HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-10-2009 Library Board MinutesLibrary Board Meeting
February 10, 2009
Present at the meeting were members Kevin Sweeney, Hayley Cox, Steve Martinez, and
Kim Horne; Bob Noblett, co -Friends President; Linda Milner Shipp, Genealogy
President; and Lucile Davis, WTLS Lay Representative.
The meeting began with an overview of some of the projects and activities taking place
at UML.
The library:
*Is trying to get caught up on genealogy records with help from volunteer Barbara
Almon who cuts and pastes articles from online obituaries and from long-time
genealogy reference person Maise Jones who searches through Plainview papers
on microfilm.
*Has had an issue with an MHMR person panhandling in and around the library.
The police were called on more than one occasion in order to remove this person
so as to maintain a safe place for patrons.
*Had a patron who caught her hand in the entrance door causing an injury. John
Sigwald escorted this patron to the emergency room to have the wound attended
to. John explained the City is not liable for such incidents and this one was
classified as an accident.
*Will be having its annual Book Sale the last weekend in March. John mentioned
all the effort put forth by Bob and Terry Noblett and Doug Yates to assist in
getting books organized for the sale. Books remaining after the sale this year will
be picked up by the Salvation Army.
John announced he would probably be attending the Texas Library Association meeting
in Houston the first week in April and encouraged others to let him know if he/she was
interested in attending the conference.
John explained the monies from the Loan Star Grant and the Gates Foundation Grant are
used to purchase equipment, furnishings, and materials for the library. Some examples of
these items provided were the couches in the juvenile area, the display stand for posters,
the extension table for the public computer area, cases for the DVDs, and some of the
computers and printers.
John approached the subject of censorship by referencing an article from the School
Library Journal (February 2009) titled "A Dirty Little Secret." He explained it is the
librarian's position to determine what materials to make available and where this material
is located within the library. He mentioned some of the juvenile and young adult award
winners and other materials receiving accolades often touched on subjects that tended to
cause concern by some people in communities due to personal morals and beliefs. John
is wanting to add to the young adult collection which are housed in the juvenile section,
but some of the topics are subject matters which may cause concern. He emphasized the
policy that parents/guardians have the right to control what is checked out by children,
but that the personnel at the library do not have this option.
The next meeting is scheduled for May 12, 2009.
Dismissal was at 4:45.