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Home My WebLink About2016-01-14 CorrespondenceQW -40 IOWA CITY FLED PUBLIC LIBRARY 20t6JAN(3 pM 123 S. Linn St. • Iowa City, IA 52240 4= 02 mm Tm Susan Craig -Px s 319-356-5200•rax 319-356-5494•ieplDrg CITY 7 f r r e �[ " f J",,trf1 ' r.. DATE: January 13, 2016 TO: City Council FROM: Robin Paetzold, Library Board President; Susan Craig, Library Director RE: Concerns about the 1-8-16 Project Proposal from the Council member Cole and the Antelope Lending Library We have several concerns regarding the 1-8-16 proposal from Council member Cole to consider outsourcing library services to a nonprofit and also to the specific proposal from the Antelope Lending Library to provide bookmobile service to Iowa City. Library staff met with staff from the Antelope Lending Library while planning for bookmobile service to update them on our process and talk about ways that we could provide complementary, not overlapping, services. We were not copied on, nor informed prior to or after the City Council budget discussion on 1/9/16 that such a proposal even existed. It is disingenuous to characterize something as a partnership when one party has no knowledge of the proposal. We believe strongly that quality library service is an essential city service and should be provided by the City of Iowa City. Through a lengthy strategic planning that included substantial community input, followed by a year of specific proposal planning the Library Board has researched and discussed how best to meet the needs of our diverse community. A bookmobile extends services of the Iowa City Public Library in an integrated and comprehensive way, providing access to library collections and services. The sustainability of service provided by a nonprofit with no paid staff and no experience with a city-wide service is a concern. We are uncertain of the governing structure of the Antelope Lending Library. It is not described in their proposal nor on their web site. The nine member Library Board appointed by the City Council has the benefit of an extensive planning process and research that they base their decisions on. If the Library Board approved seeking a nonprofit to work with, there would be a comprehensive process and a call for proposals. Although the proposal indicates the Library is starting a service "from scratch," in fact the Library has decades of experience working in an outreach capacity with numerous local nonprofits including schools, retirement centers, treatment centers and hospitals, neighborhood centers, and day cares. We have positive relationships with many businesses and agencies. We regularly deliver programs in City parks, local daycares, schools and care facilities. Our reputation for quality services, collaboration, and meeting community needs has been earned through past performance. We are a known entity, not a startup. The Antelope proposal considers the investment in a modern, accessible, air conditioned, well-equipped vehicle designed to provide library service as an unnecessary expense. We do not. We seek to provide the best facility possible whether it be our downtown building or a mobile unit. The Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation has pledged its support to the project and will fund more than half the cost. The Antelope Lending Library offers service from an older vehicle that reportedly has a history of mechanical problems that resulted in cancellations of service stops, and offering less than optimum services such as air-conditioning failures in the summer. A modern bookmobile will be comfortable and welcoming to all, with adequate environmental controls and options for efficient power usage. We have serious concerns about the long term viability of their current vehicle, especially with the demands of a five day a week, year around community wide service. The proposal indicates a desire to provide ICPL collections on their unit. This would require that they have access to current patron records and information, as well as checkout technology. These records are confidential by state law, which we take very seriously, requiring a court order for even law enforcement officials to access records. We would require sufficient guarantees that they remain so. State law also bars sex offenders convicted of crimes against children from entering the Library without specific permission. As required by City of Iowa City policy we perform background checks on all employees and volunteers who work with children. Working to transfer and track materials would require significant Library resources. The Antelope Lending Library requests $69,689 annually to provide a vaguely defined service from an unreliable vehicle. The Library is asking for $98,641 annually to extend our excellent library services to all neighborhoods and vulnerable populations in a cost effective way that is seamless to our users. They would have one full time staff person with part- time staff in the summer. The Library would be able to leverage the requested one full time position and cross train additional staff as backups so service would not rely on one person. The Board has pledged gift funding for additional staffing. We support the goals of the Antelope Lending Library and have talked with them about working together. We consider the proposed ICPL bookmobile an extension of basic library services which should be delivered as such, not by a nonprofit, however well meaning. Iowa City is the largest community in Iowa without a branch library. The proposed bookmobile service will provide additional outreach needed to support City strategic commitments to both healthy neighborhoods and a strong urban core. We request that you include operational funding for the Iowa City Public Library bookmobile service in the FY17 budget. N c+ d Sterling Codifiers, Inc. § 6.03. Definition. § 6.04. Violations. Arficle V11. Initiative And Referendum § 7.01. General Provisions. § 7.02. Commencement Of Proceedings, Affidavit. § 7.03. Petitions; Revocation Of Signatures. § 7.04. Procedure After Filing. § 7.05. Action On Petitions. § 7.06. Results Of Election. § 7.07. Prohibition On Establishment Of Stricter Conditions Or Requirements. Article VIII. Charter Amendments And Review § 8.01. Charter Amendments. § 8.02. Charter Review Commission. PREAMBLE Page 2 of 19 We, the people of Iowa City, Iowa, pursuant to the Constitution and statutes of the state of Iowa and the principle of self-determination, proclaim that the government of Iowa City belongs to all its residents and all share the responsibility for it. We hereby adopt this charter and confer upon it the full home rule powers of a charter city. By this action we adopt the following principles: 1. Resident participation on an inclusive basis in democratic self-government 2. The provision of service relating to the health, safety, and welfare of its residents in a fair, equitable and efficient manner. 3. The conduct of city business in conformity with due process, equal protection under the laws, and those individual liberties protected by the Constitution of the United States, the State of Iowa, and local ordinances. 4. Civility by city employees in their interactions with the public. (Ord. 15-4621, 5-19- 2015) DEFINITIONS As used in this charter http://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/printnow.php 5/21/2015