Newport Public Library Board

September 19, 2007

Attendance: Wyma Rogers, Carol Fisher, Curt Fewkes, Richard Kilbride, Cindy McConnell, Jeff Ingram, Sheryl Eldridge (note-taker)

The minutes of the July 18, 2007 meeting were approved, with a correction to the spelling of the word ‘cost.’

Board members watched a short YouTube video, ‘Transformation Lab-Prototyping the Future.’ This film showed an experiment in Denmark of an interpretation of the future of libraries, in which the library users participate in creating the content of the library.

Wyma reviewed items in the Librarian’s Report. She attended a conference for library directors about the future of libraries, and heard about current trends in information-seeking behavior. People are inclined to surrender quality, charm, and tradition in exchange for convenience, abundance, and speed. They also like to help themselves, and like interactive websites where they can set their own privacy controls. These trends have implications for library planning.

Jeff Ingram, a Newport Library clerk, has an interest in futuristic technologies and their applications to libraries. He recently led a library Futurist Committee in evaluating ways to improve service to library users. In addition to Jeff, committee members are Martha Hawkes, Lynn Dennis, and Sheryl Eldridge. They sent library staff a questionnaire about technology needs, and found that staff would like learn more about storage medium, digital cameras, and wireless computers. The committee recommending setting up a table of information near the front counter, with flyers about internet policy and procedures, wireless use, other wireless hotspots in Newport, computer classes, and a library floor map. Another suggestion was to place surge protector plugs by the large wooden tables so more than two laptops can plug in. Future topics of the committee are to investigate software to add to the standalone computer and enhancing the help information available from the catalog and the library website, possibly with multimedia videos. Jeff advised everyone to be on the watch for mentions of ‘avatars’ in internet use.

Wyma was pleased that library staff are thinking of ideas that parallel OCLC’s version of the future of libraries, but in a more localized, practical sense.

The Card for Every Child project is now alternating between the middle school and high school every other year. This year we registered 25 students and family members, but in addition, promoted the library to all students and their families.

Wyma is on the board of the Oregon Library Association’s Public Library Division, and shared several of the programs titles for next year’s conference, which is in Vancouver, Washington on April 16, 17, and 18^th. This is a joint conference with the Washington Library Association and will focus on the future of libraries.

Rebecca’s new radio talk show is off to a good start, and Board members may be asked to be interviewed. The half-hour show is on KCUP at 9:00 a.m. on Mondays.

The Siuslaw Library’s director, Steve Skidmore, will come in November to share his story about going through a facility review—how they determined their needs, selected an architect, and took their proposal to the voters. Funding for the next library expansion may require the creation of a new committee, rather than having the Library Foundation lead it because of the Foundation’s many other activities. .

A question came up about Literacy Park and its use. Currently, there is not a sign up list for using the park, so it is open to use by the public on a first-come, first-served basis. The library does have first priority for its use, however. Wyma will ask library programming staff to come up with a schedule for the upcoming year.