The Gwinnett County Public Library Board of Trustees held its regularly scheduled meeting on June 13, 2011 at the Collins Hill Branch.  Present were Board members Phillip Saxton-Chair, Betty Atkinson-Vice Chair, Babs Wagoner-Secretary, Suzanne Skeen-Treasurer, and Dick Goodman.  Administrative staff members present were Nancy Stanbery-Kellam-Executive Director, Liz Forster-Deputy Director, Jane Walters-Business Services Director, Barbara Spruill-Branch Services Director, Deb George-Materials Management Director, and Pamela Covington-Administrative Assistant.  Other administrative staff was also in attendance.  Phillip called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.

 

Proclamation for Phyllis Oxendine

Phillip read a proclamation to recognize Phyllis Oxendine for over six years of service on the Library Board of Trustees.  Phyllis had to resign from the Board due to health issues.  Since Phyllis was unable to attend the meeting, the Proclamation will be delivered to her.

 

Election for Board of Trustees Chairperson

Motion by Skeen to elect Phillip Saxton as Chair, seconded by Atkinson, unanimous.  Motion by Skeen to elect Betty Atkinson as Vice Chair, seconded by Wagoner, unanimous.  Philip Saxton, Board Chair, appointed Suzanne Skeen as Treasurer.

 

Comments by Phillip Saxton, Board of Trustees Chair

Phillip shared his vision for the future of the library.

 

Report by Nancy Stanbery-Kellam, Executive Director

Hamilton Mill Branch

The Hamilton Mill Branch has been honored again as one of only ten libraries in the nation to be named a New Landmark Library by Library Journal.  LJ calls these libraries ”showcase buildings that will help shape libraries for the next generation and beyond”.  This is an enormous honor for GCPL, Gwinnett and Georgia.  Also, the Hamilton Mill Branch has been  selected for the 2011 AIA Atlanta Tours.  The tour will be on August 20 from 2:00 – 5:00 PM. 

 

  

For Dummies Contest

GCPL won the For Dummies Contest thanks to the 5,002 wonderful For Dummies Facebook fans.  When the contest started, there were 1,600 Dummies books in print, and now there are 1,750. 

Love Your Library Week

Love Your Library Week is celebrated every year during April.  Customers have the opportunity to express how much they love the library.  Nancy shared comments from customers expressing how the library has made a difference in their life.  

Altered Book Contest & Barefoot in the Park Arts Festival

For the third year, the library partnered with Hudgens Center for the Arts for the Altered Book Contest.  Several schools had art class students participate.  This year the library also worked with the Duluth Barefoot in the Park Arts Festival.  The library unveiled Pulp Fashion:  The Novel Art of Paper Dresses.  Librarians designed and made fashions entirely from repurposed books and magazines.  The dresses are on display with the Altered Books Exhibit at Hudgens. 

Events/Programs

Prevent Blindness Georgia held vision screenings at the Lawrenceville and Norcross branch.  A total of 206 children ages 5 – 16 attended. 

Upcoming Author Events

-Friday, July 1, 7:00 PM: Author Karin Slaughter, Barnes & Noble, The Forum, Norcross

-Sunday, July 17, 2:00 PM: Friends of the Library Baseball Book Signing Event, Coolray Field

-Monday, July 25, 7:00 PM: Author John Hart, Norcross Cultural Arts & Community Center

Miscellaneous

-Nancy reported an elderly lady, who was a self-professed non-reader, went to a branch to get a library card just to be able to go to library night at the Aurora Theatre for a discounted price.  One of the branches has reported her continued use of the library.

-Nancy shared a comment from a customer utilizing the library’s Personal Finance Lib Guide.

-Nancy complimented Betty Atkinson for visiting all 15 branches and attending the Altered Book Reception.

 

Report by Amy Billings, Events & Outreach Manager

2011 Teen Summit

The first Teen Summit held on Saturday, April 15 was very successful with 205 attending.  The purpose of the event was to provide a forum for teens, mentors and parents to learn, share and grow.  The summit was a combination of large group activities and smaller, more intimate workshops.  Twenty sponsors and partners helped make the summit possible, from Aurora Theatre providing the event space, to program presenters and donated prizes.  A poll was conducted at the end of the summit to get feedback from teens:  on a scale of 1-10, participants rated the summit an 8 for relevancy, an 8 for imparting new information and a 9 when asked if they would attend again in the future.  Out of the 12 sessions, 9 of them came up as someone’s favorite.  When asked how they learned about the Teen Summit, the most popular answer was “at the library.”

 

 

Summer Reading Program (SRP)

The 2011 Summer Reading Program, “One World, Many Stories”, is off to a great start with registration up 14% from last year.  SRP is a reading incentive program that encourages students to practice their reading skill over the summer by promoting free voluntary reading time.  Each child that reaches their goal will receive a free book.  Over 1,500 attended the SRP kickoff programs with Musician Eric Litwin and Magician Keith Karnok.  Each of the 15 library branches had a puppet show with a total attendance of 3,000, up 22% from last year.  For the second year, the Path2College 529 Plan is working with Georgia libraries during the 2011 SRP.  Participates can enter the Destination College Savings Sweepstakes.  One lucky winner will receive a college savings plan for $5,529.  Library systems are also eligible to win $5,529 by having the most sweepstakes entries. 

 

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Motion by Atkinson to approve the March 14, 2011 Meeting Minutes as distributed, seconded by Skeen, unanimous.

 

FY2012 Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule

Phillip reported Board members will be meeting on Saturday at the Administrative office for a Tools for Trustees Training Workshop.  At the workshop, the Board will determine the need for any additional meetings/workshops.  If needed, the schedule will be revised.  Motion by Atkinson to approve the FY2012 Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule, seconded by Skeen, unanimous.

 

Financial Statement – April 30, 2011

Jane reported the library’s 2011 fiscal year is almost over and the library has projected a year end decrease in the general fund balance to be no greater than $500,000.  Jane discussed the Financial Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balance – Actual and Budget for the seven months ended April 30, 2011.  The April excess of revenues over expenditures of $2,781,871 mainly represents the unspent portion of the April quarterly subsidy ($4,029,517) from the County.  The excess of revenues over expenditures will decrease during the last two months of FY2011 as the quarterly funding is spent.  Actual revenues totaled $19,752,072 or 98% of the total revenue budget.  Total expenditures are $16,970,201 or 75% of the total expenditure budget.  The fund balance at April 30, 2011 of $10,105,583 increased $2,781,871 during this period due to the unspent portion of the County quarterly subsidy.  The fund balance includes the carryover encumbrance, replacement fund for technology equipment/infrastructure and vehicles, the operating contingency reserve, and the budgetary fund balance requirement.

 

FY2011 Budget Adjustments

FY2011 State Revenue

Georgia Public Library Service has set the final FY2011 State Grant funding for all State Libraries.  The library’s funding amount is $1,067,822.  The FY2011 funding is 6% less than the FY2010 funding.  In order to align the library budget with the State, a budget adjustment of $7,822 is necessary.  Motion by Wagoner to increase the State Grant Revenue budget and decrease the Fund Balance requirement by $7,822, seconded by Atkinson, unanimous.

FY2011 Grant Budget

The current “People & Stores/Gente y Cuentos” program, “Story Talk”, is a teen literature program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.  “Story Talk” is a reading and discussion project in English and Spanish for youth ages 14-18.  The library will present two program series by December 2012.  The grant provides training and travel reimbursement for two library staff members.  The total travel reimbursement equals $1,600.

Motion by Skeen to record the “People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos” grant increasing the grant revenue budget and increasing the operations expenditures by $1,600, seconded by Atkinson, unanimous.

 

FY2011 Committed Year End Replacement Fund Balance

The Library Replacement Fund Balance provides the resources for future replacement of library technology equipment/infrastructure and library vehicles.  At the end of each fiscal year, Board approval is needed to classify the Replacement Fund Balance as Committed for the specific purpose of replacing these library assets.  At June 30, 2011, the Replacement Fund Balance is determined at $2,081,019.  Motion by Goodman to classify the FY2011 year end Replacement Fund Balance of $2,081,019 as Committed to the specific purpose of replacing library assets, seconded by Wagoner, unanimous.

 

FY2012 Budget Workshop Items

Since the last meeting at the budget workshop, the library has been informed that the Georgia Health Insurance rate will remain at 18.534% for FY2012.  The library FY2012 proposed budget, included a rate of 20% based on available data.  This means the FY2012 budget for Health Insurance expense can be reduced by $151,348; also reducing the amount needed from the fund balance to balance the budget.   The adjustment has been made and the budget pages have been revised to reflect the change.

FY2012 Budget

Motion by Atkinson to adopt the Gwinnett County Public Library FY2012 Budget which includes Expenditures totaling $20,828,728, funded by estimated Revenue of $18,484,205 and Fund Balance Requirement of $2,344,523, seconded by Wagoner, unanimous.

 

Calendar Year 2012 Gwinnett County Funding Budget Request

Motion by Wagoner to approve the Minimum Library Budget Request of $16,118,068 for submission to Gwinnett County for the calendar year 2012 budget process, seconded by Skeen, unanimous.

 

Capital Improvement Request to Gwinnett County

Motion by Atkinson to approve the Library Capital Projects Plan for submission to Gwinnett County for the calendar year 2012 budget process, seconded by Wagoner, unanimous.

 

FY2012 State Grant

Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) administers State funding to Georgia libraries.  State funding is provided for professional librarian salaries/benefits, library materials and operations support.  For FY2012, State libraries have the option of restoring unfilled state positions.  GCPL has taken this opportunity to fill three state paid positions with existing staff.  These positions were unfilled and considered “conversion positions” where the library received $55,000 for each position.  For FY2012, filling these positions will reallocate the FY2012 State Funding, and will secure the paid positions for future years.  Motion by Wagoner to approve the filling of three state paid positions with existing staff for FY2012.  These positions were previously considered “conversion positions”, seconded by Goodman, unanimous.

 

Board Introductions

Phillip asked each Board Member to introduce themselves.  Suzanne Skeen is the Media Specialist at Parsons Elementary in Gwinnett County.  Suzanne helped open Parsons over 8 years ago.  Betty Atkinson was appointed to the Board in January 2011 by John Heard, District 4 Commissioner.  Betty is on the Board of Trustees for Hudgens Center for the Arts and Leadership Gwinnett.  Betty’s husband is a former County Commission Chair.  Dick Goodman was appointed to the Board by Charlotte Nash, Commission Chair.  Dick is a writer.  Dick is on the Suwanee City Council and a 2011-2012 participant of Leadership Gwinnett.  Babs Wagoner has served on the Board since January 2009.  Babs is a teacher and busy completing her Masters Degree in Education.  Reading is Babs’ passion. 

 

Motion by Wagoner to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 PM, seconded by Atkinson, unanimous.

 

Minutes submitted by Pamela Covington for Babs Wagoner, Board Secretary.