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Home My WebLink About1999-08-03 Library Commission Summary KENAI LIBRARY COMMISSION KENAI COMMUNITY LIBRARY ACTMTY ROOM AUGUST 3, 1999 ~ 7:30 P.M. AGENDA ITEM 1' CALL TO ORDER/k ROLL CALL ITEM 2: AGENDA APPROVAL ITEM 3: APPROVAL OF MINUTES - June 1, 1999 ITEM 4: PERSONS SCHEDULED TO BE HEARD a, Corey HaH- Summer Reading Pro~ram ITEM 5' REPORTS a, Director Friends of the Library ITEM 6' OLD BUSINESS ITEM 7: NEW BUSINESS a, Discussion- Direction of the Library ITEM 8: COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS/~UF~TIONS ITEM 9: INFORMATION a. Kenai City Council Action Agendas of July 7 and 21, 1999. Library Commission Attendance Record ITEM 10: ADJOURNMENT KENAI LIBRARY COMMISSION KENAI COMMUNITY LIBRARY ACTIVITY ROOM AUGUST 3, 1999 ~ 7:30 P.M. CHAIRMAN BOB PETERS, PRESIDING ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER/k ROLL CALL Chairman Peters called the meeting to order at approximately 7'36 p.m. in the activity room of the Kenai Community Library. Roll was called as follows' Present: Absent: Peters, Heus, Brown, Forbes, and Rodes O'Reilly, Brenckle, Student Representative Haring Staff Present: City Clerk Carol Freas, Librarian Jankowska ITEM 2: AGENDA APPROVAL MOTION: Commission Member Forbes MOVED for approval of the agenda as presented and Commissioner Brown SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. ITEM 3' APPROVAL OF MINUTES - June 1, 1999 Corrections requested in the June 1, 1999 meeting minutes were' Page 3, second paragraph: "...doubted voters would [NOT] support .... Page 5, Item (b): Change "Stevens" to "Murkowski" MOTION: Commissioner Forbes MOVED for approval of the minutes as corrected and Commissioner Brown SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. ITEM 4: PERSONS SCHEDULED TO BE HEARD a. Corey Hall- Summer Reading Program Corey reported the number of particiPants who signed up were down, but the weekly numbers of participants were up. Author David Shwartz attended at a reduced fee. Although the goal of one million pages to be read was not reached, the children did read 69,000 pages. A party was held at the park and the theme was recycling. The children enjoyed the refreshments which were "recycled" cake and juice. Corey reviewed proposed upcoming library programs which may include a Young Writers' Night (monthly) and family reading night (monthly). Corey also noted she had been requested to make a presentation at the .Alaska Literacy Conference in October and will discuss preparing a family night program that can be done in a school or public library setting. A general discussion followed where it was noted ages of the children who participated in the summer reading program ranged from three to twelve. Corey explained getting upper middle school and high school-aged students to participate was difficult. Suggestions were a monthly teen night, movies-are-literature night, or a film festival. Commissioners suggested contacting the Youth Court organization for possible participation (mOck trial, etc.). Peters noted the Seattle Library closes its doors at 8:00 p.m. monthly and holds a teen night, which might include bands, movies, mystery night, etc. Corey also reported it has been difficult to get the local teachers involved with the library. A tea for the school librarians is being planned. It was also reported the Southcentral AKLA was rejuvenating and would be meeting every other month. ITEM 5: REPORTS 5-a. Director Lending Policy -- Director Jankowska reported the public was very pleased with the new lending policy. Telephone renewals are down and has freed the staff to do other tasks. Lots of tourists had been using the intemet during the summer. The public enjoyed the Jim Evenson exhibit, as well as the Kenai exhibition. Grant Acquisition- Jankowska reported a grant of $7,000 had been received from the Federal Communications Commission Telecommunication Act of 1996, also known as the Interact Act. She noted, Librarian DeForest had applied for the grant and the funds may be used for buying extra computers for children to use at the library. She explained, pending legislation may require filtering software installed for children. Since filters are not wanted on the regular internet stations, separate computers will be needed for under-aged children or children at the library without a parent or guardian. Archiving Newspapers - Jankowska reported the newspaper project was doing well, but they were running out of storage space. Volunteer Troy Castimore was collating and boxing the newspapers. She noted, most libraries microfilm their newspapers and this collection is the only one in paper. LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 3, 1999 PAGE 2 Collection Downsizing- Jankowska reported they were beginning to weed the collection to replace older materials, especially in the reference area (medical and sciences). They are being careful and conservative, however, checking ten resources to make sure they were not eliminating a reference of laSting value. 5-b. Friends of the Library Newsletter/Reception -- Commissioner Heus distributed the Friends newsletter to those present and reviewed it with the Commission. She noted new officers had been elected and they scheduled a welcome reception for Jankowska for September 16 from 4'00-7:00 p.m. A notice will be advertised in the newspaper and refreshments will be served. Banner/Donation -- Heus also noted the new Library banner was carried in the Fourth of July Parade. Also the Board decided to transfer some additional funds to the building fund, bringing that balance to $51,000. Fall Raffle - Whether to hold the annual fall raffle was being debated. There was an amount of volunteer burnout and it was uncertain whether there would be enough participation. Meeting Night Change - The Friends changed their meeting night to the third Monday of the month instead of the first Monday. Fund Raising- Although it is understood the proposed building addition was on the back burner for awhile, the membership didn't want the effort to disappear. 'dankowska was asked if the "amnesty days" for library books was successful. Jankowska answered, 12 books were recovered, however they had hoped for more participation. Storage Van - Heus reported the Friends had a long discussion regarding the need for storage space for books being set aside for the next book sale, etc. The group was investigating the placement of a storage building, container van, or mobile home on the library grounds. The Commission discussed the possibility of detached storage and Peters stated he would contact an individual who had a container van for sale. It was noted there were restrictions on mobile homes in the city and the Building Official would need to be contacted for advice, requirements, etc. It was noted the storage would be temporary, but would require heat and insulation to keep its contents dry. ITEM 6: OLD BUSINESS- None. LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 3, 1999 PAGE 3 ITEM 7: NEW BUSINESS 7-Re Discussion- Direction of the Library A general discussion followed in which the Commission and Jankowska talked about the proposed expansion, Y2K compliance, new cataloging requirements, processing, and basic concerns. Jankowska explained she would prefer waiting on an expansion until she is more knowledgeable of job, the community, current library programs, city processes, and a better library presence on the website. She added, the catalog upgrading and Y2K compliance concerns, as well as upgrading the reference section have kept her very busy. She noted, she was also developing a depository development policy for the library. Jankowska stated she was concerned the Commission and community may be disappointed in her. Jankowska added, she would prefer designing an expansion from what programs are or will be offered, spatial needs of programs offered, and added, she believed fund raising would be more successful with better definition of what is needed. Jankowska explained she had some concerns with the cataloging software upgrade. She also noted, the library was very understaffed if new programs are added. It was noted the staffing concerns were not new and volunteer involvement had declined. The Commission was urged to develop ideas of how to acquire more volunteers. ITEM 8' COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS/QUESTIONS Forbes - Stated she liked having the opportunity to discuss with Jankowska her ideas for the development of the library. Brown- Stated she was enjoying working with Jankowska, as she did with DeForest. Heus - Stated she supported the comments of the other members and added, from her perspective, Jankowska had done a great deal at the library since her hire. She added, she didn't think Jankowska was moving too slowly or was disappointing the people. Rodes- Stated she enjoyed the discussion and added, she thought Jankowska's idea of designing an expansion for the programs offered a good idea. Peters- Stated he didn't think Jankowska was disappointing anyone and added, he was glad she was in Kenai. ITEM ae INFORMATION Kenai City Council Action Agendas of July 7 and 21, 1999. Library Commission Attendance Record LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 3, 1999 PAGE 4 ITEM 10: ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Commissioner Brown MOVED for adjournment and Commissioner Heus SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30 p.m. Minutes transcribed and prepared by: Carol L. Freas, City Clerk LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 3, 1999 PAGE 5