CALL TO ORDER:

The meeting was called to order by President Mann at 2:34 p.m. in the Library Board Room.

ROLL CALL:

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

Staff: Al Milo, Library Director Betty Schwarzkopf, Administrative Secretary

Guest : Nancy Lee, President, Friends of FPL

MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 24, 2005:

Mr. Kawase moved and Mrs. Johnson seconded that the minutes of the meeting of February 24, 2005 be approved. The motion carried.

WARRANT REGISTER OF MARCH 2005:

Mrs. Britt moved and Mr. Georgieff seconded that the warrant register in the amount of $30,843.12 be approved. The motion carried.

EXPENDITURE SUMMARY OF MARCH 2005:

Director Milo commented that 75% of the fiscal year is complete with 65.7% expended. He also pointed out an over-expenditure of Professional and Contractual Fee (Item #6319) was attributed to the purchase of laptops for the Hunt Branch in the amount of $10,000. That over-expenditure will be covered by an SBC grant. The report was accepted and filed.

REPORTS:

1. Library Director

   Director Milo explained the new Bookmobile staffing. There was discussion regarding the installation, availability, and security of Excel on the public computers. Mr. Georgieff inquired if patrons would be able to save spread sheets on the hard drives and suggested locking them down in order to save space on the hard drives and to provide security.

   Mr. Milo reported that Library Technical Services Division Manager, Maureen Gebelein, is leaving to take a position with the Orange County Public Library, Los Alamitos Branch, as the Branch Manager. Her last day will be April 14. The new Childrens Library Division Manager, Jeanette Pham, assumes her duties on April 4th. Ms. Pham comes from the Santa Ana Public Library.

   Director Milo said on April 5, the Applicant Review Board will present recommendations to the City Council for appointments to commissions and boards.

   Library Adult Services Division Manager, Joanne Hardy, helped organize a successful Small Business Workshop on Saturday, March 19 with 35 people in attendance. Tim Mountain and Ed Maurer also assisted.

   Director Milo gave a budget update. He said when the Library managers met with the Finance Department and the City Manager, they were informed that the Library showed $100,000 in salary savings, thus, lowering the shortfall to $200,000. However, the City is going to recommend that the City Council institute a Sewer Tax to cover the cost of sewer replacement. The new sewer will require between $8 and $9 million. If the City Council does not approve the tax, each department will be asked to make additional cuts to cover the cost. This would amount to an additional $470,000 cut for the Library.

   The written report was accepted and filed.

2. Friends of the Library

   Friends President, Nancy Lee, said the Friends are currently between book sales. She reported that Board Member Bobbi Byron is ill and has been hospitalized. The Friends gave the Library $5,000 for bar code adapters and for a laptop for the Technical Services Division Manager.

3. Library Foundation

   Ray Kawase reported that the Foundations endowment portfolio is stagnant due to the stock market, but they have diversified to include CDs. The Dig Deep 4 Book$ campaign has slowed. They are going to apply for a $15,000 grant from the Phelps Foundation. If they are successful, it should bring them almost to their goal. They will also do a direct mailing to the major donors.

ACTIVITY REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 2005:

The report was accepted and filed.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Reorganization of Board Officers

   Ray Kawase was nominated for the office of President and was unanimously elected.

   Ginger Britt was nominated for the office of Secretary and was unanimously elected.

   There was consensus to delay the election of a liaison to the Foundation until the new Board member has been appointed.

2. State Legislative Priorities

   Mrs. Britt distributed a schedule of appointments with Assemblywoman Daucher and Senator Ackerman. The Board of Trustees will meet with them on Friday, May 13. She will make an appointment with Senator Dunn at a later date. Director Milo distributed a list of library topics for discussion with the legislators.

3. Teen Focus Group Results

   Mr. Georgieff and Mrs. Johnson met with and interviewed eight high school library teen volunteers at the Hunt Branch Library on March 17. One of the students is home schooled. The others attend Troy and Fullerton High Schools and Eastside Christian High School. A list of questions and answers used for the interview was included in the Board agenda packets and discussed. Mr. Georgieff suggested holding one more meeting that perhaps would include junior high school ASB leadership students.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Santiago Library System Membership

   Director Milo requested approval for the Library to rejoin the Santiago Library System. He said because the Board approved dropping the non-resident library card fee beginning July 1, 2005, the Library would again be eligible to be a member of SLS and receive between $25,000 and $30,000 in State funds.

   Mrs. Britt moved and Mrs. Mann seconded that the Library rejoin the Santiago Library System. The motion carried.

2. Library Code of Conduct Policy Revision

   Director Milo led a discussion on a draft Library Code of Conduct Policy that was included in the meeting packets. Several revisions were recommended by the Board members. Mrs. Mann moved and Mrs. Johnson seconded that staff make the revisions and bring the policy back to the Board for approval at the next meeting. The motion carried.

3. Library Bookstore Proposal

   Mrs. Britt explained her proposal for a Library Bookstore. She stated that the Friends of the Library book sales are extremely successful bringing in $30,000 to $40,000 per year. The Friends are organized and proficient in collecting and pricing books and arranging book sales. They would be a tremendous asset to a bookstore. Ms. Lee explained that in the past, the Friends have shown little or no interest in the responsibility of a book store. Mrs. Britt said she would volunteer to be responsible for staffing the bookstore the first year. Ms. Lee suggested that Mrs. Britt make a presentation to the Friends at their Board meeting on April 11. Mrs. Britt will attend the meeting.

   Mr. Kawase excused himself from the meeting at 4 p.m.

ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS:

There were no donations.

CORRESPONDENCE:

There was no correspondence to report.

BOARD MEMBER ROUND TABLE:

Mr. Georgieff said he had been on jury duty. It was his first experience to serve as a juror. During the week of April 11 he is going on a Boy Scout canoe trip on the Colorado River with his son. He thanked Mrs. Britt for her bookstore proposal.

Mrs. Mann said her husband was in four different hospitals over the last year and each of them had a bookstore. She said a bookstore could start out very small and grow.

Mrs. Johnson reminded everyone that the library is going through a lot of changes and gaps all at the same time. She suggested focusing on one or two projects at a time.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mrs. Britt moved and Mrs. Johnson seconded that the meeting adjourn at 4:30 p.m. The motion carried.