HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/7/2013 - Board of Library Trustees (19)ABSTRACT:
Adjusting public service hours for Monday, December 23, 2013 and Thursday, December 26, 2013 will
have a minimal impact on Library users. It will enable the Library administration to provide appropriate
staffing levels based on customer usage.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Library Board allow Library locations to close at 6 PM on Monday, December
23, 2013 and Thursday, December 26, 2013.
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
No funding requirement.
DISCUSSION:
The Library is open for public service on Monday evenings at the Central Library, Mariners Library, and
Balboa Library until 9 PM. On Thursday evenings, Central, Mariners, and Corona del Mar Libraries are
open until 9 PM. In 2013, the 23rd of December falls on a Monday and December 26th falls on a
Thursday. Because of typically low usage of Library facilities in the evening on those specific dates, staff
recommends that the Library Board allow Library locations to close at 6 PM on Monday, December 23rd,
and Thursday, December 26th. Closing at 6 PM on the 23rd and 26th will have minimal impact on the
majority of Library users.
In 2009, 2010 and 2011, the Library was part of a City-wide holiday closure, so Circulation statistics for
December 23rd and 26th for those years are not available. In 2012, the Library did not participate in the
City-wide holiday closure, but the Central Library was closed for construction purposes from December
22 through January 6, 2013. December 23, 2012 fell on a Sunday, and there were no evening hours at
the Library’sAbranchAlocations. However, on Wednesday, December 26th, there were a total of 10
circulation transactions between 6 and 9 PM system-wide. This follows a general statistical trend in
which circulation in December 2012 was low between the hours of 6 and 9 PM:
TO: LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
FROM: Library Services Department
Tim Hetherton, Library Services Manager
949-717-3819, thetherton@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Tim Hetherton
TITLE: Adjusted Public Service Hours on December 23rd and 26th
CIRCULATION TRANSACTIONS by HOUR (December 2012)
HOUR # TRANSACTIONS PERCENT
9-10 am 12,334 5.8%
10-11 am 15,776 7.4%
11am-12pm 17,567 8.2%
12-1 pm 18,568 8.7%
1-2 pm 19,701 9.2%
2-3 pm 20,342 9.6%
3-4 pm 22,696 10.6%
4-5 pm 23,272 10.9%
5-6 pm 15,988 7.6%
6-7 pm 6,875 3.2%
7-8 pm 5,807 2.7%
8-9 pm 5,669 2.7%
9 pm-9 am 28,628 13.4%
Total 213,223 100%
In addition, monthly circulation statistics were at their lowest in December 2012, with 114,833
circulation transactions:
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000 139,840
114,833
CIRCULATION TRANSACTION TOTALS BY MONTH, 2012
Monthly circulation in 2012 other than in December averaged between 130,000 to 140,000 transactions.
In October 2012, the Central Library was closed for 2 weeks for construction purposes, and the 3 branch
locations remained open. Circulation in October 2012 still totaled 139,840 transactions. This suggests
that December’sAlowAcirculationAtotalsAareAbasedAonAmore on customer demand for Library services
rather than the availability of the Central Library.
Staffing during the holidays is another consideration. Minimum staffing required system-wide for the 6
to 9 PM period is as follows: 4 Librarians, 4 Library Assistants; 6 Clerks, and 4 pages. This staffing
complement for 2 evenings represents 48 hours of Librarian staffing, 48 hours of Library Assistant
staffing, 72 hours of Clerk staffing, and 48 hours of Page staffing. Reduction of service hours by 18 hours
(6 at Central, 6 at Mariners , 3 at Balboa, and 3 at Corona del Mar) will enable the Library to retain funds
budgeted for part-time staff and to maintain appropriate staffing levels at Central and the branch
locations from 9 AM to 6 PM when circulation is highest. This will also provide some flexibility to Library
supervisors when considering leave requests.
Anecdotally, staff reports that Library usage is low in the evenings around the holidays. School is out,
and customers are more likely to be traveling, attending parties, or shopping rather than using the
Library in the evening.
In addition, the Library website is open for business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and enables
customers to search the catalog, place holds, renew materials, use the databases, and download
eBooks, audio, and magazines. Statistics from December 2012 show that 13.4% of all circulation activity
took place online when the Library was closed.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the Library Board of Trustees find that adjusting the service hours on December 23rd
and December 26th is not subject to the California EnvironmentalAQualityA ctA(“CEQ ”)ApursuantAtoA
Section 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical
change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of
the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential to
have a significant effect on the environment.
NOTICING:
This agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at
which the Board of Library Trustees considers the item).a paragraph describing any methods of
notification, if applicable.]
Submitted by:
_____________________________
Tim Hetherton,
Interim Library Services Director