Minutes

LIBRARY CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Draft Minutes

Meeting of June 18, 2008

Room 278, City Hall

San Francisco, California

Chair Sue Cauthen called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM.

Roll Call: Present: Ted Bamberger, Enne Braun, Sue Cauthen, Lucille Cuttler, Linda Guitron, Carlyn Halde, Margaret Lee, Neil Mills, Clarice Moody, Michael Olinger, Jan Seeman, Peter Warfield, Dan Weaver.

Absent:  Roger Kallen, Douglas Ryan, Jenny Situ, Gladys Soto.

Minutes: Joanna Schaller agreed to take the minutes for this meeting. Charles Moody, husband of member Clarice Moody, volunteered to monitor the tape recorder.

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

Budget Update Presentation by San Francisco City Librarian

City Librarian Luis Herrera spoke about the fiscal year 2008-2009 library budget. He distributed a handout highlighting aspects of the budget for members to review. He reiterated the 8% increase over last year’s budget. Despite the city-wide budget cuts and lay-offs, the library is not as negatively impacted as other city departments because of the library set-aside. Mr. Herrera emphasized this year’s service enhancements, including: four neighborhood branches adding an an additional day of service; increased library outreach to underserved communities; creation of new full-time and half-time positions; $1 million increase in the book and materials budget; improved technology through new public computers, laptop lending program, and increased internet bandwidth. He repeated that the $14 million reserve in the set-aside provided a cushion in developing the library’s budget and can also be used for operational needs as they arise. Overall, Mr. Herrera believes the library’s budget is strong and has a good chance of approval by the supervisors. However, he encouraged LCAC members to state their views on the budget at the mass public comment being held at City Hall on June 19.

The meeting recessed from 7:09 PM to 7:18 PM.

Annual Report and BOS Outreach

Chair Cauthen distributed an Executive Summary to the Annual Report for members to review and discuss. There is still debate about what to include in the annual report, which will consist of the Executive Summary, the roster of LCAC members, resolutions passed, and possibly copies of the year’s minutes. There was discussion about (1) creating an LCAC staff position to assist with maintenance of LCAC’s public records and other administrative duties, (2) requesting a specific amount of money for expenses, (3) website improvement to showcase LCAC to the public, and (4) making the Annual Report available electronically to conserve paper.

It was suggested that the next LCAC meeting agenda include brainstorming ideas for community outreach to increase public awareness of the LCAC and encourage public attendance at LCAC meetings. A push for better website exposure is step one.

Warfield moved and Halde seconded a motion to take a roll call vote on the Executive Summary of the Annual Report. After discussion and amendment, members approved the Executive Summary unanimously.

Yes: Bamberger, Cauthen, Cuttler, Guitron, Halde, Lee, Mills, Moody, Olinger, Seeman, Warfield, Weaver. Motion carried 12-0.

Officer Reports

Chair Cauthen discussed the departure of member Doug Ryan who is beginning college in the fall; free business cards for LCAC members; and literacy programs sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. It was suggested that discussion of these programs (such as The Big Read, To Read or Not To Read, and Reading at Risk) be included on next month’s LCAC meeting agenda for discussion and to encourage SFPL participation.

Vice Chair Cuttler discussed the issue of replacing missing SFPL books. The LCAC passed a resolution requesting action about two years ago. An agenda item at the next LCAC meeting should be to follow-up on this resolution since its status remains uncertain. The LCAC will request a report from the missing books task force, to find out when the study will be complete and to urge the task force to take action, if necessary.

New Ideas

Neil Mills discussed the issue of bathrooms at the Chinatown library. At one of the SFPL’s busiest branches, there are few bathrooms, and they are oftentimes out of service. A discussion of this issue and how to keep the bathrooms better maintained will be put on the next LCAC meeting agenda.

There was also discussion of how resolutions should be presented in the minutes. Alternatives mentioned were: (1) including the “resolved” clause (i.e., the action taken) in the body of the minutes and attaching the entire text of the resolution at the end or (2) including the entire text of the resolution in the body of the mnutes.

Minutes: Weaver moved to approve the minutes of the May meeting, with Cuttler seconding. The minutes were approved as amended by a vote of 10-2.

Yes: Bamberger, Cauthen, Cuttler, Guitron, Halde, Lee, Mills, Moody, Olinger, Weaver.

No: Warfield, Seeman.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, 2008, at 6:00 PM in Room 278 of City Hall.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:23 PM.