Minutes of Regular Meeting

April 15, 2003

Call to Order

The regular meeting of the Library Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Board President, Hope Furth. In attendance were Trustees Janet Elmiger, Campbell Geeslin, Timothy James, Lynn Oliva, Don Simmons, Library Director Sandra Miranda, Assistant Library Director Patricia Thorsen, and Manager of Children’s Services, Rosemary Rasmussen. Absent with notice were Trustees Connors, Martinez, Smith, and Head of Internal Operations, Kurt Hadeler. Mrs. Furth welcomed Mr. James to the Board.

Minutes of Regular Meeting of the Library Board of Trustees

The minutes of the regular meeting of March 19, 2003 were approved on a MOTION by Trustee Simmons, seconded by Trustee Elmiger.

City Revenue & Expenditure Budget Reports

The Board reviewed City Revenue & Expenditure Budget Reports for month ending 3/31/03.

Bills 2002/03 Budget: #18 & #19

The payment of bill vouchers #18 and #19 were approved on a MOTION by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee Simmons.

Report of Library Administration

The Board reviewed written administration reports, and Library Director Miranda mentioned:

- the November 2003 Museum Gallery photography exhibition will focus on Westchester’s Arab-American residents, as per The Journal News article of 2/7/03.

- the general contracting portion of the capital project to renovate the 3^rd floor is out to bid again. If the project goes to the Common Council for funding approval in July, hopefully work would start by September.

- the Board should carefully review and be aware of the direct access issues raised in summary she provided.

Assistant Library Director Patricia Thorsen shared the Historical Society newsletter with the Board, and was pleased to note it included a picture of the Library’s George Washington exhibit. Library Director Miranda encouraged the Board to attend the Historical Society’s annual dinner on May 8, 2003 honoring Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Lee, Jr. of Lee’s Funeral Home and Mr. & Mrs. Peter Herraro, Jr. of Sam’s of Gedney Way.

Trustee Reports and Business

WLS

Trustee Furth, WLS liaison, reported dollars are extremely tight, and WLS has been reluctant to cut services. However, she reported that WLS has cut staff through early retirements, and possible relocation of WLS still an open item. Library Director Miranda noted that due to shrinking state and county dollars, WLS is desperately seeking to raise funds and considering forming a tax district. Mrs. Miranda noted that if this were done, there would be no benefit to White Plains taxpayers unless a proportionate share were returned to the WPPL.

Friends

Trustee Elmiger reported that at their March meeting the Friends approved a scholarship for Tim Baird to attend the ALA annual conference; their April meeting was cancelled. Trustee Elmiger reminded the Board that the Friends annual meeting will be May 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Foundation

Mrs. Miranda referred the Board to the Foundation progress report published in the recent Library newsletter; the next Board of Directors meeting will be April 23 at 4:00 p.m.

Advocacy

Mrs. Miranda reported she attended the PLDA rally held on April 14^th for better state funding. She encouraged the Board to contact legislators in support of restoration of library funding cut from the Governor’s proposed budget.

Community Outreach

Trustee Oliva will discuss possibilities for volunteer recognition with Assistant Director Thorsen.

Board Vacancies

Library Director Miranda reported that Trustee Smith had tendered her formal resignation. It is anticipated appointment of new trustees to replace Trustees Smith and Geeslin will take place soon.

Long Range Plan Committee

Library Director Miranda reported the first meeting is scheduled with Trustees Smith and Elmiger for May 2 at 9:00 a.m.; Trustee Furth noted she would be unable to attend.

Other - Library Board Meeting Dates

Trustee Furth noted that new Trustee Timothy James has an ongoing conflict with regular board meeting day, the 3^rd Wednesday of the month. Trustee Furth suggested that since two more members are yet to be appointed, that the board at this time only choose alternate meeting dates for the months of May and June with a regular scheduled meeting day to be decided upon in the near future. Since three Board members were not in attendance, Library Director Miranda agreed to e-mail the Board with several choices, collect responses, and advise the Board of the outcome.

Proposed Budget FY 03-04 & Budget Review Calendar

The Board received the Budget Review Calendar and Library Fund portions of the City of White Plains Proposed Budget FY 03-04. Mrs. Miranda asked the Board to carefully review these documents and contact her at any time with questions. Library Director Miranda reported that she met with staff the day before on anticipated effects of the new budget. Trustee Simmons asked if cuts and closings were happening in other places, and Mrs. Miranda responded that they were happening all over the country in response to adverse economic conditions. She noted that of all the things the Library could do to operate successfully with less staff, WPPL’s proposed closing on Thursday evenings would affect the smallest number of services and patrons.

Personnel: Report on Executive Session

On a MOTION by Trustee Elmiger, seconded by Trustee Geeslin, the Board conveyed its evaluation of the Library Director and directed that it be placed in her personnel file.

Security Options & Recommendations

Library Director Miranda shared recommendations from the Public Safety Department regarding improved security. She stated that video surveillance, one of the recommendations, was already included in specifications for the upcoming renovations, but months away from installation. She noted that while this surveillance equipment would be an excellent deterrent, it would not make it less possible to get out of the building with stolen materials. She reviewed a design to change the gate configuration in the first floor lobby and incorporate a guard station there. These gates, however, are not foolproof, searching everyone that enters and exits raises legal and logistical issues, and stationing a guard at the gates would either eliminate building patrols or double the cost of our guard service. She shared a 10/27/02 NY Times article on security and optical turnstiles, and noted that this could be something very useful to consider in the future, if a person’s library card could be used to validate people entering and exiting the building. Another option, moving AV collections where only staff have access to them, is a physical impossibility - the collections are too large, and even if we had space, we don’t have enough staff to retrieve these items on request at the rate they go in and out. These collections account for 40% of our circulation activity. Mrs. Miranda therefore reported that the option being recommended and researched is to create a separate, gated audio-visual area with its own checkout desk, self-check and surveillance equipment. Mrs. Miranda noted that she and Mrs. Thorsen stall are evaluating staffing, and a revised layout of adult fiction and audio visual shelving is being developed.

Executive Session - Law Enforcement Matters

On a MOTION by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee Simmons, the Board went into Executive Session to discuss matters under investigation. On a MOTION by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee Simmons, the Board ended Executive Session.

Circulation Procedures/Fine Structure

On a MOTION by Trustee Elmiger, seconded by Trustee Oliva, the Board approved proposed changes to Circulation policy, appended to these minutes, with clarification under Library Card look-ups: "Charge patron a $1.00 fee each time they request look-up of patron bar code."

Patriot Act

The Board reviewed various information on the Patriot Act, and briefly discussed. Mrs. Miranda encouraged the Board to further review information provided and suggested that more discussion take place over the next few months. Trustee Oliva requested information pro Patriot Act, and Library Director Miranda agreed to provide further research.

Approval for Personnel Added & Deleted from Payroll (1/1/03 - 3/31/03)

On a MOTION by Trustee Geeslin, seconded by Trustee Oliva, the Board approved Personnel Added & Deleted from Payroll, 1/1/03 - 3/31/03.

Adjournment

There being no more business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. on a MOTION by Trustee Oliva, seconded by Trustee Simmons.

Don Simmons, Secretary

Library Board of Trustees