FLF Meeting - June 21, 2005

This is a report on our second meeting, which took place on Tuesday
June 21, at the Felton branch.

Highlights and opportunities to help:
A) Join the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries (see #2)
B) Volunteer to attend one or two meetings of the Friends and/or the Joint
Powers Board during the coming year (see #5))
C) Volunteer to assist with fundraising (see #6)

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1. I started by reporting on the growing interest in better addressing
the needs of Felton library users, including discussion by the Library
Joint Powers Board and preliminary discussions between Library
Director Ann Turner and several agencies -- see the Sentinel article
at: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2005/June/08/local/stories/12local.htm.
I also reported that the library budget adopted on June 16 by the
Board maintains Felton hours and services at their current levels.

2. Jenny Heth, representing the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public
Libraries, welcomed Felton Library Friends and announced that the
Friends had voted to transfer $1000 to the Felton Library Project
fund, to be used in consultation with the branch librarian. As a part
of the larger Friends organization, FLF can take advantage of the
organization's tax-exempt status and its budgetary and fundraising
expertise. Noting that only a small number of Friends members have
Felton addresses, our group strongly urges all members of FLF to join
the Friends. Rates are reasonable and the benefits to members as well
as the library system are substantial; application forms are at the
Felton branch or available at:
http://www.fscpl.org/member/membersform.html Jenny also invited
members of FLF to volunteer with the Friends, for instance in sorting
gift books for the book sales.

3. We adopted the mission statement and goals prepared by a
subcommittee (see below) and officially adopted the name Felton
Library Friends. We will ask our web volunteers to begin work on a
website.

4. Jeanne Hofvendahl reported on the possibility that an
air-conditioning unit could be installed in a window in the Belardi
building, thereby helping with the summer heat problem. She will
continue to work on the issue. A question was raised about installing
a town clock on the building, one which we will pass on to the Belardi
Board trust.

5. In line with the third goal (below), we agreed that FLF should have
at least one representative at each meeting of the Library Joint
Powers Board and the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries; so
that no single member feels burdened by having to attend many
meetings, we agreed to build a volunteer group from among us, with
members representing FLF once or twice a year. We have volunteers
for the July 11 JPB meeting and the July 27 Friends meeting. This is
an opportunity for anyone on this mailing list to help out – please
contact me if willing to attend one or more meetings in the coming
year.

6. Eric Burman reported on possible venues for a bluegrass fundraising
event and the group endorsed his exploring these further, with a view
towards an event on October 15. We also discussed having a notecard
featuring a drawing of the Belardi building as a fundraiser
(volunteers?), as well as harvesting leftover books from the Friends
sale for a Felton book sale.

7. We then proceeded to a general discussion of the future of the
Felton branch. We were fortunate to have JPB Chair Richard Gaughan (a
Boulder Creek resident), as well as Valley Press editor Bob Hines,
Gwen Eddy (Belardi Board treasurer and member of the Friends Board),
and Lorraine Sintetos (also a Friends Board member) as part of the
discussion, which included the topics of Measure B funds and how they
were used (thanks to Donna Ziel), the Felton Library Needs Assessment
Project report of 1999 (based on a community survey and community
meetings), a letter from architect Teall Messer regarding
possible expansion of the Belardi building (also 1999), and questions
regarding how any movement regarding Felton will take place. Our
conclusion was that the most important thing our group can do at
present is to present to Director Turner and the JPB a clear vision of
what we want in a new branch. For instance, the prospect of a
dual-use community/high school library at the SLVHS campus raises
important questions, among them parking, traffic,the needs of seniors
and families, and whether such a location will serve the community
role that we want. We agreed to focus some of our next meeting to a
discussion of such questions, and to consider whether a town-hall
gathering to solicit wider input might be worthwhile.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday July 19th, at 4 p.m. At
that time we should consider a request that regular meetings be moved
to another day and/or time.

Felton Library Friends
Mission:
Felton Library Friends is dedicated to excellent library collections
and services for the residents of Felton and surrounding areas.
Central to our purpose is support for a Felton branch library --
including its staff, print and other materials, and activities -- as
an essential component of the community life valued by our library
users.

Goals:
1. To support library service in the current building, including
building improvements if possible.
2. To support and participate in the planning, design, and completion
of a new branch building.
3. To increase participation by Felton Library users in the discussion
and resolution of issues of the Santa Cruz Library system as a whole,
especially as they pertain to Felton branch users.

Paul Machlis
For Felton Library Friends