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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 08-20-2009 - 1ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 20, 2009 Action Agenda Item No. ~. SUBJECT: Update on Library Services in Orange County in Preparation for the September 24, 2009 Assembly of Government's Meetin (AOG) DEPARTMENT: Library PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Information Item from the 6/16/09 BOCC Regular Meeting Agenda Package INFORMATION CONTACT: Lucinda Munger, Director, 245-2528 PURPOSE: To present an update to the Board on library services in Orange County in preparation for the AOG meeting on September 24, 2009. BACKGROUND: At the Board retreat in January of 2009, the BOCC identified county priorities for FY 2009-10 within the established guiding principles. Priority 13 states "Plan to provide `equitable' library services for Orange County residents as it relates to Goal 5." Goal 5 as defined during the retreat reads "Make county government accessible, understandable and transparent. Begin now to relay the message to citizens, partner agencies and organizations that current levels of service may not be maintained. Make clear county priorities and what might change." During the last budget session the Board took great strides in the advancement of their goal of "equitable library services" for the residents of Orange County: By working diligently with County and library staff, the Board was able to: 1. Allocate funding for keeping all branches open at current hours, 2. Providing 6.5 additional staff that will allow for the new Main Library to be open 54 hours per week and increase courier service to all branches from one day to at least 3 days per week. 3. At June 16th meeting the Board unanimously voted to increase funding in the FY11 budget cycle that would raise library spending to the state average per capita of $22.44. Orange County library spending has increased from FY09 level of $15.60 to FY10 level of $19.80. Library Administration has worked with Human Resources on the development and advertisement of the new positions and will hope to have all new staff in place by the end of October. We are also still in communication with the Capital Project Management Team on the timeline for the completion and move into the new facility which is now slated for opening in December 2009. In September we will begin coordinating with other county departments and library branches on assistance for library users when the Main Library will be closed for at least 2 weeks in order to thoroughly complete the orderly movement of all library shelves, computers, and collection materials into the new library. Library Progress as related to 2007 Task Force Recommendations 1) Heritage Center Work Group. At the June 23~d meeting the BOCC approved a Heritage Center Work Group, facilitated by Ms. Barbara Baker. Ms. Baker is the retired Assistant Dean of Durham Technical Community College and was instrumental in the DTCC Hillsborough campus project. Additionally, Ms. Baker has served on the Library Services Task Forces of 2004 and 2007. This group would provide guidance to the Board on the feasibility of a proposed Heritage Center and report back to the Board in October 2009. The Heritage Center Work Group has already met three times and will report on its work to the BOCC prior to the CIP discussion in late October. A working vision for the Center has been developed and the work of creating a business plan has begun. During the next several weeks the group will move forward with discussions of scope, organization, management, and finances. Barbara Baker 2) Southwest Regional Branch. The BOCC adopted a capital project ordinance, "Libraries - Future Facilities", for FY09-10 establishing a reserve fund of $50,000 to allow the county to address countywide library capital. needs identified in the 2007 Report. Hyconeechee Regional Library Receives Technology Grant The Hyconeechee Regional Library System is comprised of the three counties of Caswell, Person and Orange libraries. This does not include Chapel Hill Public Library. In June, the State Library awarded two 2009-2010 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to the Hyconeechee Regional Library System. With a Basic Equipment Grant in the amount of $8,410, the library system will purchase eight public computers. In Orange County, five computers will replace existing public workstations at the Orange County Main Library and one will be used to increase the total number of public workstations at the Cedar Grove Branch to five. The library system will be responsible for providing $1,263 in matching funds for this grant. A Planning grant in the amount of $20,000 will be used to work with a library consultant to develop athree-year Technology Plan for the regional library system. The library staff will work with Dr. Robert Burgin of RB Software & Consulting and Jeffery Campbell of UNC Libraries to develop this plan. The completed plan will include guiding principles for integrating technologies into library services, specific technology goals related to key areas of continued investment and new strategic opportunity; and guidelines for on-going maintenance and evaluation of library technologies. No matching funds are required for the Planning Grant. The work completed as part of the planning grant will not limit the County from setting a strategic direction or making a capital investment in technology to more closely align itself with the Chapel Hill system, should that be determined. Library Cooperation Summit - NC Public Library Director's Conference 3 In August 2008 forty-three of the seventy-seven public library systems in North Carolina were represented at the Library Cooperation Summit in Boone, NC. At the summit the participants were asked to rank what type of cooperative projects would have the most positive impact on their library patrons. The top four projects were: 1) Affordable and accessible bandwidth available across the entire state. 2) Support for a statewide borrowing and delivery system 3) An Open Source Integrated Library System for all public libraries 4) A Netflix model for statewide borrowing and delivery system. Affordable and accessible bandwidth is becoming a top priority for libraries all over the country. In many areas of North Carolina, including northern Orange County, reliable bandwidth is not yet available. This is most evident at the Cedar Grove Branch where there have been several instances of dropped connections with the Time-Warner internet service provider, which affected branch operations with intermittent service for two months. Orange County IT Department worked closely with library staff and Time -Warner to address the situation. At present, service has been restored, but library and IT continue to monitor and evaluate long term service reliability. County management is also tracking grant opportunities through the federal economic stimulus package to help local governments leverage broadband infrastructure improvements. The Gates Foundation has recently launched a nationwide effort to collect detailed information about all public library internet connections. This effort, named the Broadband Assessment Project, will help the foundation and its partners raise awareness of the need for high-quality Internet in public libraries and how to meet this goal. The survey was conducted in North Carolina in late November and early December. The results of the survey will be released later in 2009 and will assist the State Library in planning for possible solutions. Priorities 2, 3 & 4 are part of a desire to address the need for a statewide virtual catalog that would provide reciprocal borrowing, statewide materials delivery, and resource sharing. The State Library is developing a task force to work on the plan to take the idea of a statewide catalog that will give North Carolinians "what they want, when and where they want iY' and have it grow into a reality by the end of 2011. A follow-up summit on the statewide broadband access and resource sharing will take place on August 12 at the 2009 NCPLA Summer Conference. At August 20t" work session, I will be more than happy to update the BOCC on meeting and share how these two projects will impact library service in Orange County. OCPL/CHPL Collaboration Project: Orange County Library staff and Chapel Hill Library staff met in May 2009 to begin discussions on possible collaboration alternatives between the two systems. A preliminary report summarizing initial alternatives for enhanced coordinate of efforts is attached. However, due to several scheduling conflicts, the Orange County Public Library and Chapel Hill Public Library staffs have been unable to meet for further discussions since that time. On August 19th there will be a meeting between County and Town Managers and appropriate county and library staff, to review the library services alternatives, assess their impact and prioritize. County management will provide the Board with a summary of the meeting at the August 20`" work session. 4 FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with Board receiving this update. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Interim County Manager recommends the Board: 1) Accept the Library's report; 2) Discuss and provide further direction in preparation for the September 24, 2009 AOG meeting. 0 Zn-Foc-ma-Fi on S-~~rn o• Orange County Public Library 300 W Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278 (919) 245-2525 Memorandum Date: June 10, 2009 From: Lucinda Munger, Library Director To: Board of County Commissioners County Manager Update: Orange County Public Library and Chapel Hill Public Library collaboration meetings In preparation for the Assembly of Governments meeting scheduled for September 2009 to discuss library services in Orange County, Public Library Directors and staff from Orange County Public Library (OCPL) and Chapel Hill Public Library (CHPL) have begun to meet regarding collaboration on library services. During initial meetings in May and June, the Directors determined their charge as subject matter experts and professionals to be: 1) identify alternatives for library services in Orange County and 2) work within county and town governments to address specific issues and related costs. For research and background information, the Directors also determined that the Task Force Reports must be reviewed and updated as libraries and services have evolved over the last 10 years. Under discussion by the Directors are 12 alternatives for future library services in Orange County. The list below provides an overview of these options. The Library Directors and staff are working on the advantages/disadvantages, financial implications, and the procedural changes necessary to accomplish each. The joint report will be provided prior to the Assembly of Governments meeting in September to ensure a thoughtful and informed discussion between elected officials. The BOCC will preview and consider the draft joint report at its August work session dedicated to library services. 0 Library Services Alternatives: 1) Institute Universal Card for accessing both CHPL and OCPL collections 2) CHPL to continue services to citizens in Orange County with no charge 3) CHPL to eliminate services to non-residents of Chapel Hill immediately 4) CHPL to phase out services to non-residents of Chapel Hill 5) Orange County to phase in funding to CHPL for services. Town provides time for County to phase in equitable increases in library support 6) Orange County government phase funding in to meet minimum standards and long-range goals for OCPL. , 7) Pursue collection development goal for OCPL and phase in 8) Identify additional funding through taxes for both CHPL and OCPL 9) Pursue Chapel Hill /Carrboro municipal library system 10)Pursue a regional library system between CHPL and OCPL 11)Pursue a regional library system between CHPL and Hyconeechee Library System (Orange County is a member of the Hyconeechee Library System) 12)Establish a UNC /Carrboro /Chapel Hill `lab-rary' for shared operational / personnel support from the UNC -School of Information and Library Science students In addition, there are four no cost alternatives that can be implemented in the 2009-10 fiscal year. 1) Block booking of performers for Summer Reading and special programs. These are discounts for booking a performer in more than one location within the same week or day. 2) Shared staff development and training between OCPL and CHPL. 3) OCPL and CHPL purchase books and materials from Ingram Library Services. Ingram is a wholesale retailer of library materials to public and academic libraries. The Directors will contact Ingram to inquire about additional group discounts for these purchases. 4) Coordinate the Friends support groups of both library systems to work together on programming, book sales, and long-term support. Staff will continue to work during the summer on this collaboration in order to provide the financial and managerial background for the Assembly of Governments meeting, as well as implementation of no-cost actions that build stronger service connections. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns about the progress being reported. 0 1998 guidelines for NC Public Libraries as it relates to the scenarios Access to Library Services • A full service library is open a minimum of 60 hrs/week, all library services are available whenever the library is open. Currently Main is the only one that meets that standard. Reducing the hours at the new library would mean no OC library would meet that basic standard. Collection Management • The library owns a minimum of 2 books per capita, plus other materials. The library spends at least 20% of its annual budget for print materials, a/v materials & electronic databases. • OCPL system requested $286,385/Main $208,662. Difference is only $77,793. May be reduced due to decrease in state aid.(figures include addition of state aid funds) Access to Public Computers • Each library facility has at least 1 computer work station for every 2,500 people in its designated service area. OCPL has 28 system wide. Meets standards. The standard in 1998 did not take into account the use of wireless/personal laptops. Staffing • At least 2% of the personnel budget is allocated to in-service training and continued education. OCPL would be spending $28,639. We are currently spending $3900 -majority of the funds come from State Aid. • 1 FTE staff person is provided for every 2,000 people in the service population; at least 1/3 are of FTE staff are librarians with MLS degrees. Hillsborough service area population is estimated @ 54,200 (eliminates Carrboro & Chapel Hill), therefore 54,200/2000 = 27.1. We do meet the MLS standards, but there are staff who have degrees that are not in librarian positions. • A full service library has a state certified Public Library Manager (Branch Manager); a children's librarian & Reference Librarian. No full service branch currently has all 3. • Circulation staff is provided at the rate of 1 FTE per 25,000 annual circulations. We currently have. 75 FTE, plus temps. Last year's circ @ Main = 194,510 =need for 8 additional circ staff. • Additional staff is provided for administrative, technical & support services. We have .5 admin support staff for the entire system. At least 1 computer technician is on call at all times the library is open. We have 1 FTE for the entire system & region. • Regardless of size, all libraries have at least 2 persons per station on duty at all times the library is open. Standard varies per branch/hour open. Use of temp staff to remain @ 2 people. Cybrary on Sat. only has 1. 0 Chapel Hill & Minimum Library Standards: 1) Collection: Library owns a.min of two books per capita. Yes 2) Library spends 20% of budget on materials. No 3) 2% of personnel budget is allocated to in-service training and continuing education. No 4) One FTE for every 2,000 people in the service population. Yes 5) One computer workstation for every 2,500 people in the service population. Yes