body,date,page,text,path
LibraryBoard,2008-08-13,1,"CITY
of
TERRA
Minutes of the
ALAMEDA FREE LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
August 13, 2008
The regular meeting of the Alameda Free Library Board was called to order at 6:01 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mike Hartigan, Vice President
Karen Butter, Board Member
Alan Mitchell, Board Member
Gail Wetzork, Board Member
Absent:
Ruth Belikove, President
Staff:
Jane Chisaki, Library Director
Marsha Merrick, Recording Secretary
CONSENT CALENDAR
An asterisk indicates items so enacted and adopted on the Consent Calendar.
A.
*Report from Library Director Highlighting Activities for the Month of August 2008. Accepted.
B.
*Draft Minutes of the Special Library Board Meeting of July 8, 2008. Approved.
*Draft Minutes of the Regular Library Board Meeting of July 9, 2008. Approved.
C.
*Library Services Report for the Month of June 2008. Accepted.
D.
*Financial Report Reflecting FY 2008-09 Expenditures by Fund Through July 2008. Accepted.
E.
*Bills for Ratification for the Month of July 2008. Approved.
There were no comments from the Board, so Vice President Hartigan asked for a motion to accept the
Consent Calendar as presented. Member Wetzork so moved; Member Mitchell seconded the motion,
which carried by a 4-0 vote.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS, NON-AGENDA (Public Comment)
None.",LibraryBoard/2008-08-13.pdf
LibraryBoard,2008-08-13,2,"Page 2 of 4
Minutes of the Alameda
Free Library Board Meeting
August 13, 2008
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A.
Neighborhood Library Improvement Projects (J. Chisaki)
Director Chisaki thanked the Board members for showing up and speaking in support of the
Library's branch improvement presentation at the City Council meeting. An RFP was drafted by
Public Works and will go to about 40 architects who have previous experience with libraries.
Discussion was held about forming a committee to help shepherd the process. It was decided
that committee make-up should include representation from the board, Friends and Foundation,
community members from both Bay Farm and West End, the Public Works project lead, Branch
Supervisor and Library Director. It was agreed that the committee should have an odd number
of members. Board Member Butter made a formal motion to form the sub-committee; Member
Wetzork seconded and all were in favor with a 4-0 vote. Member Wetzork volunteered to be the
Library Board's representative.
NEW BUSINESS
A.
Certificates of Appreciation Presented to Strategic Planning Committee (M. Hartigan)
Vice President Hartigan presented Helen Wirth with a certificate of appreciation for the good
work she had done as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, citing the 6 month
commitment necessary for the process. Ms. Wirth graciously accepted, and spoke about how
much she had learned during that time, and how she had fallen in love with Alameda all over
again through the experience. Hartigan then publicly thanked the other committee members who
were not in attendance for their dedicated participation throughout the process as well. Board
Member Butter presented Vice President Hartigan with his certificate of appreciation, echoing
his comments, and adding that his leadership role had been essential. There will be a lot of work
required going forward, but this was the first critical step in paving the way for the project, and
everyone felt it had been a great success.
B.
Strategic Planning Committee Update (M. Hartigan)
Vice President Hartigan wrapped up this item by speaking about how well the City Council
meeting had gone, and how much support everyone had felt coming from the members. Board
Member Wetzork complimented Hartigan on what he thought had been an excellent presentation
to Council. In response to an inquiry from Recording Secretary Merrick, it was agreed that this
item is to be removed from the agenda going forward.
C.
Art Exhibit Committee (R. Belikove)
In President Belikove's absence, Director Chisaki said the committee met the previous afternoon,
and discussed ways to get the word out about the art exhibits being displayed. In a semi-related
item, Chisaki said the art dedication ceremony had gone very well. Four Council Members were
present; both Vice Mayor Tam and Council Member Matarrese spoke. Congressman Pete Stark
had also shown up and spoke about his belief in supporting art in the schools.",LibraryBoard/2008-08-13.pdf
LibraryBoard,2008-08-13,3,"Page 3 of 4
Minutes of the Alameda
Free Library Board Meeting
August 13, 2008
Luzanne Engh, Foundation President, and Honora Murphy, as the Art Selection Committee
representative, both spoke. Kate Walsh spoke on behalf of the Muir family, who were very
pleased with the Library's art pieces. Artist Gary Bennett was also in attendance, and offered to
donate a painting from his home to the Library.
D.
Alameda Free Library Foundation (A. Mitchell)
Director Chisaki said the Foundation did not have a regular Board Meeting last month, but did
have an Executive Board Meeting and talked about their plan of service and how they could
support the Library. They agreed to start setting aside funds for IT equipment replacement, and
also some funds to help with the branch remodeling project. They may also consider paying for
association memberships and workshop fees for staff members. October 19th is the
date
of
the
Michael Pollan program, and it will be held at Auctions by the Bay on Alameda Point.
E.
Friends of the Alameda Free Library (M. Lambert)
Marc Lambert said there was no July Friends meeting, but they will meet the following Monday
and have their election of officers. They feel fortunate to have a full slate this time around.
F.
Patron suggestions/comments (Speak-Outs) and Library Director's response.
A comment about stickers covering content information on videos and DVDs was made;
suppliers have been notified and this is being corrected. A request to purchase only videos, not
DVDs was made as they seem to last longer and have fewer problems. The response was that
the Library is no longer able to purchase new titles in video format, and most people prefer the
DVD format. Director Chisaki read a letter from a vexed patron who said he would not turn off
his cell phone or talk quietly into it as long as the Library allowed children to shout and scream
with no intervention from staff. The patron withheld his name lest his Library card be cancelled.
LIBRARY BOARD COMMUNICATIONS
Board Member Butter had spoken with a Library user who indicated that she had a problem getting a
book on Base Reuse. The patron said that through a series of inquiries, she had been given conflicting
information, depending on who she talked to. Director Chisaki said that if the Library does not have the
book, the request should go through ILL. Also, there is now a book request form that can be filled out
and submitted on-line. These requests go to the Supervising Reference Librarian who will send it on to
that genres book selector for consideration. If we don't plan on purchasing the book, the request will be
forwarded on to ILL. Due to the nature of this specific book, Director Chisaki said it may be something
held by the Development Services Department, so the patron might want to check with them to see if it
is available. Member Butter said this is probably not something the user will pursue, as she ended up
getting the book from the San Francisco Public Library.",LibraryBoard/2008-08-13.pdf
LibraryBoard,2008-08-13,4,"Page 4 of 4
Minutes of the Alameda
Free Library Board Meeting
August 13, 2008
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS
The annual comparison report was handed out and the Board discussed the figures briefly. President
Belikove's copy will be sent to her in the mail due to her absence at the meeting. The patron database
purge is now complete. An estimated 15,000 registrations were removed; 9,000 were done in a batch
mode and 6,000 in a manual mode. There are now 40,610 adult, and 11,215 juvenile patrons remaining,
or a grand total of 50,825 active records. The recommendation is to do a database purge every six
months. An e-mail had come from Sacramento to say that the Library Construction Bond which had
been held in the suspense file is officially dead, and there is no chance at this time of it moving forward.
Representatives from the Library Foundation will be present at the August 19 City Council meeting to
speak on behalf of organizations such as theirs that support City Departments on the agenda item of
public use policy at the Alameda Theater. Chisaki passed around the plaque of honor that had been
received from Real Estate & Construction Review recognizing the new Alameda Free Library as one of
the top projects in Northern California. LEED certification is still being held up by the US Green
Building Council. The USGBC database had become corrupted, so previous responses submitted by
City staff had all been lost; all this information now has to be re-submitted. The Library is currently
extending the agreement with the Alameda County Waste Management Association to take us through
this process. If we get the silver certification, the Library will get back about $70,000 from ACWMA.
These funds will go back into Measure O so there will be that much more money to spend on the branch
improvement projects.
ADJOURNMENT
Vice President Hartigan asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:06 p.m. Member Mitchell so
moved; Member Butter seconded the motion which carried by a 4-0 vote.
Respectfully submitted,
Jane Chisaki, Library Director and
Secretary to the Library Board",LibraryBoard/2008-08-13.pdf
PublicArtCommission,2008-08-13,1,"MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC ART COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2008
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
2263 SANTA CLARA AVENUE - 7:00 PM
CONVENE: Commissioner Lee called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
PRESENT: Commissioners Candelario, Cervantes, Ibsen, Leal and Lee
ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Jon Biggs, Planning Services Manager/Secretary to
Public Art Commission
Maria Luisa Flores, Intermediate Clerk, Planning & Building
MINUTES:
Minutes from the meeting of June 11, 2008
Motion (Cervantes)/Second (Leal) to approve as submitted
Ayes: 5; Noes: 0. Motion passed.
Minutes from the meeting of July 9, 2008
Motion (Lee)/Second (Leal) to approve as submitted
Ayes: 5; Noes: 0. Motion passed.
AGENDA CHANGES AND DISCUSSION:
None
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS:
None
REGULAR AGENDA:
(4A.) Discussion on Development of Identification Signage for Public Arts Projects
Commissioner Leal stated that it is important to recognize public art projects in
some manner.
Commissioner Cervantes noted that the City and Commission should be given
credit for the positive effect of the program, and including a plaque on public art
projects would accomplish this.
The commission discussed a number of potential plaque concepts.",PublicArtCommission/2008-08-13.pdf
PublicArtCommission,2008-08-13,2,"Commissioner Leal noted that one of the public art pieces at Alameda Towne
Centre has a plaque acknowledging the City's contribution and offered to take
photographs that could be reviewed and used as the basis for discussion at a
future meeting.
Motion (Cervantes)/Second (Leal) to continue the item to the next
regular meeting to allow Commissioner Leal to photograph the plaque on
the public art at Alameda Towne Centre. The photographs would then be
distributed to the Board for review at its next meeting.
Ayes: 5; Noes: 0. Motion passed.
(4B.)
Archiving Public Art and identifying Appropriate Areas for Public Art in Alameda
A Subcommittee of the Public Art Commission was selected to draft a press
release and then route a draft of the press release to Jon Biggs in order to
have it reviewed by the appropriate City departments.
Commissioner Lee noted the importance of including those who had their public
art projects reviewed by the Commission in this process.
Commissioner Ibsen said a data base would be helpful in identifying future public
art locations.
Commissioners indicated they had provided the locations of all public art they
were aware of and it would be helpful to enlist the public in identifying other
locations. A press release to enlist the help of the public was suggested.
Motion (Lee)/Second (Candelario) to continue the item to a future meeting to
allow a subcommittee of the Public Arts Commission to draft a press release
requesting the public's assistance in identifying existing public art locations that
staff could have reviewed by appropriate City departments.
Ayes: 5; Noes: 0. Motion passed.
Subcommittee: Commissioners Leal and Ibsen
(4C). Discussion on Development of Artist Resource List
The Commission discussed what should be included in the resource list but
noted that keeping such a list up-to-date would require significant resources.
Commissioner Ibsen suggested that a web based resource list would be the best
approach because it could be updated without need of printing new copies of the
document each time it was updated.
G:\PLANNINGIPAC\Agendas_Minutes\Minutes_08\8-13-08 draft minutes.doc
2",PublicArtCommission/2008-08-13.pdf
PublicArtCommission,2008-08-13,3,"Following a discussion on the purpose and audience of the resource list, the
Commissioners agreed it should not only be for those who need to develop a
public art project, but also be designed to accommodate the needs of patrons to
the arts.
Motion (Cervantes)/Secono (Lee) to continue the item to a future meeting to
allow staff an opportunity to check on the possibility of having an intern work on
the development of a web-based artist resource list.
Ayes: 5; Noes: 0. Motion passed.
STAFF COMMUNICATIONS:
Staff reported.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS:
None
COMMISSIONER COMMUNICATIONS:
Commissioner Cervantes accepted a new job and would be leaving the area, but would
attend the September meeting.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Biggs, Planning Services Manager/Secretary
Public Art Commission
G:\PLANNINGIPACIAgendas_Minutes\Minutes_08\8-13-08 draft minutes.doc
3",PublicArtCommission/2008-08-13.pdf