RIO RANCHO LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES February 8, 2021 The virtual meeting was ca ll ed to order at 6:00 p.m. by Board President Lance Himmelberger. Board members present were Michael Barger, Debbie Coston, Michael Furl, Cameron Grimm, Kelly Harris and Kenneth Wolfe. Library employees present were Library Director Lynette Schurdevin and Library Administrative Assistant Sheila Allen. Approval of the agenda items: Michael Barger moved to approve the agenda . Debbie Coston seconded the motion. The agenda was approved as presented. Minutes of the January 11, 2021, regular meeting: The minutes were reviewed by the Board and were accepted as presented. Director's report for January 2021: • The statistics for January were reviewed. The January gate count was 3,329. Library circulation total was 23, 749; 12,642 were electronic items. 160 new library cards were issued. There were 896 wireless internet uses. The library provided 60 virtual programs which included Zoom Storytimes and ENMU virtual programs, with a total attendance of 343. We provided 12 passive programs with an attendance of 236. The passive programs included YouTube recorded Jiggle & Jams and Storytimes. • Hibernate with a Book: An Adult Winter Reading program finished this month with 115 patrons registered to participate and a collective 701 books read . This surpassed the community goal of 600 books read. We have donated books to the Corrales Senior Center and both loca l food pantries as a result of meeting the goal. • The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program has been reinstated and revised to meet the current pandemic situation. The library hosted two virtual Dungeons and Dragons sessions for young adults. All the registration slots were fil led. The library will continue to offer Dungeons and Dragons sessions through the spring. The ever-popular Take-n-Make craft will continue through the summer and will be added to our Summer Reading 'virtual' program. We are preparing both library branches for the garden tool checkout and seed library to begin on February 22. • Our e-resources continue to be very popular. Hoopla will be offering additional free downloads for the month of February. We have temporarily suspended our purchasing with Overdrive as they have now begun charging tax on our e-book purchases. The NM State Library is investigating this tax one-books. We will be dropping the on line New York Times subscription as they have increased the annual subscription by $300. We are adding Flipster, a digital magazine service with a total of 15 e-magazines. • Ms. Schurdevin informed the Board that she presented for the Library at the Citizen's Academy program attended by the City Councilors. • Ms. Schurdevin informed the Board that she is attending a 6-week PLA class on Equality, Diversity, lnclusivity and Social Justice (EDISJ). This is a leadership lab and will involve identifying core ED ISJ principles and ways to dismantle systemic racism and create a cu lture of safety, belonging and empowerment for those we serve in our community. Steve Ruger stated that he has established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for the City of Rio Rancho. Each City department has assigned an "Equity Champion" to sit on this committee. This committee will work to give employees the tools and education to deal with citizens who are different. • Ms. Schurdevin announced that she is working with the NM Library Association to plan the "virtual" Library Legislative Day on February 12. Many libraries will be reaching out to their legislators virtually. The Rio Rancho Public Library will focus on the NM Legis lation - 2021 Capital Outlay Projects. • Personnel updates: Deirdre Caparoso ha s been temporarily promoted to Branch Manager for the Esther Bone Branch Library. She will work at Esther Bone 3 to 4 days per week and at Loma Colorado Library 1 to 2 days each week. The Technical Services Supervisor· position remains open. The City ha s posted a position for a Deputy Library Director. This position will be responsible in assisting Ms. Schurdevin with management and operations of the main library and branch library. • The City of Rio Rancho facilities are still under limited operations and services. Once Sandova l County stays in the yellow phase for two weeks the library will consider increasing hours and services to open on Saturdays and one evening per week and offer limited browsing. Review letter to State Legislators regarding Library's ICIP request: Ms. Schurdevin emailed each Board member a draft letter and asked them to personalize the letter and send it to legislators to support capital funds requested to repair the Esther Bon e Branch Library roof. Further comments by the Board: Michael Barger asked how to word the email to legislators and if members should just email the legislator from their district? Ms. Schurdevin replied that the Board members should send their letters to all the state legi slators. Public comments: There were no members of the public signed into the virtual meeting. Adjournment: Michael Furl moved to adjourn. Michael Barger seco nded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 6:24 p.m. The next meeting will be held on March 8, 2021. Respectfully submitted, Board President, Sheila Allen .