DEARBORN DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARIES

LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING

September 17, 2004

1. ATTENDANCE:

In attendance were: MR. RONALD WATTERS , MR. MARCEL PULTORAK , MS. LILA AMEN, Commissioners; DR. PATRICK COADY, City Librarian; MRS. MARYANNE BARTLES, Assistant City Librarian; MS. TARA GNAU and MS. JULIE SCHAEFER, Administrative Librarians; MRS.CARLA EGGERT, Recording Secretary;

Excused: MRS. CANDYCE ABBATT, Chairperson; MRS. NANCY ZAKAR, Vice-Chairperson; DR. ALEX SHAMI, Secretary-Treasurer; MR. DAVE SCHLAFF, MS. SYLVIA PRESSMAN, MR. ROBERT TAUB, Commissioners.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

There was not a quorum of Commissioners at the meeting so the minutes were not approved and no new business could be conducted.

Three library patrons asked to speak to the Commission.

Library patron Judy Patrick spoke to the Commission. She stated she had questions about the removal of materials from the Bryant Branch. It seems like the place is half empty. She is wondering where the materials went.

Dr. Coady explained that each supervisor at a branch can go through their reference collection and weed it at will. For the past six years or so we have been doing analysis of what our electronic resources offer, against what the state offers and what we have to pay for. The branch supervisor at Bryant Branch has been reviewing the reference collection and weeding it. Every branch supervisor is allowed to weed their collection as they deem necessary. When the Mayor decided to keep Bryant Branch open for 33 hours we decided not to eliminate the reference collection at Bryant Branch all together but we did evaluate it against a list of reference titles that was given to the City Council and found that it was adequate in that at least one source was selected. We usually will only select one source on a particular topic rather than the several that may be available. The reference collection at Bryant has been different than the other locations collections for some time in that they had significantly more financial information. One policy that has changed which may have affected some of the collection at Bryant is that we are no longer rotating older editions of a book. In the past with certain titles once a new edition was received the older edition would be sent to another location. We are no longer doing this. Ms. Patrick says that she volunteered at Bryant during the summer and there were whole shelves that were empty so she feels it must be more than the loss of older editions. Maryanne Bartles stated that she worked with Bryant’s supervisor in his review of the reference collection. There were many items removed due to the fact that there is more up to date information available on the Internet. Many of these reference titles costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars and we do not want to spend this money if it is not necessary and we can get more up to date information from other sources. This is not a good use of our funds. Older materials and unused materials were taken out of the collection. The reference collection has not been diminished it has just been given a good weeding based on age and usage. We also evaluated the reference collection based on the list of proposed reference titles we were given by concerned patrons and found that we have all the titles except for Michigan Compiled Laws and a specific dictionary which are available on the Internet. If the staff were unable to answer patron questions either by using the reference books at Bryant, the Internet or calling Henry Ford Centennial Library for a quick answer we want to be aware of that but we do not believe that is happening. Dr. Coady stated that this is why we give supervisors discretionary money. If there is a pattern of questions that they can not answer they have money available to purchase the necessary materials to answer those questions. The reference collections throughout the system have been decreasing for about six years as more and more information becomes available on the Internet. The State of Michigan has also purchased a set of databases that they make available to all libraries which has reduced the need for some reference materials. Ms. Patrick stated that she is glad to hear this because a further reduction in materials at Bryant could cause patrons to go somewhere else. Ms Patrick stated that she was also interested in an evaluation of the volunteer program so far. She also wondered if the children’s study is complete and where are we going with it? What implications does the study have for Bryant Branch? Dr. Coady stated that children’s study has been put on hold. Bryant Branch has three full time staff but we have lost eleven staff altogether. In an attempt to try to optimize the deployment of the staff and to have the widest skill base as possible have been cross training people and moving a number of the staff around. Staff have also moved due to promotions and to staff retirements. We have completed the staff moves and are now at a point where those staff are trying to get up to speed in where they are now. This means changes for a lot of the staff. Our expectation is that is will be at least another three months to get all the staff trained. We also have some staff that will be going on leave soon. Our concern is to be able to handle the normal workload at a number of locations. While this is going on it is just too much for us to go forward with the children’s study at this point. As the study stated we are losing staff and we need to rethink how we do business. We want to be as creative, efficient and effective as we can be in that regard. Julie Schaefer stated that we have scheduled two children’s story hours for Bryant Branch for later this fall that will be conducted by staff that work out of Henry Ford Centennial Library. Tara Gnau stated that in addition to the two programs that Mrs. Schaefer mentioned they have two other programs scheduled for Bryant. One is a continuation of the weekly craft program they were doing in the summer though it will be done on a monthly basis. Ms. Gnau has asked for volunteers to help in the preparation of the craft as well as with the program itself. In addition a number of volunteers approached her in the summer about doing some type of drop in reading program where one of the volunteers would come in and read to children. The children’s staff thought it was a wonderful idea so we are working on developing a regular schedule for that on Saturdays.

Volunteer coordinator Toni Tront gave a report on the volunteer program. She reported that approximately 243 people have applied for the volunteer program. Of those 243 who applied 93 people have attended an orientation. We have had six orientations so far and we will have another next week. We currently have 80 volunteers signed up. Initially Ms Tront was doing the scheduling of the volunteers but that became too hectic so we have set it up so that volunteers can virtually schedule themselves. As Ms. Gnau mentioned we will be sending out a letter to volunteers regarding the Saturday reading program at Bryant. We also have a computer group that is getting together. These are five volunteers who are interested in doing data input. There is also a volunteer in this group who will do a web page for us which will be linked to the library web page so that if people are interested in volunteering they can go on the web page to sign up. Ms. Tront stated that we have a very dedicated group. When she asked them to begin scheduling themselves within two weeks they had a full month. Her only criticism would be that we need to expand the volunteer’s duties. Most successful volunteer programs allow volunteers to expand their duties. Ms. Amen asked if we had looked into using local high school students and employees of companies who have community service requirements. Ms. Tront stated that we are getting some of the local high school students signing up for the program. Ms. Gnau has spoken with a library patron who is very active in the Ford Motor Company volunteer program and there is a possibility we will work with them in the future.

Ms. Sandy Weiss spoke to the Commission. She stated she has used the Bryant Branch children’s collection for years to supplement materials she used in the classroom. She always felt the material was in very well cared for and very current. She knows that the collection has diminished because she volunteered at Bryant in the summer and shelved books. She really hopes that the children’s and young adult collections are not any further diminished. Dr. Coady stated that the funds for children’s materials for Bryant have not decreased. Mrs. Bartles stated that the Children’s Librarian at Bryant, Nancy Sautebien, retired and we took the funds allocated to her to two other librarians to purchase children’s materials for Bryant. Dr. Coady stated that when there is a change in selectors the new selector will go through the collection and weed it. Ms. Weiss stated that she noticed that the young adult collection at Bryant has grown and some things have been moved to different locations. Ms. Weiss stated that if we are going to continue to evaluate that branch using circulation figures and we have fewer materials available the numbers will continue to go down. Dr. Coady stated we are always evaluating where we put our funds for library materials. We are currently doing an analysis in which we are seeing the media usage continue to grow strongly. We will need to consider that in the allocation process for our next budget.

Ms. Mary Jo Durivage spoke to the Commission. She is glad to hear that the monies allocated for Bryant Branch will remain the same. She wants to clarify that the half time person at Bryant, James Lawhorn, is the person who selects the reference materials. Dr. Coady stated that Mr. Lawhorn does have charge over the reference collection at Bryant and the final authority over that budget. How he currently works with his staff Dr. Coady can not answer. She asked if she has concerns about reference titles that are being ordered for the other locations would Mr. Lawhorn be the person to talk to. Dr. Coady stated that that would be within his power to decide and that she should talk to Mr. Lawhorn. Ms. Durivage stated that she would like to know what Mr. Lawhorn’s hours are since he is not full time and she does not understand why he is not full time. All the other locations have full time supervisors. Dr. Coady stated that his duties are being split between children’s at HFCL and Bryant. We have lost staff. Ms. Durivage stated her understanding is that there are two Librarian I’s, an Assistant Librarian and a half-time Librarian II. Dr. Coady stated that designating Mr. Lawhorn as half-time would not be appropriate. Ms. Durivage wants to know why if there are two full time librarians at Bryant one is not assigned to Children’s and one to Adult. Mr. Lawhorn has reported that all of the staff at Bryant are currently in a training mode. They all have new responsibilities that they must become familiar with. We choose at this time to let the staff acclimate themselves to Bryant and become a team. Ms. Durivage states she does not understand. She asks if Dr. Coady is saying that the other two branches have two floating librarians. Dr. Coady stated that the staff at the other two branches are established in their positions and are happy with how they are organized. If they wished to reorganize how they perform their duties the branch supervisor has latitude in that regard. The situation at Bryant is unlike any we have ever had to deal with before. Ms. Durivage stated she did not understand. Her understanding was the reason the volunteers came to Bryant was to keep the hours at 33 hours per week and to maintain full staffing. Who is selecting the Children’s material, someone from HFCL? Dr. Coady stated that those duties currently reside at HFCL. Ms. Durivage asked if that was the case at the other two branches. Dr. Coady stated that it was not. Mrs. Durivage stated she could not understand that when Bryant has two full time librarians. Mrs. Bartles stated that those two full time librarians already have other large selection packages they are responsible for. Mrs. Durivage stated that Bryant continues to be treated differently than the other library locations and she is not sure why. Ms. Gnau stated that Bryant has one less full time staff member than the other locations. Mr. Pultorak stated we are still trying to work through a lot of things with Bryant including the volunteer program, part time supervision and new staff members assigned to Bryant. We are going through a transition. The period of working out all the issues is not complete. We are in a time of continuous change and we need to get used to that. There is currently a big debate in Lansing regarding further cuts to revenue sharing to cities. The way things have been done in the past is not how they will be done in the future. Ms. Durivage stated she still does not understand why there is no children’s librarian at Bryant? Dr. Coady stated we may designate someone as children’s librarian in the future but it will not be for at least three months to allow the staff to acclimate themselves to their new positions and tasks. Ms. Durivage stated it is obvious what her position is. She wants Bryant to remain a viable branch and it is worrisome to her that the staff at Bryant is not the same as the other two branches. Mrs. Bartles stated that the current staffing is higher than what was being considered before. She stated that at the League of Woman Voters meeting regarding the library they originally planned for only two full time staff members. Ms. Durivage stated that she is the one who said that two librarians was overkill. Mr. Pultorak stated that he feels the important thing is the quality of service no matter how it is achieved. What matters is that quality service is being provided not how it is being provided. Mrs. Durivage asked to clarify the situation with reference materials at Bryant and that patrons need to go to the branch supervisor and say we want these titles in the collection just like the other two branches. Dr. Coady stated that this is not the way we will determine what materials are in the collection. That will be determined by pattern of usage. Mrs. Bartles stated that if we have continued demand for certain materials that are not in the collection the branch supervisor will know that and will consider that in his selection. Mrs. Durivage stated she is happy to hear that. Mrs. Durivage stated that she is the one who gave the City Council the list of reference titles that are at other library locations but not at Bryant so you can see where she might be concerned. Mrs. Durivage asked if the items on the agenda would be covered at the next Commission meeting since there was not a quorum present today. Dr. Coady stated that they would be covered at the next meeting time permitting. He also reminded everyone that the October Commission meeting will be held on October 15, 2004.

Mr. Pultorak stated that he thought that the HFCL parking lot construction could have been better coordinated. He does understand why they need to tear up all the roads at the same time so that it is impossible to get to the library. They also need to have better signage. Mrs. Amen stated that both directions into the lot are blocked. Mr. Pultorak stated there are no signs directing patrons where to go either.