HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/27/2012 Work SessionCity of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2012
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, February 27, 2012 at 5:48 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Moore, Ralston and Woodrow. Also
present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Mary
Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilors Wylie and Pishioneri were absent (excused).
1. Lane Council of Librarians — Inter- Library Reciprocal Lending Agreement.
Library Director Rob Everett distributed information about the Book Sale coming to the Springfield
Lobby on March 9 and 10, 2012. He also distributed information on downloading eBooks and a
brochure about the Big Read event.
Mr. Everett presented the staff report on this item. Seven of the eight public libraries in Lane Country
used the automated SIRSI/Dynix integrated library system (ILS). This system was hosted by
Springfield Public Library. In addition to Springfield, the other participating libraries were Fern Ridge
Library District (Veneta), Junction City Public Library, Cottage Grove Public Library, Lane Library
District (Creswell), Oakridge Public Library, and Siuslaw Library District (Florence/Mapleton).
Springfield administered the annual service contract and provided initial on -call help and trouble
shooting. This consortium was established through a series of intergovernmental agreements that had
been in place for the past 12 years with the exception of Creswell which came on board in 2002 with
the creation of the Lane Library District.
Because these libraries shared the same automated system, library staff and patrons were able to see
and request items from all 7 library collections. Currently, the item was then requested via the
interlibrary loan module. This process must be mediated by a staff member. No participating library
charges its patrons to borrow materials from one of our shared system libraries. In the interest of
improving service to all of our patrons and in eliminating unnecessary staff labor staff was proposing
to move from requesting materials via interlibrary loan; a practice more appropriate when requesting
materials outside of our system, to establishing a reciprocal lending agreement that would allow any
patron from any participating library to borrow materials directly from any library. The libraries would
develop procedures and protocols to administer this agreement prior to implementation. The result
should be a more customer friendly and cost - effective library service.
The Library was seeking Council direction to proceed with testing and ;implementation of reciprocal
lending among participating Lane Council of Librarians (LCOL) libraries. This service enhancement
would increase access to library materials for the patrons of all participating libraries while reducing
the labor costs currently incurred providing inter - library loan among the same group of libraries. Staff
believed this proposal was revenue neutral.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
February 27, 2012
Page 2
Mr. Everett explained the proposal. They wanted to develop procedures and protocols to make sure the
owning Library had protection. The first phase would require patrons to go to the other libraries to
check out books and would not impact staffing. The second phase would require more thought and
would need to be mindful of the affect on the libraries' inventory. All directors had worked together
for a number of years and were all looking to make a better system without hurting the other libraries.
This agreement would also benefit the Springfield Library. They would need to make sure to prioritize
by library members (Springfield for Springfield, etc.)
Mr. Everett said they would not do a courier system, but would piggyback on the Educational Services
District (ESD) courier service which was already done. During the summer break, librarians could
take care of transferring books personally. One consideration was in regards to those patrons that were
not in good standing. Through the Syris system, all libraries could see the status of each member so
could deny interlibrary lending until that patron had their account in order. Other libraries had been
doing this for years very successfully and patrons loved it.
Mr. Everett said the libraries already had the agreement with Syris and could incorporate this as an
amendment to that agreement, or draft up separate agreements. He would like Council direction on
whether or not they wanted them to move forward.
Councilor Woodrow asked if the other libraries from the Lane Council of Libraries were on board-with
this proposal.
Mr. Everett said they were ready and waiting.
Councilor Woodrow asked about books that libraries didn't have. She asked if this new agreement
would change out the prioritizing if a book was not available at the local library.
Mr. Everett said if patrons of the library with the book were on a waiting list for that particular book,
they would have priority over a patron from another library.
Councilor Woodrow asked if a patron could call ahead once they found a book at another location to
make sure it was held for them. This would be in Phase 1.
Mr. Everett said they currently did place holds on books for a set amount of time and would include
something like that in this agreement.
Councilor Woodrow said she saw this as a way to take advantage of current technology and make use
of it. Going from the first phase to the second would use this technology even more.
Councilor Moore asked if we had a similar agreement with the City of Eugene Library.
Mr. Everett they were part of the LCOL and had been asked to participate in this agreement, but had
chosen not to join at this time. They were concerned that their books would be over used by'nearby
smaller libraries. They were also in a separate system.
Councilor Moore' asked about the University of Oregon Library.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
February 27, 2012
Page 3
Mr. Everett said the University of Oregon Library was open to all citizens of Oregon. Patrons just
needed to present identification showing they were an Oregon residence. There was no reciprocal
lending between the cities and the University of Oregon. They had different missions.
Councilor Moore asked about Marcola residents.
Mr. Everett said library services were for people paying taxes to support a library.
Councilor Moore asked if there was a way to reach people outside city limits. She asked if people
willing to pay a fee could access the other libraries.
Mr. Everett said that would be a choice of the Council to extend services.
Councilor Ralston said it was a good idea. He asked who would pay for shipping for books to people
from other areas.
Mr. Everett said the LCOL already paid ESD as part of current services.
Councilor Ralston asked about the cost to mail.
Mr. Everett said Springfield Library paid the postage, which was a small amount of money.
Councilor Ralston said at some point we may need to charge for postage. He noted Eugene's concern
that smaller libraries would overload their system. He had the same concern for Springfield. He
wanted to make sure records were kept to protect Springfield's inventory.
Mr. Everett said Springfield had the largest library collection, but not the largest budget. Springfield
didn't often get new books or CDs. It was a comparable group of libraries in the LCOL. In other areas
that were using this type of reciprocal lending agreement, it seemed to even out. He would not put the
Springfield Library at risk.
Councilor VanGordon asked if there was an opportunity for a more strategic use of the book budget.
Mr. Everett said it could if the LCOL members were strategic in regards to their inventories and how
they spent their book budget. They could coordinate the number of copies of books and some libraries
could specialize in specific areas.
Councilor VanGordon asked if this was worth getting access to more material. Yes. He asked if this
was revenue neutral or if it could be a bigger cost in the future if the service grew.
Mr. Everett said all the libraries were limited by resources, so it couldn't grow in that regard. It made
sense to cooperate in this way to get the most out of the resources they had. There would be no
requirement to put more resources into the program, but there was potential to make this more robust.
Councilor VanGordon said this was a way to expand services without increasing resources. He would
like to see a check -in point to make sure it was cost neutral. He would still be comfortable with this
program as long as we protected access for our citizens. He suggested looking at the option of sending
books directly to the patron's house rather than to the library. That could save some time for staff. He
felt this was a great opportunity and he hoped Eugene could find an advantage and join at some point.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
February 27, 2012
Page 4
Mr. Everett said there was anticipation, but other groups of libraries that had this type of agreement
didn't seem to have a problem.
Councilor VanGordon said once Eugene saw it working, they might be less anxious.
Mr. Everett said all of the libraries in Colorado had been doing this for many years. They had no
problems of one library being adversely affected.
Councilor Woodrow said an added benefit was that it would bring people into those cities who would
likely stay long enough to buy something to eat or visit another establishment.
Mayor Lundberg asked whose rules the borrower would need to abide by regarding the number of
books to check out and length of time they could be kept.
Mr. Everett said they would be bound by the library that lent out the book.
Councilor Woodrow asked about the maximum number of books per library and if someone could
take advantage of that and accumulate a large number of books.
Mr. Everett said although that was allowed in other lending agreements, it had not been an issue.
Councilor Moore said she would be more than happy to pay postage if she found a book in Florence
that she wanted. She asked Mr. Everett to look into charging postage to help with those costs. She also
agreed that mailing the books to the patron's home was a great idea.
Mayor Lundberg said it would be good to try this out for a specific amount of time such as one year.
Mr. Everett said he could report back in six months.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.
Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor
Attest:
Oi"w
Amy So4
City Rec rder