Let's
Okay. Call to order at 6:02. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Board of
Library Trustees meeting on August 11th, 2026.
The time is 6:02. I'll invite Jinder to call the roll.
» All right, Trustee Ando. Trustee Lee.
» Present. >> Trustee Polk.
» Here. >> Trustee Vidatt.
Chair Kyle. >> Here.
» I'll invite Jinder to explain how the public can participate in this evening's
agenda. >> Thank you, Chair Kyle. This meeting will
be held in person and is being recorded and streamed live to Zoom at the link on
the agenda. You may participate in person to provide public comment. Each
speaker will have 2 minutes. You may also submit your comments by email by
4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. We are offering closed captioning for this
evening's meeting on Zoom. Select the live transcript button on Zoom to enable
this feature. >> Okay.
Um So
approve regular minutes. >> Mhm.
» Okay. Uh May 12th, 2026.
Is there any action? Did you review the minutes? Anybody want to
Miss >> I
» Motion. >> I move to to approve.
» I second. >> Okay.
Jinder, um All right. I invite questions and
answers from trustees to staff. >> Uh so
» Is that right? That's what you said.
Chair open >> Jinder, can you take a call for the
minutes? Yeah, you have a motion or do they
calls for the minutes? Uh Mary. >> Okay.
» All right. Let's see here. Um so the um annotated agenda it shows
that um after the public comment period is
called, then um the motion and the second is
um, requested. So, since there's nobody there, I'll go
ahead and do that. Uh, Trustee Ando?
Trustee Lee? >> Here.
» Trustee Polk? Trustee Vidatt?
Chair Kyle? >> Here. I.
» Thank
» Okay, so we do not have any
public um, public expressions, so we can
move on from that. We have special presentation.
When we get to the heart of it and
Daniel, did you And I want to just say let's wait for any questions until
they've completed, okay? So, we're not interrupting their presentation. We'll
just have them present and then we'll wait for our sessions and do that
accordingly. Thank you. >> Right. So,
the presentation today is a recap of the Lunch at the Library program
that ended for us um, July
20 >> 22nd.
» Second. Uh, the theme of this year's uh, Lunch
at the Library program was Farm to Summer.
Um, so what is Lunch at the Library? Lunch at the Library
is funded through the California State Library. So, this year we received a
grant from the State Library through the Lunch at the Library program
of $6,000 to provide um, kind of pop-up library style engagement
at community meal sites throughout um, San Rafael through the San Rafael City
Schools who were offering lunches. Um, and through Lunch at the Library,
libraries can either be a community meal site and deliver and distribute lunches,
or they can do what we did is and then provide the engagement at some of these
events during the summer. Um, and it basically allows us to
develop programming that aligns with the theme,
um, give out free books. Um, our team gave out free books and uh
provided some engagement through like fruits. So, we provided like berries and
stuff from the farmers' market. And wrapped that up into like the engagement
and the learning component. Um, so it allowed and creates
opportunities for teens. We had two teen volunteers.
» Interns. Paid interns. >> Interns. Paid interns.
Um, and it helps um it really helps libraries connect to the community
school like the schools within the community
um and helps us highlight services at the same time. So, part of us working at
um these school sites for Lunch at the
Library, it also helped us promote our summer reading program and really share
resources that were aren't um necessarily known throughout um
families. So, that was an an added bonus for us.
These are the sites that we visited: San Pedro, Laurel Dell, Vinisha Valley,
Davidson Middle School, Pickney Community Center.
And then in total combined for the meals the sites that we visited, 811 meals
uh were served on the on-site visit days.
Um Yeah, at five total community meal
sites, the team did seven visits,
gave out a thousand books. >> Oh, wow.
» Um, the teens worked 70 hours. Um, and we provided a total of seven
enrichment uh farm to summer activities. >> And one thing I'll clarify about the
doubled sites is one is uh Davidson had both the annex and the school for the
fifth graders and then the sixth graders, so they didn't want to do the
visits at the same time. And so we saw the sixth graders on one day and then we
came back to see like the elementary age kids. And then it was the same for Roald
Dahl, I believe. Um we saw TK kinder one day and then we
saw first and second a separate day. Uh cuz they didn't want us to be
overwhelmed and also didn't want to deal with
a lot of kids in like one congregated area. So yeah, we visited two of the
same sites twice.
» Uh and as I just mentioned, we gave out uh 1,000 books to help students build
their own home libraries. Um and those books were all 100% grant
funded, so we used part of the uh we used part of the grant to pay for those
apps. >> And I'll just add
um for book selection, I myself did the book selection. I was a former
children's librarian before this. Um so I'm still connected enough to understand
popular trends in collection development. So I used those current
trends in children's literature to decide which books we buy for K to eight
is what we had to buy. Uh one fun thing we learned was that I thought we only
needed about 30% of our books in Spanish and I geared them more towards the
younger age, but the feedback we got from the interns was that we needed
percent Spanish and we actually needed more older reader books. So like more
chapter books and more graphic novels cuz I bought a lot of like transitional
chapter books and like early readers, which are those like super thin books
that are like maybe like 15 pages long. Um and those worked, but like the
feedback we got was that we actually needed more older reader stuff, which is
good to know that like there's a strong foundation in in reading at a higher
level in Spanish. It's typically it falls off around that
age, but yeah.
» Uh so farm to summer enrichment, um kind of
what the themes or the topics that we touched on is cooking and nutrition
education, food tasting and pollinator education.
So this is what the are kind of our enrichment
activities focused on during the sessions.
» Yeah, each grant cycle they require farm to summer um themes because they want to
promote like ed food education to children. And so
through like the community practice meetings that we have to attend as part
of this grant, people talked about like what's worked for libraries that have
been doing this for a long time and like what hasn't worked. And so we kind of
worked with what they brought up cuz we had our own ideas, but then people were
like, "Oh, that's not practical. Don't do that."
So then we realized that like, "Oh, okay. Like the food tasting is actually
super approachable, but like our own spin, which Daniel will show soon, is
like what we added to that." And then in our most recent meeting I brought it up
and someone had a different recommendation that I'm going to see if
they want to work with it next year, which it's like a March Madness for like
fruits. So you kind of like rank your favorite fruits and then like, you know,
you kind of like eliminate the fruits as you go down. Um and then we were going
to have like tasting for as many of them as we could and then compare the
different school sites to see like what school prefers which fruit.
Um [clears throat] which is a little bit more involved, but
it sounds really fun. So that's what I think we'll do next year if we get the
grant again and are able to do that.
» So this card what So these graphics were created by staff. Um and did the
volunteer did the interns help with these?
» They are the ones who created them. >> The interns created these and they were
used during each of our our sessions
to kind of describe and and inform the students on what they were eating.
» Yeah, so typically we had two fruit options for tastings at each of visit
and then there were these cards for them to like understand a bit about the fruit
but then on the other side like little fun questions that they could answer.
Um and it was for them to take so we didn't collect them back afterwards so.
Yeah. >> And they were bilingual so English and
Spanish. >> Yeah, translated by the interns. So one
was Spanish speaking and one was Portuguese speaking so.
Portuguese was not on our cards but Spanish was so that was very nice.
» And then our teen interns, we had two teen interns this year 70 hours
um total coursework
and that was their average hourly wage that we were that we funded through the
grant.
Um and then just kind of the the blurb I realized now it's a little small um
the interns knew some of the students informally through the community or
through schools but one cool thing is that they kind of
became library ambassadors through this like strengthen that that relationship
and they're viewed kind of in a different way. Um
and I feel that I I think that was pretty cool to really have them be
viewed as someone that could be at a library or that they work at a library
and really provide a different perspective.
» Yeah, and both are high school students, local high school students. They both
want to go into education so they really enjoyed [clears throat] like the they
got to not only do the lunch at the library site visits but they got to help
with some of the programs that children services was putting on
this summer and it was really fun for them to engage in that way and kind of
like relate back to some of the classes they're taking.
It was nice to know that like it's not just like they're earning money, but
like it's relevant to what they actually want to do later on with working with
students. So. >> And like just the side, they brought in
um such a strong energy that's different than the energy that was in our in our
workplace. Um
they were often in my office uh forcing me to take a break. So.
» The interns were great about not respecting boundaries.
» Um but I don't know that I've taken more breaks in my entire time here since like
they were like you've been in here for 4 hours like
you should go take a break and it's
Uh connecting meals to summer reading. Um
so as I mentioned a little bit every meal every community site visit uh
really doubled as an opportunity for us to promote summer reading, but our bingo
cards for summer reading also listed a lot of resources and activities that
most people may not know we provide. Um so it was a great opportunity to
through summer reading promote some of our other resources
through the bingo game. Um
the interns signed up participants for summer reading.
Um [clears throat] and of course we provided the take-home
books um and paired them with summer reading
materials. Um and then just general promotion of
services and summer reading.
Um some stories from the field. Um do you want to share some of these?
» Yeah. Um
I'll read off her screen. I'm like both are small.
Uh okay. So the first one on the top left is a first grader who loves
amethyst. Asked if we had books about them, proudly showing off his amethyst
necklace. We didn't have that exact title, but found a National Geographic
reader on rocks and crystals, sparking a new love of geology one book at a time.
And then familiar faces and new connections, children recognize favorite
titles and characters at every site. A reminder that meeting kids where they're
already at where they already are makes books and library resources far easier
to reach.
Sorry. Okay.
Farmers market produce tasting teen interns chose, prepared, and shared
fresh produce source. Do you want me to read this part out loud? That's not a
comment. >> Oh, it's a cute
» Okay. >> [laughter]
» From the Center for Farmers Market, sparking curiosity as kids tried new
fruits and learned about familiar ones. And it was really fun because they got
to recognize which of the vendors at the farmers market had the better berries.
And then they come back and tell us. So then we would know, you know, if we ever
stopped by whose berries we should be getting cuz we got to taste them.
And then bilingual take-home cards were the ones that we [clears throat] saw had
in the previous slides.
» It's stories from the field. You saw what I saw what I did there.
» Oh, I see. Oh, look at that.
» Yeah. >> That was a pun.
» Yeah.
And then we've got some pictures here in the rest of the slides
from Davidson, Vinisha Valley, and I believe Davidson.
And those are the we distributed the fruits, the berries, and the cards
there. And on the right side are our two
interns, Camila standing up and Zaira closest to us.
I picked strawberries.
So, we do plan to apply for the grant again in 2027 and we'll see how that
goes in terms of how much funding is available and how
much we're awarded.
Um but our goal is to continue to build um
onto our existing partnerships with the sites and the schools, but also just
build onto it. Um Marine County Free Library also gets
a grant for Lunch at the Library and this year we kind of looked at um
how to spread our our our our staff so that we're not all at the same
locations. Um so, like that collaboration, that
partnership, it's something that we want to kind of grow.
Um and of course uh grow our enrichment programming,
uh look at different ways to expand what we're doing, and kind of our activities.
Um and continue bilingual outreach um during during the program. It was noted
in in just in terms of who we're helping and the materials that the books that
they were requesting. So, putting in effort into into making
sure that our both our materials and
uh staff helping and interns can communicate and engage.
That's it. >> Okay, thank you.
» Thank you. >> So, we'll open it up for questions.
» I got a number of them. Um
So, well, you just mentioned you that Marine County did a similar thing. Did
they do it this year or they planning next year to do it?
» No, Marine County did it last year. I think last year was one of the first
years. I think I believe it was their first year.
Um but every library every library jurisdiction can apply for the grant and
if they're awarded they can do um,
they can do what whatever works for them, either be a site or be a pop-up.
» You And okay, so you're just aware of that they did it last year.
» Yeah. >> it last year and this year.
» Oh, did they do this year? >> Mhm.
» Oh, okay. >> So
» But because they're given a set amount of money and because the county covers a
lot more school districts than we do, since we were already engaging with San
Rafael sites, they put their their effort into other districts that we we
don't go to. >> No, I was just curious about it. Did you
coordinate with them at all to see what they're what they're doing or how
they're doing it? >> we're in constant communication with
» beginning when we were planning. >> Yeah, they helped us plan for this
» Okay. >> for this year.
» Good. >> Based on their experience last year.
» Good. I
I have more but if you you want to >> I'll put Kate round robin.
I was wondering how the interns what grades are interns are you
guys having? >> They're rising seniors.
Yeah, but the application was open for high schoolers specifically. So ninth I
think we technically had an eighth grader but we were prioritizing high
schoolers. So it was ninth to 12th is our target audience and that's our own
parameters. I mean [clears throat] teen is
officially like 13 to 18. So technically a freshman in college could apply.
» Which >> They definitely said they want to
reapply and we told them they can reapply but like we want to like
encourage other people. So if there's competitive applicants then like you
know, we're going to try and give people a chance but they're technically allowed
to apply again. So I told them they could.
» That's so sweet that they were interested in education or library
services or something. So that tension That's that's
» Yeah, and they both wanted to keep working. But, we were like, you can
volunteer and they're like, why would we volunteer when no one paid us? So, I'm
like, this is their grant. >> [laughter]
» So, I was wondering, did you use other volunteers like master gardeners for the
pollinators or did you bring in any other people from the
» We had originally been in conversation with the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy.
I always mess up their name. Um to come to some of the meal sites with
us, but they had staffing changes right at the beginning of the summer when we
were confirming our site visits. So, that fell through this year, but we plan
to work with them next year. Um and they're a little bit easier to
bring on to school campuses cuz they're like a set organization versus I mean,
the master gardeners are also a set organization, but they prefer to work
with older adults. Um I should just say adults who are older than children. Um
cuz we've tried to partner with them for other children's programs in the past.
So, we decided the Golden Gate Parks was our better option. And they do a lot of
kid-centric They actually they're the one who gave us the idea for the
pollinators. Um cuz they came to downtown and did a program and showed me
like all their supplies and how to do it. So,
we essentially like took their great idea and like condensed
it cuz you've got like an hour and to serve like a hundred plus kids
uh and get them books and get them tastings. And so, we learned very
quickly that how to be quick activities, not like full on engagement. Like,
that's off the table. Yeah.
» So, uh what was the attendance like at individual schools? Was it
» Um >> May
» Do you have those? Yeah, you have those numbers.
It varied by school sites because each school site was already designated for
camps. So, they typically had one to two different camps on the sites.
» Or you mean other things they they were doing.
» Yeah, so each site had like [clears throat] a set summer camp there.
» Okay. That's So, this those were the kids that came to this?
» Yeah, and it's the meals are always legally they are open to the public
um by like California state law. So, I don't know that they had any outside
people and when we had talked to the school district they said that like
in the beginning post-pandemic there was like participation people would show up,
but like as we moved further away from the pandemic like fewer and fewer people
would show up to the meal sites for meals over the summer.
» If I mean what about kids that didn't participate in the camps were
» Yeah, no, those are the numbers I'm talking about. Like that continued to
shrink. So, I don't actually know what those numbers are this year. Yeah, when
we meet with the school district in September we'll be able to get those
numbers. Yeah, the grant doesn't ask for specific
of who was what for the pop-up sites because each pop-up site works
differently. >> So, what were the ages?
» Uh it was specifically TK, so that's four to five-year-old to eighth grade.
So, what is that? 12? Yeah, 12
» Okay. >> maybe 13.
Yeah. >> Was it camps or summer school? Was it
camps >> Camps.
» that the school put on? >> Mhm, through a non-profit, through two
different non-profits. Yeah, but the stipulations for the grant
is that it has to be USDA certified meal sites. So, we can only work with those
meal sites to do these pop-ups, which the schools are automatically
[clears throat] certified. So, it's easier to work with them.
There are community meal sites. I don't know that there are any in San Rafael,
but when I worked in Oakland there were community meal sites that also were like
non-school affiliated that could do it. >> Yeah, I was thinking like the Boys and
Girls Club that's like a Davidson or that used to be.
» They didn't have an active program this summer.
» Oh, okay. >> Yeah, but the YMCA did take over. That's
why we were at Boro for Pickle Weed. They took over the summer, whereas it's
usually Buena Vista. >> Okay.
» So, that was like the only technically non-school site, but it was like they
partnered with the school for the camps. >> Mhm. So,
school district providing the food for the summer?
» Yeah. Yeah, through their own grant, through their own state grant that funds
the meals. >> really funding
the food program. Um
is there any calling meal meal sites? It's like a but you are
offering the fruits and uh mostly fruits, like berries and so
it's not part it's not actually main meal for them.
» No, that's what the school serving. So, the school serving the free lunch and
where our enrichment was to choose to do food. Yeah, we didn't have to do that.
That's just how we chose to address it based on the feedback of other sites.
» But you only did berries, is that right? >> Yeah.
» Fruit, yeah. >> Well, no, no, no. There were apricots
and apples. >> Oh, I said fruit. Okay.
» Yeah, fruit. >> Yeah.
» Yeah, but the pictures we only had were yeah. I think she had eight different
options total. >> So, you said you had feedback from about
things and how did [clears throat] that >> surveys.
» Oh, surveys. You did surveys with who? >> Uh through the grant they had paper
surveys that we had to collect. >> Oh, okay.
» Yeah, so we got feedback from the kids. >> Okay.
» Now, was it substantial? I mean >> [laughter]
» There were some great quotes in there. >> You had to actively interpret with
» Yeah, I mean what was nice was uh we had 55 completed surveys from kids.
Uh four of which were in Spanish. So, like, you know, we actually have data to
give back to the >> That's great.
» grant, which is great cuz there are sometimes where like you get like
» Does that help for future grants when you when you're
» It does. >> Yeah, I would
» To show that participation. Yeah, that really helps. And in the grand scheme
like we're smaller cuz the meal sites are smaller. Smallest was Pickelweed
because of size. So I think they only had like 50 students at Pickelweed. Our
largest had 225 students. >> In a day? On a single day?
» On a single day. Um and there was only one site that was like a little chaotic.
Every other visit was great. I will not name them. But there was There's only
one site which we kind of thought like, oh well, you know, we're working
essentially with a third party. We're working with camps on the school site.
We're not working with the school anymore cuz school's out. So like
communication can get a little funky, but it only happened once. So and I was
like, >> You got it.
» Yeah, I was like one and it wasn't even our biggest day. So I was like,
you guys are okay. Shake it off. We're fine. We're fine.
» So what do you think the kids liked the most? I mean, there you had food,
the berries, you had the books, and you had the interactive stuff.
» According to them, they liked the stickers most.
And we had all of our like love your library campaign like the leftover
bookmarks and the stickers, like the fox one and the heart one, and the tattoos.
And our interns came in and gave us tattoos, too. They used the tattoos.
They put it on before every site visit. And then they give kids Yeah, they'd had
it on their face and on their arms and then they go and then the kids would see
them and they'd want tattoos. So now I'm like, great. Now all these kids are
walking around with face tattoos of the library because you understand.
But like those like stickers were number one, which we thought was hilarious. Um
so next year we kind of think we want to do like a special lunch at the library
sticker. Um and then the books were like number
two. And then the food. But to be honest like they're eating lunch. So like you
getting like a few berries in addition to your lunch, like I can understand
it's not chocolate. So like it's not It's not next year. But, yeah,
right? Like next year we'll do chocolate dipped. But,
» [laughter] >> But, yeah, so I'd say the stickers,
which I thought was hilarious, which gave us the idea next year, you know,
we'll do special stickers. A special sticker, one.
It's easier to do, Paul. >> And they got to pick out their book?
» Yes. Yeah. And it was from picture books to graphic novels and everything in
between. Nonfiction, fiction, everything.
» So, what do you do with the leftovers cuz I mean there must have been some
that weren't picked? >> Um so, some of the books I ordered
through Scholastic and they gave us a bunch of bonus books cuz that's just how
they work. And their bonus books, respectfully, tend to be the stuff that
doesn't sell well. So, those were a lot of the ones that
came back. Not the Spanish. Any bonus books I got
in Spanish, we were completely out of. >> Wow.
» But, the books we got in English, uh those were the ones I noticed were
the ones I came back cuz those weren't the ones I bought. Cuz I was like, oh, I
didn't I didn't select this. Um So, we're just incorporating those into
our giveaways. Uh most were given to the schools, but like
because we got so many bonus books that came in addition to what the grant funds
were spent on, we're just going to give them to the schools when um
» Oh, you start doing the My Card visits. >> Yeah.
» What kind of books were popular? >> Graphic novels were number one in ours.
» Wow. >> Um but, I picked fun ones.
Uh and then um the early readers, I made sure and
they didn't believe me. I know kids like these. There's a series called Who Would
Win and it's nonfiction uh National Geographic books that pit
different animals against each other. Um and it's like all factual, so it's
like could who would win it's like the mosquito versus
I don't remember what it was, but of course the mosquito wins cuz it gives
you a disease. And then that's actually how the book ended. Um so, it's stuff
like that. So, those were super popular and I was like, yeah, I told you those
would work. >> [laughter]
» And they're like, no one wants these National Geographic. I'm like, yes, they
do. What? Yeah, so the Who Would Wins and of
course the graphic novels. I had Dog Man, Babysitters Club. I bought the
staples. They were all gone. Yeah, but they did split them up so
there was enough for each site, which was good.
» Okay, man. >> So
» Oh, yeah. Yeah. [clears throat] >> So uh
I don't know whether this was part of your survey or do you know did the kids
give any indication how often they might have gone to the library if if they even
go to the library? >> That wasn't on the survey and we weren't
able to alter their surveys, but I mean, you know, for the future that could be
something we like have our own little >> I'm I'm just curious how often kids
you run into come here. >> Yeah, from the camp specifically, I'm
not sure. >> They all have library cards though
through the My Card program. So we do have a
» have a way to track that whether they've at least checked out a book?
» Yeah. Yeah. >> They're all just they uh they all get
library cards every year through the library automatically.
» What do you know what kind of what I mean, how many actually use them
or >> No, I haven't I haven't
pulled stats on how frequently or how often they use it. Um primarily cuz the
goal the goal is the goal of one of the the goals for the
My Card program is that they have access to the library even when they're not at
the library. >> Sure.
» So them visiting the library isn't always our primary reason for doing it.
They have access to all of our digital resources, all of our homework help, all
of our anything that they could they need to do
at the library, they could do from the classrooms now
through their library card. >> But it's But that would be great
information though to Right, statistically to see
» can have we we could get usage data for that. Yeah.
» Anything else you got request. >> No, I I yeah.
» But, you know that survey is coming out that we got to fill out, so.
Y O A surveys, so you'll get that data. It sounds like a wonderful day. I mean,
each day. It just >> They came back with smiles on their
face. They loved it. The interns made me jealous. Like, I love outreach, so I
would have loved to go, but like it would have been overkill for me to be
there. Well, Briana, our teen librarian, was their supervisor and was their
direct >> report.
» So, or their direct Yeah, supervisor. So, she's the one who actually went to
the sites, drove them, had them like set up, and They were They
got it down to a science. Like, they could pack those boxes and like break
down and set up quickly. >> Wow.
» How long did they last during the during a day? How how often How long were they
there? >> Oh, what were they doing? 6-hour shifts,
typically 5-to-6-hour shifts. >> So, it was prep, breakdown, site visits.
» So, >> Yeah.
» 4 hours at the site, maybe, or something?
» Uh no, it was typically like 2 hours at the site, and then the other hours were
morning prep. And then they probably [clears throat]
helped type up the fruits for the day. Yeah,
not usually the day of, probably an off day.
Help with some of the kids' programs. They also got our seed library. We got
caught up with all the seeds. Yeah.
Um [clears throat] cuz they take some seeds just as a side thing, but
» They and they they were able to help us with
one of needs
while they were there. >> Yeah, they did some of the signage in
teen. They redid so. >> They launched a spirit week. They
launched a spirit week for staff. >> Oh, that's nice.
Yeah, about the spirit days. >> [laughter]
» Sounds like teenagers. And I told staff, "I know all we have to
participate in one of the above."
» So, it was just a a really welcomed energy.
» Positive. That's good. >> Yeah.
» Thank you. Thank you for coming. >> Yeah, we're happy to have an opportunity
to pay teens to do work, but like also to engage with the community in a way
that we couldn't do with our current staffing cuz it's just this definitely
needed three people to do for each site visit. It's very involved cuz like I
said, you're getting a high volume of kids at once.
Uh they weren't all bum rush. Like they come in groups, but some sites
like the groups were larger. So, you're still
dealing with like 40 kids and you only got two tables.
Uh so, yeah.
» Yeah. Direction. >> Yeah, so I couldn't have done this with
just our teen librarian or even myself and the teen librarian. So,
I'm grateful for the teens. Yeah.
Yeah, I wouldn't want to grow it though. Like I wouldn't want to grow our teen
team because [clears throat] I don't I think
four is too many. >> [laughter]
» Like three is the perfect number. >> Maybe the kids could relate to the teens
more too than the >> Oh yeah, Briana had to step back. She
told me at the sites she was not the one really talking to kids. She was actually
usually the one dealing with the berries just for like food safety. And then like
the the stickers and the book selection was happening with the teen.
» Well, that's good. >> Yeah, so it was a great opportunity for
them. And she took a step back and let them do their thing.
» Yeah. >> Yeah.
Yeah. >> Yeah.
» Used to have uh children's room with a you know,
twins like a attendant desk check mark, but the reading program.
» Yeah, we had talked about that. This was the first year we did like a unified
summer reading program again. So, next year we'll kind of we're going to we're
having a meeting next week to kind of debrief and talk about what can change.
I think sign-ups were light in the library. There wasn't really a sign-up
component as much, but maybe for redemption. I don't know.
I'd have to talk to Margaret to see how she felt about that. But that did come
up this year when we were talking about what
» So I remember like the kids were but they're like a 12-year-old or
13-year-old recommending their favorite book. Maybe reading a 7-year-old
or 9-year-old and they kind of carries more to the kids than
Margaret might be recommending. >> Yeah, yeah. And then it was like, "Yeah,
sure." >> [clears throat]
» Or something. >> Yeah. Yeah, that is on our list. Yeah,
depending on how we structure it.
Did you have any more questions? >> No, that's that's
very good. That sounds great. The program.
» It was fun. I'm glad we did it. It was like a nightmare and very scary the
beginning to organize, but then everything started rolling in. Then it
turned out so well and it was such a breeze at that point. So.
» Yeah. >> It went fast, too.
» It did. Yeah.
» So are you are you getting feedback from the
camp or or from this? You won't get it from the schools because they're not
involved, but from the camp directors or anything?
» Yeah, so there is a site coordinator through the school. Like he's not there
during the summer, but that's who we're meeting with in the probably next month.
Um and we'll get the feedback from him about their perspective on how
» That that would be great. >> Yeah, yeah. But we got like the teens it
had to fill out a form feedback form and then you know, the ones we collected
from kids at the site. >> Yeah.
» Yeah, there were no [clears throat] adults eating the meals or no parents,
so we couldn't collect that data cuz it's in camp, so they're just there with
the teachers. Yeah.
» Thank you. >> Yeah, of course.
» So, other agenda items, community program
proposal process. >> Sure. So this is more of just an update
to um um just community programs or when our
community members are interested in providing some type of program or event
um to the community in partnership with the library or through us in
collaboration. Um and this is kind of formalizing a
process for us to collect that info to to collect the interest to collect the
information, get data, um and really have a consistent way for
staff to evaluate those requests, and measure them up against uh staff
capacity, costs, uh whether they're um aligned with city
goal city and library goals. Um and whether they're meeting a need
that we're that we have identified that it's needed
in our profile of programs or events. Um so this this community programs
proposal process it's kind of a a mouthful.
Um but it's uh it's a form that people fill out when
they have they they um reach out to us that they want to
provide a program that they're having a they have expertise in. Um and then we
they just submit the form. So it's a it's
all the information is collected. They go to our website to do it.
Um and it's a easy it's a good way for us to really keep track of what our
community is presenting to us because at some point it is reflective
of what the community is doing and what they're engaging in. Um and it's an easy
way for us to kind of bring in experts to help us lead some of those programs.
Um and just for reference um last fiscal year we launched or we delivered 503
in-person and virtual programs and engaged with 17,406
participants. >> Wow.
» So, programming is a huge deal for us. We're interested in really
bringing in and seeking guidance from the community on you know, what our
programs can be in collaboration with organizations that aren't internal to
our our library. Um, and I think this is a it's a good
way to really streamline the process. Um, but also it it makes sure that our
staff know how to respond that aren't immediately pressured to make a decision
for to say yes to a program or no to a program depending on how demanding a
requester is. Um, but it also ensures us that the
right staff person is evaluating based on what area they support. Um, and um,
some of the and some of the topics that we
um, know or know or that we're noticing are
coming through are um, let's see. Where do I have that on
there? There's a lot of uh
mindfulness program, gardening, youth literacy, and artistic self-expression.
So, the forum launch When did we launch this forum?
Maybe a month. Two months ago?
» It was right before Bonnie left. >> Yeah, so July some mid-July, like a
month ago. >> No. Yes. Yes.
» Yeah, um, so and we've already gotten a good amount of responses and around
surrounding these themes. Um, [clears throat]
so it puts all the information in one place. Staff that are navigating and
figuring out programming for the next year, it helps us plan ahead of time.
Um, but it also ensures that our messaging is consistent, that our
evaluation process is consistent. Um, and that we're able to look at kind of
what our library led programs are, what we're what we're sponsoring, what we're
developing, and then filling in the gaps um with community led
programs and events. Um and then in the staff report I kind
of listed out we'll I don't have to read all of them, but just kind of what the
questions are that the form asks. Um
and it really seeks information on what their experience is
on the topic, um whether they were doing like a
one-off program or they envision this being a series of events that we can
launch. Um how their proposal aligns with city
goals, um what their intended audience is, um and of course like what the cost
is. Cost is, um which is another benefit cuz it allows us to
um look at the budget and really allocate
funds as we're going based on what is proposed.
» Yeah. I'd say prior there was the form like why this form is really helpful and
to emphasize the standardization is because previously it was just someone
would come to the desk and say, "Hey, I want to do this program." And they may
not be talking to the relevant librarian and relevant being you could be talking
to the teen librarian and you're talking about an adult program. So that's not
the person who's going to decide if they do it. Um and then also in that moment
they don't know what the budget is. Um so they also can't say yes in that
moment. And there's a lot of questions that weren't getting asked or just
weren't um in the thought process of things we need to consider. And so this
form put every question that we do ask when deciding a program whether
ourselves or we're asking a partner uh into one form. Uh and staff themselves
have a similar form internally that mirrors this that I'm asking those very
same questions of like, "Did you think this or
That's essentially what it summarizes. Um so the form's a little bit longer,
but it's to really make people be thoughtful and not just say, "Hey, I
want to come read a book to kids." Um, cuz now we've got to ask you a lot of
questions. All right, what kind of book do you want to read? Why do you want to
read this book? Uh, how often were you thinking of doing
this? How much was this going to cost? What's your expertise? Do you have
references? >> [laughter]
» These are just normal questions that we ask, but it's easier than having the
back and forth in person or over the phone, um, or many emails. Like, one
form and you know what we're going to ask and we're asking everyone same
questions. Uh, yeah, so it's a
it's very [clears throat] convenient. >> So, you had that many people
coming and saying, "I want to present." >> Yeah, and it really depended on the
staff member they talked to and did that person pass it on to the right person?
And then sometimes it just get lost. So, the information stopped. Now, we
don't have this person's information anymore. So, then they'll be like, "Hey,
I spoke to so-and-so." And we'll be like, "Oh."
» I'm struggling [clears throat] here on
understanding exactly how this This is people that come in
that want to do what do something with the library or in the library?
» That's exactly it. >> And
I mean, what do these what do these people need basically? I mean, are they
looking for a forum to be able to do what they want to do? Is that I mean
» Well, for example, it could be that someone wants to teach a yoga class.
» Okay. >> And they want to do it at the library,
but we've got questions about what that means.
Or what's the audience? What kind of space do you need?
» it open for the public? >> Yeah.
» What is the cost? >> Which library?
» To us? Which library? Is it bilingual? So, it's it's almost like a it's almost
like a formal way of us of them presenting a proposal for us.
With [clears throat] all the relevant information that we would need to make a
decision. Because some like someone can come say,
"Hey, I'm offering a story time on Tuesday mornings." But we could already
be doing a story time on Tuesday mornings.
» Right. >> So it helps us evaluate what if we're
already doing something internally um
whether there is a need to bring in something else.
» So why would somebody I mean I can see reading or something.
Why would somebody come to the library? I mean
I would think they might want to go to the community center or something or
» Or like a we have a captive audience. We have the space, we have a captive
audience, we have reach with our newsletter. So like we're doing a lot of
the work and marketing for you. And we're giving you the space and then
libraries tend to be like, "Hey, this was a good program. You should work with
this person." So now you're getting referrals.
» Yeah. >> So you're kind of creating that network
for them, which makes it a really favorable space to do offer your
services. >> I think tomorrow I have it circled that
you have some speaker talking about monarchs.
Right? Isn't it with you guys? >> Is it? Is it?
» It's tomorrow the master gardeners. Tomorrow's Wednesday.
» That is correct. >> I think it is. It's
» But it was like this is kind of interesting. Here it is at the library.
Yes, I'm interested and you know, that would be kind of
» Libraries have Libraries have always um
been vehicles to close the gap, tools to close the gap on everything.
Technology, education, literacy, entertainment, and joy.
So a lot of the times, for example, our
tech help programs is
um maybe that maybe someone can't go to the genius or at an Apple Store because
they have they don't have Apple device or
they can come to our uh tech help one-on-one and come do it.
That's technically not traditionally a library service.
» Right. >> But the responsibility for us is to help
a patron close the gap on technology so they can truly use our resources.
So we're setting the framework for that. So if if I teach you how to use an iPad,
for example, and I say, "Now with this knowledge,
you can download books from OverDrive, Libby, you can stream from Hoopla,
Kanopy, you could download from Palace Project. Uh you can then upload your own
books onto BiblioBoard." So it's it's we we've got to close that
gap if we want them to truly use all of our resources.
» Right. >> And part of that is we aren't experts in
everything. So we've got to reach out to our
community, we've got to be welcoming of making those connections with our
community who can help us educate our patron base.
And a lot of the times it isn't just education. I'm a firm believer that
sometimes we have to leverage the gap of joy and entertainment and leisure for
people who can't access those things. And I think one good way one good one
kind of side benefit to this is that once we merge into this new community
uh library community center, we're going to be working with a lot of joint space.
» Right. >> So we're going to have to re- really
envision what our offerings and our programs look like.
Whether it's that the library offers kind of a gateway program into some sort
of recreation program, and if they like it and they're committed to it, then
they go further with the rec team and the rec side.
» Mhm. >> So this is a a lot of these are great
practices to start putting in place because we're going to be utilizing them
in different forms. >> Right.
» But it's um the library values community partnerships, and the li- the library is
really more than just giving out books and DVDs and
part >> is what the vast majority of people
think of it is. >> Yeah, they think of it, but I think part
of part I think that's that's why this is so important is because a lot of
community organizations that people don't expect to be part of the library
» Right. >> do want to be part of the library.
And I can't think of a better ambassador than someone who does a program with the
library and then they go to their larger audience and they tell them, I'm also at
the library. So, we've got to look for those those
kind of avenues, opportunities to where um our resources are highlighted through
collaborations. >> Sure.
» Yeah. >> Yeah.
» kind of what the the the importance of this is.
» And I'd say ASCOM is a really good example of that. Uh they
» What is? >> ASCOM. I do don't ask
» ASCOM. I know >> Don't ask me what that acronym
» What that is. Yeah. >> But they approached us about it.
Um this was before we had the forum. So, this is a situation where then I had to
run around and be like, "Do you Do you know? Can you um
» Yeah. >> Can you ask all these following
questions? Okay, great. These are their answers. Lovely.
Um but that's an example of like we didn't we weren't already aware of them.
They approached us with a great idea of a mini series and
then, you know, it worked so well, they're reliable that we're able to
continue that partnership. Um and again, it's like they like you said, they're at
ASCOM, they already have their set audience, but it's grown and now people
like are continuing to ask for more, which they're like, "Oh yeah, we have
content on this, so we could do a program on that." Which is what's
happening this >> They They subsidize I I've taken a
number of classes there and they some of them they subsidize. So, they do a lot
of things. >> Yeah, and I mean, they're partnering
with us for free, which you know, the library loves free. Yeah. So, we're
never mad at a free program. That's That's really great quality like this.
So, So,
like your art program, like you have speaker series for the art like what's
going on at the Young or something? Is that your set your own set schedule and
you bring in speakers or is that Okay. They're kind of regular
Yeah. So, there's like inherited legacy programs like that. So, the art program
is one. Is that the ones that are in City Hall? Yeah,
City Hall. Yeah, one of those ones. Yeah. Yeah. And so, for those, we like
the date and time's preset, but it's on us to find docents
or volunteers who are not official docents to come give talks. You get some
pretty good quality people there, too. Yeah. Yeah. I'd say what makes the art
talk specifically so competitive is that historically, San Rafael was the first
to do it, then San Anselmo did it, and now many others do it. So, we're all
competing. docent talks.
And you know, we're in Marin, so it's very congregated. Our patrons are
willing to travel to libraries for these talks. So, you're not going to do the
same docent talk at every library. So, it just makes it a little bit more
competitive. It's like Did you hear about this future thing? Or
like, oh, this docent told me that, you know, in January, this is going to be
the thing. So, then go ahead. Yeah, we're booked for January. We're booked
through January right now. Cuz you got to hop on it early if you want to. Like
I said, it's competitive. So, Yeah. I'm just curious. Can you see a future
schedule? Do you have like since you had these proposals, do you have like
a schedule three, four months in advance that the public can look at or no? Um
not always. We release I think sometimes we'll release like six months if we have
six months planned out, but it It depends on like
how many we have planned out. Usually we just do 3 months because we can easily
confirm that at least 3 months in advance, but I know that Lee has worked
through January and she's working on the next, but sometimes it's too early. So
Yeah. >> I was just mentioned that the I I just
remember 10 years ago that uh children's room team is for the team
parents like there's a like a title Lost Boys or something.
It's It's about the uh
the struggling boy you know teenage boys or something that is psychotherapist who
does programs for the struggling teen boys that doesn't quite
fit into the the school system or
and there's so much pressure for the boys like
you know never cry and never you know stoic all the time
» Yeah. >> be in charge of everybody has to be
leader or something. So So he was a gentleman who was doing a program to the
one hour like a workshop kind of thing for the parents.
» Yeah. >> I remember like seeing the poster like
we gather all the parents with the boys show up in the room and our over circle
lecture is like this is happening with really there.
You know they [clears throat] look like a man but they are not quite men yet.
» Yeah. >> You know but eventually at the end I
realized he's also promoting his program outside the wall.
» Yeah. Which for those services yeah yeah and for those that's where we
have to tread carefully where you're marketing something that is to then be a
continuing service that may or may not be paid regardless if it's for your paid
like that's where the library has to tread
carefully cuz we're not here to market your services necessarily.
Um it's a free informative service yeah.
» No no no at the same time it was at end. I was like, oh, okay. I could see it
now. There's a slight here. And when >> We did that with the college readiness.
I think it was like the three-part series we did last fall. She has like
paid like one-on-one service prep. >> [clears throat]
» But what she was offering was like essentially what she does in her
one-on-one prep broken into three parts in a series for like students help them
prep for the college apps. Um she, you know, yeah, you could pay to see her,
but that's not what this was about. This is like she was able to condense it. And
again, it was like free. So, yeah, will she get clients out of it? Maybe.
Um but at no point are you allowed to say sign up for my mailing list to hear
about my discounts. Like that's that's prohibited. So.
» I guess for the past few [clears throat] years we've been having SAT test exam
here at the library. >> Yeah, so. But you know, talking to the
teens our interns, they were talking about whether they were going to take
the test or not depending on what schools cuz some of the schools don't
require them right now. So, it's become yeah, it's always it's a whole It comes
and flows with like what team focus is in the topic.
» Right. >> So, you look for
one-off things more often like that. >> It's easier to commit to stand-alones or
mini series than like long-term reoccurring
cuz that like locks us in to a specific schedule that like you don't want to
deviate from it too much. Once you commit to it, it's really unfair to the
community to be like, all right, never mind, we're not doing this anymore.
And like sends the wrong message. So, it's easier for us to say like if you
want to do series, yeah, we'll do like once a month for the next 3 months and
let's see how this goes. We don't typically do anything more than
once a month just because that's our time is limited. So, unless you're doing
it at different branches, that's where we can like yeah, you're technically
here like three times a month with it. But like you're at a different branch
each week. So it's it that like is how
» You do things at at like North Gate and and Pickleweed. I mean
» Pickleweed did have like reoccurring programs. North Gate, well, parking at
Pickleweed is one of our biggest problems.
» Just yeah, challenges. >> And then North Gate, the challenge there
is staffing. Um so we can really only rely on passive
programs or after hour programs, which is really just the book clubs tend to be
after hours. Um but yeah, any like active programming
at North Gate is super challenging cuz we are very like tightly staffed there.
» I thought I saw a a a reading program, kids coming in for a
for to be read to. They're with >> Reading Buddies did have um services
there at all three branches. So Reading Buddies did happen at North Gate and
Pickleweed as well. Yeah. Yeah, and that'll be starting up again
next month. So eight
» Oh, do you have any more >> Adrian Brig did the workshop but the
» Book origami. >> Yes.
» And then I think he was so well attended. I remember like you guys
thinking about doing second one. >> Yeah.
» So I might have you guys have done second one already.
» You know, we just talked about budgets. So that's for the adult librarians to
decide. We have to try carefully about rebooking people we've recently used cuz
we don't have a large budget. So if we'd rather try someone new
» Yes. >> for the sake of seeing is this person
worth keeping in our rotation. That's a conversation that the adult librarians
are having. Yeah, she was good. Like there's another art program we did like,
I don't know if you saw it but it was like a cactus painting and it looked
like it was [clears throat] under black lights. It was beautiful. It was well
attended. everyone's art looked professional. And I was like, "Oh my
god, everyone like raved about his instructions." And it was the same for
our ceramics, which we're like, "Okay, we know people like these hands-on
activities. So, yes to hands-on, but maybe like we need to
try other people just to keep it in rotation."
» And then trust me, yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah, Adrienne's on our list. Like
we know her program's good. >> [laughter]
» She's on her list. >> She's She's too busy to be on this.
» She Yeah, she doesn't need any more promotion.
» Yeah. But But we're like, "Yes." So, she's on our yes list. But, you know,
we want to try other things. Like the art was great, the ceramics was great.
I'd love to see them try a different medium of art.
» Teach for free. >> Yeah.
» [laughter] >> Yeah. Yeah. And we got the books.
» We got them a lot of books. >> Yeah, I think she still has tools, too.
So, we have everything necessary to do it.
» [clears throat] >> Are there any reports?
» Are there any? >> No, that's it.
Do you Does anybody else have >> [clears throat]
» Let me see. Any trustee reports or attendance of
seminars of board? Nope. Anything to say?
» No. >> Well, I have a liaison report. I think
that was next after >> Oh, I'm sorry.
» before trustee reports. >> Oh, okay.
» It's just It'll be pretty brief. >> Yeah.
» Um And And I'll just follow the same
format. I'll just go through kind of downtown, Pickawee, Metro K.
Um so, for downtown, I we just presented and we wrapped up Lunch to Library.
Um but we also just partnered with the county's uh probation department with
and they have a program called uh Youth Working for Change, which provides um
youth who are in kind of their probation uh program or have been identified as
being at risk with opportunities to intern at
different places. They pay them, we host them, and hopefully starting in a couple
of weeks we'll have one intern who's in high school who'll be working
with us 20 hours a week through November, I believe.
Um and we've spoken with her and she's awesome.
She has her own She's in high school has her own small business um and she's
interested in working at the library because she identified the skills that
she's missing is customer service engaging with people
in kind of in a public way and she wants to strengthen her her
skills with technology. And she identified the library as a good
way to do that. They reached out to us and we were interested in hosting an
intern and we can always use the help. Um so we're excited to bring her on and
help us um
at the library. Um we've also did some training with
staff um
because of the Chico of the library in Chico with the
um active shooter in the library killed a
couple people a couple months ago. Um that kind of raised the alarms for us
in terms of our training. Um so we worked with um our police
department and they put together a site-specific training for staff
um in case we're we're ever faced with an active threat.
Um how to manage it uh really based on kind of where we're working. The library
has a combination of public and staff-only spaces. So I think it was
good for us to for the team to really draw awareness of
um where we are any given moment and what we would do in that situation. So
that was it was a good training it was a good reminder for us to stay on top of
that training and just um to get some good tips from our police
department. >> Safety training or
safety training steps steps >> It's It's active shooter training.
» Active shooter training. >> Yeah.
Uh I think it's called active threat. >> Active threat. Okay.
» Um cuz it could be >> Yeah.
» Both of us worked at Oakland public >> Yes.
» and other public library systems and threats of this nature happen in various
forms and you you've the response is often the same.
» [clears throat] >> Um let's see staffing um
Bonnie retired >> Ooh.
» um in July July 15th or 16th 15th was our last day.
Um Briana who was our teen librarian was promoted into that position so she's now
the senior librarian in charge of adult and teen services.
Um Alejandra is taking back her has stepped back into her library librarian
two role so vacating her senior librarian
branches position which we're recruiting hopefully at the end of this week so
that'll go out. Um
and um more for downtown is the in order for us
to get artists um to display their art at the library they've got to go to the
public art review board. So, they've got to be selected through that committee to
be an artist that can display their art in in city buildings and in public
spaces. Um and then for this next process the
library's going to be a site the artist can part of the the call out for artist
specifically because our space calls for 3D art.
Um so it'll will be more specific just so that we have more options of artists
that to host installations in art at the downtown.
So, it's exciting. >> Yeah.
» Um for Pickleweed, as you can see, we tried a site visit 2 months in a row.
» Isn't that beautiful, everybody? >> And it's there's uh the construction is
really slipping. Uh construction probably won't end or be completed until
late September. Um there are some uh
components with um like the security features of the doors
and working with the police substation that's causing a little bit of delays
um because of just the particular nature of the equipment um and only certain
companies are allowed to work with that because of the the sensitive nature of
of the space um for our police department.
So, it's it's it's taking a little bit. Uh but it's looking really nice.
» Okay. >> It's going to be a great space.
And hopefully next month we'll be Is there more
parking? >> When do you think you'll be in there or
not in? >> Oh, no.
There's not more parking um and the fields are reopened. So,
that's >> competing
» Yeah, we're you're competing with a lot of stuff.
It's such a hub. A lot is going on there. So, it's it's parking is I think
it's always going to be a challenge for us to navigate.
Um let's see. Measure K uh in the city council certified the
results of the election for Measure K in July. Um we were at 78%
yes on that, which um
from what the city manager and uh Catherine mentioned, it's the highest
one of our measures has has um reached.
Um and something of note is that it cleared 2/3 in all precincts, which I
don't believe had been the case before. So,
uh and that just speaks to all the hard work and that our staff is
doing and and how connected they are to the community.
Um, I think it's I think our public remembers that and um
that speak that's that speaks louder than than our campaigns.
Um, Measure P the RF the RFQ for the proposals closed on July 29th.
Um, so the city is evaluating proposals um, and proposing teams and select a
team will be announced at the Measure P subcommittee meeting on August 31st. So
the teams moving forward and teams that submitted proposals, all of that
information will be um, announced end of the month.
Um, we're looking to have a joint trustees park and rec commission meeting
in October. Um, we'll have to figure out what date
that is. Um, so you'll hear from both either Jenner and I on what that looks
like for October.
Um, for September we also may have to re uh, or look at a date
uh, because our September meeting lands on a city council meeting date.
So I'll look at what the options are and then we'll figure out the process for
getting that on scheduled. >> Is it already our meeting is a
only on same day as council? >> Yeah, and I feel I think it's because
there's a >> It's right after a holiday.
» Everything weekend. >> Yeah, so then they moved the meeting
over to the next day. Um,
so we'll see and then we'll reach out with dates.
Um, and then we haven't met since May, so just a little bit on the Pride event
that we collaborate with Marine County Free Library to throw.
Um, we held it at the Civic Center parking lot next to the farmers market
on Sunday June 13th, 14th. 14th. 14th.
Um >> What was that?
» The pride event. >> Oh, pride event.
» Reading with pride. >> Okay.
» Uh we had 153 visitors to our table. Uh 42 uh for story time. We coordinated
with 11 community partners. We gave away swag and a bunch of giveaways.
Um we had music, Zumba, face painting, and we one of our spin the wheel gifts
were tokens for food or or purchasing anything at
the farmers market. >> Cute.
» Nice. >> Um so that was a lot of fun. Um and then
in September Common Reads with College of Marin kicks off. The library San
Rafael Public Library is uh a part of that program. So we'll we'll be
participating in programming throughout between September and May of next year.
Um in different forms. Um really um highlighting the book uh
Solito by Javier Zamora. >> Yeah.
» Um anything else programming events? I'm sure there's a ton.
» Endless. >> Uh
there's a ton of stuff. Um but I think those are just kind of highlights of
things that big and things. >> Mhm.
» It's great. >> Yeah.
» That's it. >> Are there zip books? No more?
» Oh, that's right. Uh so we still have until the end of this month to submit
your request for zip books. But the California State Library kind of
redistributed those funds to other resources.
Um and kind of ended support for zip books. Um one of the things that came
out of that is that for the next year we have access to tutor.com
for homework help. Through it's it's labeled uh homework
California, but it's through tutor.com. >> Mhm. Um so K through 12 help.
Um that's one of the programs that sponsored.
» Remind me what Zip Books are. >> Zip Books are it's a grant funded
program for from the California State Library where if there's a book you want
that we don't have in our system, it's not at any of our member libraries,
and you can't find it on Link Plus, um then you find it on Amazon, you
request it, and it's delivered straight to your house.
» Yeah, but that's not happening anymore. >> Not after August 31st.
» Was it a grant? Was it some of the library gets a lot
certain fund given to the month of August? So once that's over
» So no, it's through fiscal year. So for the year So we apply for the grant last
year. Well, we apply every year. >> Okay.
» Um and then they give you a set amount of money, and you have that much money
to spend books for the year. >> For the year. Okay. And you can return
it or keep it, it sounds like. >> Well, if you return it, then you're able
to request another one. >> Oh, I see.
» Yeah. And then we're responsible for adding a certain percentage of those
books into our collection. >> Uh-huh.
And then the the fund that you received is not if there's a leftover, do we have
to return to the state?
Better use it. >> So so
So is Where do you see that? Where do you go for that?
Is it on the website? >> It's on our website. We pretty much
advertise it every month in our newsletter.
Um >> It's okay. It there's so many
limitations to >> Oh, is there?
» Yeah, it's a little hard to work with, and that's one of the things I expressed
to Daniel. And I mean, it's no secret. But because we are fortunate enough to
be a part of Link Plus, we have access to a lot of books, which negates your
ability to get that book. >> well, I I I asked that because I I do a
lot of research and and there are many times when Link Plus does does not have
what I want. >> Yeah, this would have been a great
resource for you. >> So, I can still do it though till the
end of the month. >> You can only get one and then you got to
return it if you want to get another. >> Okay. Okay.
» So, pick the one you really want. You know, like
» Yeah, that's true. >> That's true.
» Yeah, but that is equal. That is equal. >> Yeah, but it was a great experience.
» It was great. It was great.
» Yeah. Yeah, which that's the intent of at least for well-resourced libraries
like us who are able to tap into our neighbors.
» Yeah. >> It's how you can get the more niche
books that like are not going to circulate well. So, that's typically why
they did it. Follow our trade. >> I I want every
» Yeah. >> Nobody's
» Mhm. >> Yeah, if it only is going to circulate
once, then we're we're not going to spend the money to get it.
» Foreign language books. >> Yeah, exactly. It's great for foreign
language. >> And then this last this last year they
also rolled out ebooks.
So, the same kind of parameters if you found a book that we didn't carry
or OverDrive didn't carry, you found it, sent the link and they would load us
into the they would load it into the Palace Project app
for you to download. >> Oh.
» [clears throat] >> That's great. Wonderful.
Good thing. One last
» Yeah. >> And
» Yeah. Yeah, but you know, it I mean, homework help, that's an expensive
service. Tutor.com, it's expensive. So, it's nice that we have access to it for
a year cuz it's 24 hours, multilingual. >> 24 hour?
» Yeah. Yeah. >> 24/7?
» And they have like the SAT prep. They have they partner with Princeton, I
believe. So, they have like the Princeton books and stuff and resources.
So, that's also one of the reasons why it's expensive, so and like we lose zip
books, but we gain tutor.com, which is like, you know,
» The tutor.com one-on-one live
» They do there's a time frame for it, but yeah, yeah.
» It's interesting. On the way over there was a news
news update about LA school district and
they're limiting all screen time with the teachers and they were talking about
a science teacher that said, "We're so used to doing screen and all my lessons
on a screen and experiments and everything else."
And they're shutting that down. And then other school districts are saying no
phones at the school. Which is interesting because we're so
used to getting tutor.com and yet we had this conflict. We want to get the kids
off of that and get them more engaged, let's say reading a real book, you know,
versus and some kids they they evaluated they
had like 10 to 12 hours of screen time. >> Yeah.
» It's more even. No, I mean this is evaluated by all the
by the teachers that they asked the kids what it was and that was their average
of 10 to 12 hours >> Yeah, I mean if you're doing all your
work on a [clears throat] screen, yeah. But yeah, I'd say for tutoring, you
know, it's that is an access and affordability, especially online tutors
tend to be more expensive here cuz there's higher demand.
Um, and there's only so many free tutors and even our own free tutoring service,
you know, we can only offer it to a student once in a cycle and you can't
come back after that, so you know, there's
it's great that we now have tutor.com, but yeah, there's screen fatigue, so
like now you got to get on it's not Zoom, but you know, you got to get on a
virtual setting to meet with this person or it's all through chat, so
Yeah. But it's an option.
It's now an option they have on their school Chromebooks, they can access it,
so. >> Yeah.
» Changing lives. >> Um
Okay, and we didn't have any trustee reports.
Thank you. I'm totally blanking on your name.
» Shawnee. >> Shawnee.
» Yeah, it's okay. There's like 22 of us, so.
» I don't want to get your slide. >> Daniel and Shawnee.
» I know. I know.
» This was supposed to be Breanna tonight. >> I was supposed to see the teen
librarian, but I >> Thank you, Jinder. I'm going to call
meeting adjourned. I'll state the time when the meeting is ended, and we'll
have adjournment, and it is 7:17. Okay.
» Thank you. >> All right, thank you.
» Thanks, Jinder. >> Thank you, Jinder.
» Bye, Jinder. >> Bye.