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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-12-1996 Library Commission Minutes Saratoga Library Commission Meeting City of Saratoga Administrative Offices Ju~e 12, 1996 7:30 p.m. Action Minutes I. Call to Ordgr The meeting was called to order at 7:38 p.m. II. Roll Call Commissioners Present: Grantham, Manzo, McLaughlin, Sessler, Foscato, Ceppos, Towse Commissioners Absent: None Others Present: Dolly Barnes, Janice Yee, Irene Jacobs III. Report on Posting of Commission Agenda Pursuant to Government Code 54954.2, the agenda was properly posted on June 10, 1996. This was a correction to the incorrect agenda that was posted on June 7, 1996. IV. Approval of Minutes of March 20. 1996 Meeting Commissioner Grantham made a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Ceppos seconded the motion. The motion carried. V. Old Business The Commission reviewed ideas for changes to the introduction of the Library Needs Assessment. Commissioners Towse, Sessler and Manzo handed out improvements that were discussed and incorporated into the existing text. Commissioner Towse agreed to compile the recommended changes and include them in next month's agenda package. Commissioner Ceppos made a motion that the Library Commission's Mission Statement be reviewed at the end of each calendar year and that a report be compiled summarizing all that the Commission had accomplished. This report would then be presented to the City Council at their joint meeting with the Library Commission that is usually scheduled in January. Commissioner Grantham, who accepted responsibility for creating the report, seconded the motion. The motion carried. Staff member Jacobs provided the Commission with summary reports of the ideas that were generated at the June 1st work session in addition to summary sheets of the detailed changes that were recommended for the Library Needs Assessment. There was general discussion among the Commission regarding the agenda items that should be discussed at their next Work Session and dates on which to schedule this meeting. Commissioner Towse made a motion not to schedule a separate work session but rather to keep the Library Commission's regular meeting date and move the time up to 5:00 p.m. rather than 7:00 p.m. Commissioner McLaughlin seconded the motion and the extended meeting time as approved. There was discussion about the role of the Library Commission in relation to the library expansion. The Commission revisited the actions of the previous Library Commission and the Expansion Committee that was established. The Commission shared that perhaps a visit to or contact with some of the neighboring cities that are also planning to expand their libraries should be planned. VI. New Business The Commission discussed the ideas shared by the Mayor and the City Manger during their lunch meeting of June 11. VII. Susan Fuller~ County Librarian Susan Fuller was unable to attend the meeting so Janice Yee represented the County Library. She had nothing to report at this time. Dolly Barnes. Community Librarian Dolly Barns reported that the dumb terminals in the library would be replaced with PC's in August. Accessing the Saratoga Library on the web would now require one to go through the Santa Clara County Library home page and then access Saratoga's branch. Since the library will have its own home page, their will be a library support page where people will be able to access information about the Library Commission, Friends of the Library and the Library Foundation. Dolly Barnes invited the Commission to participate in establishing the text that would be included on the page. Commissioner McLaughlin volunteered his expertise. Commissioner Manzo requested that Ms. Barnes schedule a short orientation for the Commission during their next regular meeting of the Saratoga Library Web Page. Irene Jacobs. Staff to the Commission Irene Jacobs reported on the two issues that the Library Commission had requested that she verify; the required parking space formula should the library be expanded and; whether or not the library expansion would need to comply with Measure G requirements. Marcia Manzo~ Chair Commissioner Manzo shared that she had attended the last Board Member Meeting for the Friends of the Library and had asked them if they would be supportive of the Library Expansion. Cathy Foscato, Friends of the Library Commissioner Foscato reported that the Friends are doing very well in their fund raising endeavors. Sally Towse~ Library Foundatio~ Commissioner Towse reminded the Commission that the Foundation had scheduled a fund raiser at Jay Harris' house on September 6th from 5-7 p.m. The Library Commission was invited to attend. VIII.Oral and Written Communications None. IX. AdjournRent Commissioner Foscato made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Commissioner Sessler seconded the motion. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Pr~ared By: Irene M. Jacobs// Administrative ~nalyst THe Y[Aa ~.,010: ~/H[R[ ARE '~/£ GOING AND ~/H[R[ VILE V[ SIT VH[N V[ GeT THeRe? UPDAT[D N££D$ AS$[SsM[nT [oR TH[ SARATOGA COMMUNITY L~^RY INCLUDING 1991 NeeDs Assessment AND BUILDING PLAN Prepared by the Saratoga Community Library Commission: Marcia Manzo, Chair Karen Ceppos Cathy Foscato (Monte Sereno) Jack Grantham Dave McLaughlin Ed Sessler Sally Towse August 1996 By every measure, the Saratoga Community Library has been a victim of its own success. Since its opening in 1978, library usage has outstripped all estimates. Circulation has grown by %, the collection is the size predicted for the year ~, and afternoon use by local middle school students has reached a point where library usage by the rest of the community is negatively impacted. At the same time, based on the increased usage and the overwhelming support for Measure A in t994, it is clear the community wants and needs a Library that can meet its needs both physically and technologically. The Saratoga Community Library Commission recently revisited the 1991 Needs Assessment; the results of that study still hold true today: · Expand the Library by 20,000 square feet in order to accommodate volumes. · Create seating areas for quiet study and group study (glass-enclosed to contain noise levels) and lounge areas for recreational reading. · Provide a state-of-the-art Reference Department capable of handling technological change. · Enlarge the Children's Room; provide space for programs and class visits. · Provide additional staff workspace. Space constraints impact staff efficiency. · Install an easily-accessible book drop. · Expand the parking lot; provide several 2-minute parking spaces for book drop use only. · Update lighting and electrical systems. · Provide more checkout stations in a location apart from central service areas. Some critical points to recognize as the 199t Needs Assessment is read in conjunction with the Appendix - 1996 Up.~at¢ .to Needs Assessment follow: · On page 10 of the 1991 ~eeds Assessment, reference is made to an estimated monthly circulation of 45,000 in the year 2005 (an estimated 10% increase in the fifteen years from 1991 until 2005). By the spring of 1996, the monthly circulation had reached 60,000 (an actual 32% increase in the intervening five years). With a collection size of approximately 177,000 (including magazines), one third of the Library collection "turns over" each month. · Library usage has a direct correlation to the amount of staff(and, therefore, staff workspace) needed and to the physical space needed to receive, store, process, and re- shelve the collection. · Library usage reflects the number of people physically in the Library; more chairs, table space, and sheer physical space are needed when the number of people in the building increase. Confined quarters result in rising noise levels, lack of necessary facilities, and a negative impact on Library services. HISTORY Saratoga voters passed a bond measure in 1975 to build a new Library to replace the small Village Library at the comer of Oak Street and Saratoga-Los Gatos Road. The new Library, which opened February 1, 1978 at the corner of Saratoga Avenue and Fruitvale Avenue, is leased to the Santa Clara County Library to serve as a branch library for the surrounding community: Saratoga, Monte Sereno, and the adjacent unincorporated county areas. In 1978, the population served by the Saratoga Community Library was nnn, and the annual circulation was mmrn. The Library was designed to hold www volumes and approximatelyyyy magazines. Twelve years later, in 1990, the Library was stretching its limits, the population served had grown to nnn and the annual circulation was mmm. Instead ofwww volumes, the Library held 143,000 volumes plus ten thousand magazines; the Librarian was forced to discard volumes to make room for any new titles purchased. During 1990-1991, the Saratoga Community Library Commission and various community members worked preparing a Needs Assessment and Building Plan for the expansion of the Saratoga Community Library. The City Council appointed a citizens' committee to use the Needs Assessment to solicit and select an architect to draw-up preliminary plans for the proposed expansion. After many months of work, discussion, and negotiation, an architect was selected, but municipal financial difficulties had arisen and the project was abruptly shelved. For several years following, the County Library and the City of Saratoga were in grave financial difficulties due to cuts in funding from state government sources in Sacramento. The open hours for the Saratoga Library were cut from xx to yy; staff were laid off; the book budget was cut nn%. In 1994, Measure & creating a Joint Powers Authority governance for the County Library system in place of governance by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, was handily passed in Santa Clara County. Voters also authorized a ten-year parcel asSessment to collect money to offset the drastic cuts to the County Library budget which had occurred since 1993(?). As a result of the Measure A assessments, the Saratoga Community Library has been able not only to restore open hours and staffing but also to increase the books and materials budget and begin installation and utilization of new technology. As a direct result of the abrupt end to the expansion planning process in 1991, concerned citizens formed the Saratoga Community Library Foundation, with the mission of working toward the expansion of the Saratoga Community Library and the creation of an endowment to buffer the fortunes of our local public library. Focused on the long-term future of the Library, the Foundation works with the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries, who provide immediate and critical support, for the benefit of this important community asset. Earlier this year, 1996, the Foundation asked the Saratoga Community Library Commission to update the Needs Assessment for the Community Library in preparation for a new effort to expand the Community Library. Rather than re-write the 1991 Needs ASSessment, the Library Commission has chosen to add an appendix to the previous Needs Assessment, outlining and defining changes which have occurred in the Library situation in the last five years. CONCLUSION Today, even more than in 1991, the Library needs expansion. With the % increase in the number of volumes beyond the 80,000 for which the Library was originally planned, book shelves have displaced emirs and tables. Aisles have been narrowed as much as fire code allows. Lighting, although sufficient by 1978 standards, is today of poor quality and very inadequate. There is no space for Children's Storytime within the Children's Room. A Library is the hub of an educated community. Citizens have supported and will continue to support library services. The Saratoga Community Library needs to be expanded to meet the community's needs now and in the future. BREF $UMMARIF$ Of THF 19~1 NEEDs Assessment & BUtI..DING PLAN AND OF THE APPeNDIx --. 1996 UfoATe ~'O NeeDs Asse;~smm'r