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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 05132008 - PR.2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS = - : Contra -y Costa FROM: Anne Cain, County Librarian dost_ �4 CountyY ,DATE: Ma 13 2008 ,. SUBJECT: APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Contra Costa County Librarian to Apply for and Accept Funding from Target: SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION (S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Contra Costa County Librarian to apply for and accept a grant in the amount of $30,000 from Target to support the first annual Contra Costa County Library Reading Festival. FINANCIAL IMPACT No matching funds are required. BACKGROUND Contra Costa County Library's new Strategic Plan, written, in response to a broad survey of the community, identifies the promotion of reading and literacy for all ages as.its primary role. To further this initiative, the Library will host its first-ever countywide Reading Festival during the weekend of May 16i11 — 18t". Designed as a celebration of reading, the Festival will offer 50 author events throughout the County to showcase the vast array of services, materials and programs that community libraries offer and to encourage everyone to Relax, Recharge, Rethink—READ. The Target fiends will be used to engage 25 notable children's authors as part of the weekend's festivities and to generate publicity through the distribution of promotional materials and advertising with local news media to ensure broad community awareness of this outstanding event. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: ® YES SIGNATURE: 411_ cJ� RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR ❑ RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE [APPROVE ❑ OTHER SIGNATURE(S): �hh�/��,,,,yyyy��'��'� ACTION OF BOR ON 0 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED V OT JER ❑ VOyE OF SUPERVISORS: I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: _ :. .........:..........�:.:......... .. ATTESTED Contact: prine.Cain;CountyLib�arar (925JOH ULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF );646-64n SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR cc: County Library Administration County Administrator County Auditor By �� ePutY Dean Osaki,Target Corporation O:\BOS\FY 07-08\Board Orders\Reading Festival Board Order.doc Contra Costa County Library 2008 Reading Festival Funding Proposal for the Target Foundation Contra Costa County Library's new Strategic Plan, written in response to a broad survey of the community, identifies the promotion of reading and literacy for all ages as its primary role. To further this initiative, the Library will host its first-ever countywide Reading Festival during the weekend of May 16t"-18"'. Designed as a celebration of reading, the Festival will offer 50 author events throughout the County to showcase the vast array of services, materials and programs that our community libraries offer and to encourage everyone to: Relax, Rechatge, Rethink -- READ The Contra Costa County Library requests a grant of$30,000 from the Target Foundation to fund two major aspects of the Reading Festival: the cost of engaging 25 notable children's authors as participants and the cost of generating publicity to ensure broad community awareness. Because Target shares the Contra Costa County Library's commitment to fostering education and a life-long love of reading through quality programming, a partnership with the Library to launch this unique celebration of literacy is ideal. The Library envisions the Reading Festival as an annual event that will become a Bay Area tradition with the critical support of Target. Contra Costa County Library With 25 community libraries and its virtual library, the Contra Costa County Library serves approximately one million residents of the urban, suburban and rural communities noted below on the map. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Library's service area includes the following races alone or in combination with one or more other races: White— 73.3%; Black or African American — 9:5%; American Indian and Alaska Native — 0.7%; Asian — 12.7%; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander — 0.4%; some other race — 3.4%. Of these residents, 20.4% are Hispanic or Latino. The County's diversity is also reflected in the 50 different languages spoken by its school-age children. Unique services and programs are developed by Library staff throughout the County to meet the needs of these diverse communities and populations. Contra Costa County Libraries Crgckett i BagPoird•;.,•.:`.`...' i .:.'fr.sis Rodeo MartinePittSbtiFg r.. ::Hercules .. ... :Pinole .Concord:.;:,. .Antioch. •0 E1 Sebrante .: ....::...;. Gaylen::..;... ,: ..:....... .. San Pablo•:,:.:.....:.:... . .Pleasant WII:;.,:,:.. Brentwood an ..:'.z:.. `ElCerrdo:....: :;:-Y9nacloValNy:?..:,'`..... �Orinda. ...t:. .`:ri oraga.:��:•;Damitlle •:San Ramon:...;...:�...;�-:.:;�..::,... .... Program Description The Reading Festival will bring a total of 50 authors to 25 community libraries, with auxiliary programming designed to attract current and new users.Thirty-one authors are already confirmed and nineteen more are tentatively scheduled. All programs are free to the public and have been scheduled though out the weekend so that people can attend multiple events. Local officials and community leaders will be on hand in each library to launch the festivities and introduce the authors.The following examples demonstrate the variety of Festival programming: 1 of 4 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY LIBRARY • Hercules Library: Catherine Coulter, best-selling author of FBI thrillers, will read from and talk about her latest book on Saturday and children's author Robert San Souci will appear Sunday. As part of the festivities, City officials will unveil children's art tiles created as a fundraiser for this brand new library. • Danville Library: Best-selling author Greg Mortenson will be speaking several times throughout the weekend, including at a PTA-sponsored event at a local high school on Friday evening and an afternoon tea with seniors on Saturday, followed by an evening event that is expected to draw several hundred people. Children's author Ginger Wadsworth will round out the weekend with an appearance on Sunday. • Antioch Library: Children's picture book author Karen Beaumont will speak on Friday afternoon, followed by Western mystery writer Steven Hockensmith on Saturday afternoon. Antioch will run continuous programming before and after these author appearances, including a noted blue grass band, a caricature artist, and children's activities led by teen volunteers. • Lafayette Library: On Saturday afternoon, children's author Jane Wattenberg will appear with a cast of live chickens to engage the young ones, while poet Phylis Stowell will narrate from her collection Arc of Grief. Later that afternoon, J. Gary Gwilliam will read from his gripping autobiography, which reflects on his career as a trial attorney, and Drew Dillinger will recite and discuss his poetry. Marketing and Publicity Plan The size and scope of the Reading Festival is guaranteed to attract much media attention and thousands of participants. However, to insure that people throughout the Bay Area learn all about the programs to be offered, a comprehensive marketing plan was developed and includes the following elements: Create printed material for wide distribution through libraries and community partners • Distribute posters and flyers to schools, community centers, senior centers and local businesses • Distribute posters and coffee cup sleeves to local coffee shops Promote activities in all local, regional, and county publications and media • Implement a print and online advertising strategy through partnership with Contra Costa Times • Distribute a series of press releases to all publications and prepare news articles where possible • Post information to online venues such as YouTube and MySpace, as well as the Library's web site • Record Comcast Local Edition promotion for continuous airplay Collaborate with community partners to help promote the Festival • Reach teachers,parents and students through the County Dept. of Education's Ed Stop web portal • Send letters and conduct presentations to community groups such as Rotary,AAUW, and Soroptimists • Offer presentations at City and Town Council meetings As a major sponsor of the Reading Festival, the Target name and logo will be included on the Library's website and all printed materials, including the poster below. Target's support will also be recognized in all press releases and news articles. Community Advisors Over the past six months, the Library consulted with a number of community leaders on the development of the Reading Festival.Many will play an important role in promoting the Festival, including: • Lynn Carey, Contra Costa Times Book Club editor • Sue Gilmore, Contra Costa Times Book Editor • Peggy Marshburn, Communications Director of the Contra Costa County Office of Education • Susan Bonilla, Contra Costa County Supervisor and former Mayor of Concord • Dr.Laura Canciamilla,Vice President, School Board,Pittsburg Unified School District • Holly Krassner,Marketing Director, Diablo Publications • Maria Gomez-Felix, President, Hispanic Chamber of Contra Costa County 2 of 4 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY LIBRARY Program Evaluation Quantitative-Comparison of library activity between May 2007 and May 2008 will be used to determine increases in circulation of materials and door counts for each community library and Contra Costa County Library as a whole. In addition, the following statistics will be gathered during the promotion period and the weekend of the Festival: • Number of outreach presentations and community contacts made to promote the event • Number of posters, flyers and brochures distributed throughout the County • Number of hits on Reading Festival web pages • Number of hits on Contra Costa Times web pages with information on the Reading Festival • Number of distinct press clippings,new articles, and blog postings • Number of attendees at each author event, special performance and activity • Number of books sold by Friends of the Library groups and local bookstores to support author events • Number of holds placed and circulation of titles that correspond to author events and other programming Qualitative-Opinions about the Reading Festival will be gathered from a variety of sources: • Brief evaluation forms distributed at targeted author events • Feedback from community partners • Survey of community library staff and Friends of the Library groups Reading Festival Budget While a number of authors are already scheduled for the Festival, several are still waiting to confirm their participation. The ability to offer appropriate honoraria to authors will allow the program of events to be finalized as soon as possible and ensure that the authors selected will appeal to a large audience in each community. The addition of funds specifically directed towards promotional materials and advertising will provide the opportunity to expand beyond the publicity already planned and reach a wider audience. The Contra Costa Times is willing to enhance purchased advertising with value-added services, greatly increasing the impact of any expenditure. By March 10, Rick Clemens, Retail Advertising Sales Manager, and Debbie Nordstrom, Promotion/Marketing Manager, will present a proposal that identifies a number of print and online options for the most effective use of advertising dollars. Expenses Target Library Other Total Costs Funding Books Books for Library Collections -- $ 3,000 $ 3,000 $ 6,000 Author Expenses Children's Authors'Honoraria $ 8,000 -- -- $ 8,000 Adult Authors'Honoraria -- $ 8,000 -- $ 8,000 Lodging/Meals -- $ 1,000 $ 1,000 $ 2,000 Airfare/Travel -- $ 2,000 $ 2,000 $ 4,000 Publicity&Marketing Brochures- 100,000 $ 12,000 $ 13,000 -- $ 25,000 Color Posters-500 -- -- $ 4,000 $ 4,000 Fliers-250,000 -- $ 8,000 -- $ 8,000 Other(postcards,coffee sleeves,etc.) -- $ 10,000 -- $ 10,000 Advertising $ 10,000 -- $ 10,000 Website Development -- $ 5,000 -- $ 5,000 Total Cost $ 30,000 $ 50,000 1$ 10,000 $ 90,000 3 of 4 CONTRA COSTA 1�COUNTY LIBRARY M.. y i '3 �.Yu. 1`tf�`�t s .t;: ...t ;�' �.•;y,,Y 4 Attached are two examples of design • rs- ,-: ,.r, E..,r,..... ...f.:.. ,. work in progress for Reading Festival > t-. ;,it<. yam...:�sr :::,. to t.; �:, 1.:. k:- �a�`� t r materials. E�:I�:.I ;� .�:: .x�,� ..�:� x�7 >r:,,,� publicity m e als. The top design ;`'S.�Ear�all�p9es.:al��fic?. ..,�..... : :' 4'.'' :::'.:,':•':;�'Cip1MUNIT.y,�.j 9'irvels.:a 'nieiests.,a captures the energy of the Reading ........::....:: :.:F IVAL Festival and will appeal to all ages. ..: ...... :.:.: .�. .. . The second design illustrates how the Target logo can be incorporated into the heading on any piece. .. y Q Taft+and fMV . s.I.t 1�+..:: 61 V a VEI(IONE!: t .... ...... ^ ....:..:::......: .fir bJl. Y. Contact: •' _ v. A.^ ' �v .t;/is CO:V'fRA'COS'CA GOUhIY�•]:fBRARY Laura O'Donoghue t s : Deputy Count Librarian Contra Costa County Library "+' :.�-1•; _::�: �t Ci^- 0.f •H:...�.'1'�'� � _ Oak a°• 1750 Park Boulevard '''�Fr-:..: ,:�'..:,�.-:::.:::,:. ;c�'.�: �� ',, ��-: ,.,� ;:<;.� ,•.} Pleasant Hill, CA 9453 : :. ::^ :. ...;.:,:.:: "•ss =int ,<:.^:.;.,::.. 925 927-3212 ...a .:. .. . :.. .".:,:..:t:-.:.:...... .: O::. lodono_h ,ccclib.or E. 4. ........:: . i s _ fJ : •R 4 of 4 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY LIBRARY