02-11-2002 (Library) Minutes RITA & TRUETT SMITH LIBRARY BOARD
BOARD MEETING
The Library Board of the city of Wylie met in regular session on February 11, 2002
at the Library. The attendees were:
Grace Morrison
Adrian Sanchez
Liz Allen
Shirley Burnett
Dan Hendrix
1. Approval of the Minutes.
Minutes were approved as read from the January 14, 2002.
2. Discuss and Act Upon the Approval of the Revised Circulation Policy.
The revised circulation policy states that the Library is required to give
cards to anyone in the state of Texas. This is a requirement for libraries
that accept Direct Aid funding. The policy was approved unanimously.
3. Discuss and Act Upon Approval of the Revised Confidentiality Policy.
The Confidentiality Policy has been updated to be compliant with the 2002
Open Records Handbook. The City Secretary and the City Attorney's
office reviewed it. The board approved the revised policy unanimously.
Discussion Items
4. Discuss Monthly Report.
Statistics continue to increase and this is a good sign. There was a 29%
increase in circulation in January 2002 compared to January 2001.
Several board members commented they liked the graphs that were
attached to the monthly report.
4. Discuss NETLS Meeting on February 5.
Grace Morrison provided the Board with an update from the February 5
NETLS meeting. Gloria Meraz from TLA provided an update at the meeting
on Legislative issues.
TIF(Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund) funding will be up for renewal in
the next legislative session. It is vitally important for laypeople to express their
concerns about TIF funding. These funds are used to provide public libraries
across Texas with databases. This library has received two TIF grants for a
total of $150,000.
LSTA (Library Services Technology Act) funding will be considered for
renewal in the next legislative session too.
The U.S.A. PATRIOT Act (USAPA) was signed into law on October 26, 2001.
The law is a response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and expands the FBI's
ability to conduct investigations.
While no one is yet certain what the full impact of the USAPA will be and
how it is to be fully interpreted, the library community has many concerns.
These include:
* expanded use of devices to monitor Internet activity, which may include
URLs and email
* expansion of access to business records (including library records)
* expansion of access to educational institution records
* expansion of the definition of terrorism, including certain low to mid level
computer crimes
* ability for law enforcement to share information gained in investigation with
other branches of law enforcement
Any court order or search warrant that is presented by federal law
enforcement agents and is issued in cases relating to foreign intelligence
and international terrorism takes precedence over state library
confidentiality provisions in the Texas Open Records Act. Please note,
however, that this exception applies only to federal (not local or state)
law enforcement officials and only to those investigations relating to
foreign intelligence surveillance and international terrorism (such as
defined in the USAPA).
NEW BUSINESS
Next month is Arts Month at the Library. Tricia has contacted an artist in Chicago
who has agreed to display his artwork throughout the Library.
OLD BUSINESS
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.