* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. YOU NEED TO ORDER, [00:00:01] YOU WILL WANT TO USE [Library Board on August 9, 2021.] YOUR MICROPHONE. OH, I MOVED IT. I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. IT IS SIX O'CLOCK. THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 14TH, 2021 REGULAR MEETING. I'LL GIVE YOU ABOUT TWO MINUTES TO LOOK OVER THAT. IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD TIME, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, A IN THE, WHAT DID YOU SAY? THE CAPITALIZATION RULES THAT YOU WERE FOLLOWING THE LIBRARY SYSTEM FOR SPANISH. AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE REST OF THAT IS STILL THE TITLE. ISN'T IT? I DON'T HAVE A COPY OF THAT. I DON'T KNOW WHY SUDDENLY WE, YOUR PROBABLY SPANISH CAPITAL ASTHMA, BECAUSE IT'S A LANGUAGE, I DON'T KNOW. YEAH. BUT I'M ASSUMING THAT THE LIBRARY ASSISTANT HAS CAPITALIZED BECAUSE IT'S A TITLE. THE SPANISH LANGUAGE SERVICES SHOULD BE CAPITALIZED. YEAH. THANK YOU, MICHAEL. ANY OTHER CORRECTIONS OR ANYTHING? CAPITALIZE LANGUAGE AND SERVICES. YEAH. AND, UM, I DON'T THINK YOU NEED THE COMMA THERE. OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. IT'S KIND OF LIKE WHAT YOU DO DOWN BELOW BOARD MEMBER. MICHAEL DEEGAN. THERE'S NO COMMENT AFTER ALL RIGHTY. UM, MOVE THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES AS CORRECTED. I SECOND IT, YOU GET THOSE? YEP. ALL IN FAVOR. SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. I WAS LIKE SIGN. OKAY. NOW WE GO TO OUR ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION AND THE FIRST ITEM UNDER THAT IS TO DISCUSS BOARD MEMBER APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF, UM, REAPPOINTMENTS AND NEW APPOINTMENTS, THE LIBRARY BOARD, AND JUST FIRST OFF, WELCOME EVERYBODY. WE HAVEN'T SEEN EACH OTHER FACE TO FACE IN SUCH A LONG TIME. NOW THIS IS REALLY AWESOME TO SEE YOUR BODIES. UM, MAY OR SCOTLAND, MAY REAPPOINTED, UH, MS. BETTY HAYNES AT THE AUGUST 3RD, UM, COUNCIL MEETING, DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM COUNCIL, ED MOORE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ED, MORE POINTED MS. AT LISA ON JULY 20TH. AND WILL YOU PLEASE PRONOUNCE YOUR LEFT OR RIGHT. SO A COUNCIL MEMBER, BJ WILLIAMS APPOINTED GWENDOLYN DANIEL'S ON JULY 6TH. SO I'D LIKE TO WELCOME, ESPECIALLY OUR TWO NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS TO THE BOARD AND ARE SUPER EXCITED THAT YOU'RE JOINING US. AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER, ROBERT JOHN SMITH, REAPPOINTED TRELLIS GOSHER ON JULY 20TH. UM, BITTERSWEET NEWS. I SHOULD SAY ANNE NOZZLEY DID RESIGN HER POSITION ON THE BOARD. SHE IS GOING BACK AND, UM, GOING BACK TO SCHOOL TO EARN HER MASTER'S DEGREE. SO WE'RE WAITING, UM, FOR COUNCIL MEMBER BASS TO APPOINT, UM, A PERSON FROM HIS DISTRICT DISTRICT ONE, THE ONLY ONE SHE'S SHE'S BEEN HERE BEFORE, BUT YOU WEREN'T. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE WELCOME LISA AND GLEN VERY MUCH. YOU HAVE A GOOD BOARD. WE WORK WITH A GOOD STAFF. MS. BETTY. I'M SORRY. I GET YOU ON THE RECORDING. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NOW WE HAVE INTRODUCTION OF OUR NEW SENIOR LIBRARIAN NOW ELECTRONICS RESOURCES PERSON. YES. SO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN TO THE LIBRARY AND KNOW THE LIBRARY AND I WAS BETTY WILL KNOW THIS, UH, WE WERE SUPER EXCITED THAT KATIE MILLS WAS PROMOTED TO THE BRANCH MANAGER AT THE WALNUT CREEK BRANCH LIBRARY, BUT THAT CREATED A GIANT HOLE IN OUR STAFFING BECAUSE SHE WAS PROMOTED FROM WITHIN. AND SHE WAS OUR ELECTRONIC RESOURCES LIBRARIAN. SO KATHLEEN AND I BELIEVE KATIE BOTH HAS SCOURED THE NATION LOOKING FOR THE BEST, UH, ELECTRONIC RESOURCES LIBRARIAN THAT WE COULD FIND. AND I SHOULD LET KATHLEEN DO THE INTRODUCTION. WE FOUND STEVE STEVE COLDWELL IS FROM WELL OHIO. [00:05:01] AND THEN BY WAY OF CHICAGO, OR I FORGOT WHAT THE LIBRARY WAS. UH, I'VE WORKED AT AND NOW HE'S DOWN HERE AND HE IS WORKING FOR US AND HE'S BEEN TRAINING WITH KATIE ALL LAST WEEK, OTHER THAN THE FIRST DAY OF, OF, UH, ORIENTATION AND MEETING WITH ME. AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO GO BACK THIS WEEK AND TRAIN MORE, BUT HE ALSO COMES WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF SKILLS. UH, HE KNOWS ABOUT JUST ABOUT ALL THE INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEMS. UH, HE KNOWS, UH, PROGRAM PROGRAMMING, LANGUAGES, WEB, UH, HE CAN DO, UH, DESIGN WEBPAGES. AND I KNOW, UH, THE DATABASES MANAGING THE DATABASES, WHICH IS A HUGE PART OF, OF WHAT KATIE DOES, ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE GET. UM, THEY HAVE TO BE REVIEWED AND THEN IT'S DEALING WITH THE VENDORS AND, AND GETTING THE CONTRACT INFORMATION TO WILL, WE'VE DONE SOME CHANGES, KAREN'S DONE SOME CHANGES. AND, UH, HIS POSITION IS NOW UNDERMINE WITH, UH, COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE OF HOW TIGHTLY IT INTEGRATES WITH COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT, BECAUSE IT'S, UM, OVERDRIVE THE DIGITAL, UH, MATERIALS AND THE DATABASES THAT IS JUST LIKE DOING COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT WITH THE OTHER MATERIALS. SO, UM, DID YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING? OH, I MEAN SPEECH, UM, I'M STEVE, I WORKED AT WILMETTE PUBLIC LIBRARY, CHICAGO SUBURB FOR 11 YEARS IN DIGITAL SERVICES, WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES. UM, AS KATHLEEN SAID, I HAVE WORKED WITH PRETTY MUCH EVERY SYSTEM VENDOR AND PRODUCT THAT THE CITY OF BERLIN CHRIST. SO I COME WITH A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE AND I'M EXCITED TO SHARE MY TOWNS WITH THE COMMUNITY AND LEARN FROM THE COMMUNITY AND YEAH, SO FAR SO GOOD. ONE WEEKEND, KATIE MILLS AND KATHLEEN ARE, YOU KNOW, A WEALTH OF INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE CHALLENGE FOR ME IS TO LEARN THE INSTITUTION. I KNOW ALL OF THE SKILLS, BUT HOW DO WE FIT THEM INTO THE ALL RIGHT. I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE. OKAY. WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU GLAD TO HAVE, THANK YOU GUYS RIGHT HERE. OKAY. WE'LL GO TO SEE, WHICH IS UPCOMING BOARD MEETING DATES. YES, WHAT'D THE REST OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. UM, THE CITY COUNCIL, THERE'S SOME CONFLICTING DATES FOR WHEN WE WOULD NORMALLY HAVE OUR LIBRARY BOARD MEETING VERSUS WHEN CITY COUNCIL IS SELECTED TO HAVE, OR SCHEDULED TO HAVE SOME MEETINGS. SO WE HAVE SOME ALTERNATE DATES FOR CONSIDERATION. UH, IN SEPTEMBER WE CAN MEET ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH OR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND. AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WE NEEDED TO DECIDE, UM, TO NOT IF POSSIBLE OCTOBER WOULD BE OCTOBER 4TH, MONDAY, OCTOBER 4TH, OR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12TH FOR NOVEMBER. UH, THE OPTIONS ARE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST OR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH. AND THEN IN DECEMBER WE COULD MEET ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9TH, OR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, AND ANYONE LIKE ME TO REVIEW THOSE DATES ONE MORE TIME. OKAY. UH, FOR SEPTEMBER IT WOULD BE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH OR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND. OCTOBER WOULD BE MONDAY, OCTOBER 4TH OR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12TH, NOVEMBER WOULD BE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST OR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH IN DECEMBER WOULD BE A THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9TH, OR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, WITHOUT LOOKING AT MY, WITHOUT LOOKING AT MY CALENDAR. EITHER DATE IN SEPTEMBER LOOKS GOOD. WELL, AND I SHOULD SAY WE PROBABLY CAN. UM, DO YOU HAVE TO KNOW ALL OF THEM TONIGHT? WE DON'T HAVE TO KNOW ALL OF THEM TONIGHT. I THINK THE PRESSING WHEN IT'S SEPTEMBER, BUT IF WE COULD GET A CONSENSUS, MAYBE BY THE END OF THE WEEK, THERE ARE, THERE ARE DATES. OKAY. I JUST TOLD THEM I WOULD LET THEM KNOW WHICH ONES WE DON'T KNOW. OKAY. THAT'S VERY LIMITED AVAILABILITY [00:10:01] ON THIS ROOM, ESPECIALLY IN DECEMBER. SO I THINK IF WE COULD HAVE A DECISION MAYBE FOR SEPTEMBER, BY THE END OF THE WEEK, THEN WE COULD LET GO OF THE OTHER DATE. THAT'S DOABLE TUESDAYS. AREN'T GOOD FOR ME. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF THEM. YEAH. WE CAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT OUR CALENDARS AND THEN SHOOT AN EMAIL OUT TO ALL Y'ALL. OKAY. IS THAT OKAY WITH EVERYBODY? SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. OKAY. THEN WE'LL GO TO COVID LIBRARY, OPERATION UPDATES, RIGHT? JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT AND REMIND EVERYONE THAT WE ARE OPEN AT A HUNDRED PERCENT CAPACITY OF ALL OF OUR LIBRARY AT WE'RE OPEN THE 64 HOURS A WEEK. UM, BACK TO SEVEN DAY A WEEK SERVICE, UM, MORNINGS, AFTERNOONS, AND WEEKENDS. WE HAVE ALL OF THE, THE DIFFERENT, UM, SERVICES BACK ONLINE AND OFFERING THE SERVICES AGAIN, UH, WITH THE COMPUTERS MEETING ROOMS, STEADY ROOMS, ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS ARE OUT AND AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC. UM, WE DID BEGIN TO PROVIDE SOME IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING OVER THE SUMMER. UM, ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMS WERE OUTSIDE, UH, IN CONJUNCTION SOME WELL, I SHOULDN'T SAY ALL OF THEM, SOME OF THEM WERE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT ALL OVER THE CITY. AND THOSE WERE MET WITH A LOT OF, UM, PARENTS WERE REALLY HAPPY TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS AGAIN IN THE SUMMER. AND I CAN TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE VERY EXCITED, ALTHOUGH I SHOULD SAY, UH, CAUTIOUS, WE'RE TAKING THE MONTH OF AUGUST OFF FROM PROGRAMMING RE GEARING. AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT IN JUST A BIT, UM, BUT REALLY REFOCUSING OUR FALL SCHEDULE. THAT WILL START SEPTEMBER 1ST FOR IN-PERSON PROGRAMS IN THE LIBRARY, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE WATCHING, UM, THE NUMBERS AND, YOU KNOW, CITY ADMINISTRATION IS, IS WATCHING THOSE NUMBERS. UM, AND WE'LL, YOU KNOW, MAKE ANY CHANGES THAT WE DEEMED NECESSARY FOR, UM, FOR FUTURE PROGRAMS. THAT'S THE ONE THING I THINK I'M A LITTLE BIT MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE IN-PERSON PROGRAMS AND THE CHILDREN COMING IN. EXCUSE ME. UM, WE ARE, THE CITY IS ENCOURAGING ALL STAFF, UH, AND THE PUBLIC TO WEAR MASKS. WE CANNOT MANDATE THE WEARING OF MASKS, BUT WE ARE ENCOURAGING. WE STILL HAVE ALL THE SIGNAGE UP IN THE LIBRARIES AND ALL THE DOORS AND THE RESTROOMS JUST ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS. UM, BUT IT'S, UH, IT'S A PERSONAL DECISION FOR EVERYONE COMING IN. HMM. THAT IT, YES, MA'AM, GOODY-GOODY GOOD STUFF. AND THAT'S THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, BOND PROGRAM UPDATES. OKAY. I'M GOING TO TURN CENTRAL OVER TO WILL, RIGHT? UH I'M WILL MASSEY THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE LIBRARY. VERY NICE TO MEET THE NEW. MAYBE WE SHOULD DO SOME INTRODUCTIONS OR IS EVERYBODY YES, PROBABLY. YES. I'M SO SORRY. I THOUGHT ABOUT IT. I WAS WALKING UP HERE. I WAS LIKE, I'M JUST WILLING. HI, I'M KAREN ARCHIBALD, THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR FOR GARLAND'S PUBLIC LIBRARIES. THIS IS WIL MASSEY OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR LIBRARIES, KATHLEEN SHE'S OUR PUBLIC SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR. AND THEN THE AMAZING SABRINA ELLIS WHO COORDINATES EVERYTHING I HAVE FOR THE LIBRARIES DO Y'ALL WANT TO DO INTRODUCTIONS ON CASE WE CALL IT MICHAEL DUGAN CHALICE. CO-CHAIR DOROTHY MCALLISTER. GWENDOLEN DANIELS REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR. DADDY. HEY TERRY, . MY NAME IS LISA ARAIZA AND WE'RE AGAIN VERY GLAD AND, UH, EXCITED TO HAVE YOU ON THE BOARD. AND THEN ALSO TO JUST BE BACK IN PERSON, I THINK FROM THIS NOW I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU. SO A QUICK UPDATE ON A CENTRAL CONSTRUCTION OR RENOVATION, UM, WE'RE STILL IN THE LATTER STAGES OF THE SCHEMATIC DESIGN PHASE OF THE CONSTRUCTION, AND WE'RE MEETING BIWEEKLY WITH THE ARCHITECT, THE CONSTRUCTION, UH, COMPANY AND CITY STAFF. UM, OUR PROCESS UNFORTUNATELY HAS SLOWED DOWN A BIT BECAUSE THE INITIAL COST ESTIMATES THAT WE RECEIVED, UH, WERE A BIT OVER THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET. SO, UH, AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW RIGHT NOW, UM, LABOR, UM, LABOR COSTS AND MATERIALS COSTS ARE SKYROCKETING. [00:15:01] SO THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE'RE HAVING, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULTY, UH, THEN WE, THEN WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE, SO RIGHT NOW, UH, STAFF WERE DISCUSSING WAYS TO TRIM SOME OF THE COSTS OF THE PROJECT, UH, WHILE STILL ACHIEVING. WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL TARGET GOALS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. AS YOU REMEMBER, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO UPGRADE THE ELECTRICAL CAPACITY TO THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. UH, REMEMBER IT'S A BUILDING FROM THE 1970S AND THEY DIDN'T THINK ABOUT HAVING ENOUGH ELECTRICAL OUTLETS AND I THINK CELL PHONES AND LAPTOPS, UH, AT THAT TIME, UH, WE'RE GONNA, UH, TRY TO COMPLETE OUR LIFE SAFETY UPGRADES. UH, REMEMBER THAT THE NEW FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEM THAT WE NEED TO INSTALL, UH, WE'RE WEARING TO PROVIDE MORE TECHNOLOGY FOR PATRONS LIKE MAKER SPACES, MAKER LABS, UH, WE'RE PLANNING TO MOVE THE ENTRANCE OF THE, UH, MAIN LIBRARY TO THE WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING. THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH. REMEMBER WE HAVE THAT GIANT PARKING LOT OVER THERE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING RIGHT NOW, PATRONS, A LOT OF PATRONS HAVE TO WALK ALL THE WAY AROUND TO GET TO, UH, TO THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING. SO THAT'S ONE OF OUR GOALS. UM, THE OTHER THING WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS PROVIDE A MORE SECURE CHILDREN'S AREA IN THE LIBRARY. SO WE'RE PLANNING TO, OR WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE ALL CHILDREN'S SERVICES DOWNSTAIRS. THAT WOULD, IT WOULD BE MORE SECURE, EASIER FOR STAFF TO KIND OF MONITOR AND MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THAT PEOPLE WHO BELONG THERE ARE THERE AND PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT, WHO DON'T BELONG THERE OR NOT, UH, IN THE CHILDREN'S AREA. AND THEN THE LAST THING THAT WE KIND OF, ONE OF OUR GOALS THAT WE WOULD LIKE IS TO, UH, RELOCATE THE, UH, THE PROGRAM ROOM, THE MAIN PROGRAM ROOM NEAR THE NEW ENTRANCE, WHERE IF WE'RE GOING TO DO AN ENTRANCE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE LIBRARY, WE WANT TO MOVE THAT BIG MEETING ROOM CLOSE TO THE ENTRANCE SO THAT IT CAN BE ACCESSED POSSIBLY AFTER HOURS. SO WE'RE HOPING I'M HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THESE GOALS. UM, BUT WE'RE STILL KIND OF, UH, WORKING THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS. UM, RIGHT NOW OUR CONSTRUCTION COMPANY IS KIND OF REPACKAGING, UH, THE COST OF THESE THINGS. SO WE CAN KIND OF GET A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO KEEP AND WHAT WE CAN MAYBE, UH, MAYBE DO AWAY WITH, OR VALUE ENGINEER, AS THEY SAY, WHICH IS BASICALLY, UH, REPURPOSING OR RE, UH, GETTING SOMETHING AT A LOWER COST, MAYBE TILE OR SOMETHING WE'LL CHANGING THE TILE OR CHANGING THE FLOORING TO, TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT CHEAPER. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THESE DIRT, WELL, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GO THERE YET. WE HAVE A WAYS TO GO BEFORE WE'RE THERE. I THINK, UM, ANYWAY, WE'RE WORKING, UH, THE OTHER PART THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW AND KAREN'S WORKING ON IS LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO FOR A TEMPORARY LIBRARY, UH, IN THE AREA AROUND DOWNTOWN. SO, UH, WE'RE KIND OF IN THE FINAL PHASES OF KIND OF SEARCHING FOR THAT AND GETTING SOMETHING ARRANGED SO THAT WHEN THE CENTRAL LIBRARY DOES CLOSE, WHICH WE THINK WILL BE ABOUT A YEAR, UH, WE'LL HA WE'LL STILL HAVE SERVICES IN THE CORE AREA NEAR THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. NOW YOU HAVE SOME OPTIONS OR, OR FOR THE VARIOUS TEMPORARY LIBRARY, I'LL LET KAREN SOME OPTIONS AND THEY'RE IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA. AND I THINK IN SEPTEMBER, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME PRESENT THOSE OPTIONS WITH, UH, SOME PRETTY DEFINITE PARAMETERS OF WHAT THAT, UM, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. WE HAD SOMETHING THAT, UH, POSSIBLY BECAME AVAILABLE THAT WE WANTED TO INVESTIGATE FULLY BEFORE COMING BACK AND, UM, PRESENTING THAT IT'S TOP SECRET RIGHT NOW, MEDIUM SECRET, BUT IT'S AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I THINK THERE COULD BE SOME COST SAVINGS IN IT POTENTIALLY, WHICH IS PART OF THE REASON THAT WE WANT TO FULLY VET IT BEFORE MOVING FORWARD WITH IT. I LIKED THAT PHRASE VALUE ENGINEER. YEAH. SOMETIMES LIKE THIS PROJECT THOUGH REALLY HAS THE CHANCE TO COMPLETELY REINVISION THE CENTRAL LIBRARY AND REDO THE CENTRAL LIBRARY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. AND I DON'T THINK, AND KATHLEEN CAN PROBABLY CORRECT ME. UH, I DON'T THINK THAT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY HAS HAD A TOP TO BOTTOM RENOVATION MAKE-OVER EVER, AND IT OPENED ITS DOORS IN 1970 AND THE FLOW OF THINGS, HOW PEOPLE USE A LIBRARY. THE EXPECTATIONS OF LIBRARY SERVICES HAS GREATLY CHANGED BETWEEN 1970 AND 2021. [00:20:01] AND SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO, UH, NOT THAT THE LIBRARY DOESN'T CURRENTLY MEET SOME OF THOSE EXPECTATIONS, BUT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ELEVATE IT AND TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND ACHIEVE SOME OF THOSE REALLY CRITICAL ACCESSIBILITY FUNCTIONS TO CENTRAL WITH, YOU KNOW, RELOCATING THE FRONT DOOR. IF WE CAN MOVE ALL THE ADULT MATERIALS TO THE MAIN FLOOR, MAKE THAT EASIER FOR, UM, ADULTS TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS STILL HAVE A PLACE THAT'S QUIET, BUT HAVE A PLACE THAT'S, IT'S OKAY FOR KIDS TO MAKE NOISE AND BE A LITTLE MESSY AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY TRY TO BE AS MUCH TO ALL PEOPLE AS WE POSSIBLY CAN WHILE STILL MEETING OUR FUNCTIONS AT THE LIBRARY. SOUNDS GOOD. THANKS. WELL, IS THERE A WALNUT CREEK PIECE TO THAT? NOPE. OKAY. YES. THE WALNUT CREEK BRANCH LIBRARY, WE'RE STILL IN THE VERY EARLY STAGES IN THE SCHEMATIC AND DESIGN PHASE. WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR ARCHITECT WHO IS HBM AND V LK ARCHITECTS, UM, WITH THE FACILITY FACILITIES MANAGEMENT TEAM AND WORKING WITH PARKS ON THIS PROJECT BECAUSE OF, UH, USING THIS SITE AT HOLLABAUGH, UM, TO BUILD. AND, UM, WE'RE STILL WORKING OUT LOGISTICS AND WHERE THINGS GO AND HOW THINGS WILL GO. UM, THERE'S STILL DOING SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS ON THE PIECE OF PROPERTY WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS AND ANY KIND OF, UM, DRAINAGE MITIGATION, ANY TYPE OF FLOODPLAIN ISSUE THAT THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY MAY HAVE. UH, AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, THE REC CENTER THAT'S ON THE SITE IS ALSO, UM, GOING TO HAVE, UH, AN ADDITION OF A GYM ON THE SITE AS WELL. SO IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE ONCE IT'S ALL DONE, IT'S GOING TO BE A FANTASTIC SITE SITE FOR WEST GARLAND WITH BEING ABLE TO HAVE THE REC CENTER, THE GYM AND THE LIBRARY ALL IN ONE, UM, ON ONE SIDE. SO FOR BOTH OF THESE PROJECTS FOR CENTRAL AND FOR WALNUT, I THINK KNOCK ON WOOD IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE CAN HOPEFULLY BRING SOME SCHEMATICS AND SHOW YOU SOME OF THE PROCESSES THAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH AND A MORE FINISHED, UM, PLAN THAN ITS CURRENT STATE RIGHT NOW. BUT IT'S EXCITING. ANY QUESTIONS? ANYBODY? NO. I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH WHAT THEY WERE TELLING ME AT THE OLD WALNUT CREEK RANCH OF WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO PAY THE ONE FOR THE NEW ONE. GOOD DEAL. S JUST UP IT, SOMEWHERE IN HERE, IT'S PROBABLY A LISTING THAT BREAKS DOWN. UH, WHEN I WAS READING THE BOARD'S MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING, THERE WAS SOME PHRASES IN HERE I'M JUST NOT FAMILIAR WITH, BUT I'M THINKING IT'S IN THIS BIG BOOK, LIKE, UM, THE, UM, THE, UM, MENU FOR SCHEMATIC DESIGN VERSUS PRE PHASE AND ALL THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS THEY'RE IN HERE SOMEWHERE. WHAT THEY MEAN SOME OF THE CONSTRUCTION PHRASES OR TERMS ARE NOT IN THAT, THAT BIG BOOK YOU WOULD THINK THEY WOULD BE IN THE BIG BOOK, BUT THEY'RE NOT, BUT I CAN, UH, PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN WITH SOME OF THE CONSTRUCTION, UM, THIS CONSTRUCTION TERM. SO YOU SAID SCHEMATIC DESIGN. WELL, I MEAN, IF THERE ARE GOING TO BE PHRASES LIKE THAT USE IN MINUTE, I WAS JUST WONDERING, IS THERE SOMEWHERE WHERE I CAN GO TO SEE WHAT THEY MEAN? THAT'S ALL THERE ARE. I CAN GIVE THEM A BREAKDOWN AND PROVIDE THAT FOR EVERYONE. THAT'S A GREAT POINT. DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE A COMMENT OR QUESTION OR SUGGESTION? OKAY. WE WILL GO ON THEN CONSIDERATION OF FINE RIGHT OFF POLICY. OKAY. UM, OVER THE LAST, I WOULD SAY SIX MONTHS, WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH A PROCESS TO REVIEW LOTS OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE A PART OF THE LIBRARY. UM, THAT INCLUDES REVIEWING THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL POLICIES THAT WE MAY NOT HAVE WRITTEN FOR THE LIBRARY. ONE OF THOSE IS A FINE WRITE-OFF POLICY. SO HISTORICALLY THE LIBRARY HAS, UH, WE HAVE NOT WRITTEN OFF ANY DEBT FROM ANY LONGTERM FINES OR FEES ON LIBRARY ACCOUNTS, [00:25:01] UM, AT LEAST IN THE LAST 22 YEARS. AND I'M NOT SURE THAT WE DID IT BEFORE THAT. OKAY. SO WE'RE HOLDING, WE'VE JUST BEEN ACCRUING THIS AND HOLDING ON, AND THESE ARE A LOT OF THINGS LIKE, UM, OVERDUE LIBRARY, UH, FUNDS FOR OUR LIBRARY FUNDS FROM LIBRARY MATERIALS. UM, IN SOME CASES IT'S THE, THE, UH, PRICE OF AN ITEM THAT HASN'T BEEN RETURNED OR THAT WAS RETURNED DAMAGED ON A CARD. AND, UM, SO IT'S JUST BEEN ACCRUING AND ACCRUING AND ACCRUING. ONE OF THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, UH, CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH GPL HAS A PROCESS THAT THEY GO THROUGH TO WRITE OFF LONG STANDING DEBT TO, TO CLEAR BOOKS AND, UM, UM, MOVE THINGS FORWARD. I WILL SAY THAT IT'S, UH, BECAUSE WE'VE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE. WE HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF, UM, FINES AND FEES THAT HAVE ACCUMULATED OVER A GOOD PERIOD OF TIME. UM, AND I TOOK A CHANCE AT DRAFTING AND YOU SHOULD SEE THESE ON YOUR MONITORS TOO. DO YOU SEE THEM ON YOUR MONITOR? OKAY. UM, JUST A VERY SIMPLE DRAFT OF A WRITE-OFF POLICY. I HAVE SENT THIS POLICY THIS AFTERNOON TO, UM, OUR, UM, CITY AUDITOR FOR THEIR FEEDBACK AND CONSIDERATION AS WELL, BECAUSE WE WILL NEED TO HAVE, UM, IT'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT, BUT TO GO THROUGH IT. THE REASON FOR THE POLICY IS TO ESTABLISH A POLICY THAT GUIDES THE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT AND WRITING OFF DEBT TO THE CITY, A LIBRARY PATRON, ALL LIBRARY, PATRON ACCOUNTS WITH OUTSTANDING FINES AND FEES ARE FINE AND FEED BALANCES OF SEVEN YEARS OR MORE SHALL BE INVESTIGATED AND PURGED THE LIBRARY DEPARTMENTS, PATRON DATABASE CARRIES ACCOUNTS WITH UNPAID BALANCES FROM LIBRARY FUNDS AND FEES. SINCE THE MIGRATION TO SEARCY DYNEX, WHICH IS OUR, UH, INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM. IT'S THE PATRON DATABASE, UH, CLIENT IN 2010, SOME PATRON ACCOUNTS PREDATE THE MIGRATION, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEBT AVERAGES, $22,500 ANNUAL ANNUALLY AS A MEASURE OF GOOD FAITH ACCOUNTS WITH FINES AND OR FEE BALANCES OF SEVEN YEARS OR MORE SHALL BE INVESTIGATED AND HAVE THE DEBT WRITTEN OFF FROM THE PATRON DATABASE SYSTEM. AND THEN WE LISTED PROCEDURE THAT KIND OF SEPARATES THE DELEGATOR DELEGATES DUTIES BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. ONE OF THE CIRCULATION SUPERVISORS SHALL REVIEW ALL ACCOUNTS WITH FINES OR FEES OF SEVEN YEARS OR MORE WITH AN OUTSTANDING BALANCE. THE CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR SHALL PROVIDE A LIST OF ACCOUNTS WITH DEBT TO BE WRITTEN OFF TO THE TECHNICAL SERVICES COORDINATOR FOR PROCESSING ACCOUNTS WITH LIBRARY, FINES WILL HAVE THE FUNDS REMOVED ACCOUNTS WITH LIBRARY FEES WILL HAVE FEES REMOVED AND INDIVIDUAL MATERIAL ITEM RECORDS, WHICH ARE, IF IT'S A LOST ITEM. UM, IT'S TAKING THAT THE TITLE OF THE BOOK, THE INFORMATION ABOUT, EXCUSE ME ABOUT THE BOOK OR THE ITEM AND MOVING IT INTO A SEPARATE LIST SO WE CAN HANDLE IT IN THE PATRON, THE CATALOGING SYSTEM TO BE REMOVED FROM THE PATRON CATALOG AND DISCARDED. AND THEN ONCE CLEARED PATRON ACCOUNTS WITH NO ACTIVITY WITHIN SEVEN YEARS WILL BE PURGED FROM THE SYSTEM. SO DELETE THE RECORD. THEY HAVEN'T COME BACK. WITHIN SEVEN YEARS, THE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT WILL PROVIDE AN ANNUAL WRITTEN REPORT ON A FISCAL YEAR BASIS TO THE CITY MANAGER AND DIRECTOR OF FINANCE DOCUMENTING THE DEPARTMENT'S WRITE-OFFS. AND THIS REPORT SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION. THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS WRITTEN OFF DURING THE FISCAL YEAR AND THE AMOUNT WRITTEN OFF DURING THE FISCAL YEAR. THIS IS JUST GOING OR PRESENTING THIS TO THE BOARD TONIGHT FOR CONSIDERATION AND DISCUSSION THERE. UM, WE DON'T NEED TO TAKE ANY EXTRA, I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANY ACTION TO BE TAKING ON THIS ITEM TONIGHT, OR AS TO BE ABLE TO WRITE OFF ANY DEBT. UH, THE BOARD NEEDS TO HAVE AN APPROVED POLICY OR APPROVE A POLICY FOR THE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE BOARD WOULD HAVE TO DECIDE YAY OR NAY. BUT THE SPECIFICS OF THAT POLICY ARE, UM, WHAT DOES IT MEAN AT THE BEGINNING? IT SAYS, SHALL BE INVESTIGATED AND PURGED. UH, IT SEEMS LIKE, WELL, IF THEY'RE GOING TO JUST BE PURGED ONE ANOTHER, THEY NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED. IS THERE SOME SORT OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INVESTIGATION AND PURGING WITH OUR ILS SYSTEM, THE INTEGRATED LIBRARY SYSTEM, WE HAVE TO SET UP A, A SPECIAL REPORT TO BE [00:30:01] ABLE TO EVEN RUN THOSE REPORTS, TO SEE, UH, TO SEPARATE THOSE, THOSE RECORDS FROM THE REGULAR DATABASE. AND THEN OUT OF THOSE, SEPARATING THOSE FROM FINES VERSUS FEES, BECAUSE THE FINES ARE GOING TO BE HANDLED SEPARATELY THAN THE, SO IT, IT, IT MEANS THAT THE ACCOUNTS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND THEN PURGED. THEY'RE NOT INVESTIGATED AS IF, OH, NO, NO, NO. WE'RE NOT DOING ANY KIND OF INVESTIGATION INTO THE PATRON. WELL, I MEAN, NO, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE GOING TO BE LOOKING INTO ANY SORT OF SPECIFIC CASES, BUT OKAY. SO YOU DON'T MEAN INVESTIGATED. DO YOU MEAN THERE, THE ACCOUNTS ARE GOING TO BE IDENTIFIED AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE PURGED, RIGHT. AND MAYBE THERE'S A BETTER TERM FOR US TO BE ABLE TO USE INSTEAD OF INVESTMENTS. YEAH, I WOULD LOOK INTO YEAH. REVIEWED OR LIKE I SAID, IDENTIFIED, CAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO IDENTIFY THEM FROM THE COMPUTER SYSTEM. RIGHT. OR THEY'LL BE PULLED FROM THE DATABASE. IT WAS RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. WHEN YOU MENTIONED APPROXIMATELY 22 YEARS, I WAS WONDERING MYSELF, HOW DO WE, HOW WAS THE SEVEN YEARS ARE MORE DECIDED? I WAS JUST CURIOUS PRIOR TO THE 22 YEARS, YOU SAID IT'S BEEN APPROXIMATELY 22 YEARS, UH, THAT YOU COULD DATE BACK TO WHEN WE'VE DONE ANYTHING ABOUT OVERDUE. THERE WERE FINES. THAT'S WHAT I UNDERSTOOD YOU TO SAY. AND THEN, SO THIS NEW POLICY HAS, UH, SELECTED BALANCES OF SEVEN YEARS OR MORE. AND I WAS JUST WONDERING HOW WE CAME TO THAT SEVEN YEARS AS THE CUTOFF. SO IF SOMEONE HAS A FINE THAT'S FIVE AND A HALF YEARS, THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE PART OF THIS, CORRECT? CORRECT. RIGHT. SO LET ME, UM, I THINK PART WILL PART TO ADDRESS TOO, IS THE, OR I SHOULD SAY ONE MORE THING TO COMPLICATE. WE HAVE ASKED, UM, FOR FISCAL YEAR 22 OR BEGINNING, OCTOBER ONE FOR FISCAL YEAR 22 TO BECOME A FUN FREE LIBRARY. YEAH. VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND REALLY HOPE THAT THAT, UM, GOES THROUGH, IF THAT DOES GO THROUGH PART OF THIS AS A MOOT POINT. YEAH. WHERE THE FUNDS ARE CONCERNED BECAUSE ALL THE BACK FINES WILL BE FORGIVEN AND GO AWAY WITH A TWO MONTH OLD, FINE, EVEN A TWO MONTH OLD FINE WE CHOSE, OR I SHOULD SAY I SPECIFICALLY CHOSE SEVEN YEARS BECAUSE OF WHAT THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SEVEN YEARS AND THINGS FALL OFF. UM, AND THEN I ELECTRICALLY CAN'T SPEAK, SPEAK TO THAT. UM, THE 22 YEARS IS GOING BACK 22 YEARS FROM RIGHT NOW. I CAN'T FIND WHERE WE'VE DONE IT IN THE LAST 22 YEARS. I CANNOT SAY THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE IT PRIOR TO THAT. I JUST DON'T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE THAT WE DID. UM, BUT NOT THE TIME THAT WE MIGRATED TO THE SERIES, WE MIGRATED ALMOST WE, UH, 2010. SO ALMOST 22 YEARS AGO ALMOST THAT'S YES. UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW. AND I'M, I DID NOT HAVE A CHANCE. KATHY WAS STILL GOING THROUGH OUR TECHNICAL SERVICES COORDINATOR WAS STILL GOING THROUGH, SHE WAS HERE DURING THAT MIGRATION. ACTUALLY, KATHLEEN WAS HERE DURING THE MIGRATION. I'M NOT SURE WHAT PRE-WORK WAS DONE AND GOING FROM HORIZON TO WORK FLOWS OF SOME OF THAT WAS DONE ON THE BACK END OR NOT THAT KATHY'S CHECKING TO SEE IF SHE COULD FIND IT. UM, BUT IF WE ARE ABLE TO BECOME, UH, A FUN FREE LIBRARY AND NOT, UH, CHARGE LIBRARY FUNDS FOR OVERDUE MATERIALS, THE FINES WILL BE A MOOT POINT. IT WILL JUST BE THE LIBRARY FEES, DAMAGED BOOKS. YES. YES. SO THIS WOULD APPLY JUST TO THE FEES THEN. CORRECT. OKAY. AND THAT NUMBER, IT WOULD NOT BE 22 5 ANNUALLY. THAT NUMBER WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY 22, 5 ANNUALLY. IT, IT MAKES IT SOUND AS IF EACH YEAR THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL 20 2005. AND THAT'S WHAT THAT MEANS EVERY YEAR. THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL 22,000, AN AVERAGE OF FUNDS. UM, YEAH. WOW. OKAY. THAT ARE UNPAID. THAT ARE UNPAID. THAT'S NOT SHOWING HOW MUCH, HOW MANY ARE PAID. YEAH. I BELIEVE YOU REPORTED TO US THAT PRI PREVIOUS MEETING THAT THE ANNUAL AMOUNT IS MORE LIKE A [00:35:01] HUNDRED THOUSAND. IT'S A MUCH LARGER NUMBER IN FINES AND FEES AND THEN NO FINES ASSESSED. AND THEN, AND THEN ALL BUT 22 5 IS COLLECTED ON AVERAGE. WE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY FINES AND FEES OR HOW MUCH FINES AND FEES ARE ASSESSED EVERY YEAR. I DO KNOW WE TAKE IN ANYWHERE BETWEEN 100 AND $120,000 IN FINES COLLECT. OKAY. OKAY. SO YOU COLLECT A HUNDRED AND THEN THAT YOU ADD 22 IN DEBT EACH YEAR. RIGHT NOW I DON'T HAVE A BREAKDOWN AND I COULD GET THE BREAKDOWN OF, OF THAT 22 5, WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE FINES AND WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH FEES, BUT I DON'T HAVE THAT LISTED THAT WAY THOUGH. I'M ASSUMING, I'M SURE WE CAN RUN A REPORT THAT WOULD BREAK IT DOWN. AND DO YOU HAVE A, A GENERAL SENSE? IS THAT AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF PEOPLE OR IS THAT A CONCENTRATION OF REPEAT OFFENDERS? AND I'M ASKING IT A VERY HIGH LEVEL, PLEASE. DON'T GO ON IT. WE WANT NAMES. IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION. UH, WOULD YOU REPEAT IT? SO YES, I WAS CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, OF, OF WEEK THERE ARE UNPAID FINES EVERY YEAR, RIGHT. SO I'M REALLY WONDERING, IS THERE SOME SMALL NUMBER OF REPEAT OFFENDERS OR IS THIS, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY IN THE CITY, YOU KNOW, HAS AT LEAST ONE KIND OF THING, YOU KNOW, IS IT, IS IT A LOT OF LITTLE THINGS OR IS THAT A FEW BIG THINGS? AND I'M GUESSING SOME OF EACH, OF COURSE THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME OF EACH, BUT IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE, UH, FOR SOME OF THE TRANSIENT POPULATION THAT HAS MOVED INTO GARLAND AND HAS LEFT GARLAND IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE NEVER GOING TO COME BACK AND, UM, TAKE CARE OF THAT FINE OR FEE, I WILL SAY DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE DID SEE A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE WHO HAD NOT BEEN TO THE LIBRARY IN A VERY LONG TIME THAT WE WORKED WITH AT, UM, WAVING A FINE WORKING WITH THOSE FEES, UH, TO, TO BRING THOSE DOWN SO THEY COULD HAVE THEIR CARDS REINSTATED. SO THIS DOING THIS DOES HAVE A GOOD FAITH EFFORT IN GETTING PEOPLE REINSTATED BACK AT THE LIBRARY AND USING LIBRARY SERVICES AND ADD MATERIALS AGAIN. AND AGAIN, LIKE THE, UM, SORT OF NO FINE POLICY. IS THIS A, A TREND THAT OTHER LIBRARY SYSTEMS ARE DOING, OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD HAVE DREAMED UP? THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING A WHILE AGO THIS TIME. SO WE'RE BEHIND THE BALL A LITTLE BIT ON THE, YES. OKAY. THIS HELPS THE, UM, TO KEEP THE PATRON DATABASE CURRENT AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S LIKE ANY OTHER, UM, ELECTRONIC RESOURCE, IF IT CONTINUES TO GROW AND GROW AND GROW AND GROW AND GROW, IT'S IT BECOMES VERY DIFFICULT TO MANAGE. YEAH. NOT SAYING WE WANT TO GIVE EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, A FREE PASS WITH SOMETHING, BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH ROOM FOR THE DATABASE TO GROW AND WE NEED TO, TO PURGE OUTDATED AND, UM, AND YOU CAN KEEP UP WITH IT BETTER. WE CAN KEEP UP WITH IT. WE WILL BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH IT BETTER. SO, YES. HMM. WELL, THAT MAKES SENSE. WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE SEVEN YEARS. I'M ON BOARD WITH THAT. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ANYBODY. OKAY. I GUESS WE'RE READY FOR PROGRAMMING AND I GUESS THAT'S MS. KATHLEEN AND IT'S GOING TO BE, UH, A DUO ACTUALLY. OKAY. UH, TOM AND TOM AND JERRY, WHAT KIND OF PROGRAM? POLICY TWINS. I HAVE CLAIRE. SO I I'M LIKE, UH, I MENTIONED EARLIER WE, UM, REALLY TOOK A STEP BACK OR I SHOULD THINK I SAID THIS IN JUNE. WE TOOK A STEP BACK FROM THE AMOUNT OF PROGRAMS THAT WE USUALLY OFFER IN THE SUMMERTIME AND STARTED TO PROVIDE THOSE IN-PERSON PROGRAMS AGAIN THIS SUMMER. UM, BUT THEY WERE OUTDOORS. SO WE TOOK THE TIME OVER THE SUMMER TO DO SOME TRAINING AND TO DO SOME, UM, I THINK SOME EXCITING THINGS WITH OUR PROGRAMMING STAFF AND, AND, UM, WORKING TO WITH THAT GIANT BOOK WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN, REALLY EMPHASIZE SOME OF THE BIG THINGS AND THE BIG GOALS INITIATIVES THAT WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH. SO, UM, WE HELD OUR [00:40:01] VERY FIRST LIBRARY PROGRAMMING MEETING WITH ALL OF THE MANAGERS AND ALL OF THE PROGRAMMING STAFF IN LATE JULY AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. UH, WE REVIEWED IN ONE ROOM ALL TOGETHER, THE KEY GOALS AND POINTS THAT I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH VERY FAST. SOME OF THOSE KEY THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO INITIATE, UM, LET'S START THERE. SO WE DID REVIEW OUR LIBRARY PROGRAMMING PROCEDURES, AND I WILL SHARE WITH YOU THAT THIS IS KATHLEEN SAID THAT WE'VE CHANGED A FEW THINGS. THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE CHANGED. SO IF YOU GET NOTHING ELSE FROM THIS PRESENTATION, THE SHORT PRESENTATION, WE ARE DOING TWO TYPES OF PROGRAMS. WE'RE DOING THE REALLY BIG SYSTEM WIDE PROGRAMS THAT DEAL WITH OTHER, UM, LOTS OF OUTREACH DEAL WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, OTHER DEPARTMENTS, ORGANIZATIONS, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND KATHLEEN IS WORKING AND HEADING UP THOSE REALLY LARGE SYSTEM-WIDE MULTI-LAYERED EVENTS. THE OTHER THING, OR OUR SPECIFIC PROGRAMS. THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE ALSO DOING IS AT THE BRANCH LEVEL, REALLY GETTING INTO COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMMING AND THAT, UM, IT'S REALLY SPECIFIC TO EACH OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND EACH OF THE COMMUNITIES AROUND THE FOUR PHYSICAL LIBRARY BRANCHES THAT HAVE LOCATIONS THAT WE HAVE TAKING ACCOUNT ALL OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC MAKEUPS OF ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT FACILITIES, UM, THE USAGE OF THE DIFFERENT FACILITIES, THE NEEDS, LOOKING AT THE STUDENT POPULATION, THE SENIOR POPULATION, THE MOBILITY, AND REALLY TRYING TO CONSTRUCT PROGRAMS THAT PEOPLE WANT AT THOSE FACILITIES. UM, ALL OF THE THINGS, AND THIS IS THE, THE BIG THING. I THINK, I THINK ALL THE PROGRAMMING LIBRARIES ARE TIRED OF IT. YOU SAY IT, BUT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO HAS GOT TO TIE BACK TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. IT'S GOT TO SUPPORT ONE OF THOSE GOALS AND THOSE MAIN FOCUS AREAS. SO THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING OR THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT THIS TRAINING WAS ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS NEED TO SUPPORT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND GOALS. ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS NEED TO HAVE AN AUDIENCE IN MIND AND BE SUPPORTED BY THE DEMOGRAPHICS. UM, WE NEEDED TO STAY WITHIN A SET BUDGET PER YEAR FOR THOSE PROGRAMS AND WORK AT DOING SOME DIFFERENT THINGS, SOME IN KIND THINGS OR SOME, UH, DONATIONS, LESS EXPENSIVE THINGS, WHICH LIBRARIANS ARE VERY CRAFTY AT DOING. UM, OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ARE THE STAFF NEEDED TO PROVIDE THE PROGRAM, THE SPACE NEEDED TO PROVIDE PREP PROGRAM AND THE TIME INVOLVED FOR THE PROGRAM, BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF BEHIND THE SCENES TIME, UM, AND BUILDING THAT GOES INTO PRESENTING AND, AND PROVIDING LIBRARY PROGRAMMING. I WON'T GO INTO ALL OF THIS EXACTLY, BUT THE, THE ROLE OF THE BRANCH STAFF VERSUS KATHLEEN'S ROLE AS PUBLIC SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR, THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS ONE IS, UH, AT THE BRANCH, WE'RE DOING THE COMMUNITY BASED. AND THEN KATHLEEN'S ROLE IS THE REALLY THE BIG SYSTEM-WIDE, UH, MULTI-DEPARTMENTAL, UM, ORGANIZATIONAL PROGRAMS. WE HAVE FORMS FOR THE ADULTS, UM, ADULT CHILDREN, AND THE TEEN PROGRAMS TO THE FORMS REALLY, UH, PROVIDE A TEMPLATE TO THINK THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, THIS PROGRAM IS TARGETED TO THIS GROUP. IT'S GOING TO BE HERE, WHO'S DOING THE PROGRAM, BUT ALSO WHAT THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ARE IN THE PROGRAM IS THIS TO HELP PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF STEM, STEM, OR STEAM ACTIVITY, IS IT TO HELP BRING SENIORS TOGETHER? IS THERE A SOCIALIZATION ASPECT? HOW DOES IT GO BACK AND TIE INTO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND OUR, UM, OUR GOALS FOR THE CITY? THERE'S ALSO A MARKETING ASPECT. UM, TALKED ABOUT THIS, OH, BIG THING IS WE WANT TO PROVIDE QUALITY PROGRAMS THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY, BOTH INSIDE THE LIBRARY AND OUTSIDE OF THE LIBRARY. SO IT'S NOT JUST WITHIN OUR FOUR. THIS IS ALSO GOING OUT AND DOING ACTIVITIES, BEING A PART OF DIFFERENT EVENTS OUTSIDE OF OUR FOUR WALLS AND REALLY TAKING THE LIBRARY TO THE PEOPLE, OUR THREE SISTERS, STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS, OUR SERVICE TO CHILDREN, SERVICE, TO ADULTS AND SERVICE TO COMMUNITY. AND IF YOU READ THE STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, IT GOES INTO A LOT OF DETAIL ABOUT WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE. SO WITH CHILDREN, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED IN, ON EARLY CHILDHOOD [00:45:01] EMERGENT LITERACY, TRYING TO PROVIDE, UM, A REALLY GOOD FOUNDATION AND START FOR CHILDREN. AND THAT INCLUDES HELPING PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS HAVE THE SKILLS THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEIR CHILD BE SCHOOL, READY AND HAVE THOSE, THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS. UM, ALSO PROVIDING, UH, SERVICES TARGETED TO TWEENS AND TEENS THAT 12 TO 18, YOUR GAP ADULTS, UH, YOU KNOW, ADULTS ARE ANYWHERE FROM 19 YEARS OLD UP, IT'S A WIDE RANGE, AND IT'S REALLY, IT'S VERY OPEN TO WHATEVER WE GET TO, TO HELP YOUNG ADULTS, PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST STARTING A CAREER, JUST STARTING A FAMILY, MAYBE CHANGING THEIR CAREER, IMPROVING A SKILL SET, LOOKING FOR SOCIALIZATION, LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES TO LEARN, LEARN SOMETHING NEW AT ALL AGES. SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A HUGE, HUGE, UM, GROUP THAT WE GET TO, UH, PROVIDE SERVICES FOR. AND THEN THE OTHER REALLY BIG ONE IS A SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY WAYS TO REALLY START, UM, LEARNING ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY, SERVING OUR DIFFERENT, UM, GROUPS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS INCLUDES OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE, COMMUNITY, VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE, COMMUNITY, PROVIDING PLACES FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO COME AND, AND USE THE FACILITY TO MEET, UM, AS WELL AS IS THAT CRITICAL UPDATING ALL OF OUR LIBRARY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO REDUCE BARRIERS AND PROMOTE ACCESS. YES. WHICH TAKES A LOT. IT TAKES MORE TIME THAN I GIVE IT CREDIT FOR. THAT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR BUDGET. WE'RE TRACKING THINGS BY CHILDREN, TEEN AND ADULT PROGRAMS. HMM. OKAY. I'M SORRY. AND THEN OUR BIG THREE PS ARE PEOPLE PLACE IN PLATFORM. AGAIN, HOW ARE THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING? HOW DOES IT IMPACT, HOW DOES IT IMPROVE GARLAND FOR OUR PEOPLE? HOW DOES IT, HOW DO OUR LIBRARIES BECOME A PLACE, BECOME THAT COMMUNITY LIVING ROOM AND, YOU KNOW, THE PLATFORM, HOW ARE WE PROVIDING THAT DYNAMIC THIRD PLACE OUT IN OUR COMMUNITY? SO THE COMMUNITY-BASED, IT'S, IT'S REALLY, WHO ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS WHO LIVES IN YOUR IMMEDIATE SERVICE AREA? AND THIS IS WHAT PROGRAMMING, LIBRARIANS AND MANAGERS ARE GOING BACK AND DOING NOW. UM, WHAT GAPS DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE IN YOUR SERVICE OR YOUR PROGRAMS AT WHAT SKILLS DO YOU NEED TO, TO BUILD? WE HAVE SENIORS THAT LIVE ALL OVER THE CITY. WHAT TYPES OF PROGRAMS ARE WE DOING FOR OUR SENIOR POPULATION? WHAT TYPES OF PROGRAMS ARE WE DOING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE OFFERED IN SPANISH OR SOME OTHER LANGUAGES THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE REPRESENTED IN GARLAND, UM, AND THEN REALLY, REALLY ADDRESSING THE BIG NEEDS AND HELPING KIDS BECOME A SCHOOL READY SO THEY CAN START SCHOOL READY, KNOWING THOSE BASIC LITERACY AS SKILLS OF, I KNOW MY NUMBERS TO 10, I KNOW BASIC COLORS, I KNOW ABCS AND SOME BASIC SOUNDS THERE'S, YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY IT BEFORE. THERE ARE A LOT OF CHILDREN WHO ARE STARTING SCHOOL, NOT KNOWING THOSE BASIC SKILLS AND THAT ALREADY PUTS THEM AT A DISADVANTAGE. AND, YOU KNOW, BEHIND WHEN THEY'RE STARTING SCHOOL ON THAT FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, UM, HELPING WITH MATH SCORES AND READING SKILLS. SO ALL OF LAST YEAR, UM, REALLY 18 MONTHS THAT, THAT KIDS, STUDENTS LEARNING WAS DISRUPTED BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, THE SCORES THAT CAME IN LAST YEAR SHOW A BIG DECLINE IN READING AND MATH SCORES AND, UH, TEXAS EDUCATION, UH, HAS SAID THAT IT COULD, IT'S GONNA TAKE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS TO BRING THIS SKILL SETS UP. WELL, FOR A LARGE NUMBER OF KIDS THEY'RE ARE GRADUATING ENTERING COLLEGE OR THE WORKFORCE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HELP THAT GAP FOR KIDS, BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE THE SKILLS, WHETHER YOU, YOU KNOW, THE SKILL OR NOT, AND, YOU KNOW, TARGETING, UH, ADULTS AND HELPING WITH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ADULT EDUCATION, ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CONVERSATION PROGRAMS, ART TECHNOLOGY, YOU KNOW, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE, THE MAKERSPACES AND THE, THE TECH LABS THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY AND WALNUT CREEK AS WELL. AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO PUT THE TECHNOLOGY AND GET THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE HANDS, ADULTS AND KIDS, EVEN IF IT'S JUST FOR EXPOSURE AND, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO TRY SOMETHING [00:50:01] NEW, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT TECHNOLOGY AT HOME, OR, YOU KNOW, YOUR PLACE OF WORK, BUT WE CAN HAVE THAT. SO YOU CAN PUT YOUR HANDS ON IT AND LEARN SOMETHING OR BE EXPOSED TO SOMETHING RIGHT. WALNUT CREEK LIBRARY. IF THEY DESIGN IT, AS I TALK, TALKED WITH THEM, THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF PLACES FOR YOU TO WORK WITH CHILDREN OVER THERE. THANK GOODNESS. IT'S HEAVILY. WE WILL HAVE A STORYTIME ROOM. YEAH. DEDICATED AREAS ALL OVER THE PLACE FOR THINGS THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE. YES. SO THE CHALLENGE THAT OUR PROGRAMMING LIBRARIANS AND MANAGERS HAVE GONE BACK WITH IS A RE-IMAGINED, UM, PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE FOR STARTING IN SEPTEMBER FOR ALL AGES. AND WE'RE STILL FINE TUNING EVERYTHING. BUT I THINK WHAT YOU WILL SEE IN, UH, SEPTEMBER IS A REALLY FUN AND EDUCATIONAL, UH, GROUP GROUPING OF PROGRAMS THAT TARGET ALL AGES, ESPECIALLY, UM, THE EARLY LITERACY. UM, SO EACH LIBRARY LOCATIONS DOING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, IT'S GOING TO BE SCHEDULED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF PROGRAMS ON SATURDAYS WHEN FAMILIES CAN COME AS A, AS A WHOLE, UH, PROBABLY MORE PROGRAMS IN THE EVENINGS THEN THAN WHAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING AND WHAT WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND OUR FAMILIES THAT LIVE IN GARLAND IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF, OF WORKING CLASS FAMILIES THAT THEY CAN'T COME TO A 10 O'CLOCK STORYTIME AND BRING THEIR CHILD THAT NEEDS TO BE IN A MORE CONVENIENT TIME SLOT. UH, AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO MEET THAT NEED. AND THE FALL SCHEDULE MAY NOT LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE SPRING SCHEDULE. WE'RE GOING TO LEARN A LOT OF THINGS AND PROBABLY MAKE SOME MISTAKES ALONG THE WAY, BUT WE'VE GOT TO GET IN THERE AND REVAMP SOME THINGS. SO I THINK STARTING IN SEPTEMBER, NOT THE PROGRAMS WE'VE BEEN DOING BEFORE THIS HAVEN'T BEEN GREAT. I THINK WE'RE JUST GOING TO TRY TO, TO REALLY, UM, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? REFRESH. YEAH. REFRESHING, THAT'S REALLY GOOD BACK INTO THE GARLAND COMMUNITY AND THAT I'VE, I'VE ASKED KATHLEEN TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE REALLY BIG PROJECTS THAT SHE'S WORKED ON. AND THEN IT'S CURRENTLY WORKING ON WITH SOME OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WILL BE COMING. WE HA WE ALL RIGHT. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, JISD, UH, WITH SEVERAL THINGS. UM, ONE THAT WE ALREADY HAD, UH, AND SEVERAL THAT ARE COMING UP. AND THEN ALSO, UM, WITH, UH, THE CITY OF GARLAND, THE ARTS DEPARTMENT, THERE'S A NEW PERSON. HER NAME IS MICHELLE NORRIS AND SHE'S THE CULTURAL ARTS SUPERVISOR. AND SHE HAS A LOT OF IDEAS AND A LOT OF ENERGY, AND SHE IS BRINGING, UH, IDEAS PROGRAMS TO THE CITY. AND THEN WE'RE WORKING WITH, WITH HER, UH, WITH THE ARTS, CULTURAL ARTS AND THE ONES THAT WE HAD ALREADY, IF IT WAS IN JULY. AND IT WAS WITH, UH, GIS D AND IT WAS THE FIRST PRO FIRST-TIME PROGRAM FOR THEM WAS THE GIS D FAMILY ENGAGEMENT CONFERENCE. AND THEY INVITED, I BELIEVE IT WAS LIKE 250, UH, STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS. AND THEY INVITED, UM, ALL OF THE LIBRARIES THAT ARE IN THE GARLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OTHER VENDORS. AND THEN THEY OFFERED PROGRAMS AND EACH PERSON HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO THE, THE PEOPLE THAT WERE ASSEMBLED THERE ABOUT WHAT THEY OFFERED. SO, UM, THE PEOP PEOPLE THAT WE SENT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, SPECIFICALLY THE, UH, HOMELESS WORK HELP, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DID NOT KNOW THAT WE OFFERED THE ONLINE HOMEWORK HELP. AND SO THAT WAS REALLY GOOD. THEY WERE VERY INTERESTED IN THAT. WE ALSO ARE. THEY ALSO TALKED ABOUT TEEN ADVISORY BOARD BECAUSE THAT WAS THE AGE RANGE. OUR TEEN ADVISORY BOARD IS NOT ONLY A SOCIAL OUTLET, BUT IT ALSO, WE DO THINGS AND IT ALLOWS TEENS THAT PARTICIPATE TO GET THEIR CREDIT FOR THEIR SERVICE HOURS [00:55:01] THAT THEY NEED. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST IN THAT TOO. AND, UM, THEY WERE ABLE TO SIGN UP SEVERAL PEOPLE FOR LIBRARY CARDS, WHICH WE, WE LIKE WHEN WE, WE GO OUT AND WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT IS DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE PULL TO COME IN AND GET THE LIBRARY CARD. SO WHEN WE, WHENEVER WE CAN GO OUT AND WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO REGISTER PEOPLE FOR LIBRARY CARDS, IT IT'S NICE ALL THE WAY AROUND. SO EVERY TIME WE CAN DO THAT, WE REALLY LIKED THAT THE OTHER BIG EVENT THAT WAS COMING UP, UM, WELL WAS THE LITERACY FOR LIFE. AND WE DID THAT TWO YEARS AGO. WAS THERE A FIRST TIME EVENT WAS AT THE CALDWELL CENTER. UM, HAD A GOOD TURNOUT AGAIN, WE, UH, GOT TO REGISTER MULTIPLE PEOPLE FOR LIBRARY CARDS. WE WERE ON TRACK TO HAVE IT, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN IT AGAIN, RATHER, AND JUST GOT NEWS TODAY THAT IT'S BEEN, AND THE IN-PERSON HAS BEEN CANCELED. THEY'RE GOING TO TRY IT AS A VIRTUAL EVENT. WE'RE TRYING TO PICTURE IT AS A VIRTUAL EVENT VENT. UM, IT'S BETTER THAN NOTHING. I SUPPOSE. IT WAS REALLY SOMETHING THAT WORKED REALLY WELL AS AN IN-PERSON EVENT TO HAVE ALL OF THE, UM, PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, ALL OF THE, AGAIN, IT'S THE LIBRARIES THAT ARE IN THE GARLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT ALSO, UM, UH, I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER MORRIS WAS THERE, UH, BE TALKING ABOUT, AND, AND ALL THE KIDS THAT KNEW HER, KNEW HER THROUGH HER BOOKS. AND, AND SO THAT WAS PRETTY EXCITING, BUT OUR TABLE WAS PRETTY MUCH NONSTOP PEOPLE COMING UP AND GETTING INFORMATION AND GETTING CARDS. SO WE WERE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING THAT AGAIN. UM, THE NEXT BIG THING THAT WE'RE DOING IS BIG ART DAY, AND THAT IS COMING UP ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH. AND THAT IS A CITY OF GARLAND CISD EVENT. UH, THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE PLACE AS PART OF THAT. THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE PERFORMERS. THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE, UM, ACTUALLY THEY NEED TO CHANGE WHAT THEY'VE GOT UNDER US, BECAUSE THEY'VE GOT THE PERFORMERS IN OUR CENTRAL LIBRARY AREA, WHICH IS WHAT MICHELLE SAID THEY COULD NOT DO ABOUT THAT. UM, BUT THEY ARE GOING TO, WE, AREN'T GOING TO, I HAVE A 3D CHALK ARTIST IN OUR AREA. UM, BUT KAREN SAID, WE GOT INFORMATION FROM MICHELLE ON SATURDAY, AND WE NEED TO HAVE A, WE NEED TO MEET WITH HER TO FIND OUT WHAT CHANGES HAVE OCCURRED, BUT IT, THEY HAVE THE STUDENTS FROM JISD COME AND THERE'S ALL TYPES OF OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE ART. UH, YOU CAN BRING YOUR OWN T-SHIRT, YOU CAN MAKE, UH, DO DRAWINGS ON YOUR T-SHIRT. THEY CAN, THIS YEAR, THEY'RE LOOKING AT, UH, HAVING PAINTING, UM, DUMPSTERS. THEY THEY'RE GOING TO GET THEM. THEY'RE GOING TO STEAM, CLEAN THEM, UH, DO A BASE PAINT AROUND THEM SO THAT THEY'RE ALL RELATIVELY FRESH THERE. AND THEN THEY, THEY'RE GOING TO PAINT THE OUTSIDE OF 'EM KIND OF LIKE MURALS AND THAT'S THERE EACH YEAR. THEY HAVE A, A DIFFERENT ART PROJECT THAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO. AND THAT'S THE ONE FOR THIS YEAR. AND THEN THERE'S JUST SMALLER AREAS FOR KIDS TO PARTICIPATE IN ART IN SOME WAY. AND IT'S A, IT'S A BIG DRAW AND OKAY. I THINK THAT 3D, I DIDN'T REALIZE WE WERE GETTING INTO 3D ARTISTS, I THINK HAVE ANY OF YOU SEEN, THOSE ARE SO COOL TALK ARTISTS, IT LOOKS, THERE'S THE ONES WHERE YOU DON'T WANT TO STEP IN BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO FALL IN, WELL, WILL THEY PLACE THESE BE ALL OVER TOWN? THEY IT'S GOING TO BE ON THE SQUARE IN THAT WHOLE AREA, BUT THEY ARE DIRECTING, UH, THE ACTIVITIES TO THE LIBRARY AND THEN TO THE, THE LANDMARK, UH, MUSEUM. SO IT'S GOING TO DOWNTOWN. YES. YEAH. AND LIKE I SAID, THAT IS A CITY OF GARLAND, UH, G I S E EVENT. SO WE'VE BEEN IN THESE MEETINGS AND EVERYBODY'S PARTICIPATING AND [01:00:01] EVERYBODY'S EXCITED ABOUT IT. IT'S PRETTY FUN. WE'LL ALSO HAVE SOME, UM, SMALLER PROGRAMS GETTING KIDS AND PARENTS EXCITED ABOUT BIG ART DAY LIBRARY LOCATIONS. SO THERE'LL BE A CHANCE FOR, FOR KIDS WHO MAYBE CAN'T COME TO THE ACTUAL BIG ART DAY TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF ACTIVITY CRAFT SOMETHING AT THE, AT THE LIBRARIES AT SOUTH WALNUT. YES. AND ALSO TO JUST GET PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT THAT DAY. AND THEN THE LAST ONE THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY, WE JUST GOT INVITED TO DO. THIS IS, UM, TO PARTICIPATE IN, UH, DIA DE LOS MUERTOS. AND THAT IS WITH ALSO THE CITY AND GA G I S D. AND, UM, THAT IS A, UH, IT'S GOING TO HAVE THE CULTURAL ART SHOW, THE BALLET FOLKLORICO, UH, MARIACHIS AND SEE WHAT ELSE THEY HAVE. LIKE I SAID, THIS IS JUST, WE'RE JUST NOW GETTING IN ON THIS. SO WE DON'T EVEN HAVE PLANNED WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, BUT, UM, IT THEY'VE HAD IT. UM, UH, IT'S BEEN IN CITY OF GARLAND. THEY PARTICIPATED IN MULTIPLE YEARS. AND I REMEMBER LAST NOT LAST YEAR, YEAR BEFORE LAST, WHEN THEY HAD THIS AND I WAS ON MY WAY HOME. AND I SAW, UM, PEOPLE WITH THE FACE PAINT AND WITH THE SKELETON, THE MASK, AND EVEN THE LITTLE, LITTLE KIDS, AND THEY WERE SO CUTE, BUT THEY HAVE ALL OF THE MUSIC AND THEY HAVE THE VENDORS AND EVERYTHING. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE'RE GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT, BUT I'M EXCITED. AND WE WERE ALREADY SELECTING THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE PARTICIPATING IN IT. AND BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING INVOLVED WITH ALL WITH THESE DEPARTMENTS AND WE'RE WE'RE, WE ARE STILL DOING THE GIS. D ARE WE GOING TO, WE ARE GOING TO BE PICKING IT BACK UP OUR REGULAR, UM, MEETINGS WITH JISD WITH, UM, COMMUNITY AND GREAT ENGAGEMENT. SO WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO PARTICIPATE WITH THEM AND NOW WITH, UH, THE CULTURAL ARTS DEPARTMENT. SO IT, IT'S A KIND OF AN EASY WAY FOR US. IT'S A, BUILT-IN, THEY'VE, THEY'VE GOT PARTNERS, UH, CULTURAL ARTS DEPARTMENT HAS PARTNERS, GIS HAS PARTNERS. SO IT'S AN EASY WAY TO EXPAND OUR REACH. THAT WAS INTERESTING. IT SHOULDN'T BE A LOT OF FUN. AND I'M ONE THAT, UM, KATHLEEN, UM, HELP COORDINATE, UH, I THINK IT WAS IN THE SPRING WAS THE CHAMBER EVENTS. WE PARTICIPATED IN THE CHAMBER EVENT, OUT ON THE SQUARE AND HAD A LOT OF REALLY GREAT FEEDBACK, THE JOBS. UM, AND THAT WAS, THAT WAS A LOT OF FUN MEETING PEOPLE AND LOT OF NETWORKING. UM, WE HAD SOME REFERENCE STAFF OUT AT THE BOOTH AND THEY WERE ABLE TO TALK WITH DIFFERENT BUSINESS OWNERS AND SMALL BUSINESS, POTENTIAL SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ABOUT SOME OF THE DIFFERENT RESOURCES AND DATABASES THAT WE HAVE AT THE LIBRARY TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES AND SKILLSETS. SO THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD EVENT. SO THERE'LL BE MORE COMING. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE ON THAT? ANYONE JUST CURIOUS TO JUMP OFF ON GWENDOLYN'S TERM QUESTIONING. I KNOW WHAT STEM IS, BUT YOU SAID STEAM IT'S STEAM. SO IT'S SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ART, AND MATHEMATICS. OKAY. SORRY. NOW TOO TWO. SO IT'S A SCIENCE READING. THEY'RE JUST STICK READING IN THERE. OH, IT'S JUST EVERYTHING I HEARD. YOU USED TO ADD THE READING IN THERE. LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S JUST EVERYTHING. THANK YOU. I JUST GOT ONE QUICK QUESTION FOR KATHLEEN, SINCE YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING THE SYSTEM-WIDE PORTION OF IT, WE'LL GO WILL THE, MY OWN AND THE CLEVER OR WHATEVER WE'LL USE NOW. I DON'T KNOW. CLEAVER, WOULD THOSE BE STILL PART OF US? YEAH. AND THEN THE IT'S IT, YOU CAN ACCESS IT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UM, ANYBODY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY IS ABLE TO GET A PART AND WE HAVE, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE LIBBY OUR OVERDRIVE, WHICH IS OUR [01:05:01] AIRPORT, THE CITIES, I MEAN, CORRECT. YEAH. OKAY. SO THE, FOR THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS BASICALLY IS USING BOTH OF THOSE TO USE WHAT THE DISTRICT HAS AND THEN GETTING THE LIBRARY CARD AND GETTING, UH, THE BOOKS, BECAUSE WE HAVE BOOKS FOR ALL AGES, WITH THE, UH, OVERDRIVE EMPLOYEE MAGAZINES. AND, UH, I JUST WENT TO VIRTUAL CONFERENCE FOR OVERDRIVE AND THEY HAVE EXPANDED AND ARE CONTINUING TO EXPAND WHAT THEY OFFER, UH, SO THAT WE'VE GOT TO LOOK AT THAT AND SEE WHAT TYPES OF THINGS WE CAN WALK, WHAT WE WON'T DO AND WHAT, WHEN YOU'RE ABLE TO OFFER. WOW. OKAY. IT'S AMAZING. WHAT'S OFFERED ONLINE AND PHYSICAL TOO, BUT KAREN, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU AND WILL KATHLEEN AND, UH, SABRINA, Y'ALL ALL GONNA HAVE STEVE REALLY BUSY. HE'S GOT A CARB-UPS PRESSURE. THIS IS A NORMAL, OH MY GOODNESS. IT'S ENORMOUS. BUT IT'S ALSO SO EXCITING. YEAH. OKAY. WE ARE DOWN TO MISCELLANEOUS STUFF. WE'VE SENT THE ENCLOSURES AND NOW WE WERE LOOKING AT THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEM. ONE THING FOR MISCELLANEOUS, I FORGOT TO ADD TO THE, UM, THE PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR THE OPERATING BUDGET ARE AUGUST 17TH AND 26TH. AND THE FINAL PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 13TH. FROM THAT THOSE FIGURES ARE, UM, AUGUST 17TH AND 26 ARE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS. AND THE FINAL PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 13TH FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 TWOS OPERATING BUDGET. JUST TAKE IT RIGHT UP TOP TOE FIRST. AND, AND LIKE I SAID, THE, WE HAVE NOT, WE DID NOT REQUEST ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN OUR BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR. THE ONLY REQUEST THAT WE MADE IS TO BECOME, UH, AN OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED FIND FREE LIBRARY. SO THAT WILL BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. AND THAT'S ALL THE MISCELLANEOUS I HAVE MISS BETTY. OH, GOOD. OKAY. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. WE'LL HAVE ELECTION OF OFFICERS NEXT TIME. ANYTHING ELSE ANYBODY WANTS ON THE AGENDA? IF THAT'S ALL, UH, ADJOURN THE MEETING, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AND IT'S NICE TO SEE A WHOLE THING. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.