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[EBR Library Board of Control on April 17, 2025.]
GOOD EVENING.WELCOME TO THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL MEETING.
RYAN, CAN YOU LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE? SURE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY.
MS. ANTOINETTE, ROLL CALL PLEASE.
HERE, LET THE RECORD REFLECT WE DO NOT HAVE A QUORN.
WE CAN'T APPROVE THE MINUTES BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE A QUORUM.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO SPECIAL ORDERS.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR.
THE FINANCIAL REPORT, FINANCIAL REPORT WILL BE WRITTEN AS NINE FOR 2025.
OPERATING EXPENDITURES THROUGH MARCH 31ST ARE $10,958,357 AND 42 CENTS, OR 19.92% OF THE OPERATING BUDGET THROUGH MARCH.
WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT NO MORE THAN 25% OF THE BUDGET.
CASH COLLECTIONS FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR 2025 REMAIN STRONG AND ARE AHEAD OF THOSE COLLECTED IN 2024 AS WE ARE APPROXIMATELY $2.7 MILLION AND 5.04% AHEAD OF THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE FINANCIAL REPORT? THANK YOU.
SYSTEM REPORTS WILL BE READ BY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR MARY STEIN.
SO IT'S, UH, BEEN A VERY BUSY, BUSY SPRING, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE.
IT IS FESTIVAL SEASON HERE IN THE CAPITAL REGION, AND WE HAD OUR OWN FESTIVAL OUT AT THE PRIDE CHENEY BRANCH LA LIBRARY.
THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 15 YEARS, Y'ALL.
AND THIS YEAR, THE SPECIAL THEME WAS COUNTRY CRAFTS AND HOBBIES.
AND THEY HAD HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE OUT THERE ENJOYING THE INCREDIBLE WEATHER WAS WONDERFUL.
AND THEY'RE ALREADY PLANNING NEXT YEAR.
UH, THIS YEAR WE DID A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
YOU MAY NOTICE IN THE NEWSLETTER IT WAS FILLED WITH HAPPY LITTLE STATEMENTS, UH, FROM LOVE LETTERS THAT YOUR PATRONS HAVE BEEN SENDING THE LIBRARY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND IT ALSO, UH, CONTAINED, UH, A SCHEDULE OF POSTINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE POSTED A FEW OF THESE COMMENTS EVERY DAY, WHY WE LOVE OUR LIBRARY.
AND WE EVEN ENDED UP WITH CAKE WITH THE DAR, UH, CELEBRATING THE ANNIE LARRY MOODY LIBRARY UPSTAIRS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS WITH CAKE FOR EVERYONE.
UM, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR THEY'VE DONE THAT, AND IT WAS A LOVELY EVENT AND I EXPECT TO SEE THEM RIGHT BACK HERE NEXT YEAR FOR NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK.
ALSO TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE EVENTS OF THE YEAR, THE EDIBLE BOOK FEST.
THEY WERE DREADFUL, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, EACH ONE MORE TERRIBLE THAN THE ONE BEFORE.
UM, DIRECTOR'S CHOICE WAS LORD OF THE ONION RINGS, AND A CLOSE RUNNER UP WAS GOODNIGHT.
UM, MOST APPETIZING HOLD BY ACCLIMATION, I MEAN, THE VOTES ON THIS Y'ALL, THE PEOPLE WHO ATTEND VOTE.
SO YOU COULD HAVE BEEN A VOTER.
WE, AND THE MOST APPETIZING BOOK WAS HOLES BY LOUIS SCHER.
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EAT THE FOOD IN THE EDIBLE BOOK FEST, BUT, BUT, UH, THIS ONE WAS UNIVERSALLY ACCLAIMED AND, UH, ANOTHER DIRECTOR'S CHOICE WAS OF SPICE IN MEN.BUT, UM, IT WAS, UH, REALLY WONDERFUL.
THE BEST IN SHOW WAS A, WAS A PLAY ON ANIMAL FARM, AND IT, IT INVOLVED NO ANIMALS, UM, ANIMAL FREE FARM.
UH, AND I DID LIKE GORD OF THE FRIES.
THAT WAS WHY I, I PARTICULARLY LIKE THAT.
THERE WAS A LOT OF, UH, PLAY ON THE, THE BLOCKBUSTER ON THE FOURTH WING, THAT WHOLE SERIES ABOUT THE DRAGONS, THE FOURTH WING.
THERE WAS QUITE A FEW LITTLE CHICKEN WINGS WHERE THREE OF THEM WERE EATEN IN ONE REMAINED OR MAYBE ONE WAS EATEN, AND THREE REMAINED ANYWAY, AND THERE WAS HOT SAUCE EVERYWHERE.
SO THAT'S, UH, WE, I'M ALREADY PLANNING WHAT TO DO FOR NEXT YEAR.
THERE WAS A LOT OF GOOD, GOOD DISPLAYS, THINGS THAT GROW ABOUND HERE AT THE LIBRARY, AS YOU KNOW, THE SEED LIBRARIES THAT WE STARTED AT GREENWELL SPRINGS AND THEN KIND VIND THEIR WAY TO ANOTHER BRANCH.
IT'S THE PATRONS WHO HAVE DEMANDED TO HAVE SEED LIBRARIES IN THEIR LIBRARIES.
IT'S BEEN THE PATRONS CALLING ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
THEY CALLED INTO THE JIM INSTER SHOW.
UH, SO THEY'RE NOW AT A NUMBER OF BRANCHES.
AND SYLVIA WITHERSPOON EVEN DID TOO, MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND, UH, COVERED A WONDERFUL THING ON SEED LIBRARIES.
UM, THE FARMER'S MARKET IS BACK HERE AT THE MAIN LIBRARY FOR THE SPRING MARKET.
AND WE EVEN, UM, LAYERED IN, UH, BOOKFACE FRIDAY A FEW WEEKS AGO WITH JODY PKU.
HE IS ONE WHO IS ONE OF OUR VIRTUAL AUTHORS, Y'ALL, JODY PKU.
WE COULD NEVER PAY TO HAVE JODY PKU AT THE LIBRARY, BUT HERE SHE IS THROUGH THE WONDERS OF CONSORTIAL, UH, WORK IN THE VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALKS.
SO WE HAD A GOOD TIME PUTTING HER ON FACE FRIDAY AS WELL.
ALL KEEPING IT GREEN AND GROWING SPECIAL COLLECTIONS WILL FEATURE TONIGHT IN THE BATON ROUGE ROOM'S MONTHLY LECTURE HOME OF THE HAPPY MURDER ON THE CAJUN PRAIRIE.
UM, JORDAN LAHEY FAU WILL SPEAK.
UH, IT'S BEEN WELL ACCLAIMED AS A BOOK.
AND OF COURSE PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS FASCINATED BY TRUE CRIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S RIGHT UP THE BAYOU.
AND THEN LATER ON IN THE MONTH OF, OR ACTUALLY GETTING READY FOR NEXT MONTH, SOMETHING THAT IS FASCINATING TO ME, LAST ISLAND AND ITS DESTRUCTION.
AND WE'RE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT, UH, THE WHOLE SHEBANG WITH JOHN SINGLETON TALKING ABOUT THAT.
IT'S REALLY GONNA BE A FASCINATING PROGRAM.
WE ARE GOING TO FEATURE A COUPLE OTHER FESTIVAL DAYS, AUTISM AWARENESS.
I'M SO SUPER COMING UP IN A COUPLE WEEKS.
AND THE SOUL FOOD FEST WILL BE OUT EVERYWHERE, EVERYWHERE YOU CAN SEE.
AND SMELL WILL BE THE SOUL FOOD FESTIVAL IN MAY.
AT THE MAIN LIBRARY ON JUST A WEEK OR SO ON SUNDAY, APRIL 27TH, JEFFREY MARKS WILL JOIN US AND BASEBALL STANDOUT MATT MASCON, WHO YOU MAY HEAR ON THE RADIO ALL THE TIME.
WE'LL BE INTERVIEWING JEFFREY FOR THIS FINALE TO OUR ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY SERIES.
UH, IT'S BEEN REALLY WELL RECEIVED.
PEOPLE ARE READING THE BOOK AND THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT.
THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BOOK AND HOPEFULLY THEY'RE APPLYING SOME OF THE THINGS FROM THE BOOK IN THEIR MENTORING OR THEIR COACHING OR WHATEVER THEY'RE DOING WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE.
THERE'S THAT VIRTUAL AUTHOR TALK SERIES I WAS MENTIONING, AND THERE'S JODY, UH, MATT FLEMING IS COMING UP WITH THE TREE BOOK.
UH, SO AS ALWAYS, YOU CAN CATCH THESE WHEN THEY DROP OR YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE ARCHIVE LATER.
THEY WILL BE LIVE INTERVIEWED BY BRANDON ADLER OUT OF NEW ORLEANS ORLEANS, STRICTLY BUSINESS.
UH, WE TALKED ABOUT AI TODAY WITH ROY HAGGERTY.
UM, LAST MONTH WE HAD, UH, REGULATORY CHALLENGES WITH HEALTHCARE, AND THAT'S SOMETHING RHONDA CARES GREATLY ABOUT FOR BENEFITS AND PLANNING OUR BUDGETS.
UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER VIRTUAL SERIES THAT WE HAVE, UH, STILL HAVING GOOD RESULTS WITH.
SINCE COVID VIEW THE ARCHIVES, WE HAVE HAD
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A WONDERFUL DAY OF OPEN DAY TO DAY WHERE THE CITY PARISH IS, DEPARTMENT IN THE GIS DEPARTMENT CAME ON IN AND SHARED ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY CAN KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING, WITH OPEN NEIGHBORHOOD, OPEN DATA, OPEN CHECKBOOK, OPEN EVERYTHING.OUR GOVERNMENT IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS.
PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE HOW TRANSPARENT THEY HAVE MADE IT.
AND OUR STAFF WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO USE IT.
AND THEN THE OPEN THE DATA ACADEMY, UH, IS, UH, LINKED FROM OUR WEBSITE.
SO THERE'S WAYS THAT YOU CAN LEARN AND GET INTO THE NITTY GRITTY OF EVERYTHING.
I AM ANNOUNCING AUTHORS ROE WILL BE AT JONES CREEK IN MAY.
I THINK ALL THE SLOTS ARE FULL, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.
AND I'M ANNOUNCING TO YOU THAT IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IT'S APRIL MAY IS COMING Y'ALL.
UH, AND WHEN THAT COMES, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS? IT'S THE KICKOFF OF THE SUMMER READING PROGRAM.
NOW THE KIDS ARE OUT OF SCHOOL EVERY OTHER DAY IT SEEMS LIKE, BUT WE ARE GONNA HAVE A KICKOFF PARTY HERE, AND IT ALL KIND OF SIMULTANEOUSLY ON THURSDAY, MAY 29TH.
UM, WE WILL HAVE LADY CHOPS AND TIM THE MAGICIAN.
THESE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITE, FAVORITE PERFORMERS.
THEY'RE GONNA BE HERE AND NEW THIS YEAR.
Y'ALL IS THE LENDER CHALLENGE.
FIRST OF ALL, THE TOPIC IS COLOR OUR WORLD.
SO WE'RE HAVING A GOOD TIME WITH ART AND COLOR AND VISUAL ARTS.
BUT YOU MAY RECALL, AND IN FACT IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF THE NEWSLETTER, UH, THE LENDERS ARE THE FAMILY THAT WE FOCUSED ON, ON LIBRARIES CHANGED LIVES.
THIS IS THE FAMILY THAT I EXCLAIMED OVER LAST YEAR WHEN I STARTED GETTING PHONE CALLS FROM BRANCH AFTER BRANCH AFTER BRANCH.
THERE'S THESE PEOPLE, THEY WANT ME TO TAKE THEIR PICTURE, THEY WANT TO SIGN, THEY WANT ME TO SIGN THEIR PASSPORT.
UM, THEY, THEY WANNA CHECK OUT A BOOK.
AND I'M LIKE, LET THEM, UH, THEY THEY DID A BLITZ AND THEY WENT TO EVERY SINGLE LIBRARY IN THE SAME DAY.
AND WE THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST PHENOMENAL.
WE SAID, WOULDN'T THAT BE COOL IF OTHER PEOPLE REPLICATED IT? SO NOW THERE'S THE LENDER FAMILY CHALLENGE.
IT'S A THROW DOWN, Y'ALL, UM, GREAT PRIZES FOR THOSE WHO CAN MAKE IT, AND LESSER PRIZES FOR THOSE WHO DO THE CHALLENGE OVER THE ENTIRE MONTH.
SO OUR STAFF GOT, GOT REAL EXCITED ABOUT IT.
AND WE'VE CREATED PASSPORT STAMPS.
WE'VE CREATED A PLACE TO STAMP THEM.
WE HAVE THEIR CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT, BUT Y'ALL, THEY USE A 3D PRINT PRINTER.
THEY MADE A SEAL AND THEN THEY DID A REVERSE IMAGE OF THAT TO MAKE SILICON MOLDS TO TO, TO MAKE THE ACTUAL BADGE.
UM, SO, UH, WE USED OUR 3D PRINTING AND OUR REPLICATING TECHNOLOGY, AND WE'LL BE MAKING THE BADGES FOR THE, THE BIG WINNERS, THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY DID THE WHOLE CHALLENGE IN ONE DAY.
AND, UH, SO YOU CAN TAKE THE SCENIC RACK.
A HEROIC ACT OF LITERACY IS TO VISIT THEM ALL IN ONE DAY.
AND THIS YEAR THERE'LL BE 15 BRANCHES TO VISIT, NOT JUST 14, BECAUSE SOUTH IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS.
UM, IF YOU VISIT THEM AT YOUR OWN PACE, YOU GET AND YOU GET YOUR STAFF, YOU GET THE CERTIFICATE, YOU GET THAT FABULOUS PRIZE IF YOU DO THEM ALL IN ONE DAY.
AND THE STAFF EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO HAD A HARD TIME WITH TRANSPORTATION.
AND THERE'S AN ALTERNATE CHALLENGE FOR THEM.
SO I'M JUST THRILLED TO KNOW EVERYBODY ABOUT THAT.
UH, AND THERE IS THE LINDER FAMILY CHALLENGE, AND THAT'S, THAT WAS WHAT THEY DID LAST YEAR.
SO ONE OTHER THING, AND THEN I'M OUT OF YOUR WAY.
UM, THE RED STICK, UM, RHYTHMS LAUNCH WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL AND IT'S RESULTED IN A SEVERAL NEWS ARTICLES KIND OF SERVICE AFTER THE SALE.
A BEAUTIFUL ARTICLE IN THE ADVOCATE HAS BEEN ON THE RADIO SEVERAL TIMES, AND THEY'VE BEEN INVITED TO GO TO THE PRESS CLUB TO TALK ABOUT IT.
UM, JOHN WT WROTE A LOVELY PIECE ON IT.
PEOPLE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THIS NEW PLATFORM FOR LOCAL MUSICIANS.
AND WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH THE STATE LIBRARY TO BECOME A BETA TEST FOR THE EPAS PROGRAM.
WE HAD TRIED, WE HAD STARTED THIS PLAN, UH, WHERE YOU COULD DO A VIRTUAL PASS TO A NUMBER OF LOCAL MUSEUMS. UH, AND THEN THE SOFTWARE COMPANY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.
SO THE STATE LIBRARIES FOUND A NEW COMPANY TO WORK WITH, AND WE, IN SEVERAL OTHER BRANCHES, WILL, UH, LIBRARY SYSTEMS WILL BE TESTING THAT OUT IN EPA PLA PLATFORM.
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THAT THREE TIMES.AND THEN, UM, THE NEW ANNUAL REPORT, UH, WERE RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE AND THE PICTURES THIS YEAR ALL FOCUSED ON THE NEW SOUTH BRANCH.
WE DECIDED TO SLIDE THAT IN AND, UM, THE, THE SAME KIND OF ARTICLE THAT WE NORMALLY DO.
BUT THIS YEAR, THERE'S SMALL PIECES OF IT THAT GO IN THE ONLINE, THE DAILY REPORT, THE ANNUAL REPORT, THE BIG BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE.
AND THEN THERE'S EVEN VIDEOS OF ANDREW TALKING ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESS SERVICE.
DO WE HAVE ANY OF THE SEASON OF LIFE BOOKS SIGNED BY THE OFFER THAT I CAN POSSIBLY GET? I I WILL HAVE ONE FOR YOU ON SUNDAY.
I, I HAD SOME ON THAT CART AND THEY'RE NOT THERE ANYMORE.
UM, BUT YES, JEFFREY HAS BEEN SO LOVELY.
HE'LL BE ON, UH, THREE DIFFERENT RADIO SHOWS NEXT WEEK, AND HE'S, UH, BEEN ON SOME OTHER THINGS AND I'VE MENTIONED IT A NUMBER OF PLACES.
SO, UM, WE'RE GETTING THE WORD OUT.
UH, SEVERAL OF THE COACHES THAT HE'S WORKED WITH OVER THE YEARS WILL BE COMING AND SOME ARE BRINGING SOME OF THEIR SENIOR LEADERS, UH, UH, THEIR, THEIR COACH STARS MORE OR LESS.
AND LIKE I SAID, MATT MASCON WILL BE THE INTERVIEWER.
JEFFREY WILL BE THE INTERVIEWEE, AND I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A LOVELY PROGRAM, IS OUR OWN
HE, HE, IF HE CAN, THAT, UH, JEFFREY'S WORKED WITH HIM WHEN HE WAS AT CENTRAL.
SO, UH, THEY HAVE A RELATIONSHIP.
SO IT, IT DEPENDS ON THE SCHEDULE.
WHEN'S THE, THE LINDA FAMILY CHALLENGE? IT STARTS WITH THE SUMMER READING PROGRAM.
WITH THE SUMMER READING PROGRAM.
THAT'S WHAT I PUT IT WITH, YEAH.
AND IS THERE GONNA BE A PARTICULAR DAY THAT THEY'RE GONNA TRY TO DO THE ONE DAY THING OR NO? NO.
AT WHENEVER, WHENEVER YOUR CAR IS READY TO GO.
UM, THAT'S, IT IS HARD TO DO 15 IN ONE DAY, AS OUR ARCHITECTS CAN TELL YOU.
AND SPEAKING OF THAT, SO AFTER ME, AS PART OF A SYSTEM REPORT, WE HAVE A REPORT ABOUT OUR SYSTEM FROM OUR ARCHITECTS, AARON BABCOCK OF PILLAR ASSOCIATES, AND JASON SUITER OF STANTEC, WHICH YOU MAY REMEMBER WAS BRADLEY BLUSTER.
AND THIS, THIS COLLABORATION WAS ACTUALLY THE BRAINCHILD BEHIND OUR 2014 BRANCH ASSESSMENT STUDY.
AND THEY CAME BACK TO UPDATE IT FOR THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN.
AND SO NOW SOMETHING PROBABLY HAS TO HAPPEN WITH HIS HDMI COURT.
LIKE I SAID, YEAH, WELL THEN WE HAVE TO GO BACK THIS SPANISH.
SO, AS, UH, AS MARY INTRODUCED, I'M ERIN BABCOCK.
UM, WE'RE SORT OF THE FACE OF A LARGER GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN.
UH, THIS REALLY STARTED FOR THE LIBRARY WITH THE, UH, PHASE ZERO, UH, STUDY THAT WAS DONE IN 2004.
WE SORT OF USE THAT AS A BASELINE, UH, FOR FACILITY STUDY.
IN ESSENCE, WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU TODAY IS THE RESULT OF ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEEN PUT IN OVER THE LAST YEAR TO ASSESS THE EXISTING FACILITIES AND PROVIDE, UH, A RECOMMENDATION OF CHANGES THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY FOR THE LIBRARIES TO MEET THE CURRENT NEED.
AND IN THAT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WE HAVE ASSOCIATED COSTS AS WELL.
SO THE PRESENTATION TODAY ITSELF REALLY MIRRORS THE PROCESS THAT WE WENT THROUGH.
SO I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS THAT WE DID, HOW WE DETERMINED THE NEEDS, WHICH LIBRARIES HAD HAD NEEDS, SOME DID, SOME DIDN'T.
AND THEN HOW WE PROPOSED THE TRANSFORMATIONS FOR THOSE LIBRARIES.
SO HOW ARE WE GONNA MEET THESE NEEDS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED DURING THE, UH, PLANNING PROCESS? AND LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE ESTIMATED COSTS ASSOCIATED.
WE DID NOT MEET THE LENDER FAMILY CHALLENGE.
WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A LENDER FAMILY CHALLENGE, BUT OUR FIRST STEP WAS TAKING LIBRARY TOURS.
UH, WE SPLIT IT UP OVER TWO DAYS, UNFORTUNATELY.
AND, UH, WE REALLY LOOKED AT EACH OF THE LIBRARIES FROM, UH, TWO PERSPECTIVES.
WE WERE LOOKING AT THEM FROM A BUILDING PERSPECTIVE OF, IS THE BUILDING IN GOOD CONDITION, DO THE BUILDING SYSTEMS WORK? AND THEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THEM FROM A LIBRARY, UH, STANDPOINT OF WHAT'S THE LAYOUT? WHAT ARE THE AMENITIES? DOES THE BUILDING FLOW? DOES IT WORK FOR WHAT'S THERE TODAY? WE TOOK THAT INFORMATION AND WORKED WITH LIBRARY STAFF IN A SERIES OF WORKSHOP GROUPS.
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IS LOOKED AT EACH OF THEM INDIVIDUALLY AND SAID, OKAY, WHAT ARE THE NEEDS AT THESE SPECIFIC LOCATIONS? AND THEN WE LOOKED AND PUT TOGETHER, UH, CONCEPT PLANS FOR EACH OF THE LOCATIONS THAT WOULD, UM, FIND A SOLUTION FOR THOSE NEEDS, AND THEN TWEAKED THOSE A LITTLE BIT ALONG THE WAY UNTIL WE SORT OF SETTLED ON WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY.SO THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, I'M GONNA START OUT WITH JUST A SLIDE THAT GIVES YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SYSTEM ITSELF.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW IS THE HEAVY USE.
SO THE LIBRARY SYSTEMS THEMSELVES, OR THE LIBRARY FACILITIES THEMSELVES, THEY'RE HEAVILY USED.
RIGHT THERE, THERE WERE 5,191 PROGRAMS OFFERED, AND THERE WERE 5,814 MEETING ROOMS THAT WERE BOOKED.
THAT'S A TOTAL OF 190,000 PEOPLE.
A LITTLE OVER 190,000 PEOPLE CAME TO PROGRAMS OR BOOKED MEETING ROOMS IN 2004, THAT AVERAGES OUT TO 4,332 PEOPLE PER MEETING ROOM.
SO IMAGINE THE ROOM WE'RE IN NOW IN 2024 WE'RE ON AVERAGE 4,000 PEOPLE THAT CAME IN AND UTILIZED THIS ROOM FOR WHETHER IT WAS A PROGRAM OR THEY BOOKED IT FOR A MEETING ROOM.
SO THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OR UNDERSTANDING OF THE USE.
WE THEN BENCHMARK THAT AGAINST THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW THAT COMPARES FOR COMMUNITIES OF A SAME SERVICE SIZE BETWEEN ABOUT 400 AND 600,000.
WHAT WE TYPICALLY SEE IS A NUMBER OF A 0.2 TO A 0.24, MEANING THAT'S ABOUT HOW MUCH PROGRAM ATTENDANCE THEY GET.
EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH HAS A 0.41.
THEY'RE ALMOST DOUBLE WHAT A A, AN AVERAGE OR TRADITIONAL, UH, PROGRAM ATTENDANCE WE WOULD SEE.
SO WE KNOW FROM THE NUMBERS THEMSELVES THAT THERE'S A HUGE NEED FOR MEETING ROOM SPACE, PROGRAM SPACE.
THERE WERE 2 MILLION ITEMS CHECKED OUT.
JUST TO GIVE YOU A, A FEEL FOR, FOR WHAT THE LIBRARY GOES FROM THROUGH, FROM A TRANSACTIONAL STANDPOINT, IS THERE'S 54,825 ITEMS CHECKED OUT EVERY WEEK AT THE DIFFERENT FACILITIES FOR STAFF.
THERE'S AN EQUAL NUMBER THAT ARE CHECKED IN.
SO STAFF IS REALLY DEALING WITH ABOUT, ON AVERAGE 108,000 ITEMS, EITHER GOING OUT THE DOOR OR COMING BACK IN.
JUST GIVES YOU A PERSPECTIVE OF THE VOLUME OF THE COLLECTION THAT'S TURNING OVER WITHIN THESE 15 FACILITIES.
AND THEN OUR LAST BENCHMARK NUMBER, YOU KNOW, THERE'S 1.7 MILLION VISITORS TO THE LIBRARY OR A LITTLE OVER 1.7 MILLION.
THAT'S A 513 VISITORS COME IN AND OUT OF THE FACILITIES EVERY HOUR OR 33,000 PEOPLE EVERY WEEK COME TO THROUGH THE LIBRARY DOORS.
THE INTERESTING FACT ABOUT THIS IS THE LIBRARY IS OPEN 66 HOURS A WEEK.
THE NATIONAL AVERAGE FOR A PUBLIC LIBRARY IS 40.2.
SO THESE, THE, THE LIBRARY SYSTEM ITSELF IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT A MUCH GREATER RATE HERE FOR THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH CITIZENS THAN WE WOULD NORMALLY OR TRADITIONALLY SEE WITHIN A PUBLIC LIBRARY.
SO THAT GIVES US AN IDEA OF THE USE FOR IT.
THERE ARE, THERE ARE, UH, WE, WE LOOKED AT EVERY SINGLE LIBRARY.
NOW THERE ARE SOME THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY THAT DON'T HAVE NECESSARILY A NEED TO CHANGE OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
SOMETHING LIKE A SOUTH BRANCH OR RIVER CENTER, SCOTLAND BILL, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE ALL RELATIVELY NEW FACILITIES THAT AREN'T ANTICIPATED TO HAVE MAJOR RENOVATIONS OR BIG BEADS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
SO WHAT DID WE FIND RIGHT OFF THE TOP? THE LIBRARIES WERE IN VERY GOOD CONDITION.
AND WHEN I SAY GOOD CONDITION, WE'RE TALKING NOT ONLY FROM THE FACILITY STANDPOINT, SO THE, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM OR THE AIR SYSTEM, THE, THE LIGHTING SYSTEMS, THE CARPET, THE PAINT, THE FURNITURE, ALL OF THEM WERE IN VERY GOOD SHAPE, WHICH IS REPRESENTATIVE OF HOW WELL THE LIBRARY, UM, DOES UPKEEP.
NUMBER ONE, HOW, HOW WELL THEY MAINTAIN THEIR FACILITIES AND THE PERMITTED PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE THAT THEY CONTINUE TO DO TO THESE FACILITIES.
THEY'RE GETTING A LONGEVITY OUT OF THE SYSTEMS AND THE BUILDINGS THAT ARE PUT IN PLACE, AND THEY'RE ABLE TO USE 'EM FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BECAUSE THEY'RE TAKING CARE OF WHAT THEY HAVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE PREVIOUS SLIDE I SHOWED YOU, YOU KNOW, THERE'S 33,000 PEOPLE THAT COME THROUGH THE DOORS EACH WEEK.
IT'S A HEAVY USE PUBLIC FACILITY, AND SO YOU'RE GONNA GET A LOT OF ABUSE.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IS MAYBE SOME OF THE, OF THE FURNITURE WAS NEARING END OF LIFE, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY IN REALLY GOOD SHAPE.
SO OVERALL, WE WERE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AT THE CONDITION OF, OF THE LIBRARY FACILITIES, UH, THROUGHOUT SHELVING.
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WHEN WE DID THE ASSESSMENT OF THE EXISTING SHELVING, I'M GONNA TALK A LOT TODAY ABOUT SORT OF A TRADITIONAL LAYOUT OF A LIBRARY.LIBRARIES ARE TRADITIONALLY, YOU KNOW, ROWS AND ROWS OF BOOKS AND MANY OF THE LIBRARIES THAT ARE OLDER WITHIN THE PARISH, THEY WERE SORT OF DEVELOPED WITHIN THAT TRADITIONAL MODEL OF, OF, OF A LOT OF SHELVING.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF BOOKS AND THE, THE SHELVING, YOU KNOW, IS TALLER SHELVING IN CERTAIN AREAS.
THEY'RE 84 SHELVING, 84 INCH SHELVING IN CERTAIN AREAS.
AND WHAT WE KNOW FROM DOING THE ASSESSMENT IS THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO RECAPTURE SOME OF THAT SHELVING SPACE.
THE LIBRARY HAS GONE THROUGH THE, THE PROCESS OF EVALUATION OF THE COLLECTIONS, AND THERE ARE SOME CERTAIN COLLECTIONS THAT ARE GOING TO REDUCE, HAVE BEEN REDUCED OR ARE GOING TO BE REDUCED OVER THE NEXT 10 YEAR PERIOD OF TIME.
WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECAPTURE SOME OF THAT SPACE AND CHANGE THE SHELVING TO BE MORE APPROPRIATE OF WHAT THE CURRENT NEEDS ARE AND THOSE NEEDS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO I LOVE THIS PICTURE BECAUSE THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF A, OF AN OLD TRADITIONAL CARROLL SYSTEM THAT WAS SET UP FOR PUBLIC COMPUTERS.
MANY OF THE LIBRARIES HAVE THIS, THIS WAS PUT IN PLACE AT A TIME WHEN YOU CAME TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE A COMPUTER AT HOME.
AND THIS WAS ALL SET UP FOR PCS AND THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM.
AND WHAT WE FOUND IN ALL THE TOURS THAT WE DID IS EVERY BRANCH MANAGER WE TALKED TO SAID, HEY, I COULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC COMPUTERS EXCEPT FOR DELMONT GARDENS.
DELMONT GARDENS WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT STILL WAS HAVING A LOT OF PUBLIC COMPUTER USE, BUT OVERALL, EVERY OTHER FACILITY WE WENT IN SAID, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE COULD REDUCE THE NUMBERS PLUS WE CAN REDUCE THE TYPE OR CHANGE THE TYPE OF, UM, FURNITURE THAT THE PUBLIC COMPUTERS ARE ON, AND WE CAN RECAPTURE THAT SPACE.
AND I'M GONNA TALK A LOT ABOUT THAT THROUGH THIS REPORT.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY LOOKED AT IS, YOU KNOW, TAKING THE LIBRARIES AND INSTEAD OF JUST AUTOMATICALLY EXPANDING THEM BECAUSE YOU NEED MORE AMENITIES, IS REALLY LOOKING AT ARE THERE COMPONENTS WITHIN 'EM THAT WE CAN RECAPTURE SPACE BECAUSE THERE'S A REDUCTION OR THERE'S NOT AS AS HEAVY A NEED.
PUBLIC COMPUTERS ARE A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT.
MEETING ROOMS, MEETING ROOMS HEAVILY USED.
THE, THE LAYOUTS DON'T ALWAYS MATCH THE, THE USE OF THE SPACE, MEANING SOME OF THE, THE MEETING ROOMS NEED TO BE RECONFIGURED, SOME OF THEM NEED TO BE EXPANDED.
UM, VIRTUALLY ALL OF THEM THAT ARE OLDER NEED TECHNOLOGY UPGRADE SERVICE DESKS.
UM, THE SERVICE DESKS WERE DONE IN THAT TRADITIONAL MODEL THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT TO WHERE A LOT OF THE SERVICE DESKS, THERE ARE PERMANENT PIECES OF FURNITURE, THEY'RE LARGE, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY MEET STAFFING NEEDS.
THERE'S ONE STAFF SPOT, THERE'S THIS LARGE OPEN AREA BEHIND IT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT AN EFFICIENT USE OF SPACE.
IT DOESN'T WORK FOR STAFF, NUMBER ONE, AND IT ALSO DOESN'T WORK FOR THE PATRON AND HOW THEY COME UP AND INTERACT WITH THE STAFF.
SO WE LOOKED AT THOSE SERVICE DESKS, HOW MANY SERVICE DESKS WE NEED WITHIN THE LIBRARY.
AND IT WAS DETERMINED AS PART OF THIS STUDY THAT MOVING FORWARD, THE TRADITIONAL, LEMME STEP BACK.
TRADITIONALLY IN A LOT OF THESE LIBRARIES THAT WE SAW, THERE'S A REFERENCE DESK, A CIRCULATION DESK, A CHILDREN'S DESK, AND IF THERE'S A TEEN AREA, TEEN DESK MOVING FORWARD WITH THE FACILITIES THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE TODAY, THE MODEL'S CHANGING IN THE SENSE THAT WE WILL HAVE A CIRCULATION DESK.
WE WILL NOT HAVE A REFERENCE DESK, WE WILL HAVE A TEAM DESK AREA AND A CHILDREN'S DESK.
SO TRYING TO COMBINE FUNCTIONS BECAUSE AS THE REFERENCE QUESTIONS ARE, ARE STARTING TO, TO, TO, TO TRANSITION OUT, THOSE STAFF MEMBERS WOULD THEN MOVE TO THE CIRCULATION DESK AND BE IN MORE CENTRAL POINT SO WE CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH THE STAFF SPACES AND PROVIDE THEM A DESK WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY DO THEIR JOB IN A BETTER MANNER.
I WOULD SAY, WHEN WE WENT ON OUR TOURS, THIS WAS THE NUMBER ONE REQUEST AT EVERY BRANCH.
WHEN WE SAID, HEY, WHAT DO YOU NEED? EVERY BRANCH MANAGER TOLD US, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH STUDY ROOMS. THAT WAS REFLECTIVE IN THE PHASE ZERO, UM, DOCUMENT THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER AS WELL FROM THE SURVEYS DONE BY BOTH STAFF AND PATRONS IS THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH STUDY ROOM SPACE.
AND THAT KIND OF MEANS TWO THINGS FOR US IS CAPTURING, CREATING PRIVATE STUDY ROOM SPACES WHERE WE CAN, OR PROVIDING ALTERNATIVES LIKE POD SEATING OR SETTING UP SEATING ZONES IN AREAS OR PLACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN EITHER WORK OR STUDY, UH, EXISTING FURNITURE.
SO KIND OF HIT ON IT WITH THE COMPUTERS.
BUT YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THING WE SEE, I THINK ALL OF YOU ARE PROBABLY KEENLY AWARE IF YOU COME TO THE LIBRARY, IF YOU CAN FIND A A A, A SEATING ZONE WITH A PLUG, IT IS A PREMIUM, RIGHT? SO
[00:30:01]
THERE'S, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH PLUGIN AREAS.PEOPLE ARE BRINGING THEIR DEVICES, THEY'RE PLUGGING IN, THEY'RE STAYING LONGER, THEY'RE STUDYING LONGER, THEY'RE WORKING FROM THE LIBRARY.
SO THE FURNITURE NEEDS TO MATCH UP WITH THE USE.
AND IN A LOT OF THE OLDER LIBRARIES, THAT'S JUST NOT THE CASE.
YOU KNOW, PATRONS ARE MAKING DUE, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL GO SIT SOMEWHERE WHERE, WHERE IT, OR THEY MAY DRAG A CHAIR OVER NEXT TO A, AN OUTLET, YOU KNOW, SO THEY'RE MAKING DUE, BUT IT, IT'S NOT REALLY, UH, REPRESENTATIVE OR IT DOESN'T REALLY MEET THE NEED THAT THAT IS THERE AT THESE LIBRARIES.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT STORAGE IN THE SENSE THAT WE FOUND, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF STORAGE AT THE DIFFERENT BRANCH LOCATIONS AND WE THINK WE HAVE A SOLVE FOR THIS.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DELMONT GARDENS, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW IT TRANSITIONS.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE WOULD DO IS CREATE A SEASONAL STORAGE CENTRALIZED AREA THERE.
THIS WOULD ALLOW THE SEASONAL STORAGE TO BE PULLED FROM THE BRANCH LOCATIONS, FREEING UP THE STORAGE AREA FOR MORE ONGOING NEEDS AT THE BRANCH INSTEAD OF THE SEASONAL STORAGE TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IS THE STORAGE IS SORT OF TAKING OVER AND CREATING, UH, SITUATION WHERE THE STAFF AREAS AREN'T AS EFFECTIVE AS THEY COULD BE BECAUSE THEY'RE SORT OF WORKING AROUND EITHER SUMMER READING OR SEASONAL STORAGE AREAS, PROGRAM SPACES, MUCH LIKE THE MEETING ROOMS, PROGRAM SPACES, UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY GREENWELL SPRINGS.
IT WORKS REALLY WELL FOR THEM.
YOU KNOW, RIVER CENTER HAS A REALLY GOOD SETUP.
THE ONES THAT DID HAVE A GOOD SETUP, THEY WERE BEING UTILIZED HEAVILY AND THEY WERE WORKING REALLY WELL.
WHAT WE FOUND IS MANY OF THE LIBRARIES EITHER DIDN'T HAVE A PROGRAM SPACE WHERE MAKER OR DIGITAL THINGS COULD HAPPEN, AND THERE'S DEFINITELY A NEED FOR THAT.
SO YOU'RE GONNA KIND OF SEE THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IS TRYING TO CARVE OUT SPACE AND PUT A PROGRAM, UH, ROOM IN EACH OF THE LIBRARY FACILITIES STORY TIMES.
THIS IS BLUE BONNET STORY TIME, AND THIS IS A EXCELLENT REPRESENTATION OF A TRADITIONAL STORY TIME.
THIS WAS BACK BUILT BACK IN THE DAY WHEN YOU CAME TO THE LIBRARY AND YOU DID YOUR STORY AND THEN YOU WENT OUT AND GOT YOUR BOOK AND YOU WENT HOME.
AND THAT'S JUST NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF HOW PEOPLE ARE USING THE LIBRARIES TODAY.
I'LL GIVE YOU THE EXAMPLE OF, UM, OF JONES CREEK.
JONES CREEK OPENED UP AND IT HAS A NICE BIG OPEN AREA AND KIDS CAN COME IN AND THEY CAN INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER.
THE PARENTS CAN SOCIALIZE WITH ONE ANOTHER.
THERE'S MUCH MORE PLAY OR ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
THESE TRADITIONAL STORY TIMES ARE REALLY ONLY USED FOR STORY TIME AND THEY CANNOT BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE.
WE CAN'T THINK OF THE LIBRARY IN THAT SENSE.
WE GOTTA BE MORE FLEXIBLE WITH THE SPACES.
CREATE AREAS THAT CAN BE USED MULTI FOR MULTIPURPOSE NEEDS, NOT JUST TRADITIONAL STORY TIME, UM, MATERIAL RETURN.
SO THIS IS OUR SMART RETURN, AND THIS IS SORT OF OUR DUMB SIDE OF THE SMART RETURN.
SO THIS WAS, UH, UH, THIS WAS REALLY A TRADITIONAL BOOK DROP THAT WAS ONLY A MANUAL BOOK DROP AND IT WAS IN A SMALL ROOM, RIGHT? THAT'S KIND OF HOW THINGS WERE DESIGNED BACK IN THE DAY.
AND NOW THAT MATERIAL RE RETURN NEEDS TO COME THROUGH THE WALL IN AN APPROPRIATE WAY.
IT NEEDS TO BE SET UP THAT IT CAN HANDLE, UM, THE, THE DEPRESSIVE BOOK CART THAT SITS BEHIND IT.
AND IN MANY SITUATIONS WE FOUND, YOU KNOW, THERE JUST BE A LACK OF SPACE FOR THE LIBRARY TO REALLY IMPLEMENT THAT PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
THE THOUGHT IS WE WILL HAVE A SMART RETURN AND A MANUAL RETURN AT EACH LOCATION.
UH, SO IF THE, SOMETHING HAPPENS WITH THE SMART RETURN, THE MANUAL RETURN IS ALWAYS THERE FOR, UH, PATRON USE AND COURTYARDS.
MANY OF THE LIBRARIES HAVE COURTYARDS.
WE ASSESS THEM FOR TWO IN TWO WAYS.
WE LOOKED AT THEM FROM, UH, UH, UH, DO THEY NEED REPAIRS? THIS IS, UH, THIS IS BLUEBONNET.
IT HAS A WONDERFUL AREA BEHIND IT.
SO THIS ONE NEEDS TO BE UPGRADED.
WHEREAS SOME OF THE OTHER ONES WE LOOKED AT, UH, THEY, THEY JUST WEREN'T HEAVILY USED.
AND WE LOOKED AT THEM FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF, HEY, CAN WE RECAPTURE THAT SPACE FOR, FOR, FOR A GREATER E? UM, AND THEN TOILETS, WE LOOKED AT 'EM FROM A TRADITIONAL STANDPOINT, RIGHT? WE LOOKED AT TWO THINGS.
WE LOOKED AT A DA, DO THEY NEED A DA? AND THEN WE LOOKED AT IS THERE A FAMILY TOILET? IS THERE A GENERATIONAL TOILET? AND WHEN I SPEAK TO GENERATIONAL TOILETS, WE KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF OLDER ADULTS THAT ARE STAYING ACTIVE AND THEY'RE OUT THERE.
A LOT OF TIMES THEY COME TO THE LIBRARY WITH A CAREGIVER, AND IN MANY OF THE SITUATIONS, THEY WOULD EITHER HAVE TO USE THE FAMILY TOILET OR THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NOT AN OPTION FOR A CAREGIVER TO GO, UM, WITH AN OLDER ADULT.
SO WE, WE KNOW THERE'S A NEED THERE.
WE KNOW THAT NEED IS GONNA INCREASE OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIND SOLUTIONS IN EACH ONE OF THESE FOR, UH, A GENERATIONAL RESTROOM AND THEN EXISTING STAFF AREAS.
[00:35:01]
WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE LAYOUTS AND THE SOLUTIONS, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA FIND IS WE REALLY LOOKED AT CENTRALIZING THE STAFF AREAS.SO MANY OF THE LIBRARIES WERE DONE AT A TIME WHEN YOU WOULD HAVE, AND I SPOKE TO IT EARLIER, YOU'D HAVE A REFERENCE DESK, BUT THEN YOU WOULD HAVE A STAFF AREA BEHIND THE REFERENCE DESK.
YOU WOULD'VE A CHILDREN'S DESK, A STAFF AREA BEHIND IT, A CIRCULATION DESK, A STAFF AREA BEHIND IT.
WHAT WE FIND IS THAT'S A VERY INEFFICIENT WAY TO SPLIT UP THE STAFF.
IF WE CENTRALIZE THEM IN ONE AREA, WE CAN CENTRALIZE THOSE FUNCTIONS AND THEN WE CAN HAVE AREA THAT WE CAN RECAPTURE OUT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR OR PUBLIC AREA THAT CAN BE UTILIZED FOR STUDY ROOMS OR PROGRAM ROOMS. SO THIS IDEA HERE IS REALLY AN EVALUATION OF THE STAFF AREAS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF TRYING TO CENTRALIZE THEM AND MAKE THEM MORE EFFICIENT.
SO HOW DO LIBRARIES NEED TO CHANGE? I'VE HIT UPON THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT I WANNA SPEAK TO IT IN A, IN A FURTHER DETAIL.
AND THAT IS THE SENSE THAT MANY OF THESE LIBRARIES WERE DONE IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.
AND AT THAT POINT WE WERE STILL FROM A LIBRARY PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, REALLY FOCUSING ON THE BOOKS, THE COLLECTION, PUBLIC COMPUTER ACCESS AND A MEETING ROOM.
AND SO MANY OF THE LIBRARIES, THOSE ARE THE ONLY AMENITIES THAT YOU REALLY FIND.
SOME HAVE STUDY ROOMS, SOME HAVE, MAY, MAY, MAY HAVE A QUIET ROOM, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE SOME OTHER AMENITIES.
BUT AT THE TIME, THAT'S REALLY HOW THEY WERE, THEY WERE, THEY WERE THOUGHT OF.
THAT'S HOW WE THOUGHT OF THE LIBRARY AS PART OF THIS PLANNING STUDY.
WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO BREAK FREE OF THAT AND THINK OF THE LIBRARY IN A DIFFERENT MANNER.
AND WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS IS WE'RE THINKING OF THE LIBRARY AS A DESTINATION.
I SPOKE TO IT EARLIER AND TALKED TO YOU A LITTLE ABOUT JONES CREEK.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS JONES CREEK'S CHILDREN'S AREA.
AND THE REASON IT'S SO POPULAR IS BECAUSE KIDS CAN COME AND THEY CAN KIND OF PLAY AND THEY CAN INTERACT AND THEY CAN PULL OUT A BOOK AND THE PARENTS CAN SOCIALIZE.
SO IT IS AN ACTIVE ENVIRONMENT.
IT IS NOT JUST, I'M GOING FOR THE BOOK.
YOU KNOW, I SPOKE EARLIER ABOUT THE PROGRAM, ATTENDANCE AT THE MEETINGS, MEETING ROOM BOOKINGS AND PROGRAM ATTENDANCE.
HERE, PEOPLE ARE COMING TO THE LIBRARY TO EITHER MEET OR THEY'RE COMING FOR A PROGRAM, THEY'RE COMING TO DO SOMETHING ACTIVE.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE LIBRARY, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT NEEDS, WE REALLY LOOKED AT IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF NOT JUST, HEY, DOES IT HAVE ENOUGH COLLECTION? DOES IT HAVE A COMPUTER AREA AND A MEETING ROOM? BUT, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU DO PROGRAMS AND MEETINGS THERE? YOU KNOW, CAN THE LIBRARY REALLY PUT TOGETHER THE PROGRAMS THEY WANT? WELL, IF IT DOESN'T HAVE, UM, A MAKER OR A CRAFT AREA, IT LIMITS WHAT THE LIBRARY SERVICES CAN BE PROVIDED AT THAT AREA.
DOES IT HAVE ENOUGH WORK AND STUDY ROOMS? YOU KNOW, THE, ARE THERE TACTILE LEARNING AREAS? CAN PEOPLE SOCIALIZE? SO WE LOOKED AT IT FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, HOPING THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO BETTER DEFINE WHAT THE NEEDS WOULD BE AND BETTER DEFINE WHAT A POSSIBLE SOLUTION COULD BE FOR THE LIBRARIES.
SO COMMON NEEDS ALREADY MENTIONED IT STUDY ROOMS WERE THE BIGGEST.
AND WHEN I SAY A STUDY ROOM, THAT'S WHAT WE TRADITIONALLY CALL IT, BUT IT'S REALLY A STUDY WORK ROOM.
NOW, WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT WORK FROM HOME OR REMOTE WORK, AND THEY COME TO THE LIBRARY JUST TO FIND A PLACE TO, TO, TO GO AND DO THAT.
THEY'RE UTILIZING THE STUDY ROOMS. THERE'S A LOT OF TUTORS, THERE'S HOME STUDY, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING TO THE LIBRARY LOOKING FOR A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN MEET AS A SMALL GROUP OR INDIVIDUALLY UTILIZE IT.
THE PHASE ZERO REPORT ALSO MENTIONED THE NEED FOR A TELECONFERENCING, UM, COMPONENT AT THE LIBRARY.
SO AT, AT ANY OF THE LIBRARIES THAT HAVE A STUDY ROOM, AT LEAST ONE OF THE STUDY ROOMS, IF NOT MULTIPLE ONES, WOULD HAVE A TELECONFERENCING OPTION, UH, FOR PATRONS TO UTILIZE PROGRAM ROOMS. THIS IS RIVER CENTER.
WE'D LOVE TO PUT A RIVER CENTER MAKERSPACE AT EVERY LIBRARY, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE CAN'T.
BUT THAT WHOLE IDEA THAT WE'VE GOTTA CARVE OUT SOME AREA, WE'VE GOTTA CREATE THESE SPACES AT THE LIBRARY WHERE THE LIBRARY CAN COME IN AND PROVIDE A DIGITAL OR MAKER OR PROGRAMS AT EACH OF THE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
UH, MEETING ROOMS, SPEAKING TO THAT, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THEM NEED TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES.
SOME OF THEM ARE NOT LARGE ENOUGH.
SOME OF THE CONFIGURATIONS DON'T WORK ANYMORE FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE INTENDED, UH, OR NOT THE INTENDED, WHAT THE ACTUAL USE IS OF THE SPACE.
SO MANY OF THEM ARE A TRANSFORMATION OR AN EXPANSION, UH, OF WHAT WAS THERE, ACTIVITY AREAS.
I SPOKE TO THIS WITH JONES CREEK, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU CAN'T DO ENOUGH OF THIS.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE MOST POPULAR CHILDREN'S LIBRARIES RIGHT NOW ARE THE ONES WHERE THE KIDS CAN GO AND BE ACTIVE, YOU KNOW, TACTILE LEARNING AND, AND SOCIALIZING AND PLAYING TOGETHER.
AND THE LIBRARY HAS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB.
EVEN IN THE SMALLER LIBRARIES WHERE THERE ISN'T A LOT OF ROOM, THERE'S STILL AN OFFERING OF SOME SORT OF TACTILE LEARNING OR SOME SPACE THAT'S SORT OF CARVED OUT.
[00:40:01]
IT, IT ENDS UP BEING A MAKE GOOD OR A MAKE DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.BUT THE IDEA IS MOVING FORWARD, WE REALLY HAVE THESE SPACES THAT WE COULD CARVE OUT AND MEMORIALIZE AS AN ACTUAL ACTIVITY OR, OR LEARNING ZONE WITHIN THE CHILDREN'S AREAS.
MANY OF THE LIBRARIES ACTUALLY DO HAVE DEDICATED TEEN AREAS.
THE IDEA IS MOVING FORWARD THAT YOU WOULD HAVE A DEDICATED TEEN AREA WITHIN EACH OF THE LIBRARIES.
UM, IT, YOU KNOW, TEENS, TEENS AND TWEENS IS KIND OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY NEED THEIR OWN HANGOUT AREA TO FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE A PLACE AT THE LIBRARY.
AND SO CARVING THAT OUT AND CREATING SOME SORT OF DEDICATED SPACE REALLY GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE PART OF, OF THE LIBRARY EXPERIENCES AND STORY TIMES CRAFTS, YOU KNOW, I TALKED ABOUT IT WITH, WITH BLUE ON IT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S NOT THE TRADITIONAL RISERS, RIGHT? IT'S, IT IS, IT'S PROBABLY PART OF THE ACTIVITY AREA, RIGHT? THERE'S A FLEXIBLE SPACE THAT IT'S NOT JUST STORY TIME.
UH, COLLECTION AREAS, UH, SPOKE TO THIS ONE A LITTLE BIT BEFORE, UH, BUT WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE COLLECTION, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THE COLLECTION IN, IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS, RIGHT? SO IF, IF I AM LOOKING FOR, UM, A BOOK TO DO SOME GARDENING, I'M GONNA GO TO THE LIBRARY AND I'M GONNA SEARCH GARDENING BOOKS VERSUS IF I'M JUST LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO READ, I'M BROWSING.
AND THOSE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES.
IF I'M SEARCHING, I AM, I'M GOING TO THAT POINT AND I'M GOING THERE.
A TRADITIONAL SHELVING LAYOUT IS GOING TO WORK.
IF I'M LOOKING FOR A BOOK THAT I WANNA READ, I'M BROWSING.
AND WHEN I'M BROWSING, I REALLY WANT MORE ROOM.
I WANT LESS BOOKS ON THE SHELF.
I WANT MORE THINGS SPACED OUT.
SO WHEN YOU'RE GONNA SEE THESE LAYOUTS, WE, WE TRY TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT AND REALLY THINK OF HOW THE PERSON IS TRYING TO INTERACT WITH THE COLLECTION.
NOT THAT IT'S JUST COLLECTION.
ARE THEY BROWSING OR ARE THEY SEARCHING BECAUSE THEY ARE REALLY TWO DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES THAT TAKE PLACE.
UM, AND THEN FURNITURE, YOU KNOW, ONCE AGAIN, PROVIDING THE APPROPRIATE TYPE OF FURNITURE FOR THE WAY PEOPLE ARE USING THE LIBRARY TODAY AND CENTRALIZING STAFF AREA.
UM, THIS REALLY BUILDS EFFICIENCIES WITHIN THE EXISTING FACILITIES THEMSELVES, WITHOUT HAVING TO CREATE THE NEED TO EXPAND TO CREATE SOME BIG CENTRALIZED STAFF AREA.
IF WE CAN KIND OF CONDENSE IT TO DOWN, WE CAN CREATE THESE ZONES WHERE THE STAFF ARE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT, AND THEN WE CAN RECAPTURE THAT SPACE ON THE FLOOR.
AND THEN COMMON NEEDS, I TALKED ABOUT THIS WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, GENERATIONAL RESTROOM, BUT SOME OF THE LIBRARIES, UH, WEREN'T REALLY UP TO STANDARDS AS FAR AS WHAT WE WOULD SEE FROM AN A DA PERSPECTIVE.
UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ANYTHING MOVING FORWARD, THE LIBRARY IS, IS OPEN AND INCLUSIVE TO, TO ANYBODY WITH ANY DEANS.
SO HOW WOULD THESE LIBRARIES TRANSFORM? SO I'M GONNA TAKE YOU THROUGH, UH, A SERIES OF PLANS THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER SHOWING EACH OF THE INDIVIDUAL LIBRARIES THAT WE SEE MAJOR RENOVATIONS, THEY NEED TO HAPPEN.
NOW, I WANT TO GIVE YOU THE CAVEAT THAT THESE ARE JUST CONCEPTS.
THE IDEA BEHIND THIS AND WHY WE DID IT IS A LIBRARY IS A LOT OF OPEN SPACE, RIGHT? IT'S A LOT OF COLLECTION AND FURNITURE.
AND A MASTER PLAN FOR A LIBRARY ISN'T REALLY REPRESENTATIVE IF YOU JUST SAY ADD THREE STUDY ROOMS IN A MEETING ROOM.
IF YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW THAT FITS WITHIN THE SPACE, IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COST IMPLICATIONS, HOW THAT AFFECTS THE COLLECTION, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE SEATING? SO WE TOOK THE, THE STEP OF PUTTING TOGETHER CONCEPT PLANS.
SO EVEN THOUGH THESE LOOK LIKE THEY COULD BE A REAL LAYOUT, THE WHOLE INTENT OR IDEA IS TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN AT THE BRANCH, AND THEN GIVE US AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT COST IMPLICATIONS WOULD BE WITH THAT.
SO AS I SAID BEFORE, WHEN YOU SEE THESE, YOU'RE GONNA SEE, MEET, CONNECT, RELAX, BROWSE.
THESE ARE THE ACTIONS THAT TAKE PLACE AT THE FACILITY.
SO IF I'M HANGING OUT, I'M HANGING OUT IN THE TEEN AREA, RIGHT? I'M WORKING OR I'M STUDYING, I'M DOING THAT IN A STUDY ROOM.
IF I'M BROWSING, I'M LOOKING FOR THAT NEXT GOOD BOOK TO READ VERSUS SEARCHING.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, JUST LOOK AT IT, THE OVERVIEW OF WE, WE REALLY TRY TO LOOK AT THIS FROM AN ACTION STANDPOINT OF WHAT WOULD BE TAKING PLACE THERE INSTEAD OF JUST THE STATIC.
SO WE'LL START OFF WITH BAKER.
[00:45:01]
WE WENT IN ORDER IN THIS PRESENTATION OF WHEN THE INTENT IS FOR THE RENOVATIONS TO OCCUR.SO UP NEXT ON THE LIST IS BAKER.
SO AS WE GO THROUGH, UH, AT THE END, WE'LL SHOW YOU THE COST.
IT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT YEAR WE THINK THE RENOVATIONS WOULD TAKE PLACE.
SO ANYBODY THAT'S BEEN TO BAKER KNOWS BAKER IS GOT TWO PARKING LOTS, AND YOU WALK AROUND THE BUILDING AND YOU COME IN THIS STRANGE ENTRANCE.
AND SO IT REALLY NEEDS A REORGANIZATION, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT'S NOT FRIENDLY FOR THE PATRON, IT'S NOT THE GREATEST FOR THE STAFF.
THERE'S A CENTRAL COURTYARD THAT COULD BE REALLY BETTER UTILIZED.
SO WE LOOK AT IT, THE TRADITIONAL THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
STUDY ROOMS, CENTRALIZING THE STAFF.
YEAH, WE'RE TRYING TO DO ALL THOSE.
BUT BAKER REALLY NEEDED SORT OF A RE REBOOT FROM A FLOW PERSPECTIVE.
SO WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? WELL, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MATCHING OR, OR, UH, CREATING A NEW DRIVE THAT CONNECTS TO JEFFERSON STREET.
SO NOW YOU CAN COME IN FROM JEFFERSON STREET, YOU CAN COME IN THE TRADITIONAL WAY.
YOU HAVE LOT PARKING LOTS ON EITHER SIDE, BUT INSTEAD OF WALKING AROUND THE BUILDING TO ENTER HERE, WE HAVE TWO ENTRY POINTS THAT COME INTO THE BUILDING, INTO A CENTRALIZED LOCATION.
SO NOW, REGARDLESS OF PARKING LOT YOU'RE IN, YOU CAN COME INTO A CENTRALIZED LOCATION.
IT'S EASIER FOR THE STAFF AND IT'S MUCH EASIER FOR THE PATRON AS THEY FLOW INTO THE BUILDING.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN INTERNALLY, RIGHT? SO I, I ENTER, I ENTER, I COME INTO THIS MAIN AREA.
SO WHERE THE OLD COURTYARD USED TO BE, WE RECAPTURE THAT SPACE WE'VE CREATED AS PUBLIC COMPUTING.
NOW WE HAVE THAT BROWSING COLLECTION, RIGHT? IT'S UP FRONT.
YOU CAN BROWSE AS YOU COME IN.
YOU STILL MOVE ONE WAY TO THE CHILDREN'S AREA.
WE MOVE THIS WAY TO THE ADULT AREA.
WE'VE RECAPTURED UNDERNEATH THE PORT RICOCHET AND TURN THAT INTO SPACE WITH A CENTRALIZED STAFF AND THEN A TRADITIONAL TEEN HANGOUT AREA.
SO IT IS REALLY A REBOOT FROM A FLOW PERSPECTIVE OF THE BAKER BRANCH.
BUT THIS WOULD GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE IT EASIER TO NAVIGATE THE BUILDING ITSELF.
AND IT PROVIDES US OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE ALL THOSE AMENITIES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF KEY PRIORITIES WITH THIS.
WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IS A PLAN THAT INCORPORATES ALL OF THESE.
UH, BUT WE KNOW THE FIRST PRIORITIES WOULD BE UPDATING THE LIGHTING, UH, UPDATING THE, THE PUBLIC RESTROOMS, DOING THE REPAIRS ON THE COURTYARD AND EXPANDING THE MAJOR MAKER DIGITAL AREAS.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME SECONDARY PRIORITIES, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM CREATING CHILDREN'S ACTIVITY ZONES TO IMPROVING THE MEETING ROOM CONFIGURATION.
SO WHAT WOULD THAT POTENTIALLY LOOK LIKE? UM, YOU ENTER INTO BLUEBONNET, WE'D HAVE A CENTRALIZED, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, WE'D HAVE A CIRCULATION DESK.
WE MOVE THE PUBLIC, UH, RESTROOMS HERE.
THE TRADITIONAL MEETING ROOMS, THE, THE LAYOUT IF YOU GUYS HAVE EVER BEEN IN THERE, IT'S KIND OF SPLIT UP INTO THREE.
THIS WOULD PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND THOSE MEETING ROOMS, WHICH THEY'RE HEAVILY USED.
WE WOULD HAVE A TRADITIONAL, UH, FULLY PARTITION DOWN THE MIDDLE OF IT, BUT IT WOULD REALLY OPEN UP THE FLOW AND MAKE THESE MORE OF A TRADITIONAL TYPE OF FEEDING ROOM SPACE, CENTRALIZING THE STAFF AND THEN REWORKING THE CHILDREN'S AREA SO THAT WE GET RID OF THOSE ODD STORY TIMES AND WE CREATE AN ACTIVITY ZONE.
WE REDO THE DESK IN THERE, WE REDO THE FAMILY TOILET, JUST AN UPGRADE OF THE CHILDREN'S AREA.
WE'D BE ABLE TO EXPAND THE MAKER AREA.
IT'S HEAVILY USED AND VERY POPULAR, SO IT NEEDS TO EXPAND.
WE'D HAVE A CONFERENCE ROOM AND THEN SOME STUDY WORK ROOMS WITHIN THERE.
UH, CENTRAL BRANCH LIBRARY, UH, CENTRAL IS UNIQUE IN THE SENSE IT'S AN EARLY VOTING AREA AND THERE'S A HEAVY, HEAVY DEMAND FOR THE MEETING ROOM AT THAT LOCATION.
SO KIND OF THE TOP ON THE PRIORITY LIST THERE WOULD BE, UM, TO REWORK THE MEETING ROOM TO MEET THE NEEDS OF EARLY VOTING, WHILE ALSO MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXPANSION TO ENLARGE THE, THE KNEE ROOM AREA FROM A CAPACITY STANDPOINT.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THE IDEA OR CONCEPT HERE WOULD BE TO EXPAND THE BUILDING OUT TOWARDS THE MAIN ENTRY.
THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO PUT PUBLIC RESTROOMS UP AT THE FRONT, CREATE THE MEETING ROOM AND ENLARGE IT.
AND IT WOULD GIVE US A VESTIBULE AREA THAT WE COULD CLOSE OFF DURING EARLY VOTING.
SO THEY WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THE RESTROOMS AND THE MEETING ROOM, AND THE LIBRARY WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO OPEN UP DURING THOSE ODD HOURS.
THIS ALSO MEETS THE NEED OF, OF EXPANSION OF THIS SPACE TO MEET THE COMMUNITY MAN WITHIN THAT AREA.
[00:50:01]
AREA GETS REVAMPED.IT HAS THE, THE CRAFT PLAY AREA IN IT.
IT'S GOT STUDY ROOMS. WE CENTRALIZE THE STAFF AS YOU COME INTO THE MAIN AREA.
RIGHT BEHIND IT WOULD BE A TEEN HANGOUT AREA THAT'S ENCLOSED.
THEN WE'D HAVE THE TRADITIONAL, UH, ADULT COLLECTION.
WE INCLUDED A MAKER SPACE, A CONFERENCE ROOM, STUDY ROOMS, AND THEN TO, UH, FIT THE COLLECTION.
AT THIS LOCATION, WE WOULD EXPAND TO HAVE SEATING AND SOME COLLECTION, UH, AND EXPANSION TO THE, UH, TO THE LEFT AREA HERE.
ZACHARY ZACHARY'S A HEAVILY USED BUILDING, UH, FROM A NEEDS PERSPECTIVE.
AS YOU WALK IN, YOU KNOW, IT, THE FLOW OF IT'S A LITTLE STRANGE AS WELL.
THERE'S, UH, A CENTRALIZED COURTYARD THAT REALLY ISN'T USED A WHOLE LOT.
WE SEE THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECAPTURE THAT SPACE.
THE MEETING ROOMS ARE A LITTLE SMALL FOR THE COMMUNITY DEMAND THAT'S THERE.
SO THE IDEA OF BEING ABLE TO EXPAND THOSE MEETING ROOMS AND THEN FIX THE LAYOUT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF REDUCING THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC COMPUTERS, UM, GETTING THE FLOW TO WORK A LITTLE BIT BETTER, AND THE ACOUSTICS TO WHERE YOU'RE NOT JUST TRAVELING FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER AS SOUND IS RIGHT NOW.
SO THE, THE REWORKED CONCEPT STILL ENTER THE SAME AREA THAT YOU HAVE THE BROWSING COLLECTION.
WE RECAPTURE THE COURTYARD AND TURN IT INTO TWO LARGE MEETING ROOMS. WE REVAMPED THE PUBLIC COMPUTER OR PUBLIC RESTROOMS TO BE ON ONE SIDE.
THERE'S MEN, WOMEN'S, WE RECAPTURE THEM TO ONE SIDE.
WE HAVE STUDY ROOMS. WE HAVE THE ADULT COLLECTION.
WE PUT THE TEEN, UH, HANGOUT AREA TO ONE END.
THIS SIDE BECOMES CENTRALIZED STAFF, CHILDREN'S AREA, THE TREE WORKS, AND THEN EXPANSION.
THAT INCLUDES THE ACTIVITY ZONE, UH, FOR THE CHILDREN'S.
SO STORY, TIME, PLAY AREA, ALL OF THAT WITHIN THE EXPANSIVE ZONE.
SO I DON'T HAVE A FLOOR PLAN FOR THIS, BUT RECYCLED READS, IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR, IT IS REALLY WHERE THE, THE, IT DOES, IT HAS SERVES TWO, THREE FUNCTIONS.
IT IS THE LOCATION WHERE, UM, IT HAS BACKUP SERVERS.
IT IS, UM, IT HAS AN UN ARCHIVED, UM, SYSTEM THERE.
UM, AND IT IS WHERE THE BOOK DROP IS A BOOK DROP.
THE BOOKMOBILE IS HOUSED OUT OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THIS LOCATION IS IT'S, IT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF MAKING DUE, RIGHT? SO THEY'RE JUST UTILIZING THE EXISTING WALLS AND ROOMS HOW THEY ARE.
WHAT'S HAPPENED IS IT'S REALLY INEFFICIENT FOR THE BOOKMOBILE FOLKS WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO DO THEIR OUTREACH PROGRAMS. THEY HAVE TO PARK THE BOOKMOBILE IN THE FRONT.
THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH ODD DOORS TO, TO LOAD AND UNLOAD.
WE, WE NEED TO IMPROVE THAT SO THAT THEY CAN GET IN AND OUT IN A MUCH FASTER TIME PERIOD.
SO WHAT'S PROPOSED IS TO CREATE A COVERED, UM, DRIVE UP AREA WHERE THEY CAN LOAD AND UNLOAD AND GO DIRECTLY IN AND OUT TO THE COLLECTION ZONES AND BE ABLE TO DO THAT IN AN EFFICIENT WAY.
AND TO ALSO THEN REWORK THE STAFF AREAS TO BE EFFICIENT AND ACTUALLY MEET, UH, WHAT THE STAFFING NEEDS AND STAFFING LEVELS ARE AT THAT LOCATION.
WE ALSO SEE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, POTENTIALLY CREATE SOME ZONES TO WHERE WE COULD HAVE SOME LONG, LONG-TERM STORAGE SOLUTIONS, UH, AT THIS LOCATION.
UH, SO REALLY JUST BETTER UTILIZATION OF THE EXISTING FACILITIES.
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO START BRANCHES.
AND WHAT'S A START BRANCH? A START BRANCH IS AN 8,000 SQUARE FOOT LIBRARY THAT'S REALLY MORE, UH, A SMALLER VERSION OF A TRADITIONAL LIBRARY, RIGHT? SO IT'S A SMALLER FOOTPRINT, BUT IT STILL HAS A POPULAR COLLECTION, STILL HAS ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY.
YOU GOT THE KIDS ACTIVITIES ZONES, YOU HAVE MEETING SPACES, YOU HAVE STUDY SPACES.
SO IT'S ALL THOSE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD FIND IN A TRADITIONAL LIBRARY JUST ON A SMALLER SCALE.
THE BEAUTY OF THESE AND WHY WE THINK THEY THEY COULD BE VERY EFFECTIVE IS IT GIVES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD TO HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THOSE LIBRARY SERVICES, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A HUGE BRANCH.
SO YOU'RE GETTING THE BENEFITS OF THE LIBRARY SERVICE JUST ON A SMALLER SCALE.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO LOCATIONS, A NORTH AND A SOUTH, AND THESE PICTURES ARE NOT WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
IT'S JUST REPRESENTATIVE OF EACH OF THESE LIBRARIES.
THESE PHOTOS ARE A LIBRARY ABOUT 8,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THE SPACE COULD INTERNALLY LOOK LIKE AT THAT SIZE.
UM, DELMONT GARDENS REPLACEMENT.
SO I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT TWO THINGS HERE WITH DELMONT GARDENS, RIGHT? WE FIRST HAVE TO REPLACE THE BUILDING BEFORE WE CAN THEN
[00:55:01]
TAKE A LOOK AT DELMONT GARDENS AND REPURPOSE IT.SO THIS IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE REPLACEMENT FOR DELMONT GARDENS.
IT IS A TRADITIONAL BRANCH LIBRARY, RIGHT? I DON'T KNOW IF ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN OUT TO SOUTH, BUT IT'S LIKE THE SOUTH BRANCH, RIGHT? IT'S THE SAME TYPE OF AMENITIES, YOU KNOW, SAME THING THAT YOU'RE GETTING THERE.
WE ANTICIPATE IT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 22 AND 25,000 SQUARE FEET.
AND A LOT OF THAT'S GONNA DEPEND ON THE SITE LOCATION AND WHERE IT'S AT.
BUT IT'S GONNA HAVE YOUR MEETING ROOMS, YOUR PROGRAM ROOMS, STUDY SPACES, COLLECTIONS, STAFF AREAS, TRADITIONAL BRAINS, LIBRARY, ALL THE TRADITIONAL THINGS THAT GO INTO BRANCH LIBRARY.
ONCE THAT'S CONSTRUCTED AND COMPLETED, THEN THE IDEA IS WE CAN REPURPOSE DELMONT GARDENS.
THE IDEA OR VISION TO REPURPOSE THIS FACILITY IS TO TURN IT INTO A BUSINESS INCUBATOR FOR A PORTION OF IT AND THEN TURN A PORTION OF IT INTO THAT SEASONAL STORAGE.
I TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO CENTRALIZE THE SEASONAL STORAGE, GET IT OUT OF THE BRANCH LIBRARIES AND PUT IT SOMEWHERE SO WE CAN BETTER UTILIZE THE BRANCH SPACES.
SO WHAT IS A BUSINESS INCUBATOR? WELL, THE VISION HERE IS TO HAVE CONFERENCE ROOMS TO BE ABLE TO DO WEB-BASED TRAINING, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE STARTUP BUSINESSES GO AND POTENTIALLY HAVE A SPACE THAT THEY CAN START THEIR BUSINESS THERE.
THERE'S MENTORING, TUTORING, ANYTHING WITH BUSINESS STARTUPS FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME AND HAVE ACCESS TO EITHER TRAIN OR START THEIR OWN BUSINESS IS THE IDEA.
SO THE SPLIT THAT YOU SEE IS VERY GENERAL, BUT THE IDEA IS PART OF IT WOULD BE TURNED INTO SE SEASONAL STORAGE.
PART OF IT WOULD BE THAT IN BUSINESS INCUBATOR.
SO THOSE MEETING ROOMS, CONFERENCE ROOMS, CO-WORKING ZONES, VIRTUAL TRAINING, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, BUT THE VISION FOR IT WOULD BE, IT'S A GOOD REPURPOSED USE OF THE, UM, DELMONT GARDENS BRANCH LIBRARY AS IT IS TODAY.
I WAS WONDERING WHERE THE SEASONAL STUFF WAS GONNA GO.
YEAH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, IT WAS EVERY BRANCH, RIGHT? WE SAW IT AT EVERY BRANCH AND THERE'S JUST ENOUGH ROOM HERE.
YOU KNOW, THIS ACTUALLY ENDS UP BEING QUITE A BIT OF ROOM.
IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM WHAT WAS AT A BRANCH LIBRARY TO COME HERE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH ROOM FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, YOU KNOW, AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, SUMMER READING THERE, THERE COULD POTENTIALLY BE A LOCATION HERE FOR CENTRALIZED SUMMER READING.
SO, YOU KNOW, CENTRALIZING SOME OF THAT STORAGE REALLY DOES OFFLOAD THAT, THAT NEED TO A CENTRAL LOCATION AND IT HELPS THE BRANCHES.
SO, MAIN LIBRARY, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MAIN LIBRARY, UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ALL THREE FLOORS.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CHANGES ON ALL THREE FLOORS.
THE PRIORITIES FOR, FOR THIS FACILITY, IT WOULD BE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL HANDICAP PARKING RIGHT OUT HERE, OUT FRONT, UPDATING THE MEETING ROOM TECHNOLOGY BOTH IN HERE AND THE MAIN MEETING ROOM.
ADD POWERED FURNITURE WHERE AVAILABLE, PROVIDE GENERAL GENERATIONAL RESTROOMS. AND THEN TWO BIG ONES ARE ADDING A DIGITAL MAKER LAB BECAUSE THIS LIBRARY DOESN'T HAVE ONE.
AND THEN EXPANDING THE CAREER CENTER.
SO THE CAREER CENTER HERE IS, IS, I'M GONNA TRIP OVER MY, MY THING.
THE CAREER CENTER HERE IS HIGHLY USED AND IT'S VERY POPULAR.
SO THE IDEA AND NEED TO EXPAND IT, UH, AT THIS LOCATION IS, IS A, IS A VIABLE NEED.
AND THEN THE SECONDARY PRIORITIES WOULD BE REORGANIZE CHILDREN'S AREA, EXPAND THE, THE CHILDREN'S AREA, YOU KNOW, STUDY ROOMS, ADD GENERATIONAL RESTROOMS, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT WITHIN THIS FACILITY.
SO FIRST FLOOR, CHILDREN'S AREA, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT DOING HERE? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TAKING THE CAREER CENTER AND PUTTING IT ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
SO THAT WOULD TURN THE EXISTING CAREER CENTER INTO A MEETING ROOM.
WE WOULD HAVE A CENTRALIZED, UH, SUMMER READING PROGRAM AREA.
WE WOULD UPDATE THE PROGRAM ROOM FOR THE TEENS, UPDATE THE MAIN MEETING ROOM FROM A TECHNOLOGY STANDPOINT, AND THEN REWORK THE CHILDREN'S AREA.
WHEN WE REWORK THE CHILDREN'S AREA, WHAT HAPPENS? WELL, WE CARVE OUT AN AREA FOR THAT ACTIVITY PLAY ZONE THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEING SO POPULAR.
WE CENTRALIZED THE DESK WITHIN THE ZONE AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO CARVE OUT STUDY ROOMS AND A NURSING ROOM.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE STUDY ROOMS IN THE CHILDREN'S AREA.
THEY'RE USED TO HEAVILY FOR TUTORING.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE USED ALL THE TIME AS WELL.
SO THERE'S A DEFINITE NEED AT THIS LOCATION FOR THOSE.
AND THEN REWORKING SOME OF THE STAFF ON THE FIRST FLOOR, SECOND FLOOR, LIKE I SAID, HERE'S WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MOVING THE CAREER CENTER.
SO WE TAKE SOME OF THE REFERENCE WORK ROOM AND REWORK IT.
WE'RE ABLE TO PUT CAREER CENTER IN ABLE TO CREATE A DEDICATED
[01:00:01]
MAKER ROOM, REWORK SOME OF THE COLLECTION SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO THEN PUT IN STUDY ROOMS AND CONFERENCE ROOMS. THIS BUILDING JUST DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH STUDY ROOMS OR CONFERENCE ROOMS AT ALL.SO AS MANY AS WE CAN CARVE OUT ENDS UP BEING, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO SORT OF SNEAK IN A GENERATIONAL TOILET ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
UH, THIRD FLOOR, SINCE IT'S ALL STAFF, WHAT WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT DOING IS RECAPTURING SOME SPACE WITHIN THE STAFF LOUNGE.
THE STAFF LOUNGE, IT JUST DOESN'T NEED TO BE AS BIG AS WHAT IT IS.
IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T RECEIVE THAT MUCH USE TO THAT DEGREE.
SO IT CAN BE, UH, RECAPTURED AND TURNED INTO STAFF WORK AREA.
SO REWORKING THE STAFF, UH, WORKSPACE ON THE THIRD FLOOR TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT USE OF, OF SPACE CARVER, VERY SIMILAR TO A LOT OF THE OTHER LIBRARIES.
HOWEVER, CARVER BRANCH IS UNIQUE IN THE SENSE THAT, UH, WHEN WE WENT THERE, THE DAY WE WENT THERE, THERE WAS A, A LARGE GROUP OF KIDS.
AND THEY WERE MEETING IN THE MEETING ROOM AND THEY WERE DOING ACTIVITIES.
I MEAN, THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH SPACE AT CARVER.
AND THE SPACE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDED AT CARVER IS STUDY ROOM SPACE, MEDIUM ROOM SPACE, TABLES AND CHAIRS, SEATING.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS, UH, WE LOOK AT IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF, YES, WE NEED, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HAVE STUDY ROOMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE END UP KEEPING THE, UH, MEETING ROOMS IN THE SAME CONFIGURATION MANAGER'S OFFICE.
WE REWORK THE CIRCULATION DESK TO CENTRALIZE IT INTO ONE LOCATION.
WE'RE ABLE TO CARVE OUT SOME STUDY ROOMS. WE'RE ABLE TO CARVE OUT SPACE FOR A MAKER SPACE, STUDY ROOM, CONFERENCE ROOM.
WE RECAPTURE PART OF THE COURTYARD.
IT EXPANDS THE FOOD PANTRY, CENTRALIZES THE STAFF.
AND THEN WE WERE ABLE TO REWORK THE, THE CHILDREN'S AREA.
UM, DURING THE SUMMERTIME, LSU BRINGS IN GRAD STUDENTS AND THEY, THEY MENTOR WITH, UH, YOUNG KIDS THERE.
AND RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE HAVING TO SIT ON THE FLOOR.
SO THE WHOLE IDEA IS WE'VE GOTTA CREATE MORE AREAS AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME IN AND MEET, SOCIALIZE.
UM, THIS IS A HEAVILY USED LIBRARY.
IS THE ENTRY THE SAME? THE ENTRY'S THE SAME.
ISN'T THERE A COURTYARD BY THE TWO THERE? THERE'S AN ENTRY HERE.
NOW WE'RE TAKING THAT OUT AND WE'RE PUTTING IT ON THE SIDE.
SO WHEN YOU ENTER IN, THERE'S A COURTYARD HERE.
AND WE'VE RECAPTURE THAT COURTYARD.
THAT COURTYARD'S NOT USED MUCH.
I THOUGHT THE COURTYARD WAS BY THE KIDS SECTION.
SO WHEN YOU WALK IN, YOU WALK IN HERE, AND THEN WHEN YOU TURN TO LEFT COURTYARD'S RIGHT THERE.
SO THEY SEE THAT RED DASH LINE, THAT'S WHERE THE EXISTING COURTYARD IS.
AND YOU'RE GONNA REPURPOSE THAT SECTION? YEAH.
WE'RE LOOKING, I'M, I'M LOOKING AT THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING, NOT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING.
THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF, NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE.
LET'S JUST SAY WE ARE TRYING TO MAXIMIZE THIS SITE.
LEMME PUT IT THAT WAY, RIGHT? LIKE, THIS IS KIND OF THE ONLY PLACE WE CAN ADD ON, AND THIS IS MUCH AS WE CAN ADD ON.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAXIMIZE THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A LIBRARY THAT REALLY NEEDS AS MUCH ADDITIONAL SPACE AS WE CAN GIVE THEM.
SO WE REALLY TRIED TO MAXIMIZE THAT OUT.
I'M SORRY, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TOUCHED THAT.
UH, THIS LIBRARY WAS IN REALLY GOOD SHAPE, BUT FROM A PRIORITY STANDPOINT, EMPLOYEE, HERE'S THE FRONT DOOR, HERE'S THE DESK.
THERE'S A BIT OF AN ISSUE OF SEPARATION, RIGHT? SO BIGGEST THING HERE IS WE NEED TO REWORK THAT DESK AND CREATE A VESTIBULE SO THAT WHEN YOU WALK IN, YOU'RE NOT JUST RIGHT ON TOP OF STAFF.
AND THE WIND AND THE WIND AND THE YEAH.
I MEAN, IT JUST ALL COMES IN THIS BUILDING.
AND SO STAFF IS JUST FORCED TO ALMOST SIT OUTSIDE IF THE DOORS ARE OPEN.
SO WHEN YOU WALK IN, THE STAFF IS RIGHT THERE IN YOUR BASE.
I MEAN, WHAT I CAN GO SIX STEPS, FIVE STEPS CLOSED.
SO IT NEEDS TO BE REWORKED FROM THAT STANDPOINT.
AND THEN TRYING TO, UM, SECONDARY PRIORITIES WOULD BE TO REDO THE FURNITURE, ADD STUDY WORKSPACES IF WE COULD.
AND THEN IF, IF FUNDING ALLOWS, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO CENTRALIZE THE STAFF AREA AND ENLARGE THE MEETING ROOM.
SO THE PLAN YOU'RE SEEING IS KIND OF THE ALL IN VERSION, RIGHT? IT HAS EVERYTHING IN IT.
SO IT HAS A VESTIBULE WITH A BOOK DROP.
WE PUSHED THE CIRCULATION DESK BACK.
SO NOW THERE'S NOT ONLY A VESTIBULE, BUT A LITTLE BIT OF A BREATHING ROOM BEFORE YOU GET TO THE DESK IN LARGE MEETING ROOM, REWORKED CHILDREN'S AREA REVAMPED, UH, CHILDREN'S STORY TIME.
WE CENTRALIZED THE STAFF WITH A SMALL ADDITION, AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO CARVE OUT MAKER SPACE AND A, AND A TEEN AREA.
SO THIS ISN'T A, A HUGE LIBRARY,
[01:05:01]
BUT YOU KNOW, THE TRANSFORMATION, UH, TO CREATE THESE OTHER AMENITIES.EDEN PARK, UH, NONE OF YOU ARE STAFF MEMBERS, BUT IF YOU WERE, YOU'D SAY YOU HATE EDEN PARK.
AND THE ONLY REASON YOU HATE EDEN PARK IS BECAUSE THERE'S NO CEILING IN THE STAFF AREA AT EDEN PARK.
SO THE BIGGEST COMPLAINT WE GOT WHEN WE WENT THERE IS ALL THE STAFF SAID, HEY, LOOK, THIS IS NOT EFFECTIVE WAY FOR US TO, TO WORK, RIGHT? IT'S JUST A WALL AND BEHIND THE WALLS WHERE STAFF IS, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO PRIVACY, THERE'S NO ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE, YOU KNOW, SOUND JUST TRAVELS IN THIS BUILDING.
SO THE BIGGEST THING WITH THIS BUILDING IS CREATING APPROPRIATE STAFF ZONES AND HAVING A SEPARATION BETWEEN STAFF ZONE AND, AND THE PUBLIC.
SO PRIORITY ONE, YOU KNOW, LIKE ALL OF 'EM IS ADDING STUDY WORK ROOMS, THEN ENCLOSING THE STAFF, RECONFIGURING THE SERVICE DESKS, UPDATING THE FURNITURE, AND THEN ENCLOSING THE CHILDREN'S AREA.
PRIORITY TWO WOULD BE ENCLOSED, THE TEEN AREA.
AND THEN IF FUNDING ALLOWS, WE'D ACTUALLY PROPOSE AN EXPANSION.
UH, AND THEN ADDING A DEDICATED, UH, UH, DIGITAL MAKER ROOM.
SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? RIGHT NOW THE STAFF IS KIND OF IN THIS AREA.
WE'D STILL HAVE SOME STAFF, BUT WE'D BE ABLE TO CENTRALIZE IT OVER IN AN AREA WHERE THEY WOULD BE ISOLATED AND SEPARATED.
WE COULD REWORK THE TWO DESKS.
THE MEETING ROOMS WOULD STAY THE SAME, BUT WE WOULD ABLE TO CARVE OUT KIND OF A HANGOUT AREA FOR THE TEENS, REDUCE THE COLLECTION AND RECAPTURE THAT SPACE FOR SEATING ZONES AND COMPUTERS.
AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO SEPARATE OUT THE CHILDREN'S AREA FROM THE TRADITIONAL LIBRARY.
RIGHT NOW IT JUST SORT OF FREE FLOWS AND IT WOULD BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO, TO PUT SOME SORT OF BARRIER BETWEEN THE, THE CHILDREN'S AND THE ADULT AREAS.
FAIRWOOD BIGGEST NEEDS AT FAIRWOOD.
UM, MORE STUDY ROOMS, EXPANDING THE CHILDREN'S AREA.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S SOME SECONDARY, UH, PIECES THAT WOULD COME INTO PLACE WITH THIS ONE.
UM, LIKE EXPANDING THE DIGITAL MAKER AND ENLARGING THE MEETING ROOMS. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT FAIRWOOD, UM, THE REVAMP PLAN FOR IT, YOU KNOW, YOU STILL ENTER IN, WE'D HAVE A REWORK CENTRALIZED STAFF AREA, STILL HAVE THE MEETING ROOMS. WE HAVE OUR BROWSER COLLECTION UP FRONT.
WE REWORK THE COMPUTERS AND SEATING.
GOOD EXAMPLE OF HAVING TOO MANY COMPUTERS.
UM, THERE'S A REFERENCE DESK THAT SITS RIGHT OUT IN THE MIDDLE THAT ALL CAN BE TAKEN AWAY AND RECAPTURED FOR, FOR BETTER PUBLIC USE.
THE, THE TEEN AREA IS A LITTLE AWKWARD HERE.
WE COULD REVAMP THAT AND ENCLOSE IT.
WE DO A, A SMALL ADDITION TO THE TOP THERE THAT YOU'RE SEEING OF THREE STUDY ROOMS. AND THEN WE WOULD EXPAND THE CHILDREN'S AREA ZONE OUT, UH, TO CREATE THE, THE PLAY ACTIVITY ZONES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND SORT OF, UM, PUSH THAT COLLECTION OUT.
RIGHT NOW, IT'S A KIND OF CONDENSED AREA AT THE END OF THE BUILDING.
IT, IT NEEDS SOME BREATHING ROOM, UM, FOR THE, FOR THE KIDS TO, TO BE A, TO MEET UP WITH WHAT THE, WHAT THE, UH, POPULAR NEEDS THAT WE'RE FINDING THROUGHOUT.
SO THE ONES I HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT, TALKED ABOUT, THESE ARE EITHER RECENTLY COMPLETED BUILDINGS AND THEY DON'T NEED ANY NECESSARY MAJOR REVISIONS.
YOU KNOW, SO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS SCOTLANDVILLE, SOUTH RIVER CENTER, GREENWELL, SPRING, YOU KNOW, NONE OF THEM HAVE MAJOR ONES.
WHEN WE GET TO GREENWELL SPRINGS, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A COUPLE THINGS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS MATERIAL HANDLING NEED TO BE UPDATED.
THE MEETING ROOM TECHNOLOGY, JONES CREEK.
UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A COMPUTER LAB THAT COULD BE BETTER UTILIZED AS A DIGITAL LAB.
WE COULD UPGRADE THE MEETING ROOM FLOORING, UH, REDO THE MATERIAL, UH, RETURN SYSTEM THERE.
AND THEN REDUCING THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC COMPUTERS REALLY AT BOTH LOCATIONS.
WE CAPTURE SOME OF THAT SPACE.
SO, MINOR CHANGES WE'RE, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING MAJOR HERE.
UM, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MR. SUITER TO TALK ABOUT THE ESTIMATED COSTS.
ALRIGHT, I'M JUST GONNA STAND HERE.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE TRIED TO DO THAT WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM WHEN THIS WAS DONE BACK IN 2014, IS THAT WHEREVER WE, WHATEVER WE WERE LOOKING AT THE INDIVIDUAL, THE IDEA THAT WE WOULD RENOVATE AS OPPOSED TO ADDING ON WAS KIND OF AN OVERARCHING CONCEPT.
AND THE REASON IS QUITE SIMPLE.
RENOVATION COSTS PER SQUARE FOOT IS A LOT LESS IN CONSTRUCTION.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT THROUGH, UH, EVERY INDIVIDUAL LIBRARY THAT WE GO THROUGH.
[01:10:01]
WE ALSO WANTED TO SET THIS UP.WE WANTED TO JUST GIVE YOU A NUMBER FOR EACH LIBRARY WE WANTED, YOU KNOW HOW THAT ONE, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM, UH, AT THE LEFT HAND SIDE, THE FURNITURE UPGRADES IS A STANDALONE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL LIBRARY.
THE TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES ARE STANDALONE.
THE CONSTRUCTION COST IS BRICK AND MORTAR.
WHAT ALSO INCLUDED IN THAT ARE THINGS LIKE A 10% CONTINGENCY, THE CONTRACTOR'S OVERHEAD AND PROFIT AND PROFESSIONAL FEES.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THAT PARTICULAR, UH, COLUMN, IF YOU'LL ALL INCLUSIVE OF EVERY, EVERYTHING THAT YOU SHOULD BE EXPECTING FORWARD, MOVING FORWARD.
ALSO, AS AARON TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, IT'S NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AS FAR AS, UH, ALPHABET, BUT IT'S ANTICIPATED STARTING DATES FOR EACH ONE BECAUSE WE'RE GIVING YOU THE COST FOR WHAT WE THINK IT WOULD COST YOU TO RENOVATE EACH LIBRARY TODAY.
BUT WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF THESE WON'T BE RENOVATED TO YEARS ON END.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS, IS TAKEN A LOOK AT THE ANTICIPATED START DATE AND THEN THE ESTIMATED COST AT THAT POINT IN TIME, USING THE 5% PER YEAR, MULTIPLY ANY QUESTIONS.
THE, THE, THE OTHER THING I MENTIONED ABOUT THIS IS, THERE'S TWO OTHER THINGS HERE.
THE, THE TECHNOLOGY IS SEPARATED OUT FOR A SECONDARY REASON, AND THAT IS THE PHASE ZERO, UH, REPORT.
IT HAS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IN IT.
AND SO WE KNOW SOME OF THESE LIBRARIES, THEY CAN'T WAIT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T WAIT AT THE MAIN LIBRARY UNTIL 2031 TO REDO THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE MAIN MEETING ROOM.
SO THAT'S WHY WE SEPARATED THAT OUT SO THAT SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES CAN HAPPEN AT A DIFFERENT TIME THAN WHEN THE RENOVATION WOULD ACTUALLY TAKE PLACE.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANNA MENTION ON THIS IS THESE ARE ALL INCLUSIVE NUMBERS.
MUCH LIKE THE PLAN I SHOWED YOU, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE ALL CONCEPTS.
SO TAKE THEM WITH A GRAIN OF SALT IN THE SENSE THAT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY WHAT THE EVENTUAL SOLUTION FOR THE LIBRARY WOULD BE, BUT THIS IS ALL IN, IF WE DO ALL THE PRIORITIES, IF EVERYTHING IS DONE AT EACH OF THESE LOCATION KIND OF GIVES YOU THAT MAX OUT NUMBER FOR EACH OF THE LOCATIONS.
AND THEN AS FUNDING COMES AVAILABLE, THAT'S WHERE WE START TO TICK OFF THOSE PRIORITIES, RIGHT? SO WE, WE HIT THOSE TOP PRIORITIES FIRST.
AND THEN IF WE CAN DO THE SECONDARY OR FUNDING IS AVAILABLE, AS YOU SAW ON SOME OF THE PLANS, THAT'S WHERE, WHERE, UH, WE WOULD START TO GET TO THESE, THESE OVERALL NUMBERS.
ALSO, IF YOU GO BACK AND TRY TO COMPARE THESE NUMBERS TO THE NUMBERS THAT WERE CARRIED FORWARD IN 2014, THEY'RE NOT GONNA DO THE SAME.
AND THE REASON ISN'T BECAUSE THE SCOPE OF WORK THAT YOU SAW WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL LIBRARY IS A LOT OF TIMES VERY, VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WAS PROPOSED IN 2014.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING COST WISE, UH, DELMONT AND ZACHARY.
I'M JUST GLANCE AT THE NUMBERS.
SO I SEE IT SAYS LAND PURCHASE AND WE DECIDE ON THE LOCATION.
WE, WE DIDN'T, WE JUST IS A PLACE FOR I JUST BUDGETING FOR I GOT IT.
THAT'S THE TOP PRIORITY LIBRARY IN OUR PARISH, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND, UH, 17 MILLION FOR, OKAY.
AND THE 17 MILLION THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT FOR THE, FOR THE, UH, REPLACEMENT FOR, FOR THAT FACILITY.
SO WHAT WE DID IS WE TOOK, UM, WE BENCHMARKED OUR NUMBERS AGAINST WHAT WE SAW SOUTH BECAUSE SOUTH WAS DONE FAIRLY RECENTLY.
WE, WE PULLED THOSE UP TO 2020 $5 AND THEN WE'VE ESTIMATED THEM OUT FOR THE YEAR BE DONE.
SO WE FEEL LIKE OUR NUMBERS SIX WHEN THEY START THE FLIP.
WHAT'S THAT? THAT'S ONLY 26 WHEN THEY START THE
WELL THAT NUMBER HAD COME DOWN, RIGHT? SEE MAYOR, WE DO IT EARLY.
WELL THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH.
UM, WELL LET'S GO BACK TO THE, UM, THINGS
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVE OF THE MINUTES.
ANY OPPOSED? THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
ALRIGHT, WHERE ARE WE? MOVING ON TO OTHER REPORTS, MAINTENANCE AND ADDITIONAL CAPITAL PROJECTS.
THIS WILL PRESENTED BY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR LAURIE.
[01:15:01]
EXCELLENT.SO FOR OUR MAINTENANCE REPORT FOR THIS PAST MONTH, THE COOLING TOWER, UH, REPAIRS FOR MAINE THAT I MENTIONED THAT WERE BEGAN LAST MONTH, WERE COMPLETED EARLIER THIS MONTH.
AND THAT WORK INCLUDED REPLACING FOUR HOT WATER BASINS ALONG WITH NEW COVERS, NOZZLES, AND THE REQUIRED HARDWARE.
WE ALSO HAD REPAIRS THAT ARE CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE OUTSIDE TO THE WATER FEATURES.
UH, THIS INCLUDES THE REFLECTING TOOLS AND THE SPLASH PAD.
NEW PUMPS WERE INSTALLED ALONG WITH NEW ELECTRICAL CONTROL PANELS.
THE FILTERS ARE BEING REPLACED AND THE SLATE TILES HAVE BEEN CLEANED.
ADDITIONAL PARTS WERE RECENTLY ORDERED FOR THE REPAIRS TO THE SPLASH PAD.
SO THOSE FINE REPAIRS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY NEXT WEEK.
IN ADDITION, THE TREES WERE TRIMMED IN THE COURTYARD HERE, UH, AND THE STRIPING OF THE MAIN LIBRARY'S PARKING LOT IS BEING COMPLETED AND SHOULD BE DONE BY THE END OF APRIL AT ALL OF THE BRANCHES.
THE CONTRACT WORK FOR THE PAINTING OF THE CURBS AT, UM, EACH LOCATION HAS BEGUN AND SO FAR THE WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED AT JONES CREEK PRIDE AND CENTRAL AT BLUE BONNET REGIONAL LIBRARY.
WE HAD TO CLOSE IT ON APRIL 1ST TO REBUILD A CHILL WATER PUMP AND TO REPLACE THE CHILL WATER VALVE FOR THE CHILL WATER SYSTEM AT EDEN PARK.
UM, WE HIT THE CLOSED LIBRARY UNTIL THREE 30 ON APRIL 3RD TO REPAIR A LEAK THAT OCCURRED AT THE WATER METER AT THE JONES CREEK LIBRARY.
THE WORK STUDY ROOMS WERE REPAINTED IN THE TEEN IN THE CHILDREN'S ROOMS AND THOSE ARE THE AREAS WHERE WE ALWAYS HAVE THOSE AREAS OF BLEEDING ON THE SIDES WHERE PEOPLE WERE TOUCHING AND WRITING ON THE WALL.
SO THOSE AREAS WERE RETOUCHED WITH PAINT TO HOPEFULLY PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING.
UM, AT THE RIVER CENTER LIBRARY WE HAD TO CLOSE ON APRIL 7TH UNTIL 3:00 PM FOR MAINTENANCE FALLING AND UNINTENTIONAL, UH, DAMAGE TO AN OUTDOOR HOSE FIELD WHICH FLOODED PORTIONS OF THE FIRST FLOOR.
AND THAT OCCURRED DURING AN, UH, CLEANUP FOR AN OUTDOOR EVENT ON APRIL 6TH.
THE STAFF DISCOVERED THAT ISSUE ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 7TH AND THEY WORKED QUICKLY TO MITIGATE THE DAMAGES.
UH, THEY CONTACTED OUR FACILITY STAFF WHO WERE THERE AND ABLE TO QUICKLY ENLIST THE ASSISTANCE OF OUTSIDE VENDORS TO HELP WITH EMERGENCY REPAIRS AND MITIGATION.
AND THAT FINAL WORK, UM, FINAL WORK FOR THAT TO BE DONE WILL INCLUDE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE RUBBER BASEBOARDS AND THAT SHOULD BE COMPLETED EITHER THIS WEEK IF THEY CAN OBTAIN THE MATERIALS OR NEXT WEEK IF THEY GET THOSE BASEBOARDS IN FOR THE MISCELLANEOUS IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
WE'RE STILL WAITING ON, UH, FINAL ACCEPTANCE FOR OUTREACH AND THE MULTI BRANCH PROJECT FOR OUR ROOFING PROJECT ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
WE'LL BE GOING TO THE BRANCHES SOON TO DETERMINE THE STATUS OF THE PROJECT FOR THE BOILERS PROJECT FOR EDEN PARK AND GREENWOOD SPRINGS BRANCHES.
UH, THE FACILITY STAFF RECEIVED THE DRAWINGS FROM ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY REVIEWING THE DRAWINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS AS SPECIFIED AND AT, UH, FOR THE BLUEBONNET BRANCH LIBRARY RENOVATION PROJECT.
WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE ANYTHING NEW YET.
UM, FOR THE CHILLER PROJECT, THE CONTRACTOR IS WORKING ON THE PUNCH LIST ITEMS AND WE ANTICIPATE FINAL ACCEPTANCE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
AND FOR THE BAKER BRANCH, UH, PROJECT, WE'RE STILL WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES.
I SEE MOVING ON TO MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS.
MS. KATRINA STOKES, I APOLOGIZE AHEAD OF TIME.
MY VOICE IS STILL TRYING TO GO OUT FROM MY, UH, LOVELY EXPERIENCE WITH THE FLU LAST MONTH, WHICH IS A REASON FOR MY ABSENCE.
AT LAST MONTH'S BOARD MEETING, UM, IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THE LOUISIANA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, WHICH OCCURRED THAT FOLLOWING WEEKEND.
UH, IT WAS VERY GOOD TO SEE COLLEAGUES FROM AROUND THE STATE.
SOME OF OUR STAFF GAVE EXCELLENT PRESENTATIONS.
I DEARLY WISH I COULD REMEMBER A LITTLE BIT MORE OF IT.
I WAS MASKED AND STAYING AS FAR FROM PEOPLE AS I COULD GIVEN THE SITUATION.
UH, OUR MILLAGE ITEM WILL GO ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT.
THE METRO COUNCIL WILL HEAR AND VOTE ON OUR ITEM, ALONG WITH SEPARATE ITEMS FOR THE OTHER PARTNERS IN
[01:20:01]
THE THRIVE BR UH, PLAN.THIS TAKES PLACE AT THE METRO COUNCIL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, MAY THE 14TH.
AND SPEAKING OF A NEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE IS BEING FORMED BY INTERESTED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IS CALLED GENERATIONS UNITED PAC.
UH, THEY ARE GOING TO ASSIST WITH ADVOCATING FOR THE THRIVE BR PLAN.
DONNA COLLINS LEWIS IS THE CHAIRPERSON AND OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS SUCH AS DR. JAMES GILMORE AND DR.
CRYSTAL SLAUGHTER ARE JOINING THE PACK.
NOW THIS IS SEPARATE FROM EDR LIBRARY, WHICH, UH, OUR, UH, THE LIBRARY'S PACK THAT IS, WHICH IS AN EXTENSION OF THE PATRONS OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND CHAIRED BY EMILY SMART BUDGET PROJECTIONS FOR 2026.
WE ARE ALREADY EXAMINING THIS YEAR'S BUDGET LINES VERY CAREFULLY ALONG WITH PROJECTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR.
WE ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT CUTS CAN OR SHOULD BE MADE TO SET US UP FOR A SUCCESSFULLY BALANCED BUDGET FOR JANUARY OF 2026.
AND THIS INCLUDES WHEN ANY CHANGES SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE CHOOSING NOT TO RENEW CERTAIN DATABASES WHEN THEY COME UP FOR ANNUAL RENEWAL.
THESE ARE DATABASES THAT EITHER SHOW LOW USAGE BY OUR PATRONS OR SOME DATABASES TO WHICH THE STATE LIBRARY HAS PURCHASED ACCESS AND MADE AVAILABLE TO THE ENTIRE STATE.
ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE ISOLATING SEVERAL UNFILLED POSITIONS TO FREEZE.
AND WE ARE WORKING WITH FINANCE TO GET, UH, NEW PROJECTIONS BASED ON THESE, UH, THIS WAY WE CAN AVOID BEING CAUGHT BEING CAUGHT SHORT ON JANUARY, 2026.
UH, AND SPEAKING OF ALSO, PLEASE EXPECT AN EMAIL FROM ANTOINETTE POLAND TO SET UP A DATE FOR THE ANNUAL BUDGET WORKSHOP IN JUNE.
ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING, YEAH, SO, UH, YES SIR.
JUST HAVE A COMMENT ABOUT THE, UH, THRIVE EBR STILL FINALIZING SOME LAST PIECES WITH MOSQUITO ABATEMENT AND ROAD OF CONTROL.
AND I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THE LIBRARY IS SETTLED ON A NUMBER THAT WE FEEL IS HEALTHY AND ALLOWING US TO MOVE FORWARD AND CONTINUING CHAPEL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, WHICH IS WHY THE PRESENTATION MOVED FORWARD.
I THINK THAT WE, WE CAN'T SPEND, WHILE WE, AGAIN, WHILE WE CAN'T SPEND DOLLARS, WHICH Y'ALL ARE AWARE, WHICH WHILE THE PAC FUND IS BEING DONE ON TELLING SOMEBODY HOW TO VOTE, WE CAN ONLY INFORM THEM.
I BELIEVE WE CAN STILL LEVERAGE LIBRARY SYSTEMS TO INFORM THEM OF THE POSITIVE IMPACT VIA EMAIL, VIA SIGNAGE THAT IS STRICTLY INFORMATIONAL, NO PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE.
AND WILL ALLOW US TO, UM, CLOSE SOME OF THE, THE GAPS THAT PEOPLE HAVE, UH, IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS IT RELATES TO SOME OF THIS.
AND, AND A LOT OF THAT GOES TOWARDS, ESPECIALLY WHEN ALIMONY TAX CAME OUT, PEOPLE LIKE, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? JUST WHAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN IN EXISTENCE EVERY MUNICIPALITY THROUGH STATE LEGISLATION HAS THE ABILITY TO, TO ASSESS FOUR MEALS.
WE'VE ONLY BEEN DOING 2.91, I THINK MIGHT BE WRONG, SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO THAT.
BUT, UM, AND ONE OF THESE PEOPLE WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE LIBRARY IS WE'VE HAD A TANGIBLE RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
YOU CAN SEE WHERE YOUR DOLLARS HAVE BEEN GOING.
I THINK THROUGH THE PROCESS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO EXPOSE THE SERVICES THAT WE'VE OFFERED EVEN MORE THAN I KNEW BEFORE I JOINED THE BOARD, OBVIOUSLY, UH, HOW IT'S BEEN MAKING A TANGIBLE IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY, ON THE WORKFORCE, UH, ON HOUSEHOLDS IN OUR PARISH.
AND I JUST WOULD ECHO THAT, THAT MESSAGING BE WHAT WE SEND OUT TO THE SUPPORT OF THE LIBRARY IS THAT WE'LL CONTINUE THAT, AND I'M SURE Y'ALL ARE DOING IT, ABSOLUTELY.
BUT IT'S, IT'S GOING TO TAKE JESUS AND A BUNCH OF MORE, UH, PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THIS THING PASSES.
'CAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT HOW YOU SEND THE INFORMATION OUT, NOT NECESSARILY WHAT, WHAT INFORMATION YOU SEND OUT, BUT HOW DO YOU TELL YOUR STORY.
SO LET'S JUST MAKE SURE WE'RE TELLING IT A GREAT WAY.
AND, UM, THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE ADVOCATING, LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE STAFF AND ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY WHO, WHO'S FOR OR AGAINST IT TO TELL YOUR STORY AND TELL YOU WHY.
AND I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE MORE FOR THAN AGAINST.
AND, AND RUNNING A CAMPAIGN, Y'ALL ARE DIFFERENT THAN RUNNING A LIBRARY ONLY CAMPAIGN.
BUT, AND THEN, AND I'LL SAY THIS PUBLICLY TOO, THAT'S WHY I DENIED THE, THE, UM, MILLAGE FOR THE FIREMEN.
I MEAN, I SUPPORT THE FIREMEN THOROUGHLY, BUT I DID NOT WANT ANYTHING ELSE ON THE BALLOT THAT WILL CONFUSE THE VOTER AS TO WHAT'S LINKED TO THRIVE, UH, EBR VERSUS WHAT'S NOT.
I CAN'T CONTROL THE SHERIFF OR THE DA OR ANYBODY ELSE, BUT I CAN CONTROL WHAT COMES THROUGH THE COUNCIL.
AND SO I'VE COMMITTED THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE THIS IS CLEANED UP AND PASSED, I WOULD SUPPORT IT FOR SPRING BALLOT, BUT JUST NOT FOR THE FALL.
[01:25:01]
WHO HAVE HEARD THAT I'M AGAINST THE FIREMEN.I JUST AM FOR THE LIBRARY'S MILL PASSING, UM, BEFORE WE PUT ANYTHING ELSE ON THE BALLOT WITH IT.
I'VE HAD, UH, A NUMBER OF PATRONS APPROACHED ME ASKING HOW THEY SHOULD VOTE.
AND MY STANDARD RESPONSE IS, I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW TO VOTE.
I CAN ONLY GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION THAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THE DECISION THOUGH.
AND I ENCOURAGE OUR STAFF TO FOLLOW THOSE SAME LINES AS WELL.
SO, UH, I IMAGINE YOU HAVE ALL PROBABLY HEARD OF ABOUT THE NEWS REGARDING THE CUTS OR CUTS TO OR FREEZING OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES AND THE LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES.
WE, OUR LIBRARY WILL ONLY BE INDIRECTLY AFFECTED.
THE STATE LIBRARY RECEIVES FUNDING FROM THE INSTITUTE FROM IMLS.
UH, NAMELY THIS COMES TO US IN THE FORM OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING CLASSES THAT, UH, THE, THE STATE LIBRARY PROVIDES TO US.
UH, PLUS THEY ALSO PURCHASE THE AFOREMENTIONED DATABASES THAT THEY MAKE AVAILABLE STATEWIDE.
AS FOR LEH, MANY OTHER, UH, ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE PARTNERED WITH US, UH, FOR VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, SEEK LEH GRANTS TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR THOSE PROJECTS.
AND WITHOUT THESE GRANTS, THEY WILL HAVE TO SEEK FUNDING ELSEWHERE.
BUT WE ARE MOVING AHEAD AS BEST WE CAN.
UH, WE, UH, THE, THE STATE LEGISLATURE IS GETTING READY TO GO IN SESSION.
WE ARE MONITORING THEM FOR ANY ACTION REGARDING THE RAILROAD TAX.
AND WE WILL UPDATE YOU ALL AS WE RECEIVE INFORMATION.
JUST HAVE A FEW OTHER MENTIONS.
OUR BUSINESS OFFICE AND OTHER STAFF HAVE ATTENDED THE CITY PARISH PURCHASING DEPARTMENT'S TRAINING SESSION FOR, UH, THE PROCUREMENT CARD.
WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON NARCAN INITIATIVES.
OUR STAFF TRAINING DAY IS TOMORROW, THURSDAY, APRIL 17TH.
AND I HAVE AN UPDATE TO THE PARCEL OF LAND, UH, RIGHT NEXT TO THE NEW SOUTH BRANCH.
THE ONE THAT IS OWN, EXCUSE ME, THE ONE THAT IS OWNED BY KENNETH BROWN.
WE HAVE THE NUMBERS FROM THE APPRAISAL AND THEY ARE LOOKING REALLY GOOD.
WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE PARISH ATTORNEY ON THE BILL OF SALE.
WE ARE ALSO WAITING FOR NUMBERS ON THE EARL KAY LONG SITE.
WE, UH, WILL BRING YOU THE LAND PURCHASE ITEM FOR SOUTH BRANCH ON, UH, TO VOTE ON NEXT MONTH.
AND WE ADDITIONALLY HOPE TO HAVE THE INFO FOR THE EARL K LONG SITE AS WELL.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.
MOVING ON TO REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY COMMITTEE REPORTS AT THIS TIME.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS UNFINISHED BUSINESS UPDATE ON SOUTH BRANCH LIBRARY.
SO UNFORTUNATELY TWO DAYS AFTER WE OPENED ON MARCH 24TH, UM, MARCH 26TH, WE HAD TO CLOSE THE BRANCH FOR PART OF THE DAY DUE TO A BROKEN SEWER LINE.
OF COURSE THAT MADE THE HEADLINES ON THE NEWS, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO OPEN LATER ON THAT AFTERNOON.
THE ISSUE WAS PROMPTLY ADDRESSED AND RESOLVED BY THE CONTRACTOR AT THEIR EXPENSE.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO OPEN AGAIN LATER THAT AFTERNOON.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO INCREMENTALLY INCREASE THE HOURS OF OPERATION OF THE BRANCH.
SO WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO OPEN WITH FULL COMMUNITY BRANCH HOURS NEXT MONTH.
UM, WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF HIRING AND TRAINING NEW STAFF FOR THE BRANCH.
WE'RE ALSO STILL WAITING ON A FEW PIECES OF FURNITURE TO BE DELIVERED, WHICH INCLUDES THE SERVICE DESK, WHICH SHOULD BE IN WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
THERE ARE STILL PUNCH LIST ITEMS TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER FOR FINAL ACCEPTANCE TO TAKE PLACE.
AND WE'RE STILL HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO OFFICIALLY OPEN WITH A DEDICATION CEREMONY IN JUNE.
ANY QUESTIONS? NOT A QUESTION.
UM, STILL TRYING TO HIRE PEOPLE.
I'VE HAD THREE OR FOUR PEOPLE CALL ME, UH, ABOUT TRYING TO GET HIRED AND, AND THE SYSTEM IS NOT VERY FRIENDLY APPARENTLY.
UH, WHAT, WHAT CAN WE DO TO, UH, MAKE THAT, UH, EASIER SYSTEM OR, UH, SOMETHING BECAUSE I AND THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE TRIED TO HELP, UH, GUIDE THROUGH THE SYSTEM OVER THE LAST DECADE, UH, I'VE GOTTEN EXACTLY ZERO EMPLOYED.
SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S CITY HR.
THEY POST, SO LET TELL YOU, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS REACH OUT TO HER AND SAY, LOOK, LEAVE MY
[01:30:01]
LISTING UP LONGER THAN FRIDAY.'CAUSE THEY PUT IT UP, THEY SAY A NEW POST AND WILL COME EVERY FRIDAY.
UM, LOOK, WE'RE GONNA LEAVE IT OPEN UNTIL WE FILL THE POSITIONS.
I WANT IT TO STAY UP LIKE THAT, BUT WE CAN'T.
YOU WHAT? LET ME SEND, YOU KNOW WELL, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO, UM, I USED TO DO HR FOR THE SYSTEM.
UM, I HAVE TO ACTUALLY GIVE IN THE TEXT QUOTE TO TELL THEM HOW LONG I ON THE BOARD POST, LIKE, I I, THEM DON'T MAKE ANY OTHER SPECIFICATIONS.
IT'S ONLY GONNA GO SLIP, SLIP FROM THAT FRIDAY TO THURSDAY NIGHT AT 12:00 AM OR THURSDAY OR FRIDAY.
ONE AT 12:00 AM YOU'RE GONNA CLOSE.
WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO, UM, FIRST WHEN THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT APPLYING POSITION CITY PARISH IS TO CREATE A PROFILE, WHICH IS
THEY'VE ALL DONE THAT AND IT JUST SEEMS TO NEVER GO ANYWHERE FROM THERE.
AND THEN WHEN THEY, THE POSITIONS COME UP, THEN THEY JUST CLICK APPLY.
I WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAD CLICKED THE APPLY AND SEVERAL OF THEM HAVE TOLD ME THAT HAVE TOLD ME THAT, UH, THAT THEY'VE CLICKED APPLY TO A SPECIFIC POSITION.
THEY'VE HAD THEIR, UH, FORM BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM.
AND THEN WHEN I CALL BACK TO TRY AND FIND OUT FROM OUR END IF THEIR, UH, APPLICATION HAS COME UP, I'M ROUTINELY TOLD, UH, IT'S NOT ONLY, ONLY TWO OF THEM HAVE ACTUALLY SHOWN UP THAT WE'VE SEEN IT FROM WHEN I'VE CALLED TO ASK ON THEM.
UM, GIVEN THE THOUGHT CAREER CENTER NOW, WOULD THEY ALSO HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF SOME POSITIONS GRADE THE APPLICATION? SOME REQUIRE A TEST, SO THEY ALSO HAVE TO GO BACK INTO THE PROFILE AND FIND OUT IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'VE BEEN GIVEN A TEST DATE TO COME TEST.
UM, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT GONNA BE A NOTIFICATION THAT THEY GET ANY OTHER WAY BUT THROUGH THE PROFILE SYSTEM.
SO IF THEY HAVE TO TAKE A TEST AND THEY MISS IT, THEY WON'T COME UP ON THE LIST.
ALL OF OURS REQUIRE A TEST THAT THE TECHNICIAN OR THE PAGE LEVEL PAGE ON, THE ONLY THING THAT'S GRADED APPLICATION IS NOT HEARD.
SO LET ME, WHAT DO Y'ALL WANT? LATOYA COME TO THIS MEETING? I'M BEING SERIOUS.
YEAH, WELL SHE GIVE, SHE GONNA SAY THE SAME THING.
NO, BUT I JUST MEAN THAT IF IT'S BROKEN.
'CAUSE LET ME TELL YOU WHY I HAD TO CALL DON ONE DAY 'CAUSE HE SAID, AND I CALLED MARY 'CAUSE I WAS ASKING ABOUT GETTING SOMEBODY TO APPLY A STUDENT WORK.
I MEAN, I, I FIGURED OUT MYSELF.
THAT'S, I COULD FIGURE IT OUT.
SO I'M LIKE, I THINK I'M PRETTY SMART.
I THINK EVERYBODY, IT'S NOT FRIENDLY.
THEY DON'T GIVE INSTRUCTIONS WITH IT.
AND I DO TRY TO SEND THOSE OUT, BUT NO, IT'S NOT FRIENDLY.
IT IS LIKE, IT'S NOT USER, IT IS NOT FRIENDLY THAT ALL, THAT'S WHY I SAY, UH, MAYBE REFER 'EM TO OUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT.
A LOT OF 'EM GO THROUGH OUR CAREER CENTER.
THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE THERE FOR.
THEY ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO, HOW TO DO IT, AND HOW PROCEED THROUGH IT.
I I KNOW, BUT NOW YOU HAVE SOMEBODY WHO MAYBE TRANSPORTATION IS LOOKING FOR A JOB AND I UNDERSTAND AND HAVING TO COME HERE OR NO MONEY TO GET ON THE BUS, WHICH, AND THAT'S FINE TOO.
THEY CALL, THEY DON'T GET ANY BETTER HELP.
SO I'M COME, I GET ALL THE COMPLAINTS.
TRUST ME, I HAVE AS MUCH AS I CAN.
SO, MARY, CAN YOU, CAN YOU INVITE LATOYA TO THE NEXT MEETING? WE CAN, BUT WE'RE GONNA TALK TO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE NEXT.
WE HAVE A SET UPDATE TO THIS IS, THAT'S WHEN ADMINISTRATION, WELL, LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING.
THERE'S ONE THING TO TALK ABOUT BEHIND THOSE DOORS.
HERE'S ANOTHER THING TO PUT 'EM ON PUBLIC NOTICE.
AND THEN, AND THEN PUBLICLY I'M GONNA ASK YOU WHAT'S YOUR TIMEFRAME TO SOLVE IT, RIGHT? VERSUS WE'RE GONNA PUT THIS ON OUR PRIORITY LIST AND GET IT DONE.
AND I'D LIKE TO SEE IT ON A PRIORITY LIST.
UH, CASE IN POINT, UH, SEVERAL YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO GET STUDENTS SUMMER JOBS, UH, WORKING TO AND, AND JAMES, I SENT OUT THE NOTICES TO ALL THE SCHOOLS LIKE SUMMER'S COMING UP.
AND THAT, THAT'S REALLY HOW I GET ALL MY APPLICANTS.
WE HAVE JOBS OVER MORE NOW SINCE THEY'RE BEING A LITTLE MORE LIKE I SENT OUT THE INSTRUCTIONS AND EVERYTHING, BUT I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU COMING FROM.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE, UM, Y'ALL SHOULD CHECK AND SEE IF THEY TOOK THE TEST.
THEN WE CAN SEE IF IT'S REALLY JUST THE USER PART OF IT THAT'S NOT FRIENDLY ENOUGH TO, PEOPLE ARE NOT FIGURING OUT THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THE TEST.
SO, SO HERE'S A, HERE'S AN EXAMPLE.
I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT, RIGHT? BUT YOU'LL SEND ALL YOUR PAPERWORK INTO EMPLOY THE YARD.
AND I'VE DONE THIS 'CAUSE I SAID I DIDN'T TELL 'EM, I DIDN'T WANNA TELL 'EM IT WAS MY PAPERWORK.
I SHOULD LET PEOPLE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND YOU DON'T GET A NOTIFICATION SAYING YOU'RE MISSING THIS DOCUMENT.
YOU JUST SIT THERE FOR NINE MONTHS THINKING THAT I'M NOT GETTING HIRED.
SO, SO MY MY POINT IS SAYING THAT IS WE HAVE SOME BROKEN SYSTEMS. SO I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF WHAT WE NEED TO BRING ERIC WITH IS MM-HMM
AND WE NEED TO BRING LATOYA IN HERE AT THE SAME TIME.
'CAUSE SOME OF IT MAY BE PROGRAMMING AND SOME OTHER STUFF TO GET IT DONE RIGHT.
BUT IT'S, IT IS NOT LATOYA'S FAULT.
[01:35:01]
SYSTEM SINCE WE GOT IT.SO, SO WE JUST NEED TO BRING BOTH OF THEM IN HERE AND SAY SPECIFICALLY FOR US, HOW CAN WE FIX IT AND THEN GET A DEAD, A BENCHMARK IN TIMEFRAME AND ASK THEM TO DO IT AND KNOW SHE KEEP WAVING IN THE BACK.
YOU WHAT? SAY CAN I SPEAK? ABSOLUTELY PLEASE.
AT DPW PUTTING APPLICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS.
WHEN I WORKED AT DPW, PUT APPLICATION FOR INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL, THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW.
SO I HAD A SIT DOWN SESSION BECAUSE I HAD THE SAME ISSUE.
SO I HAD A SIT DOWN SESSION WITH MR. DAVID WEST BEFORE HE LEFT.
AND HE TOLD ME, WHEN YOU PUT IN AN APPLICATION WITH THE CITY, IN ORDER FOR YOU TO QUALIFY SO THAT YOU CAN TAKE THE TEST, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE TASK UNDER, UNDER THE, UM, REQUIREMENTS.
WHEN YOU GO IN AND YOU FILL OUT YOUR APPLICATION, THEY WANT YOU TO LIST YOUR, YOUR DUTIES IN A WORKFLOW PROCESS.
THEY WANT YOU TO LIST WHAT YOU USE AND HOW YOU USE.
AND ALL YOU DO IS LOOK AT THE TASK CERTIFICATIONS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO GO BY.
AND YOU HAVE TO BE VERY DETAILED.
SO THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA DETERMINE WHETHER YOUR APPLICATIONS QUALIFY CERTAIN WORDS YOU USE, CERTAIN ACTION WORDS YOU USE, BUT YOU ALSO NEED TO LIST WHAT EQUIPMENT YOU USE, EVERYTHING YOU USE TO DO THAT JOB IN A STEP BY STEP PROCESS.
AND, AND WE, AND THAT, THAT WILL QUALIFY THE APPLICATION SO THAT YOU CAN MOVE ON TO TAKE THE TEST.
SO ACCOUNTS, HERE'S THE OTHER PART.
THE LIBRARY HAS TONS OF COMPUTERS.
SO WHAT WE DO IS WE SET UP THREE ROOMS. THE ONE HERE, THE ONE THERE.
YOU INSTEAD OF ROLLING COMPUTERS, YOU COME IN HERE, YOU APPLY, YOU GO OVER THERE, YOU GET INFORMED, YOU GO UPSTAIRS, YOU TAKE YOUR TEST, YOU LEAVE YOU WITH A JOB, WITH A DRUG TEST DATE.
WE TRY TO, I MEAN, EVEN FOR THE YOUTH, I'M SAYING MAYBE IT'S MAYBE NOT FOR THE ADULT, BUT DEFINITELY FOR THE YOUTH.
WE, WE, WE WANTED TO DO A JOB FAIR WHERE IT WOULD BE ALL IN ONE.
BUT WHO SAID NO OTHER PEOPLE MAYOR.
BUT YOU SHOULD ASK, LEMME TELL YOU, NOBODY SITTING PARIS WANTS MORE WORK AND THEY'RE ALREADY GETTING PAID TO DO NEXT WEEK.
AND THEN WE CAN KIND OF GO FROM THERE LIKE ONE SATURDAY OUT OF THE MONTH TO HAVE THEM COME IN.
PEOPLE LIKE CURRENTLY, BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT SATURDAY APPLICATIONS, BECAUSECAUSE WHO HAVE A JOB ARE NOT GONNA RISK THAT JOB TO FIND ANOTHER JOB AND THEN LET THE CURRENT EMPLOYEE KNOW, LIKE I'M LOOKING AND THEY GET FIRED.
AND THE ISSUE, I LIKE THAT PEOPLE ALSO WAS THAT'S FACTS.
IF TAKE THE TEST, THE TEST WAS ONLY OFFERED MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY AT A DIFFERENT JOB.
SO WITH, SO WE HAD AN INITIAL CONVERSATION AND WE, WE WILL BUILD ON THAT.
BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, THAT CONVERSATION, WE'LL TALK WITH ERIC AND LATOYA THROUGH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE ABOUT SWITCHING THE EXECUT TIME WORK WEEK, PLEASE PAY WEEK, BEGINNING OF THE WEEK TO SUNDAY, LIKE THE REST OF THE KNOWN WORLD INSTEAD OF SATURDAY, WHICH CREATES THAT 11 DAY WORK CYCLE FOR OUR STAFF, WHICH DRIVES THEM AWAY.
SO MAYBE, SO NOW THAT PART IS ON Y'ALL, BUT THE OTHER PART ABOUT GETTING THEM HERE.
NO, I CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT TOO.
NO, YOU DON'T HAVE, LISTEN, YOU, IT IS NOT A VI IT'S NOT, IT IS NOT A ASKING.
IT'S, HEY, WE ARE HOSTING THIS EVENT ON THIS DATE.
LATOYA, IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT, SEND SOMEBODY QUALIFIED, SEND FOUR OR FIVE OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE QUALIFIED, WE NEED THIS DONE.
I DROP THEIR DATE, THIS DATE AND THEN GIVE THEM, MAKE THEM GIVE YOU A REASON WHY THEY CAN'T DO IT.
THE ONLY ANSWER DON'T TAKE IS NO RIGHT.
GLORIA, WAS THAT IT ON THE
ALRIGHT, SO FOR SCOTLANDVILLE IT'S VERY BRIEF.
UM, OUR SCOTLANDVILLE PROJECT PHASE TWO PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING WILL BE HELD NEXT WEEK AFTER THE MEETING.
THE DATE WILL BE SET FOR A GROUNDBREAKING, THE KICKOFF CEREMONY WITH THE NEW COUNCILMAN.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA, NEW BUSINESS.
ALRIGHT, WE HAVE TWO POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN UPDATED.
DID ANYONE SPEAKING ON THOSE POLICIES? KATRINA, DO YOU WANNA TAKE OR DO YOU WANT ME TO? GO AHEAD.
[01:40:01]
AND GENTLEMEN, AS YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD IS TO APPROVE POLICIES, BUT THAT ALSO INCLUDES UPDATING POLICIES.SO I HAVE TWO HOUSEKEEPING POLICY UPDATES FOR YOU.
UM, THE FIRST ONE TO APPROVE THE SEX OFFENDER POLICY UPDATE, YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT WE ARE REQUIRED BY STATUTE TO POST SIGNAGE ABOUT WHAT SEX OFFENDERS ARE WELCOME AND NOT WELCOME TO VISIT WITHIN OUR LIBRARIES.
AND IT HAS TO DO WITH HOW CLOSE WE ARE TO SCHOOLS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
THIS IS LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTE 1490 1.2.
ALL WE WANNA DO WITH THIS ONE IS ADD THE WORD SOUTH BRANCH BECAUSE WE'VE ADDED A LOCATION.
SO CANDACE REMINDED US THAT, UH, DUH WE NEED TO ADD THE BRANCH INTO THE OFFICIAL POLICY.
SO, UM, UH, BEFORE YOU, YOU SEE THE ORIGINAL POLICY AND THEN HIGHLIGHTED, ALL WE DID WAS ADD THE WORD SOUTH BRANCH ON ON IN YOUR PACKETS.
SO WHAT I NEED FROM Y'ALL IS A FORMAL MOTION AND APPROVAL FOR US TO UPDATE THIS SEX OFFENDER REGULATION POLICY STATEMENT.
AND THEN WE WILL PUT THE APPROPRIATE SIGNAGE AT THE SOUTH BRANCH, WHICH IS NOT WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED, UH, LINEAR FEET FROM GLASGOW MIDDLE.
I KNOW IF YOU APPROVE THE CHANGES.
I, I I SECOND, BUT I DO HAVE A COMMENT THOUGH.
THIS IS WHERE I STRUGGLE WITH SEX OFFENDERS.
UM, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T AFFORD A LEGAL DEFENSE AND THEY PLED GUILTY AND THEY JUST GOT ON THE REGISTRY AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GO BACK TO MM-HMM
TO THE NORMAL WORLD, BUT THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG.
JUST DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR A GOOD LAWYER.
UM, THERE, I KNOW PEOPLE WHO OFFENDED 30 YEARS AGO MM-HMM
AND I DON'T SUPPORT ANY SEX OFFENDER NO.
IN, IN TERMS OF THE ACTION ITSELF.
BUT I DO BELIEVE IN SHOWING PEOPLE THE LOVE OF JESUS THAT I WANT AND THE FORGIVENESS THAT I PRAY FOR.
SO WHERE I STRUGGLED AND I JUST HAD A CONVERSATION, I APOLOGIZED ABOUT MY TARDINESS.
DIDN'T REALIZE THAT IT MOVED FROM TOMORROW TO THE, BUT UM, PART OF IT WAS DURING THE STORM WE HAD NO PLACE FOR SEX OFFENDERS TO GO.
'CAUSE THEY CAN'T GO INTO THE SHELTERS.
OTHER PART IS WE WANNA MAKE OUR COMMUNITIES BETTER AND WE TALK ABOUT PROPER CRIMINAL REFORM AND I'M WORKING ON NEW JAIL TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
WHICH, UM, WE KNOW LIBRARY HAS COMMITTED SOME MONEY TO, I KEEP PREACHING THAT.
UM, BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT PROPER REFORM AND HOW DO WE MAKE PEOPLE BETTER THAN THEIR PREVIOUS ACTIONS.
AND IF WE CAN'T, I, I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO READ IT AND I GOTTA APOLOGIZE ON THAT PIECE OF IT.
I LOOK IT OVER AND I'M STILL GOING TO PROVE IT.
BUT, UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT IT IS AS A CITY PARISH AS A WHOLE, REGARDLESS OF WHAT DEPARTMENT, THAT OUR SERVICES ARE THERE TO MAKE OUR CITY PARISH BETTER FOR EVERYBODY.
SO THE, WELL, I BELIEVE THIS IS A, UM, THIS IS A STATE, THIS IS STATE MANDATED, SO WE DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER LANGUAGE.
BUT THE GOOD THING I, GOOD THING, UM, THE MITIGATING FACTOR HERE IS THIS IS APPLICABLE TO PEOPLE WHO WERE CONVICTED OF SEX OFFENDERS WHERE THE VICTIM WAS UNDER 13 YEARS OLD.
SO IT'S NOW YOU CAN HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS TECHNICALLY, UH, A SEX OFFENDER WHERE THE VICTIM WAS 15 YEARS OLD AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN TWO 15 YEAR OLDS HAVING CONSENSUAL SEX.
AND ONE OF THEM IS GONNA BE TAGGED AS THE OFFENDER AND ONE OF THEM MIGHT BE TAGGED AS THE VICTIM, BUT THIS IS STRICTLY FOR AGE, UH, 13 UNDER.
SO, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH, IS SUCH A PERSON ALLOWED IN THE CHILDREN'S AREA AND IN A LIBRARY WHERE THE CHILDREN'S AREA IS DISCREET, THEY CAN BE IN THE ADULT AREA.
BUT THEY'RE NOT RESTRICTED FROM COMING IN.
WHAT I WANTED TO, I OKAY, I'M, I'M, I CAN SUPPORT THAT THEN.
SO THE ONLY TIMES THEY COULD NOT COME INTO THE ACTUAL LIBRARY AS IF THE CHILDREN'S AREA WAS THE FIRST THING THAT HAPPENED, UH, IN THE LIBRARY AND WAS NOT A DISCRETE AREA.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO DESIGN OUR BUILDINGS IN SUCH A WAY THAT THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
SO, UM, SO WE HAVE A MOTION AND, UH, SECOND.
THE SECOND POLICY, A LITTLE BIT OF HOUSEKEEPING HERE, UH, APPROVING A BULLETIN BOARD POLICY UPDATE
[01:45:01]
THIS BASICALLY, UM, MEMORIALIZES OUR COMMON PRACTICE YEARS AGO, DATING BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF TIME, WE SAID IT WAS NOT THE PURPOSE OF THE BULLETIN BOARD TO ADVERTISE COMMERCIAL ENDEAVORS UNLESS THERE WERE SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE LIBRARY PROGRAM.AND, AND THAT WAS REALLY A SPACE ISSUE.
AND COMMERCIAL ENDEAVORS COULD BE A TUTOR.
SO WE HAD, WE HAD TENSION THAT'S, THAT'S THE RIGHT WAY TO CALL THIS TENSION.
WE WANTED TO PUT THE TUTORS THINGS UP ON THE BOARDS, BUT THEIR COMMERCIAL ENDEAVORS AREN'T THERE.
AND WE, WE SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES WITH OUR SERVICE AND WE ARE ENCOURAGING THEM, BUT WE'RE NOT ALLOWING THEM TO PUT UP SOMETHING MAYBE, UH, FOR, UH, A VENDOR FAIR AT THE LIBRARY, WHICH WE WOULD'VE ALLOWED ANYWAY BECAUSE IT WAS AT THE LIBRARY FOR A SPECIAL EVENT.
BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT SAY INSTEAD IS, ADVERTISEMENTS OR ANNOUNCEMENTS OF EVENTS RELATED TO COMMERCIAL ENDEAVORS WILL BE POSTED IF SPACES AVAILABLE.
AND THEN IT'S STRICTLY A MATTER OF DO WE HAVE THE SPACE AND WE'RE ALREADY LEAVING THINGS UP FOR A, A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME BECAUSE SPACE IS NEVER AVAILABLE.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE THAT ONE CHANGE IF THAT'S OKAY.
ANY, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT UNDER, UM, NEW BUSINESS? ALL RIGHT.
MOVING ON TO COMMENTS BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF PATROL COMMENTS.
I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOY Y'ALLS TRAINING DAY TOMORROW.
I HOPE Y'ALL PLEASE LET THE STAFF KNOW THAT I SUPPORT THEM WAY I CAN, MAKES THIS ENGINE AND THEY, THE, AND PLEASE THANK THEM FOR ME.
JUST PERSONAL POINT OF PRIVILEGE ON A SUNDAY, UH, WE'RE HOSTING AT THE CORNER OF NORTH SHOREWOOD FOREST AND BIG BEND IN THE PARK FOREST AREA.
WE HAVE, UH, BREX PROVIDING A MASSIVE INFLATABLE PARK.
WE HAVE THE SINGER CUPID COZY LEANING FROM THE VOICE.
UM, WAS 2000 POUNDS OF CRAWFISH FREE FOR THE PUBLIC VENDOR EVENT.
THE SHERIFF'S DROPPING 5,000 EGGS OUT OF HIS HELICOPTER
SO IT'S, IT'S GOING TO BE A FUN DAY FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY.
UM, WE HAVE DOMINOES, SPADES, A BUNCH OF GAMES GOING ON.
PHONE PIT FOR KIDS, SO FREE FOR EVERYBODY.
AND TO THE, UM, THE TEAM OF ENGINEERS, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR A DETAILED, UH, REPORT.
IT WAS VERY DETAILED, UH, ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WAS THERE.
IT WAS EASY, EASY TO FOLLOW AND UNDERSTANDABLE.
BUT THANK YOU FOR THE WORK AND THE PRESENTATION.
UM, AND THEN FOR ME, I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU ALL TO COME OUT TO THE COUNCIL MEETING NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY, TO BE ON THE AGENDA FOR MY REAPPOINTMENT LAST TERM FOR ANOTHER, UM, FOUR YEARS.
SO IF YOU CAN COME OUT, UM, AT FOUR O'CLOCK, I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT.
AND THEN IF YOU CAN'T COME TO TALK TO ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY, UM, NOW
IT'S METRO COUNCIL@BLA.GOV OR LIKE MINE IS D HIRST.
UM, MOST OF THEM ARE FIRST INITIAL.LA, FIRST INITIAL LAST NAME@BLA.GOV FOR INDIVIDUAL ONES.
BUT YOU CAN CHECK LIKE COUNCIL PERSON HARRIS IS TP HARRIS, BUT MY VERY FEW.
BUT JUST REACH OUT TO 'EM AND JUST SAY, HEY, WE'VE ENJOYED THE LEADERSHIP, WE ENJOYED HOW SHE HELPED US NAVIGATE THROUGH THIS MILLAGE PROCESS AND, AND HAVE THE, THE LIBRARIES BACK.
AND WE WANT TO SEE HER CONTINUE NOT ONLY AS THE UM, A MEMBER BUT ALSO AS THE PRESIDENT TO MOVE US FORWARD.
SO, UH, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY.
UH, YOUR POWER IS, UH, IS VERY IMPORTANT.
I APOLOGIZE TO MY TOILET THAT SHE HAD TO CALL ME, BUT THANK GOD I WAS THAT HIGH SCHOOL, UH, WORKING WITH STUDENTS PREPARING FOR TESTING TOMORROW.
KEEP IN YOUR PRAYER WITH THIS TESTING.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER BUSINESS? YES.
I LOOK FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY YOU GETTING A UNANIMOUS RE-APPROVAL TO SERVE.
AND WE DO NEED YOUR LEADERSHIP AND I FORWARD SERVING FUTURE.
[01:50:02]
HEARING NONE.IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, THE MEETING WILL BE ADJOURNED.