Manhattan Beach Library Commission
September 9, 2024 1
CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH
MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING
Monday, September 9, 2024
4:00 PM
Location: City Manager Conference Room, 1400 Highland Avenue and Zoom
A. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Doll called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
B. PLEDGE TO THE FLAG
C. ROLL CALL
Present: Commissioners Bond, Braitman, Huber, Millea, Vice Chair Levitt, Chairperson Doll
Absent: None
Others Present: Senior Recreation Supervisor (SRS) Kari Bell; Senior Management Analyst (SMA) Linda Robb, Recording Secretary Rosemary Lackow.
Chair Doll welcomed student commissioner Sydney Huber who gave a brief self-introduction, noting she is a Junior at Mira Costa; she looks forward to contributing to the commission.
D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – July 9, 2024
Chair Doll called for any changes; seeing none, it was moved and seconded (Braitman/Levitt) unanimously to approve as submitted.
E. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
1. Librarian’s Update
Library Manager Josh Murray announced several library events and activities available to the public through October 10th for all age groups, noting that September is designated Hispanic Heritage month. For more information: www.lacountylibrary.org.
The Commission briefly discussed the library’s teen book club and tutoring with Manager Murray. Vice Chair Levitt will set up a meeting between the commission programming committee and Manager Murray to discuss the possibility of expanding the teen book club into the schools and sharing the library tutoring resources with teachers.
F. GENERAL BUSINESS
1. 2024 Work Plan Discussion (committee members indicated for each project) a) One Book, One County Program. (Doll, Millea)
Library Manager Murray recapped the J uly 28 th workshop/reception with author Maria Amparo Escandón. He felt the event went very well and estimated attendance as 50+ including library, commission and city staff. V ice Chair Levitt expressed a concern , shared by Commissioners Bond and Braitman , that there may have been a disconnect in that, as
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September 9, 2024 2
advertised, there could have been an expectation that the “writer workshop” portion would be more technically focused for writers, but that turned out not to be the case and this may have affected attendance. Chair Doll thanked Manager Murray for his efforts including his introduction and showcasing of the library.
Manager Murray noted the data regarding the overall program is still being analyzed. The Commission requested that the County provide a recap as well as an accounting of the city surplus funds that had been contributed. SRS Bell will discuss with Director Leyman.
b) Library Appreciation Events (Millea, Braitman, Huber) Commissioner Braitman suggested that the Commission ’s public library staff recognition include: 1) dropping off an edible treat (for approximately a dozen people) for library staff just prior to each Commission meeting (e.g. donuts, cookies, bagels); 2) continue having a catered meal (breakfast or lunch) in November, and 3) continue recognizing school librarians with a gift/certificate at end of school year.
The Commission discussed with Manager Murray who indicated that monthly treats would be appreciated and can, for convenience, be brought to the front desk, but asked that he be given advance notice so that he can let staff know and anticipate this. Regarding a catered meal, he suggested that the best time (when staffing is at a peak) is around 2:00 on a Tuesday. A “to go” set up works best for staff. A schedule for treat drop offs was discussed: Ch air Doll volunteered for October, Commissioner Levitt, November, and Commissioner Bond will bring in December.
The committee will explore Tuesdays in November for a library staff lunch, from 1 pm to 3 p.m. as well as caterers. Chair Doll requested that the committee email her when a date has been set.
Commissioner Millea will look at what needs to be done to plan for the school librarian recognition for June 2025, working with Commissioner Huber. c) StoryWalk (Bond, Millea, Huber)
Commissioner Bond will install the next book - “Hello Coco!” by Latrice McGlothin in early October. As her term ends at the end of next May, she will focus on working with Commissioners Millea and Huber who will be handling this program in the future . The committee will meet and discuss how the project tasks will be organized; tasks include working with the children’s librarian to determine book titles, purchase of two books for each installation, getting pages laminated and installing the laminated pages in the frames.
Brief discussion followed in which Manager Murray noted that, during the Home Town Fair, the library plans to have multiple displays on the second floor, including a display of local authors from Manhattan Beach and surrounding south bay area. d) Library Surplus
Chair Doll noted that this discussion item is broken down into two separate committees: 1) LA County Speaker Series (Doll, Levitt, Bond) and 2) Library Maintenance (Levitt, Doll).
Maintenance: Manager Murray updated that meetings have been held or scheduled, e.g. with the library furniture vendor and original interior designer and repairs have been initiated . A temporary fix will be made to the central HVAC system with a permanent solution much further in the future . The county is working towards completing all items on the list (stairs, window glass cleaning , furniture, etc. ) prior to the 10 th anniversary; that date has yet to be determined. He shared some details, for example, an anti-graffiti film that has been placed on
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windows has been found to make the glass appear to be dirty even when surface is clean; he has requested that this film be removed for now. He will look into the status of repairing the stairs and has emailed /forwarded Commissioner Braitman’s suggestion that heat pumps be looked into for the air conditioning.
Speaker events: Chair Doll reported that she and Commissioner Levitt me t with the County planning staff who presented ideas for two speaker events : smaller (80-person) event this November at the library (estimated earmarking of $10,000 from library surplus), and a larger event in spring 2025 at the Mira Costa auditorium likely in May, to coincide with the library’s 10th anniversary.
The Commission discussed various ideas for topics or speakers for the November event (e.g. a digital content creator, sports figure, media analyst, film critic, etc.) The city/county speaker event team will meet again this Thursday and it is hoped that the November speaker will be firmed up by the October meeting.
Vice Chair Levitt suggested, if agreeable with the County, working with the high school. SRS Bell requested that all ideas or resources from the commission to be raised at this Thursday’s meeting, be emailed to her by end of this Wednesday.
Vice Chair Levitt noted that the Library Commission/County library speaker committee is also looking at speakers for the bigger, spring event; she will report back to the commission when more information is available.
Commissioner Huber noted that she is considering initiating a school club that would be composed of other city or local high school student commissioners and this might be a good way to promote the speaker events. She will reach out to students and report back at the next meeting.
G. STAFF ITEMS – SRS Bell informed: 1) The items on the library repair list that have been compiled are eligible to be funded through the city’s library surplus and the city is currently waiting for a quote before this can go forward. 2) Staff will confirm future meeting dates for October and November and all city commissions will be “dark” in December.
H. COMMISSION ITEMS – None
I. ADJOURNMENT
With no objection, Chair Doll adjourned at 5:37 pm to 4:00 p.m., October 16, 2024 (special meeting date due to holiday).