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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-04-11 Library Board of Trustees Minutes Approved ANACORTErr PUBLIC LIBRARY Board of Trustees' Meeting Minutes April 11,2022 9:00 am Board of Trustees Attendees:Nancy Fisher-Allison,Alethea Fleming, Christina Hansen,Courtney Orrock,John Shafer Library Attendees:Diana Farnsworth,Michelle Hanna,Jeff Vogel, Leslie Wilson Absent: Sydney Brady Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m.by John. Approval of Minutes Minutes from March 2022 meeting were approved. Motion for approval by Christina, second by Alethea. Special Presentation:Anacortes Family Center Dustin Johnson, Executive Director and Nina Lundsten,Community Resource Manager Dustin and Nina were invited to the Board Meeting to educate and inform us of the rich resources that the Anacortes Family Center offers the City and its residents,as well as the ways in which they can support the Library staff when we encounter those who might benefit from AFC programs. Basic information about the Anacortes Family Center: The AFC operates an emergency shelter that houses mainly families with children.The AFC offers a transitional program that can last up to 2 years. The AFC serves approximately 350 individuals per year. Nina has an average caseload of 6-15 households/individuals at any one time. Their funding is 95%community-based through fundraising, capital campaigns,and grants. The AFC receives no state funding because the state requires"low barrier"assistance(no restrictions on drugs or alcohol,no employment requirement,and a guaranteed 90 day program whether they cooperate or not). The AFC requires sobriety,employment,and cooperation so cannot accept funding from the state. However, it is important to note that the AFC transition rate is approximately 80%,while the state average is 17%. Most graduates of the program exit out of the federal definition of poverty,which is a phenomenal success. Highlights of what the AFC offers: • A life skills program,where adults can earn 2 credits at Skagit Valley College for participating in the life skills classes at AFC. • Access to 7 counselors with no limit for counseling sessions • A retired teacher for keeping children current in their studies • AFC partners with Affordable Housing. Operates 21 apartments and 2 houses. 60%of their clientele is under 18 years old. • Coordinated Entry: Nina fills out one form that can be shared with all partners offering services in Skagit County(such as Community Action). • Nina coordinates services with AFD and APD regularly,as well as the Samish Indian Nation. How can the AFC help us at the Library? We can call the AFC when we identify patrons or public that might benefit from her services. Nina will come out and talk to them,calm them if necessary,and get them connected to some services. Chances are Nina already knows the person and has a history with them. How can the Library help AFC? Advocacy! Advocate for the Family Center in as many ways as possible in our daily lives,as well as in the Legislature if you have that connection. One funding request in particular:It would help tremendously to have a Designated Community Representative who could respond within 20 minutes because right now the wait time for services could be 45 minutes or more. Another way the Library will partner with AFC is through story times. Leslie and Diana are meeting with AFC to explore ways to partner in providing programs to AFC families,including a regular story time at AFC in the near future. Manager Updates Jeff • Jeff met with the council sub-committee for the Library last week. The sub-committee consists of Bruce McDougall, Christine Cleland-McGrath, and Jeremy Carter. Along with the regular Library updates,they discussed Book Challenges and how that process works. • This week the City begins planning for budget year 2023. There will be a City budget retreat on Friday that Leslie will attend in Jeff's place. Diana • Spring break was all about teens! We had lots of pizza, games, and of course books. Since the gathering was so popular,we are planning to do another one in May. • Pajama Storytime aired LIVE last week, after 2 years on hiatus. • Adult Program this week: The Museum • Next week: the ABCs of LGBTQ+with PFLAG • We have set up page interviews for later this week. • There were over 100 people at the vaccine clinic last week. Leslie • We have started live and in-person story time with Lisa and Leslie on Friday mornings. • We hosted a Tween program over spring break with four attendees. We'll continue this program in the future and will keep it to strictly 4th and 5th grade. • Student cards have been very popular since they were handed to parents during conference week in March. Last Monday there were 135 visitors to the Children's Library! • April Take and Makes: o Magnetic poetry o Duplo blocks poetry • We also have some lovely new read-along audio story books called Wonder Books. We will be adding more of these to the collection in the future. • Bobby and Sylvia Maxson very generously donated an additional$30,000 to the Children's Library. This money will finish up the final touches to the remodel. The remodel is in the final stages of planning and ordering. The final piece is the middle bookshelf,which had to be resized. We look forward to beginning this project soon. • March Madness was another huge success! The winning Children's book was The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The winning Teen book was The Hunger Games. Committee Reports • Foundation o They have formed a Marketing sub-committee. • Friends of the Library o The FOL meets this week, so there is nothing new to report yet. Unfinished Business: • Courtney: Data collection report o We continue to pull data and will present our new graphs when we have updated information. • Christina:Archive project o Synthesis of the historical Board minutes continues slowly but surely. Board Officer Elections: o Board positions for the coming year are as follows: ■ Christina Hansen,President ■ Courtney Orrock,Vice President ■ Alethea Fleming,Secretary ■ Nancy Fisher-Allison, Friends of the Library liaison. ■ John will continue as the Foundation liaison. The meeting was closed by John at 10:22 a.m. The next meeting is May 9 at 9 a.m.in person in the Community Meeting Room.