Library Board Minutes 3/19/2024
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Meeting Minutes Library Board Regular Meeting March 19, 2024| 6:30 p.m. Downtown Library Copper Conference Room 254 22 S. Delaware St. Chandler, AZ 85225 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Board President Beth Brizel at 6:30p.m. Roll Call Commission Attendance Staff Attendance Board President Beth Brizel – Virtually Present Rachelle Kuzyk, Library Manager Board member Maria Munoz – Present Courtney Allen, Management Analyst Board member Michael McElhany – Present Sue Van Horne, Assistant Library Manager Board member Arman Sidhu – Present Board member Bob Lowry – Not Present Board member Alexis Merritt – Not Present Board member Karla Palafox – Not Present Unscheduled Public Appearances None Consent Agenda 1. January 16, 2024 Library Board Meeting Minutes Motion to approve the minutes was made by Board member Munoz, Board member Sidhu seconded. Motion passed 4-0. Briefing 1. Library Manager’s Report – Rachelle Kuzyk The Library Manager’s Report was provided to the Library Board in advance of the meeting for Board member’s review. Board President Brizel inquired if the outreach team is going to do anything with the Kyrene School District (KSD) in addition to the events they do with Chandler Unified School District (CUSD). Page 2 of 3 Sue Van Horne informed the board that library outreach has worked with KSD in the past. KSD is a little harder to get into than CUSD, but we have done plenty of outreach with them. Board President Brizel offered to reach out to anyone on the KSD Board if we need, as she used to serve on their board and lives in the district. Board President Brizel also inquired about the number of cardholders and if those numbers are increasing. Rachelle responded that the numbers are holding steady without any significant increases or decreases. Rachelle also informed the board of a pilot program she has proposed. The library is working on a mail out campaign to try a different approach to encourage people to become library cardholders. We will mail library cards to non-cardholders, similar to when you get a credit card in the mail that says, “You're qualified.” There will be a library card included in the mailer that may say something like, “You're a Chandler resident and taxpayer and your taxes are already paying for all of these services, please bring this library card in to any one of our four Chandler Public Library locations to activate it.” When they come in, they'll already have the card then we would register them. We're hoping that difference of opting into a service versus opting out of a service is a different kind of mentality. We've always waited for people to come to us of their own volition, but what if we put something in their hands instead. We haven't nailed down the specifics, like if we could put it in Chandler utility bills, for example, or it could be a separate mailer, we're working with the marketing department to figure out the best way to do it. The Chandler Neighborhood Resources Department has a Building Blocks software with property tax records, utility records, library accounts, etc. We've provided them with an initial dump of our data and once we have a good handle on how to mine what's in there, it will show us pockets of the city where either we have low membership rates or low usage rates, which will help us decide where the bookmobile will be most effective as well as where this first card campaign will go. We have a budget for an initial campaign of 2,500 cards, then if we see a return on the cost, we’ll look at how many more we can send out next fiscal year. Hopefully this will tell us what we missed, what we should be looking for instead, or how effective this is? Rachelle is hoping that it will be a complete shift in thinking. Instead of waiting for people to come to us, we're already getting it in their hands and telling them how amazing our services are that they already have access to for free, instead of trying to drum up business the old-fashioned way. Our cardholder base is approximately 70,000, but Chandlers population is up to almost 300,000, so that's a large untapped population for us to try to get to. Board member McElhany suggested possibly putting this program in the schools, and Board member Munoz suggested food banks. The board loves the idea and thinks it’s a great way of thinking outside the box. Board member Sidhu inquired about staffing the bookmobile and who will be driving it and if they will need a CDL. Rachelle stated that they will not need a CDL, they made sure to choose a vehicle that does not require it. Staff will all need to go through a sort of drivers training with the vehicle. Chandlers Safety Program Manager has agreed to train the staff that will be driving the bookmobile. Board member Sidhu asked if there will be two people staffing and driving it. Rachelle responded that we already have the full-time Outreach Manager, Jo-el Miller, along with a part- time Librarian and a part time Library Specialist for the Outreach team. Page 3 of 3 Board member Munoz inquired about the two grants library staff have applied for: Collection Audit and the Japanese/Spanish Programming. The collection team are requesting funding to cover the cost of doing a diversity audit of one area of the collection, starting with the youth area. The Japanese/Spanish Programming grant is to cover programming supplies and presenter costs for adult language learning classes; Spanish and Japanese as a second language. We are currently offering Japanese classes and they are very popular and always full. The Spanish class will be added in the fall. Information Items 1. Library Board Members Appreciation Open House Invitation The invitation was provided to board members. Rachelle and board members are planning to attend. Members Comments/Announcements 1. Board President Brizel would like to thank library staff for all they did at the Chandler Airport outreach event and for the Ready, Set, Kindergarten program. The kids and families really appreciate all we do to provide for families. Calendar 1. The next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 6:30 p.m., in the Basha Library Program Room, 5990 S. Val Vista Dr. Chandler, AZ 85249. 2. The next Friends of the Library Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 1:00 p.m., in the Basha Library Program Room, 5990 S. Val Vista Dr. Chandler, AZ 85249. Adjourn Motion to adjourn made by Board member Sidhu, Board member McElhany seconded. Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 6:51 p.m. ______________________________ ______________________________ Courtney Allen, Board Liaison Beth Brizel, Board President