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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12202005 - PR1 Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 444' Costa FROM: County Administrator �� �� DATE: December 20, 2005 County`'°SrA-� u�.c�`� SUBJECT: 2005 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE PRESENTED TO THE COUNTY LIBRARY SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)SBACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: PRESENT the 2005 Departmental Award for Excellence to the County Library, Anne Cain, County Librarian. BACKGROUND: In 1985 the Board of Supervisors established a program for recognizing outstanding performance by County departments. Each year the Board acknowledges a department with the Award of Excellence. This year, the award recognizes the accomplishments of the County Library. In serving almost 1 million residents, the Contra Costa County Library is often referred to by others as"The Library That Does A Lot With A Little." This is accomplished through the efforts of a dedicated, hard-working staff of 168 full time equivalent employees, including many part- time staff, over 25 library support organizations such as Friends and Foundations, a 29-member Library Commission, partnerships with every city served by the County Library, and partnerships with businesses, agencies, community groups and organizations. • During fiscal year 2004/2005, the Library circulated 4.7 million items, the highest number of items circulated in one year in the history of the County Library. • Over the past several years, the Library has increased the number of programs for all age groups from virtually none to literally hundreds of programs, all of which are heavily utilized by people of all ages. The library has been recognized many times for its leadership in the area of using innovative technology to improve and enhance library services and to cut costs. Recent examples include: • Digital audio books that can be downloaded to a computer or personal digital assistant. • WiFi hot spots installed in most libraries that allow Internet access to patrons using wireless laptops in the library. • Partnership with the Contra Costa County Office of Education through the Ed 1 Stop Portal that provide direct access to the Library's database resources. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT:_ YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON b APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD AYES: NOES: OF SUPERVISORS ON HE DATE SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: � �� ATTESTED /0500� JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Contact Person: CC: Library CAO - BY: DEPUTY .SUBJECT: 2005 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE PRESENTED TO THE COUNTY LIBRARY • LiveHomeworkHelp program, which offers free, online tutorial services remotely to students in middle school through early college. • Courtesy email notices that provide borrowers with reminders for approaching due dates for materials. • Portable classroom, which is available in the library or for use by local schools to train teachers and students about the Library databases and online services. The Contra Costa County Library has been extremely successful in obtaining corporate sponsorship for many of its major programs: • The Teen Reading Program, an incentive program that encourages teens to read for pleasure and to develop the habit of life-long library use. • Project Second Chance, the Contra Costa County Library Adult Literacy Program, founded in 1984 and offering free, confidential, one-on-one basic literacy instruction to adults. • Preschool literacy programs, including Reach Out and Read, which promotes family literacy through a partnership with Contra Costa County Health Services at five clinics; Stories to Go, which brings regular story times to low-income populations of children; and Books to Grow-On, which serves children at in-home daycare facilities. The Library aggressively seeks grant funds for library programs and services. In fiscal year 2004/2005 Library staff applied for and received grants in the amount of$349,347, including the following: • $100,000 grant from the Lesher Foundation to provide a library at the new Juvenile Hall. This was a joint partnership with the Probation Department and the County Office of Education. • $71,424 federal grant to provide library cards to all second graders. • $75,000 grant from the California State Library to launch a new service to small businesses. Over 25 Chambers of Commerce and other business groups such as the Contra Costa Council, participated in the grant by serving on an advisory group and creating a new small business website. • $20,000 grant for the Building Information Literacy for Academic Success: A Collaborative Approach program to increase students' knowledge of curriculum-based electronic resources. The program trains teachers to instruct and encourage students to use the library databases. In addition to grants, the library has succeeded in obtaining corporate and other community support for its programs, services and collections. This success is the direct result of generous donations of time, expertise and talent of many Library Commissioners, Friends and Foundations and other library supporters: • $250,000 was raised through donations from dozens of corporations, Friends groups, community organizations and individuals to make up for 25% cuts in the book budget for the last two years. • $25,000 was raised at the 2"d Annual Fun Run/Walk in July 2005, in which participants paid $25 to participate, all costs were picked-up by local businesses, and all proceeds were used to buy children's library materials. • $70,000 in materials and $35,000 in funds were recovered during the first nine months of the newly implemented material recovery services program. The Library has been working to identify and attract new users and returning users who may not have visited a library in recent years. New services and outreach activities include: • Spanish language version of Library home page and Library automated catalog. • New lecture series to encourage civic engagement. • 14 book clubs and several City Reads programs in response to Library customers' indication that they want the Library to take a strong leadership role promoting reading and literacy. • Hundreds of programs provide enrichment for preschoolers, improve reading skills for children, provide homework assistance for teens and enhance lifelong learning for adults. Library staff also spend considerable time working with the many communities in Contra Costa County planning new Library facilities and renovating existing facilities. The Library's goal with .SUBJECT: 2005 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE PRESENTED TO THE COUNTY f LIBRARY respect to State bond for library construction is to do everything possible to make applications from communities in Contra Costa County as competitive as possible. Recent projects include: • The Dougherty Station Library in San Ramon opened in September 2005. • Partnership with the City of Concord provided funding for renovations to the interior of the Concord Library. • Partnership with the Friends/Foundation provided funding for renovations to the interior of the Ygnacio Valley Library. • EI Sobrante Municipal Advisory Council, Friends of the Library and other civic groups collaborated on planning for renovations to the exterior of the EI Sobrante, including a reading garden. • The new Hercules Library, funded in part by a grant from the State, is presently under construction. • Staff provided expertise and considerable grant writing, space planning and focus group participation involved with submission of Library construction grants from Hercules and Lafayette, both of which were funded; Walnut Creek and Antioch, which received outstanding rankings from the State Library; and San Ramon, which received a very good ranking. • Staff are working with the following communities to plan new library facilities in Brentwood, Pittsburg, Concord, San Ramon, EI Cerrito, Kensington, Martinez, and Bay Point. The Library's Literacy Program-Project Second Chance is one of the most successful in the State, and Contra Costa learners have been publicly recognized: • Doug Humphrey, an adult learner in the Library's literacy program, was honored at California Library Association State Librarian's Breakfast as"An Everyday Hero." • Kristi Clontz, a student in Project Second Chance, was featured in a video as one of four adult literacy students in the State who were significantly and positively impacted by the Library's literacy program. Planning for the future: • Developed a new Strategic Plan that will carry the Library into the next decade. The plan looks at opportunities for new capacity as County Library use increases in the age of the Internet. • Developed a plan for staff succession by actively encouraging staff to attend Library School. Currently, over 30 library employees are enrolled in a Masters of Library Science program. Other accomplishments: • Received California Library Association Public Relations Excellence Awards for the Teen Reading Road Trip and the 5K Fun Run/Walk in November 2005. • The Library's volunteer program continues to lead all Bay Area libraries in the number of volunteers and number of volunteers hours provided to the Library. Many programs and services provided by the Library could not be offered without the efforts of these hard- working volunteers. • The 2005 State Fair exhibit for Contra Costa County was created around the theme of Library services. The display won a silver medal! • Anne Cain, the County Librarian, served as the chair of California Library Association Legislative Committee for two years, during the time the 2006 Library Construction Bond was approved by the Legislature and placed on the June 2006 ballot. • A Deputy County Librarian from Contra Costa County served on the National Public Library Association Board for the 2005 term.