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AND I[Library Board on September 11, 2023.]
WILL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.AND ACTUALLY THE, UH, WHILE THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS, NOPE.
FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS TO CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE LIBRARY BOARD MINUTES FOR THE AUGUST 7TH, 2023 MEETING.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR CORRECTIONS? SECTION B.
SECTION B, SECOND LINE REQUESTS INCLUDE NO NEED FOR THE SEMI THERE AND SECTION D, THE LAST SENTENCE AFTER PROGRAM.
YOU COULD EITHER PUT A PERIOD THERE OR A SEMICOLON, BUT YOU CAN'T JOIN TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSE TOGETHER WITH A COUPLE.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED? I'M, I MOVE THAT WE, UH, APPROVE THE MINUTES AS DIRECTED.
THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED AND WE DO NOT HAVE A CITIZEN WITH US TONIGHT.
UM, NEXT IS ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION DISCUSSING BOARD MEMBER APPOINTMENT, REAPPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION.
YEAH, WE HAVE SOME NEW PEOPLE TO MEET.
YES, WE HAVE NEW PEOPLE TO MEET, WHICH IS EXCITING.
HOPE EVERYONE IS DOING GOOD AND ENJOYING THE BREATH OF FRESH AIR.
WHAT'S THE NEW NORMAL, HUH? UM, SO YOU MAY REMEMBER FROM LAST MONTH, UM, CHARLES RESIGNED OFF OF THE BOARD TO, UM, HE'S GONNA BE TRAVELING AND, UM, OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR A, A GOOD PERIOD OF TIME.
SO WE HAVE SARAH MONTOYA AS OUR NEW, UH, LIBRARY BOARD MEMBER FROM DISTRICT ONE, COUNCILMAN BASS'S DISTRICT.
UM, ADAM WAS REAPPOINTED AT HIS POSITION IN DISTRICT THREE.
MS. TERRY WAS REAPPOINTED IN HER DISTRICT SEVEN, AND MS. TRELLIS WAS REAPPOINTED IN HER DISTRICT AS WELL.
SO WE ARE, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND EXCITED FOR OUR NEW MEMBER.
WELL, LET'S TAKE A MOMENT TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES TO SARAH AND WELCOME HER.
SO I THINK I'LL, ADAM, I'M GONNA START WITH YOU SO I THAT YOU CAN FINISH YOUR BITE.
AND, UH, SO, UM, THIS IS SARAH.
I'VE, UH, COMPLETED A YEAR, UH, ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
AND SO, UM, I LIVE IN DISTRICT THREE, UM, UH, NOT A NATIVE GARLAND, GARLAND OR, UH,
UM, I'M FROM, UH, SAN ANTONIO.
UH, MOVED UP HERE TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL AND, UH, JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH D F W AND GARLAND PARTICULAR AND WOUND UP LIVING HERE.
I'M A PRACTICING ATTORNEY AT, UH, SNELLEN WILMER, WHICH IS A, A FIRM THAT OPENED, UH, DALLAS OFFICE ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
UM, AND IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.
LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING WITH YOU.
HI, I'M KRISTEN LOCITO AND I'VE ALSO BEEN ON THE BOARD JUST ABOUT A YEAR.
I THINK IT WAS RIGHT AROUND THE SAME TIME AS ADAM REPRESENTING DISTRICT FIVE.
UM, I HAVE LIVED IN THE DISTRICT FOR OVER 20 YEARS, UM, SO IT'S HOME NOW.
UM, LONGTIME LIBRARY PATRONS IS VERY EXCITED TO BE INVOLVED IN THE LIBRARY BOARDS.
I THINK IT'S A REALLY, REALLY VITAL PART OF OUR COMMUNITY AND LOVE TO SEE ALL THE DEVELOPMENT AND ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH THE LIBRARY.
YOU'RE COMING IN AT A VERY EXCITING TIME.
UM, BUT PROFESSIONALLY, UM, I'VE BEEN IN MARKETING, PR, COMMUNICATIONS ALL OF MY CAREER, UM, THE LAST 15 YEARS IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY.
UM, I DO WORK FROM HOME NOW, WHICH HAS BEEN A CHANGE.
UM, BUT YEAH, I CHANGED COMPANIES LAST YEAR AS WELL.
SO, UM, BUT I GUESS THAT'S IT ABOUT ME, BUT REALLY HAPPY TO HAVE YOU.
SO I'M TERRY REGE, AND I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR, OH, I DON'T KNOW, 10, 12 YEARS, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND, UH, AND AGAIN, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, I'M DELIGHTED THAT YOU'RE HERE.
I'M A DISTRICT SEVEN APPOINTEE.
AND, UH, PROFESSIONALLY I'M THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF A NONPROFIT IN GARLAND.
I ALSO WENT BACK TO LIBRARY SCHOOL IN 2007.
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SO I HAVE AN M L S AND, UH, AND I LIKE ALL THE BRANCHES.AND I TOLD KAREN IF WE WANT TO DO A FIELD TRIP TO THE KIOSK, I HAVE MATERIALS THAT ARE, THAT ARE DUE.
COULD I GET YOUR NAME? MY NAME IS SARAH.
SARAH, NICE TO MEET YOU SARAH.
I AM REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR FOR COUNCILMAN BJ WILLIAMS. AND I COULD NOT BELIEVE AN EYE-OPENER THAT THE
SEEMED LIKE EVERY MEETING, I'M JUST LEARNING MORE AND MORE.
SO, SARAH MONTOYA, DISTRICT ONE, OBVIOUSLY.
UM, I HAVE BEEN IN GARLAND FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS.
UM, BUT I'M DEFINITELY CALLING THIS HOME FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
UM, I HAVE A FAMILY OF SOME, YOU KNOW, ONE IS IN COLLEGE, ONE IS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND THEN ONE IS TWO YEARS OLD.
AND I'VE, UM, REACCLIMATED TO THE LIBRARY AGAIN, ESPECIALLY HAVING A LITTLE ONE, JUST A REMINDER OF ALL THE PROGRAMMING AND EVERYTHING THAT'S AVAILABLE AT THE LIBRARY.
SO, UM, PROFESSIONALLY I WORK AT STATE FARM.
I'VE WORKED THERE FOR 22 YEARS.
I'M CURRENTLY, UM, A MANAGER IN THE FRAUD UNIT.
SO THINK LIKE TRUE CRIME STORIES IN REAL LIFE.
LIKE, I GET TO SEE THEM EVERY DAY.
SO IT'S, OOH, SOUNDS, YOUS NAME READING OVER THE EXECUTIVE PLAN.
JUST I CAN TELL IT'S AN EXCITING TIME DEFINITELY FOR THE LIBRARY.
I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD PROBABLY SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS, I THINK, AND I'VE BEEN IN GARLAND ABOUT 30 YEARS.
AND I RETIRED FROM S N U OKAY.
AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT.
AND, UH, LOVE GARLAND, LOVE LIBRARIES.
I DON'T REMEMBER HOW LONG I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR A FEW YEARS.
I THINK, UM, I'VE BEEN IN GARLAND FOR 30, 30 YEARS.
UM, I LIVE IN DOWNTOWN GARLAND AND, UM, IN THE EMBRY SECTION, WHICH WE HAVE LITTLE SIGNS.
AND I, THIS IS MY 30TH YEAR TEACHING AT JESUIT COLLEGE PREP.
I'VE BEEN WITH GARLAND LIBRARIES FOR 15 YEARS.
I STARTED OUT AS THE NORTH BRANCH LIBRARY MANAGER FOR A YEAR, AND WAS CENTRAL MANAGER FOR 10 YEARS, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
GREAT SYSTEM, GREAT PLACE TO WORK.
I CAME FROM, UH, FROM DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY, WHICH IS AN INTERESTING PLACE TO WORK AND, UH, LEARNED A LOT THERE, BUT I'M GLAD TO BE HERE.
I'M KAREN ARCHIBALD, THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR.
I'VE BEEN WITH GARLAND, UM, EIGHT YEARS I THINK NOW.
AND, AND THE, THE POSITION FOR FOUR
BUT IT, I CANNOT THINK OF A MORE EXCITING TIME PROFESSIONALLY OR IN GARLAND FOR US TO BE IN AND FOR THE LIBRARY TO BE, UM, DOING THE THINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO.
I'M KATHLEEN CHEEZ AND I'M THE PUBLIC SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE LIBRARY.
I'VE BEEN WITH THE LIBRARY FOR OVER 23 YEARS.
UM, I STARTED OUT PART-TIME LIBRARIAN AND WORKED MY WAY TO THE, THIS POSITION.
UH, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN OTHER RENOVATIONS AND ONE THAT WE THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE THE BIG RENOVATION.
SO I HAVE, I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO ACTUALLY SEEING SOMETHING THIS, UM, AT THIS WHAT OR EXTENSIVE.
AND AT THIS LEVEL TO REALLY THAT IT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE A NEW, NEW LIBRARY.
SO DO WE WANNA WAIT AND, AND HAVE YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELVES WHEN YOU GET UP TO SPEAK, ALTHOUGH I DO WANNA PICK ON SABRINA.
SHE NEEDS TO SABRINA WHO MAKES MAGIC HAPPEN TO, YEAH.
I'M THE DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR.
I WORKED FOR THE CITY FOR SEVEN YEARS, UH, GOT HIRED ON AS ACCOUNTS PAYABLE AND THEN MOVED UP TO THE DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR POSITION.
JUST KIND OF TAKE CARE OF THE ADMINISTRATION OFFICE AND KINDA MAKE THIS
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RUN AS SMOOTHLY AS POSSIBLE.SO I'LL BE ALWAYS BUGGING YOU.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS PRESENTATION.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED, UM, TONIGHT TO HAVE A GROUP.
I'M GONNA ASK MORGAN AND ALLISON TO COME UP, UH, AND DO THE, THE INTRODUCTION.
BUT I THINK MOST OF YOU REMEMBER MORGAN, UM, BLACKBURN, OUR, UM, OUTREACH SERVICES COORDINATOR.
DID SHE CUR? I DID CUR, I'M SORRY.
AND ALLISON NELSON, WHO HAS ALSO BEEN WORKING OUR, UM, PART-TIME LIBRARY ASSISTANT IN OUTREACH SERVICES, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON, I GAVE YOU A LITTLE TEASER LAST MONTH, WORKING ON A REALLY COOL PROJECT AND PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS LOCATED HERE AT DOWNTOWN GARLAND GARLAND.
BUT I, I WILL LEAVE OR I WILL STEAL EVERYONE'S.
SO, UM, MORGAN AND ALLISON ARE GONNA INTRODUCE AND, YES.
OH, DO YOU WANT ME TO STAND SEAT? HELLO,
I LIKE TO BE AWKWARD EVERY NOW AND THEN.
UM, SO WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE RESA HIGGINS, WHO IS
UM, RISA APPROACHED US, UM, BACK BEFORE THE, BACK IN THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER, I THINK IT WAS, UM, TO FORM A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LIBRARY.
AND, UM, SO, AND WE WERE SO EXCITED ONCE WE MET WITH HER.
SHE'S GOT LOTS OF GOOD IDEAS AND WE'VE BRAINSTORMED BACK AND FORTH.
UM, WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR OUR NEW PARTNERSHIP.
UM, IT INCLUDES SOME NEW PROGRAMS, BOTH PASSIVE AND INTERACTIVE, UM, FOR ALL AGES.
AND WE ARE, UM, ALSO, I'M SORRY, I HAD SOME THINGS WRITTEN DOWN.
SO CONGRATULATIONS RECENT EVER
AND ALSO, I'M SORRY, THIS IS THE VERY FIRST ONE.
SO I WILL, UM, I WILL INVITE RISA UP HERE TO GET YOU HER PRESENTATION AND, UM, THANK YOU GUYS.
WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU CAN'T COME AS A VISUAL AID VOLUNTEER UNLESS YOU BRING SOME VISUAL AID.
SO I'M GONNA PASS SOME THINGS AROUND.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, SWITCH AROUND WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR.
AND THE TWO OF THESE, TWO OF THESE, AND THIS STAYS TOGETHER.
WE'RE GONNA PRACTICE OUR SHARING TOGETHER.
WE'RE ALL REMEMBERING HOW TO SHARE.
UM, SO I AM GONNA TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT MYSELF, BUT I WANNA TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION FIRST BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, FOR US TO UNDERSTAND HOW LONG THE HISTORY GOES BETWEEN VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS IN THE CITY OF GARLAND.
UM, SO VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS BEGAN IN 1960, UM, AND IT WAS A PILOT PROGRAM WITH THE TEXAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION IN GARLAND, I S D.
AND THE WAY THE LEGEND IS TOLD NOW IS THAT A GROUP OF MOTIVATED PARENTS OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS WENT TO T E A AND SAID, IF WE MAKE THE BRAILLE PRODUCTS, WILL YOU LET OUR KIDS GO TO PUBLIC SCHOOL HERE AT HOME, RATHER THAN SENDING THEM TO THE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, WHICH IS IN AUSTIN? AND T E A SAID, WELL, I GUESS WE CAN TRY IT.
AND SO GARLAND, I S D WAS THE FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS TO HAVE BOTH BLIND AND SIGHTED STUDENTS IN A CLASSROOM TOGETHER.
AND THE PROJECT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL ENOUGH THAT THEY INCORPORATED IN 1962.
AND WE HAVE BEEN IN OPERATION EVER SINCE.
UM, OUR MISSION IS TO CREATE QUALITY BRAILLE PRODUCTS.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY COMPLETE LITERACY IS NOT JUST WORD RECOGNITION, BUT THE ABILITY TO BOTH READ
[00:15:01]
AND WRITE AND DO THE TWO INTERACTIVELY.THERE'S A BIG MOVEMENT IN EDUCATION RIGHT NOW TO MAKE THINGS LESS EXPENSIVE THAT'S HAPPENING EVERYWHERE, NOT JUST EDUCATION.
UM, BUT FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENT, WHAT THAT OFTEN MEANS IS THEY WERE ARE GIVEN A SCREEN READER FOR THEIR CHROMEBOOK IN A CLASSROOM, AND IT READS OUT LOUD TO THEM.
AND FOR AN OLDER STUDENT WHO ALREADY UNDERSTANDS HOW WORDS WORK, HOW LETTERS MAKE UP WORDS AND WORDS MAKE UP SENTENCES AND SENTENCES MAKE UP PARAGRAPHS, A SCREEN READER CAN, CAN BE A REALLY EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR A YOUNG READER WHO IS JUST LEARNING THOSE THINGS.
BRAILLE IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD.
SO, UH, UP UNTIL 2020 WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS WAS SOLELY WORKING WITH, UM, SCHOOLS TO CREATE THESE BRAILLE PRODUCTS.
AND WHAT YOU'RE HOLDING NOW ARE SOME OF THE NEW WAYS THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE BECAUSE WE WANT TO SEE IF WE CAN PARTNER WITH THE LIBRARY TO DO THEM.
SO FIRST, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME.
I JUST LIKE MORGAN IN THIS, UH, PARTNERSHIP IS NEW.
I JUST STARTED AT V A V IN APRIL, UM, AND THE BOARD REALLY DECIDED IT'S TIME FOR US TO BRANCH OUT.
UM, WE'VE BEEN SOLELY FOCUSED ON SCHOOLWORK FOR SO LONG AND WE'RE VERY GOOD AT IT.
AND NOW IT CAN'T SUSTAIN US BECAUSE THE STATE IS MAKING ALL KINDS OF BUDGET CUTS.
SO WE'VE GOTTA COME UP WITH SOME NEW WAYS TO BE IN THE WORLD.
AND ONE OF THOSE IS WE WANNA BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR NEIGHBORS.
WE WANT OUR NEIGHBORS TO KNOW WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT.
SO I'VE BEEN HONORED TO TAKE THAT ROLE, TAKE THAT ON.
I HAVE A LOT OF OTHER ROLES, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
THERE ARE FIVE OF US ON STAFF.
UM, SO THOSE, MY ROLES ARE PLENTIFUL, BUT THE MOST FUN ONES ARE LIKE THIS, WHERE WE GET TO DREAM ABOUT WHAT WHAT COULD BE NEXT.
UM, I'VE BEEN IN THE AREA FOR 20 YEARS.
MY KIDS HAVE ALL GONE TO GARLAND.
MY YOUNGEST IS A JUNIOR AT SAXY.
UM, IF YOU LIVE NEAR SAXY, I'M SORRY, HE'S ONE OF THE DRUMMERS, I'M SORRY,
UM, MY OLDER TWO GIRLS GRADUATED FROM ROULETTE HIGH SCHOOL, UM, AND ARE NOW IN COLLEGE.
ONE OF THEM, MY OLDEST WANTS TO COME BACK AND TEACH IN GARLAND, I S D.
WE HAVE DEEP ROOTS IN THIS AREA, DEEP ROOTS.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT V A V CREATES.
IF YOU ARE VISUALLY IMPAIRED, EITHER LOW VISION OR BLIND STUDENT IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, YOU LEARN TO READ IN HOPEFULLY AN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM WHERE YOU ARE TAUGHT THE BRAILLE ALPHABET ALONGSIDE YOUR SIGHTED PEERS.
WHEN THAT HAPPENS, A FULLY LITERATE STUDENT BY THE TIME THEY'RE IN SECOND TO THIRD GRADE, ARE ABLE TO READ TEXTBOOKS, NOVELS, UH, GRAPHS, MAPS, ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD THINK YOU JUST WALK INTO A CLASSROOM AND CAN TAKE IN WITH YOUR EYES.
THESE STUDENTS HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO TAKE THEM IN WITH YOUR FINGERS.
SOME OF YOU HAVE, UM, A MAP THAT WE'VE CREATED.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN, UM, THE SKELETON AS IT'S REPRESENTED IN TACTILE FORM.
ANYTHING THAT'S IN A TEXTBOOK WE CAN CREATE AS A TACTILE EXPERIENCE FOR A STUDENT.
IN 2020, WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT, SUDDENLY WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, IF EVERYBODY WENT HOME AND DOESN'T HAVE THEIR TEXTBOOKS, THEY'RE JUST LEARNING OFF THEIR CHROMEBOOKS, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? AND ONE OF THE IMAGINATIVE AND INCREDIBLE PROGRAMS THAT STARTED WAS WITH THE AMON CARTER MUSEUM AND THE KIMBALL MUSEUM WHO SAID, WELL, WHAT IF YOU CREATED TACTILE REPRESENTATIONS OF CLASSIC PAINTINGS SO THAT WE COULD INVITE THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED INTO OUR MUSEUMS FOR THE FIRST TIME AS FULL PARTICIPANTS? IT HAS BEEN THE MOST FUN, THE MOST FUN.
SO YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF THOSE PAINTINGS THERE.
THIS IS A, JUST A PICTURE OF OUR MOST RECENT ONE THAT WE DID THIS SUMMER.
UM, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU, IF YOU ENJOY MUSEUMS, GO OVER TO THE KIMBALL.
THEIR EUROPE SECTION IS FULL OF THESE TACTILE REPRESENTATIONS, UM, AND WE ARE HONORED TO GET TO BE A PART OF IT.
THE WAY THIS CONVERSATION STARTED WAS WITH A PROJECT FOR REGION 10.
THEY CALLED US AND SAID, WOULD YOU CREATE WHAT THEY CALLED A TWIN VISION BOOK FOR US? AND THEY GAVE US A WHOLE BUNCH OF BOOKS.
YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES HERE.
UM, WE CLASSICALLY EXPECT CHILDREN TO LEARN TO READ ON BOARD BOOKS OR PICTURE BOOKS, RIGHT? WELL, IF YOU ARE A VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILD, IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT PROCESS FOR YOUR PARENT WHO MAY OR MAY NOT READ BRAILLE TO READ ALONGSIDE OF YOU IN A WAY THAT IS
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TEACHING YOU TO READ.WE CREATE BRAILLE ON CLEAR STICKY PAPER, AND WE PUT IT OVER THE BOOKS SO THAT A SIGHTED PARENT IS READING THE WORDS AND A VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILD IS FOLLOWING ALONG WITH THEIR FINGER.
UH, THESE BOOKS, UM, ARE NOW GONNA BE IN 10 DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, UM, AROUND OUR AREA.
UM, AND THIS WAS AT, UH, REGION TENS, UH, SUMMER KICK OR SUMMER ENDING EVENT WHERE THEY, UM, GAVE AWAY SOME OF THOSE BOOKS TO GO INTO CLASSROOMS ALL AROUND THE AREA.
AND WHEN WE STARTED WORKING ON THOSE PROJECTS, UM, FUN FACT, I ACCIDENTALLY ENDED UP WITH A MINOR IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE WHEN I WENT TO COLLEGE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW I DID IT, IT, BUT I DID.
AND SO AS WE'RE WORKING ON THESE BOOKS, I WAS LIKE, WHY AREN'T THESE AT THE LIBRARY? WOULDN'T IT BE AMAZING FOR KIDS WHETHER THEY ARE CITED OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE BOOKS IN BOTH FORMS LIKE THIS? SO THAT'S WHEN I CALLED MORGAN, I THINK I SENT A RANDOM EMAIL AND SAID, WOULD THE LIBRARY EVER WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS? AND I DON'T KNOW, WE'VE HAD THREE OR FOUR MEETINGS SINCE THEN, AND THEY HAVE ALL BEEN JUST PURE DELIGHT OF ALL OF THE POSSIBILITIES TOGETHER, OF WHAT IT COULD BE LIKE TO INVITE THE CITY OF GARLAND, IT'S RESIDENTS TO COME TOGETHER IN LEARNING NOT JUST HOW TO READ BRAILLE, BUT THAT BRAILLE EXISTS ALONGSIDE OF PRINT AS THEY KNOW IT.
SO WHEN WE STARTED DREAMING TOGETHER, WE STARTED COMING UP WITH ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU JUST A COUPLE OF THE, OF THE THINGS THAT KIND OF SUM UP WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
WHAT THE FIRST VERY SIMPLE ONE IS.
WE REALLY WANNA DO SOME TWIN VISION PRINT BOOKS FOR THE LIBRARY.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, TH I HAVE THREE GRANTS OUT THERE WAITING TO HEAR IF THEY WILL JUST HELP US BUY THE BOOKS, AND THEN WE CAN DO THE OVERLAY AND DONATE THEM IMMEDIATELY.
UM, THAT'S THE VERY FIRST PROJECT.
THE SECOND THING WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT HOW EXCITING THAT WAS, WAS WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO CREATE THESE KITS THAT YOU GET A BOOK IN PRINT AS WELL AS A BOOK IN BRAILLE, AS WELL AS AN AUDIO BOOK AND A LARGE PRINT BOOK THAT ALL COMES IN ONE PACKAGE FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO INTERACT WITH PRINT.
UM, WE GOT REALLY EXCITED WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT, WELL THEN WHAT ABOUT TEACHING? HOW COULD WE INVITE PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BRAILLE? THE WOMEN THAT I WORK WITH ARE CERTIFIED TRANSCRIBERS.
UM, THEY HAVE ANYWHERE FROM 19 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE TO SEVEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
THEY HOLD MULTIPLE CERTIFICATIONS.
THEY'RE BRAILLE EXPERTS AND THEY'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT TEACHING.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE GOT VERY EXCITED TALKING ABOUT IS WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO HAVE CLASSES AT THE LIBRARY WHERE WE BRING IN OUR PERKINS BRAILERS AND THEY LOOK A LITTLE BIT LIKE THIS, AND WE INVITE KIDS OR SENIOR ADULTS WHO MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING VISION LOSS TO LEARN HOW TO READ AND WRITE BRAILLE FOR THEMSELVES.
UM, WHAT A FUN OPPORTUNITY TO INVITE THE COMMUNITY TO BE A PART OF THAT.
I'M SURE AS A PART OF THE LIBRARY BOARD, YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT ALL OF THE GREAT BIG THINGS HAPPENING DOWN HERE ON OCTOBER THE 14TH.
SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE HINT.
YOU NEED TO COME DOWN TO V A V.
WE ARE LITERALLY JUST RIGHT DOWN THE STREET HERE, AND WE ARE GOING TO BRAILLE PEOPLE'S NAMES WITH FACE PAINT ON THEIR FACE.
WE'VE DECIDED TODAY THAT IS WHAT WE'RE, THAT IS GONNA BE OUR OFFERING TO THE COMMUNITY, JUST AS A WAY, A VERY EARLY BEGINNING.
AND I TELL YOU THAT NOW BECAUSE WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE CLASSES, WE WERE LIKE, WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE FOR A KID TO JUST SEE WHAT THEIR NAME LOOKS LIKE IN BRAILLE OR AN ADULT? I CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE MY NAME BRAILLE ON MY FACE.
UM, THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE AS, UM, VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS.
WE WANNA BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE HAD OUR NOSES DOWN IN TEXTBOOKS SINCE OUR BEGINNING, AND THAT'S BEEN VERY IMPORTANT WORK, AND WE CONTINUE THAT WORK.
YOU HAVE A SAMPLE OF A MATH TEXTBOOK WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON RIGHT NOW THAT'S GOING ALL OVER THE STATE OF TEXAS.
BUT WE REALLY WANNA THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE BECOME BETTER NEIGHBORS? HOW CAN WE INVEST MORE DEEPLY IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'VE BEEN A PART OF OUR ENTIRE EXISTENCE? SO I WOULD LOVE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, UM, BUT I ALSO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU HEAR US SAY, VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS IS COMMITTED TO MORE COMPLETE AND GREATER LITERACY IN THE CITY OF GARLAND.
AND IN ANY WAY WE GET TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
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DO YOU HAVE? WHAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS HAVE VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS EITHER IN THE CITY OR THE STATE OR SO FAST? UM, FASCINATING TO ME IS THAT REGION 10, WHICH THE CITY OF GARLAND IS PART OF, HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AS REPORTED TO T E A.WHAT I THINK THAT'S ABOUT IS THERE ARE MORE RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE, SO THERE'S MORE TESTING AND KIDS GET MORE AND MORE.
UM, LAST YEAR IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, THERE WERE 20, OH, LET ME GET MY NUMBER RIGHT.
I WANNA SAY THAT THERE WERE BETWEEN 19 AND 20,000 STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED VISUAL SERVICES OF SOME KIND OF THOSE 19 TO 20,000 STUDENTS.
8,000 ARE ENTIRELY BRAILLE DEPENDENT.
IN OTHER WORDS, BRAILLE IS THEIR NUMBER ONE WAY OF READING.
UM, SADLY TO ME, UM, THOSE KIDS ONLY FALL BETWEEN THE AGES OF ABOUT 10 AND 15.
THE KIDS YOUNGER THAN THAT ARE RELYING ENTIRELY ON SCREEN READERS AND THEY'RE NOT LEARNING BRAILLE.
UM, THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE HOPING TO CHANGE.
AND ARE THERE, UM, WHAT KIND OF MACHINERY MAKES THIS OR HOW SURE.
YEAH, SO YOU SAW EMILY, BUT JUST BACK UP.
SO YOU CAN SEE IF IT'LL LET ME, IN THIS PICTURE HERE, YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE UNDERLAY.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A PERKINS BRAILER.
THAT'S THE OLD WAY OF BRAILLE.
IF YOU'RE DOING A VERY SMALL PIECE, IT LOOKS LIKE A TYPEWRITER, EXCEPT IT ONLY HAS SIX KEYS.
UM, WHEN WE ARE DOING A MASSIVE TEXTBOOK PROJECT LIKE WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, IT'S ALL ON COMPUTER.
SO WE HAVE PROGRAMS THAT TRANSCRIBE OVER, UM, AND THEN FORMATTING IS KEY.
AND THAT IS WHAT THE WOMEN THAT I WORK WITH ARE SO EXCELLENT AT, BECAUSE THE FORMATTING IS WHAT COMMUNICATES TO A STUDENT.
ARE WE IN MATH? ARE WE IN SCIENCE? ARE WE IN? AND YOU GOTTA SWITCH BACK AND FORTH ALL THE TIME.
SO WE HAVE COMPUTER PROGRAMS THAT DO THAT.
WE EMBOSS, UM, AT OUR LOCATION.
SO EVERYTHING YOU SEE HERE, WE CREATED AT OUR, UM, SITE JUST DOWN THE ROAD AT SIX 17 STATE.
WELL, THIS IS REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING.
AND I'M, I'M SHOCKED THAT IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
UM, I THINK IT LIBRARIES ARE NATURAL FITS FOR, FOR THIS TYPE OF PROGRAMMING.
SO, SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT.
UM, DOES THE BRAILLE OFFERINGS THAT YOU HAVE, ARE THEY AVAILABLE IN MULTI-LANGUAGE BRAILLE OR IS IT JUST ENGLISH? YEAH, WHAT A GREAT QUESTION.
SO IN 2016, UM, THE NATIONAL FEDERATION FOR BRAILLE SAID, IT IS TIME FOR AMERICA TO PLAY ICE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE.
UP UNTIL THAT TIME, WE USED WHAT WAS CALLED, UM, EMA ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND IT WAS ONLY ENGLISH.
AND IN 2016 THEY SAID, THAT'S DUMB.
LET'S MOVE THIS OVER TO A NEW FORM CALLED UNIFIED ENGLISH BRAILLE, WHICH RELIES ON THE ROMAN ALPHABET.
SO ANY LANGUAGE THAT IS BASED ON THE ROMAN ALPHABET CAN BE TRANSCRIBED INTO U E B.
UM, WE DO A LOT OF SPANISH WORK.
WE DO A LITTLE BIT OF FRENCH WORK FOR A STUDENT WHO IS AT GARLAND HIGH SCHOOL RIGHT NOW, TAKING FRENCH.
UM, BUT WE, WE CAN DO ANY LANGUAGE.
HOW, HOW DO YOU ENVISION, UH, THE PARTNERSHIP LOOKING? I'M ASSUMING IT'LL BE FORMALIZED IN METRICS OR DELIVERABLES OR, AND SUCH WOULD BE, UH, PLACED IN, IN WRITING OR? YES.
UM, WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO THE FORMAL STAGE YET, SO THAT'S WHAT'S NEXT.
SO WE WILL BE, WE'LL BE FORMING, UM, LIKE A FORMAL PARTNERSHIP.
WE'LL HAVE THE, WE'LL HAVE PAPERWORK, WE'LL HAVE ALL OF US SIGN IT.
UM, AND THEN AS FAR AS, UM, THE BEGINNING, UM, THE GRANT THAT RESA MENTIONED, WE DO PLAN TO HAVE AT THE LEAST A 30 BOOK COLLECTION, UM, HOUSED AT OUR SOUTH GARLAND BRANCH LIBRARY, IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA START.
UM, SO THAT'LL BE, AND THOSE ARE ALL CHILDREN'S BOOKS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THEN LATER ON, UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY, ALLISON IS JUST WORKING ON A PROPOSAL RIGHT NOW FOR LATER IN, UM, NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER.
WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET THROUGH OCTOBER THE 14TH.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING THAT, UM,
UM, WE ARE GOING TO START BY HAVING, UM, TWO SEPARATE PROGRAMS. WE'RE GONNA SEPARATE 'EM BY AGE GROUPS BECAUSE THE, IT, THE, THIS SENTENCE, THE STRUCTURE GETS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AS YOU GO.
UM, THE YOUNGER THAT YOU ARE AND THE, AS YOU GET OLDER.
SO FOR FIRST THROUGH THIRD, WE'RE GONNA DO INTRODUCTORY TO THE ALPHABET AND, UM, THE ONE THROUGH NINE, I THINK WE SAID.
AND THEN WE'LL DO, UM, FOURTH THROUGH SIX AND WE'LL DO SOME A PROGRAM FOR THEM.
[00:30:01]
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, YOU GUYS HAVE THE TACTILE GRAPHICS, THE, UM, FROM THE MUSEUM.AND ALLISON IS RESEARCHING THE COPYRIGHT, UM, THINGS, THE LAWS FOR THAT.
UM, AND SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE PROBABLY NEXT YEAR, UM, IN THE, IN 2024, WE'LL HAVE, UM, AN EXHIBIT OF THE SIDE BY SIDE, UM, ART WITH THE, WITH THE TACTILE GRAPHICS.
AND WHAT ELSE ARE WE DOING? I, I FORGOT ONE OTHER THING.
AND I WAS GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT, SO EVERY YEAR UNTIL 2020, WE ARE RESTARTING THIS YEAR, UM, V A V HAS HOSTED AN ART COMPETITION FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS OF GARLAND I S D.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN ONE OF OUR EARLY MEETINGS WAS COULD WE MAKE IT A TRAVELING ART SHOW? WOULD THE, WOULD THE LIBRARY DISPLAY THESE STUDENTS WORK? UM, AFTER THE CONTEST TAKES PLACE, VERITEX BANK HERE IN DOWNTOWN HAS SAID THEY WILL DISPLAY THEM FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS IN FEBRUARY.
UM, AND SO WE HOPE TO MAKE IT LIKE A TRAVELING SHOW THAT THESE KIDS FEEL LIKE THE WHOLE CITY IS CELEBRATING THEIR, THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENT.
LOTS OF DISPLAYS AND EVERYTHING.
SO WE'RE KIND OF STARTING SMALL AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL BUILD ON IT AS WE, AS WE MOVE ALONG.
ALLISON, CAN YOU REMEMBER, CAN YOU THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE'VE THINK OF? I KNOW
COMING FROM A MUSEUM BACKGROUND, I'VE DECIDED TO TAKE THE REINS, UM, WITH THESE TWO'S APPROVAL OF DOING A HISTORICAL PANEL, PANEL EXHIBIT AND TALKING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE V A V AND GARLAND BEING THE ACTUAL SITE OF THE FIRST TIME THEY BRANCHED OUT FROM THAT ONE SINGLE SCHOOL.
AND WHEN I HEARD THAT, I THOUGHT, HOW CAN WE, I'VE DONE THE, A HISTORY OF THE CITY OF GARLAND FOR CARVER, AND I WASN'T AWARE OF THAT.
I'VE STARTED RESEARCHING AND, UM, MAKE SOME PRETTY AWESOME PANELS.
I THINK IT'S A REALLY BEAUTIFUL HISTORY THAT I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT UNTIL I STARTED IN APRIL.
UM, THAT GARLAND, I S D WAS THE VERY FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT TO INVITE VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS TO BE PRESENT.
THERESA, WOULD YOU SAY THE, THE NAME, WHEN YOU MOVED TO UNIFIED ENGLISH BRAILLE, YOU MOVED AWAY FROM SOMETHING? EMA.
I HAVE A FRIEND WHO GREW UP WITH A BROTHER WHO HAS BEEN BLIND FROM BIRTH, AND SHE CAN'T WAIT FOR MY REPORT TONIGHT.
SO PLEASE TELL HER IF SHE'S INTERESTED IN LEARNING.
WE ARE REALLY LOOKING TO BEGIN A BEGINNER BRAILLE CLASS, UM, HOPEFULLY IN JANUARY.
SO, UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE HER BE A PART OF THAT.
UM, AND OUR TRANSCRIBERS ARE SO EXCITED TO TEACH IT, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS AS WELL AS LIKE, WE HAVE SPACE, WE HAVE THE SPACE TO OFFER THESE CLASSES, SO WE WILL BE OPENING UP THE, OUR SPACE TO, TO BE ABLE TO, FOR THEM TO EXPAND ON IT.
AND WE'RE ALSO, WE, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT TOO, WITH THE, UM, TO HAVE A, UM, ONE OF YOUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS COME AND GIVE AN INFORMATION, JUST AN INFORMATIONAL, THE SIGNS OF, OF, UM, BEING, UM, SITE IMPAIRED.
AND, AND IT WE'RE VERY EXCITED FOR DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS AS WELL.
UH, SO IF A STUDENT IN GARLAND I S D HAS LOW VISION AND REQUIRES, UM, SPECIALTY GLASSES, UH, V A V HELPS PURCHASE THOSE.
AND WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT DOCTORS IN GARLAND, THE CITY OF GARLAND THAT HELP US DO THAT.
AND SO THEY ARE BOTH WILLING TO COME AND DO A PRESENTATION FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SAY, THESE ARE THE EARLY SIGNS TO BE LOOKING FOR IN CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 18 MONTHS TO RECOGNIZE THERE'S A VISUAL IMPAIRMENT THAT'S TAKING PLACE.
THE EARLIER YOU INTERVENE, UM, THE BETTER.
IT'S NOT THAT SIGHT GETS BETTER, IT'S THAT THEY LEARN TO FUNCTION IN THE WORLD FAR MORE INDEPENDENTLY IF THEY'RE GIVEN THE TOOLS VERY EARLY.
OUT OUTTA CURIOSITY, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO CREATE ONE OF THESE BOOKS THAT ARE TRANSCRIBED FROM TRADITIONAL BOOKS? SO, UM, THERE'S A DIFFERENT ANSWER FOR BOTH, RIGHT? SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT ONE OF THESE PICTURE BOOKS WHERE WE'RE DOING THE CLEAR OVERLAYS, UM, WE CHARGE $7 A PAGE.
UM, IF WE WERE DOING IT AS A, A BUSINESS, UH, YOU KNOW, AS A, AN EXCHANGE, THAT'S WHAT WE CHARGED, UM, REGION 10 WHEN WE DID THOSE.
UM, WHEN WE ARE CREATING TEXTBOOKS, IF THERE ARE GRAPHICS INVOLVED, IT DOES GET MORE EXPENSIVE.
IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO CREATE QUALITY GRAPHICS.
UM, SO A TEXTBOOK HAS TWO DIFFERENT KIND OF LEVELS THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT IT.
SO IF YOU HAVE AN ENTIRE MATH TEXTBOOK THAT'S FOR A WHOLE YEAR, THE COST TO TRANSCRIBE THAT BOOK,
[00:35:01]
THE FIRST TRANSCRIPTION, BASICALLY JUST THE MOVING IT FROM PRINT INTO BRAILLE IS ABOUT $13,000.BUT FROM THERE, EVERY TIME YOU EMBOSS IT, IT ONLY COSTS YOU 40 CENTS A PAGE BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THE PAPER COSTS.
UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF KEEPING BRAILLE MATERIALS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC IS THAT YOU SEE HOW MANY PRINT THOSE, THOSE PRINT PAGES THAT CAME WITHOUT THAT MATH VOLUME, THOSE ARE ALL THE PAGES REPRESENTED IN THAT, THAT VOLUME OF BRAILLE.
IF YOU WERE TO HAVE, UM, A BIBLE EMBOSSED FROM BEGINNING TO END IN BRAILLE, EVEN INNER POINT, WHICH IS BRAILLE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE PAGE, UM, WE COULDN'T, IT WOULD REACH THE CEILING.
SO IT'S, I I UNDERSTAND THE MOVE TOWARDS SCREEN READERS AS MORE PRACTICAL AND TAKE I, I I GET ALL OF THAT.
UM, BUT FOR EARLY READERS, BRAILLE IS SO IMPORTANT.
EVEN THOUGH IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE AND IT TAKES UP A LOT OF SPACE, IT'S SO IMPORTANT.
WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
WE'RE GONNA BE, WE'RE GONNA BE, WE BRAIL ON CHEEKS.
ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN BOND PROGRAM UPDATES.
MAY I ASK, UM, ONE CONCESSION YOU WANNA SKIP AROUND? UM, IT'S ABOUT SIX 40 AND I KNOW THE SUN IS STARTING TO SET A LITTLE BIT EARLIER NOW, IF WE WANTED TO DO THE, UH, CENTRAL LIBRARY EXPRESS AND LIBRARY MATERIALS KIOSK UPDATE AND THEN DO THE, UM, THE FIELD TRIP OUT TO THE KIOSK, WOULD THAT BE OKAY TO MM-HMM.
YOU WANNA DO IT'S IT'S AT RIGHT OUTSIDE THIS BUILDING.
YEAH, I THINK WE DO THE FIELD TRIP FIRST.
SUNDOWN IS SEVEN 18, SO, SO BRING, YOU CAN BRING YOUR LIBRARY CARDS, YOU CAN BRING, BRING YOUR LIBRARY CARDS.
IF YOU HAVE ANY LIBRARY MATERIALS THAT YOU NEED TO RETURN THE LIBRARY APP, YOU BRING YOUR LIBRARY APP.
BUT WE'LL READ THE CAR OR THE, YOUR, UM, BARCODE ON THAT AS WELL.
I PUT A PEN AND A CARD AND A BROCHURE ON EVERYBODY'S PLACE.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PAN, BRUSHER AND A CARD, LET US KNOW.
WE APPRECIATE THE MATERIALS FROM THE VISUAL AID VOLUNTEERS AND WE ENJOYED OUR FIELD TRIP.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS FUN AND EDUCATIONAL.
AND DO YOU, ARE THERE ANY OTHER UPDATES TO THAT SECTION OR, YES.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF UPDATES WITH THE CENTRAL LIBRARY EXPRESS AND LIBRARY MATERIALS KIOSK THAT KATHLEEN'S GOING TO.
WE NEED TO WAIT FOR MICHAEL TO COME BACK.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE, DO YOU WANNA WAIT FOR MICHAEL TO RETURN? OKAY.
SO I THINK WE HAD A, A QUESTION, UH, LAST MEETING ABOUT THE MATERIALS, THE USAGE OF THE LIBRARY KIOSK.
AND AS YOU KNOW, THIS ONE OUT THERE IS CALLED, IT'S THE DOWNTOWN SQUARE, UH, KIOSK.
AND WE BEGAN AN OPERATION OF THAT IN MAY.
AND WE, IT'S STOCKED WITH RIGHT NOW, IT'S STOCKED WITH, UM, HIGH DEMAND MATERIALS FOR ADULTS, YOUNG ADULTS AND CHILDREN'S AND FICTION AND NONFICTION AND IN AND DVDS.
UM, AND IS THERE, AS WE SAW IT ALLOWS MATERIAL RETURNS, OOPS.
[00:40:03]
MM, THERE WE GO.THE, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE CUMULATIVE TRANSACTIONS WE'VE HAD WAY MORE, UH, CHECK-INS MM-HMM.
SO, UM, WE THINK THAT THE NUMBERS AS THEY ARE, IS REFLECTIVE OF SEVERAL THINGS, NOT THE LEAST IS THE BRUTAL HEAT THIS SUMMER AND THE FACT THAT WENT IN IN MAY AND, UM, IT STARTED GETTING WARM NOT THAT LONG AFTER, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND LIKE DO DEMOS OUT THERE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING IN-PERSON DEMONSTRATIONS DURING THE GRAND REOPEN REOPENING OF THE DOWNTOWN SQUARE.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LITTLE, UH, SET UP WITH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE SIGNS.
I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'LL HAVE THE SIGNS AT THAT POINT, BUT WE'LL HAVE OKAY.
BUT WE'LL HAVE PEOPLE, AND WE ARE, THE LIBRARIES, UH, SET UP IS KIND OF CAT CORNER TO WHERE THE KIOSK IS, WHERE WE WILL HAVE ALL OF OUR TABLES AND EVERYTHING FOR THAT DAY.
AND WE'LL HAVE ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING THAT WE'RE DOING FOR THAT DAY.
AND WHETHER THEY APPROACH THE KIOSK, WE CAN SEND THEM ONE WAY.
IF THEY WERE APPROACHING THE OTHER, UH, AREA, THE PROGRAMMING AREA, WE CAN SEND PEOPLE TO THE KIOSK.
AND SOMETIMES I THINK WITH EQUIPMENT LIKE THIS, IT LOOKS COOL, BUT IF I LOOK AT IT AND I'M LIKE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT, I DON'T WANT TO GO UP THERE AND USE IT.
SO I THINK AN IN-PERSON DEMONSTRATION WILL REALLY HELP.
AND ALSO LET THEM KNOW WHAT'S IN THERE.
AGAIN, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, THE BOX LOOKS COOL, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN THERE, SO I'M NOT GONNA GO LOOK FOR IT.
SO I THINK HOPE, HOPING THAT ONCE WE HAVE THOSE IN-PERSON DEMONSTRATIONS, THAT WE CAN, UH, CREATE AN INCREASE IN THE USAGE, ESPECIALLY THE CHECKOUTS.
SO I DON'T THINK, SO WE'RE ALSO GOING TO ADD YOU WERE TALKING, I THINK ABOUT TEMPORARY SIGNS, UH, YEAH.
UM, BUT THERE'S GONNA BE A MORE PERMANENT, UM, MONUMENT SIGN THAT'S ADDED, UH, TO THIS AS WELL.
ALSO, ONE OF, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST TIME, UM, I THINK UNLESS THAT WAS OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM MEETING, WAS THE KITS WE ARE GOING TO HAVE, UM, CONTAINERS THAT WILL HAVE ITEMS FOR USE IN THE PARK, LIKE KITES AND UM, BAGS FOR, UM, CORN HOLE AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND THEY WILL BE IN THOSE CONTAINERS, THEY CAN CHECK 'EM OUT, USE IT, AND THEN RETURN IT.
AND IT'S JUST THINGS THAT, THAT GO WITH EACH LOCATION, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE PARK SYSTEM.
AND THEN WE HAVE AN ONGOING REVIEW AND ADJUSTMENT OF MATERIALS.
WE LOOK AND WE SEE WHAT'S CHECKING OUT.
WE SEE WHAT WE NEED MORE OF AND WE, UH, CONTINUALLY ADJUST WHAT'S IN IN THERE.
SO LOVE THE IDEA OF THE DOING THE IN PERSON.
IT'S THE, NOW THAT I'VE SEEN IT, I, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YEAH.
IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY TO DO LIKE MAYBE AN INCENTIVE FOR PEOPLE TO COME TRY IT? LIKE MAYBE YOU HAVE A FEW PRIZES IN THERE AND THEY CAN CHECK THEM OUT AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE FIRST FEW PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO TRY IT AND GET A PRIZE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? I'M NOT, I'M WRITING DOWN SOMETHING AS YOU SAID.
I'M NOT SURE IF WE COULD PUT A PRIZE IN IT, BUT, UH, WE'VE DONE A SCAVENGER HUNT BEFORE THAT WAS REALLY POPULAR.
AND I THINK DOING SOMETHING THAT WAY MAY BE A REALLY GOOD PROGRAM IDEA.
JUST PUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS BILL IN A BOOK.
[00:45:01]
BUT I, I ALSO THINK HAVING WHAT KATHLEEN SAID ABOUT THE HEAT, BUT THEN ALSO, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE, THE ROAD CLOSURES AROUND IT.UM, HELP SOME OF IT, BUT WHEN SOMEBODY RETURNS THE CORNHOLE GAME, LIKE, OH, LET ME GET A BOOK, YOU KNOW, ON MY ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YEAH.
ARE THOSE, UM, ARE THERE TARGETS IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IN TERMS OF ACTIVITY? AND IF SO, ARE THEY BELOW OR ARE THEY MEETING GIVEN THE FACTS? THE EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION, THE, WELL, THE NUMBERS, UH, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY SET TARGETS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.
EXPECT DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.
UH, I THINK WE WOULD PROBABLY NEED A FULL YEAR TO KIND OF SEE WHAT TO EXPECT AND, AND ALSO TO SEE THE OTHER KIOSK IN PLAY TO SEE, UH, WHAT KIND OF NUMBERS IT, IT GETS AND TO SEE HOW THEY RELATE TO EACH OTHER, BECAUSE I'M CURIOUS TO SEE THAT TOO.
THE SQUARE KIOSK MAY BE USED COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE LAWNWOOD PARK KIOSK AND HOW IT GETS USED, THE TIME OF DAY THAT IT GETS USED.
IS IT MORE CHILDREN'S OR MORE, UM, ADULT MATERIALS, TEEN MATERIALS THAT ARE GOING OUT.
SO I THINK WE'VE GOT SOME EXPERIMENTATION, UM, TO DO OVER THE NEXT YEAR, UM, THAT IT WILL, IT WILL BE INTERESTING SOME OTHER LIBRARIES THAT HAVE THESE, IT'S BEEN INTERESTING TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK AND SEE HAS IT BEEN MORE FAMILIES GOING KINDA LIKE A BOOKMOBILE STOP AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE GETTING MATERIALS, UH, RESERVING MATERIALS AND, AND PICKING THEM, EXCUSE ME, UP THERE.
UH, REMIND ME, I THINK IT WAS DVDS AND FICTION ARE THE TWO MOST POPULAR.
UH, ANOTHER THING THAT, TO THAT I'M INTERESTED IN, IN SEEING HOW MUCH USAGE AT LAWN WIND PARK IS THE KIOSK HERE WE'VE GOT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S SMALLER, WE HAVE THE CENTRAL LIBRARY EXPRESS JUST DOWN THE ROAD.
AND WE HAVE NORTH, UH, WHAT, THREE MILES FROM HERE AND AT LAWNWOOD PARK, THAT'S NEAR WHERE THE RIDGEWOOD BRANCH WAS THERE.
THE CLOSEST ONE IS, IS IT SOUTH OR SOUTH? OKAY.
AND CENTRAL'S NOT TOO MUCH FURTHER.
UM, SO THE, THAT MAY BE A DRIVER OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY USING THAT ONE FOR CHECKING OUT MORE MATERIALS.
UM, I'M INTERESTED TO SEE THAT MAYBE, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO THE OTHER LIBRARIES WHERE THEY USED TO ALWAYS COME HERE.
UM, THE CIRCULATION HAVE NOT, HUH.
UM, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND MOVE IT.
CIRCULATIONS HAVE NOT TOTALLY SHOWN THAT THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING.
WE ARE GETTING A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO THOSE OTHER LOCATIONS.
COMPUTER LAB IS, IS STUDY ROOMS, STUDY ROOMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THE CIRCULATIONS ARE PROBABLY GOING UP.
I HAVE NOT PULLED THAT IF I CAN PULL THAT AND, UH, THOSE NUMBERS AND GET BACK TO Y'ALL WITH THAT.
BUT, UM, I KNOW THEY ARE CIRC THEY ARE CHECKING OUT A LOT OF MATERIALS FROM THE CENTRAL LIBRARY EXPRESS.
SO THAT'S A SEGUE INTO THE CENTRAL LIBRARY EXPRESS OR AS WE LIKE TO CALL IT, THE CLEA.
UM, SO IF YOU HEAR US TALKING ABOUT THE CLEA, THAT'S IT.
IT'S VERY SMALL AREAS THAT WE HAVE.
SO AGAIN, WE TRY TO HAVE THE, UM, THE NEWER ONES A HIGH INTEREST BECAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S JUST NOT THAT ROOM, THAT MUCH ROOM.
WE ALSO HAVE LAPTOPS THAT CAN BE CHECKED OUT.
BUT FOR USE IN THE COMPUTER LAB, WHICH IS EIGHT EIGHT DESK EIGHT, UM, 12.
12, UM, I WAS JUST THERE TODAY TOO.
SO I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THERE ARE.
WE WANT DO TWO PROVIDE THAT, UH, FOR THOSE PEOPLE
[00:50:01]
THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE CLOSEST LOCATION FOR THEM OR MAYBE THEY DON'T HAVE, CAN'T, UH, THEY DON'T HAVE THE TRANS ABILITY TO GO TO THESE OTHER LOCATIONS AS EASILY AS THE CLEA.WE ALSO DO PROGRAMMING FOR ALL AGES, INDOORS AND OUTDOORS.
THEY EVEN DID OUTDOORS DURING THE SUMMER.
THESE PROGRAMS WERE, UH, WELL ATTENDED.
UH, THEY'VE GOT THESE REGULARS THAT ARE COMING TO A LOT OF THEM.
AND PART OF THAT IS WITH THE STEAM CLASSES AND OPEN LABS.
YOU CAN CONTINUE TO TAKE STEAM CLASSES IF YOU HAVE PROJECTS THAT YOU WANNA WORK ON, AS LONG AS YOU'VE TAKEN THE CLASS, THEN YOU CAN WORK ON IT IN THE OPEN LAB.
AND WE HAVE THOSE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH FOR, IT'S PRIMARILY FOR ADULTS, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME, UH, YOUNGER PEOPLE THAT COME ALONG, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S LIKE AT LEAST 13.
AND I LOVE THE PICTURE ON THE FAR RIGHT.
GLOW FORGE IS ON THE FAR RIGHT AND THE FAR LEFT.
AND THE ONE, THE PICTURE IN THE MIDDLE IS A, UM, PROGRAM THAT WE HAD FOR, UH, WEAVING.
AND UM, THAT WAS A BIG HIT TOO.
SO INTERESTINGLY, THE, THE SPANISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMS, UM, SOMETIMES FILL UP MUCH FASTER THAN THE ENGLISH, UM, PROGRAMS THAT KLEE.
SO IT'S BEEN A LOT OF FUN TO WATCH OUR SPANISH LANGUAGE FAMILIES COME IN AND, AND USE THEIR
SO I BELIEVE THIS WAS A QUESTION FROM OUR LAST MEETING.
THE DOOR COUNTS ASKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE VISITING, UH, THE CLEE.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, JUNE AND JULY, THAT WAS PRETTY HIGH, UH, FROM MAY, JUNE AND JULY, MAY, JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST OF LAST YEAR AT CENTRAL MAY WAS, UH, 12,505.
JUNE WAS 15,296, SO ABOUT 5,000 OFF 2020, OR EXCUSE ME, JULY WAS 15,152.
SO 4,000 OFF, I'M JUST ROUNDING.
AND UM, AUGUST WAS 13,880 AND THIS WAS, UM, ROUNDING TO SEVEN.
UM, I THINK THAT THE SIZE OF IT AND KNOWING WITH THE HEAT, THE DROP OFF BETWEEN JULY AND AUGUST, UM, WE ALSO DIDN'T HAVE PROGRAMS IN, CORRECT.
WE DID NOT HAVE PROGRAMS AND SCHOOL STARTED EARLIER, I THINK.
UH, COMPUTER, ALL THAT CONSTRUCTION TOO.
THAT TOO COMPUTER USE IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER BECAUSE WE WENT FROM BASICALLY THE FIRST FLOORS FULL OF THE COMPUTER DESK AND LIKE IT WAS EITHER 12 OR EIGHT
UM, AND MOBILE PRINT JOBS, THOSE ARE PROBABLY FAIRLY STEADY.
UM, THAT'S PEOPLE COMING IN, THEY DON'T, CAN'T PRINT AT HOME OR THEY'RE ON THE, WE GET A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE TRAVELING AND IT'S PRINTER ON IS THE SOFTWARE.
SO IF YOU'RE TRAVELING AND YOU REGULARLY USE PRINTER ON, IT'LL DIRECT YOU TO THE CLOSEST LOCATION.
BUT, UM, CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS MAY, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY, UM, THAT WAS, SCHOOL WAS STILL IN.
SO WE BASICALLY, IT'S JUNE, JULY OR THE BIG PROGRAM MONTHS FOR SUMMER AND JUNE IS WHERE WE GET THE MOST BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE STILL EXCITED AND THEY HAVEN'T ALL LEFT FOR THEIR SUMMER VACATION.
THE AUGUST NUMBERS WITH EIGHT PROGRAMS AND 132 ATTENDEES.
THOSE WERE SOME OF THE CLASSES FOR, FOR THEM.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY BIG PROGRAMMING LIKE WE DID DURING THE SUMMER.
UM, THE E S L CONVERSATIONS CLASSES IN AUGUST AS WELL TO KEEP THOSE GOING.
WELL, EXCEPT THE CHILDREN'S, OH NO, I'M SORRY.
[00:55:01]
YEAH.SO THE TEEN PROGRAMS, WHAT CAN I SAY? IT'S TEENS,
WE ARE, WE DON'T GIVE UP ON 'EM.
WE STILL TRY AND, UH, FIND THE RIGHT PROGRAM, THE RIGHT MIX.
WE DO HAVE OUR, UH, TAB OR TEEN ADVISORY BOARD PROGRAMS AND WE HAVE AFTER HOUR PROGRAMS AND PIZZA PROGRAMS. AND 'CAUSE IF YOU FEED 'EM, THEY WILL COME.
UM, UH, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO DO STILL IMPROVE ON THAT.
AND IN EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, NOT, THAT DOESN'T WORK.
WE, WE LEARN FROM THAT AND WE'VE, WE ADAPT ADULT PROGRAMS. UM, THEY GENERALLY HAVE LESS THAN THE CHILDREN'S, BUT THOSE, THOSE ARE PRETTY SOLID NUMBERS FOR THAT LOCATION TO KNOW THAT AS SMALL AS IT IS THAT WE'RE GETTING DRAWING 114 OR 201, UM, PEOPLE IN JUNE AND JULY.
AND THOSE ARE THE, THE STEAM CLASSES, THE, UH, E S L CLASSES.
UM, SOME OF THE CRAFTING, THEY LOVE THE CRAFTING PROGRAM.
THAT THEY HAVE LIMITED REGISTRATION FOR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO CAN COME IN AND USE THE FACILITY.
I FORGOT ABOUT TO MENTION THAT, THAT THE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT, NOT JUST BECAUSE IT'S A SMALLER LOCATION, BUT BECAUSE IT IS A SMALLER LOCATION, WE LIMIT REGISTRATION.
SO SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT IF WE HAD HAD IT AT BIG CENTRAL, UH, WHERE IT WOULD'VE BEEN OPEN MM-HMM.
AND, UH, DID WANNA MENTION A NEW PROGRAM THAT WE'RE OFFERING ON WEDNESDAYS AT 5:00 PM AND IT IS FOURTEENS AND IT IS CALLED STUDY CAFE.
IT SAYS TEENS WILL FIND A COMMON AND RELAXING ENVIRONMENT AT OUR START STUDY CAFE TO WORK ON HOMEWORK AND OTHER PROJECTS AND SNACKS AND REFRESHMENTS ARE PROVIDED VERY IMPORTANT.
AND, UH, HOW'S THAT BEEN GOING WITH? YOU'RE NOT THERE.
NO, THERE, I KNOW YOU'RE NOT
WHAT TIME ON WEDNESDAY? IT'S AT 5:00 PM ON WEDNESDAY.
CAN YOU REMIND ME OF THE PLEA HOURS, OPERATING HOURS? PLEA HOURS ARE SUNDAYS FROM TWO TO SIX, TWO TO SIX, AND 10 TO SIX ON SATURDAYS AND 10 TO SIX ON SATURDAYS, FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS NINE TO EIGHT ON MONDAY.
AND THUR MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY, NINE TO EIGHT.
I I SEEM TO RECALL THERE MIGHT BE SOME CONSIDERATION OF ADJUSTING THOSE.
DO, ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO TAKE AWAY SOME OF THOSE HOURS OR, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLANS AT THIS TIME.
UM, THE, THE BIG DRIVER IS WE HAVE A GOOD NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO THIS LOCATION.
IT IS THE MOST CENTRAL LOCATION IN UM, GARLAND.
IT'S OFF OF, UH, THE TRAIN DART TRAIN AS WELL AS, UM, BUS ROUTES AND OTHER PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, SOUTH, NORTH AND WALNUT.
NONE OF THOSE OTHER LOCATIONS HAVE ALL OF THOSE, UM, WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO, TO GAIN ACCESS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? JUST REMEMBER, LIKE, JUST FLIP THROUGH THESE AND, AND THESE SHOULD BE OUT AT EVERY LOCATION AND IT'S ALSO ONLINE, UM, ON OUR WEBPAGE.
SO LET EVERYBODY KNOW ABOUT THESE.
UH, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
SO IT JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER.
RIGHT? SO CENTRAL LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION, A LITTLE UPDATE ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT.
UH, AS YOU HAVE HEARD, UH, WE EXPECT THE COMPLETION OF OUR CONSTRUCTION TO BE IN EARLY 2025.
A LITTLE EARLY TO TELL FOR SURE.
UH, RIGHT NOW I THINK THEY'VE BEEN ADDED ABOUT THREE WEEKS REALLY HARD WITH, WITH WORK.
SO THEY'RE DEMOING OUT, UH, THE INTERIOR OF THE LIBRARY TO SHOW YOU SOME PICTURES HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
UM, THE DEMO CONSISTS OF TAKING UP ALL THE FLOORING, ALL THE CEILING TILE,
[01:00:01]
ALL THE LIGHTING.THEY'RE DEMOING PLUMBING DOWNSTAIRS, UH, DEMOING WALLS THAT, UH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO NEED.
UH, SO HEATHER COLSON AND I ON FRIDAY TOOK A LITTLE FIELD TRIP AND I TOOK SOME PHOTOS TO SHOW YOU.
SO THIS IS, IF YOU WERE STANDING IN THE YEAH, I'M SO HAPPY.
THAT'S LOOK LIKE IF YOU WERE STANDING IN THE, IF YOU WERE STANDING IN THE TEEN AREA LOOKING TOWARD WHERE THE CIRCULATION DESK WOULD BE, THAT'S WHERE IT WOULD'VE BEEN.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE CEILING TILE IS OUT, THE DUCT WORK IS STILL GOING TO REMAIN.
THEY'RE GONNA REROUTE A LOT OF THE DUCT DUCT WORK, ALL THE IT INFRASTRUCTURE, EVERYTHING, UM, IS OUT THE FLOOR.
IT'S NOT AS STICKY NOW, BUT WHEN THEY TOOK UP THE TILE, THE, UH, CARPETING, IT WAS STILL STICKY.
SO IT, IT'S NOT QUITE AS STICKY.
THIS IS, IF YOU WERE LOOKING IN KAREN'S OFFICE, UH, TO THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE, THAT'S WHERE HER OFFICE WOULD BE.
AND BACK THAT, IN THAT CORNER WOULD BE WHERE THE BOARD ROOM WAS
THIS IS, IF YOU WERE STANDING IN THE, UH, ABOUT WHERE THE STORY TIME DOOR WAS AND YOU WERE LOOKING TOWARDS THE, UH, THE STAIRWELL.
THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW.
CIRCULATION DESK WOULD'VE BEEN OVER HERE ON THIS SIDE MANAGER'S OFFICE.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THE ELEVATORS IN THE CORNER OVER THERE.
THIS IS THE NORTH PROGRAM ROOM WITHOUT A STAGE.
IT, THEY HAVEN'T QUITE CLEANED AT ALL.
YEAH, IT DOESN'T HAVE A STAGE.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE DOORS ARE KIND OF, 'CAUSE YOU USED TO HAVE TO GO DOWN FOR THE EXIT DOORS IN THE BACK AND NOW THIS STAGE IS GONE.
SO STILL HAVE THE CURTAINS THERE.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS, IF YOU, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO RESCUE THOSE
THIS IS WHERE THE MANAGER'S OFFICE WOULD'VE BEEN.
AND THIS WAS THE BACK AREA OF THE LIBRARY.
AND THAT'S TECHNICAL SERVICES WHERE THAT GENTLEMAN IS BACK THERE.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THEY'RE RIPPING OUT A LOT OF STUFF.
THIS IS DOWNSTAIRS WHERE THE REFERENCE COLLECTION USED TO BE.
SO THE REFERENCE DESK IS JUST TO THE LEFT.
YOU CAN SEE THE ELEVATOR ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE THERE.
UH, ALL OF THAT HAS, THEY HAVEN'T QUITE GOT TO THE CEILING, UH, TILE HERE ALL THE WAY.
SO IT'S REALLY STICKY ON THE FLOOR.
THEY JUST PICKED UP THE, UH, PICKED UP THE, UH, CARPET THERE AND THERE USED TO BE AN OFFICE IN THE BACK THAT'S, THAT'S GONE.
AND THIS IS THE TWO RESTROOMS DOWNSTAIRS.
UH, THEY'RE DEMOING THOSE, UH, TWO RESTROOMS. THEY'RE GONNA RECONFIGURE THOSE, THOSE TWO INTO FAMILY RESTROOMS. SO, UM, COMPLETE, UH, COMPLETE, UM, DEMO FOR THAT.
YOU'RE NOT SAVING THE TYPEWRITER ROOMS FOR OLD TIMES SAKE, ARE YOU? NO, NO, NO.
WE'VE HAD, UH, GONE
THEY ARE KIND OF COOL TO TELL SOMEBODY THOSE ARE TYPEWRITING OR, YOU KNOW, TYPEWRITER ROOMS. WHAT'S THAT? THE ROOMS? THE, THESE, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S IT.
LIKE, WHAT'S A PHONE BOOK? MM-HMM.
WHERE'S THE PICTURE OF YOU WITH A HARD HAT AND THE, I ACTUALLY HAVE ONE OF THOSE, BUT IT'S WITH ALL OF THEM AND I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T IT MAYBE NEXT TIME.
WE WERE TRYING TO GET, WE GOT NEW HARD HATS AND WE COULDN'T QUITE FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THEM WORK.
SO WE, THEY MIGHT'VE SUNK TOO FAR ON OUR HIT.
IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO SEE THE PROGRESS.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON INSIDE? I THINK, OH, THE THING I WAS ALSO GONNA MENTION, THE, UH, GIANT
SO THERE MAYBE NEXT WEEK AND NEXT TIME I'LL HAVE SOME PHOTOS WHERE THEY'RE JUST GONNA TAKE OUT THAT GIANT STAIRWELL AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE OUT THE REFERENCE DESK AND THERE'S A GIANT, WE CALL IT A SPIDER.
UH, THAT KIND OF GOES UP TO THIS AND THEY'RE GONNA DEMO THAT AND WE'RE KIND OF HAPPY TO SEE IT GO, HONESTLY.
ANY, ANY QUESTIONS? INTERESTING.
NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I'LL DO A QUICK, UH, UPDATE ON THE LAWN WIN, UH, UH, LIBRARY MATERIALS DISPENSER.
UH, THE, UH, THE COMPANY THAT'S CAN, THAT'S INSTALLING THIS NK SOLUTIONS, UH, HAD A, UH, CONFLICT WITH OUR
[01:05:01]
DATE, WHICH WAS GONNA BE IN MID-OCTOBER.SO IT'S NOW MOVED UP TO NEXT WEEK.
SO WE'RE GONNA GET OUR NEW, OUR NEW KIOSK AT LAWN WIND NEXT WEEK.
SO, UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED, UH, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UH, WE HAVE, WE GET A LOT OF HELP FROM OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS OF FACILITIES DEPARTMENT.
THEY'RE POURING THE, THE PAD FOR IT TODAY, I BELIEVE.
UH, WE GET A LOT OF HELP FROM OUR IT DEPARTMENT AND THE FACILITIES WILL ACTUALLY BE, UH, THE DEPARTMENT THAT'S GOING TO LIFT THE DISPENSER UP AND PUT IT ON THE PAD.
SO THEY DO A LOT OF WORK FOR US.
AND THEN, UH, GETTING IT HOOKED UP AND HOOKED UP TO OUR SYSTEM, UH, IS DAUNTING.
SOMETIMES IT TAKES ALMOST A WHOLE WEEK TO GET IT INSTALLED.
ONCE WE GET IT INSTALLED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER, WE ANTICIPATE GETTING A NEW WRAP FOR IT.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA, WE'LL TEST IT OUT.
MAKE SURE IT WORKS, AND THEN WE'LL BE READY TO GO.
WHERE IS IT GOING TO GO IN THE PARK? I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GUESS IT'S, DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE, THE RESTROOMS ARE ALMOST DIRECTLY, UM, ACROSS THE WAY.
I THINK THE, THE SCULPTURAL WILL BE IN BETWEEN THE TWO, BUT IT WILL BE, UM, RIGHT ACROSS.
BUT BEFORE YOU GET TO THE SPLASH PAD ACROSS FROM THE, UH, THE RESTROOMS. OKAY.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT THE INTERLIBRARY LOAN.
IS THAT AVAILABLE WITH ALL OF THIS CONSTRUCTION? YES.
UM, YOU'RE STILL ABLE TO DO IN OUR LIBRARY LOAN AT ANY LO ANY OF OUR LOCATIONS.
I THINK YOU CAN DO IT ONLINE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
WE HAVE HAD SOME ISSUE, UH, THE INTERLIBRARY LOAN DEPARTMENT HAS HAD WITH THE STATE HAS, HAS HAD SOME SOFTWARE ISSUES.
IT MAY BE, UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE SOFTWARE RIGHT NOW.
OH, I KNEW YOU WERE GONNA ASK THIS
AS SOON AS WE LEAVE, I'LL KNOW, I'LL REMEMBER.
BUT LEMME GO BACK AND TALK WITH SUE ELLEN ABOUT IT TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE AT WITH IT.
WHEN, WHEN WAS THIS? UM, FEW, MAYBE THREE WEEKS AGO.
THAT'S ABOUT WHEN IT WAS, SO YOU MIGHT, IF YOU STILL WANT THE ITEM, CHECK IT AGAIN.
I'VE USED IT IN THE LAST THREE OR FOUR DAYS.
BUT THERE WAS A GLITCH ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE TRYING TO GET IT TO CENTRAL.
ANYTHING ELSE? IF NOT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR FINAL ITEM OR IN THIS SECTION, STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY REVIEW.
EVERY YEAR OR MOST YEARS, I'LL SAY, UM, WE HOLD AN ANNUAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY THAT IS OUR, UM, ONE DAY THAT ALL OF OUR PHYSICAL LOCATIONS CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC AND STAFF COME TOGETHER FOR AN IN-SERVICE TRAINING DAY.
UM, IT'S SPONSORED BY THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY, UM, WHICH IS LOVELY, UH, THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO, UH, PROVIDE THAT FOR US.
WE HELD IT ON AUGUST 11TH THIS YEAR AT SOUTH GARLAND LIBRARY.
UM, AND I WAS JUST GONNA SHARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS.
SO, UH, CITY MANAGER AND BECKY KING, OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR, CAME OVER AND DID A WELCOME, RECOGNIZED SOME STAFF WHO HAVE, UH, WORKED THROUGH SOME, UM, BIG ACCO ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS YEAR.
UM, WE ALSO, AS A DEPARTMENT RECOGNIZED, UH, LIBRARY STAFF, FACILITIES MANAGEMENT STAFF AND IT STAFF WHO'VE WORKED WITH US TO TEAR CENTRAL DOWN, GET US MOVED OVER TO CENTRAL LIBRARY EXPRESS, GET MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, MOVED TO OTHER LOCATIONS, WHICH WITHOUT THEIR HELP WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TO HAPPEN.
WE ALSO, THE CITY IS, UM, TRANSITIONING OVER TO A NEW PAYROLL SYSTEM.
I THINK ACTUALLY IT HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACETS TO IT, BUT THE FIRST ONE IS A DIFFERENT PAYROLL SYSTEM.
SO, UM, THE FINANCE AND PAYROLL TEAM CAME IN TO DO THE, THE ESSENTIAL TRAINING FOR US TO
AND, AND THAT WAS, UM, TOOK UP ACTUALLY THE BULK OF MORNING.
THE, THE MORNING WE HAD AN AMAZING TEAM BUILDING EXPERIENCE, WHICH I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH.
IF YOU WANT A GREAT TEAM BUILDING EXPERIENCE, PLAY FAMILY FEUD.
I DID NOT REALIZE WE HAVE SOME STAFF THAT ARE AS COMPETITIVE AS THEY ARE.
BUT THAT WAS, THAT WAS A REALLY FUN, UH, TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE.
EACH, UH, EACH LOCATION OR DEPARTMENT, UM, MADE A GROUP AND THAT WAS THEIR FAMILY.
AND THEY, THEY CHEERED EACH OTHER ON, OR THEY FOUGHT BITTERLY UNTIL THE END
AND MY GOSH, WHOEVER DID THAT, THE QUESTIONS FOR THAT GAME DID SOME HARD QUESTIONS.
THAT WE WERE ALL SITTING THERE.
LIKE, I DON'T WHO WON? WE HAD THREE WINNERS.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO THE WINNERS WERE.
I WAS GONNA SAY IT WASN'T THE ADMIN TEAM.
[01:10:01]
THERE ARE HORSES ON ROMANCE NOVELS.THERES DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT, BUT WE HAD A REALLY GREAT TIME.
UM, WE DID A YEAR IN REVIEW OF ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE LAST YEAR AND ALSO HAD A, UM, A SPEAKER LIBRARY, STAFF SPEAKER WHO CAME IN AND TALKED ABOUT THE EMERGENCE OF CHAT G P T AND AI AND HOW THAT IS STARTING TO TAKE EFFECT IN THE LIBRARY WORLD AND MAYBE SOME DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN HARNESS THAT FOR GOOD.
UH, BUT ALSO TO BE
WILL, DO YOU REMEMBER THE BOOK YOU WANTED? WHAT WAS THAT? THE, THE BOOK YOU ASKED FOR? OH, WHAT WAS THAT, THE ONE FROM THAT JOHN SHOWED WHEN THAT THAT, THAT YOU WERE GOING TO ASK HIM FOR? OH, THE RH, WAS IT THE RHINOS OR SOMETHING? I CAN'T REMEMBER.
I I REMEMBER IT WAS JUST SOME SMART REMARKS.
THE, THIS, OF COURSE WITH FAMILY FEUD.
I MEAN, IT WAS LEGIT FAMILY FEUD.
UM, YOU TALK ABOUT HUMILITY BEFORE OR AFTER FAMILY FEUD,
WE SHOULD HAVE DONE IT BEFORE LESSON LEARNED.
UM, BUT IT WAS, IT WAS A REALLY GREAT DAY.
IT'S ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR THE ENTIRE STAFF TO COME TO DECK.
COME TOGETHER AND HAVE THAT TEAM BUILDING.
AND THE TWO QUESTIONS THAT WE LEFT WITH AT THE END ARE, YEAH, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, GIVING SOMEBODY THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, SHOWING GRACE AND, UM, BEING KIND TO ONE ANOTHER TO EACH OTHER, AND THEN TO THE, THE COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE.
BUT THE TWO BIG QUESTIONS AFTER THIS AMAZING PODCAST THAT I LISTENED TO, HOW AM I MAKING SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE EASIER OR BETTER? AND HOW DID SOMEONE MAKE MY LIFE EASIER OR BETTER? AND SO TAKING THAT AWAY AND THEN TRYING TO IMPLEMENT THAT AND REFLECT ON THAT EACH DAY.
BUT IT'S A, IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE DAYS OF THE YEAR, AND I HAVE A LOT OF FAVORITE DAYS OF THE YEAR, BUT IT TRULY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE DAYS OF THE YEAR.
WE RARELY ALL GET TO BE TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE, SO IT'S NICE.
UH, ARE THERE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP? NO.
THEN I, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, UH, I'M GRATEFUL TO THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE REAPPOINTED, SARAH, WE'RE GLAD THAT YOU'RE PART OF OUR GROUP.
UH, IF YOU'RE A BOOK SALE PERSON, THE MM-HMM.
YEAH, THAT'S THE, THE FRIENDS BOOK SALES.
SO IF YOU'RE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO SUPPORTS THAT, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
AND IF THERE'S NO OTHER BUSINESS, WE ARE ADJOURNED.