Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library Board meeting highlights 12-15-2014

DECEMBER 15, 2014

• Sunday hours begin in Spring 2015
• Brian Hare to head Ravenna’s Reed Memorial Library
• Balanced Scorecard report
• E-newsletters available for patrons
• Friends’ activities
• Jim Posch finishes seven-year board term
• Library’s centennial in 2016
• November Public Service highlights
  
  

Rob Fischer, vice president, was absent. Two new board members, Susan Beatty of Cleveland Heights and Christopher Mentrek of University Heights, attended and will begin their terms in January.

Sunday hours begin in Spring 2015

The board approved a resolution to restore Sunday library hours for each of the four branch libraries. Commencing this spring, each library will be open from 1–5 p.m. on Sundays. The board granted permission for the hiring of additional full-time staff and making other preparations for the Sunday openings.

Brian Hare to head Ravenna’s Reed Memorial Library

Brian Hare, youth services manager, has resigned to accept directorship of Ravenna’s Reed Memorial Library. Sam D. Lapides, special projects coordinator, will be the interim youth services manager.

Balanced Scorecard report

Kim DeNero-Ackroyd, deputy director, presented highlights of the Balanced Scorecard Measures of Success for November, focusing on signups of the “3 for Me” library cards by children at Gearity Elementary School and Church of the Savior Daycare; revision of the feedback form for computer classes; and the 400 participants who took part in the various programs around the community-wide reading of Sherman Alexie’s book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.

E-newsletters available for patrons

The library produces several e-newsletters, including the bimonthly What’s Going On @ Your Library, and the monthly TechKnowledge. A new e-newsletter, We Recommend, covering staff reading recommendations, received positive feedback on its launch.

Friends’ activities

Friends of the Heights Libraries is gathering books for the Fairfax Elementary School library. Heights High art students will design and paint a mural on a room-dividing wall recently built by Bruce Feher, Friends board member, at the Harvey and Friends Bookshop.

Jim Posch finishes seven-year board term

This was Board President Jim Posch’s last meeting on the board. He thanked Sheryl Banks, marketing and community relations manager, for the piece about him in the Heights Observer. Nancy Levin, library director, presented a resolution in his honor, cataloging the different board committees he had served on, his role in the library levy, and his establishment of the technology committee to create an inventory, a chain of responsibility and a long-term planning structure.

Library’s centennial in 2016

Planning is beginning for the library’s centennial in 2016. The marketing department will meet with the cities, the library’s partners and other supporting organizations.

November Public Service highlights

• At Coventry Village Library, a six-week class in American Sign Language opened with 45 registrants and a long waiting list. Nineteen people with an interest in deaf culture and sign language meet in the Deaf Gatherings events.
• Constance Dickerson, Noble Neighborhood librarian, attended a Welcoming Heights Community Forum with 38 refugee parents and children at Noble Elementary School, along with teachers, and representatives from US Together, and Global Cleveland. A tour of Noble Neighborhood Library followed. Attendance has increased at Tuesday Welcome Hub programs at the library.
• University Heights Library was a voting site on Nov. 4, and a number of Heights High students from the advocacy group Student Union were present to serve voters coffee and hot chocolate. They were there to address concerns about the move of the high school to Wiley. The door count that day was 2,000, about four times the usual attendance on a Tuesday.
• At Noble Neighborhood Library, a split-rail fence was built around the garden area.
• At University Heights Library, volunteer Chris Mentrek, soon to begin a term as board member, provided evergreen cuttings and decorated the front planters with a winter theme.
• In collaboration with the school librarians, Peggy Hull, youth services librarian, has been holding Tiger Lab Outreach at Heights High. Once a month she sets up a table in the lunchroom to interact with teens and teachers, enabling the library to connect with teens who may not come to the branches. These connections are a high priority for the library.
• Three youth services librarians held a Pop-up Storytime the day before Thanksgiving for 18 children and caregivers.
  
  

LWV Observer: Anne S. McFarland.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.