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07-25-2022 (Library) Minutes 1AI Library Advisory Board Minutes VIPCITY OF In-person Meeting July 25, 2022—7:00 p.m. ` Y I c Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER Announce the presence of a Quorum. Board Chair Juan Azcarate II called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The following Library Board members were present: Toshia Kimball, Rosalyn Davis, Kristina Jones, Irene Chavira, Carla McCullough, Justin Strauch&Ofilia Barrera,Board Liaison. Board members not present: Roz Davis and Kristen Botsford. CITIZENS COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Residents may address the Board regarding an item that is not listed on the Agenda. Residents must provide their name and address. Board requests that comments be limited to three(3)minutes.In addition, the Board is not allowed to converse, deliberate, or take action on any matter presented during citizen participation.No citizens were present at the meeting. PRESENTATION 1. Staff Spotlight: Lisa Galletta who came to us from Azle. She has been with us for about 6 weeks. We are so pleased to have her. It has gone very well. -+Lisa introduced herself and stated that she's been with Wylie since the end of May and is happy to be here. She said was thrilled to be serving the community. Her career in libraries began at Texas Woman's University in their library over ten years ago. Once she got her degree, she worked for the City of Dallas as a Librarian in their downtown location for about 3 years or so. She lives in Denton. She decided to find something closer to home that did not require taking two trains into work. She went to the City of Keller where she served as the Adult Services Librarian for a few years.After that, she decided to try and tackle management. She applied to the Azle Memorial Library when a position opened up there. She applied and became the Assistant Director there at the start of Covid. She said that it was an interesting experience and a good learning experience. She offered to answer any questions they may have. *Juan Azcarate asked Lisa if she had plans to commute from Denton everyday to our library in Wylie. -.Lisa said she did,but for the last week and a half, she had been living with her parents in far North Dallas where she was raised. She stated that her AC had gone out,and she figured Mom and Dad have a pool and AC.Although she said it had been different, she also stated that she had driven in prior to that. She said it is not too bad considering all the tollways we have. She said she was here in under an hour and thought the commute is well worth it in her opinion. ♦Ofilia asked Lisa to tell the Board a little bit about the work she did as an Adult Services Librarian. Lisa said as any Adult Services Librarian would say,they plan programs,they do outreach,they buy items for the collection. They are always trying to come up with new ideas on how to service the community. She stated that she was excited to work with the team we have here,helping them by being a Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 1 resource and a tool for them when they need assistance in any way. • Toshia clarified that she had been in Azle for two years. She asked Lisa what the need for transition was when she left Azle. -4 Lisa said she was looking for something with a shorter commute. She admitted that it was not a shorter commute,but she felt it was closer to her side of town, close to where she was raised in North Dallas,close to Richardson and Addison. She said it also came at the right time. She has been sharing with everyone that last fall,her father started having some health issues. Long story short,he is being treated for brain cancer. She stated that she wants to be closer to them at the end of the workday. His hospital is right off George Bush. God forbid something happens,she could be right there. She said the universe was telling her that she needed to be on this side of town. • Ofilia stated that she had to say that Lisa has just fit right in. She was really smart and made appointments with every single staff member when she first started. These were just 15 minutes getting to know you kind of appointments which the staff just loved. Ofilia said that we've just really enjoyed having her. Everyone just clicked with her,and it feels like she's been here forever. We've kind of restructured so that now the Circulation and Technical Services departments answer to Lisa, and Ofilia has the Adult Services and Youth Services Department, so that's very helpful. Lisa has been there for the day to day,learning all of the little quirks about the library,particularly with patrons and things. -4 Lisa said that she knew it was a good fit from day one. She stated that when she met Ofilia,and when she had the tour,then she met all the staff, and just the way the staff talked about how happy they were with their jobs. She said that was a huge indicator that she was going to be happy here too. • Carla asked Lisa what she likes most about her job. -'Lisa said,that in general, she would say she likes helping people that are looking for information. She stated that for herself it is a privilege to know where to go for the right answers to questions. She said this whole situation with her AC has made her turn to law libraries to see what her rights are. She said she knew some people don't have those resources,or they don't know how to get the information. It makes a big difference in the quality of the life you live if you can find somebody who can help you access resources. • Carla said Well,thank you. We are so glad to have you. -4Lisa replied that she is happy to be here and looks forward to working with the Board. ♦Ofilia thanked Lisa for her introductions and told her to stay or feel free to head back to the library if she needed to. *Juan asked Ofilia if she thought it was a good time to introduce Justin. -4Ofilia agreed, and she introduced Justin as our new Library Board Member saying that this is his first meeting. The group had a bit of a round of applause. She asked Justin to tell us a little about himself. -4Justin said hello and thanked everyone for the kind welcome. He stated that he lives just south of Parker Road.He stated that he is a middle school teacher with eight years of experience in which seven were in Garland. He just got hired here in Wylie ISD. He said he's really excited to be on this Board. Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 2 He's excited to see how Wylie ISD and the community can also support the Library. He said he is really comfortable with our School Librarians and with the Library Directors at least on the District side. He'd love to see what we can do at the middle school, elementary school, and high school level to either bring more activities and more students to the library,or to have more cooperation between Wylie ISD and our city library. ♦Ofilia thanked Justin and she said she loved that. *Juan welcomed Justin aboard. -4 Ofilia mentioned that Michelle Ribeiro, our other staff spotlight,was unable to make it tonight so She would reschedule her for next month. CONSENT AGENDA 1.Consider and act upon approval of the Minutes of the May 23,2022 Library Board Meeting. Board Action: The Library Board Minutes of Monday,May 23, 2022. • Carla said she did see a few things in the minutes. It started on page 2,at the top,the third line. It looks as though it's been interspersed through the minutes where if someone said,Ex: if Tasha asked what Nina was working on now,instead of putting a comma there was a question mark every time. Carla said it is not asking a question, she is just stating that. -4 Ofilia said she got it and said we can fix that. • Carla said the other thing is Hoopla, on page 3, 5th paragraph,where it talks about the digital checkouts that includes Kanopy and Hoopla. Hoopla is capitalized in some places and not in other places. -4 Ofilia stated that she could double check that. She said she believes it is lowercase where it is not at the start of the sentence because it is actually not capitalized. They don't capitalize it where it is in the middle of the sentence. Then,if it is at the beginning of a sentence,we capitalize it. She stated that she will double check that though. She can do a find and search and make sure that is correct. • Carla said ok, and when it says we are talking about the library numbers it has the word "however"and then it needs to be a comma. -4 Ofilia asked for clarification on what page we are discussing. • Carla said it is where there was a big space in the last paragraph on page 6, 6th paragraph.There is a big space between and and July. -4 Ofilia said ah yes,I see it. Thank you. • I see some inconsistencies in the colons in the end. If you see that you started with it and then you didn't do it in the next one. Then on the last one under while using the library patrons are required to..there are bullets in this section and then not in the others. Good catch. Thank you Carla. • Juan asked if there are any other comments and asked for a motion to accept the changes and approve the minutes with the changes mentioned. Kristina made a motion to accept and approve the minutes from the last meeting. Toshia second. Motion passes 5-0. Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 3 WORK SESSION—DISCUSSION ITEMS 1.Reviewing and approving the updated Patron Behavior Policy. -� Ofilia stated that what we did was clean up a lot of the language in it. We also kind of grouped things together. We tried to group some things together to make it easier to understand and easier to read. We also added a few things that have been coming up lately,particularly with personal hygiene. That is a new section there. This list is not all-inclusive,but if you see something on the list that is because it has happened. We do have blanket statements at the beginning about how any activity that is considered disruptive,we are going to address that. We have the right and determination to make that call. • Juan said let me ask you a question on the hygiene issue. Those people where you had those situations,when you confronted them did they challenge you. - Ofilia stated that it depends on the patron. She said she didn't know that they are happy about it, but they accept it and she stated that a lot of people don't understand why you are asking them not to cut their toenails in the library. Why would you think that is inappropriate? She said a lot of times it is just a mental health issue. She said sometimes we deal with people by way of the new term that are"unhoused."It's a matter of setting boundaries in those cases. Most of the time people aren't happy when you approach them with these kinds of things. We have to just be very calm. We typically go in pairs. It even says in the policy that we approach people in pairs. People get upset about that too. Why are two of you coming to tell me this?That's what's in our policy.That's for our own safety,and also they can't say that"you said this and this and this"when we have somebody else,another staff member there. So,it's a delicate balance of being kind and being assertive that this is not appropriate and you cannot do this. • Juan clarified that if the situation had to be escalated from that point,you can call the police and that is stated in the policy as well. -, Ofilia stated that is correct and followed up saying we do try and handle it in house as much as we can. • Justin said as far as the people that are trying to use the library for their personal hygiene, I guess this is more of a question about the Rec Center. Since the Rec Center is next door,and they do have gyms and showers, is their space available to people. Ofilia said absolutely,and a lot of the issues we've come across are with people who are unhomed. They don't have the money to get into the Rec Center. Unfortunately,the Rec Center is not free.Now we also know of different people who are currently in a nomadic living situation,and they do use the Rec Center for that purpose. Good instincts there. • Justin asked if this patron behavior policy is posted in the library or around the building where patrons can see it. ▪ Ofilia stated that it is not publicly posted. It is on our website. Honestly,it is rare and it kind of comes in groups. One week we will have three weird things happen and then nothing happens for four months. It is just one of those things. It is not posted,but whenever we approach a patron we take it with us. It is on our website. We tell offenders that these are the expectations of the library. If it is something that is not too heinous, I don't know that personal hygiene falls under that,but if someone for example falls asleep, sleeping is one of them. We tell them we understand they did not know. We give them the policy as something to look over. It isn't a big deal. We notice that patrons often ignore giant signs like don't block the driveway,or this is an exit door-alarm will sound. The likelihood of them reading this is pretty slim. A lot of this is kind of common sense. • Carla said it is a very extensive list. She was wondering,like Ofilia said,she was wondering if Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 4 most of these things have happened that are on the list. Justin asked, does the library have an overhead PA system where they can make announcements. Ofilia said yes. -, Ofilia stated that nothing changed with unsupervised children. That has always been the age and the procedure.Nothing has changed with the teen room things either.That's all the same other than since Covid,we raised the age to seventh grade,that was sixth grade,but then that is a change that we have already gone over. That was due to maturity level. *Juan stated,Ofilia, I think the goal is to go ahead and approve it tonight. -Ofilia said,yes,unless you have anything to change or something you are not happy with. That is the goal. *Juan asked if there was anything anyone wished to change or alter, or any other comments?He asked if someone wanted to make a motion to accept the Behavior Patron Policy with the changes mentioned. -+Carla made a motion to accept the Policy with the changes that were made. Kristina second Motion passed 5-0. 2.Reviewing and approving the updated Animal Policy. -� Ofilia stated that this is a brand new policy. We typically go back to our ADA policy,but we've been having a rash of people bringing their pets in. We are probably the biggest pet-loving staff you have ever met. However, legally that can cause all kinds of problems. We started believing that we needed an animal policy for the building that states ADA. The very beginning of this policy is from the Americans with Disabilities Act website. It is word for word ADA. The only time we move away from it is the second part,where the bullet points are,on the last page, where we reiterate in clear language what is expected. We looked at several other libraries and their policies. We worked on this with the Rec. Center staff so that we will all have the same policy. They are presenting to their board as well. ♦ Juan asked once this is approved,will you be educating your staff on the policy so they know what questions to ask. Ofilia said absolutely,we already do training on the two questions you can ask because we are already falling back on ADA. The big question for our staff was"what if it's not a dog,because people bring in other animals?According to ADA,you only have to accommodate dogs and in some cases small horses if you can accommodate them.No other animals count and emotional support animals are not covered by ADA. I think we have had a rash of them this year because it has been so hot and people don't want to leave their animals in the car. They are here. They are just going to run in. They bring their puppy with them which Ofilia said is something our staff loves,but if for some reason that dog bites somebody,we are liable and it is a.problem. We realized that we needed to be more serious about it. We do accept service animals in training. We have a group that brings service animals,little puppies,because there is so much going on in the library that it is a good place for them to practice. They usually wear their vest,they have the jackets on them, and they are well controlled.We do allow that. We will be re-training on this policy. *Carla asked if Ofilia ever had to ask someone to leave because of an animal,and how it was received. -)Ofilia said yes,typically what we do if it is a dog,and the dog is being well behaved,we explain the policy and tell them it is not allowed. We tell them they can stay,but they are asked to leave the dog at home next time.Now,we have had people bring other animals. Everything from ducklings to birds. In those cases we have to say, I am so sorry you cannot bring the duckling in as adorable as it is. She had snuck in with the duckling in a bag, and it got out and was running down the aisle. This was years ago so that's why I can mention it. She said she couldn't leave it Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 5 at home. We told her she would need to leave it at home. These are some of the fun things you didn't know we have dealt with at the library. Having this in writing will make it easier for us to approach people. Some people will argue that it is an emotional support animal and it is allowed.We have to tell them it is not allowed. • Carla asked like Justin asked earlier about the Patron Policy,will this policy be posted somewhere or just on the website. 3.Review library staffing. -, Ofilia stated that she was happy to report that as of this very minute,the library was fully staffed,and she said it with a whisper for fear that tomorrow it won't be. She said right now our positions are filled,which has not been the case for a long time. *Juan asked for any other comments. There were no comments 4.Fiscal year budget and the sorter. -+ Ofilia said we have been diligently working on the fiscal year budget. We didn't really ask for anything big because last year we asked for the new sorter. The final approval for the sorter is going up to Council tomorrow. She is very excited. TechLogic won the bid for the sorter which works out really well because the company that owns TechLogic also owns the company that has our integrated library system-our online catalog. It will all communicate well together. We are expecting wonderful things. It will include a ramp so you do not have to put one thing in at a time.You can shove lots of things in there and it will sort it out.Allegedly they are super fast, and we are going to be shocked and amazed by it. It is also quiet. The one we have now is kind of loud. Once we get Council's approval tomorrow,then we can set a date for installation. They say it will take 6 to 8 weeks so we are looking at early October.As for the budget, everything seems to be going well. Council seems to be very supportive of what the City Manager has presented, so we feel good about that too. • Justin asked if the 6 to 8 week timeframe will cause disruption with the current sorter. -)Ofilia said the actual installation only takes one to two days once we get the old one out and the new one in. Since we have the drive-thru window,we will send people to the other drop.We will try to make it on lighter days and see how that goes. Hopefully,next time we meet she will have a date for installation. • Juan asked if there were comments or questions. There was no response. 5.Review the monthly report and usage statistics. -, Ofilia thanked Juan. She said this is actually a two-month report because we did not meet in June which makes it pretty much a summer report.You can see how busy we have been. She thought she remembered telling us that we would have a spectacular summer,and boy did we. It has been great to see that people have returned to the library.We have been very,very,busy. We had a great time. We have one more program next week,the Harry Potter party,and then we are done. All those numbers reflect attendance at those various events. Our circulation statistics for the past two months have been phenomenal. If you look at the digital resource usage,it is by month,because it is easier to pull those numbers this way. The one she wants to draw your attention to,and she triple checked the number because she couldn't believe it,is Kanopy. In June it just soared. We've been trying to talk it up,and tell people about it,and post it everywhere, so that people know about it. I think they are catching on. We are really happy about that. Hoopla has been used a lot too. We want to be sure people know about these streaming services. Ofilia said she thinks it is because they are traveling and they can stream on their tablet,device, or phone from wherever they are. •Toshia asked,how the book sale went. -+Ofilia said we are going to get to that. She continued on the third page. All the meetings,training, Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 6 etc. are highlighted. This isn't everything, it is just what the Board might be interested in. The past six weeks have been spent getting Lisa acclimated. The city is now so big that it has taken some time. That used to be so easy. We have been having some issues with our new alarms. We've upgraded those which I am very excited about. Today,they installed new panels. The first panels did not work. Hopefully,these new ones will. We have been grappling with that. *Carla had a question about a phone call on July 6 with the Rec Center Manager regarding recent incidents. -)Ofilia responded that yes it has been an eventful summer. She believed the two incidents that that referred to was one Saturday we had a fire set in the family restroom. It was contained. It was not very big. They were able to put it out very quickly. The smell was incredible. It was amazing that a small fire could create such a smell. The fire department was here,the police department was here. They questioned several people. They are handling it. Unfortunately,the second event happened on the Saturday she was in Washington DC for a conference. We had a man that came in and urinated on some books in the non-fiction section. That was a first. We believe there may be some mental illness or handicap there. We aren't sure. He had been coming into the library. He was never on a computer,he doesn't check out books. He just comes and sits. The police are handling it. Those are the incidents Ofilia needed to let them know about. We also always share our camera footage.We did not know who he was. They did not know either. • Carla asked why you called the Rec. Center Manager,was it in case she could help identify him. -4Ofilia said yes, anytime there is a big event,we try to support each other and warn each other in case it happens in their building. *Juan noticed on July 15 you had a meeting with emergency operations. I know that it is becoming more and more of an issue with what is happening,going back to active shooter training.Are you doing more work with your staff and more training so they know what to do. —)Ofilia stated that it is very much on our minds. We have Active Attacker Training with the city. We have to do it once a year. It is very traumatic for some staff members. They did one drill at City Hall which was difficult. We requested a drill. They said it is very difficult with how much staff it takes to do it. We then asked for a meeting to clarify lockdowns. We have had one everybody out lockdown and one everybody in lockdown. We wanted to have some very specific and easy to follow procedures for staff, and also procedures for active attacker. At our inservice day in September,we will walk through in teams and talk through where the exit doors are,where the fire extinguishers are. Emergency services will not be here. Our staff is always really good at being aware of what is going on,if someone is off,and if someone is acting strangely. One night Ofilia got a call from the Circulation Supervisor,and she was still at the library.The Supervisor said there was a man pacing the aisles and talking to himself. We decided to go talk to him. One of our Adult Librarians knew this man from programs and such. She said we did not need to worry about him. She said he just struggles sometimes. We talked to him. He was having a bad day. It was fine.We know we need to be aware and be a presence. Lisa and I have talked about when story time starts up again just being by the gates before we open them, and looking around. People can see that we are there and aware and paying attention. If someone decides to do something,and they are staking us out,they can see that we are paying attention. *Carla asked"does the see something, say something message apply here?" -Ofilia stated that we talk about this all the time. We also say that we are never going to be mad at you for calling the police.We have panic buttons. We have a whole procedure of what we need to do. There is someone in the lobby to direct the police. The thing that kind of came up after Uvalde, is that new staff needed to know where the exits are. Ofilia said she is the kind of person that likes to see the exits and know they are there. Her hope is to make this exit more instinctual and automatic so that we are prepared. *Justin commented that coming from the ISD,and first in Garland and now here, every school in Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 7 the state of Texas has a standard response poster,as well as a map of the building. It tells exactly what to do. It's easy to read. Is that something we can think about adding?Is that something we can ingrain into training the staff. -)Ofilia said she loved that idea. She was going to write that down. It would be great in the back of the library. Our biggest problem with lockdown is people who refuse to stay and that puts everyone else at risk. Our concern is people that will leave and let a bad person in. The rest of us are sitting ducks. How do we handle that?We've got a plan now that we talked to emergency services. It will require some changes in locks and such,but we have plans.The other question is how much information do you give? Someone from the fire department walks in,or we get a small text. We are told to go but we don't know why. People do not like that. They want to know why. *Justin asked if there was just one entrance to the building. -+Ofilia said yes. *Justin asked if there was a way to lock that door remotely. -)Ofilia said not currently. It is something we have to work on. That's part of the upgrade in the security system. We need a panic button so we can lock those doors. These are things that have been on our minds for years.After Uvalde,we now know we need to get going on things we have been putting off. Ofilia says the doors are on a schedule. She said she doesn't have access to it. Once the doors are open,the doors cannot be locked. Ofilia can unlock the doors,but she cannot lock them. She said for several years this has frustrated her. Part of this new upgrade is to implement a chip or whatever,so we can lockdown. *Carla asked if people are assigned areas to clear. -+Ofilia said yes,each department within the library is assigned to clear their own section for anyone who is in there. *Justin asked if the conference rooms and small areas in the library can be locked. -Ofilia said yes. There are exits at the far side of the library. The Teen Room and Storytime Room also have emergency access. There are ways to get out. The door in the back requires a badge. • Carla asked if there is a contingency plan in place until you get this done. -)Ofilia said yes,we have a plan in place. Good question. *Justin asked about the item on the log on July 7. What do you mean by screens? Ofilia answered about the Screen Strong Program which believes screens are an addiction that is bad for a child's brain. Friends of the Library is going to pay for 50 families to go through a course about this. The facilitator will help them develop support groups that agree with that philosophy,because it is very difficult to cut out screen time when all the other families aren't into doing it. This speaker is passionate about it. In the past,there has been a lot of interest. We are trying to recruit some ISD folks to come out and join us. There is a screen-free day in May. We are trying to come up with some crafts or programming that are technology free on that day. • Carla on July 12,what was the outcome of your meeting with the Historical Society for the fall fundraiser. -)Ofilia said it is going to come up on the agenda later. *Juan asked for questions or comments.No one had questions or comments. 6.Review upcoming library programs for August. Ofilia started by saying that August is a light month for us because we don't allow staff to take vacation in June or July because the library is crazy busy in those months. So,vacations are taken in May and August. We have the Harry Potter Party that I mentioned. In September after Labor Day, all of the book clubs,all of the story times,everything comes back. August is a very light calendar. *Juan asked for comments or questions.No one had questions. Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 8 7.Review of items for the next agenda. • The installation date for the new sorter • The adopted tax rate • The final budget meeting date • Policies that are coming up for review • The study room policy • The confidentiality of library records • Friends of the Library Events-final numbers from the event. o In summary, it went well. We had tons of stuff. We think we did very,very well. We had thirty people waiting outside to get in when we opened the pre-sale. We have not had a pre-sale in the past. People are very generous and very supportive. We are so happy about that. • The Shop of Curiosities Show has been finalized for October 25. It will have classic movie monsters, gags, silly stuff, and audience participation to get the kids involved. The build out of this set, inside the multi-purpose room, is amazing. Dressing up in costumes is encouraged. We are looking forward to this. • Downtown Haunted Wylie Tour in October(second weekend in October on Friday and Saturday). The background is that Ofilia has wanted to do a haunted tour but doesn't have the staff for it. The Historical Society wanted to do a cemetery tour. The Friends of the Library group(us)and the Historical Society have joined forces and are hosting this event this year. We will sell 120 tickets. It will start at the Brown House and will have 6 different stops outside of the buildings. Hopefully,the merchants will consider bringing the tour inside next year so we can see the really old things(meat locker, and safe)that are inside these buildings. There will be scripts that are based on Wylie history. We are asking the merchants to do fun window displays. There's no rain contingency yet,but ponchos would be a good idea(thanks Kristina). • Summer Statistics • Preview of the fall programs • The next meeting is August 22,2022 ADJOURNMENT Justin made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Kristina 2nd motion; all approved. Meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m. Juan Azcarate III,Board Minutes July 25,2022 Library Advisory Board 9