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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-15-2023-BLT-PUBLIC COMMENTS May 15, 2023, BLT Agenda Comments These comments on Newport Beach Board of Library Trustees (BLT) agenda items are submitted by: Jim Mosher (jimmosher@yahoo.com ), 2210 Private Road, Newport Beach 92660 (949-548-6229) Item 1. Minutes of the April 17, 2023 Board of Library Trustees Meeting Suggested corrections: The passages shown in italics below are from the draft minutes with suggested corrections indicated in strikeout underline format. Page 1 (page 5 of agenda packet), Item III, sentence 1: “Newport Beach resident Jim Mosher provided public comments and commended the Board on including the Assistant City Manager in the evaluation process of the Library Services Director and stated he will be at the Aviation Committee meeting during the Regular Session of the meeting; as such, Mr. Mosher provided Agenda item public comments.” [note: I may inadvertently have been understood to say I was commending the Board for including Assistant City Manager Finnigan in their discussions, but that was not my intent. I was trying to commend the Board for assisting the City Manager in her evaluation of the Director. My reason for commending the Board was that some prior boards had overlooked this duty to participate in the evaluation that the City Charter imposes on them.] Page 1 (page 5 of agenda packet), Item V: “The Board adjourned the Closed Session at 4:43 p.m.” Page 5 (page 9 of agenda packet), Item 8, paragraph 1: “Jerry Kappel (NBPLF CEO) stated there was no change since the last meeting.” Page 5 (page 9 of agenda packet), Item 8, paragraph 2: “Chair Watkins inquired about the Corona del Mar Association Chamber of Commerce update.” [note: Since I was not present during the BLT’s regular session, I don’t know what was said. But I was at Mr. Kappel’s presentation, and it was to the CdM Chamber (before their “Good Morning, CdM” group), not to the CdM Residents Association.] Page 6 (page 10 of agenda packet), Item 9, paragraph 2: “Library Services Director Hartson provided the list, which included widening the driveway into the parking lot, and consideration of the reliability of an outdoor book return considering the proximity to the ocean and environment.” [comment: Regarding this wish list of changes the Balboa Branch staff would like to see, I assume they are aware Public Works Director Webb told the Council the eventual design might “flip” the locations of the fire station and library, so the fire equipment would have more flexible access to Island Avenue, with the library down the block where the fire building currently is. So, the parking may move and be quite different.] Page 6 (page 10 of agenda packet), Item 9, paragraph 4: “Library Services Director Hartson replied that staff is still waiting on Policy Direction policy direction from Council regarding the Historical Society.” May 15, 2023, Library Trustees agenda comments from Jim Mosher Page 2 of 4 Page 6 (page 10 of agenda packet), Item 10, paragraph 1: “Library Services Director Hartson reported about the multi-purpose use of the Friends Meeting Room.” [or “the multiple purposes of”?] Page 7 (page 11 of agenda packet), Item 11.A, paragraph 2: “The Library Live with Min Jin Lee on Thursday is over-reserved, and there will be a Korean food and dance reception prior to the event.” Page 8 (page 12 of agenda packet), paragraph 1: “Chair Watkins inquired if “grubby” books or Collection check books were ever donated to the Friends.” Page 8 (page 12 of agenda packet), paragraph 2: “Library Services Manager Lightfoot confirmed they do donate grubby books to the Friends.” Item 2. Patron Comments Regarding Comment #7 (agenda packet page 14), asking about seed libraries, a closer option is the Huntington Beach Public Library, which appears to have a quite active program. Item 3. LIbrary Activities On handwritten page 19, LinkedIn Learning does not yet appear to have regained its former popularity, and would appear a rather anemic replacement for Udemy, with monthly usage falling from over 2,000 courses to under 200 (see also Patron Comment #11 on page 15). Have there been second thoughts about this decision? Or are the statistics misleading? Do the “Today's Business Solutions Wireless” statistics provided on page 20 include the wired public workstations? If not, is there information available on their usage? As to the remainder of the report (pages 21 through 24), each page of charts ends, at the bottom, with a chart showing annual totals in a particular category by fiscal year, which, it appears, will not be updated with FY 22/23 points until after the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2023. If I am projecting correctly based on the year-to-date results presented at the top of each page, “Program Attendance” (page 24) will exceed its pre-pandemic peak (YTD 22/23 having increased 34.7% over YTD 21/22, suggesting FY22/23 will end 34.7% over FY 21/22, or at a new record of 88,500 attendance, considering FY 21/22 ended with 64,397) – well above the previous record of 70,430 in FY 17/18. However, it looks like all other categories will have improved only very modestly over FY 21/22, remaining far below their pre-pandemic peaks “Patrons Served,” for example, although up 18% from the previous years, looks like it may end FY22/23 at just over 600,000 – well below the 1 million plus the library had been serving in pre-pandemic years. Is this correct? May 15, 2023, Library Trustees agenda comments from Jim Mosher Page 3 of 4 Item 4. Expenditure Status Report With two months remaining in the fiscal year, why are expenses in the “programming,” “training” and “software” categories so far below budget? Programming, especially, seems an important part of the library’s services. Are their encumbered amounts that have not be paid yet? Conversely, there are at least two categories – “utilities” and “internal service funds” – in which the remaining balance appears insufficient to pay the likely expenses for the remaining two months. “Utilities” were budgeted at nearly $26,000 per month, and recent months have been running over $20,000 each; yet only $14,240 remains to pay bills in the final two. Will a budget transfer be needed to pay the utility bills? Or does some other mechanism exist? Similarly, “internal service funds” charges were budgeted at $132,000 per month, and only that much is left with two months to go. Item 6. FY 2023-24 Library Services Budget The Trustees should be aware the City’s Finance Department has published a Budget Detail (proposed) , and may wish to review it. “Library and Cultural Arts” is covered on numbered pages 129 through 141. I recall, for example, some of the Trustees commenting in past monthly budget reviews on how their personal gas bills had increased in recent months. In the Budget Detail (proposed), they can see, under “Utilities,” how much is allocated to pay the gas bills at each facility in FY 2023- 24 ($320 for CdM, $5,000 for Mariners, $15,000 for Central). Curiously, nothing is allocated for gas or electricity at Balboa, for water at Mariners and the anticipated $6,000 telephone bill is attributed entirely to the Library’s administrative office. The posted proposed budget detail also breaks down what the “Internal Services Funds” charges are expected to be for (equipment maintenance, vehicle replacement, “operating charge,” insurance, etc.) And on page 130 it summarizes how the $5,770,057 of salaries and benefits will be distributed among each of the anticipated 36 full-time and 22.83 full-time-equivalent part-time employees (the latter grouped onto lines that may correspond to the four facilities). Three of the full-time employees are expected to receive $1,800 of “specialty pay” in recognition of their bilingual capabilities. Also of interest on pages 18 through 19 of the front matter is the comparison of how the City’s departments compare in size. Out of thirteen departments, the Library looks to be the seventh largest in terms of full-time employees and third largest in part-time employees. In that regard, the detailed budget shows the City Manager’s “Department”, with 25 full- and 1 FTE part-time employee, largely houses the Information Technology division, which is responsible for some of the Library Department’s Internal Services Funds expenses. Since my understanding is librarians are trained in “Library and Information Sciences,” it would make some sense to me, for the City’s IT function to be merged into a combined “Library and Information Services Department.” May 15, 2023, Library Trustees agenda comments from Jim Mosher Page 4 of 4 What the detailed budget does not provide any further detail on is how the $669,740 available for purchasing “library materials” may be spent – which would seem something the Trustees might wish to understand. Item 7. Media Lab Update I regret I have never had time to use the media lab, but have frequently wished I did. Is there information available about the usage of the media lab (number of patrons served)? Should it appear in the statistical summary portion of the monthly Activities Report. Item 8. Marketing and Social Networking Update It is always nice to have, as here, the presentation available in advance of the meeting. With regard to the logo shown on Slide 3 (agenda packet page 34), I think it’s great that the City committed to operating a public library in 1920, but I think emphasizing that as part of the logo may inadvertently create the impression of an institution stuck in its past. The logos (or “sub marks”) without the “Established 1920,” shown in the upper left of the following slide (page 35), seem better to me. A more creative logo suggesting NBPL is not confined to a single building (or to a building at all) might be even better. With regard to the photo collection on page 39, I like the concept, but the examples shown don’t convey much to me about the branches. Item 9. Friends of the Library Wish List In years past, there were two wish lists, one presented to the Library Foundation and one to the Friends. If I am recalling correctly, the one to the Foundation focused on innovative new programs or devices. With the Foundation pursuing funding for their Lecture Hall, they no longer appear to be providing substantial annual contributions for that purpose. Should the request to the Friends include funding for some of those things traditionally requested of the Foundation? Devoting such a large part to general materials acquisition might lead the City Council to think they can reduce (or don’t need to increase) their support for the same. Also, should the Programming request be more specific about what programming the gift will underwrite? For example, does it include continuing support for the Sunday Musicales program highlighted in the previous agenda item? How much is for “new ideas”?