CALL TO ORDER:

The meeting was called to order by President Ginger Britt at 1:34 p.m. in the Library Board Room

ROLL CALL:

Present: Mrs. Britt, Mr. Kawase, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Hostetter, and Mrs. Mann

Staff: Al Milo, Library Director
Chris Meyer, City Manager
Joanne Hardy, Library Division Manager
Carolyn Eckert, Library Division Manager
Kathleen Nonneman, Circulation Manager
Betty Schwarzkopf CPS, Administrative Secretary

Guest: Doris Van Natta, Friends President

MINUTES OF JANUARY 23, 2003

Mr. Kawase moved and Mrs. Mann seconded that the minutes of the January 23, 2003 meeting be approved. The motion carried.

WARRANT REGISTER FOR FEBRUARY 2003:

Mrs. Mann moved and Mr. Hostetter seconded that the February warrant register in the amount of $47, 073.94 be approved. The motion was approved. The register included the final payment of $15,305 to Godbe Research & Analysis for the needs assessment study.

EXPENDITURE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2003:

Director Milo commented that 59.1 percent of the budget has been expended with 66.6 percent of the fiscal year completed. He also reported that the large expenditure for object no. 6423 (Small Equipment/Furniture) was for the installation of a fire wall and two port switches by MIS in November of 2002. The report was accepted and filed.

REPORTS:

1. Director's Report

   Director Milo said that because of budget cuts, the Library will not participate in Night in Fullerton this year. He verified that registrations for Mrs. Britt and Mrs. Johnson for the April 8 CALTAC workshop had been mailed in. He also mentioned that former Library Director Carolyn Johnson was selected as Woman of the Year by the YWCA. The written report was filed.

2. Friends of the Library

   Friends President, Doris Van Natta, reminded everyone that the paperback book sale would be held on Saturday, March 1. She also said the Friends have approved giving the Library $30,000 for the purchase of books, and they have provided seed money for the purchase of book bags that will be sold to raise revenue for the Library.

3. Library Foundation

   Ray Kawase, Board of Trustees liaison to the Foundation Board, said the Foundation currently has an endowment fund of $220,000. He reported that the first lecture of the lecture series was extremely successful with the sale of 275 tickets. The next two lectures will be held in March. Mr. Kawase said it is the purpose of the Foundation to raise funds for Library Capital projects and not for the operating budget. However, if the Library has unexpected needs because of the budget crisis, they are amending their bylaws to provide funds in order for the Library to continue to function.

ACTIVITY REPORT:

There was discussion regarding the decrease in the bookmobile circulation compared to the previous year. There was a request for clarification on whom the volunteers are and if a staff member is responsible for organizing them. The report was accepted and filed.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. 2003-2005 Budget Decision Packages

   A report titled "Staff Recommendations for Decision Packets" was distributed. Director Milo explained that staff was requested to make a 2% cut in the current (FY 2002-2003) budget as well as 5% budget cuts for FY 2003-2004. Those figures have been submitted to the Finance Department for review. All departments were instructed to prepare additional packages of 7.5%, 10%, and 15% cuts. These packages will be submitted to City Council for consideration in the event that the State budget makes it necessary to initiate further cuts. The document included staff's recommendations on how to reach those goals and suggestions for revenue enhancement.

   There was consensus not to eliminate Bookmobile service or reduce the purchase of library materials if possible. Mr. Hostetter mentioned that it might be necessary to shift service baselines.

   Director Milo said it is still unclear as to how the State budget deficit will affect revenue the Library receives from the State. It could be as much as follows:

   Public Library Fund	$116,439
   Transaction-based reimbursements (TBR)	76,150
   	$192,589

   The managers will work on completion of Decision Package #3.

2. Needs Assessment Final Report

   Director Milo said if Bryan Godbe attends a meeting to answer questions, he will require that his transportation from Northern California be paid. However, he is willing to arrange a telephone conference call at no charge.

   General discussion followed as to what questions the Board members might have for the consultant. Most of the members stated that they had not had sufficient time to review the written needs assessment study. It was very lengthy. The appendix tables, although full of information, were numerous, confusing, and too small in print size to read. There was no process on how to begin to digest the findings of the study. The Board decided to postpone asking any questions of the consultant until they had more time to review the study. It was recommended that it would help the discussion if the group would focus its attention on the same parts of the study. There was consensus that in preparation for the March meeting, the Board members would all read pages 17-22. Mrs. Johnson stated that it helped her to understand the information contained in the appendix tables by focusing on a single issue or theme and by tracing that issue or theme through the corresponding appendix tables.

ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS:

Mrs. Mann moved and Mrs. Johnson seconded that donations in the amount of $467.18 be accepted. The motion carried.

CORRESPONDENCE:

There was no correspondence to report.

BOARD MEMBER ROUND TABLE:

Mrs. Mann said that the Orange County Bar Association is working with the Orange County Department of Education to bring literacy to 300 schools.

Mrs. Johnson volunteered to be on the honor wall ad hoc committee. Mr. Hostetter, Mrs. Britt, and Director Milo are on the committee. A planning meeting will be setup.

Mrs. Britt asked if anyone would like to takeover her duties as the Library reporter for the book column in the Observer. If there are no volunteers, she will continue.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

There were no comments.

ADJOURNMENT:

The meeting adjourned at 4:05 p.m.