* 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. OKAY, WELL, [00:00:01] I'M SUSPECT THAT MICHAEL IS [Library Board on September 12, 2022.] ON HIS WAY, BUT WE WILL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AND THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA, WE DON'T HAVE ANY CITIZENS HERE. OKAY. THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES. UM, SABRINA HAS PROVIDED US WITH A COPY OF MINUTES FROM THE MEETING ON AUGUST 8TH. ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR CORRECTIONS? ANYBODY. OKAY. IF NOT, UM, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED. I MOVE FOR APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED. THANK YOU. SECONDED. OKAY. UH, ALL IN FAVOR OF ALL IN FAVOR OF PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAY NO. OKAY. THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED AS PRESENTED. WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION. AND THE FIRST ITEM IS TO DISCUSS BOARD MEMBER APPOINTMENTS. AND REAPPOINTMENTS KAREN, WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR US? GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. UM, WE HAVE ONE, UH, REAPPOINTMENT AND ONE NEW APPOINTMENT. SO MICHAEL WAS REAPPOINTED AT THE AUGUST 16TH COUNCIL SESSION. UM, AND WE HAVE KRISTEN LUCIDO, WHO IS THE NEW, UM, COUNCIL WOMAN LOOKS, UH, APPOINTEE TO THE LIBRARY BOARD. SHE WAS APPOINTED SEPTEMBER 6TH LAST WEEK. WELCOME. UM, SO YEAH, WE'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU. UM, EDENA DID RESIGN OFF THE BOARD AS WELL. OKAY. AND WHAT DISTRICT IS EDWINA? SHE WAS DISTRICT FIVE. OKAY. OH, WELL THAT MAKES SENSE. OKAY, KRISTEN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF? SURE. ABSOLUTELY. KRISTEN LUCIDO HAVE LIVED IN DISTRICT FIVE IN GARLAND FOR 21 YEARS. UM, WE LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT'S NEAR, UM, FIRST AND CENTERVILLE. SO WE USED TO BE REALLY CLOSE TO THE RIDGEWOOD BRANCH WHILE IT WAS THERE TO OUR DAUGHTER WHEN SHE WAS REALLY SMALL TO THAT LIBRARY. UM, BUT, UM, I THINK GARLAND'S LIBRARY SYSTEM IS PHENOMENAL. IT'S A WONDERFUL ASSET FOR THIS CITY, REALLY EXCITED TO GET INVOLVED AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING. I'VE HAD A CHANCE JUST TO SKIM THE MASTER PLAN, BUT LOOK FORWARD TO READING MORE THOROUGHLY AND, UH, AND HELPING ANY WAY I CAN HAPPY TO. BEAUTIFUL. WELCOME. THANK YOU. WELL, I'D LIKE FOR US TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES, WOULD YOU START SO THAT KRISTEN CAN MEET ALL OF US? IF YOU'LL SAY YOUR NAME AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD? I'M CHARLES SMITH SOWE AND OKAY. AND WHAT DISTRICT DO YOU REPRESENT? THE WHAT? WHAT DISTRICT? UH, DISTRICT ONE. OKAY. I'M TRELLIS. KOCHER I FROM DISTRICT EIGHT. AND I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR A FEW YEARS. DOROTHY MCALLISTER. I'M FROM DISTRICT SIX, BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME TOO. GWEN DANIELS. I REPRESENT DISTRICT FOUR. AND, UM, I'M A, I THINK THIS IS MY SECOND TERM MM-HMM AND, UM, I'M A PROUD 48 YEAR RESIDENT OF GARLAND. WOW. AND I'M TERRY H SHAPRE I'M THE VICE CHAIR AND, UH, UH, I'M A DISTRICT SEVEN APPOINTEE AND I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR, I THINK COMING UP ON ABOUT 10 YEARS. SO WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE. THANK YOU. AND I'M KAREN ARCHIBALD. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES. I'M KATHLEEN CHIK. I'M THE PUBLIC SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE LIBRARY. I'M WILL MASSEY THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE NICE TO MEET YOU SABRINA. SABRINA'S AWESOME. SO WELCOME. WE'RE GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE. OKAY. THANK YOU EVERYONE. UM, THE NEXT ITEM IS A BUDGET UPDATE. SO AT LAST, UM, TUESDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING, THE, UH, COUNCIL DID APPROVE THE FISCAL YEAR 23, 20 22 23 BUDGET, UM, FOR THIS CITY, WHICH INCLUDES LIBRARIES. UM, THERE IS ONE, UM, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THAT, UH, WHEN WE GET TO IT ON THE AGENDA, STEVE IS GONNA HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THOSE NEW SERVICES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ADDING, UM, FOR PATRONS, WHICH WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT. UM, BUT WE'RE EXCITED TO START. WE'RE STARTING IN A GOOD PLACE FOR FISCAL YEAR 23, WHICH BEGINS OCTOBER 1ST. EXCELLENT NEWS. ALL RIGHT. AND LET'S MOVE ON TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND BOND PROGRAM UPDATES. [00:05:02] ALL RIGHT. SO CENTRAL, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT CENTRAL. WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT IN THE PAST THE BUDGET WOVES OF CENTRAL. WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT BUDGET WITH ANY PROJECT TODAY , BUT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT, UM, SOME IMAGES OF SOME INTERIORS, SOME FINISHES FOR CENTRAL LIBRARY WALNUT, AND THEN A SPECIAL SURPRISE WITH NORTH. SO THE FIRST SURE IT'S, UM, CENTRAL LIBRARY, YOU ARE A MEMBER THAT WE'RE DOING A MAJOR RENOVATION TO BOTH FLOORS WE'RE REIMAGINING WHERE THE, UM, THE MAIN ENTRANCE IS GONNA BE OFF THE WEST, WHICH IS WHERE THE, THE LARGE PARKING LOT IS IN BETWEEN THE LIBRARY AND THE WOMEN'S CENTER. UM, ALL OF THE MAIN FLOOR IS GOING TO BE, UH, REDESIGNED, UM, FOR ACCESSIBILITY TO BRING ALL THE ADULT, UM, MATERIALS THAT ARE IN THE BASEMENT CURRENTLY UP TO THE MAIN FLOOR, UM, COMPUTERS, FICTION, NONFICTION, STEADY ROOMS, CONFERENCE ROOMS, SMALL BUSINESS INCUBATOR IN CLASSROOM MAKER, SPACE AREA, AS WELL AS SOME STAFF, UH, STAFFING AREA, HAVING A NICE, BIG NEW LOBBY AND, UM, COMMUNITY ROOM UP HERE AT THE FRONT AS WELL. AND THEN THE BASEMENT DOWNSTAIRS IS REIMAGINED INTO THE CHILDREN'S AREA. UM, SO REALLY ZERO TO 12 YEARS OLD GOES TO THE, UM, A CONTAINED SAFER ENVIRONMENT JUST FOR CHILDREN AND ADMINISTRATION IS BEING RELOCATED TO THE BASEMENT AS WELL DOWNSTAIRS . SO ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS THAT WE HAVE IN, UH, THE RENOVATION IS A, AN AD OF SOME PLAYFULNESS AND FUN. AND SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN INTERIOR SLIDE THAT WILL ACCOMPANY THE, UM, OH GOSH, THE GRAND STAIRCASE. UH, I'M TRYING TO, WHAT WAS THE STAIRCASE CALLED? IT'S NOT A GRAND STAIRCASE GRAND, UM, IT'S THE, IT'S A PERFORMANCE TYPE. YEAH, IT'S A PERFORMANCE TYPE OF STAIRCASE AND I JUST CAN'T THINK OF THE RIGHT NAME FOR IT, BUT THE SLIDE IS TO BRING KIDS AND SOME ADULTS MYSELF INCLUDED FROM THE MAIN FLOOR DOWN TO THE BASEMENT AND TO ADD SOME FUN FOR KIDS AND POSSIBLY, UH, OUR DIRECTOR CITY MANAGER ALSO, YES, THAT'S A POSSIBILITY TO THE CITY MANAGER. WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR ARCHITECTS ON DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WHEN WE WANT TO LIMIT THE USE OF THIS SLIDE, IF WE'RE HAVING A PROGRAM OR MAJOR EVENT DOWNSTAIRS THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, TAP OFF USE TO THAT SLIDE, BUT THERE JUST GIVES YOU SOME OF THOSE, UM, IMAGES THERE. AND THEN WE'VE BEEN STARTING TO WORK ON FINISHES BOTH FOR UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS, AND IT'S A LOT OF FUN. EVERYTHING IS STILL, WE DON'T HAVE, UM, FINAL BOARDS TO SHOW, BUT I DO WANNA TAKE YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS WITH CENTRAL. CAUSE I THINK THIS IS WHEN THINGS REALLY START TO BECOME REAL. WHEN WE GET TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT PIECES OF FURNITURE AND CARPET, UM, THIS IS THEY'RE CALLING IT MINDFUL, PLAY FOR DOWNSTAIRS. SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO DO, ESPECIALLY IN THE CHILDREN'S AREA DOWNSTAIRS IS SOMETHING WITH COLOR AND THAT COULD ALSO BE USED FOR WAY FINDING. SO I LOVE COLOR, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, COLOR. UM, AND THIS PARTICULAR CARPET COMES IN ALL DIFFERENT SHADES. THERE'S AN ORANGE, A BLUE PURPLE GREEN, YELLOW PROBABLY WON'T USE THE YELLOW BECAUSE OF HOW LIGHT IT IS, BUT YOU CAN START TO SEE IN ONE OF THESE IMAGES HERE THAT WE CAN HAVE OPTIONS USING IT AS WE, UM, HAVE GRAY CARPET IN CERTAIN AREAS, BUT THEN ADD THESE COLORFUL CARPETS AROUND THE BOTTOM, UH, THE LOWER FLOOR TO USE FOR WAYFINDING. SO MAYBE THE GREEN ARE EASY PICTURE BOOKS AND THE BLUE ARE BEGINNING READERS AND THE, THE PURPLE IS JUNIOR NONFICTION THAT IT KIND OF TAKES YOU ON A PATHWAY AROUND THE DOWNSTAIRS AND MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT FUN AND ADDS MOVEMENT, UM, TO THIS SPACE TOO. NEAT. THAT'S SO COOL. JUST LOOKING AT A LITTLE BIT MORE, WE ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE COLOR THROUGHOUT AND THE ORANGE, I SHOULD SAY THE ORANGE IS WHERE THE, THE CHILDREN'S DESK WILL BE LOCATED AT SERVICE DESK HERE IN THE MIDDLE. AND THIS IS GIVING YOU SOME DIFFERENT, UH, CONCEPTS, IF YOU CAN, WE CAN HAVE REALLY, REALLY FOCUSED, UM, HYPERPIGMENTED, UM, AREAS OF CARPET. THIS KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF USING THE CARPET WITH THE REGULAR FIELD CARPET, THE GRAY CARPET TO, UM, BEGIN IMPLEMENTING THOSE WAY, FINDING AREAS AND THOSE PATHWAYS FOR CHILDREN AND PARENTS TO BE ABLE TO WALK, OH, IT IS THE MOST FUN. [00:10:03] SO THIS FLOORING, THIS ACTUALLY IS A V C T OR I'M SORRY, L V T UM, IT'S A TILE SURFACE AND THIS IS GOING IN THE, UM, CHILDREN'S STORY TIME ROOM. SO IT'S A VERY FUN, VERY, UH, COLORFUL, UM, HARD SURFACE THAT'S IN THAT STORY TIME ROOM THAT IF WE CAN STILL PUT DOWN RUGS AND STILL PUT DOWN SOMETHING FOR KIDS, IF WE'RE HAVING STORY TIME OR SOMETHING, WE WANT THEM TO SIT ON THEIR BOTTOMS FOR, BUT WHEN WE'RE GETTING INTO THE MORE MESSY, FUN, INTERACTIVE PAINTING, WHATEVER THAT MAY BE, THIS SURFACE WILL REALLY, IT'S A MUCH MORE DURABLE SURFACE THAN THAT. AND WE CAN CLEAN IT MUCH EASIER. LAMINATE, VINYL, TILE, LAMINATE, VINYL TILE. YES. AND THEN, UM, THIS TYPE OF FLOORING HERE WE WERE LOOKING AT, UH, THIS AGAIN IS A, THE LAMINATE VINYL TILE. UM, THIS WOULD BE ON THE MAIN FLOOR UPSTAIRS, UM, IN MORE OF THE ADULT AREAS. UM, AND THIS WOULD BE IN THE STAFF BREAK ROOM, BUT ALSO THE MAKER SPACE AREA. AND IT ALMOST LOOKS, UM, LIKE A WOVEN TILE, BUT IT'S, IT'S A VERY HARD SURFACE. IT'S VERY DURABLE, CAN TAKE A LOT OF ABUSE FOR THE MAKER SPACE AND SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT'LL GO IN, UM, THAT ROOM EASY TO CLEAN, VERY EASY TO CLEAN, WHICH IS ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE HAVE WITH ANY OF OUR FLOORING. HOW DOES IT, HOW IS THE WEAR AND TEAR? HOW EASY CAN IT BE CLEANED? HOW OFTEN CAN IT BE CLEANED BEFORE IT STARTS LOSING PIGMENTATION, LOOKING AT A DIFFERENT TYPE OF FLOOR, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY USING THE L V T IN THIS ONE. UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT, SO AT ONE TIME WE WERE GOING TO DO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A REALLY COOL THING, UM, IN THE RESTROOMS AND HAVING LIKE THE EPOXY FLOOR THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY SEAMS, ANY GROUT, UM, TO MAKE IT EASY TO CLEAN, CUZ IT'S GROUT IN A HEAVILY TRAFFICKED AREA, THE MORE YOU CLEAN IT, THE MORE THE GROUT GETS DIRTY AND IT, IT STARTS TO, TO WEAR AND TEAR OVER TIME. HOWEVER, WE DID VERY, VERY RECENTLY, UM, VISIT ANOTHER, UM, PLACE THAT HAS USED THE EPOXY. AND IT JUST HAS NOT, IT'S NOT AS EASY TO CLEAN AS WHAT, UH, IT SEEMS ON. YES, AND IT HAS SPACES TO BE HELD ONTO DIRT AND WE DON'T WANT THAT. SO WE'RE GOING BACK. WE'VE ACTUALLY SELECTED A, UM, A BEAUTIFUL TILE THAT I'LL GET THE, AN IMAGE OF, UM, FOR THE RESTROOM. AND ACTUALLY, I THINK WE'RE GONNA USE IT IN THE FRONT LOBBY AREA OF THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. THAT'S, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL TILE IT'S, UM, NEUTRAL IN SOME WAYS, BUT IT, IT WILL TIE EVERYTHING IN TOGETHER AND REALLY BE BEAUTIFUL WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE, THE LIBRARY FROM THE OUTSIDE AND THEN THIS, UNFORTUNATELY IT DOES NOT SHOW UP VERY WELL ON SCREEN, BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE WALL COVERINGS THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT USING, UM, IN SOME OF THE PLACES. SO THIS, UH, I THINK THIS ONE IS GOING IN ONE OF THE RESTROOMS AND THIS ONE IN ONE OF THE RESTROOMS, UM, IT'S LIKE A VINYL, UH, WALL SURFACE THAT HAS JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A TEXTURE AND A LITTLE BIT OF A PATTERN TO IT. UM, THAT REALLY, SO OUR ARCHITECT IS VERY KEYED IN ON, UM, OUR BUILDING REALLY BEING A, UH, MID CENTURY MODERN, THANK YOU. MID-CENTURY MODERN BUILDING. AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SELECTIONS THAT HONOR THE BUILDING ITSELF. AND THIS IS, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PATTERNS AND ONE OF THOSE, UM, ONE OF THOSE THINGS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, AND IT'S REALLY PRETTY IN PERSON. I HOPE THAT WE'LL SOON BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME ACTUAL SAMPLES TO BRING IN AND, AND LET YOU SEE AND FEEL ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UH, TEXTURES, SAMPLES, COLORS, CUZ IT IT'S JUST, IT'S EXCITING. LIKE I SAID, THIS IS THE, THE PART FOR ME WHEN A PROJECT REALLY STARTS BECOMING REAL, WHEN WE CAN SEE ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS COMING TOGETHER AND ALL THE DIFFERENT CHOICES. SO THAT IS CENTRAL. WE'RE STILL ON SCHEDULE TO SEND THIS PROJECT OUT FOR BID, UM, IN OCTOBER, NOVEMBER. AND THEN ONCE THOSE BIDS COME BACK IN, WE'LL HAVE HARD NUMBERS TO, TO WORK WITH WORK WITH OUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AND CITY ADMINISTRATION ABOUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PROJECT. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT CENTRAL, UH, BEFORE I MOVE TO WALNUT? OKAY. SO WALNUT, AS YOU REMEMBER, WALNUT CREEK [00:15:01] IS BEING CONSTRUCTED AT THE HOBAR REC CENTER ON THE PARK LAND. UM, AND SO OUR ARCHITECTS AND WE WANTED TO, AGAIN, JUST LIKE WITH CENTRAL, WITH THE MID-CENTURY MODERN BUILDING, WE WANTED TO CONSTRUCT, ESPECIALLY ON THE INTERIOR, HAVE SOMETHING THAT, UH, PAID TRIBUTE TO OUTSIDE SINCE WE'RE GONNA BE BUILDING AT A PARK. SO SOME OF THESE FINISHES AND SOME OF THESE COLORS WERE TAKEN FROM, UM, THE NATURAL FLOWERS AND THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE OF TEXAS AS WELL IN THE CHILDREN'S SECTION. THE CHILDREN'S, SECTION'S NOT THE ONLY PART THAT GETS ALL THE FUN, BUT IN THESE TWO CASES, , I THINK THERE ARE TWO REALLY COOL THINGS THAT CHILDREN'S HAVE, UH, BOTH AT CENTRAL AND AT WALNUT CREEK. SO THIS CARPET RIGHT UP HERE MIMICS A RIVERBED. AND SO SOME OF THIS CARPET, UM, IS GONNA BE USED ON THE FLOOR WHEN YOU COME IN AND ENTER, UH, THE LIBRARY GO OFF TO THE LEFT, KIND OF LIKE WITH CENTRAL, WITH THE WAY, FINDING THE DIFFERENT COLORS, THE ORANGE, THE GREEN AND THE BLUE WILL TAKE YOU TO DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE CHILDREN AND TEEN DEPARTMENT. AND IT'S MADE TO LOOK LIKE A RIVER BED. IT'S REALLY COOL TO, TO SEE THIS CARPET IN PERSON. UM, WE DO HAVE THREE STEADY ROOMS, A PART OF WALNUT AND EACH ONE IS GOING TO HAVE ITS OWN COLOR. UM, KIND OF LIKE WHAT IT SHOWS UP HERE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE IT, BUT IT SHOWS UP HERE OF USING, WE'LL PROBABLY USE A GREEN, A BLUE, UM, MIMICKING THESE IN THE RED, IN THOSE, UH, STEADY ROOMS. SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SAY YOU HAVE THE RED STEADY ROOM, THE BLUE STEADY ROOM, THE GREEN STEADY ROOM. IT'LL BE A REALLY NICE POP OF COLOR ON THAT SIDE. UM, AND THEN, AND THE ADULT SECTION, THIS CARPET IS MUCH PRETTIER IN PERSON THAN THE CARPET SHOWS ON. THE IMAGE I PROMISE IT'S MUCH PRETTIER. UM, THERE'S THE BASIC GRAY CARPET FIELD CARPET THAT, UH, IS USED THROUGHOUT, BUT THEN THIS SHADE REALLY MIMICS, UM, FRESH GRASS. UM, THERE'S A VERY SOFT BLUE SHADE HERE AND IT REALLY COMES UP AS GRAY ON HERE, BUT IT'S, IT'S A VERY, VERY SOFT, SOOTHING SHADE OF BLUE. THAT'S VERY PRETTY. WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA HAVE BOTH OF THESE IN THE ADULT, UM, ROOM AND THE COMMUNITY ROOM. SO IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMUNITY ROOM, LET ME SEE IF I BROUGHT A, A MAIN MAY NOT HAVE I DIDN'T THE COMMUNITY ROOM ACTUALLY. AH, HOW DO I GO BACK? I'M GONNA GET TO A FLOOR PLAN. THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY HERE. OKAY. SO IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMUNITY ROOM, WHEN, UM, IS A SUB DIVIDABLE ROOM, IT WOULD HOLD ABOUT, UH, HOLD ABOUT A HUNDRED PEOPLE IN IT. WHOA, BUT IT'S ABOUT A 60, 40 SPLIT. UM, SO IT'S CAN BE SUBDIVIDED RIGHT ALONG HERE. ONE OF THESE WILL HAVE THE GREEN CARPET IN IT. ONE OF 'EM WILL HAVE THE BLUE CARPET IN IT WITH THE FIELD CARPET AS WELL. SO IT, IT REALLY FLOWS AND, UM, IS VERY SOOTHING AND PRETTY WITHOUT IT BEING OVERPOWERING. THE OTHER CARPET THAT WE ARE CONSIDERING, BUT HAVING SOME, UM, BACK AND FORTH WITH IS THIS, UH, SHADE HERE. AND IT'S LIKE A, A SALMON CORAL COLOR. IT'S GORGEOUS. LIKE I WANT IT IN THIS BUILDING SO BAD, BUT IT, IT MAY NOT END UP GOING IN THIS BUILDING. IT'S JUST, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL POP OF COLOR. IT MAY BE TOO MUCH OF A BEAUTIFUL POP OF COLOR BECAUSE WE'RE WANTING TO USE IT NOW, THE CORRIDOR OF WALNUT HERE AND WITH HAVING THE BIG CATHEDRAL LIGHT COLORED GLASS IN THAT CATHEDRAL OR THAT, UH, PROMENADE AREA OF WALNUT WITH THE SUNLIGHT COMING IN, THOSE DIFFERENT SHADES COMING IN OFF OF THE WINDOWS MAY CLASH WITH A REALLY BOLD CARPET. SO WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH THE INTERIORS, UM, DESIGN TEAM TO, TO FIND THE RIGHT SHADE OF CARPET, EVEN THOUGH IT DOES HURT MY HEART, THAT IT MAY NOT END UP BEING THAT SALMON COLOR BECAUSE IT'S JUST SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SHADE. HOW MANY CAN THAT LIBRARY HOLD? UM, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE FULL NUMBER OF PEOPLE. WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN A, A NUMBER FROM THE FIRE MARSHAL YET, BUT IT WILL BE PROBABLY THREE OR FOUR TIMES OF WHAT THE CURRENT WALNUT CAN [00:20:01] HOLD. NOW, AT LEAST, AT LEAST. AND THEN IN OUR, UM, MAKER SPACE AREA, SOME STORAGE ROOM AREAS WE'RE GONNA BE DOING, UM, FINISHED CONCRETE IN THOSE SPACES. UH, SOMETHING REALLY, REALLY HARDY THAT WILL LOOK PRETTY, BUT THEN CAN TAKE, YES, CAN TAKE A BEATING AS WELL. SO VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT. THE NEXT THING THAT WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK AT ARE DIFFERENT CUSTOM PIECES OF MILLWORK THROUGHOUT THE LIBRARY. AND THESE ARE JUST STARTING THE CONVERSATIONS FOR US TO SEE, DO WE WANNA HAVE LIKE OUR, OUR FRONT DESK, UM, AT WALNUT CREEK, DO WE WANNA HAVE A DESK THAT EVERYONE IS SEATED AT? OR DO WE WANT LIKE ONE SIDE SEATED, ONE SIDE STANDING LEVEL AND HOW DO WE WANT THAT TO LOOK AND FUNCTION? WE HAVEN'T MADE ANY DECISIONS ON THIS YET. WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH OUR TEAM, UM, BEGINNING TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT DISPLAYS THAT WE CAN HAVE THROUGHOUT THE LIBRARY AND THE FINISHES OF THOSE DISPLAYS. AGAIN, THESE ARE THE FINISHES THAT THEY'RE PROPOSING. IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE WHAT WE END UP WITH, BUT, UM, YOU CAN'T SEE THE, THIS ONE HERE IS A VERY PRETTY, UM, LIKE A VINYL COVER THAT HAS A LITTLE BIT OF A PEARL, UM, FINISHED TO IT WITH A PATTERN ON IT, LOOKING AT SHELVING AND BOOKSHELF. SO WE ARE NOT GOING WITH ZS. THESE ARE A HARD NOTE IT WAS A LITTLE TOO BOLD FOR ME BECAUSE THE BIG THING IS WE'RE GONNA BE WITH THIS BUILDING FOR THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, 50 YEARS. AND THAT SHELVING WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE MARRIED TO THIS SHELVING FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS AS WELL. IT'S NOT INEXPENSIVE STUFF, THE SHELVING, AND SOME OF THESE PIECES REALLY NEED TO BE MORE TRADITIONAL CLASSIC THAT CAN GO WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE REALLY LEANING MUCH HEAVIER ON SOME TYPE OF WOOD FINISH FOR THE END PANELS AND THE TOPS OF THOSE. AND THEN THIS, THIS IS THE SAME PIECE OF FURNITURE. IT'S JUST SHOWING TWO DIFFERENT SIDES WHEN HAVING LIKE BENCH SEATING, UM, WE CAN HAVE CAFE TABLES AT IT AND THEN THIS HAVING, UM, A SELECTION, IF WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FOR DISPLAY OR, UM, ANY TYPE OF COLLECTION THAT WE WANTED TO HAVE HERE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IT. AND THEN THIS IS IN STARTING TO GO INTO THE CHILDREN AND TEENS AREA. THIS IS THE ONE THING I WILL SAY IS OUR DISPLAY, UM, PIECES IN THE CHILDREN AND TEEN AREAS. I FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE HAVING POPS OF COLOR IN THAT, BUT NOT WITH THE, THE REST OF THE SHELVING OVER IN THAT SECTION. SO, UM, THEY'RE REDOING A COUPLE OF THINGS WITH THAT, WITH THE SHELVING, BUT HAVING VERY SIMILAR THINGS OF WHAT WE SAW WITH THE ADULT, WITH THE ADDITION. UM, AND THIS IS AGAIN, NOT THE FINAL VERSION AT ALL, HAVING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF BIN FOR EASY PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN THAT MAKE IT FACE OUT WHERE CHILDREN ARE ABLE TO, TO GO THROUGH AND LOOK AT THE, THE BOOKS. INSTEAD OF HAVING EVERYTHING LINED UP ON A SHELF, IT'S JUST MUCH MORE USER FRIENDLY FOR CHILDREN AND PARENTS THAT WAY. UM, PROBABLY ALSO GONNA START GROUPING SOME OF THOSE ITEMS BASED OFF OF SUBJECT RATHER THAN AUTHOR. SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A BOOK ABOUT ANIMALS, YOU COULD GO OVER HERE AND THERE'S BOOKS ABOUT ANIMALS OR TRAINS OR CARS OR BUILDING, YOU KNOW, THAT WAY KIND OF THE WAY A CHILD'S BRAIN THINKS. AND DON'T GET MARRIED TO ANYTHING THAT YOU SEE ON THIS PAGE. CUZ THIS WAS ALL HARD. NO, WE'RE, WE'RE DOING SOMETHING VERY, VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE ADULT SECTION WITH JUST HAVING A VERY TRADITIONAL, VERY CLASSIC WOOD PANEL AND WOOD TOP, UM, SHELVING FOR THE ADULT OR FOR THE CHILDREN'S AREA, BUT HAVING SO ON THE FLOOR PLAN OVER HERE IS CHILDREN OVER HERE IS TEEN. AND THIS PIECE OF FURNITURE HERE IS WHAT'S REPRESENTED HERE AND THIS WILL BE, UM, THE COMPUTER AREA FOR THE CHILDREN AND TEENS. SO ONE SIDE WILL HAVE TEAM COMPUTERS, THE OTHER SIDE CHILDREN'S COMPUTERS AND IT'S, UH, ACTING AS A BUFFER BETWEEN THOSE TWO AREAS, BUT KIND OF THE SAME TOO, BECAUSE THERE ARE PIECES OF TECHNOLOGY. SO REALLY LIKE THIS PIECE OF FURNITURE WITH THE POPS OF COLOR AND SOMETHING THAT'S A LITTLE MORE FUN AND FUNKY, UM, THAT WE COULD CHANGE OUT, YOU KNOW, IN 30 YEARS WHEN NO ONE IS HERE ANY LONGER, NO ONE YOU'LL, UM, SOMETHING BY IT'LL DROP BY, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S FUN. AND THAT FITS WITH THE, THE CURRENT THEME OF [00:25:01] WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE HERE. AND WE SHOULD HAVE KNOCK ON WOOD, UM, DESIGN BOARDS AT THE NEXT MEETING FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE SOME OF THESE FINISHES, UH, AND SOME OF THE DIFFERENT MATERIALS THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO USE FOR THE PROJECT, WHICH IS EXCITING. SO ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WALNUT CREEK? HOW MANY STATIONS DO YOU HAVE WITH COMPUTERS IN THEM? I THINK WE'RE, UM, LOOKING AT HAVING SIX OR SEVEN FOR CHILDREN'S, UH, COMPUTERS AND ABOUT THAT SAME NUMBER FOR TEEN AND THEN FOR ADULT, I THINK IT'S TAKING IT UP TO EITHER 10 OR 12. UM, BUT PART OF THAT, WE'RE STILL KIND OF WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS. I TAKE THAT BACK. IT MAY BE EITHER EIGHT OR 10 COMPUTERS FOR THE ADULT AREA, CUZ WE'RE HAVING, UM, SOME SEATING FOR PEOPLE WHO BRING IN THEIR OWN LAPTOPS, UM, AND DEVICES THAT WAY, BUT WAY MORE THAN WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, I WONDER, WOULD HOPE CUZ THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH EVEN FOR THE KIDS TO SIT OUT. AND SO NOW TO NORTH AND EVERYONE HAS TO RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND, WE'RE ALL IN THE CORNER OF SILENCE HERE. SO, UM, MANY OF YOU WHO HAVE GONE BY THE NORTH BRANCH LIBRARY, NORTH GARLAND BRANCH LIBRARY, YOU KNOW, IT'S IN A STRIP CENTER, WE'RE IN THE, UH, THE MIDDLE OF THAT STRIP CENTER, RIGHT IN THE BEND IT'S RIGHT ACROSS FROM WEB MIDDLE SCHOOL, ALL THE SOCCER FIELDS IT'S RIGHT OFF GARLAND. IT GETS USED A TON, ESPECIALLY THE MINUTE THAT THAT BELL RINGS FROM WEB MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE NUMBER OF MIDDLE SCHOOLERS THAT COME INTO THAT LOCATION. IT'S IT'S FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER AND MISS MALIA AND MISS BARBARA KNOW ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR NAMES SO, AND THEY KNOW THEIR NAMES TOO. UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IN THIS IS A PROPOSAL FOR SOMETHING THAT WE'D LIKE TO DO ON THE EXTERIOR, THIS STILL HAS TO BE VETTED THROUGH ALL THE RIGHT, UM, CHANNELS, INCLUDING COUNCIL AND COUNCIL DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS YET. SO YOU'RE GETTING A PREVIEW UM, FOR WHAT, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO. SO THIS IS A JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN, UM, MANY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, BUT WE'RE JUST GONNA FOCUS ON THE, THE LIBRARY PORTION TONIGHT. SO THIS GIVES YOU A LITTLE BIT OF, YOU CAN SEE THE SHOPPING CENTER THAT NORTH IS IN, BUT YOU CAN REALLY SEE HERE IN THIS PARTICULAR IMAGE, HOW THE NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY IS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT IN THIS SPACE HERE. AND IT SORT OF JUST DISAPPEARS INTO IT DISAPPEARS. THERE'S NOTHING, UH, THERE'S NOTHING THAT WOULD MAKE YOU DRAW YOUR EYE IN ON THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION, INCLUDING THE SIGN THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE FUNCTIONING DEPENDING ON THE TIME WE TRY SABRINA DOES TRY IT VERY HARD. UM, BUT THIS SIGN IS OLD AND I THINK IT'S USED, IT USES NEON INSTEAD OF OTHER LIGHTING AND THEY JUST DON'T SUPPORT IT ANYMORE. AND THERE'S, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER ISSUES. SO WE'RE WORKING WITH A GROUP AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS COMPLETELY REDO THE SIGN AND SOME OF THE, THE EXTERIOR AROUND THE LIBRARY PORTION ITSELF TO REALLY DRAW ATTENTION TO THE LIBRARY. SO YOU CAN SEE HERE AND AGAIN, DON'T GET, DON'T LOOK AT ANYTHING, NOT LIBRARY RELATED. LIKE I SHOULD WE'LL HOLD YOUR HANDS UP HERE. AND UM, BUT WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT DOING IS MOVING THE SUN AND MAKING IT JUST LIBRARY MM-HMM , YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE, UM, AND DOING SOME KIND OF METAL SCREENS. YEAH. SOME TYPE OF METAL SCREENING UP AT THE TOP WITH SOME COLOR AND SOME, UM, ARTISTRY WITH IT THAT YOU WOULD AUTOMATICALLY DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT PART OF THIS BUILDING. ALSO LOOKING AT DOING SOME KIND OF TREATMENT ON THE COLUMNS OF THE LIBRARY PORTION TO ADD SOME COLOR AND SOME VISUAL INTERESTS, SOME ART POSSIBLY DOING IT UNDERNEATH. UM, WHAT IS IT CALLED? PORTO THE PORT. YES. THANK YOU. THE PORTICO AS WELL, BUT EVERYTHING COSTS MONEY, BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT MONEY TONIGHT. IT'LL BE THE ONE TIME I SAW, WE DON'T TALK ABOUT MONEY WITH A BUILDING TONIGHT. WE HAVE A GOOD COLLECTION UP THERE. THEY HAVE A GREAT COLLECTION. THIS KIND OF GIVES YOU A, A BETTER VISION OF IT HERE. I THINK, UM, WE'RE ABLE TO AFFORD THIS MUCH SCREENING AND THE SIGNAGE. UM, IDEALLY I WOULD LOVE FOR IT TO GO ALL AROUND [00:30:01] THIS ENTIRE SECTION IN THE BACK AS WELL, BUT WE MAY HAVE TO DO THIS IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PHASES, UM, DOING SOMETHING AROUND THE ENTRANCE, UH, TO DRAW INTEREST TO THE BUILDING ITSELF AND ALSO TO ADD SOME TYPE OF OUTDOOR PROGRAMMABLE SPACE, MAYBE NOT FOR LIBRARY PROGRAMS, BUT SOMETHING, UM, THAT WOULD BE INVITING AND THAT PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO, UM, TO STAY OUTSIDE WITH THEIR LAPTOP, READ THEIR BOOK, DO SOMETHING, UM, THAT WAY OUTSIDE OF THE LIBRARY, THAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS. WHEN WE'VE TALKED WITH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, WHEN WE DID OUR SURVEY WITH THE LIBRARY MASTER PLAN. AND EVEN SINCE THEN, UH, SOME OF OUR RELATED SURVEYS AND SOME THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH, UH, GARLAND LIBRARIES, PEOPLE KEEP TALKING ABOUT WANTING OUTDOOR SPACE TO USE, UM, SANCTUARY TYPE SPACES. SO AGAIN, WE, WE DON'T, WE'RE SHARING THIS SPACE. SO WE, WE HAVE TO USE WHAT WE'VE GOT WITHIN THE CONFINES OF WHAT WE HAVE. BUT I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GOOD OPTION. WE HAVE TO DO KAREN, WILL THERE BE BICYCLE RACKS THERE AND UH, YES. WALNUT CREEK. YES. I CAN'T. I CAN'T REMEMBER IF HOBA HAS BIKE RACKS THERE OR NOT RIGHT NOW, BUT ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS WILL HAVE BIKE RACKS. THEY MAY NOT BE THE SAME BIKE RACKS AT NORTH NOW. SO I THINK NORTH CURRENTLY HAS BIKE RACKS THAT ARE IN THE SHAPE OF CHILDREN. UM, BUT THEY DON'T SCREAM BIKE RACK. SO WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING THAT LOOKS THAT'S STILL PRETTY, BUT THAT LOOKS MORE BIKE RACK ISH. YES. TECHNICAL TERM. THIS JUST GIVES YOU A COUPLE OF OTHER IMAGES HERE AND HOPEFULLY GETS EVERYONE EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES, UM, THAT WE CAN DO HERE AT NORTH. WONDERFUL. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? IT'S VERY EXCITING TO SEE THESE IDEAS MOVE TOWARD REALITY. IT'S VERY EXCITING. I THINK I ALSO SAW ON ONE OF THE PICTURES I SIGN THAT WAS CLOSER TO THE STREET, LIKE YES. YEAH. SO WOULD BE GOOD TOO. OKAY, GOOD. I THOUGHT I, IT WOULD BE. AND I THINK SOMEONE, UM, ONE OF THE ARCHITECTS ON THIS PROJECT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, IF YOU'RE DRIVING, IS IT NORTH ON GARLAND AVENUE? UM, LIKE YOU'RE HEADED TOWARDS, UM, OH, WHAT'S THE SPLIT RIGHT THERE THAT YOU HAVE, HAVE TO TURN RAPHOE ARAPAHOE THAT YOU SEE SOMEWHAT THE LIBRARY THAT WAY, IF YOU'RE HEADED THE OTHER WAY, LIKE YOU GET PAST IT BEFORE YOU REALIZE YOU'VE YOU'VE PASSED THE SHOPPING CENTER, YOU'VE PASSED A LIBRARY. SO SOMETHING THAT REALLY POPS EVEN ON EITHER SIDE OF THE, UM, THE SHOPPING CENTER ITSELF, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, PAINTING THE ENCLOSURE THAT DUMPSTERS ARE IN OR SOMETHING THAT WAY TO, TO MAKE PEOPLE REALIZE THAT THERE, THERE ARE, THERE'S A LIBRARY AND THERE ARE BUSINESSES IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA BEFORE YOU'VE PASSED IT AND GONE ON DOWN THE WAY. THIS IS AN EXCITING PROJECT. THEY'RE ALL EXCITING PROJECTS. SO THANK YOU, KAREN. THAT'S WONDERFUL. ALL RIGHT. LET'S MOVE ON. UH, THE NEXT ITEM IS ELECTRONIC RESOURCES. YES. UM, AND WE HAVE, UH, MR. STEVE KOK, WHO IS OUR ELECTRONIC RESOURCES SENIOR LIBRARIAN. UM, HE IS GOING TO GIVE US A PRESENTATION TONIGHT ON ELECTRONIC RESOURCES AND KIND OF A GENERAL OVERVIEW. IT'S REALLY GREAT INFORMATION. HE'S HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT THE, UM, HIS PRESENTATION AS WELL. UM, I ASSUME THAT'S OKAY. WE GOT OKAY, GOOD. ABSOLUTELY. UM, SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS, BUT HE ALSO HAS A REALLY EXCITING THING TO ANNOUNCE AS PART OF THE BUDGET IN THIS PRESENTATION. SO I HOPE Y'ALL ARE AS EXCITED AS WE HAVE BEEN ABOUT THIS TO THANK YOU. WELL, THANKS SO MUCH FOR KAREN. UM, FOR HAVING ME HERE THIS EVENING, ALL OF YOU HOSTING ME AS WELL. I'M STEVE AND I AM THE SENIOR LIBRARIAN IN ELECTRONIC RESOURCES HERE. I'VE BEEN WITH THE LIBRARY ABOUT A YEAR, BUT I'VE BEEN MANAGING ELECTRONIC COLLECTIONS FOR 10 YEARS. UM, SO I'VE GOT SOME MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE AND TALENTS TO BRING DOWN HERE TO GARLAND, WHICH IS GREAT. UM, I'M GONNA PULL UP MY PRESENTATION. [00:35:02] HOLLY IS DOING THAT. I'LL SAY, UM, STEVE'S BEEN WITH US. I THINK HE SAID ABOUT A YEAR MM-HMM . HE GAVE HIS PRESENTATION AT OUR RECENT STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY. THAT WAS REALLY WELL RECEIVED BY, UM, ALL STAFF. WE ALL LEARNED THAT THEY NAMED IT WAS A FUN DAY. IT WAS A VERY FUN DAY. I WAS ONE OF THE LAST PEOPLE TO PRESENT THOUGH. SO I LIKE HAD TO BRING THE ENERGY AFTER LUNCHTIME. OH WOW. KEEP EVERYBODY ON THEIR TOES. NO, NOT AT ALL. BUT WE HAD A GOOD TIME THAT DAY. I FEEL LIKE EVERYBODY WALKED AWAY LEARNING SOME MEANINGFUL THINGS. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. OKAY. TONIGHT, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT ELECTRONIC RESOURCES, WHICH ARE AN INTEGRAL, BUT OFTEN UNSUNG HERO OF THE LIBRARY'S COLLECTIONS. UM, WE THINK ABOUT THE LIBRARY. WE THINK ABOUT AN EXPERIENCE AT A PLACE PERHAPS AS A CHILD OF BRINGING OUR CHILDREN THERE, TO CHECK OUT BOOKS AND GO TO STORY HOUR, WHICH ARE FANTASTIC. BUT PATRONS FOR THE LIBRARY HAVE ACCESS TO INCREDIBLE THINGS WITH THEIR LIBRARY CARDS. UM, WHAT ARE THESE THINGS RIGHT? UM, ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ARE EBOOKS AND DATABASE CONTENT, UH, THAT PATRONS CAN ACCESS AT HOME WITH THEIR LIBRARY CARDS OPEN 24 7 ONLINE. I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY, UM, EBOOKS RANGE FROM, UH, CONTENT OF POPULAR INTEREST. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE JAMES PATTERSON NOVELS. UM, HAS ANYBODY HEARD OF LIBBY BEFORE LIBBY IS AN APP THROUGH THE LIBRARY THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD, UH, BOOKS AND AUDIO BOOKS AND MAGAZINES TO YOUR PHONE OR TABLET IT'S WIDELY POPULAR AND IT'S KIND OF THE CROWN JEWEL OF OUR ELECTRONIC RESOURCES. IT IS A VERY ROBUST COLLECTION. IN ADDITION TO THOSE POPULAR MATERIALS, WE HAVE, UM, A MULTITUDE OF RESEARCH MATERIALS AND WE'RE REACHING THE PATRONS WHERE THEY ARE. IF YOU'RE A MECHANIC, WE'VE GOT RESOURCES FOR YOU TO, UH, FOR THINGS TO REPAIR. UM, IF YOU'RE A HOMEOWNER OR A HOBBYIST OR A TEACHER OR A STUDENT, WE'VE GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU. UM, AND EVERYTHING IS ACCESSIBLE FROM HOME WITH YOUR LIBRARY CARD, WHICH I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH. UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH 130 K BUDGET. THAT'S ALL ACCOUNTED FOR EVERY PENNY IS SPENT ON GOOD CONTENT FOR OUR PATRONS, NOT COUNT THE BOOKS. CORRECT. SO THIS IS JUST FOR THE DATABASE TYPE CONTENT. THE BOOKS COME FROM A DIFFERENT BUDGET AND THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THOSE. I JUST, I JUST RAN OUR STATISTICS. THANK YOU CITY. I JUST RAN OUR STATISTICS FOR OUR EBOOKS LAST WEEK AND WE CIRCULATED OVER 30,000 TITLES THIS MONTH. SO IN AUGUST, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. UM, SO THINK ABOUT THOSE BOOKS. THINK ABOUT THOSE RESOURCES. IF YOU'RE WRITING A PAPER AND YOU NEED TO GET AN ARTICLE ABOUT SHAKESPEARE, WE'RE A DESTINATION FOR THAT. IF YOU NEED TO REPAIR YOUR 1976 CAMARO AND NEED A MANUAL, WE'VE GOT THOSE FOR YOU TOO, TOO. UM, IF YOU'RE AN EDUCATOR LOOKING FOR RESOURCES FOR YOUR SECOND GRADE CLASS, WE'VE GOT CONTENT FOR YOU. UM, YEAH, IF YOU'RE AN INVESTOR, IF YOU'RE A, A, A HOBBYIST FOR THE STOCK MARKET OR MUTUAL FUNDS, WE'VE GOT RESOURCES FOR YOU. WE'VE GOT RATINGS FOR YOU. UM, I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION THAT THE LIBRARY'S WEBSITE AND CALENDAR ARE ALSO AN ELECTRONIC RESOURCE. UM, OUR DIGITAL BRANCH IS ALWAYS OPEN. UM, YOU CAN RETRIEVE NEWS, ALL TYPES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE LIBRARY THERE AS WELL, THE CALENDAR FOR OUR EVENTS. SO OFTEN THEY GET FORGOTTEN, BUT THEY'RE IMPORTANT ELECTRONIC RESOURCES. UM, SO WHY DO WE INVEST ALL THIS MONEY INTO THESE RESOURCES FOR OUR PATRONS? I'M SURE EVERYBODY IN THEIR BAG OR ON THE TABLE IN FRONT OF THEM HAS A PHONE WITH THEM. SO WE ARE STRIVING TO MEET OUR PATRONS WHERE THEY ARE, WHICH IS ON LITTLE SCREENS THAT THEY CARRY AROUND OR SITTING DOWN AT A COMPUTER OR USING THEIR PHONE OR TABLET TO ACCESS THE WEB. UM, ADDITIONALLY ELECTRONIC RESOURCES THROUGH THE LIBRARY ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE PROVIDE PATRONS WITH ACCESS TO PAID CONTENT. IF YOU GO ONLINE THESE DAYS [00:40:01] AND YOU DO SOME CLICKING AROUND, YOU MIGHT HIT WHAT WE CALL A PAYWALL, I'M LOOKING AT A NEWS ARTICLE, OH, IT LOOKS GREAT. I'M GONNA CLICK ON IT. BOOM. IF I'M NOT A SUBSCRIBER, I CAN'T ACCESS THAT CONTENT. SO SOMETHING LIKE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, YOU'RE GONNA HIT A PAYWALL ONLINE, BUT LUCKILY THE LIBRARY HAS ACCESS TO THAT THROUGH ONE OF OUR PRODUCTS. SO YOU CAN CIRCUMVENT THAT PAYWALL BY GETTING ACCESS THROUGH THE LIBRARY AND THAT'S HAPPENING MORE AND MORE, SO MUCH CONTENT IS GOING BEHIND THESE PAYWALLS. UM, AND LASTLY, THEY'RE IMPORTANT BECAUSE SO MUCH CONTENT IS MOVING TO DIGITAL FROM PRINT. WE'VE SEEN, UH, A LOT OF THINGS MOVE FROM PRINT INTO DIGITAL AS FAR AS REFERENCE RESOURCES AND, UM, CONTINUATIONS AS WELL. ALL RIGHT, THIS IS LIKE THE FUN, NUTS AND BOLTS PART OF MY JOB. I GET TO TALK ABOUT, WHICH I DON'T OFTEN GET TO TALK ABOUT. HOW DO WE ACQUIRE AND COLLECT THESE WELL? I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET VENDORS FROM DIFFERENT COMPANIES. UM, WE OFTEN WILL TRAVEL TO CONFERENCES TO MEET, UM, IN THE WAKE OF COVID. I'VE TAKEN A LOT OF WEBINARS, A LOT OF WEBINARS, UM, MEETING REPRESENTATIVES FROM COMPANIES, LEARNING ABOUT THEIR PRODUCTS, HOW THEY'VE BENEFITED LIBRARIES, UM, AND THOSE ARE GREATLY BENEFICIAL. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I MISS GOING TO CONFERENCES. AND I'M VERY MUCH HAPPY THAT THEY'VE COME BACK INTO, UM, OUR WORLD. UM, SO ONCE I LEARN ABOUT PRODUCTS, I CONDUCT TRIALS. WE USUALLY GET TRIALS OF PRODUCTS FROM THE COMPANY SO WE CAN TRY 'EM OUT. YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A CHILDREN'S ORIENTED TRIAL, WE'RE GONNA PULL ALL OF OUR CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN TO PLAY WITH THE PRODUCT, TELL US WHAT THEY THINK OF IT. WE'RE GONNA GATHER THAT FEEDBACK. WE'RE NOT ONLY GATHERING THAT FEEDBACK FROM OURSELVES. WE'RE LOOKING OUTWARD TO OTHER LIBRARIES THAT HAVE THE PRODUCT AS WELL. HEY, HOW IS IT WORKING FOR YOU? ARE YOUR PATRONS USING IT? SO WE GATHER ALL OF THAT FEEDBACK. AND ONCE WE GATHER AND DECIDE, WE MAKE OUR DECISION TOGETHER AND THAT'S WHEN I GET TO DO THE FUN PART, WHICH IS READ A LOT OF FINE PRINT, UM, IN CONTRACTS, UM, WE NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS AND PRICES. AND THEN LASTLY, WE IMPLEMENT THE PRODUCTS WITH OUR, IT DEPARTMENT'S HELP. IT'S REALLY A FUN PROCESS. IT'S , IT SOUNDS A LITTLE STRANGE, BUT I FIND IT TO BE FUN TO WORK WITH VENDORS, TO LEARN ABOUT NEW PRODUCTS AND IMPLEMENT THEM TO THE BENEFIT OF OUR PATRONS. IT'S COOL. UM, NOW I'M GONNA MENTION SOME ONLINE PRODUCTS THAT ARE REALLY BENEFICIAL TO OUR LIBRARY. I MENTIONED BRIEFLY EARLIER, THE LIBRARY'S WEBSITE, GARLAND OR LIBRARY DOT GARLAND, TEAK.GOV IS A GREAT ASSET TO US. WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN ONLINE. IT'S THE PLACE TO GO FOR NEWS ABOUT THE LIBRARY, UH, FOR ACCESS TO ALL OF THE ONLINE RESOURCES AND TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE LIBRARY. UM, EVEN SINCE I STARTED LAST YEAR, THE AMOUNT OF EVENTS AND PROGRAMS HAPPENING AT THE LIBRARY HAS EXPANDED EXPONENTIALLY. THERE IS A LOT GOING ON AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT LIBRARIES AND THE LIBRARY SITE AND CALENDAR ARE THE CLEARING HOUSE FOR THAT. AS MY, ONE OF MY SUPERVISORS HAS TOLD ME AT ONE POINT, IF IT'S HAPPENING AT THE LIBRARY, IT'S ON THE CALENDAR. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS VALUED AS AN ELECTRONIC RESOURCE AS WELL. OKAY. WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS COLLECTION, WE'RE TRYING TO REACH AS MANY PATRONS AS WE CAN. I LIKE TO SAY WE CAST A WIDE NET TO USE A FISHING REFERENCE. WE WANT TO GATHER AS MUCH AS WE CAN. WE WANNA REPRESENT AS MANY PATRONS AS WE CAN IN OUR PRODUCTS. UM, LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE OFFER SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY AND THAT IS INTENTIONAL. UM, WE LIKE TO MEASURE OUR SUCCESS BASED ON QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE FEEDBACK. WE LIKE TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM PATRONS. THEY'RE LOVING IT. WHAT IS A CHALLENGE THEY ENCOUNTERED ABOUT IT AND HOW CAN WE HELP THEM WITH THAT CHALLENGE? AND OF COURSE, I RUN A LOT OF SPREADSHEETS AND I LOOK AT A LOT OF NUMBERS TO SEE WHAT'S USED MONTH TO MONTH, YEAR TO YEAR, SO THAT WE CAN COMPARE. PLEASE GO AHEAD. SO I HAVE A, A QUESTION ON USING THESE RESOURCES. YEAH. SO I, UM, I'VE DONE SOME EXPLORING. I'M NOT SURE THAT I'M USING SOME OF THE RESOURCES IN THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY. OKAY. SO WHO DO I GO TO FOR HELP ME? SO IF YOU GO TO THE LIBRARY AND YOU HAVE A QUESTION, ASK A STAFF MEMBER, LEAVE YOUR NAME AND NUMBER MM-HMM AND I'LL GET BACK TO YOU. UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN EMAIL ACCOUNT, WHICH IS LIVE DASH SUPPORT, [00:45:01] GARLAND, TX.GOV. IF YOU EVER HAVE A QUESTION, I HAVE THAT OPEN ON MY COMPUTER ALL HOURS WHEN I'M HERE, NOT AT HOME , BUT, UM, I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THAT'S LIB DASH SUPPORT AT GARLAND, TX.GOV. WE ALSO I'LL SAY TO HIGHLIGHT ONE NEW PROGRAM THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE IN THE FALL IS, UM, BOOK A LIBRARIAN. OH, THAT'S RIGHT. SO BOOK A LIBRARIAN IS YOUR SCHEDULING ABOUT A 30 MINUTE, UH, TO AN HOUR TIME SLOT WITH A LIBRARIAN WHO CAN SIT AND GIVE YOU SOME PERSONAL ONE-ON-ONE HELP WITH, UH, A WHOLE HOST OF THINGS FROM, YOU KNOW, WRITING A RESUME, LOOKING AT ANY OF THESE, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF DATABASES ON HOW TO BEST USE THEM, SETTING UP YOUR KINDLE, SETTING UP YOUR E-READER WITH LIBBY, YOU KNOW, DOING ANY, ANY OF THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. AND THAT WOULD BE A REALLY GREAT, UM, PROGRAM TO USE. IF YOU HAD A SPECIFIC, ESPECIALLY A SPECIFIC DATABASE THAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT AND BEING ABLE TO, TO LEARN HOW TO USE THOSE. YEAH. EVEN IF YOU'RE JUST CURIOUS, LIKE SOMETHING LIKE VALUE LINE OR MORNING STAR, WHICH ARE BOTH FINANCIAL RESOURCES, IF THEY SEEM MYSTIFYING, DO BOOK A LIBRARIAN, WE CAN HELP DEMYSTIFY IT FOR YOU. THERE'S ALSO NICHE TUTORIALS. YEAH. THAT THE INFORMATION AND THEY ARE STILL NEXT TO CORRECT. SO WHEN YOU VISIT OUR ONLINE RESOURCES PAGE, YOU'LL SEE A LIST UNDER THE NAME OF THE, THE RESOURCE WILL OFTEN BE A LINK TO A TUTORIAL. SO THOSE ARE VIDEO TUTORIALS THAT ARE DIVIDED INTO PARTS. SO IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, YOU CAN PAUSE AND REWIND IT THREE OR FOUR TIMES UNTIL IT SINKS IN . AND THOSE ARE WELL USED AND VERY INFORMATIVE RESOURCES AS WELL. YAY. IT'S ON THE BACK PAGE. I KNEW WHAT WAS SOMEWHERE. OKAY. IN HERE. THE, THE, UH, SORRY, STEVE, THE, THE NEW OFF THE SHELF. NO, YOU'RE FINE. IT'S ON THE BACK PAGE IN THIS, THIS YELLOW BOX. OKAY. AND THE OFF THE SHELF'S ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBPAGE TOO. YES, IT LOOKS SO GOOD. THAT'S SO NICE. AND IT'S REALLY, I JUST LIKE, I JUST LOVE THE, THE LAST LIBRARY I WORKED AT, EVERYTHING WAS BEIGE. SO HAVING SOMETHING THAT'S FULL OF COLOR IS WONDERFUL AND ALL THE COLOR THAT IS COMING TO THE RENOVATIONS IS FANTASTIC TOO. I'M SO EXCITED NOT TO HIJACK THIS. JUST STEVE. OH, PLEASE. WE'RE COLLABORATING. UM, ONE OF THE NEW FEATURES. SO THIS OFF THE SHELF IS NEW. THIS YEAR. WE JUST HAD OUR FIRST PUBLICATION IN JUNE. THIS IS THE SECOND PUBLICATION. AND WE'RE WORKING THROUGH SAYING, TRYING TO SEE WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T WORK, WHAT MODIFICATIONS DO WE NEED TO MAKE? ONE OF THE BIG MODIFICATIONS IN THIS ONE ARE THE COLOR CODING TABS FOR WHAT AGE RANGE SOME OF THE PROGRAMS ARE FOR. SO WE'VE GOT EARLY LITERACY WITH PURPLE FAMILIES WITH GREEN YOUNG AUDIENCES WITH ORANGE BLUE, WITH ADULT THAT HAS THE CORRESPONDING PAGES HERE. SO THESE ARE FAMILY PROGRAMS IN GREEN. ALL OF THESE ARE ORANGE IN YOUNG ADULT, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER THINGS THROUGHOUT THE PUBLICATION, BUT, AND WE'RE STILL TRYING SOME THINGS MM-HMM . SO AS WITH, WE LOOK DIFFERENT AS THIS PUBLICATION DISTRIBUTED TO THE CITIZENS, WE HAVE THEM AVAILABLE. WE HAVE IT AVAILABLE ONLINE. WE HAVE IT AVAILABLE AT ALL FOUR OF OUR LIBRARY LOCATIONS, AND THEN OUR OUTREACH MORGAN, WHO, UH, DID THE PRESENTATION, UM, AT LAST MONTH'S MEETING. YEAH. SHE HAS A LOT AND SHE IS SENDING THOSE OUT. BUT I WILL SAY WE HAVE PEOPLE AT ALL FOUR OF OUR LOCATIONS, EVEN WITH SOME OF THOSE, UM, THAT THEY'RE PUTTING IN HAND, THEY'RE GOING AND DISTRIBUTING THEM TO DIFFERENT, UM, LIKE LAUNDROMATS HAIR SALONS, UM, BASICALLY LOTS OF BUSINESSES AROUND THEIR LOCATIONS AS WELL. TRYING DO OUR REC CENTERS HAVE THESE, I CAN SEND SOME OUT TO OUR REC CENTERS. I MAY HAVE TO GET MORE PRINTED BEFORE WE CAN DO THAT. BUT WE'LL, WE'LL SEND THOSE OUT TO ANYBODY WHO WILL TAKE 'EM TO SEND THEM OUT. WE'LL DEFINITELY DO. AND WE SEND A LINK OUT TO, I THINK CRYSTAL SENDS A LINK OUT TO GIS D AS PART OF THE BLAST THAT GOES OUT AND THEY GET THE DIGITAL VERSION OF THAT. WELL, THERE WE GO. I DID WANNA SHOW ON THE WEBPAGE BRIEFLY, YOU CAN FIND IT HERE UNDER POPULAR INFO UNDER THE OFFTHE SHELF NEWSLETTER. AND I JUST WANTED TO SHOW THIS OFF, CUZ IT LOOKS REALLY NICE ON THE WEBPAGE BECAUSE YOU CAN USE THESE BUTTONS TO TURN THE PAGES AND IT'S ANIMATED. IT LOOKS VERY NICE AND DISPLAYS REALLY, REALLY HANDSOMELY IF I MIGHT SAY SO. UM, SO DO VISIT THE WEBPAGE FOR THAT AS WELL. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THERE WE GO. UM, TO, TO REVISIT KIND OF OUR CROWN JEWEL OF OUR ELECTRONIC RESOURCES. UM, WHEN I FIRST STARTED IN LIBRARIES 14 YEARS AGO, UM, LIBBY AND OVERDRIVE WERE IN THEIR INFANCY AND IT'S BEEN INCREDIBLE TO SEE THE USAGE AMONG LIBRARY, PATRONS EXPLODE [00:50:01] OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. UM, IT'S JUST, WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE. YOU'VE GOT 24 7 ACCESS TO INCREDIBLE COLLECTIONS, UM, WITH YOUR LIBRARY CARD, YOU KNOW, THIS IS HOW WE GOT THROUGH COVID. EXACTLY. AND WHAT'S BEEN SO INTERESTING. LOOKING AT STATISTICS IS WE GAINED SO MANY PATRONS DURING COVID, BUT I'LL TELL YOU, WE RETAINED A LOT OF, OF PATRONS IN OUR POST COVID WORLD, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE. YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR NICHOLSON MEMORIAL MEMORIAL LIBRARY SYSTEM CARD GETS YOU A LOT FOR YOUR DOLLAR. IT IS A GREAT VALUE. UM, AND THIS COLLECTION IS WONDERFUL BECAUSE IT FUNCTIONS LIKE PRINT. SO IF YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT'S CHECKED OUT, YOU CAN RESERVE IT. YOU GET AN EMAIL WHEN IT'S YOUR TURN, IT COULDN'T BE EASIER. UM, CHECKS IN MY BUTT. YEAH, IT RETURNS ITSELF. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT NO FINES, NO LATE FEES, NOTHING OF THAT NATURE. NOW, THE NEXT THING I WANNA ANNOUNCE IS OUR BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TONIGHT. UM, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A FANTASTIC PRODUCT. SO IMAGINE YOURSELF PURCHASING A TOP LOADER WASHER DRYER. I NEED TO CONSULT A RESOURCE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY OPTIONS. WELL, I'M GONNA GO OVER TO THE LIBRARY, OF COURSE. AND I'M GONNA THUMB THROUGH THE CONSUMER REPORTS MAGAZINE, WHICH IS WIDELY RESPECTED, WIDELY READ, WONDERFUL MAGAZINE, GREAT FEATURES. WHAT IF I TOLD YOU YOU COULD ACCESS THE CONSUMER REPORTS WEBSITE FOR FREE FROM HOME, WITH YOUR LIBRARY CARD, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. SO WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE IT IN OCTOBER. WE ARE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING CONSUMER REPORTS FOR MLS CARDHOLDERS. UM, WE NEGOTIATE A FANTASTIC PRICE AND, UM, WE ARE EXCITED TO SHOW THOSE, UM, RESOURCES OFF. I'M GONNA BRING IT UP. YEAH. JUST SO WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT. LET'S SEE HERE. I HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN. I LOVE CONSUMER REPORTS. I'M SO EXCITED THAT WE'RE GONNA GET THIS DATABASE WITH, UH, CONSUMER REPORTS AND HAVING ALL OF THIS AVAILABLE. YOU CAN BE IN THE LIBRARY AND YOU KNOW, WE'LL STILL, UM, RECEIVE THE MAGAZINE AND ALL THE PUBLICATIONS, BUT HAVING A PLACE TO ONLINE TO BE ABLE TO RESEARCH AND GET ALL OF THAT SAME DATA AND THE INFORMATION AND THE REPORTS WILL BE FANTASTIC. ABSOLUTELY. ONE THING I REALLY LIKE ABOUT THE CONSUMER ARTS REPORTS WEBSITE IS THAT I DON'T HAVE TO CONSULT AN INDEX. I DON'T HAVE TO CONSULT A BUYING GUIDE. I CAN USE THE SEARCH BOX AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE TO GO DIRECTLY WHERE I WANT IT IS VERY USER FRIENDLY. SO IF I WANT A WASHER, I CAN SEARCH FOR MY WASHER. OKAY. AND THEN WE CAN JUST GO THROUGH AND REFINE OUR RESULTS HERE. I WANT A WASHING MACHINE. OKAY. AND I CAN TAKE A LOOK AT MY OPTIONS. HERE'S FRONT LOADERS. THIS IS WHAT I THINK IS THE MOST WONDERFUL THING ABOUT CONSUMER REPORTS IS THAT IT WILL DISPLAY TO YOU A RANKED LIST WITH RATINGS IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, WITH PRICE POINTS AND CROSS REFERENCES TO OTHER MODELS THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR. I CAN IMAGINE AT THE REFERENCE DESK AT THE LIBRARY, WE WILL BE PRINTING OUT THIS PAGE FOR MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY PATRONS, AND YOU CAN ACCESS THIS FROM HOME AS WELL. SO IF YOU WANNA LEARN ABOUT A PRODUCT, YOU'RE LEARNING EVERYTHING THERE IS YOU'RE COMPARING PRICES. IT'S FANTASTIC. AND I THINK THIS HAS THE SAME, LIKE THE CAR BUYING GUIDE, UM, UH, THE MEDICAL INFORMATION, SOME OF THE BIG THINGS, SOME OF THE SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS ARE COVERED AS WELL. AND FOR US, CONSUMER REPORTS IS A PRINT. PUBLICATION IS ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR PUBLICATIONS THAT WE SUBSCRIBE TO AND IS HEAVILY USED. SO I THINK THIS IS JUST GONNA BE ONE MORE WAY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SERVE OUR IT'S HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER IN THE LIBRARY. AND IF WE'RE PREDICTING CORRECTLY, IT WILL BE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER ONLINE TOO. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO IMPLEMENT THIS, UM, FOR OUR PATRONS HERE COMING UP. AND THAT'S BEEN A LONG TIME IN THE MAKING. YES, MA WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR MONTHS. I'M GLAD IT'S FINALLY COMING TO, TO FRUITION. STEVE GO. SURE. THAT STOP THE, UM, THE PRICES. UM, I KNOW THEY REALLY GO TO TOWN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO YOUR RESEARCH ON SHOP, RIGHT? THAT'S THE WONDERFUL THING IS THEY'VE ALREADY DONE ALL THE [00:55:01] RESEARCH FOR US AND WHAT'S WONDERFUL ABOUT CONSUMER REPORTS IS THAT IT'S TOTALLY UNBIASED. IT'S NOT AS SUPPORTED. IT'S A WONDERFUL PUBLICATION. IT'S GREAT. THERE IS NO BETTER TRUSTED CONSUMER PUBLICATION. THE CONSUMER REPORTS. I'M SO EXCITED. I IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME. STEVE'S WORKED VERY WELL ON THIS. OH, I LOVE TAKING SOMETHING FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, LIKE AN IDEA, AND THEN SEEING IT ON LAUNCH DAY. IT'S GREAT. IT'S FUN. SO THAT'S OCTOBER ONE. YEAH. IT'S COMING UP. I THINK THAT'S IT FOR MY PRESENTATION TODAY. DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? CAN YOU SHOW LIBBY REAL QUICK? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. ONE OF THE OTHER FEATURES OF LIBBY IS THAT IT WILL TELL YOU IF SOMEBODY IS WAITING FOR YOU TO RETURN YEAH. YOUR BOOK. YES. AND YOU CAN RETURN EARLY. NO PRESSURE. IT DOES. AND THIS IS THE, THE LUCKY. YEAH. SO OUR LIBBY COLLECTION IS LIKE OUR PRINT COLLECTION. SO I'M GONNA USE MY SEARCH FUNCTION UP HERE. AND LET'S SAY, I'M LOOKING FOR WHERE THE CRO AD'S SAYING, I'M GONNA BE ABLE TO SEE HERE. I'VE GOT MY AUDIO VERSION. I'VE GOT MY EBOOK VERSION. ALL RIGHT. WE EVEN HAVE IT IN SPANISH. ALL RIGHT. SO YOU'RE ABLE TO TAKE A LOOK. WE'VE GOT SYNOPSIS, WE'VE GOT REVIEWS. WE'VE GOT WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL IN THE LIBRARY INDUSTRY. RITA LIKES LISTED BELOW. SO IF I LIKED THIS, I WOULD LIKE THAT. BUT YOU CAN BORROW THESE ITEMS AND UM, CHECK THEM OUT DIRECTLY TO YOUR KINDLE DEVICE. ANYWHERE YOU CAN VISIT AN APP STORE, YOU CAN GET A BOOK OR AUDIO BOOK FOR US. THERE'S ALSO MAGAZINES. AND THESE AREN'T JUST ARTICLES. THESE ARE THE FULL MAGAZINE. UM, I HAVE MANY PATRONS THAT LOVE TO BORROW MAGAZINES ON THEIR TABLET, COMPUTER BECAUSE THEY TURN THE PAGE WITH THEIR FINGER AND IT REPLICATES THE MAGAZINE EXPERIENCE ALMOST IDENTICALLY. IT'S SO FUTURISTIC. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A CHILD AND I USED TO WATCH STAR TREK WITH MY FATHER TO SEE THINGS FROM STAR TREK THAT ARE REALITY NOW, WHICH IS VERY COOL. UM, WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF OUR LIBBY COLLECTION, OUR COLLECTION LIBRARIANS, JOHN AND CHRISTIE, DO A FANTASTIC JOB SELECTING TITLES FOR THE COLLECTION. WE SEE ABOUT 30,000 CIRCULATIONS PER MONTH, WHICH IS STAGGERING. IT'S GREAT. I WILL SAY IF YOU HAVEN'T TRIED, UM, THE MAGAZINES ON LIBBY, GIVE IT A GO. IT IT'S. I JUST GOT MY MOTHER HOOKED ON. UM, AND SHE, FOR YEARS, BUT SHE JUST HAS STACKS OF MAGAZINES. SHE JUST, SHE LOVES READING MAGAZINES AND I'VE GOTTEN HER HOOKED NOW ON BEING ABLE TO DOWNLOAD THE MAGAZINE THROUGH LIBBY ON HER TABLET. AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT IS SHE GONNA DO WITH THE OLD PUBLICATION WHEN SHE DOESN'T WANT IT ANYMORE? WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, HAS SAVED HER MONEY ON ALL THE DIFFERENT SUBSCRIPTIONS. ALTHOUGH THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY. LIKE, DO YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW YORKER OR THE ECONOMIST? WELL, YOU CAN CANCEL THAT SUBSCRIPTION BECAUSE THE LIBRARY'S ALREADY PAID FOR IT. YES. AND WILL YOU CLICK ON SEE ALL? YEAH, WE HAVE, UM, TONS OF PUBLICATIONS. IT'S NOT JUST THE ONES THAT ARE SHOWING UP. UM, HERE GOT ALL TYPES OF ALL TYPES OF SUBJECTS, SOME REALLY QUALITY MAGAZINES TOO. LIKE THE FACT THAT THE LIBRARY PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE ECONOMIST FOR SIMULTANEOUS USE IS AMAZING. SO WHAT I MEAN BY SIMULTANEOUS USE IS THAT MANY PEOPLE CAN READ IT AT THE SAME TIME. CAUSE IN LIBRARY WORLD, UM, EBOOKS FROM OUR VENDORS ARE USUALLY SINGLE USE AT A TIME. SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S A WAIT LIST. YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU CAN GO, YOU CAN SEE YOUR POSITION ON THE LIST, BUT THE MAGAZINES ARE SIMULTANEOUS USE. SO THERE'S NO WAITING. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT. AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO READ MAGAZINES, CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS AT HOME, SAVE YOURSELF SOME MONEY WE'VE ALREADY PAID FOR IT. YEAH. COOKS, COOKS ILLUSTRATED IS FANTASTIC. AND THERE'S GONNA BE TONS OF MAGAZINE FEATURE ABOUT THE QUEEN AS WELL. THERE'LL BE SOME SPOTLIGHTS ON THAT. SURE. ONE MORE THING. UH, THE PRESS READING. OH YEAH. WE'RE JUST DOING THE LIBRARY'S GREATEST HITS TONIGHT. [01:00:01] I LOVE IT. CAPTIVE AUDIENCE. NO LET'S WHILE WE GOT 'EM, YOU KNOW, UM, PRESS READER IS A FANTASTIC RESOURCE THAT PROVIDES PATRONS WITH NEWSPAPERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. AND WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS THROUGH IT. OKAY. WE'VE GOT LOCAL PAPERS. WE'VE GOT MAJOR REGIONAL PAPERS. YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANNA READ LIMO FROM PARIS, YOU CAN READ THAT IN PRESS READER AS WELL. RIGHT? HOW OFTEN DO THE TITLES COME AND GO IN THE MAGAZINE OR THE NEWSPAPER SELECTION? SO, I MEAN, IF I CANCEL, IF I CANCEL MY SUBSCRIPTION TO THE ECONOMIST AND THEN IT DISAPPEARS FROM THE ECONOMIST WE HAVE FIXED. YEAH. SEPARATELY. IT, IT CORRECT. IT'S AN ADDITIONAL INCOME. IT IS THROUGH OVERDRIVE SLASH LIVING, BUT WE PAY FOR THAT TITLE SPECIFICALLY. SO WE'RE NOT, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANY INTENTION OF LETTING IT GO. UH, SOME OF THE OTHER ONES, THEY, THEY MAY DROP OFF, BUT RIGHT NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE MORE INTERESTED IN, IN ADDING THEY'RE BUILDING THE COLLECTION. WELL, I THINK A LOT OF PUBLISHERS RIGHT NOW MAY BE CANCELING THEIR PRINT SUBSCRIPTION TO SOMETHING AND MOVING TO THE, UM, THE DIGITAL SERVICE. WE'RE SEEING THAT I THINK ACROSS THE BOARD WITH, FOR YEARS, A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, WE ACTUALLY, OVER THE YEARS, PROBABLY THE LAST, AT LEAST FIVE AND PROBABLY MORE LIKE 10 HAVE LOST IN THE LIBRARY. A LOT OF PRINT PUBLICATIONS. MM-HMM , IT GOES TO ONLINE, AT LEAST I'VE TAKEN HOME AND THEY WILL SAY, YOU CAN, UH, GET ONE, UH, ONLINE ACCOUNT. WELL FOR A LIBRARY THAT DOES NOT WORK. RIGHT. RIGHT. SO WE, WE IT'S JUST GONE UNLESS WE USE SOMETHING LIKE THIS, RIGHT. WE'RE LIMITED TO WHAT'S CALLED INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTIONS. SO IF A PRODUCT OFFERS US AN INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION, WE'RE ABLE TO OFFER IT TO MANY PATRONS AT ONE TIME, FOR EXAMPLE, BARON'S NEWSPAPER DOES NOT DO THIS. THEY TRY, UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAY. BARONS DOES AN INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION, UM, BECAUSE PEOPLE ASK FOR THAT A LOT AND WE'RE UNABLE TO OFFER IT BECAUSE IF WE'VE GOT A SINGLE USE, I'M NOT, I CAN'T GIVE OUT A USERNAME AND A PASSWORD TO A PATRON THAT'S, YOU KNOW, COMPROMISING THE PRIVACY AND INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCT, BUT PRESS READER'S GREAT. UM, THERE'S 7,000 TITLES AND IT'S THE ORIGINAL PRINT LAYOUT. SO IF YOU LIKE THE NEWS READING EXPERIENCE, IF YOU LIKE THE MAGAZINE READING EXPERIENCE, THEY'RE REPLICATING THAT. UM, AND YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD THE NEWS, THE NEWS AND MAGAZINES FOR LATER, YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ STRICTLY ONLINE. THAT'S GREAT. RIGHT. I FORGOT THAT THEY ALSO HAVE MAGAZINES. SO THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF DUPLICATION, BUT NOT MUCH, RIGHT. I'M CONTINUALLY IMPRESSED. WHAT NLS IS ABLE TO OFFER PEOPLE, NOT JUST, NOT JUST PROGRAMS, NOT JUST ELECTRONIC RESOURCES OR SERVICES. JUST EVERYTHING'S FANTASTIC. YOU HAVE AN AMAZING STAFF. WE REALLY DO. COOL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR ME TONIGHT? THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. IT WAS A PLEASURE. THANK YOU, STEVE. THANK YOU, STEVE. YOU'RE WELCOME. I'LL BE IN TOUCH OH YEAH. PLEASE DO REACH OUT. WE'RE WE ALWAYS SAY WE'RE HAPPY TO HELP AT ANY TIME. I THINK BOOK A LIBRARIAN WOULD BE A REALLY GREAT, UH, THING FOR SPECIFIC DATABASES. SAY THAT AGAIN? THE BOOK A LIBRARY. WHAT IS YOUR LAST NAME? IT'S COL IT'S COWELL. K O E B E L. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AGAIN. DID YOU GET I'M I FORGOT. ALL RIGHT. MOVING BACK TO OUR AGENDA. THE NEXT ITEM, NEW LIBRARY SERVICES AND PROGRAMMING IS THAT YES. WHERE WE ARE. WE'RE IN THE HOME STRETCH. AWESOME. OH, WAIT A MINUTE. I'M IN THE WRONG THING. WE'LL SEE YOU THE NEXT MEETING, RIGHT? YES, YOU WILL. I, DOROTHY, IS THERE SOME REASON WHY? SO THERE'S LADY THAT WAS TO GERMAN. DID SHE NOT SICK [01:05:01] OR ANYTHING? SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HER CURRENT STATUS IS. I KNOW THAT SHE RESIGNED THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BETTY. YEAH. YEAH. SHE RESIGN. SHE, NOT THAT YOU'RE NOT DOING A GOOD JOB, SO YEAH, WE HOPE SHE'S FINE. ALL RIGHT. UM, A COUPLE OF, UH, ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT WE HAVE WITH, UH, NEW LIBRARY SERVICES AND PROGRAMS, UM, JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON THE OUTREACH PRESENTATION FROM LAST MONTH, WE WILL BE GOING TO THE CITY'S INAUGURAL JOB FAIR ON SEPTEMBER 17TH. IT'S GONNA BE AT, UM, THE COLLEGE. UM, WE ARE, THE LIBRARY SPECIFIC IS HIRING FOR, UM, CERTAIN POSITIONS. SO IF YOU KNOW, ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED HAS THEIR LIBRARY DEGREE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN WORKING AT THE LIBRARY FOR BACHELOR'S OR BACHELOR'S OR FOR THAT MATTER. THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT WILL BE AT THIS, UM, PARTICULAR EVENT, SEND THEM, UM, IT'S SEPTEMBER 17TH FROM 10 TO TWO, I BELIEVE. UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH DALLAS COLLEGE. WE JUST, UM, HAD A KICKOFF MEETING LAST WEEK, UH, TO BE ABLE TO OFFER A G E D AND ESL PROGRAM AT THE LIBRARIES AT THE GARLAND CAMPUS OF DALLAS COLLEGE AT THE GARLAND CAMPUS. WELL, IT WOULD BE AT OUR LIBRARIES THAT WE OFFERED THE CLASSES, SO VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS. OH, WOW. UM, WE'RE GOING THROUGH, THERE'S SOME HOOPS THAT WE HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH. THERE'S SOME HOOPS THAT THEY HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH. THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LITTLE BIT SINCE THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THEIR MASSIVE, UM, REORG. YEAH. AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, DALLAS COLLEGE NOW MM-HMM SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH AND WORKING WITH A TEAM WITH DALLAS COLLEGE. UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT STARTING JANUARY 20, 23 FOR THIS. UM, ONE WOULD BE, UH, AN ESL CLASS FOR, UM, ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN ENGLISH. AND THAT WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO THE CONVERSATIONS CLASSES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AT SOUTH AND IT'S CENTRAL, UH, THE G E D CLASS WOULD BE FOR, UM, ADULTS LOOKING TO, UM, EITHER FINISH OR COMPLETE THEIR, I GUESS, COMPLETE FINISH OR THE SAME THING, COMPLETE THEIR, THEIR HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION. UM, THERE, YOU CAN TAKE THE G E D COURSES IF YOU ARE 16, 17, OR 18, BUT THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL THINGS THOSE TYPES OF, OR THE, THAT AGE RANGE HAS TO DO. UH, THE CLASSES REALLY ARE FOCUSED MORE ON 19 PLUS THE GOALS ARE, UM, REALLY TO TRY TO, UH, INCREASE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT. SO FAMILIES AND, UM, GARLAND RESIDENTS CAN INCREASE EARNING POTENTIAL INCREASE, UH, QUALITY OF LIFE THAT ARE QUALITY OF LIFE. SO, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT ONE. UM, AND THEN I THINK EACH OF YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET, UM, THE TEMPORARY LIBRARY CARD PROCEDURE OR SABRINA WILL BE HANDING OUT, UM, A TEMPORARY LIBRARY CARD PROCEDURE. WE ARE LOOKING, UM, AT REVISING THIS PROCEDURE. UM, THANK YOU, KIND OF FROM THE FLOOR UP. SO WE'VE HAD THIS PROCEDURE, UM, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW. I THINK IT, UM, WE'VE HAD IT FOR GOSH, 15 YEARS, 16 YEARS NOW. UM, AND IT'S INTENT AND HOW WE'RE USING IT HAS MORPHED. AND SO WE'VE CEASED OFFERING TEMPORARY, UH, CARDS FOR PEOPLE AND HAVE SWITCHED OVER WHOOPS, OR ARE SWITCHING OVER INTO DOING A NEW RESIDENT CARD. SO TRYING TO GIVE SOME TIME AND SOME CUSHION FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY BE MOVING INTO THE AREA, UM, TO GET ALL OF THE DOCUMENTATION THAT THEY NEED, YOU KNOW, UPDATING THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE, BRINGING IN A BILL, SOMETHING THAT HAS THEIR NAME, UM, AND THEIR CURRENT ADDRESS, UM, BEFORE, INSTEAD OF IN LIEU OF OFFERING THAT TEMPORARY LIBRARY CARD, WHAT WE'VE HAD WITH THE TEMPORARY CARDS ARE PEOPLE WHO THAT THEY'RE NOT UPGRADING OR GETTING A FULL LIBRARY CARD AND THEY, THEY LIVE WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA. AND ONE OF THE THINGS OF, UH, WITH OUR LIBRARY CARD POLICY IS IF YOU LIVE IN OUR SERVICE AREA, WE WANT YOU TO HAVE THAT FULL LIBRARY CARD, NOT THE TEMP CARD THAT REALLY LIMITS THE SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED TO YOU. ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE'RE HAVING THAT THIS SORT OF HELPS WITH A LITTLE BIT, UM, ARE SOME OF OUR LOCATIONS ARE EXPERIENCING VERY HEAVY USE WITH STEADY ROOMS WITH, UM, COMPUTER USE ON CERTAIN DAYS OF [01:10:01] THE WEEK. AND SO IF YOU HAVE A FULL LIBRARY CARD, UM, THIS WILL HELP ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE, UH, WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY? YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LIBRARY CARD TO USE THOSE SERVICES, TO BE ABLE TO CHECK OUT A STUDY ROOM, UM, TO BE ABLE TO CHECK OUT A, A PUBLIC ACCESS COMPUTER, UM, THE TEMPORARY CARD, WON'T GET YOU ACCESS TO THAT ANYMORE, BUT WE WORK WITH YOU MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT LIBRARY CARD. NO, ONE'S CHARGED A FEE TO BE ABLE TO GET A LIBRARY CARD. IN FACT, IT'S SEPTEMBER IT'S LIBRARY CARD SIGNUP MONTH. IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR LIBRARY CARD AND YOU WANNA COME BACK IN, WE WILL, WE WILL GIFT YOU A NEW LIBRARY CARD. WE'LL WA THE, THE FEE FOR THAT RIGHT NOW, WE'LL EVEN GIVE YOU LIBRARY SWAG AND INTER A CONTEST. WE HAVE INTERVIEW INTO A CONTEST IF YOU'VE, UH, RENEW YOUR LIBRARY ACCOUNT, YOU COME IN AND, AND, UM, NEED TO GET A NEW CARD OR OPEN UP A NEW ACCOUNT. UM, SO THIS STARTED, WE STARTED PILOTING THIS KIND OF WALKING THIS OUT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, AND IT HAS HELPED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NEEDING TO USE THE SERVICES. THEY HAVE, UH, A BETTER CHANCE OF USING THE SERVICES WHO HAVE LIBRARY CARDS RATHER THAN BEING TURNED AWAY WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO USE THE SERVICE, I WILL SAY AS WELL. THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A LIBRARY CARD DOES NOT MEAN YOU'RE NOT WELCOME IN THE LIBRARY. IT JUST MAY LIMIT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO. AS FAR AS CHECKING OUT A BOOK, TAKING THAT MATERIAL HOME, CHECKING OUT A STEADY ROOM, EVERYONE IS STILL WELCOME IN THE LIBRARY. THE ONLY THING CAN USE WIFI, BRING YOUR DEVICE IN, UM, ANY OF THE MATERIALS THAT WE HAVE ON THE SHELVES, THE PERIODICALS, THE BOOKS, THE REFERENCE MATERIALS, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO USE ANY OF THOSE 10 THINGS COMING AT, UM, COMING IN AND USE ANY OR ATTEND ANY OF OUR PROGRAMS. MANY OF OUR PROGRAMS, SOME OF 'EM ARE, ARE RESTRICTED, FEWER RESTRICTED, RIGHT. UM, BUT THE ONLY, UH, THE, THE ONE THING THAT WE, YOU KNOW, MAKE THAT DETERMINATION ON IS WITH, UH, OUR LIBRARY RULES OF BEHAVIOR. IF YOU'RE DISRUPTING, IF YOU'RE NOT FOLLOWING OUR RULES, THAT'S WHEN WE, YOU KNOW, ASK YOU TO LEAVE THE LIBRARY. SO ALONG WITH THAT, I WILL SAY, I THINK THAT'S SECTION E LIBRARY EXTERIOR SORT OF GOES HAND IN HAND WITH THE NEW, UH, LIBRARY SERVICES AND PROGRAM. SO IF IT'S OKAY TO FLOW INTO THAT ONE, OKAY. WITH, BEFORE WE LEAVE THE MM-HMM P IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT US TO DO WITH THIS OTHER THAN READ IT THERE'LL BE CHANGES IN MODIFICATIONS THAT WILL BE COMING BACK AND LOOKING AT, BUT THIS IS A, A COPY OF THE CURRENT PROCEDURE. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND HOW IT WAS ORIGINALLY IMAGINED, UM, FOR ITS USE MM-HMM, THE PURPOSE. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, UM, WE HAVE RECEIVED AN UPTICK IN THE NUMBER OF PATRON COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE EXTERIOR OF OUR FACILITIES, PARTICULARLY WITH CENTRAL AND WITH WALNUT CREEK. UM, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE INDICATED THAT THEY'VE COME AT NIGHTTIME OR AFTER THE LIBRARY IS CLOSED TO RETURN MATERIALS AND FELT UNSAFE BECAUSE OF, UM, INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY HAVE BEEN LOITERING, SLEEPING, UM, ENGAGING IN CARS WHO, YOU KNOW, ARE GOING THROUGH THE DRIVE THROUGH TO RETURN THE LIBRARY MATERIALS. AND SO WE WANTED TO, TO, UM, TRY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE, THOSE COMPLAINTS AND THOSE ISSUES WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UM, GPS, GARLAND, UM, POLICE DEPARTMENTS, HOMELESS TASK FORCE. UM, THEY'VE BEEN COMING IN ON A, ON A REGULAR BASIS AND WORKING WITH, UH, SOME OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE AT, UM, OUR LIBRARY LOCATIONS. UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH METRO RELIEF WHO ARE COMING IN ON, UM, A REGULAR BASIS RIGHT NOW. THEY HAVE A NEW MEMBER WHO ACTUALLY LIVES IN GARLAND AND IS VERY FAMILIAR WITH GARLAND AND, AND HE IS COMING. THEY USUALLY COME BEFORE ANYONE STAFF GET TO THE LIBRARY. THAT'S WHEN THEY SEE THE, THE, UM, I THINK THE MOST ACTIVITY, UH, FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE USING THE EXTERIOR OF THE BUILDING IS A, A, I DON'T WANNA SAY A SAFE PLACE, BUT A, A, A, A PLACE TO SLEEP LIKE A SHELTER. YEAH. I MEAN, WE HAVE PORTA CODES, THERE'S PORCHES, AS YOU'RE TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE WEATHER, TRYING TO GET OUT OF THE RAIN. IT, IT OFFERS THAT THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, LIGHTING ON THE OUTSIDE AS WELL. [01:15:01] UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH OUR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THE CITY ATTORNEYS, UH, OFFICE TO BE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH SOME DIFFERENT SCENARIOS TO SEE WHAT CAN WE DO, UM, TO BETTER ENSURE THAT PEOPLE ARE SAFE, FEEL SAFE COMING TO THE LIBRARY, GOING THROUGH THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE BOOK RETURNS AT WHATEVER TIME OF, UM, DAY OR NIGHT, BUT ALSO, UM, BEING AS COMPASSIONATE AS POSSIBLE WHERE WE CAN OFFER COMPASSION. AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WORKING WITH, UM, METRO RELIEF, WORKING WITH THE HOMELESS TASK FORCE WITH GARLAND PD, UM, KIND OF MARRIES THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALSO DONE, UM, AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY IS WE STARTED TO LOOK TO SEE WHAT THINGS CAN WE DO TO HELP ACTIVATE AND ENGAGE, AND MAYBE, UM, SPRUCE UP SOME OF THE EXTERIOR AROUND THE BUILDING THAT MAY HELP PEOPLE LOOK AT IT IN A FRESH, DIFFERENT WAY. SO, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID WAS WE, WE LOOKED AT SOME OF THE OLD, UM, THERE WAS SOME OLD SEATING THAT HAD BEEN THERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME. THAT WAS PART OF IT WAS IN DISREPAIR. AND WE, UM, WE WORKED WITH A, A TEAM TO BE ABLE TO REIMAGINE THIS SPACE. AND I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHAT I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT. AND I HOPE Y'ALL WILL BE VERY EXCITED ABOUT TOO, BUT AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, IT'S AN OUTDOOR INTERACTIVE PLAY AREA. SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF, UH, THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, UH, RIGHT. THE, UM, RIGHT WHEN YOU TURN IN TO GO THROUGH THE BOOK DROP, THERE USED TO BE SOME OLD BENCHES, UM, AND SOME TABLES THAT REALLY WERE IN DISREPAIR NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED. AND WHAT WE'VE DONE IS TAKEN THOSE THINGS OUT AND PUT IN ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT INTERACTIVE GAMES AND PLAY IN THAT AREA. SO WE'VE HAD CHEST SET, WE'VE GOT A CORN HOLE, WE'VE HAD, UM, LITERACY, HOPSCOTCH, UM, DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WAY. AND WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS THAT IT'S BRINGING FAMILIES AND STRANGERS TOGETHER OUTSIDE OF THE LIBRARY. AND THEY'RE HAVING A LOT OF FUN OUTSIDE OF THE LIBRARY. SOMETIMES EVEN LEARNING NEW THINGS LIKE THIS GENTLEMAN HERE, AND THIS CHILD ARE NOT TOGETHER. UM, HE IS TEACHING THIS CHILD HOW TO PLAY CHESS, AND IT'S PRETTY COOL. WE ACTUALLY HEARD, UM, I GUESS IT WAS ONE DAY LAST WEEK, OR MAYBE THE WEEK BEFORE WE HEARD A LOT OF COMMOTION OUT IN THIS AREA, AND WE'RE ALL RUNNING TO THE, TO THE WINDOW TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING. SOMEBODY WAS GETTING BEATEN AND THEY WERE CHESS IN CHESS IN CHESS. YES. AND SO THEY WERE HAVING A LOT OF FUN OUTSIDE. IT WAS, IT WAS GOOD. LAUGHTER GOOD NOISE. UH, A LOT OF FUN. AND HEATHER HAD TROUBLE AT, AT, AT FIVE O'CLOCK. WE PUT THIS UP, WE BRING IN THE PIECES AND WE, WE PULL EVERYTHING OUT UP AND THEN PUT IT BACK UP THE NEXT, PUT IT BACK OUT THE NEXT MORNING AND SHE COULD NOT GET THE PEOPLE TO STOP PLAYING AND, AND SHE LET, 'EM GO A LITTLE BIT LONGER, A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN SHE'S LIKE, GUYS, I GOTTA PUT THIS UP, WE'RE CLOSING THE LIBRARY TO BRING THIS BACK IN. BUT IT'S, IT'S REALLY BEEN EXCITING TO SEE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING TOGETHER AND PLAYING. SO, I MEAN, SOME OF, SOME OF OUR EVEN HOUSED AND UNHOUSED, UH, FRIENDS THAT ARE MAKING CONNECTIONS OUTSIDE, HAVING A GOOD TIME AT THE LIBRARY, UM, I THINK WE HAVE A CHESS SET ON ORDER, A BIG OUTDOOR CHESS SET AND MAYBE ONE OTHER ITEM THAT I CAN'T REMEMBER CHECKERS, CHECKERS. THAT'S WHAT, IT'S SORRY, CHECKERS. UM, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL PLANS TO USE THIS SPACE AS AN OUTDOOR PROGRAMMING SPACE FOR OUTDOOR YOGA. UM, SOME MORE MESSIER HANDS ON ACTIVITIES, WHICH IS GREAT MARKETING AND THAT, THAT SPACE SO CLOSE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, A BUSY STREET. BUT I DO WANNA SAY THAT THERE ARE SHRUBS, THERE'S A CONTAINED AREA AROUND, IT'S NOT RIGHT OFF THE STREET. THERE'S, THERE'S A BUFFER. YES. THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE DONE TO ADD SOME COLOR IN LIFE, UM, AND IF YOU GO BY CENTRAL LIBRARY TODAY, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE IT. WE HAVE ONE MORE TO DO, BUT IT'S VERY EXCITING. UM, THERE ARE SHADE STRUCTURES, SHADE KITS UP IN THIS AREA AND THEY HAVE THESE, UM, DULL COLORLESS [01:20:01] POLES HERE. BUT NOW, UM, THEY HAVE BEEN WRAPPED, UM, WITH ARTWORK AND THIS IS ARTWORK THAT WE'VE PURCHASED FROM ONE OF GARLAND'S, UM, LOCAL ARTISTS, MICHELLE NOAH, WHO HAS NINTH, NINTH STREET GALLERY IN DOWNTOWN. UM, AND WE HAVE THE RIGHTS TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS WORK. SO THEY, UH, SENATE DIGITIZED IT. AND NOW THEY ARE POLE WRAPS THAT, ADD SOME FUN, SOME COLOR, UM, AND CELEBRATE LOCAL ARTISTS, UM, AT THIS PARTICULAR SITE AND THIS IMAGE, YOU CAN SEE, WHOOPS. UM, THEY HAD TO ARRANGE TO GET A LYFT TRUCK TO BE ABLE TO DO SOME OF IT. UM, SO HE'S ACTUALLY UP IN THE TRUCK THERE. THIS WAS THIS AFTERNOON, PUTTING UP ONE OF THE, UM, THE WRAPS HOT OFF THE PRESS. IT IS HOT OFF THE PRESS. LITERALLY THEY HAD A BLOW TORCH. THERE'S A BLOW TORCH THAT THEY USE WITH PART OF THE SKIN TO STRETCH IT. SO IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF FUN AND WE HAVE A NICE BIG SIGN OUT HERE THAT SAYS, ASK US ABOUT OUR INTERACTIVE PLAY AREA. SO THERE WILL BE BASED OFF OF THE RESPONSE THAT WE'VE HAD THE LAST MONTH. THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE COMING, UM, TO THIS AREA. AND HOPEFULLY TO ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS BASED OFF HOW POPULAR THIS HAS BEEN. THAT'S TOO NEAT. MM-HMM, GET BIGGER PLACE. WE NEED A BIGGER PLACE. EXACTLY. MM-HMM, , IT'S JUST BEEN SO MUCH FUN. I, UH, MY HUSBAND AND I, WE WENT TO LUNCH SOMEWHERE AND THEN WE WERE COMING BACK THROUGH DOWNTOWN GARLAND AND I SAID, JUST DRIVE BY THE LIBRARY REAL QUICK. LET ME SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING. AND WE GET, UH, RIGHT DOWNTOWN AND THERE'S, IT LOOKED LIKE A FATHER AND SEVERAL CHILDREN THAT THEY'RE ALL JUMPING AND PLAYING AND HAVING A GOOD TIME. SOMEONE ELSE WAS PLAYING CHESS. IT WAS LIKE THE PERFECT SATURDAY AFTERNOON MOMENT. SO YEAH, WE'RE ALWAYS TAKING PICTURES. THOSE WERE TWO OR THREE OF THE PICTURES FROM WHAT WE SEE INSIDE. OKAY. SO IT'S A NICE THING TO SEE. YES. A VERY NICE THING TO SEE. SO VERY EXCITING. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ARE THERE, IS THERE ANYTHING, UH, FOR THE MISCELLANEOUS SECTION ON THE AGENDA? NO. NO. ALL RIGHT. WE KNOW ABOUT OUR ENCLOSURES. ARE THERE ANY REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? UH, OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEM WILL BE THE OCTOBER ELECTIONS THAT WILL NEED TO HOLD OUR ANNUAL ELECTIONS. THANK YOU. OKAY. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? IF NOT, WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * 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.