Minutes

LIBRARY CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Minutes

Meeting of April 16, 2008

Room 278, City Hall

San Francisco, California

Chair Sue Cauthen called the meeting to order at 6:08 PM.

Roll Call: Present: Ted Bamberger, Enne Braun, Sue Cauthen, Lucille Cuttler, Carlyn Halde, Roger Kallen, Margaret Lee, Jan Seeman.

Absent:  Clarice Moody, Douglas Ryan, Jenny Situ, Gladys Soto, Peter Warfield, Dan Weaver.

Minutes: Joanna Schaller agreed to take the minutes for this meeting.

General Public Comment: There was no public comment at this time.

Chair Cauthen welcomed three new library appointees: Michael Olinger (technology delegate), Neil Mills (disabled representative) and Linda Guitron (schools representative). LCAC members introduced themselves.

Two members of the public were present: David Singleton, husband of the meeting’s presenter and SFPL budget manager, Maureen Singleton, and Henry Pan, potential candidate for the District 3 seat.

Presentation by San Francisco Public Library: Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Budget

Maureen Singleton, budget manager for the San Francisco Public Library, spoke about the library’s 2008-2009 budget. She discussed the city’s budget and the potential city-wide reductions because of state budget cuts. Every city department has been asked to cut their budget by an additional 8%, following earlier cuts totaling 13%. For the library, this amounts to about $3.2 million. Ms. Singleton is not sure exactly what will be cut from the library’s budget, but most likely downsizing would occur in services to be expanded in FY 08-09 and not from services currently in existence and actively operating. For example, certain library branches that had increased hours this past year will not be affected. However, increased hours that were proposed at other branches might not be implemented if funds to hire additional personnel were eliminated. Thus, the library would not be able to achieve increased hours at the same increased rate it had hoped for this upcoming year. Instead, the expansion of library services would be rolled out more slowly. Other potential services that could be cut include vending machines for books in some branches, and bookmobile services.

Since labor is the most expensive cost in most city departments, the biggest cutback city-wide will be elimination of full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). At the library, 10.3 FTEs would be cut. These cuts would be primarily employees working in the extended hours project, and in youth services, as well as a new School District library position. Libraries recently reopened and branches being renovated would not be impacted. Employees at those branches are already covered in the budget and would not be eliminated.

Ms. Singleton passed out copies of the current draft FY 2008-2009 budget and discussed the library set-aside: money collected from property taxes authorized by Proposition D and designated exclusively for the library. Funds from the Prop D set-aside are not being used now, but will be used in future years.

It was suggested that LCAC members contact their supervisors and let them know how important the library and its services are, and voice any concerns members might have with the proposed budget cuts.

After the presentation, there was discussion concerning the set-aside, and Chair Cauthen recommended that LCAC draft a proposal. After discussion and amendment, Chair Cauthen proposed the following resolution, with Carlyn Halde seconding:

The Library Citizens Advisory Committee is mindful that the public voted twice to set aside funds for library services, and the Library Citizens Advisory Committee therefore strongly objects to any action that would reduce funds for proposed service enhancements.

Yes: Bamberger, Braun, Cauthen, Cuttler, Halde, Kallen, Lee, Olinger, Mills, Guitron.

No: Seeman.

Motion carried 10 to 1.

Link+/Inter-Library Loan:

The next item on the agenda was the new Link+ book lending system, and the older system still in place: Inter-Library Loan. The lost book fee of $115 per book is highly contested, and the issue will go before the Library Commission in early May, and later to the Board of Supervisors. Many people think the fee is too high and creates barriers to access library resources, while others believe that books are highly valuable and a high fee is necessary to compel patrons to return books. The library is now proposing that patrons who lose books simply replace the book and pay a $5 processing fee. Alternatively, the lost fee can be negotiated.

The meeting recessed from 7:20 to 7:26 PM.

Chair Cauthen proposed a resolution concerning Link+. As amended, the last clause of the Draft resolution reads as follows:

Therefore be it resolved that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Library Citizens Advisory Committee supports the Link+ system and recommends that the San Francisco Library Commission approve it and that the Link+ consortium permit SFPL to charge its standard late fees for Link+ books that are overdue, and that fines and fees are clearly stated both when the book is ordered and when it is checked out.

Halde moved to accept the resolution, as amended, and Cuttler seconded.

Yes: Bamberger, Braun, Cauthen, Cuttler, Halde, Kallen, Lee, Seeman, Olinger, Mills, Guitron.

Motion carried 11 to 0.

Public Comment: Henry Pan commented that he thinks the $115 lost book fee is too high.

Officer Reports included a welcome address to the LCAC’s new members, and a discussion of the Annual Report due June 30 to the Board of Supervisors. Ted Bamberger is going to learn about library services available to and specifically for seniors, and he will report back to the committee. There was discussion about possible LCAC outreach and marketing for the library to further publicize the library’s services. Margaret Lee reported on her efforts towards enhancing Multilingual Services. After talking with the community and receiving feedback, Margaret received suggestions such as providing more space in and outside libraries for reading, more computers and longer access periods, more bookmobiles, and more reading clubs.

Branch Library Improvement Program:

There was discussion about the status of the Memorandum of Understanding between SFPL and DPW (Department of Public Works) on the branch improvement project. Chair Cauthen proposed a resolution urging the Department of Public Works and the San Francisco Public Library to work out the financial aspects and come to an agreement. The committee decided that more background on the subject is needed before passing a resolution. Since City Librarian Luis Herrera is supposed to report back to the Library CAC soon on the progress of the Memorandum of Understanding, the committee will wait until that report is heard before passing a resolution on this matter.

Seeman left the meeting at 8 PM.

Minutes: Kallen moved to approve the minutes for the March, 2008, meeting, with Cuttler seconding. The motion passed 10 to 0.

Yes: Bamberger, Braun, Cauthen, Cuttler, Halde, Kallen, Lee, Olinger, Mills, Guitron.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 21, 2008, at 6:00 PM in Room 278 of City Hall. 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:12 PM.