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03/15/2023 MinutesParis Public Library Advisory Board 03/15/2023 Meeting Minutes Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Paris Public Library Advisory Board was called to order by Chairman Steve Hellmann at 5:00 p.m. Board members present were: Steve Hellmann, Eva Dickey, Amy Watson, Melanie Loughmiller, and Jennifer Cullum. DeEtte Cobb and Lauren Matthews were absent. Also present were Library Director Connie Lawman, Assistant City Manager Rob Vine, and Friends of the Library President Audrey Mathieu. Citizens Forum: No citizens addressed the library board. III. Approval: Minutes of the February 15th, 2023 meeting were approved with no corrections, with Amy Loughmiller making the motion and Eva Dickey providing the second. IV. New Business: a. Administration Standards from the Texas Library Association. i. Connie is continuing to review the checklist of standards. She discussed the standards for Library Advisory Board members, with regard to continuing education, absences, and a general review of board policies. Connie asked the board if any member is currently a part of the TLA or ALA and Melanie Loughmiller is. ii. The library Mission Statement will be piggybacked off the City of Paris. Connie mentioned Lifelong Literacy as a part of the library's mission statement and Steve asked if this was something that will be a long-term placement. Connie said yes, and that her hope is to complement whatever the city does for the overall Mission Statement. Steve added that it would be a good idea for each new term, that there is a training, along with a tour of the library. iii. One of the long-term goals of the library is working on improving the collection, with regard to policy, Interlibrary Loans, gifts, ad special collections. Connie also feels that some of the local history of the area should be housed as a collection in the library. iv. A community -wide survey is in the works, to poll Paris residents about what they want in the library. Connie mentioned that the recent push on social media for the Libby app was successful, but she wants to make sure that she's reaching all residents, so a social media or electronic survey wouldn't be enough. Other libraries have done a survey with the residential water bill, so that may be an option to work with. V. The library collection needs to be gone through for viability. Connie says that the library still owns VHS tapes, of which there is not a large enough response for use to necessitate using shelf space for VHS. The TLA Administration Standards state that the collection must be weeded out every 5 years, and this has not happened for the Paris library. b. Board Member applications are due soon. Connie noted that there are several board members who have their first term up and if they want to renew for the second term, they must complete and submit the application. There is also an open position on the board, to which Jennifer Cullum recommended Dr. Myers Hurt, since his position was only a temporary fill-in for a previous board member. All members of the board agreed that Dr. Hurt would be a good fit for the board. Audrey Mathieu noted that Myers was also a board member for the Friends of the Paris Public Library and it was confirmed that those two positions do not create a conflict of interest. Audrey stated that she would contact Dr. Hurt. c. Capital Project Update: Connie stated that the library is set to close for repairs on Friday March 24th, 2023 and reopen on Monday March 27th, 2023. There will be a new ceiling in the atrium and any stained tiles will be replaced. d. Connie has asked to cancel the next Library Advisory Board meeting that would have taken place on April 19th, 2023 because she will be in Austen at the annual Texas Library Association Conference. Connie is excited for the conference and is hoping that she can bring an employee with her next year. V. Friends of the Library Report: Audrey stated that there is currently about $16,000 in funding available, with $2,000 coming from membership fees earned this year. Audrey would like to have more members through the local schools and is looking for parents of children who benefit from the programs to join. Currently, the Friends is a relaxed membership group, with meetings in April and November. VI. Press Release: The library is having a Summer Reading Kick -Off Extravaganza to get the public excited about reading. Connie has a press release that will announce the information to the public, with "Touch -A -Truck," live music, balloon twisters, therapy dogs, and other fun events to commemorate the kick-off. The event will take place on Saturday, June 3, from 10:00 — 2:00 pm. The reading challenge for this summer will include all ages, with three different groups for the prize categories. The age groups will be: 0-10, 11-18, and 11 & up. VII. Statistical Reports a. Budget The current budget stands at $348,653.05, which is 45% of the FY 2023 budget of $767,205.00. There were no comments regarding the budget. b. Statistics There are currently 10,714 library cards, 187 Reference Assistance requests, 341 computer usage counts, 73 times of computer instruction, and 283 account log - ins. The library has 72,764 books, with 2,959 adult and 3,555 juvenile titles in circulation. A notation was made in regard to the library visits. The library visits on the 2022 report were almost twice of normal visits. A possibility is the gate counter was not cleared in January. The figure on this report for February 2022 represents a three-month average leading up to that month. New Position: The library has a vacancy for the Teen Paraprofessional. The position will be full- time, in the amount of $14 an hour. The applicant needs a lot of energy, a high school diploma and be excited about the position's possibilities. The position will be responsible for programming ages 11-18. VIII. Director's Remarks New Position: The library has a vacancy for the Teen Paraprofessional. The position will be full- time, in the amount of $14 an hour. The applicant needs a lot of energy, a high school diploma and be excited about the position's possibilities. The position will be responsible for programming ages 11-18. The meeting was adjourned at 5:39, with Amy Loughmiller making the motion and Jennifer Cullum providing the second. The next meeting of the Paris Public Library Advisory Board will be on May 17th, 2023 at 5 p.m.