LDAC Board Meeting Minutes September 9, 2024

Attendance:

In Attendance: Jennifer Obermaier, Phyllis Gorshe, Lois Eannel (East Lake), Stanley Silverstein, Dave Mather, Casey McPhee, Susan Hurley, Matthew David, Lisa Kothe, Betcinda Kettells, Beth Lindsay (St. Petersburg), Glenn Ferdman, Cari Rupkalvis, Cheryl Morales, Dino Giallourakis

Guests: Ashlie Brierley, Pinellas County Schools

1. Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 1:07pm by Lisa Kothe.
   Present: Jennifer Obermaier, Phyllis Gorshe, Lois Eannel (East Lake), Stanley Silverstein, Dave Mather, Casey McPhee, Susan Hurley, Matthew David, Lisa Kothe, Betcinda Kettells, Beth Lindsay (St. Petersburg), Glenn Ferdman, Cari Rupkalvis, Cheryl Morales, Dino Giallourakis
   Absent: Dave McMurrin
2. Guest Speaker – New Worlds Reading Program with Ashlie Brierley, Pinellas County Schools – Presentation discussed building at-home libraries for ages BPK – 5th grade, wherein qualified children receive nine free books per year, plus access to activities. Presenter is willing to visit libraries to promote the program.
3. Acceptance of Minutes from the August 2024 Meeting – Motion: Betcinda Kettells, 2nd: Jen Obermaier. Motion carried.
4. SIG Meeting Reports
   1. E-Content: At last meeting group approved extra funds to spend; ordering is ongoing. Is a concern re: having sufficient help in submitted carts, which is currently done by Amelia, with 8-10 people building carts. Current ratio is 60/40 ebooks to audiobooks; preference is to flip that ratio.
   2. Youth Services: Met on Sept 6th. Wrapping up summer reading w/ Rays program. Discussion about what to do with leftover prizes.
   3. Cataloging: Met in August. Discussion about authority records and subject headings. Next meeting Nov. 20th.
   4. Circulation/Borrower Services: No recent meeting.
   5. Adult Services: Met August 13th via Teams. Casey (liaison) not able to attend due to meeting conflict.
   6. DEIA: 5 members of the group (3 from Palm Harbor; 1 each from Largo and Pinellas Park) tabled at recent St. Pete Pride Back to School Bash. Attendance was small. Good vendor representation and service providers, including food and activities. Group is preparing for upcoming SPIFF event in mid-October; sign-up sheet available.
   7. FOL: Next meeting scheduled for Oct 18th (hybrid) at Seminole Community Library. Information can be found on the SIG calendar on the PPLC website, or contact Angela Porcelli, at Seminole.
5. Old Business – None
6. New Business
   1. Appointments of new chair, vice chair, secretary, and SIG liaisons -LK The following slate of candidates was nominated: Chair: Dave McMurrin; Vice Chair: Glenn Ferdman; Secretary: Matthew David. Motion: Lisa Kothe; 2nd: Phyllis Gorshe. Motion carried. The following SIG Liaisons was nominated: E-Content: Jen Obermaier; Youth Services: Lois Eannel; Cataloging: Susan Hurley; Circ: Cari Rupkalvis; Adult: Phyllis Gorshe; DEIA: Casey McPhee; FOL: Glenn Ferdman. Motion: Lisa Kothe; 2nd: Matthew David. Motion carried.
   2. Homeless Leadership Alliance Library Outreach – GF. Glenn met recently with a representative of the above organization which strives to end homelessness in Pinellas County, to inquire about outreach to libraries to provide information on services and resources available to individuals in need of housing and related services. They promised to reply in a couple of weeks and Glenn will keep the group posted as well as share an information sheet on resources available in the county for people in need.
   3. TBLC Update -PG. Phyllis is completing Mika’s term. Rates are going up on Sept. 19th. Innovation grants are available. Directors meeting Dec 11-12 at State Library. Urban Library Directors meeting on Dec 13th.
   4. Human Trafficking Affidavit – PG. Phyllis brought up new state law requiring contractors with local and county governments to file a notarized affidavit confirming they are not involved in human trafficking. Discussion ensued regarding how to comply with new statute, forms, etc.
7. PPLC Topics
   1. Annual Overdrive Pledge – Cheryl/ Cheryl re-iterated her previously stated goal of having each PPLC member library contribute 10% of their county allocation to PPLC for the Overdrive collection and suggested each library set that as a goal to work towards. She also indicated that PPLC would match member libraries’ contributions with funds from State Aid. Discussion ensued. It was pointed out that this would likely require a change in the Interlocal Agreement, which is set to expire in 2028. One suggestion was to re-allocate 10% of the Circ allocation towards Overdrive. Concerns included ongoing support of physical library spaces if we significantly increase the investment in digital resources, how money is accounted for, and increasing costs for digital resources. Another suggestion was for PPLC to consider ended its Overdrive contract, save for the platform fee, and having member libraries have individual Overdrive collections. A discussion of the history of the Overdrive (and other ebook) contracts ensued. In the end the group agreed to form a committee to study available options, comprised of Lisa Kothe, Casey McPhee and Cheryl Morales. Other directors are encouraged to join.
   2. SPIFFS – Cheryl – Event is Oct 17-18: Middle-High School days; and Oct 19: Family day. Still looking for additional staff to table at the event. Cheryl will send a sign-up sheet.
   3. BCM2 -mobile app. Update – Dino/ Sirsi plans to launch the app mid-Oct for staff testing; LDAC will have access at the beginning of Nov, with a public launch scheduled for mid-Nov. 
   4. Sirsi -Update plan (install new versions in Workflows, Enterprise, and BlueCloud) – Dino – Sirsi is currently behind on upgrades, and are currently working on upgrades for Workflows, Cataloging and Web Services. No service disruptions are anticipated once the upgrades are ready.
8. PPLC Board Meeting Update – LK. There is a new Community Board member, Sean Gaffney, an instructor with San Jose State Library School.
9. Public Comment – PPLC Chair Lisa Kothe had to leave meeting early; PPLC Secretary Glenn Ferdman chaired the remained of the meeting.
   1. There was no public comment.
10. Announcements from PPLC Libraries (10 minutes) Adjourn
    1. East Lake: Have been experiencing A/C issue the past month; and are paying $7,500/mo for dehumidifiers to keep the collection safe; will be adding fingerprint services starting in later this month for $35 (same as for passport processing). Annual fundraiser scheduled for Nov 2nd, featuring a murder mystery theme. Nov 9th will be their 25th anniversary, featuring an all-day celebration, including an edible books contest.
    2. Gulf Beaches: Board has requested the library create an account with Park Mobile for city events and evenings to generate revenue; parking will remain free during the day.
    3. Largo: Staff development day scheduled for Oct 14th and will include team building exercises, goals, strengths finder and a speaker.
    4. Oldsmar: Awaiting completion of the A/C project: 2 units replaced 1.5 years ago; replacement of the remaining 2 units scheduled for Sept 23rd. Library is taking over management of the Historical Society Museum, housed in the Old Bank Building, in Nov.
    5. Palm Harbor: End of the year tasks. Installing lower shelving for improved site lines.
    6. PPLC: There was a slight increase in county revenue vs. anticipated; county allocation for member libraries will be as expected. During the past 10 years State Aid has decreased while aid from the County has gone up.
    7. St. Pete Beach: Recently-hired Librarian II resigned, resulting in a need to temporarily reduce library hours to 10-6 M-F and 10-2 Sat from Oct through December. Recently received a donation of 75 popup books and will be creating a display and holding an auction in the near future.
    8. St. Petersburg: New completion date for the Obama library is Summer 2025; with a re-opening date of Fall 2025. They recently purchased a van for use as a bookmobile, which is currently being ‘wrapped.’
    9. Seminole: Carpeting replacement scheduled for Oct 5-6 (2nd floor); and Oct 12-13 (1st floor); work might extend into the week if it is not completed during the scheduled weekends. Glenn will keep everyone posted.
    10. Tarpon Springs: TS will be experimenting with different Hoopla access models in October; and is considering the purchase of Cloud Library.

For the good of the order: Cari asked which libraries currently have on-site security. Largo and St. Pete have both in-house security staff (i.e., employed by city) and external security. Three joint-use facilities have campus security.

Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 2:42pm

Respectfully submitted by Glenn Ferdman