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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02102015 - C.70RECOMMENDATION(S): RECEIVE the 2014 Annual Report submitted by the Contra Costa County Law Library Board of Trustees. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact. BACKGROUND: On June 18, 2002, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution No. 2002/377, which requires that each regular and ongoing board, commission, or committee shall annually report to the Board of Supervisors on its activities, accomplishments, membership attendance, required training/certification (if any), and proposed work plan or objectives for the following year. The attached report fulfills this requirement for the Law Library. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: Not applicable. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: Not applicable. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 02/10/2015 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor ABSENT:Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Contact: Carey Rowan (925) 646-2783 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: February 10, 2015 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: Stacey M. Boyd, Deputy cc: C. 70 To:Board of Supervisors From:David Twa, County Administrator Date:February 10, 2015 Contra Costa County Subject:2014 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE LAW LIBRARY ATTACHMENTS 2014 Law Library Annual Report 1 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY PUBLIC LAW LIBRARY ADVISORY BODY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT TO CONTRA COSTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ADVISORY BODY: Contra Costa County Public Law Library Board of Trustees MEETING TIME: 12:15 p.m. on the last Thursday of each month is the normal meeting time. In the case of a meeting date conflicting with a holiday, the meeting is scheduled one week earlier in the month. LOCATION: Contra Costa County Public Law Library 1020 Ward Street, Floor 1 Martinez, CA 94553 PRESIDENT DURING REPORTING PERIOD: Hon. Susanne Fenstermacher STAFF PERSON: Carey Rowan, Library Director REPORTING PERIOD: January 1- December 31, 2014 I. ACTIVITIES / ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Administration:  The Board of Trustees met publicly during each month of the year. No meetings were cancelled. Service:  Serving Contra Costa County out of 3 locations, law library staff interacted with 42,239 users seeking services, either by telephone, email, fax, or in person. This represents an 18% increase over the previous year.  The law library hosted 60 programs, including 39 Guardianship clinics and workshops, 12 Lawyer in the Library clinics, and 9 Conservatorship workshops during the year.  Five hundred and thirty-one people attended our self-help clinics and workshops (Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Lawyer in the Library). Staffing:  Staffing for the 3 full-time branches consists of 5 full-time staff members. This will change in 2015, due to 2 full-time employee retirements. Budget constraints caused by decreased revenues dictate that the positions be filled with temporary, part-time workers, rather than permanent, full-time employees.  Extra help (hourly) workers are used to supplement the full-time staff, especially in times of staff absence. Use of extra help will increase in 2015, since there will be 3 full-time employees instead of 5, covering the 3 sites. Outreach:  Once again, the library targeted senior citizens for outreach. Library employees staffed a table at the annual Richmond Senior Health and Information Fair, which afforded the opportunity to meet hundreds of seniors and other people within the community, and distribute brochures and other information about the law library.  The Library Director collaborated with the Director of the Alameda County Law Library and Alameda County Bar Association’s Trial Practice Section to provide a series of articles on public law library service in the bay area, with emphasis on the resources and services available at the Contra Costa County Public Law Library and the Alameda County Law Library. 2 TRUSTEE II. ATTENDANCE/REPRESENTATION III. TRAINING/CERTIFICATION Monthly Board Meeting Attendance County-Mandated Training for Trustees Cancelled Attended Absent Not Appointed Completed Certificate Mark Armstrong, Esq. 0 2 10 Yes On file Hon. Lewis Davis 0 9 3 Yes On file David Del Simone, Esq. 0 6 6 Yes On file Hon. Susanne Fenstermacher 0 10 2 Yes On file Hon. Barbara Hinton 0 11 1 Yes On file Hon. George Spanos/ (Proxy Joyce Cram 0 8 4 Yes/Yes On file Hon. Charles “Steve” Treat 0 11 1 Yes On file IV. PROPOSED WORK PLAN / OBJECTIVES FOR 2015 A. The library’s goals as specified in the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan, are still in effect: Provide free access to legal information throughout the county and work with the courts, government, public libraries, educational institutions and the community to expand services to all users groups. Provide a relevant, integrated, balanced collection of material in a variety of formats designed to meet the needs of all user groups, and provide trained staff to assist users in accessing the using the material. Ensure adequate infrastructure within the library, including providing and maintaining reliable, up-to-date technology to meet the diverse needs of library staff and library users. Develop and provide specific collections, programs and services designed to meet the needs of self-represented litigants. Strengthen community awareness of the role and value of the law library. Work with public libraries throughout the county to make certain that all libraries are equipped to provide basic legal reference and research assistance to users. Ensure long-term funding for the county law library system. B. The following areas have been identified for concentrated effort during 2015: Public service to the bar, the bench and the community will remain the law library’s top priority. The law library will continue to engage in outreach, so as to increase visibility and awareness among the people of Contra Costa County. Collection development and collection analysis will be ongoing throughout the year. The providing of court forms packets transferred from the court to the law library in 2014. Such an approach is more centralized, since patrons purchasing forms often also need to use library resources. This expansion of service is one of the reasons library use increased by 18% this year. The law library will continue to provide forms and packets to users in 2015. Collaborative efforts with other law library professionals for the purpose of achieving solutions to California law libraries’ declining revenues will be a critical focus during the year. Like other county law libraries in California, the Contra Costa County Public Law Library needs a solution to decreased funding resulting from sharp revenue declines in order to continue its long tradition of service to the people of Contra Costa County. C. The law library is prepared to meet the challenges of 2015.