HomeMy WebLinkAbout102402PORT TOWNSEND PUBLIC LIBRARY
Advisory Board meeting 10/24/2002
Attendance
Members: Larry Thomas, Eileen Price, Bill Matthews, Deb Carroll, Kate Schumann
Guests: Dave Timmons, Peter Hiatt, Karen Long, Julia Owens
Staff: Linnea Patrick, Carol Cahill
Meeting was called to order by Eileen Price. Minutes from the last meeting were
unanimously approved.
Communications
• Letter to board from Sylvia Bowman, Jefferson County Library board secretary,
thanking the board and staff for preparing the meeting and presentation on the digital
imaging project.
• Linnea wrote a letter of response to a patron complaint about computer keyboard
noise.
• PTL and JCL were included in the higher education supplement to the Leader.
• Linnea and Carol Cahill were on the PTTV "Our Town" show that features two city
departments each week.
• Linnea shared an article "Are Wider Library Units Wiser ?" with Ray Serebrin.
Director's Report
• Heating system was checked and more "fried wires" were discovered; Chris Hanson
will rewire.
Is + Bob Little will come and fix mold problem soon.
• Linnea, representing CLAN, and Ray Serebrin went to Brinnon School for dedication
of their new computer lab, which includes PCs for community use.
• Linnea out of town 10/24 - 10/2$.
Friends of the Library (Karen Long)
• CD storage cabinet that was paid for with proceeds from quilt "spine" labels and was
installed in Popular Materials Room [Ken Shelton did the installation].
• Clay Martin puppet show will be Monday 10/2$.
• Friends are exploring idea of "welcome envelope" to hand out to new library patrons.
• Book sale grossed $2,194!! There were 30 volunteers doing set up, including young
men from Gray Wolf Ranch, who brought books in on hand trucks; "Port Townsend
volunteering at its finest." Karen Carr deserves credit for great organization. In the
future, remaining books will be picked up by an individual who will try and sell them
privately.
Foundation (Peter Hiatt)
• Capital endowment fund was setup in late June with $10,000 from estate of Norm
Heffron, and has been increased with an additional donation of $200. The
Foundation is seeking two new board members.
•
Staff_ report (Carol Cahill)
• Carol handed out her new several -part "Understanding a Changed World"
bibliography, which includes resources of both PTL and JCL.
NEW BUSINESS
Budget
• City Manager Dave Timmons says the city budget situation looks pretty good. Each
department's enhancements have been put into a "reserve account." These competing
demands will be analyzed to see where coordination might occur, e.g. the library and
clerk's office might be able to share storage space for books and public records. The
street fund is a concern again; there are funds for operations but not for pavement.
There are several significant capital improvement projects: City Hall annex, water
quality and pressure, wastewater system; also parking program, transportation plan,
ongoing development review, and the possibility of rebuilding the fire station. Dave
is recommending two new positions in public works to manage these projects and
also to look at future capital needs, e.g., the library. Facilities maintenance will get
more funds next year ($60,000). The library budget looks to be in pretty good shape.
City revenues appear to be steady, though expenses are growing at a faster rate than
revenues. Main concern at this point is with the politics of getting a budget passed by
the council
• Re: annexation with JCL: Dave is having second thoughts and was surprised by the
attitude of suspicion and animosity on the part of the JCL library board shown at
recent meetings. It seems that this project should be put on hold for the time being.
Meeting dates
The next two library board meetings will take place on the third Thursday of the month:
November 21
December 19
NEW BUSINESS
Search for new library director
• Linnea showed example of director recruitment brochure from Pleasanton, CA. Dave
mentioned with changing labor market, it's hard to sell Port Townsend to people in
Washington state. Baby boomers are reaching retirement age, and younger people
have a different work ethic [self centered vs. service centered]. Housing costs are
very high in Port Townsend.
• Linnea is asking board members to look in their notebooks for any documentation of
the previous hiring process. PTL is atypical in that the director needs to have hands -
on librarian skills as well as managerial skills. Dave suggests working backward
from 1/1/04 to develop a schedule for recruiting and hiring. He will set up a
recruitment and interview training session for the library board by a representative
from the Association of Washington Cities.
Meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
40 Carol Cahill, secretary for meeting