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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/20/1983 - Regular Minutes - Bryan College Station Library System Advisory Board 411 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BRYAN LIBRARY BOARD JULY 20, 1983 1. On the 20th of July, 1983, the Library Board of the City of Bryan, Texas convened in regular session in the regular place in the Reading Area located in the Library Building at 5 p.m; with the following members present. 2. ATTENDANCE Member Present No. of meetings held No. of meetings today since appointment attended since appointment Mrs. C. J . Allen, President X 94 76 Mr. Ed Madeley, Vice President X 1 Mrs. Willie Pruitt, Treasurer X 94 67 Judge Carolyn Ruffino X 1 1 Mrs. Willie Belle Bogard X 23 18 Mr. Vic Paulos 23 13 Mrs. Wayne Gibson J. 0 Also present was Mrs. Clara B. Mounce, City Librarian and Secretary to the Board. ;le 3. There were no visitors. 4. Minutes of the June .15,'.1983-meeting were approved. 5. Mrs. Allen announced the appointment of two committees: Mrs. Pruitt was appointed chairman of a committee to review the Board's bylaws and Sections 2-97,98 & 99 of the Bryan Code. Members of the committee are Mrs. Pruitt, Judge Ruffino and Mrs. Gibson. Mrs. Bogard was named chairman of a committee to review the duties of the Library Board. Serving with her will be Mr. Madeley and Mr. Paulos. These committees will report at the August 17th Board meeting. 6A. Mrs. Mounce reported on the budget proceedings for FY 83-84. Accompanied by Tim Adams, Community and Support Services, Mrs. Mounce presented the library budget before the city manager and other city officials on July 15. 6B. An update on enrollement of summer reading program showed that 1,217 have registered-- 971 in the library and 246 on the Bookmobile. The summer film program continues to attract from 50 to 90 viewers. During a discussion of the statistical reports, Mrs. Mounce explained to new Board members that the Bookmobile figures of last year reflect a "times 5" factor that inflated statistical gathering. Since October 1982, we have discontinued this practice--a deposit of books is no longer multiplied times 5. The inflation was always backed out of the annual report of circulation. In a few months it will not be reflected in "last year" figures. 111 Attendance figures for Childrens is less because the four public story times were discontinued for the summer. They will resume in October. Auditorium usage reflects this also. • 7. Mrs. Mounce discussed the children's services. She said that librarians have a two-fold obligation in services to the child. First, to build and maint4in, a collection of materials which provides information on the entire spectrum of human knowledge, experience and opinion. Second, to actively introduce to the child those books which will enable the child to develop a free spirit, an enquiring mind and an ever widening knowledge of the culture in which we all live. To lead the child to literature this library has always programmed for the very young. This October, our 4 story times for the public will encompass the 3 to 5 year old child. Because this type of preschool program is one of the most difficult to execute, we plan to limit the ages to 3 to 5 year bids. Previously a separate story session was conducted for 2 year olds. Often the children were not.:even two years old. This has been most difficult. Authorities agree that until the age of three, most children have a very short span of attention and are not ready for group activities. They are preoccupied with their own pursuits and primarily with themselves. The average 3 year old has developed greater listening ability and a wider interest in people. It should be remembered that a pre-school story hour is not a nursery school, which is concerned with the overall development of the young child in an environment offering the basic experiences and train- ing that a good home offers. Nor should it be confused with a baby sitting agency or a parking place with no cooperation shown by the parents in the carry-over of interests and purposes from the library to the home. • Having story time for 3 to 5 year olds will allow us to use the auditorium and be away from the general flow of traffic. It will allow both children's librarians to be a team and be able to cope when attendance turns out to be 40 to 50. As we prefer not to restrict the attendance at storytime, we have chosen instead to change the age span, leaving out the two year old. The childrens section will have registration in September and give out information sheets with goals and objectives for story time. Librarians will encourage and assist the children in book selection as a part of storytime and enlist cooperation from parents. We will publicize story time days and hours: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10:30 a.m. and Thursday evening at 7 p.m. , if there is a demand for the evening session. Board members present agreed that given the size of staff and the demands made on children's services, this new format is justified. Currently adequate time for collection development is almost non-existent, and this is the most important responsibility librarians have. 7B. A letter sent to Board members by Mayor Ron Blatchley was discussed. The new state ethics law was considered and a copy was added to the official minutes of the meeting. 7C. Mrs. Mounce discussed the importance of the Gee Ballet Collection which was given to the library in 1974 by Mrs. Howard Gee. It is valued at more than $10,000. Because of its value, it is kept locked. Much of the collect- ion will be displayed in October. 7D. Mr. Madeley and Judge Ruffino took a brief tour of the adult area, viewing a new graph that shows daily circulation rates. 8. A request for the agenda was for a demonstration of overdue procedures. 9. The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. CteLkt.1 ektt",- (1) hnt-AILCA- Mrs. ‘G. J. 'Allen, President Mrs. Clara B. Mounce, City Librarian and Secretary to the Board