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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-11-20specialboardpacketIf you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Elyse Miller, Iowa City Public Library, at 319-887-6003 or elyse-miller@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. 1 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES June 11, 2020 Electronic Special Meeting - 5:00 pm ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8) An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19. You can participate in the meeting and can comment on an agenda item by joining the Zoom meeting via the internet by going to: : https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0sd- CprTovGNMxZs6y3FbvkgHVqD55utKk If you are asked for a meeting ID, enter 991 0913 1527 to enter a “Waiting Room” for the meeting. If you do not have a computer or smartphone, or a computer without a microphone, you may call in by telephone by dialing (312) 626-6799. When prompted, enter the meeting ID: 991 0913 1527. Providing comments in person is not an option. If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Elyse Miller, Iowa City Public Library, at 319-887-6003 or elyse-miller@icpl.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. 2 LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES June 11, 2020 Electronic Special Meeting - 5:00 pm ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM Wesley Beary, President John Beasley, Secretary Kellee Forkenbrock Derek Johnk Carol Kirsch, Vice-President Robin Paetzold Tom Rocklin Hannah Shultz Monique Washington 1. Call Meeting to Order. 2. Public Discussion. 3. Items to be discussed. A. July 3, 2020 Holiday Hours of Service. Comment: Pursuant to Section 812.2 of Policy 802: Hours of Service, exceptions to hours changes must be approved on a case-by-case basis. Staff wish to close the Library on Friday, July 3, instead of using the Holiday Staffing model, a change from the current, stated schedule. Board action required. B. Circulation Update. Comment: A report about current circulation service will be provided. C. Collection Services Report. Comment: A report on the Library’s response to the current events surrounding Black Lives Matter, policing, etc. via circulating materials. D. Fines and Fees Report. Comment: A report on fine and fees related to COVID-19 closure will be presented. E. Computer Committee Return to Work Report. Comment: An outline will be presented on the reintroduction of limited computer access while the building is closed. 4. Director’s Report. 5. Adjournment. FY21 Downtown Building Calendar July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 2020 Day Date Description Hours Staffing Friday July 3 Independence Day Observed Open 10-6 Closed Holiday Staffing Remote Drop Only Saturday July 4 Independence Day Closed Remote Drop Only Monday September 7 Labor Day Closed Remote Drop only Wednesday November 11 Veterans Day Open 10-6 Holiday Staffing Wednesday November 25 Thanksgiving Eve Open 10-5 Regular Staffing Thursday November 26 Thanksgiving Closed Remote Drop only Friday November 27 City Holiday Open 10-6 Holiday Staffing Friday December 11 Inservice Day Closed All Staff Attend Thursday December 24 Designated Holiday Open 10-4 Holiday Staffing Friday December 25 Christmas Day Closed Remote Drop only Thursday December 31 New Year’s Eve Open 10-5 Regular Staffing 2021 Friday January 1 New Year's Day Closed Remote Drop only Monday January 18 MLK Day Open 10-6 Holiday Staffing Monday February 15 Presidents’ Day Open 10-6 Holiday Staffing Monday May 31 Memorial Day Closed Remote Drop only The Bookmobile calendar is posted at least three times a year and roughly coincides with the school year: summer, fall semester, and spring semester. Circulation of Materials Update: June 9, 2020 Team: Todd Brown, Terri Byers, McKenzie Edwards, Alyssa Hanson, Tom Jordan, Heidi Kuchta, Anne Mangano, Romona Murrell, Frannie Owens, Larry Parks, Angie Pilkington The Circulation of Materials Team met today to review how curbside and mailing were going and what we can improve or change. Since starting curbside and mailing holds on June 4th, we have expanded the number of curbside pickup slots from 5 to 10 each half hour. This increased staff preparation time, but curbside hours seem to be going well with almost all slots filled Thursday-Monday. Due to a planned demonstration on the Pedestrian Mall on June 6, our first Saturday of curbside pick-up, we canceled curbside. We believed access to our building, especially by drivers, would be impacted. We will continue to monitor events downtown and make changes to the schedule accordingly. The chart below shows our current statistics for mailing and curbside. We do not have a good way to determine the number of items that were mailed or picked up at curbside. It would involve a great deal of staff time to find this information as we would have to go through individual mail tickets or curbside appointment by appointment. We can pull this information together if requested. Date # of Patrons Using Mail (number of resolved LiveAgent tickets) # of Patrons Using Curbside (patron sign ups through Calendar) # of Items Checked Out Per Day (# of items in Sierra with check out date) June 2nd 77 Not available 145 June 3rd 35 Not available 103 June 4th 69 34 171 June 5th 84 55 314 June 8th 52 45 126 June 9th June 10th June 11th June 12th June 13th Upcoming decisions/changes Currently, curbside slots for the day close at noon. The team thinks this may be too early so we are going to test a rolling model with slots closing two hours ahead. For example, if a patron wants to sign up for curbside at 4pm, they have until 2pm that day to do so. We thought this would help fill some of the later time slots in the day. Beginning Thursday (6/11/20), we will do a soft opening for paging. This will be a happy surprise to patrons who wish to put a hold on an available book. Staff will run the paging list once in the morning and once in the afternoon. We will officially announce the increased service to the public on Monday, June 15. Patrons will be advised they may now place holds for items on the shelf to be picked up curbside or sent by mail. The Circulation Team will meet again in one week to discuss an overview and review of how curbside and mailing is going and what we can improve or change. Collection Services Department: Collection Update Prepared for the June 11th, 2020 Special Meeting of the Iowa City Public Library Board of Trustees Anne Mangano, Collection Services Coordinator When an issue or event resonates with our community, we are quick to respond with displays to help our patrons explore and make sense of it. It is apparent our community needs to listen to and learn about the Black experience in America, the need for reform in police departments and other public institutions, and how to be an anti-racist. During this pandemic, our in-house displays are not an option. A Staff Picks list may help make these materials more findable, but it doesn’t address the demand for titles on these issues. It is also more difficult to get copies of some of the most relevant titles and even more difficult to get them into the hands of our patrons. We need to find a new way to make these titles accessible. On Wednesday, June 3rd, we made a number of titles, including How to Be an Antiracist and White Fragility, always available in OverDrive, our provider for eBooks and digital audiobooks. As long as a patron lives in our service area, as well as Coralville and North Liberty, they can check these titles out on demand. No wait lists. These titles are now front and center on our OverDrive homepage as part of a racial justice reading list. * There was a resounding response from our community. In five days, 637 eBooks and audiobooks from the list below were checked out to patrons. Use of Always Available Social Justice Titles in OverDrive ***Data collected 6/9/2020 at 11am Title Author Kid’s Title Checkouts since 6/3/20 White Fragility Robin DiAngelo 263 How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi 163 I’m Still Here Austin Channing Brown 37 The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson 30 Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates 30 Me and White Supremacy Layla F. Saad 21 Just Mercy Brian Stevenson 20 The Water Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates 17 The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead 17 New Kid Jerry Craft * 15 The Color of Law Richard Rothstein 6 Harbor Me Jacqueline Woodson * 5 Biased Jennifer L. Eberhardt 4 Policing the Black Man Angela J. Davis 4 Brown Girl Dreaming Jacqueline Woodson * 2 The Souls of Black Folk W.E.B. Du Bois 2 Hair Love Matthew A. Cherry / Vashti Harrison * 1 In addition to offering always available titles, Anne Wilmoth, our children’s librarian, created a list of books on OverDrive, both for adults and children, that speak to racial justice and equity. We are also adding weekly reading and viewing lists on our Staff Picks page. * Not all titles are available in cost per use from OverDrive, but we tried to offer what is there. Fines and Fees Details Related to COVID-19 Closure At the May Board meeting, information about fines and fees related to the COVID -19 closure was requested. This document provides relevant data, specifically organized around the questions Board members asked. The data below is intended to inform the discussion about existing fines and fees from the beginning of the calendar year, the fiscal year, and in total. ICPL went fine-free for Children’s and Teen materials on June 1, 2019. This decision was based, in part, on a community study that used geo mapping to overlay free and reduced lunch eligibility and library cards blocked due to fines (using addresses). This overlay showed low- income patrons were disproportionally affected by fines. The library is committed to continue finding ways to reduce barriers to access and ensure all community members can use the Iowa City Public Library. Assessed but not paid January 1, 2020 - June 8, 2020 In response to the question: What fines and fees were charged from the beginning of the calendar year up to our closure? (We have pushed back all due dates on anything that was due during our closure to the middle of July.) Fines: $8,628.95 Fees: $6,491.50 Total: $15,120.45 Assessed but not paid July 1, 2019 - June 8, 2020 In response to the question: What fines and fees were charged from the beginning of the fiscal year up to our closure? (We have pushed back all due dates on anything that was due during our closure to the middle of July.) Fines: $24,254.10 Fees: $31,654.00 Total: $55,908.10 Total currently assessed but not paid In response to the question: What is the total accrued value of fines and fees on all cards? Fines: $233,636.70 Fees: $321,808.25 Total: $555,444.95 Fines paid 07-07-2014 to present: In response to the question: How much revenue comes in from fines? Fines: $381,482.11 Fees: $70,204.50 Total: $451,686.61 1 Computer Access Committee Update: June 9, 2020 This document outlines the plans for reintroducing a limited computer access service during our building closure caused by Covid-19 pandemic. It should be noted that this service is being rolled out after our curbside service and will be contingent upon the viability of that service. This service could be suspended or discontinued for a variety of reasons including staff availability, logistical problems and the availability of PPE or cleaning supplies. On the other hand, if we determine that we can reliably increase the capacity of the service after rollout, we will attempt to do so. In many ways, we are viewing the Computer Access Service as an intermediate step to allowing other access to the building at a later date. Service Parameters • Hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 10:00-12:00, 2:30-4:30 • Capacity: 12 stations (with possibility to expand to 15) • Session Length: 1/2 Hour, rolling sessions, no extensions. One session per day. • Registration: No advance signup. Walk-ins only. • Signage: outside of the doors and/or near the staff “desk” will indicate whether there are open computers available and the guidelines for using the service. • Sign-In: Patrons sign in with library card as usual. Guest passes available as they enter. Headphones and charging cords are available for checkout. These items are placed into a bin as the patron exits the space. • Printing: (Initially) Free printing. Black and white only. Staff releases the print job to printer. Patron can retrieve it from the printer. Currently there are no limits on number of pages. • Timeline: As early as 2 weeks after curbside starts. Actual start date is still being discussed. Space/Flow Rooms A, B, and C combined will be used. Computer stations will be spaced out in 3 rows of 4 stations using existing tables. Chairs from the tweens space will be brought in (they are hard plastic making them easier to clean). Patrons enter from east lobby doors and stop in at the staff desk in front of Room B doorway. To exit the meeting rooms, patrons use the double doors that exit to the bike rack area. Doors to the meeting room hallway will be marked as staff only. Patrons may also use the restrooms. While using the computers, if patrons need to use the restrooms, then need to exit through to double doors and circle around to the east lobby entrance. Efforts will be made to prevent patrons from loitering in the lobby. This could include removing seating from the lobby, posting signs, using retractable stanchions and caution tape, etc. Cleaning Protocol Staff will clean all the computer stations before and after each shift and each computer station between patron uses. After each shift, all equipment checkouts such as headphones, charging cords should be cleaned and returned to the “cleaned” bin. Staffing To start, there will be two Shifts Monday-Friday, 9:30-12:30, 2:00-5:00. Two different staff members, one for each shift, probably pulled from curbside team. Policies/Procedures Requiring Masks Masks will be required to enter the computer access area. Disposable masks will be provided if they don’t have one. Patrons who indicate that they can't wear a mask for medical reasons or very young children can be exempt. 2 Allowing multiple computer users Only two people will be allowed at each computer station. Scheduling Access (Signup) and session length There are several reasons why the committee decided to forego a signup process. First, given the tentative nature of the service, setting up a registration system may be a lot of effort for possibly a small amount of time. Second, any signup process would tend to exclude those without reliable access to internet or phone (arguably the people we are most likely to serve). Third, we have no idea just how popular this service will be. For those reasons, we decided that a low-tech solution of just having signage that indicates that we are open and/or that computers are available makes the most sense. If this system does not work, we can investigate a signup station just inside the lobby where patrons can walk up, sign up for an open slot, and return. Session Limits The short session length and session limit is based not so much on managing a limited resource but to try and limit the amount of time any one patron is in the space. Our assumption is the longer an infected person is in the space, the more likely they will infect others. Staff Helping Patrons while using Public Computers It will be inevitable that patrons will ask for help at the computers whatever solution(s) we adopt. We have discussed using one or more tools for patrons to ask for help from staff without approaching the desk and for staff to help patrons remotely. We are looking into possible tools but our idea is generally, that a patron indicates a need for help and the staff member can virtually help the patron by requesting to see the screen and using the mouse to show the person how to do it. However, it should be noted that it may not be practical. Young Users Based on direction from the State Library law librarian, banning children is against the Library Bill of Rights and we should not limit their use of library services even during the pandemic. Weather Procedure This still needs to be worked out. We may decide to close the service early on days when stormy weather begins to manifest itself. Protest Procedure This also needs to be determined If staff safety or building security is threatened, we need procedures for ending the service.