Printable Version: Library Board Meeting Minutes | January 15, 2009

TENTATIVE AGENDA
FOR REGULAR MEETING OF THE
EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL
MAIN LIBRARY AUDITORIUM
7711 GOODWOOD BOULEVARD
BATON ROUGE, LA 70806
JANUARY 15, 2009
4:00 P.M.

I. ROLL CALL

II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 18, 2008

III. REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR

A. FINANCIAL REPORT

B. SYSTEM REPORT

C. OTHER REPORTS

IV. OLD BUSINESS

A. REPORT ON CONSTRUCTION OF NEW MAIN LIBRARY – MR. STEVE JACKSON, AND MR. KEN TIPTON

B. REPORT ON ROUZAN DEVELOPMENT – MR. TOMMY SPINOSA - JTS REALTY SERVICES, LLC

C. UPDATE ON JANUARY STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP – MR. DAVID FARRAR

V. NEW BUSINESS

A. ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL

B. SELF-STUDY – LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL

C. BATON ROUGE ROOM – RIVER CITY BRANCH LIBRARY – MS. MELISSA EASTIN

VI. COMMENTS BY THE LIBRARY BOARD OF CONTROL

ALL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Minutes of the Meeting of the
East Baton Rouge Parish Library Board of Control
January 15, 2009

The regular monthly meeting of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Board of Control was held in the Main Library Auditorium on Thursday, January 15, 2009. Mr. Dan Reed, President of the Board, called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. Members of the Board present were Mrs. Katherine Auer, Mr. Stanford O. Bardwell, Jr., Mr. Donald Browning, Mr. Jamie Griffin and Mrs. Elizabeth Tomlinson. Also in attendance were Mr. David Farrar, Library Director; Mrs. Mary Stein, Assistant Library Director of Administration; Mrs. Patricia Husband, Assistant Library Director of Branch Services; Mrs. Brenda Lovett, Library Business Manager; Mrs. Rhonda Pinsonat, Assistant Library Business Manager and Ms. Liz Zozulin, Executive Assistant to the Library Director. Also present were Ms. Melissa Eastin, Library Archivist; Ms. Nikki Essix of the Parish Attorney’s Office; Mr. Steve Jackson, architect with Cockfield Jackson Architects; Mr. Grant Conway with JTS Realty Services; Mr. Scott Dyer, reporter with The Advocate, two Library staff members and seven members of the community. Board member, Ms. Tanya Freeman was absent from the meeting.

The minutes of the regular meeting of the Library Board on December 18, 2008 was unanimously approved on a motion by Mr. Griffin, and seconded by Mrs. Auer with three corrections noted.

Reports by the Director

Mr. Farrar announced that the Library had been audited this week by a national accounting firm from New York for the Universal Services Administrative Company’s (USAC) Internal Audit Division. This random audit was ordered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) because the Library receives reimbursement for about 80 percent of its communications expenses through federal Universal Services Funds (USF) known as E-rate. Mr. Farrar was pleased to report that in his meeting with the auditor today he was told that there were no issues that would result in a finding, and that this was by far the smoothest engagement the auditor had ever done. The auditor complimented Mrs. Lovett and her staff for their preparation and organization. Mr. Farrar congratulated and thanked Mrs. Lovett for her excellent work during this audit.

Mr. Farrar asked Mrs. Lovett to present the financial reports. Mrs. Lovett referred to the Expenditure and Encumbrance statement for the period ending, December 31, 2008, and the Cash Collections report as of January 6, 2009 with taxes collected in the amount of $17,843,512.87 and total cash received on property taxes and interest in the amount of $17,848,301.76 for the year 2009. Mrs. Lovett added that the Library has collected about half of the property taxes for 2009 with a good cash balance for construction.

Mr. Bardwell asked if some of the pages in the monthly financial statement could be omitted. Mrs. Lovett responded that the financial report can be streamlined because some of the information is redundant. Mr. Reed asked that the first page of the report be retained. Mr. Farrar added that he wants to continue seeing a comparison of last year’s actual figures with the budgeted amount for the current year. It was agreed that the two-month comparative statement would be omitted.

Mr. Bardwell questioned the legality of being assessed for a portion of the retirement costs for judges. Mr. Reed said that it is required by State law because we collect taxes from the public. Mr. Bardwell made a motion requesting Ms. Essix to give an opinion on the constitutional authority regarding the assessment of the Library for retirement costs under Section 26B. Mr. Griffin seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

Mr. Farrar asked Mrs. Stein to review the system reports which included statistics for December 2008 for Circulation; Gate Count for 2008 with a comparison of 2007 gate count figures; Reference Questions for October, November and December 2008; and Database Usage for December 2008. Mrs. Stein distributed a Library Output Measures Report for 2008 which compared the year 2008 with 2007. Mrs. Stein noted that the statistics are continuing to reflect increased usage of the Library’s resources which were down during the recent hurricanes. The East Baton Rouge Parish Library leads the state in database usage.

Mrs. Stein also reported that the Library is increasing its audiovisual collection, and is removing materials from the collection based on the Library’s weeding policy and guidelines. She said that the Summer Reading and the Big Read Programs are doing well. She handed out a discussion booklet for this spring’s Big Read book, A Lesson before Dying by Ernest Gaines. She added that the kick-off gala for this program will occur at the Baton Rouge Community College on February 12th at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Gaines will be in attendance to answer questions about the book. Then the movie based on the book will be viewed with a discussion following the movie. Programs about the themes in Mr. Gaines’ book will be held through April and will include other libraries in the surrounding parishes. Approximately 5,000 books will be available for this community reading event.

Mr. Farrar asked Mrs. Husband to report on maintenance activities at the branch libraries. Mrs. Husband said that they have scheduled pressure washing of the Jones Creek Regional Branch Library in the next couple of weeks.

Mr. Farrar said he was happy to announce that the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities has chosen the East Baton Rouge Parish Library for an award recognizing our Library for the “best average session attendance for a library system serving a parish”. This award is based on statistics collected from our Readings in Literature and Culture (RELIC) programs that focus on adult library reading. Mr. Farrar said that this award reflects on the hard work done over the last year by Mrs. Stein, Mrs. Husband and Mrs. Abraham, Division Head of Adult Services and Circulation.

In regard to the amended contract for the design of the new Main Library in the Park by the Library Design Collaborative, Mr. Farrar reported that the supplemental agreement was presented to the Metropolitan Council by the City-Parish Department of Public Works at its meeting yesterday. The Council voted to authorize Mayor Holden to execute the supplemental agreement.

Mr. Farrar updated the Library Board regarding the creation of the building program for the Fairwood Branch Library. He said that they held a telephone conference call this afternoon with Ms. Denelle Wrightson, architect with PSA Dewberry, who has written the building program. Revisions to the building program were discussed with Ms. Wrightson. Upon completion of the revisions, the building program will be submitted to the City-Parish Department of Public Works in order for them to produce a Request for Proposals for the design of the library building.

Mr. Farrar concluded his remarks by saying that Mrs. Stein has contacted Southeast Recycling regarding the possibility of collecting the Library’s various recyclables in one receptacle. The ability to recycle in one receptacle would save space on the new Main Library grounds.

Old Business

Report on Construction of New Main Library-Mr. Steve Jackson, Cockfield Jackson Architects

Mr. Steve Jackson, architect with Cockfield Jackson Architects updated the Library Board on the design work to build a new Main Library in the Park. The Library Design Collaborative is currently working on the program review. The design of the building is approximately 80% complete. The architects plan to make a lengthy presentation to the Library Board on February 19, 2009. The presentation will include a display of floor plans, section cuts and building models. The models will include the BREC Park. Mr. Jackson said he hopes that Mr. Bill Palmer, Superintendent of BREC, will be present for this Board meeting.

At this meeting they will also provide the projected costs; and if the costs are higher than was initially projected, they will present options for revisions of the design. They believe a silver LEED certification is possible and they will provide information on that process. Mr. Jackson added that they plan to show milestones with dates on a calendar/timeline.

Mr. Jackson said that after this presentation, they will then study the possibility of a build-out of the third floor. This will be the appropriate time to look at the build-out option as they will then know what the projected costs of construction will be.

Mr. Jackson told the Library Board that the cybercafé will be constructed by BREC, and that The Library Design Collaborative is designing the café for BREC.

Report on Rouzan Development-Mr. Grant Conway, JTS Realty Services, LLC

Mr. Reed asked Mr. Grant Conway of JTS Realty Services to report on the construction of a branch library in the Rouzan development. Mr. Conway said that currently they are working on a survey of the site, a timeline and schedule, the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CCR) and a parking study.

Update on January Strategic Planning Workshop – Mr. David Farrar

Mr. Farrar said that the strategic planning workshop for the Library Board will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 P.M. at the State Library of Louisiana. The meeting will be open to the public. Mr. Farrar asked the Board members to submit agenda items to him.

New Business

Election of Officers for the Library Board of Control

Mr. Reed opened the floor for the nomination of officers for the Library Board of Control for 2009. Mr. Bardwell nominated Mr. Reed for President, Mrs. Auer for Vice President and Mr. Griffin for Treasurer. Mr. Browning seconded the nominations and then made a motion to close the nominations. Mrs. Tomlinson seconded the motion to close the nominations. Mr. Reed, Mrs. Auer and Mr. Griffin were unanimously elected as officers of the Library Board for 2009.

Self-Study – Library Board of Control

Mr. Farrar told the Board members that they have a copy of the Board self study questionnaire in front of them. He asked that they complete these at their earliest convenience and return them to Mrs. Stein. It was agreed that if the questionnaires are returned prior to the strategic planning session, a tabulation of the results could be made available at the planning session.

Baton Rouge Room – River Center Branch Library – Ms. Melissa Eastin

In order to inform Board members and the public of the various divisions in the Library and their functions, Mr. Farrar said that they are featuring one division or department at each Board meeting. This month Ms. Melissa Eastin, Archivist of the Baton Rouge Room at the River Center Branch Library was asked to summarize her work and describe the collections in the Baton Rouge Room.

Ms. Eastin said she is originally from New Orleans. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English literature and a Master’s degree in Library Science. She is a certified archivist and worked at the State Library prior to beginning her work at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library in June.

Ms. Eastin said that the Baton Rouge Room contains a variety of items such as maps including hand drawn surveys from the middle of the 19th century; blue prints of industrial and residential properties; photographs, slides and films; municipal documents from the late 19th century; papers from former Mayor Woody Dumas; oral history collections and yearbooks. Ms. Eastin said that some of her accomplishments thus far are a complete inventory of the collection in the Baton Rouge Room, an outline of procedures for disaster preparedness; the preservation of rare and fragile items; and the submission of two grants for preservation. Ms. Eastin said she is planning a jazz and blues oral history project; a map and photograph digitization project and the construction of a municipal documents retention schedule. Her goal is to raise the profile of the Baton Rouge Room and encourage citizens to donate items to the collection.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:07 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mrs. Auer.

_______________________                   ________________________
Dan Reed, President                              David Farrar, Library Director

Printable Version: Library Board Meeting Minutes | January 15, 2009

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