Board Minutes

 Des –Woodmont Library Advisory Board

Minutes: January 24, 2013 at Des Moines Library

Present: Tony Wilson, Robin Lamoureaux, Carol Van Baalen

The meeting was called to order at 7:10 by Tony Wilson, President.

Library Report: The library liaison to the board will be changing this year. Pauline Warden, cluster
manager, will take over this role. Four librarians in the cluster are retiring this year, including Barbara
Blue, managing librarian for Des Moines. Her retirement is effective February 1 st.

The Kent-Des Moines-Woodmont cluster will be transitioning to a new staffing model in July 2013. Carol
outlined the Future Services Strategy of KCLS, which includes 3 service areas: in the library, online,
and in the community. The new staffing model is being implemented to facilitate these new service
areas. Librarians will be spending more of their time out in the community. Key areas of focus for 2013
are to reach people who have never been to a library before and to engage with communities that are
disadvantaged and remain unseen in library service. Interviews are being conducted this month for
promotional opportunities to Public Services Assistant, a new position which will provide reference,
technical assistance, and customer service within the library. Training for these positions will begin in
early February. The Library Board will be a valuable source of community information as we transition
to these new roles and areas of service in the community.

Library 2 Go and the Mobile Learning Labs will be tools for the librarians to use in reaching out to the
community. Carol briefly described the Mobile Learning Labs: vehicles similar to Library 2 Go, but
outfitted with a computer lab. Staff are currently being trained in using the math and science units on
MLL with student groups. Other possible targets and/or uses are seniors, ESL and citizenship. Robin
suggested a site for MLL visits, when they begin later this year: an afterschool program at the Marcus
Whitman Church in Des Moines. Robin said that Parkside students go to Highline Community College
after school to use their computers. They might also be a possible community partner.

Carol discussed the Woodmont garden plans for 2013. One goal is to make it more of a community
garden. Robin shared some information about the Sonju Garden, which is close to Parkside Elementary.
She can put the library in touch with a parent who is active in the Sonju Garden. She also suggested the
Des Moines Food Bank, which is interested in community outreach and education.

Annual Report to the City: Tony will contact the city to ask for a date in late February or early March for
this report.

Goals for 2013: Provide input about community populations and possible partners; be active in making
the Woodmont garden a community garden; support library staff as they transition to the new staffing
model; invite speakers from KCLS administration to board meetings.

Other: Library Legislative Day is February 15. Registration is now open, and a KCLS bus will provide
transportation to Olympia for the day.

Carol Van Baalen, Community Liaison

Des Moines – Woodmont Libraries

Des –Woodmont Library Advisory Board

Minutes: January 24, 2013 at Des Moines Library

Present: Tony Wilson, Robin Lamoureaux, Carol Van Baalen

The meeting was called to order at 7:10 by Tony Wilson, President.

Library Report: The library liaison to the board will be changing this year. Pauline Warden, cluster
manager, will take over this role. Four librarians in the cluster are retiring this year, including Barbara
Blue, managing librarian for Des Moines. Her retirement is effective February 1 st.

The Kent-Des Moines-Woodmont cluster will be transitioning to a new staffing model in July 2013. Carol
outlined the Future Services Strategy of KCLS, which includes 3 service areas: in the library, online,
and in the community. The new staffing model is being implemented to facilitate these new service
areas. Librarians will be spending more of their time out in the community. Key areas of focus for 2013
are to reach people who have never been to a library before and to engage with communities that are
disadvantaged and remain unseen in library service. Interviews are being conducted this month for
promotional opportunities to Public Services Assistant, a new position which will provide reference,
technical assistance, and customer service within the library. Training for these positions will begin in
early February. The Library Board will be a valuable source of community information as we transition
to these new roles and areas of service in the community.

Library 2 Go and the Mobile Learning Labs will be tools for the librarians to use in reaching out to the
community. Carol briefly described the Mobile Learning Labs: vehicles similar to Library 2 Go, but
outfitted with a computer lab. Staff are currently being trained in using the math and science units on
MLL with student groups. Other possible targets and/or uses are seniors, ESL and citizenship. Robin
suggested a site for MLL visits, when they begin later this year: an afterschool program at the Marcus
Whitman Church in Des Moines. Robin said that Parkside students go to Highline Community College
after school to use their computers. They might also be a possible community partner.

Carol discussed the Woodmont garden plans for 2013. One goal is to make it more of a community
garden. Robin shared some information about the Sonju Garden, which is close to Parkside Elementary.
She can put the library in touch with a parent who is active in the Sonju Garden. She also suggested the
Des Moines Food Bank, which is interested in community outreach and education.

Annual Report to the City: Tony will contact the city to ask for a date in late February or early March for
this report.

Goals for 2013: Provide input about community populations and possible partners; be active in making
the Woodmont garden a community garden; support library staff as they transition to the new staffing
model; invite speakers from KCLS administration to board meetings.

Other: Library Legislative Day is February 15. Registration is now open, and a KCLS bus will provide
transportation to Olympia for the day.

Carol Van Baalen, Community Liaison

Des Moines – Woodmont Libraries
Preliminary Draft
 Des Moines – Woodmont Library Advisory Board
Minutes:  July 12, 7pm, at Woodmont Library
Present:  Tony Wilson, Janet Sorby, Virg Staiger, Robin Lamoureux, Carol Van Baalen, Guest:  Jennifer Wiseman
The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm by Tony Wilson, President.
Carol will email minutes from the last meeting to board members.
Carol handed out copies of KCLS: 2011 Year in Review, and of the Take Time to Read Book Cover Walking Tour Guide.  She pointed out that Kent has book cover posters throughout the city.  The tour guide gives locations.  There is also a new Take Time to Read display at Seatac Airport on concourse B, with Quick Reads shelves for travelers.
Jennifer Wiseman, Project Manager for the King County Library System, was introduced to the board.  Jennifer handed out copies of a new KCLS document, Profile of a Library Advisory Board.  This document states that the primary purpose of library advisory boards is to act as a bridge between the local community and the local library, and describes the roles and responsibilities of a board.  Jennifer suggested that the board use this document to set 3-4 goals for next year, especially thinking outside of the library building.
Jennifer also gave the board a sneak preview of software called Community Connect, which will enable KCLS to combine library information, census data, and market segmentation data so that it can know more about the populations it serves and provide better service based on this knowledge.
Library Report:  Carol said that Insights, the monthly email newsletter, is now being sent to city of Des Moines city manager, mayor and council members, and to city of Kent mayor and council members.  She reported on summer outreach activities, including Let’s Read, which brings library information and service to several free lunch sites, including Parkside Elementary in Des Moines and the Des Moines Field house Park.  She also told the board about a grant application by the Friends of the Des Moines Library to the Des Moines Rotary for $1000 to be used for teen programs.  The Friends are still waiting to hear whether the grant will be awarded.
Other KCLS news:  Enumclaw Library joined KCLS on June 1, and as of July 1, its hours have been expanded from 36 to 63 hours per week.  Federal Way 320th Library will be closing on July 22 for a year for expansion.  It is expected that Woodmont will become busier during the 320th closure.
Carol asked if there were any updates on Normandy Park.  Virg said that the city may be considering unincorporation,  because they have not been able to find enough budget cuts to remain financially solvent.
Next meeting:  Scheduled for September 12 at Des Moines Library.  It was discussed whether we should present our annual report to the city in September (as we have done for the last few years) or wait until January of 2013.  Virg will check with the city to see which they prefer.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55pm.
Carol VanBaalen, Community Liaison

Des Moines –Woodmont Library Advisory Board
Minutes:  May 3, 2012 at Des Moines Library
Present:  Tony Wilson, Janet Sorby, Melissa Ponder, Carol Van Baalen, Guest:  Carmen Scott, Des Moines City Council member
The meeting was called to order at 1:35pm by Tony Wilson, President.
Board members were introduced to Carmen Scott, Des Moines City Council member.  Carmen gave a community report for the city of Des Moines:  a tenant in the works for the property across from the post office; restoration of historic buildings at Des Moines Beach Park, including an auditorium and founders lodge that will be available for public use; an award for Heritage Trail markers at the Beach Park; upcoming events at the Beach Park, including a grand opening on July 11 and an art show on August 18.
Meet-the-staff:  Staff who were working at the time of the meeting came in one at a time to meet the board and talk about what they do.  Staff participating were:  Barbara Blue, site manager/children’s librarian; Scott Hibbert, reference librarian for the cluster; Jane Nelson, lead library assistant; Carla Rankin and Tina Osmancevic, library assistants; and Jackie George, circulation supervisor for the cluster.
Library Report:  Book-a-Librarian:   The DM-KT-WM cluster has completed 8 requests in the first 3 months of the program.  The majority have involved questions about email, social media, and downloading to eReaders.  There have so far been no readers advisory questions. 
Woodmont garden is growing; Envisionware is new software on library computers for reservations and print management; Enumclaw voted to join KCLS as our 47th library; Renton residents will vote on a site for a new library in August.  The Des Moines Friends of the Library will be having a booth at the Des Moines Farmers Market the 2nd Saturday of each month this season.   The Woodmont Friends will have a booth some time during the summer also.   Carol asked board members to consider volunteering their time to help staff the booth.  She will email the schedule to everyone.  She will also email the details on several outreach projects that our library staff will be participating in this summer.
Carol will begin emailing the monthly Insights newsletter to the members of the Des Moines City Council.
The next meeting is scheduled for July 12, 7pm, at the Woodmont Library.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30pm.

Carol Van Baalen


Des Moines-Woodmont Library Advisory Board
Minutes – July 14, 2011 at Woodmont Library
Present:  Tony Wilson, Virg Staiger, Robin Lamoreux, Janet Sorby, Melissa Ponder, Carol Van Baalen
The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm by Tony Wilson, President.
The agenda was approved.  The minutes of the last meeting were approved.
Community Report:  Des Moines City Council elections will be held in November.  The Waterland Parade is on July 23, but the library is not participating.
Library Report:  Surveillance Cameras were removed from Woodmont on May 23.  Carol notified the Des Moines Police department, as they had requested.  Chief O’Leary stopped by the library the following week to reassure the staff that they had moved on from any hard feelings over the incident, and that we should not hesitate to call them whenever we need their assistance.
In June, KCLS received the Library of the Year Award from Library Journal.  Carol passed out copies of the article about the award to board members.  This is a very prestigious award, and KCLS is proud to receive it.  Thanks to the board for their part in making KCLS a great library system.
Tony showed the LibrariUS website, which has been posted on the homepage of the KCLS website.  It is a national survey that shows what people are doing at their libraries all over the country.
Carol showed a new KCLS database, Universal Class, that has a wide variety of free online classes available for all KCLS card holders.  It is especially targeted for the 50+ age group.  She also passed around Summer Reading program flyers for children and teens, and talked about some of the upcoming programs for adults this fall.  She mentioned that the Digital Discovery Zone van will be at the Des Moines Farmers Market on July 16.
Virg asked about having eReader demos at our libraries again.  Carol said we would like to, but no dates are set yet.  Melissa asked about Magic the Gathering cards and games – whether we had considered adding it to the games available in the library for teens.  Carol will check with the teen librarians about this.
Our Cyber Presence:  We looked at our blog and facebook pages.  Tony is regularly posting the Insights newsletter on the blog, and Melissa posts library events and news on the facebook page.  Carol will try to get the Friends to post information about their upcoming book sale on the facebook page.  Any other board members who have ideas to post on the blog or facebook page can get help from Tony and Mel.
Next Meeting:  For our next meeting, which will be in September, we will try to schedule a presentation for the Des Moines City Council.  Preferred date is September 22.  Virg will check with the city about scheduling it and report to Tony.  Tony and Carol will write the report and send it out by email to the rest of the board for suggestions and comments.
Carol Van Baalen, Community Liaison
Des Moines/Woodmont Libraries

Des Moines-Woodmont Library Advisory Board
Minutes – May 11, 2011 at Des Moines Library
Present:  Tony Wilson, Virg Staiger, Robin Lamoureux, Carol Van Baalen
The meeting was called to order at 7:10pm by Tony Wilson, President.
The agenda was approved.  The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.
Library Report:  Carol reported on the decision by KCLS to remove surveillance cameras from the 10 libraries having cameras, after an incident at the Woodmont Library in March, in which an elderly patron was assaulted in the parking lot.  In that incident, Des Moines police were frustrated by attempts to obtain a copy of library surveillance video when they were asked to obtain a search warrant in order to release the records, as is standard practice according to KCLS policy.  Carol went over the memo from Bill Ptacek, in which he explained the reasons for the decision.    1. Effectiveness:  there is no evidence that security cameras really do assist in maintaining staff and patron safety, or that they are a significant deterrent of crime.  2.  Relationships:  cameras have created an adversarial relationship between KCLS, local law enforcement, and crime victims.  3. Public records exemption for libraries (RCW 42.56.310): security cameras may not be in keeping with a narrow interpretation of this exemption.  Surveillance of any type is contrary to our principles of intellectual freedom and the right to privacy.
There was much discussion and many questions from board members.  Robin said that the situation is totally opposite at Parkside Elementary, where she is principal.  Surveillance cameras are all over their new building; staff and parents are happy to have them.  Tony showed the video clip from King 5 news report last Friday.  The board’s decision was that they should support the decision of KCLS administration.  Tony had drafted a memo to that effect ahead of the meeting which he shared with the rest of the board.  He will forward it to Bill Ptacek, to be used however it is deemed helpful, either as a statement to the KCLS Board of Trustees, or to officials of the city of Des Moines.
Cyber Presence:  We looked at the library board blog and facebook pages, as well as the facebook pages of the Des Moines and Woodmont branches.   No additions or changes were made, but we will continue to seek input and participation from the Friends groups.
Carol asked board members who live in Des Moines for news about the community.  Virg mentioned the new plan for Des Moines downtown that will be coming out soon, and also that Marine View Drive will be torn up for construction.  There will be a Waterland Parade this summer, on July 23rd.
Virg asked whether we have a towing company, and whether it is a system-wide contract.  Carol said that we have a contract with Skyway Towing, but she will check with the Facilities department to see if it is system-wide.
Next meeting:  Thursday, July 14, at Woodmont Library
Carol Van Baalen, Community Liaison
Des Moines/Woodmont Libraries

Des Moines - Woodmont Library Advisory Board
Minutes – January 12, 2011 at Des Moines Library
Present:  Virg Staiger, Tony Wilson, Melissa Ponder, Carol Van Baalen
The meeting was called to order by Virg Staiger, President.  Minutes from the last meeting were approved.
Tony Wilson was elected as board president for 2011.
Library Report:  Woodmont parking lot expansion is ready for the asphalt to be poured, but this has been delayed because of weather and coordinating it with the asphalt plant.  Library 2 Go:  Community stops will be added in 2011.  Appian Way apartment complex and Nike Manor transitional housing and housing for abused women are the two probably sites in the Des Moines/Woodmont area.  Target start date is March; board members are interested in visiting the sites with L2G once they are established.  Future Services staffing:  the pilot clusters began using the new staffing configuration on January 2nd.  There will be more information as the year progresses.  Facilities projects for 2011 include expanded Friends book shelves at Woodmont, a cyber bar for computer users, new children’s furniture, and new Wayfinding signage at Des Moines.
Board Goals for 2011: 
·         Attend Library Legislative Day.  Date is Friday, February 4.  KCLS Foundation will again provide a bus for transportation, leaving from South Center.  More information will be forthcoming.  Tony and Virg plan to attend; others are welcome to join them!
·         Participate and/or provide input for the “Take Time to Read” initiative.  Carol gave an update on the Quick Reads shelf at Les Schwab on Pacific Highway, and on the Winter Reading for Adults.  Readers in Residence will be happening in the spring – board members could participate or suggest other community members to ask.
·         Increase awareness of, and develop the blog as a tool for communication and discussion with the community. 
Discussion about the Blog: 
·         Suggestions for content:  pictures and bios of board members; links to articles about libraries, information and literacy in society that might provoke discussion in the community.  Carol said that the blog content needs to be managed by the board, not by library or staff.
·         Ways to increase awareness:  Have links to the blog from the City of Des Moines web page, the Highline Times web page, and the Waterland Blog.  Board members will pursue these possibilities (Carol is sending the city web page manager’s name to Melissa).   Have a Facebook page for the board, and link it to the blog.  Melissa set up the Facebook page at the board meeting.  Have signs and/or bookmarks about the blog available in the Des Moines and Woodmont libraries.  Carol will follow up on this.
Next Meeting:  Thursday, March 10, at the Woodmont Library
Carol Van Baalen, Community Liaison
Des Moines / Woodmont Libraries