City of Santa Fe Public Library Board met March 14.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
City of Santa Fe
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL
Members Present:
Member Marie Schow
Member Elizabeth Alarid
Member Rebecca Phillips
Library Director Margaret Neill Member Janet Gilchrist
Member Adele Oliveira
Members Excused:
Member Sarah Jacobs
Member Brecken Larson
Member Flavian Mark Lupinetti
Others Attending:
Maura Gentry, Clerk
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: moved, seconded by, to Member Phillips moved, seconded by Member Alarid. Majority approves.
VOTE:
The motion was on the following Roll Call vote:
For: None
Against: None
Abstain: None
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. Approval of February 21, 2023 minutes.
MOTION: moved, seconded by, to Member Schow moved, seconded by Member Alarid. Majority approves.
The motion was on the following Roll Call vote:
VOTE:
For: None
Against: None
Abstain: None
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
6. DIRECTOR'S REPORT
a. Margaret Neill, Library Director
505-955-6788
mmneill@santafenm.gov
My apologies; there is no Southside narrative because I am both the library director and the branch manager for Southside.
Staffing news for Southside Erika Edgar, a librarian, has resigned to go work at Los Alamos National Labs. Maintenance issues continue at that location and are the same issues landscaping, the water tanks, carpet cleaning, shade structures and window tinting are needed. Facilities is aware of those outstanding issues. Outreach - staff have been doing more with the Southside population, reaching more families, trying to get more to come in. It has been more quiet there, which has been nice for me during this transition. Aaron Oesting started as a librarian last week - his background is in technology and education and we are very excited to have him.
He was filling the prior vacancy; now we have a new vacancy.
Main
Part time librarian position closed, moving to interview phase. Branch manager position is closed, we will begin interviews in the next few weeks.
We have been working with constituent services, they are setting up in each branch trying to meet people at places they frequent in the City. The Main HVAC system will now be repaired, and the Friends have purchased us a mobile unit while we wait for that to be fixed. We do not have a timeline for the exterior study either.
Member Phillips - any more
fires? Clerk - There was a fire at main in a trashcan outside, no rhyme or reason, could been have an accident.
Questions?
Member Schow - Timeline for hearing back about the NEA Big Read? Director Neill - We applied in January, and are supposed to hear back at the end of April, early May. Even if we don't get it, Maria (Sanchez-Tucker) still wants to do with one.
We are partnering with the International Literacy Festival; Denise Chavez is going to be doing a children's program - art and story time. Jess Gulliford is working on staggering events between children and young adults. We will also be offering free programming during the event. We're really excited to be working so closely with them. It will be celebrating Rudolfo Anaya. Member Oliveira - I interviewed Jennifer Egan last week, and she will be working with students as well. Director Neill-We will also be partnering with the United Way LENA Start - an early literacy program at Southside. The agreement has been signed, and it will work with parents and children to foster speech skills. Their website gives a lot of good information about their program. This is an endeavor that Maria began before she left. We're working more on bilingual education and early literacy.
State Grants in Aid came in, and we have to spend it out by June. We don't know when they will release the newly passed GO Bonds. We are waiting on the County MOU - we don't have to spend that until it goes to Southside.
Member Phillips - Janet and Adele might be interested in knowing that the portion of county patrons served by the library has increased, but the money has been at the same level forever. I believe that we should work towards a more equitable relationship.
Member Schow Do you have to be in the county to get a card? Director Neill - Yes, anywhere in NM you can get a card if you have residency in the state - it's a requirement of state funding. Member Phillips - What is the advantage if you live in Socorro and you get a card in Santa Fe? Why can't they use their own card from Socorro? Director Neill- they have different systems. Also, the state provides the New York Times and has a digital book curated collection.
Member Phillips - Are there any remaining vacancies at La Farge or Main? Director Neill - LF is fully staffed, Main is down a part-time librarian.
Because parks is so overwhelmed, Maura has been working with Boy Scouts to do landscaping and outdoor repair - focusing on La Farge and Southside. They met at LF today and will be working on the front patio. We would really like to be able to use these outdoor spaces for programming.
The budget will be closing soon, so we are looking at spending down our funds and doing some furniture ordering before the fiscal year ends.
7. PRESIDENT'S REPORT .
a. Marie Schow, President marie.schow@gmail.com
We officially made Elizabeth our Vice President of the board. In my absence, you have the power to run the board meetings.
8. NEW BUSINESS
a. Friends of the Santa Fe Library Update
Director Neill -They purchased us the air conditioner. They are working on restructuring - they had a board retreat and met with a consultant who gave them steps to restructure and reorganize. They will be putting more emphasis on fundraising through the work of Joan Campbell, the new treasurer.
We have an outstanding operating agreement with them that we have been trying to hash out, but that has been going back and forth and is crrently at city legal. The attorney who was working on it quit, so it has been assigned to another, who is on vacation. It would solidify their role in our operations and fundraising. Hopefully we will have it by the end of the month for their next meeting.
b. Board Reappointment Update
Margaret Neill mmneill@santafenm.gov
Members Phillips, Schow, Alarid, and Larson were all reappointed.
They should be three year terms instead of two year terms, so Maura will look into that. And look into when Janet and Adele's terms start.
9. OLD BUSINESS
10. NEXT MEETING: April 18 2023
April 18, 2023 meeting at Fogelson Library
Conflict at Southside for next month, so we are working on getting keys to Fogelson. There is an installation and artist reception that night at Southside.
11. ADJOURN
MOTION: moved, seconded by, to Member Phillips moved to adjourn, seconded by Member Gilchrist. Majority approves.
https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal
