Update_Library Board of Trustees 2 28 13Carnegie -Stout Public Library
Library Board of Trustees Update
From the Meeting of
February 28, 2012
Present: Paula Connors, President; Mike Willis, Vice President; Frederick
Miller, Secretary; Trustees, John Anderson - Bricker, Diann Guns, and Jenny
We iss
Absent: David Hammer
The Board met Thursday, February 28. Below is a summary of their meeting:
• Circulations were down 3 percent compared to the same time last year.
So far, in fiscal year 2013, four of the seven months have seen a decrease
in check -outs, two were about even, and one represented an increase in
check -outs. It appears that predictions made pre- renovation are taking
place now. The prediction was that after the renovation, circulations would
increase dramatically for a period of time before eventually leveling off at a
lower level, but one that remains higher than previously experienced.
Immediately after the renovation was completed we experienced very
strong growth — sometimes in double digits. When reviewing total
checkouts for Fiscal Year 2013, although four of the seven months show a
decrease, the numbers remain significantly higher than pre- renovation
totals.
• Katelyn Wolff and Joshua Kelly have been hired and have joined the
Circulation Department.
• The Board reviewed four policies and approved them: Public Records,
Listening and Viewing Station, Citizen Input at Board Meetings, and
Unaccompanied Children. No substantive changes were made to the
policies, but they had not been reviewed in 3 -4 years.
• The Board spent considerable time discussing the community survey as it
pertained to the need for west side service. There was not clear direction
from the community survey about library expansion. The Board decided
that the library would focus on dealing with the issues surrounding the
Open Access program first as something may come from these
discussions which may include a new way of delivering service.
Depending on that outcome the topic may come back for discussion next
year. A copy of the executive summary of the community survey is
attached for your review.
• The Board approved a proposal for managing discussions regarding Open
Access that came from a meeting of the four public library directors in
Dubuque County (C -SPL, Cascade, Dyersville, DBQ County). A copy is
attached for your reference.
Library Board of Trustees
Paula Connors, Board President
Mike Willis, Vice President
Frederick Miller, Board Secretary
John Anderson - Bricker
Diann Guns
David Hammer
Jenny Weiss
Susan Henricks, Director
Meeting — Monday, February 4, 2012
Attendees:
Carnegie -Stout Public Library, Susan Henricks
Cascade Public Library, Melissa Kane
Dubuque County Library, Dawn Hayslett
James Kennedy Public Library, Shirley Vonderhaar
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the charge, composition, and logistics of
forming a group to discuss issues pertaining to the Open Access reciprocal borrowing
program. The agenda covered naming such a group, defining its goals, identifying
member types and number, frequency of meetings and where, identifying a facilitator,
and duration for the committee. The following represents a consensus of the attendees:
Name of Group
Library Services Advisory Committee for Dubuque County
Purpose of the Committee
The purpose of the Library Services Advisory Committee is to evaluate library services
to residents of Dubuque County, and as part of that evaluation, discuss the issue of
Open Access.
Goals
Recommend answers to two questions:
1. How might the existing public libraries share resources to offer better services to
all residents of Dubuque County?
2. How can all public libraries in Dubuque County be strengthened to provide these
services in an equitable, sustainable, and cost - effective manner?
Member Types & Number
Significant discussion was held regarding how to gather the most information from the
greatest number of people. Many citizens would like to have a voice on the subject of
reciprocal borrowing. This group agreed that one board member and the library director
would need to be on the committee. It was recognized that input must be gathered from
the various funding authorities and, most importantly, the citizens, making the logistics
of a committee difficult and unwieldy in number.
This group recommends that the Library Services Advisory Committee number 12 with
three representatives from each library: a library board member, the library director,
and an at -large member appointed by each library board.
Information from stakeholders will be sought through 12 -14 groups:
# of Groups Location
Funding Officials:
3 City Councils— Cascade, Dubuque, Dyersville
1 County Supervisors
1 Communities that contract with the county library for services
The public:
1 Cascade
3 County
3 Dubuque
2 Dyersville
Facilitator
A facilitator is needed to conduct work sessions with funding officials and town hall style
meetings with groups. The facilitator of these groups will report findings to the Library
Services Advisory Committee.
Ideally a facilitator will understand, or have background, in libraries and our reciprocal
borrowing model. If not, a facilitator will need some education on the topic.
This group discussed options: staff from the State Library, Iowa State Extension
Services, DALINC members, local colleges /universities, library consultants, or the
library school in Iowa City.
Concern regarding a budget to pay for a facilitator dominated the discussion for a period
of time as the group recognized it will be unlikely that someone could be found to
facilitate up to 14 meetings without compensation; particularly if travel is involved.
Susan Henricks will follow up on several leads and report back to the group. She had
four contact names and the estimated cost was $200 per session.
Duration of Library Services Advisory Committee
This group recommends the Committee create a plan, or reach a decision by October 1,
2013 in time for FY 15 budget preparation.
Facilitator Work: Two months — April and May, 2013
Committee Work: Four months — June, July, August, and September, 2013
Executive Summary of the Community Survey
August- September, 2012
Himmel and Wilson Library Consultants, of Milton, WI developed a community survey
that was administered in August and September, 2012. Through the return of 396 mail surveys
the survey achieved scientific results that can be generalized to the community at large with a
confidence level of +1- 5 percent. The survey was also offered online through the library's
website and by an email invitation to educators and library patrons for electronic participation.
Hard copies of the survey were available in the library for interested on -site visitors. Responses
received:
• Mail Survey 396
• Web Survey — Library Patron List 688
• Web Survey — School District 182
• Web Survey — Library Website 76
• In- Library Survey 81
The web surveys' and the in -house surveys' responses are from a self - selected sample that is
more likely to be biased in favor of library services; therefore, the mail survey results should be
relied upon since it is based on a scientifically valid random sample.
Do You Have Children Under the Age of 12 Living m Your Home?
Responses by Ward •
Web- Patron
Web -Open
Ward
Mail
Web - Patron
Web -Open
In- Library
School District
1
33.6%
31.2%
29.0%
27.5%
30.8%
2
33.3%
19.5%
18.4%
25.0%
15.9%
3
20.4%
12.7%
13.2%
21.3%
3.9%
4
12.4%
19.5%
17.1%
20.0%
8.8%
Don't Live in DBQ
0%
5.0%
13.2%
5%
25.3%
Do You Have Children Under the Age of 12 Living m Your Home?
Mail
Web- Patron
Web -Open
In- Library
School District
17.6%
32.7%
29.7%
21.5%
21.1%
1
The Public Library is Very Important or Essential to the Quality of Life in my Community
Mail
Web- Patron
Web -Open
In- Library
School District
89.8%
90.5%
92.2%
100%
81.4%
More than 65% of all respondents report contact with the library in the past six months,
which is close to the percentage of active library card holders that are registered borrowers.
A large majority of respondents, whether they have used the library recently or not,
believe the library is either very important or essential to the quality of life in our community.
For those who had recent contact with the library 93.5% agreed with this statement. A strong
majority (83.7 %) of those who have not had recent contact with the library agreed with this
statement. Similarly, respondents reported a high level of satisfaction with the library, with
83.6% stating their overall satisfaction level is either very good, or excellent. Those rating
satisfaction as "good" represent 11.5% of the respondents. The library can take cues from
comments left in "other" categories, as well as ratings in the collection and programs, to design
improvements. No respondents rated their library satisfaction level as "poor," and only 4
respondents rated their experience as "fair."
Expansion of Library Services to the West Side
Respondents Who do Not Live on the West Side or Do Not Visit the West Side
Mail
Web- Patron
Web -Open
In- Library
School District
36.1%
90.5%
92.2%
100%
81.4%
To address the question of expansion of services to the west side of the city, the survey
combined a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing "not important at all" and 5 representing "very
important" was asked.
2
How Important is Library Expansion to the West Side?
Rank
Mail
Web — Patron
Web — Open
In- Library
School District
1— Not at All
Important
33.3%
31.5%
25.3%
30.4%
16.5%
2
13.3%
14.9%
10.7%
6.3%
12.6%
3
23.8%
24.4%
24.0%
24.1%
30.2%
4
14.6%
14.7%
14.7%
20.3%
21.4%
5 —Very
Important
15.1%
14.4%
25.3%
19.0%
19.2%
An average of 35.7% of respondents to all surveys (mail, web, and in- library) ranked
west side service as important or very important. An average of 39% of respondents to all
surveys (mail, web, and in- library) ranked west side service as unimportant or not at all
important, and an average of 25.3% (351 people) were neutrallundecided /no opinion.
This varies from a 2004 library survey that asked, "... how important would you say
offering expanded library services to the west side of Dubuque is to you and your family ?"
About 53% responded important or very important, 31% responded unimportant or not at all
important, and 10% were neutrallundecided /no opinion. In 2004 the library had no west side
service. Since then, a drop off -pick up point at Kennedy Mall has been introduced, as have
material return boxes at Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School and a vending machine at Hy -Vee
with a material return box, so it is not surprising to see the slight decrease in demand for
expanding west side service. However, the decrease in demand did not necessarily transfer over
to choosing "unimportant or not at all important" (which changed less than 5 %); instead, there
was a significant increase in those who were neutrallundecided / no opinion. This category was
around 10% in 2004 and jumped to more than 25% in the recent survey. The closeness of these
responses makes the more neutral rating of 3 particularly important. Those in the middle
represent nearly 24% of all respondents, and when this group has more information — either for
or against west side library expansion — they may hold stronger opinions to create a clearer
majority.
3
Which Services Would You Most Likely Use if Available on the West Side?
Rank
Mail
Web — Patron
Web — Open
In- Library
School District
1
Adult Books
Adult Books
Adult Books
Adult Books
Adult Books
2
DVDs
Children's
Books
DVDs
DVDs
Children's
Books
3
Ref Info
DVDs
CDs
Children's
Books
DVDs
4
Comfortable
Seating for
Reading /Study-
ing
CDs
Children's
Books
CDs
Storytimes
Wi -Fi
Storytimes
Comfortable
Seating for
Reading /Study-
ing
Adult Programs
Tie
Teen Books
CDs
Mags/News-
papers
Comfortable
Seating for
Reading /Study
-ing
Teen Books
Teen Books
Tie
Adult
Programs
Wi -Fi
Computers
Teen Books
Tie
Ref /Info
Mags /Newspa-
pers
Computers
Computers
8
Adult Programs
Drop -Off
Pick Up
Tie
Adult Programs
Meeting Rooms
Tie
Storytime
Meeting Rooms
Wi -Fi
Mags/Newspa-
pers
Comfortable
Seating for
Reading /Study
-ing
9
Meeting Rooms
Wi -Fi
Tie
Drop Off/Pick
Up
p
Ref Info
Computers
Off /Pick
Up
Wi -Fi
10
CDs
Mags/News-
papers
Genealogy
Genealogy
Meeting
Rooms
4
Services Most Likely to be Used — West Side Expansion
Respondents to all surveys (mail, web, and in- library) showed a preference for a services
that would require a building if expansion were to take place on the west side ofthe city. A
collection of varied formats for adults and children topped the lists. Also noted in the top five
rankings were comfortable seating for reading /studying and programs.
How to Pay for Expansion of Library Services to the West Side?
Option
Mail
Web — Patron
Web — Open
In- Library
School
District
Taxes
15.7%
16.4%
20.3%
20%
17.1%
Bond
8.0%
14.3%
18.9%
9.3%
11.9%
Library Levy
44.6%
40.7%
41.9 °'0
37.3%
38.1%
None of the
Above
27.1%
24.8%
17.6%
24%
26.1%
Paying for Expansion of Library Services
Respondents chose a library levy to provide funding for the expansion of library services
to the west side of the city. Voters determine whether the city adopt a library levy, which would
be $.27 per $1,000 ofthe assessed valuation of property. A home valued at $100,000 would
contribute approximately $2.50 annually to a library levy that can be expected to generate about
$550,000 annually.
Miscellaneous
A total of 590 comments were added to the surveys. They can be categorized as:
Positive — 43.4% (n =256) of the positive comments 17% were about staff (n= 44)
Negative — 3.7% (n =22) of the negative comments 18% were about staff (n= 4)
West Side — Support 16.6% (n =98)
West Side — Oppose 9.9% (n =58)
Suggestions — 10.0% (n =61) (collection, policy, program, or facility related)
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