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Home My WebLink About2024-03-21 st MINUTES OF THE 661 REGULAR MEETING OF THE MUNICIPAL LIBRARY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA MARCH 21, 2024 6:30 P.M. ROLL CALL ATTENDEES: Carol Bagazinski, Mary Morrison, Carrie Ryckman and Claire Sheldon ATTENDEES EXCUSED: None ALSO PRESENT: Kristen Edson, Library Director Margaret Hainsworth, Program Supervisor Nicole Lane, Assistant Branch Librarian APPROVAL OF MINUTES On a motion by C. Bagazinski, seconded by C. Ryckman, and unanimously adopted, it was: th #06-24 RESOLVED, that the minutes of the 660 Regular Meeting of the Library Commission of the City of Livonia held February 15, 2024, are hereby approved as submitted. PUBLIC COMMENTS A member of the audience commented that he was highly disappointed the new roof in the atrium will not be windows, but a covered roof instead. REPORTS BY THE DIRECTOR 5.1 Financial Reports – Program Supervisor M. Hainsworth spoke briefly about the library’s monthly budget report which summarized revenue collections and expenditures for the library through the end of February 2024. Hainsworth informed the commissioners they would be receiving a more detailed copy of the library’s monthly expenses moving forward. 5.2 Programs and Services Report – Library Director K. Edson  Program Features: The Great Michigan Read program has been popular with the book, Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience, consistently being Page | 1 checked out. There were 13 preschools that had tables at our Preschool Open House with a total of 151 people attending. Some of our other programs that were well attended were Detroit’s Lost Amusement Parks, Behind the Scenes of nd History: The Straits of Mackinac, Cat Café for Teens, the Orphan Train and our 2 Annual Livonia Public Library Seed Swap/Exchange. Our book clubs, craft programs and storytimes continue to have loyal attendees each month.  Upcoming Programs: Invitations were sent to various community agencies asking them to participate in the library’s first Different Abilities Fair for Families. Some other upcoming programs are a Smokey the Bear Reading Challenge, a Jigsaw Puzzle Tournament, another Senior Tech Support Night, and a Solar Eclipse program given by a NASA ambassador.  Outreach Committee: Karen Smith held her first meeting with the Outreach Committee. They worked on standardizing procedures for all library events to make it easier for staff to attend or conduct activities outside the library. They are also working on adapting the existing LOL! (Librarians-on-the-Loose!) school visit program requests to open availability to requests from any outside group.  Livonia Youth Summit: Edson and K. Smith attended the Livonia Youth Summit.  Greenleaf Commission: Edson attended the February meeting of the Greenleaf Commission. They would like to explore partnerships with the library such as battery recycling, pollinator gardens and low maintenance grass. We hope to have discussions in the future.  One City One Book 2025: Paige Plant, Head of Adult Services, presented two books to the Library Commission for the 2025 One City One Book program and asked if they had a preference. The commission agreed to support Plant’s preference which is the book Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery 5.3 Facilities Report – Library Director K. Edson  DPW: The Michigan Room received a new coat of paint and new glass boards were installed in each of the meeting rooms.  Energy Management System Replacement: The project is in the final stages, but there are still a couple of new blower motors that need to be replaced.  Chiller Project: Council approval has been received to begin purchasing the mechanical equipment to build the new chiller, but lead times are still 12 - 18 months out. The design documents are still being worked on by DPW and the mechanical engineer before they can go out to bid for a contractor. This means we will still have the temporary chiller in place for another year.  HUD Funding: We received a $100,000.00 grant to put towards the cost of making our restrooms ADA compliant. 5.4 Miscellaneous – Library Director K. Edson  Grant Elementary School Library Reading Night: The library hosted Grant Elementary School for their annual Reading Night. Those who attended learned about the library, received a tour, and had the opportunity to play with five items Page | 2 that can be checked out from our Library of Things. There were 101 people who attended, and we issued ten new library cards.  Food for Thought: In a partnership with Gleaners Food Bank, the library will collect canned goods which will in turn forgive fines on patron accounts. One item will erase $2.50 in fines, but we will not forgive fees for lost or damaged books. The program will take place through April 26.  Executime: We are working through the setup questions and issues with the vendor, other city departments, and the city’s consultant. It’s a bit slow going, but the new timekeeping system will be very beneficial.  Training: Nathan Shaw was awarded a stipend from the Library of Michigan to attend PLA in Columbus, OH. Cathy Moeller and Edson will also attend. All librarians have completed the Mel Maven badge which is a five-hour course on all Mel provided resources.  Employee Policy Handbook: We have made considerable headway with the employee policy handbook. Our initial draft has been sent to the Civil Service Department for their review. We hope to have the policies fully approved by the time we are implementing the new timekeeping software.  Strategic Plan: The draft plan has been approved by Edson and the Mayor’s office. Library IQ is now working on the design elements and the final plan should be ready to be presented to the commission at the April meeting.  Technology: We have now migrated to TBS for our print management software. The move included the much-requested mobile printing option.  Marketing: Branch Manager and PR Committee Lead Nicole Lane shared statistics from a popular Facebook post about the Seed Library - there were 2300 likes, 112 comments, and 438 shares. The Seed Library acquired over 30 new members by the end of the month, and many seed packets were checked out. A new campaign called New Book Tuesday will be highlighted on the library’s Facebook and Instagram platforms. Lane said the PR Committee is working hard to try and “build a brand” for the library. The library has secured the services of a local graphic design company, Bold Media, to refresh the look of the library’s newsletter.  Library Website: Children’s Librarian II, Julie Novak continues to make updates to the content on the library’s website. Most notably is the new Library of Things landing page and an ADA page so that visitors can get an idea of what we do offer. We also added language at the top of our event pages to assist with special accommodation requests such as the need for an ASL interpreter.  Staff Training Day: Edson is working on bringing back a yearly staff training day. She received a quote from Zingerman’s ZingTrain to conduct a one-day workshop on The Art of Giving Great Customer Service and Effective Change Management. On a motion by C. Sheldon, seconded by, C. Ryckman and unanimously adopted, it was: #07-24 RESOLVED, that the Livonia Library Commission pay the workshop fee of $6500.00 to ZingTrain with funds from the Library Commission Trust Fund, #271.285.274 for a library staff one-day training to take place on Thursday, October 31, 2024. Page | 3 FRIENDS REPORT After the Michigan Room was painted and a glassboard installed on one of the walls, Edson decided not to re-hang all the pictures that had previously been on display. The pictures belonged to the Friends of the Library, so Edson asked if they would like to have them back. The Friends agreed and are thinking of selling them at their next book sale. COMMITTEE REPORTS C. Bagazinski shared that any other work on the bylaws will be put on hold until after the workshop with Claire Membiela from the Library of Michigan. C. Sheldon offered to join the Bylaws Committee and fill the vacancy resulting from the resignation of David Parr. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 8.1 Bennett Civic Center Library Roofing Project: Edson informed the commission that David Lear, Assistant City Engineer, will now be our point of contact on the roof project. We should receive another timeline for the project once Lear has been brought up to speed. NEW BUSINESS 9.1 Acceptance of Donations – Edson reported the following donations were received this month: $40.00 from Sharon Scott in memory of Patricia Deters; $7,000.00 from Friends of the Livonia Library. On a motion by C. Sheldon, seconded by, C. Bagazinski and unanimously adopted, it was: #08-24 RESOLVED, that the Livonia Library Commission gratefully accepts the following donations: $40.00 from Sharon Scott in memory of Patricia Deters; $7,000.00 from Friends of the Livonia Library. 9.2 Election of Officers: M. Morrison said she would like to move the discussion on electing new officers to next month’s meeting, after the workshop with C. Membiela from the Library of Michigan and once the bylaws have been completed. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Morrison attended the movie showing of Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience which included a Q & A session with the filmmaker. She wanted to acknowledge Paige Plant who organized the program, and said she enjoyed the movie Page | 4 as well as the discussion which was very informative. Mary was very happy overall with our participation in this year’s Great Michigan Read. C. Sheldon wanted to recognize Michelle Stiennon for her work on supporting the Japanese immersion school Niji-Iro. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:26 p.m. NEXT MEETING Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED _________________________________ Mary Morrison, Library Commission Chair ____________________________________________ Kristen Edson, Library Director Page | 5