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12/20/1996LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER December 20, 1996 Present: Wilbert Bacon Chair Thalia Kelsey Member Estelle Dunn Member William Raffaniello Member Pamela LeClair Member David Waddell Member Tom Leavy Member Judy Melges Member Christine Morris Member Vacant Seat Member David Berry Ex-Officio Dr. Arlita Hallam Library Director Brenda Moses Board Reporter Absent: Joanne Laurenti Member Marshall Bennett Member The meeting was called to order by Chair Wilbert Bacon at 9:00 a.m. in the Adler Room Main Library, 100 North Osceola Avenue, Clearwater, Florida. In order to provide continuity for research, the items will be listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 1. Welcome Chair Bacon introduced Julie Lewis as the Library Foundation’s new Special Projects Coordinator. Dr. David Berry was welcomed as a guest. It was noted Dr. Berry was a former Chair of this Board for 2 terms. He and his wife have been head of the Friends of the Library. They were very active in getting Friends of the Library started. 2. Approval of Minutes of November 15, 1996 Chair Bacon referred to page 2, paragraph 4, sentence 5 and requested it read “ . . . and the City Manager.” Member Raffaniello moved to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Library Director’s Report A. Slide Presentation of New Library Buildings The slide presentation was presented at the end of the meeting after other issues were discussed. B. Trip to Tallahassee - January 17, 1997 Dr. Hallam discussed the Library Advisory Board’s trip to Tallahassee to view the Leon County library’s facilities. This is a regular Board meeting and Susan Hackett will take minutes. For those people who cannot attend, it will count as an absence. Dr. Hallam noted there are no “excused absences”. Departure will be at 7:00 a.m. from the Main Library, 100 Osceola Avenue, and a stop will be made at the Countryside Mall. A bus has been rented and videos of other libraries will be shown on the bus. Dr. Hallam will provide members with a detailed schedule. Foundation members, Friends of the Library, and Board members and spouses are welcome. Members are to notify Susan Hackett regarding their attendance. C. Building Program Revision The 1993 Building Program is being revised. David Hennington will be in Clearwater January 22, 1997 through January 25, 1997. Anyone interested in meeting with him or sitting in on meetings is welcome. Dr. Hallam referred to handouts and reviewed projects for Penny for Pinellas. Projects include construction of a 90,000 square foot main library costing $12 million. Two locations being considered are 1) adjacent to the Harborview Center; and 2) the property at Missouri Avenue and Cleveland Street. One of the suggestions derived from the focus groups was that people want the library to have large meeting rooms and an auditorium that seats 300 to 500 people. There is $1.5 million in Penny for Pinellas for the East Library Branch expansion. Discussions have taken place with St. Petersburg Junior College regarding building a joint-use library on the front of their library, facing Drew Street. The college would provide the land, building maintenance, security and utilities, and the City would provide the public library addition and staff the facility. This arrangement would offer greatly expanded library hours, joint use of meeting rooms and computer labs, as well as various other enhancements. The Martin Luther King Center building can be used for the North Greenwood Library if the Center is moved to a new location. The preferred location is North Greenwood and Palmetto. It was noted this project is a long range project which may not take place until 2010. Another possibility is a joint-use facility with the police substation. Renovation of the Memorial Civic Center at $7.3 million is included in the Penny for Pinellas. This may be the first project undertaken. There has been interest in taking the Memorial Causeway to the water and removing the buildings. The Memorial Civic Center would be relocated, which would allow for construction of a 6,000 square foot Beach Branch Library. A parking garage and relocation of the Tourism office and Welcome Center is being considered. The $7.3 million is for construction of the building and does not include construction of the road. D. Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire Dr. Hallam reviewed the results of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire survey. Annually City employees are asked various questions regarding job satisfaction. Most scores were in the category 4 “satisfied” range, and the lowest scores were in the area of opportunities for advancement. The highest score was in the social services category. A handout from the Cooperative was reviewed. It is a set of statistics annually comparing the Clearwater Library with other libraries. 4. Reports: Foundation, Friends, Cooperative Mr. Shirley Hunt gave a report on the Foundation. The Cognoscenti Auction is February 17, 1997. Three months ago, a grant application was made to the Doyle Foundation for computers and laser printers for each of the Clearwater libraries. The Library Foundation has received a check for $25,900 to pay for the equipment. Dr. Hallam noted the Tampa Tribune printed “See What All the Noise is About” bookmarks on the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative. The bookmark lists library locations and telephone numbers throughout the county and has been distributed to Pinellas County schools. It was noted PSTA bus billboards are featuring local celebrities promoting libraries. Chair Bacon noted he attended a special Cooperative meeting regarding the East Lake issue. The people of East Lake are insisting on a full service library that is not feasible at this time with current funding. The high school principal is opposed to the proposed location. It was noted at 3:00 p.m. when the library is to open, the band starts practice and continues for approximately 1 to 2 hours. This situation means the library is only effectively open with quiet time from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A separate location is preferable, and various issues must be addressed before a decision can be made. 5. Board Comments Member Waddell read a letter he wrote to the City Manager in response to the Library Advisory Board meeting of October 18, 1996. He also referred to a recent meeting which took place with the City Manager and Dr. Hallam. Dr. Hallam explained the meeting with Member Waddell was prompted due to reports from Library staff regarding inappropriate actions he had taken as a board member. Dr. Hallam noted that her file notes and the meeting with Betty Deptula had not been made public, and by reading his letter to this Board, Member Waddell made the material in the letter public information. Member Waddell continued to read his letter, which included references to various incidents he felt needed explanation. It was noted that one of the duties of a Library Advisory Board member is to support the Library Director. Several members expressed their dismay at Mr. Waddell’s consistent attempts to waste this Board’s time discussing the same issues that have already been voted upon and accepted by the Board. It was noted Member Waddell attended the Board meeting last spring when censorship and the selection policy was discussed. All members were present, including Member Waddell. Chair Bacon stated as long as he is chairman of this Board no more time will be given to Mr. Waddell to discuss censorship and selection policy issues. Several members agreed and expressed their desire to go forward with other issues concerning this Board. A remark was made that times have changed. Many museums display various forms of artwork, not necessarily because of the artistic merit, but to show what is being done today. The Clearwater Library buys materials that the community collectively wants to view, not just what one person feels is acceptable. The Clearwater Library System serves the entire Clearwater community, and within this community there are many different villages. One village may not share the same philosophies as another village. As a consequence, to put restrictions on the library which might benefit some, and not others is not the responsibility of the library. 6. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:21 a.m. to view a slide presentation given by Dr. Hallam.