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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-19-2024-BLT-APPROVED MINUTESCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Board of Library Trustees Civic Center Council Chambers 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA Meeting Minutes Monday, August 19, 2024 – 5:00 PM I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER – 5:00 PM Chair Rief called to order the regular meeting of the Newport Beach Board of Library Trustees. II. ROLL CALL – Roll call by Administrative Support Specialist Francine Jacome. Trustees Present: Chair Chase Rief, Secretary Dorothy Larson, Trustee Lauren Kramer, Trustee Meghan Murray Trustees Absent: Vice Chair Antonella Castro (excused) Staff Present: Melissa Hartson, Library Services Director Rebecca Lightfoot, Library Services Manager Francine Jacome, Administrative Support Specialist Annika Helmuth, Branch and Youth Services Coordinator Andrew Kachaturian, Circulation and Technical Processing Coordinator Jeremy Rodriguez, Librarian II Avery Maglinti, IT Manager Staff Absent None III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Trustee Dorothy Larson led the Pledge of Allegiance IV. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC - Waived Chair Rief reported he made some changes to the Regular Agenda order, noting he moved Library Services Director Hartson’s Library Activities report from the Consent Calendar to the Standing items list for review and comments rather than pulling it from the Consent Calendar when there are questions. Additionally, all meetings will be held in the Civic Center Council Chambers rather than at the individual branches. There may be future scheduled visits to the branches. He would also like the wheelhouse items emailed to the trustees for input in their calendars. V. CONSENT CALENDAR Administrative Support Specialist Jacome read the Consent Calendar Notice to the public. A. Consent Calendar Items Chair Rief inquired if any Trustees had requests to pull an item from the Consent Calendar. Board of Library Trustees Meeting August 19, 2024 Page 2 1. Minutes of the July 15, 2024 Board of Library Trustees Meeting Chair Rief stated Mr. Mosher emailed minor suggested changes to the June minutes, there were no other changes noted. 2. Patron Comments Monthly review of evaluations of library services through suggestions and requests received from patrons. 3. Expenditure Status Report Monthly expenditure status of the library’s operating expenses, services, salaries, and benefits by department. 4. Board of Library Trustees Monitoring List List of agenda items and dates for monthly review of projects by the Board of Library Trustees. Chair Rief opened the item for public comment and there were none. Motion made by Trustee Lauren Kramer, seconded by Secretary Larson, and carried (4- 0-0-1 Vice Chair Castro Absent) to approve the Consent Calendar Items 1-4 with the submitted changes by Jim Mosher to the July 15, 2024 draft minutes. AYES: Rief, Larson, Kramer, Murray NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENCES: Castro VIII. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Items for Review 5. Information Technology update IT Manager Avery Maglinti will update the Board of Library Trustees on library information technology activities. IT Manager Avery Maglinti reported there were over 920 help desk tickets pertaining to the Library resolved in the past year and provided an overview of the past year’s IT projects. The Integrated Library System (ILS) was updated from version 3.7 to 4.1, which included an upgrade to the application servers, over 80 workstation clients and staff PCs. It was a four-month project with an outside consultant, and staff was closely involved. The Library mobile app was updated as there was a vendor change due to the prior vendor no longer supporting the app for patrons. All credit card terminals were upgraded and configured for NFC payments at all branches, several patron databases were updated, and a closing announcement was set up at Central. A public calendar was created for booking passport appointments online. Ongoing services include replacing equipment, which is all on a rotating cycle. An example would be the PCs are on a four-year rotating replacement schedule. All PC monitors went to a standard 24” monitor. All the Media Lab software was updated, including the operating system. A video conferencing system was installed at Central. Larger organizational projects include upgrading the IT department’s Board of Library Trustees Meeting August 19, 2024 Page 3 data center, which is located in the Civic Center and stores the ILS servers. That implementation took about the entire year due to the size of the system. The ERP (financial and human resources systems) was upgraded. The Library uses the ERP to manage their budget, manage their staff, and make their purchases. Another large investment has been in cyber security; a network assessment was completed last year which was followed by remediation and mitigation on some of the recommendations resulting from that assessment. The Multi-Factor Authorization (MFA) implementation mentioned in last year’s update was completed; it is a security method that requires users to provide more than one verification factor to access a resource. Enterprise Password Management was rolled out for all staff members. The annual cyber security training just wrapped up. Upcoming future projects include acquiring a new screen and projector for the Children’s section at the Central Library, the public copier will be replaced at Corona del Mar Branch. When the MFA rolled out, they didn’t allow passwords longer than twenty characters. Staff pushed them to allow that as those are City requirements. The vendor will be providing an update once they have made that software change. In the next few weeks, an IT Strategic Plan Development will kick off; every department in the City will come together and plan what IT looks like moving forward for the next five years. It will set the tone for the department’s goals and priorities and provide information on what IT’s strengths and weaknesses are so they can make those improvements. Staff will play a major role in that process. Chair Rief thanked IT Manager Maglinti for the update and noted the importance of the IT department and the work they do and inquired if they confer with different libraries for comparisons and ideas. IT Manager Maglinti responded that staff are a crucial part of the upgrade and updates process. The department responds to their needs based on what works best for the patrons. Chair Rief asked about having to access a third party’s domain in order to enter the library’s catalog. Mr. Maglinti replied he believed that limitation is on the vendor side of the catalog service; the City hosts the library portion of the website, the vendor hosts the catalog. The IT Department had attempted to change that, and it was not allowed. Trustee Lauren Kramer inquired if staff attends library conferences so they can get fresh ideas on what other municipalities are utilizing. Library Services Director Melissa Hartson answered staff attends different conferences and training throughout the year. The main three are the California Library Association, Public Library Association and American Library Association conferences. They participate in workshop discussions and visit exhibit halls with different vendors. Secretary Larson questioned if the mobile app is compatible with androids. Mr. Maglinti responded that the new library app is compatible with android phones. IT Manager Maglinti took a moment to respond to the written public comment Mr. Mosher submitted regarding the internal service funds, as related to the IT department. There are two internal service funds (ISF), the IT Operating ISF and an IT Replacement ISF. The operating ISF are the funds it takes to operationally run the IT Department on an annual basis such as software licensing or any special outside vendors such as for cyber security. Typical expenses would include IT staff, software licensing and renewals and support, cyber security, network service consultants, data lines and connectivity, internet and phone systems, backups and recovery. The department decides the utilization and Board of Library Trustees Meeting August 19, 2024 Page 4 resources for the operations side of the IT Department funds, who also serves the public much like the Library and other departments within the City. Shared expenses between departments might include the ERP, and is fractionally divided between the departments, each department pays for their portion of the utilization of the software or cyber security initiatives. Secretary Larson inquired if the IT staff log their time by department. Mr. Maglinti answered his staff logs their time into a ticketing system that tracks which department requested the help desk tickets and is part of the annual City’s budgeting process. Chair Rief called for public comment on the item. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, commented he appreciated the report and didn’t understand why the operating expenses weren’t itemized as they go along and charged accordingly, rather than on a predetermined budget amount based on the prior year’s information. Mr. Mosher asked if the internet service CENIC is still being utilized, the service at Mariners branch used to be much faster than it is now. Two questions submitted included if the ILS system can send an advance notice when something it close to being due, rather than when an item is due; and if WIFI service can be extended to the outside patio area at the Central library. IT Manager Maglinti responded that he will look into advance noticing. Library Services Director Hartson added that courtesy notices go out three days ahead of when items are due based on when the items are checked out. On the day the item is due, a notice goes out indicating whether an item was renewed or not. Staff are unable to tell in advance if an item can be renewed unless they actually perform the renewal. Patrons often prefer not to renew the item early as that would change when the item is due back. Secretary Larson inquired if the system is able to tell if an item has a hold for another patron. Circulation and Technical Processing Coordinator Andrew Kachaturian stated he checked that option in the current system, and it is not available. IT Manager Maglinti noted that the Civic Center campus and the Central Library were designed to discourage loitering thus the City decided to not make internet available overnight in the patio areas. Chair Rief received and filed the report. 6. Adult and References Service Update Library Services Manager Rebecca Lightfoot will provide the annual update on reference services, collections, and programming for adult patrons. Library Services Manager Rebecca Lightfoot introduced Adult Services Librarian Jeremy Rodriguez. His name can often be found in glowing patron comments. A variety of resources are used to respond to patron questions and inquiries for adult services. Staffing changes last year included the vacant adult services coordinator, recruiting is in progress for a replacement; a Librarian I position was filled in January by Mary-Ann Lutgen. All of the part-time library assistants were replaced at all of the branches. Program Assistant Terry Sanchez continues to cultivate high-quality authors for events. The Storytellers Writing Workshop continues to fill up within minutes of being announced. She also held Board of Library Trustees Meeting August 19, 2024 Page 5 genealogy workshops in January through March that were full. Two Meet the Author events with Nicola Harrison and Douglas Brunt were well attended. Several at-room-capacity Sunday Musicales were hosted, and Librarian Rosemary Hammock hosted a Zine program that doubled in attendance from the prior year. Former Adult Services Coordinator Erin Spivey and Branch and Youth Services Coordinator Annika Helmuth attended a Wellness and Lifestyle Expo at the Newport Beach Country Club to promote the Library and issue cards; Librarian Rodriguez and Children’s Librarian Christine Lefter led a tour of the Central Library with members of Independent Endeavor. Librarian Rodriguez and Children’s Librarian Jasmin Avila attended an open house for the new Clearwater Senior Center; and Library Administration renewed a one-year subscription to online training hosted by Ryan Dowd, an advocate for the unhoused community and other vulnerable populations. Librarians Hammock and Avila attended the Public Library Association Conference. The Library launched their new mobile app in April 2024. It is user friendly and has a strong visual interface with greater customization capabilities. Recently, the Library is making a big push to get back out into the community and conduct tours. Additionally, a homebound service, Special Delivery, was implemented, which allows new parents and caregivers to have materials delivered to their home. Secretary Larson inquired how the Library is advertising the delivery service for new moms and if it is also available for seniors. Library Services Manager Lightfoot explained that the traditional home bound service has been in effect for several years and is available for all ages to apply for the service. It is promoted on the website and through e-blasts. There were cards that were sent to Hoag Hospital for display in the maternity ward as well as to the OASIS senior center, along with other places throughout the city. Chair Rief called for public comment on the item and there were none. Chair Rief received and filed the report. 7. Library Activities Monthly update of library events, services, and statistics. Library Services Director Melissa Hartson reported that July was a busy month; the reading challenge had a program attendance increase of 17%. There were 577,985 minutes of reading time logged by people of all ages. July marked the 30th anniversary of the Central Library, staff hosted an open house commemorating this milestone where light refreshments were available. There was a scavenger hunt and other activities such as children’s storytime, crafts, library card signups, and giveaways. Creating and offering tours provided insight into current offerings and how the facility and its resources have evolved over the past 30 years. There are several wheelhouse items listed in the Staff report for upcoming events. Two of note are the Friends of the Library check presentation to City Council on Tuesday August 27, 2024, and the International Literacy Day proclamation at the same meeting. Chair Rief called for public comment on the item. Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, referenced Handwritten Page 27 of the agenda packet and noted that the website usage statistics in the upper left corner lists 49,426 visits with approximately 31,000 users and indicates 23,090 were new users. He found Board of Library Trustees Meeting August 19, 2024 Page 6 that odd and difficult to believe as accurate. Clarity of those numbers would be nice for a future meeting. Chair Rief explained that every year it’s getting harder and harder to measure users across month to month because of new privacy tools that are being added to user devices. It is an industry trend that seems to be growing. Chair Rief received and filed the report. B. Monthly Reports 8. Library Foundation Liaison Reports A. Library Foundation Liaison Report Trustee update on the most recently attended Friends of the Library Board meeting. Secretary Larson reported that the report submitted by Foundation CEO Jerry Kappel was a very good update. 9. Friends of the Library Liaison Report Trustee update on the most recently attended Friends of the Library Board meeting. Chair Rief reported that the Friends held their meeting; he didn’t believe it was attended by a liaison. 10. PALS4pal Liaison Report Trustee update of the PALS4pal Board meeting. There was no report as Vice Chair Castro had an excused absence. Chair Rief received and filed all the reports. 11. Board of Library Trustees Liaison Assignments The Board of Library Trustees Chair will appoint trustees to the five liaison assignments. Chair Rief explained he has changed the liaison reports and is consolidating the Library Foundation to a single report with Secretary Dorothy Larson as the liaison. Trustee Murray will be the Friends liaison; and Pals4pal will have Vice Chair Antonella Castro as the liaison. Chair Rief opened the monthly reports to public comments and there were none. VII. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS – Three Minutes per speaker Jim Mosher, Newport Beach resident, commented that historically, prior to 2008, the Board of Library Trustees met twice per month, once at the Civic Center campus and the second meeting was at a branch, thus one branch was visited each month. Board of Library Trustees Meeting August 19, 2024 Page 7 VIII. BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES ANNOUNCEMENTS OR MATTERS WHICH MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION ACTION OR REPORT (NON-DISCUSSION ITEM) None IX. ADJOURNMENT – 5:43 p.m. All future meetings will be held at the Civic Center campus. The September meeting is scheduled for Monday September 16 at 5:00 p.m. Submitted by: Chase Rief Chair Approval of Minutes