HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Library Board - 08/03/2021Library Board Minutes
August 3, 2021
Members Present: Alice Nixon, Sharon Hines, Dora Wilburn, Julie Rogers.
Members Present Virtually: Vickie Natale, Veronica Towns, Nicole Carroll
Absent: Ida Hobbs
Staff Present: Laura Garcia, Library Director; Stephanie Juarez; Patricia Herrera
Call to Order: Alice Nixon called the meeting to order at 10:34AM.
Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the July minutes was made by Julie Rogers and seconded by
Dora Wilburn. Motion passed unanimously.
Friends of the Library Report: Sharron Hines said that the Friends are sponsoring Mystery at the Library
Book Club.
Director's Report: Laura Garcia reported that the tags for the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
project have been ordered. The RFID tagging will begin at the McDonald Library first.
Library Buildings' Maintenance: Mrs. Garcia reported that Neyland Library will be closing for about a
week when its HVAC system is repaired. Neyland will give advance notice before the repairs start. Bids
will be opened at today's City Council meeting for the fire sprinkler system that will be installed at
Hopkins Library. Hopkins will be closed for about a month for that installation.
The Council presentation for the library’s budget will be on August 19. There are two extraordinary
requests in the budget. One is to increase the building maintenance budget by $120,000. This funding
will be used for projects at each of the six library locations. Some of the projects being considered are
replacing HVAC unit at Hopkins, replacing boiler system at McDonald, refurbishing the patio area at
Harte, and replacing entry doors at Garcia. The other is for $250,000 to begin rehabilitation at La
Retama Central Library including an overall building assessment.
Old Business: La Retama staff is still working on becoming a Family Search Affiliate Library. Family
Search requires that its affiliate libraries have a static IP address, which the library does not have.
Library staff has identified a possible solution and will be working with City IT and Family Search to see
if the solution does not pose any security concerns.
New Business: Beginning in September, the Library Board must have a quorum (5 members) meeting in
person, but the rest of the Board may join the meeting virtually. Laura and Stephanie are working to
ensure that technical difficulties do not occur. The Library Board will consider having Board meetings at
the different library branches in January.
Sharron Hines moved that Ida Hobbs' absence be excused. Julie Rogers seconded the motion and it
passed unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.