESTING SAID OPINION, UM, IS A SMALL KIND OF GLIMMER OF, OF HOPE.
UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE SAYING THAT THEY'RE, WHILE THEY ARE DONE WITH THEIR INVESTIGATION, THERE IS THE POTENTIAL OF FURTHER INVESTIGATION BY A HIGHER, UM, AUTHORITY.
UM, THE, UH, OPINION REQUEST DOES HAVE TO BE, UM, WRITTEN BY AS FROM THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL PRESIDENT.
UM, THAT'S THE, PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN REQUEST THE OPINION.
SO DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR?
I MEAN, AS FAR AS PREPARING THE OPINION, I MEAN MM-HMM.
[01:35:01]
I MEAN, DOES IT TO CONTAIN CERTAIN THINGS OR, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE WILLING TO, TO, TO MEET WITH YOU, TO DISCUSS AND, AND HELP WRITE.
BECAUSE WHAT THEY'RE POINTING OUT IN THE HOME RULE CHARTER, UM, IS THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL SHALL HAVE ALL THE POWERS AND DUTIES CONFERRED OR IMPOSED BY THE GENERAL LAWS OF THE STATE OF BOARDS OF CONTROL, OF PARISH PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
AND THE COST OF MAINTAINING THE PARISH PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ITS SEVERAL BRANCHES AND SERVICES SHALL BE PROVIDED BY APPROPRIATIONS MADE BY THE COUNCIL, SUCH APPROPRIATIONS TO BE IN SUCH AMOUNTS AND PROPORTIONS AS THE COUNCIL DETERMINES.
SO THIS KIND OF, THIS PREDATES THE LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES.
THOSE WERE DONE IN THE 1974 CONSTITUTION REVISION.
SO IN THEIR OPINION, BECAUSE THE HOME RULE CHARTER PREDATES THAT, THAT'S HOW WE'RE A, A PART OF THE CITY PARISH.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT DOES, IT'S A LITTLE AMBIGUOUS WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU READ THAT, BECAUSE THERE THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF BOARDS OF CONTROL, OF PARISH PUBLIC LIBRARIES, IT'S SO AWKWARD TO SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS REPLACED BY LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES.
SO THEY'RE SAYING THAT THERE'S AN OPTION FOR THEM TO INVESTIGATE KIND OF THAT PAPER TRAIL OF ALL OF THE VERSION CONTROLS OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS, LEGAL DOCUMENTS THAT THERE ARE, THAT MAKE UP HOW A LIBRARY BOARD AND THE LIBRARY IS STRUCTURED.
SO THEY WILL HELP YOU WRITE THAT LETTER AND, UM, MAKE THE REQUEST AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
AND THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO.
AND ALSO, IF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS NO, THE OPINION FROM YOUR PARISH ATTORNEY, I AGREE WITH, THEN NOTHING CHANGES AND NOTHING LOST.
BUT THERE'S ALSO NOTHING GAINED BY NOT ASKING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION ON THIS.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SO IF THIS IS SOMETHING Y'ALL, I, I JUST, I THINK I REMEMBER MM-HMM.
AND SO THEY'RE SAYING THAT THAT LANGUAGE WAS, WAS, WAS SUPERSEDED ABOUT THE 74 CONSTITUTION? NO, THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE 1974 CONSTITUTION.
OUR HOME RULE CHARTER PREDATES THAT.
AND SO THEY'RE STATING THAT THIS, THAT, BECAUSE THAT REVISED THAT STATUTE ABOUT THOSE REVISED STATUTES IS NOT IN THERE BECAUSE THE HOME RULE CHARTER HASN'T BEEN LIKE REALLY OVERHAULED IN FOREVER.
THAT THERE'S, THEY'RE STATING THAT OURS WAS DONE FIRST.
SO WHATEVER LANGUAGE IS IN THERE, THAT'S WHAT TRUMPS ANYTHING THAT COMES AFTER IT.
SO, SO THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND MM-HMM.
OF CONVENTION THEY HAD, WHEN WAS THE STATUTE THAT, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER, WHEN WAS THAT LAW WRITTEN FOR LIBRARIES THAT SAID YOU COULD FIX, YOU COULD SET THIS HOUR TO THE DIRECTOR.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I'M, SO WHAT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT IS WHEN THAT STATUTE, 'CAUSE I THINK THAT STATUTE GOES BACK A LONG WAY BACK.
WELL, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE THE WAY THAT THE PARISH ATTORNEY WROTE THAT EMAIL THAT I SHARED WITH YOU ALL, UM, WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE SAYING IS THAT THIS STATE LAWS OF THE STATE BOARDS OF THE CONTROL PARISH, REPUBLIC LIBRARIES WOULD'VE BEEN THAT ORIGINAL.
AND THAT WHEN THEY REDID THE CONSTITUTION IN 1974, THAT'S WHEN THOSE STATUTES WERE WRITTEN.
SO THEY'RE SAYING THAT THE STATUTE FOR LIBRARIES HAS SET THE DIRECTOR SALARY WAS WRITTEN IN THE SEVENTIES.
THAT'S, I, I'LL BE VERY CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
I DON'T SEEM, THAT DON'T SOUND RIGHT, BUT I MEAN, I, I DON'T SEE ANY HARM IN ASKING THIS.
'CAUSE THEN, I MEAN, OH NO, I, I THINK IT'S FOR THE, FOR THE FUTURE OF THE SYSTEM, I THINK AT A MM-HMM.
[01:40:01]
NO, WELL THEN, YOU KNOW RIGHT.AND EVEN IF WE EXHAUSTED EVERY, YOU KNOW, EVERY AVENUE WE HAVE, AND EVEN IF IT COMES BACK AND SAYS, SAYS YES, UM, YOU, YOU CAN FOR INSTANCE, SEPARATE FROM THE THE CITY PARISH.
THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TO ACT ON.
IT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW THAT'S AN OPTION.
AND IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS, UM, FOR AN AG OPINION TO COME BACK.
SO THIS IS NOT A QUICK PROCESS.
UM,
'CAUSE I ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THEY TOOK MY QUESTION, UM, TO THEM WAS SIMPLY SEPARATING FROM THE CITY PARISH.
AND THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT I ASKED IT ASKED, BUT THAT'S HOW THEY TOOK IT.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY HOW THIS WHOLE THING GOT STARTED.
IT WAS NOT NECESSARILY SEPARATING THE WHOLE SYSTEM WAS BEING ABLE TO, FOR US AS A BOARD TO SET WHAT THE SALARY, YOU KNOW, THE SALARY WE WANT TO PAY OUR DIRECTOR.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT THIS COMES DOWN TO.
I MEAN, I THINK THE IDEA OF SEPARATING THE LIBRARY FROM THE, FROM THE, THE WHOLE CITY PARISH, I THINK THAT'S A BROADER QUESTION.
I, I THINK WE'RE WELL WITHIN OUR RIGHTS TO PAY A DIRECTOR WHAT WE FEEL LIKE THE BUDGET ALLOWS US TO DO THAT WOULD BE COMPETITIVE FOR THAT.
REITERATE THAT THAT IS THE THING THAT WE'RE ASKING BECAUSE, UM, WHILE THE INFORMATION WE'D BE ABLE TO GET WILL BE HELPFUL LONG TERM, WE NEED A MORE IMMEDIATE RESPONSE FOR THIS PARTICULAR YES.
SO THAT, THAT BRINGS US BACK TO, WELL, THAT BRINGS US TO THE NEXT, UM, ITEM, WHICH IS THE EMAIL THAT I SENT YOU, THE, THE PREVIOUS WEEK WITH ALL OF THE, UM, AGS OPINIONS AS FAR AS A, UM, RETENTION PAY PLAN THAT IS COMMON, UM, COMMONLY FOUND IN SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ACT ON A LITTLE BIT MORE IMMEDIATELY FOR ANY UNCLASSIFIED POSITION, UM, POTENTIALLY ALSO ROLLING OUT IN THE FUTURE TO CLASSIFIED POSITIONS.
UM, SO THAT WAS ALL OF THE INFORMATION WE'RE REFERRING TO THE CABELA TEST.
AS LONG AS IT PASSES THE CABELA TEST, UM, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE A RETENTION, UM, PAY PLAN.
SO AGAIN, THE CITY PARISH, UH, OR THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS MORE THAN WILLING TO REVIEW WHATEVER PLAN WE COME UP WITH.
WE, YOU COME UP WITH, UM, AND WE'VE ALREADY, LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION HAS ALREADY BEEN DOING SOME RESEARCH INTO SIMILAR IN, UM, RETENTION PAY PLANS THAT, UM, THAT ARE ALREADY, UM, EITHER WERE IN PLAY, WERE, UM, BEING USED OR ARE CURRENTLY STILL BEING USED.
SO THERE WAS SOME TALK ABOUT THE, UM, GIVING A, A SIGNING BONUS OR A BONUS AS FAR AS RECEIVING THE STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS CERTIFICATION FOR A DIRECTOR, THAT IS A REQUIREMENT OF THE JOB.
BUT IF A GOOD EXAMPLE OF IF YOU EMPLOY A DIRECTOR AND THEY GO AND GET THE CERTIFIED PUBLIC LIBRARY ADMINISTRATOR CERTIFICATION THROUGH THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS OVER AND ABOVE THE QUALIFICATIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO HOLD THEIR JOB, YOU COULD GIVE THEM A MONETARY RETENTION, UM, PAYMENT.
UM, OTHER EXAMPLES ARE LIKE FOR, OR, UM, WE'LL TAKE THE CORE PRESENTATION.
IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT OF ANYONE'S JOB TO GO AND PRESENT AT NATIONAL, UM, ORGANIZATIONAL CONFERENCES.
BUT IF SOMEONE CHOOSES TO DO THAT, THAT'S OVER AND ABOVE WHAT THEIR MINIMUM REQUIREMENT IS.
SO YOU CAN SET A PLAN BASED OFF OF, UM, THESE TYPES OF REQUIREMENTS AND THEN SET A REASONABLE DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR ACHIEVING THOSE GOALS.
SO, UM, WE'VE ALREADY DONE A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH, BUT THE, THE INCENTIVE PLAN REALLY NEEDS TO COME FROM YOU ALL, BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONES THAT EMPLOY THE DIRECTOR, SET THE SALARY, UH, WELL WANT TO SET THE SALARY ANYWAY,
[01:45:01]
SO WE HAVE SOME RESEARCH, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO KNOW WHO CAN HELP, UH, WORK ON THAT SO THAT PERHAPS MAYBE IF YOU DO ENOUGH HARD WORK IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS INSO BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU STAY A YEAR, YOU DO THIS, YOU WILL GET, UH, A ONE-TIME PAYMENT FOR REACHING THAT, UM, THAT GOAL.
WELL, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THAT IT NEEDS TO COME FROM THE BOARD.
SO YOU WOULD HELP US WITH THAT INFORMATION.
THEY'RE THE, THE ONLY ONES THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THE STATE OF LOUISIANA IS THAT TEST FROM THE STATE LIBRARY AND THEN TO HAVE A, A MASTER'S DEGREE FROM A CERTIFIED, UM, MASTER'S PROGRAM.
SO, BUT IN TERMS OF KNOWING WHICH ONES WE MIGHT INCLUDE IN YEAH, RIGHT.
WELL, AND, AND, AND IT, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE LIBRARY RELATED.
THEY COULD GO AND GET A SECOND MASTER'S IN, IN ANYTHING LIKE PUBLIC POLICY.
I JUST GAVE THAT EXAMPLE BECAUSE THAT'S ONE THAT I HAPPENED, UM, TO KNOW OF THAT WAS OFFERED BY OUR PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION.
SO MR. PRESIDENT, UM, A MOVE THAT THE BOARD, UM, HAVE STAFF PUT TOGETHER A TEMPLATE INCENTIVE PLAN BASED ON THE RESEARCH THAT THEY HAVE, GIVE US SOME OPTIONS IN TERMS OF, UH, UM, IN TERMS OF CERTIFICATIONS THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED WITHIN THAT PLAN AND PRESENT THAT TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL.
ANY OPPOSED? IT'S ADOPTED, RIGHT? WELL DONE.
THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
I, NO, I'M STILL CURIOUS ABOUT THAT STATUTE WITH THE, YES.
SO THAT IS DEFINITELY WHY WE NEED TO SET UP A, A MEETING FOR YOU WITH THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SO THEY CAN BETTER EXPLAIN IT.
I AM NOT A LAWYER, I AM JUST A LIBRARIAN.
I, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE STATUTE STIPULATING ABOUT CORRECT.
IN THAT STATUTE WAS ACTUALLY PUT INTO LAW.
BECAUSE TO ME, I THOUGHT THAT WAS WENT BACK BEFORE 74.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY I SAY YOU KNOW IT, AND, AND, AND I THINK THAT IS ALSO WHY THEY SAID THAT WE HAD THAT OPTION TO ASK THE AG BECAUSE THAT STATEMENT IN THE HOME RULE CHARTER IS RATHER AMBIGUOUS.
IT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, IT CONTRADICTS OTHER, OTHER STATEMENTS WITHIN AND OTHER PRACTICES WITHIN THE CITY PARISH.
SO TO ME, THEM OFFERING ASSISTANCE TO HELP REQUEST AN ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION IS A BIG WIN.
AND I THINK WE REALLY SHOULD, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT I'M GONNA EXHAUST EVERY, BECAUSE TRUST ME, IN IN, IN MY INITIAL, BEFORE I'M
SO YEAH, IN MY INITIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, THEY WERE NOT VERY POSITIVE.
THERE WAS A LOT OF PUSHBACK AND I REFUSED BECAUSE I SAID I WANT IT IN WRITING, I WANT TO KNOW, BECAUSE WHEN I READ IT, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE LIBRARY BOARD CANNOT SET THEIR SALARIES.
THERE IS NOTHING TO ME THAT IS CLEAR AND STATES THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE CONTROL OVER SETTING ANYONE'S SALARY THAT WORKS FOR THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL, WHICH IS ALL EMPLOYEES HERE.
SO KRISTEN, WOULD IT BE ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE BOARD TO MOVE, UH, THAT WE GET THE AGS OPINION AG OFFICER'S OPINION ON THE PARISH ATTORNEY'S OPINION SO THAT WE DO HAVE SOMETHING IN WRITING AND THAT CAN SET PRECEDENTS MOVING FORWARD? YES.
I, OH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY IT AGAIN.
ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT, GREAT.
SO NOW I'M DONE TALKING FOR A LITTLE WHILE ANYWAY, PATRICIA.
MOVING ON TO, UH, OKAY, BEFORE WE GO, UH, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED UNDER FOUR ON THE AGENDA REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR? OKAY.
SEEING NONE, WE HAVE NO REPORT, NO COMMITTEE REPORTS.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS,
[01:50:01]
SO THE LIBRARY COMPLETED THE SECOND VALUE ENGINEERING FOR THE SOUTH BRANCH.ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES SUBMITTED A CONTEMPORARY CHAIN CHANGE ORDER TO REFLECT THE NEW CONTRACT AMOUNT.
AND THE ITEM WAS APPROVED AT THE JUNE 28TH COUNCIL MEETING.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULING A PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING AFTER WHICH ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES WILL ISSUE A NOTICE TO PROCEED.
AND THEN WHAT THAT, ONCE THAT HAPPENS, WE CAN ARRANGE FOR A GROUNDBREAKING, UH, CEREMONY.
THERE ARE A LOT OF STEPS IN BETWEEN AND JUNE HAS OUTLINED THEM, BUT WE KNOW ALL THOSE THINGS HAVE TO BE DONE.
SO WE THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT, AT A MEETING IN AUGUST FOR THE, THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING.
SO I WAS GOING TO SAY, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A GROUNDBREAKING IN AUGUST IN LOUISIANA
SO I THINK WE SHOULD JUST PLAN IT FOR LIKE THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY OR LIKE THREE O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE RAIN, I'M UNDER THE TREE.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR THE, UM, THE SOUTH BRANCH.
UM, NO, I HAVE ONE MORE THING.
IN OUR, OUR VE EXERCISE, WE CHANGED FLOORING TYPES FROM RUBBER TO VINYL.
UM, AND WE USE A LOT OF VINYL IN OUR FLOORING TYPES.
UH, SO THAT WAS IN SEVERAL AREAS.
HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO GET THE CONTRACT APPROVED BY THE METRO COUNCIL, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A FINAL ACCURATE NUMBER AS TO WHAT KIND OF SAVINGS WE WOULD REALIZE.
SO, SO WE MAY REALIZE SOME ADDITIONAL SAVINGS FROM THAT.
SO I JUST WANT YOU TO BE AWARE OF THAT AND WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL WE GET MORE ACCURATE NUMBERS.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR SOUTH, FOR SCOTLANDVILLE.
THE BIDS WERE OVER BUDGET, SURPRISE.
AND, UM, AND THE STAFF MET WITH ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND THE ARCHITECTS ON JUNE 21ST TO DISCUSS ANOTHER ROUND OF VALUE ENGINEERING.
WE CAME UP WITH SEVERAL OPTIONS.
UH, ONE WAS DECREASING THE SIZE OF THE BUILDING BY A SMALL AMOUNT BY AROUND 500 SQUARE FEET.
UH, ONE WAS ELIMINATING ONE RESTROOM LOWERING THE ROOF.
WE HAD A REALLY HIGH ROOF HEIGHT BECAUSE WE WERE GOING TO HAVE REALLY TALL VERTICAL LIFT MODULES.
UM, AND THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE LARGE COMPACT SHELVING MODULES.
AND SO MARY AND I DISCUSSED IT AND MARY SAID SHE COULD LIVE WITH A LOWER HEIGHT VERTICAL LIFT MODULE.
BUT THAT SAVES US CONSIDERABLE MONEY, UM, IN THE WHOLE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING AND IT BRINGS IT MORE IN LINE WITH THE, WITH THE HEIGHT OF THE EXISTING LIBRARY.
UM, SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS.
YOU SAID THAT IT'S A SMALL, UM, REDUCTION IN SIZE.
WHAT PERCENTAGE? OKAY, LET ME DO SOME MENTAL MATH HERE.
UM, WELL IT'S 500, ABOUT 500 SQUARE FEET AND IT WAS AROUND 7,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW, NOT LESS FIVE.
SO DOES THAT PUT THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE? SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT IT, WE HAD A HALL AND WE THOUGHT IF WE CAN CONSOLIDATE THAT HALL AND JUST HAVE A WALL INSTEAD THAT MIGHT, THAT MIGHT SAVE SOME SPACE AND, AND ALLOW US TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT SHORTER BUILDING, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS EXPENSIVE.
UM, ACTUALLY IT'S GONNA BE A GOOD BIT LESS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE WE'RE LOWERING THE, THE ROOF AS WELL, WHICH ALLOWED US TO CHANGE THE CURTAIN WALL OF THE FRONT WINDOW.
WE DIDN'T WANNA LOSE THAT WINDOW BECAUSE IT, IT MIRRORS VERY WELL THE, THE, THE DESIGN OF THE BUILDINGS, THE, THE LIBRARY BUILDING.
BUT WE COULD CHANGE IT FROM A CURTAIN WALL TO, UM, A STOREFRONT, WHICH IS A CONSIDERABLE SAVINGS AS WELL.
SO, UM, WE WERE JUST TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING THAT'S, IT'S STILL GONNA LOOK ESSENTIALLY THE SAME.
WE'RE GONNA CHANGE SOME OF THE CLADDING ON THE, ON THE WALL, ON THE, UM, THE EXTERIOR AS WELL.
SO THE ARCHITECTS MADE THE REVISION, THEY OBTAINED QUOTES TO, SO THAT SHOW THE COST SAVINGS.
AND ON JULY 12TH, THE STAFF MET WITH ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND THE ARCHITECT AND, UM, THE, THE WHAT THE TENTATIVE CONTRACTOR TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED CHANGES.
AND THE ARCHITECT REVISED THE VE SCHEDULE TO REF REFLECT THE CHANGES THAT WERE SELECTED AND APPROVED BECAUSE WE DIDN'T APPROVE ALL OF THEM.
UH, SOME OF 'EM WE FELT WE NEEDED TO RETAIN TO
[01:55:01]
MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF THE BUILDING AND THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FACILITIES AREA.SO ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES WAS GETTING READY TO PREPARE CONTEMPORARY CONTEMPORANEOUS CHANGE ORDER FOR SCOTLANDVILLE IN PREPARATION FOR SUBMITTING THE ITEM AS AN, AN AGENDA ITEM FOR, UH, THE JULY 22ND METRO COUNCIL MEETING.
HOWEVER, THIS PAST MONDAY ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES NOTIFIED US THAT THE SECOND LEWIS VISIT BIDDER HAS SUBMITTED A PROTEST TO THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT.
AND THIS HAS PUT THE PROCESS ON HOLD, WHICH IS WHY I DON'T HAVE PICTURES FOR YOU BECAUSE WE'RE NOT SURE WHERE THINGS ARE GONNA GO.
SO RIGHT NOW, UH, IT'S, IT, WE DON'T HAVE A TIMELINE FOR THE RESOLUTION OF THIS ISSUE RIGHT NOW.
SO I THINK PARISH ATTORNEY AND PURCHASING WILL BE LOOKING AT IT AND THEY'LL BE GIVING US A RESPONSE.
I MEAN, WE WERE READY TO GO, YOU KNOW, WE FIGURED, WOO, LET'S HAVE TWO GROUNDBREAKINGS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AUGUST HEAT, BUT
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
OKAY, BEFORE MOVING ON, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED UNDER ROOM REMOVAL? SIX ON THE AGENDA OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
VOTE TO SEND COMMENTS TO THE CITY OF PARISH ADMINISTRATION REGARDING TWO TAX ABATEMENT PROPOSALS.
I BELIEVE IN THE PAST, WE'VE JUST PASSED THESE ON WITHOUT COMMENT.
SO CAN I GET A MOTION TO I MOVE THAT WE PASS THESE ON WITHOUT COMMENT? SECOND.
SO, UH, WE HAD DISCUSSED THIS A LITTLE BIT AT THE BUDGET WORKSHOP THAT THE AMOUNT OF FINE REVENUE THAT WE GET EACH YEAR IS ABOUT $30,000.
IT'S NOT A HUGE IMPACT, BUT, UM, DENYING ACCESS TO SOMEONE CAN HAVE A A GREAT IMPACT ON THEM.
AND, AND, AND WE HAVE, UM, FIND FREE FOR ALL OF OUR CHILDREN'S, UM, MATERIALS, OUR, OUR SENIORS.
UM, AND MOST, SO THIS WILL MOST, MOST BENEFIT, UM, ADULTS AND TEENS.
SO, UM, AND IT WILL ALSO BENEFIT OUR STAFF BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT HAVE TO HAVE THOSE PAINFUL INTERACTIONS WITH SOMEONE WHO COMES IN AND HAS FINALLY REACHED THEIR TOP OUT AND THEY CAN NO LONGER USE THEIR LIBRARY CARD BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION TO GET THEIR BOOKS IN ON TIME.
BUT THEY STILL NEED ACCESS TO THE MATERIAL AND THEN THEY WON'T HAVE TO SPEND THE TIME COLLECTING MONEY, PROCESSING THE FINES.
BUT TO BE CLEAR, IF SOMEONE DOESN'T BRING A BOOK BACK, WE ARE STILL GONNA CHARGE YOU FOR THE BOOK.
UM, SO IF THEY DON'T EVER BRING IT BACK, WE WILL EVENTUALLY CHARGE THEM FOR THE COST OF THE ITEM AND THAT WILL BE SENT THROUGH.
UM, THE WAY THAT IT, THAT IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN THROUGH NOTIFICATIONS, UM, VIA EMAIL, PHONE, AND THEN FINALLY LETTERS AND CERTIFIED, UM, MAIL.
SO, OKAY, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE FINE FREE LIBRARY SYSTEM.
I HAD ONE COMMENT ON THAT THOUGH.
WHEN THE MONEY THAT WE USUALLY, I MEAN, WELL THE DONATIONS THAT WE USUALLY GIVE TO THE FOOD BANK, IF WE CAN THINK OF ANOTHER CREATIVE WAY TO GIVE TO THEM NOW SINCE THEY WON'T GET THOSE, UM, OH NO, WE WOULD ALWAYS STILL BE, WE WOULD BE A PARTNER FOR THE FOOD BANK.
THERE WILL ALWAYS STILL BE A, WE WILL, CAN ALWAYS BE A COLLECTION PLACE FOR THEM.
I'M TALKING ABOUT THE FOOD FOR FINES, RIGHT? YEAH.
BUT PEOPLE, PEOPLE BRING FOOD EVERY YEAR, EVEN EVEN WITHOUT FINES TO US BECAUSE WE ARE A PLACE THAT ACCEPTS THEM.
UH, VOTE OR NOT PROPOSED 2024 LIBRARY BUDGET.
WELL, I JUST WANNA SAY, UH, THANK EVERYBODY FOR THE HARD WORK, THE STAFF, ALL THE, UH, MANY HOURS OF
SO WE'LL HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT A MOTION TO UM, ADOPT THE BUDGET.
ANY OPPOSED? 2024 HAS BEEN ADOPTED.
[02:00:01]
ON ANY OF THE ITEMS LISTED UNDER ROMAN RULE SEVEN ON THE AGENDA TO DO BUSINESS? SAYING NONE.MOVING ON COMMENTS BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT ON BEHALF OF UH, THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL.
I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MS. TANYA ALLISON, SHE'S OUR NEW ASSISTANT BUSINESS OFFICE MANAGER.
I MEANT TO INTRODUCE HER TWICE THROUGHOUT THIS MEETING AND HAVE FORGOTTEN BOTH TIMES.
UM, YOU'LL HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
ANY A OPPOSED? WE ADJOURN JUDGE.