2019-09-10 Library Board MinutesA. CALL TO ORDER
MINUTES
LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MEETING
EI Segundo Public Library
Rose Garden Room
111 West Mariposa Avenue
EI Segundo, CA 90245
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Board President Sara Whelan called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
B. ROLL CALL
Board Members Present:
David Jonta, Kristie Sherrill, and Sara Whelan
Board Members Absent:
Janice Merva and Carol Ericson
City Staff:
Melissa McCollum, Library Director, and Jessie LeMay, Executive Assistant
Others:
Brenda Ross, Friends of the Library President; Joanne Gen, EI Segundo School District
Librarian; and Natalie Strong, Arts and Culture Advisory Committee Member
C. PRESENTATIONS — None
D. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
Natalie announced that the "Room of Requirement' has been set up for its third art installation,
entitled Seven -word Stories. The idea behind the theme is to tell something about yourself in
seven words. Library guests, children and adults alike have started writing their stories and they
now populate the walls. Natalie invited anyone interested to write their story on the paper
provided at the meeting.
E. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Library Board Meeting of July 9, 2019:
MOTIONED by David and SECONDED by Kristie to approve the minutes. MOTION
CARRIED 3-0.
F. SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS — None
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G. NEW BUSINESS
1. Library Park Proiect
Melissa shared an update about a proposed project for Library Park in collaboration with the
Recreation and Parks Department. There has been a lot of interest in activating Library
Park recently, including interest from Council Member Carol Pirztuk, Melissa said. A
$120,000 allocation from the fiscal year 2019-2020 budget for Library Park enhancements
will be considered by the City Council at their meeting on Tuesday, September 17. If
approved, the funds will be used for (1) adding outdoor seating outside of the children's
section, (2) creating a sensory garden, (3) adding natural play elements, and (4) other
exterior improvements as needed.
The Library also intends to (1) provide access to/from the park through the Children's Library
exit doors at scheduled times, and (2) install a self -checkout machine on the lower level of
the library to support the plan.
In regards to the outdoor design, Melissa asked for the Board's input. She presented
different design options for benches, chairs and tables selected for the concrete area
outside of the Children's Library, including material components and color selections. She
informed the Board that there is a plan to bring in professional designers if the full project
moves forward.
Melissa explained that a sensory garden may include kid -friendly structures in animal forms.
A small stage for concerts or other performances is being considered as well. She added
that if there are extra funds, it would be a good idea to replace the damaged benches and
improve the landscaping in front of the library.
After discussions, the Board unanimously selected gray color for the benches with a mixture
of bright colors like, orange, for the planters. Board members Kristie and Sara suggested
reaching out to the community for a "donate -a -brick" campaign to obtain additional funds. A
personalized brick would be equivalent to a certain level of donation.
2. faaaes) Partnershin
Melissa discussed plans for the Library to partner with {pages): a bookstore in Manhattan
Beach. She reported that there are two upcoming events at the EI Segundo Performing Arts
Center which feature well-known authors, Deepak Chopra on October 14 and Dav Pilkey on
October 27. Chopra is the author of Meta Human: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential and
Pilkey is a best-selling author and illustrator of the popular Dog Man and Captain
Underpants book series for children. Ticket prices are $25 for the Pilkey event and $45 for
Chopra's program.
Melissa said a concern was heard from the community about the ticket prices being too
high. Melissa stated that the $25 admission ticket includes a hard -copy signed book, a photo
opportunity, and other activities for the children. The $45 ticket includes a hardcover copy of
the book as well. Melissa informed the Board that the city is co -sponsoring these events but
there are no financial responsibilities attached. She explained that the city benefits from this
partnership through free publicity, free tickets to the events for library patrons (awarded via
opportunity drawings), and access to the authors. (pages) is also interested in working with
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the EI Segundo Unified School District to bring authors free of charge to school libraries and
classrooms, Melissa said. A {pages} representative and Melissa will meet with the school
district in October to discuss partnership opportunities.
Melissa asked the Board for support to continue to partner with (pages} for future
programs/events. MOTIONED by Kristie and SECONDED by Sara, the Board approved a
motion to support the Library's future partnership with them. MOTION CARRIED 3-0.
3. Master Fee Schedule
Melissa reported that the City Council will consider some changes to the city's master fee
schedule for fiscal year 2019-2020 at the Council meeting on Tuesday, September 17. She
discussed the proposed changes for the library, including the elimination of overdue fees for
children and teen materials as well as the current fee for placing holds. If approved, the
twenty -five -cents -a -day overdue fine will be eliminated but there will still be a lost fee if the
book is not returned within 30 days after the due date. If the lost fee is not paid, the child's
card will be blocked. EI Segundo District School Superintendent Melissa Moore was
informed about the possible changes. Melissa clarified that overdue fees for adult materials
will not be impacted at this time.
A suggestion regarding reduction of the twenty -cent cost of print copies since other libraries
only charge fifteen cents was made. Melissa said that she will discuss it with the fee
consultant. The recommendation could be presented next year when a revised fee schedule
is submitted by the Finance Department for City Council consideration again.
H. UNFINISHED BUSINESS — None
I. REPORTS — LIBRARY DIRECTOR (No Board Action Required)
1. Discussion of Library Proarams. Services, Budget. Material Collections. Facility
Maintenance, Personnel Chances, and Other Items Related to the Administration of
the EI Seaundo Public Library.
Melissa reported on the following updates
Board members Janice Marva and Carol Ericson were reappointed. Their terms end on
June 30, 2022.
Melissa handed out the library department profile, which highlights accomplishments of the
past fiscal year and lists next year's goals. She commented that the library is on the right
track and encouraged everyone to read the profile when they have a chance. In addition,
she reported on the following matters:
Summer Reading Program Statistics — Seven hundred children, teens, and adults
participated in the program. A plan to offer a staff reading version next year where city
departments will compete with each other has been proposed.
Childrens Book Drive and Read to Dogs Program — The Library partnered with the
Education Foundation (ED!) for a children's book drive in August. Over 300 books were
collected and delivered to a public elementary school in Lawndale. The Read to Dogs
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Program also went very well. Plans are to hold another program a week or two before Dav
Pilkey's event in October.
Songwriting/Art Walk Program in August — Library Assistant Roz Templin's songwriting
program, which was a part of the art walk, was a successful event. Search for EI Segundo
TV coverage of the program at httos://voutube.com/watch?v=TBcA3tbsJIQ to find out more
about the artists/songwriters and their music.
Teen Zone Expansion — Librarian Kristina Kora-Beckman has been working on improving
the teen zone area. With Chevron's grant last year, the teen zone areas outside and inside
the Rose Garden meeting room were furnished with new furniture. Extra monies were spent
for the teen book collection, including purchasing additional graphic novels and fiction.
Melissa reported on the following upcoming events:
Concert Series — The concert schedule can be found on the shared flyer.
Active Aging Week — In partnership with various organizations, the Active Aging Week
celebration will be held from October 1 to October 7. The week-long event includes: a
historic walking tour (to be led by the History Committee), a transportation forum about riding
the Metro, Dial -a -Ride and Pacific Westside Villages programs to be held in the library, a
community bike ride and a water aerobics class at Wiseburn Aquatics Center (both will be
led by Carol Hahn, a wellness and fitness instructor). Other events can be found on the
shared flyer.
Save the date — The annual Author Fair will be held on Saturday, November 2, from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. In the works are an author panel for young adults, an audiobook production
and narration panel, and a romance book panel with Board member Carol Ericson and other
authors. A fourth panel (to be determined), children's activities, music performances, and
food tastings are being planned as well.
Storytime resumes in October, including a new Baby Storytime to be held on Wednesday
mornings. Kristen Morel[, youth librarian, leads the new program.
Website redesign update — The target date for completion is January 2020. Melissa
discussed the work involved — design, features, contents, and functionality. She shared an
onscreen draft preview of the website front page. Additional previews, if available, will be
presented at the next board meeting.
J. REPORTS – SCHOOL DISTRICT (No Board Action Required)
1. Report on the School Libraries. Includina those at EI Seaundo Hiah School, Center
Street Elementary School. Richmond Street Elementary School. and the Middle
School.
a. Library Director's Report
Melissa reported on the following:
A total of 70,000 students and teachers visited the school libraries last year as part of
2,068 school library visits.
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Recruitment for the vacant Library Assistant position is ongoing.
Back to school meeting with school library staff: Melissa commented that she was
impressed with ideas the staff offered for programs, library displays and book collection.
School library representative Joanne Gen echoed the same impression.
Center Street School library staff submitted a "wish list" of juvenile fiction for their
collection development project.
b. School District Librarian's Report
Joanne reported as follows:
The new school year has begun and the district hired several new personnel (a principal,
an assistant principal, teachers, and staff.) Nicole Duquette is the new principal at the
Middle School and Carie Oulashian is the new Assistant Principal at Richmond Street
School. The elementary schools each have fixed schedules for class visits.
A fence will be constructed in the front and back of the Middle School. A new gym
proposal at the same school is being presented to the school board. Discussions are
being held regarding the remodel of the High School library.
K. REPORTS — PRESIDENT, FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY (No Board Action Required)
1. Resort on Book Sales. Donations. Historical Committee Activities. Special Events.
and Other Matters Related to Friends of the Library Business.
a. President's Report
Friends of the Library President Brenda Ross gave an update on their book sales. They
contacted Better World Books which will sell the books on their behalf and remit the
money to them. Unsold books will be sent to Discover Books which buys books by the
pound and prefers to have a shipment of 25 boxes at a time. The Friends plan to ship
them every six months. In order to boost book sales, they plan to continue selling DVDs
and CDs at the Farmers' Market in the next couple of months, and may have to reduce
the price of the books to approximate what other libraries charge, Brenda said. She
reported that book sales have declined and are averaging $900 a month.
Brenda announced that the Friends are unable to have a booth at the Richmond Street
Fair in October since there are not enough people able to staff it.
b. History Committee Reuort
As previously reported, the History Committee will lead the Heritage Walk on October 1
as part of the Active Aging Week events.
L. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS — None
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M.ADJOURNMENT
1. Motion to adiourn
The meeting was adjourned at 7:56 p.m. The next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on
Tuesday, November 12, in the Rose Garden Room.
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