* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] GOOD AFTERNOON, [I. Call to Order] EVERYONE. TODAY IS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2026. THE CITY OF DALLAS MUNICIPAL LIBRARY BOARD REGULAR MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER HAS BEEN CALLED TO ORDER. WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT. HAS BEEN POSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPENS ACT AND THIS MEETING HAS BEEN DULY CALLED. WITH THAT, ITEM TWO ON TODAY'S AGENDA WILL BE PUBLIC COMMENTS. DO WE HAVE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAVE REGISTERED TO SPEAK IN TODAY'S MEETING? WE DO NOT HAVE ANY SPEAKERS. UH, SEEING NONE, MOVING ON. UM, ITEM THREE [III. Greetings from Gay Donnell Willis, Council Representative, District 13] IS GREETINGS FROM GAY DONNELL WILLIS, WHO IS OUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER. I AM PLEASED TO INTRODUCE HER. SHE IS A PERSONAL FRIEND OF MINE, AS WELL AS MY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE. UH, GAY HAS BEEN ON THE CITY COUNCIL FOR FIVE YEARS, STARTING HER SIXTH YEAR IN OCTOBER. AND SHE REPRESENTS AN AREA THAT STARTS RIGHT ABOUT HERE AND GOES ALL THE WAY ACROSS NORTH DALLAS TO, UH, RIGHT, JUST NORTH OF LOVE FIELD WHERE I LIVE. SO IF YOU ARE IN NORTH DALLAS AND INSIDE OF 635, YOU ARE PROBABLY IN DISTRICT 13. UM, DISTRICT 13 HAS FOUR LIBRARIES. UH, THIS LOCATION BOOKMARKS AT NORTH PARK, UM, PRESTON ROYAL, WHICH IS AT THE TOLLWAY AND ROYAL LANE AND PARK FOREST, WHICH IS ON FOREST LANE, ALMOST AT THE VERY EDGE OF THE CITY NEAR, UH, KIND OF NEAR FARMERS BRANCH. UM, GAY HAS BEEN ON THE, UH, FRIENDS OF THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY. WE WERE SER - WE SERVED ON THAT TOGETHER AND WE WERE ALSO, UM, ACTIVES IN JUNIOR LEAGUE AT THE SAME TIME. SO I'VE KNOWN HER A VERY LONG TIME. SHE IS, UM, A, DEFINITELY A LIBRARY ADVOCATE. SHE WAS VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN EXPANDING THIS BRANCH TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND SHE'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SOME THINGS SHE'S DONE FOR THE LIBRARIES IN HER DISTRICT, BUT AS A WHOLE. AND SHE IS CURRENTLY THE PUBLIC SAFETY CHAIR. SO SHE'S IN CHARGE OF ALL THE POLICE NOW. SO WHEN THE POLICE ARE FIRED, DON'T, DON'T RESPOND IN A TIMELY MANNER, WE CAN JUST CALL HER. UM, WHAT ELSE DO WE WANNA KNOW ABOUT HER? SHE IS A FIFTH GENERATION TEXAN. SHE IS A NATIVE DALLASITE, WHICH ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. UM, SHE GRADUATED FROM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, WHICH SHOULD BE QUICK TO TELL YOU. SHE HAS LIVED AND WORKED IN DALLAS FOR 31 YEARS. SHE IS MARRIED AND HAS FOUR ADULT CHILDREN. AND MY FAVORITE FUN FACT ABOUT HER IS SHE IS A FOSTER MOM FOR BABY KITTIES FROM DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES. SO IF YOU'RE EVER IN NEED OF BABY KITTIES, CHECK WITH GAY FIRST BECAUSE SHE HAS THE CUTEST ONES IN TOWN. SO GAY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BRAIN GREETING AND SPEAK TO IT? I WILL, I WILL STAND SO I CAN SEE PEOPLE AT THIS END OF THE TABLE. AND I WILL SHOW YOU MY LATE, LATEST FOSTER KITTY. UM, ACTUALLY WE'VE ADOPTED THEM, SO WE'VE GOT THREE RESCUE CATS NOW. UM, BUT THAT'S MY PLEASURE, BUT WE MAY BE AT THE END OF FOSTERING THEM SINCE WE S- SEEM TO FAIL EACH TIME. UM, SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ROTATING AROUND. I THINK THAT'S A FANTASTIC THING FOR THE MUNICIPAL LIBRARY BOARD TO DO. UM, WE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A RUNDOWN ON WHEN THIS OPENED. UM, THIS ONE AND I TOLD YOU IT WAS BOND FUNDS AND THE CITY TYPICALLY WILL BUY SOME LAND AND THEN IN A LATER, UM, PROPOSITION, UH, FUND THE CONSTRUCTION. I WAS VERY EXCITED IN THE LAST BOND ELECTION TO HAVE PRESTON ROYAL LIBRARY GET ITS, UM, RENOVATION MONEY, GET THAT GOING. AND MONYA'S PROBABLY GONNA GIVE AN UPDATE, I WOULD ASSUME IN YOUR REPORT ON THAT. AND THEN AT PRESTON FOREST, EVEN MORE EXCITING IS TO ADD A HOUSING COMPONENT AS WELL. AND, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER WEST ALSO IS WORKING ON THIS IN BISHOP ARTS. AND SO WE'RE VERY LUCKY THAT, UM, MANYA HAS HAD EXPERIENCE DOING THIS SORT OF THING BEFORE BECAUSE IT'S DAUNTING TO THINK NOT ONLY CONSTRUCTING A LIBRARY, BUT THEN ADDING THIS HOUSING COMPONENT. DALLAS NEEDS HOUSING, WE NEED SENIOR HOUSING. AND, UM, I'VE TOURED A COUPLE OF LIBRARIES TO SEE THE MODEL AND IT'S JUST REALLY ENGAGING AND IT'S GREAT. AND ALSO, WE'VE GOT THE LAND, WE NEED TO START USING IT FOR MORE THAN JUST ONE BRICK AND MORTAR, I THINK, UH, LIBRARY. SO, UM, I'M TALKING ABOUT THIS LATEST BUDGET ROUND. IT WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, INTERESTING AS IT REALLY IS. AND I WAS HAPPY TO CO-SPONSOR THE AMENDMENT TO GET MONEY DIRECTED TO OUR FLAGSHIPS, BECAUSE ONE THING MANYA SAID WAS THE FLAGSHIPS, SOME OF OUR FLAGSHIPS ARE NOT READY TO BE FLAGSHIPS. AND SO LITERALLY HAMPTON HAS A FRONT LEAGUE WALL AND WE CAN'T JUST SAY, "OKAY, CITY OF DALLAS RESIDENTS, WE'RE GONNA WELCOME YOU NOW IN THE EVENING HOURS SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND HAVE THEM COME [00:05:01] INTO THAT." WE ARE FORTUNATE IN DISTRICT 13 AND WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, A FAIRLY NEW LIBRARY. AND, UM, SO THAT MONEY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT AS MUCH AS I'M SURE WE NEED, AT LEAST THAT WAS STARTING TO BE ABLE TO GET AT THAT. UM, ALSO JUST WANNA CLEAR UP, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THOSE UGLY ONLINE TROLLS WHO MADE A NASTY VIDEO ABOUT ME NOT VOTING FOR MONEY FOR THE LIBRARY. THAT'S NOT TRUE. I DID NOT VOTE FOR ACADIA OR ARCADIA. UM, BECAUSE DISD WANTS TO DO A PARTNERSHIP WITH US. THE DATA JUST DID NOT BEAR OUT $200,000 AND KEEP IT OPEN FOR NOBODY. AND, UM, I JUST THOUGHT THAT NEEDED TO BE MADE AROUND THAT BECAUSE NEXT YEAR, WITH EVERY COMING YEAR, IT'S GONNA GET HARDER. AND SO I THINK IF WE, UM, WE NEED TO THINK IN A BUSINESS SENSE, BENEVOLENT BUSINESS SENSE. AND IN THAT CASE, I JUST THOUGH THAT DID NOT MAKE MUCH SENSE AND WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN GREAT IF THAT $200,000 COULD HAVE GONE INTO OUR FLAGSHIPS FOR MORE OF THE BRICK AND MORTAR REPAIRS. SO THAT WAS MY THINKING ON THAT. SO YOU GET TO HEAR THAT. UM, ON, UM, GOING FORWARD. UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO NOW THAT THAT BUDGET PROCESS HAS, UH, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THAT TO BE ABLE TO WORK IN PARTNERSHIP AND THINK ABOUT, UM, WITH MANYA ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE NEED, WHAT CAN DO, AND HOW WE MARRY THAT. AND, UM, JUST REALLY START TURNING THOSE WHEELS BECAUSE I THINK IT REALLY HELPS THE MORE YOU CAN AMP IT UP. I WANNA SEE IT WITH PARKS. I WANNA SEE IF THERE'S SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS TOO. AND SO, UM, IT TAKES THAT COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION AND I KNOW WE'VE GOT THAT. AND SO VERY EXCITED TO WORK WITH YOU. THE LAST THING I WOULD BRING UP IS PROBABLY YOU'RE THE HOTBED OF ZONING CASES HERE IN DISTRICT 13. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, UM, KINDA DUKING IT OUT OVER PROCESS THAT IS ACTUALLY THOUGHTFUL. UM, I HAVE A LOT OF MEETINGS WITH NEIGHBORS. I DRINK A LOT OF COFFEE WITH NEIGHBORS LISTENING TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY LIKE OR DON'T LIKE AND MAKING PROJECTS EVOLVE TO WHERE THEY ARE SOMETHING THAT IS GOOD FOR THE CITY. BUT WHEN YOU COME BACK TO THIS ROOM AND TALK ABOUT HOW WE QUIBBLE OVER PENNIES, UM, AND THE THINGS THAT WE NEED AND LOVE, WHICH I SEE LIBRARIES AS ESSENTIAL BECAUSE THIS IS WONDERFUL AND CHARMING. WE SEE KIDS HAVING AFTER SCHOOL SNACKS AND WE SEE PEOPLE USING A COMPUTER AND DOING JOB SEARCHES. THIS IS WORKFORCE. THIS IS PUBLIC SAFETY. IT IS GETTING YOUTH TO INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER IN THE VIDEO GAME CLUB. AND THEY WERE SAYING THAT THEY LOVE TO HAVE THEM COME IN AND EAT AND JUST GO SIT ON THERE IN THE SOFAS AND TALK TO EACH OTHER. THAT'S WHAT WE NEED. IT ALL, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT READING AND KNITTING, THINGS LIKE THAT. TRULY, IT IS ECONOMIC MOBILITY. I MEAN, I JUST SEE IT AS SO MUCH MORE. AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. MY LITTLE SAYING ABOUT LIBRARIES WHEN PEOPLE SAY, "OH, IT'S JUST MUSTY BOOKS." I'M LIKE, "NO, LIBRARIES ARE REC CENTER FROM THE NECK UP." SO WE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, WE WANT OUR COMMUNITY TO BE AS ACTIVE FROM OUR NECK UP AS WE DO WITH THE GROSS MOTOR SKILLS. AND SO FOR THAT REASON, I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THINGS GET S - H - SO HYPED UP NOW IN THIS WORLD AND JUST GET SO BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION THAT WHEN SOMETHING'S GOING ON, LIKE A CASE WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A ZONING CASE. WE JUST PASSED ONE LAST WEEK ABOUT HOUSING. WE'VE GOT THE ONE IN PRESTON ROYAL. OTHER PARTS OF TOWN HAVE HAD OTHER ONES THAT ARE JUST HOT LIGHTNING RODS. THINK ABOUT THE TAX BASE BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING A REAL CRUNCH FROM THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IN OUR SPENDING CAP. THEY GET WORSE THIS YEAR. UM, WE HAVE LIMITS ON OUR BUDGET WITH REGARD TO PROPOSITION, UH, YOU AND WHAT WE'VE GOT TO HIRE AND HOW WE'VE GOT TO SPEND OUR MONEY. NOW WE'VE GOT A CITY HALL, UM, POTENTIAL, UM, ON THE BOND ELECTION, WHICH AGAIN, FURTHER CONSTRICTS DOLLARS. AND WHAT WE NEED IS FLEXIBILITY. AND YOU ALL KNOW IT MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE BECAUSE AS MUCH AS PEOPLE LOVE THEIR LIBRARIES, YOU TEND TO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK A LOT. DON'T YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ALWAYS IN YOUR RED SHIRTS AT CITY HALL? I MEAN, IT'S LIKE, IT'S ONGOING. AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THESE PROJECTS, IF YOU HAVE NEIGHBORS WHO ARE LIKE, "I DON'T LIKE THAT," OR WHATEVER, I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU WOULD JUST TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, "WELL, YOU KNOW, GROWING OUR TAX BASE ALSO HELPS US PAY FOR OUR LIBRARIES AND MOW OUR PARKS AND DO THE THINGS IN OUR CITY, PAY OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND HAVE CODE COMPLIANCE BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF ISSUES." UM, AND JUST ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CONNECT THE DOTS BECAUSE I DON'T SEE A LOT OF THAT. THE, THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE IS WHERE YOU GET MONEY TO RAISE TAXES. I DON'T WANNA DO THAT. NOBODY WANTS TO DO THAT. AND SO HOW CAN WE DO IT? LET'S MAKE THE DEVELOPERS PAY THAT TAX. DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A GREAT IDEA? SO, UM, ANYWAY, I JUST WANTED TO ASK THAT AS KIND OF LET ME DEPUTIZE YOU IN THAT TO JUST ASK THOSE QUESTIONS AND, AND HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WE NEED TO, TO GROW IN SMART WAYS TO HELP US TAKE CARE OF THE THINGS WE LOVE AND NEED. AND I'M GAY.WILLIS@DALLAS.GOV, ALWAYS AVAILABLE. DISTRICT 13. I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO VISIT. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, GOOD EVENING. AND AGAIN, THANK YOU COUNCILMANERS [00:10:02] FOR JOINING US AND SPEAKING TO. UM, THE BUDGET OUTLOOK AT OUR LAST MEETING WAS MUCH MORE GRIM THAN WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY, AND I KNOW DIRECTOR SHORE WILL ELABORATE ON THAT TONIGHT. UM, I WANT TO EXPRESS GRATITUDE TO D- DALLAS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO SUPPORTED ADDITIONAL FUNDING. SO DRASTIC CUTS, UM, EXPECTED IN, UM, DAYS OF SERVICE TO NOT HAPPEN. AMONG OTHER THINGS, OUR BRANCHES WILL BE OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK INSTEAD OF FIVE. AS PROPOSED, SEVEN FLAGSHIP LIBRARIES WILL BE OPENING SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. CENTRAL WILL BE OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. SO BOOKMARKS ADDING SUNDAY HOURS IS EXCITING FOR MANY FAMILIES TO HANG OUT AT NORTH PARK ON SUNDAY. SO, UM, AND I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF MOMENTUM WITH PROGRAMMING. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO PULLETS AROUND THE ROAD AT CENTRAL IN OCTOBER. VERY EXCITING. UM, I KNOW IS WORKING ON LIGHTING UP THE FIRST FLOOR OF CENTRAL, SO. UM, ALSO I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE AT PARK. I OFTEN BRING CHILDREN HERE ON WEEKENDS. UM, THIS BRANCH, SO. AND NEXT ANNE, WE'LL INTRODUCE VICE CHAIR VAN HARDING. I WILL MINUTES. OH. OKAY. OKAY. SO SKIPPING BACK APPROVAL OF MINUTES. ITEM [IV. Approval of Minutes – (August 25, 2026)] THREE IS APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR MUNICIPAL LIBRARY BOARD MEETING ON AUGUST 25TH, 2026. IS IT A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? MOTION FOR APPROVAL. I'LL SECOND. DISCUSSION RELATED TO CHANGES TO MINUTES. OKAY, HEARING NONE. ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT ITEM. OKAY. SO NEXT ITEM, [VI. Intro to Flagships: Vickery Park Branch Library] VICE CHAIR ANN HARDING. YES. I AM PLEASED TO WELCOME YOU TO THE GREEN PARK LIBRARY. AS I SAID, THIS IS ONE OF THE FOUR LIBRARIES IN DISTRICT 13, AND I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TODAY OF INTRODUCING OUR BRANCH MANAGER, SARAH KELLY. UM, SHE HAS BEEN WITH THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY 11 YEARS AND IS THE CURRENT MANAGER HERE, BUT I HAVE A LONG LIST OF PLACES SHE HAS ALSO BEEN A MANAGER. TIMBERGLAND, RUNNER FRANKFURT, BACHMAN LAKE, PRAIRIE CREEK, AND THE CENTRAL LIBRARY'S LITERATURE, LANGUAGE AND RELIGION SUPPORT. SO SHE GETS AROUND. THAT'S WHAT I WAS TOLD. UH, SHE, UM, IS A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION AND THE ASSOCIATION OF LIBRARY SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION. YES. SO SUPER INVOLVED. AND IN HER SPARE TIME, SARAH ENJOYS CREATING PERSONALIZED GIFTS. SO I DO NOTICE SHE DID NOT BRING US ANY PERSONALIZED GIFTS, INCLUDING HATS, MUGS, T-SHIRTS, KEY CHAINS, AND ORNAMENTS. SO MAYBE LATER WE'LL GET SOMETHING. AND SHE ALSO LIKED PLAYING VIDEO GAMES WITH HER HUSBAND. YES. SO MAYBE SHE'S VERY ACTIVE IN THE KIDS' VIDEO GAMES CLUB THAT WE SENT EARLIER. SOMETIMES. UM, SARAH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BRANCH? UM, SO THIS IS THE DICKERY PARK BRANCH LIBRARY. IT HAS BEEN OPEN FOR FIVE YEARS. IT OPENED IN, UM, FEBRUARY 2ND OF 2021. AND WE RECENTLY DID CELEBRATE OUR FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY. UM, WE HAVE A VERY DIVERSE COMMUNITY OVER HERE IN DISTRICT 13. WE HAVE ABOUT 30 OR SO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES THAT ARE SPOKEN THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. UM, WE TRY TO HAVE PROGRAMS ON A DAILY BASIS. UM, WE DO AFTERSCHOOL SNACKS OR WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SCHOOLS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM US. AND WE DO, UM, AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES EVERY DAY, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. UM, WE ALSO HAVE CITIZENSHIP CLASSES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, ON TUESDAY EVENINGS. WE ALSO DO A LOT OF PROGRAMS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, UM, OUR UPCOMING FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS PROGRAM, WHICH IS IN DECEMBER. UM, THAT IS, UH, ONE OF OUR HUGE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT WE DO EVERY YEAR. WE ALSO DO A LOT OF THINGS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MIDTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. WE'RE GONNA BE HOSTING THEIR, UM, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT THIS COMING TUESDAY. AND, UH, WE DO A LOT OF COMPUTER ASSISTANCE, UH, PROGRAMS. WE HAVE, UH, YOGA HERE AS WELL A COUPLE TIMES A MONTH. [00:15:01] UM, WE TRY TO DO A LOT OF THINGS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND TRY TO HELP OUT WHEREVER WE CAN WITH COMPUTERS, RESUMES, JOB ASSISTANCE, UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN, THAT WE CAN HELP WITH. ALL RIGHT. DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR SARAH? YES. SO ON JUST AN AVERAGE WEEK OR MAYBE AN AVERAGE MONTH, HOW MANY PARTICIPANTS DO YOU HAVE IN THE PROGRAM? OH, GOSH. UM BUSY. WE, WE ARE VERY BUSY. WE, UM, FOR OUR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMMING, DEPENDING ON THE DAY, WE'LL GET, UH, FOR SNACKS, WE'LL GET ANYWHERE FROM 40 TO 60 KIDS. UM, AT THE END OF OUR SCHOOL YEAR LAST YEAR, WE WERE GETTING ABOUT 90 KIDS. SO WE EXPECT THOSE NUMBERS TO INCREASE EVERY DAY, UM, AS WE'RE, AS WE'RE GOING ALONG. UM, WITH OUR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS, UM, A LOT OF THE KIDS THAT COME IN FOR THE SNACKS WILL STAY FOR A LOT OF THOSE ACTIVITIES. UM, FOR YOGA, WE GET ANYWHERE FROM ABOUT 10 TO ABOUT 20 OR SO PEOPLE THAT COME FOR YOGA. UM, FOR OUR CITIZENSHIP CLOSETS, WE GET ANYWHERE FROM 10 TO 20, DEPENDING ON, ON THE DAY. UM, SO WE, WE SEE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE THAT COME IN ON A, ON A FAIRLY REGULAR BASIS. SO I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS HELPFUL, BUT IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, ABOUT 70, 75,000 PEOPLE ENTERED THE DOORS IN SIX MONTHS AT THIS LIBRARY. WE SEE A LOT OF TRAFFIC. YEAH. BECAUSE WHEN IT FIRST OPENED, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE A LOT OF REFUGEES. THERE'S POPULATION HERE THAT WERE NOT SURE ABOUT THIS. I REMEMBER, BECAUSE THE WORD, YOU'LL SEE THE WORD WELCOME ALL THE WAY AROUND THE BUILDING IN ALL THESE LANGUAGES. WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE AT THE BEGINNING OF JUST PEOPLE, IT'S LIKE, THIS IS FOR YOU. AND I DON'T THINK THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO THAT. AND SO I LOVE THAT IT'S NOW BECAUSE IT'S LIKE INITIALLY WE HAD TO GET PEOPLE. I WAS FRIENDS WITH THE VERY FIRST BRANCH MANAGER AND I REMEMBER HER TELLING ME ALL THAT, TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO COME IN. NOW WE, WE'VE GOT PEOPLE COMING IN ALL THE TIME. LOVE IT. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE COLLECTION? CORRECT, YES. WE HAVE, UM, A CHILDREN'S WORLD LANGUAGES SECTION AND WE ALSO HAVE AN ADULT WORLD LANGUAGES SECTION. AND WE HAVE ABOUT 20 OR SO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IN THEM IN EACH OF THOSE COLLECTIONS FOR PEOPLE TO BE CHECKING OUT AND, AND READING AND READING. AND WE HAVE, UM, STAFF ON THAT CAN HAVE, SEE, WE HAVE STAFF THAT DO ENGLISH, SPANISH, AND AMERICAN ON, ON STAFF HERE PRETTY MUCH JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY. BUT WE DO HAVE QUITE A FEW LANGUAGES THAT COME IN AND WE TRY AND HELP THEM OUT AS BEST WE CAN. AND WE DO HAVE SOME OTHER, UM, ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THAT DO HAVE, OFFER ASSISTANCE WITH OTHER LANGUAGES THAT WE TRY TO CONNECT PEOPLE WITH IF WE CAN'T HELP THEM. IS LANGUAGE OR THIRD? UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S THE NUMBER THREE LANGUAGE. UM, I KNOW IT'S UP, IT'S UP THERE, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S THE NUMBER THREE. BUT WE DO HAVE A STAFF MEMBER THAT DOES SPEAK THERE. SO WE DO SEE HIM QUITE A BIT AND HE DOES TALK TO A LOT OF OUR CUSTOMERS. THEY WILL COME IN HERE AND JUST TALK TO HIM SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE HE SPEAKS THEIR LANGUAGE. THAT'S GREAT. YES. UM, IT'S ACTUALLY PROBABLY MOSTLY NONFICTION, BUT WE DO TRY TO HAVE FICTION AND NONFICTION IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, SARAH. WE APPRECIATE YOUR. THANK YOU. [VII. Staff Reports/Briefings] ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU. THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN VERY OFTEN. UM, I'M, I WILL TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET, I PROMISE. SEAN IS NOT FEELING WELL TODAY, SO I'LL BE COVERING THE FACILITIES AND FOR IT. BUT BEFORE OUR TOPIC OF THE MONTH IS A RECAP OF OUR YEAR TWO STRATEGIC GOALS, UH, AND OBJECTIVES AND SOME OF WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT FOR YEAR THREE. SO YOU MAY RECALL, NOT EVERYONE HAS BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR THIS ENTIRE YEAR, BUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, WE PRESENTED YOU ALL WITH OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR YEAR TWO, WHICH WE ARE IN RIGHT NOW. SO SALLY IS GOING TO, UH, TELL YOU HOW WE'VE DONE, WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED, WHAT WE MAY BE, UH, CARRYING FORWARD INTO NEXT YEAR, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT FOR, FOR YEAR THREE. SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, TO SALLY. LET ME GET A LITTLE [00:20:01] SITUATED HERE REAL QUICK SO Y'ALL CAN SEE. YEAH. LIKE, OH NO. UH, CAN WE DO THAT? WE DON'T HAVE TO SEE THEM. OKAY. SO - WE JUST HAVE TO SEE, BUT SHE DOESN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE. EXCELLENT. OKAY. AND FELICIA, I'M ASSUMING Y'ALL CAN SEE THE POWERPOINT. HOPEFULLY NOT. FELICIA? OKAY. THANK YOU, MISTICA. THANK YOU. I SEE YOUR - YES. WE CAN SEE IT. WE CAN SEE IT. BEAUTIFUL. BEAUTIFUL. ALL RIGHT. I'M GONNA PUT THEM OVER HERE. OKAY. UM, AND SO, UH, I SAW A PA - A RAISED HAND. WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO SEE THAT, I THINK, DURING THE PRESENTATION. SO IF Y'ALL DON'T MIND HOLDING YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END, AND THEN WE CAN GET BACK TO SEEING ALL OF YOU WHO ARE VIRTUAL, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THAT YOU'VE RAISED YOUR HAND. YES. WE'LL JUST PASS THIS OUT. UM, ALSO... UH, UH, WE CAN. YEAH. WE ALSO, UM, FELICIA SENT AHEAD THE PRESENTATION AND ALSO THE LIST OF - THE REPORT. UH, THE REPORT. SO WE'LL PASS THOSE OUT TO PEOPLE IN PERSON. AND THEN IF YOU'RE VIRTUAL, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE, THOSE IN YOUR EMAIL. ALL RIGHT. SO [VIII. Friends of the Dallas Public Library Update] THIS IS DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY'S STRATEGIC PLAN YEAR TWO. THE MOUSE. THERE WE ARE. THERE WE ARE. ALL RIGHT. UM, SO THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS LARGELY GUIDED BY FOUR KEY VALUES THAT WE IDENTIFIED IN THE PROCESS. UM, THOSE KEY VALUES ARE COMMUNITY, LEARNING, ACCESS, AND INNOVATION. UM, SO WITH THESE IN MIND, WE HAVE PUSHED TO MAKE PROGRESS ON OUR STRATEGIC GOALS. SO JUST AS A REMINDER FOR EVERYBODY, THE STRATEGIC GOALS ARE TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO ACCESS, PROVIDE INSPIRING AND WELCOMING FACILITIES, MAKE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, COMMUNICATE THE LIBRARY'S VALUE, AND CREATE OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING AND DISCOVERY. SO FOR YEAR TWO, WHICH THIS STRATEGIC PLAN IS FROM 2024 TO 2028, SO WE ARE, WE ARE NOW WRAPPING UP THIS SECOND YEAR. UM, WE START WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF RE-IMAGINING THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. SO WE'VE TRIED TO TAKE A HOLISTIC VIEW AND APPROACH OF, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT COMPREHENSIVE DATA, ASSESSING THE CONDITION OF THE BUILDING AND VARIOUS FLOORS AND OUR ASSETS, UM, FINDING WAYS TO MAKE SMALL SCALE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, UH, AND THEN ALSO DEVELOPING OUR PARTNERSHIPS THROUGHOUT THAT BUILDING AND THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY ITSELF. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO IS, WAS KIND OF PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF GROUPS THAT WE WORK WITH, AND IT IS QUITE LENGTHY, UM, BUT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THE PARTNERSHIPS WE'VE MADE TO SUPPORT THAT BUILDING, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE BREADTH IN WHICH IT ACTUALLY EXPANDS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. UM, A COUPLE THINGS THAT ALSO HAPPENED THROUGH, THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY WAS WE, UH, RECEIVED A NEW SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEM. WE DID A LOT OF WEATHERPROOFING. WE HAD A REALLY BEAUTIFUL UPDATE TO OUR FLOWER BEDS, IF YOU GUYS HAVEN'T SEEN THEM RECENTLY, SHOULD AT LEAST DRIVE BY. THEY LOOK, LOOK REALLY BEAUTIFUL. UM, WE'VE SECURED ACCESS TO DOORS, UM, AND, UH, HAVE PURCHASED SOME NEW FURNITURE. UH, THAT BEING SAID, ONE OF THE OTHER GREAT THINGS WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR IS WE HAVE REDONE THE WEST SIDE OF THE BUILDING TO CREATE A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN THAT ALLOWS FOR US TO DO PROGRAMMING. WE'VE INSTALLED SOME FENCES. WE'VE GOT SOME GARDEN BEDS OUT THERE. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME OUTDOOR FURNITURE TO ALLOW FOR US TO DO VARIOUS PROGRAMMING THAT WE WOULD POSSIBLY NEED. UM, IT LOOKS REALLY WONDERFUL. WE ARE, UH, WORKING ON GETTING SOME ACTIVE PROGRAMMING OUT THERE FOR EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND VISIT AND ACTUALLY SEE IT, UM, UP CLOSE AND ENJOY IT. AND LET ME JUST ADD THAT TO REMIND THE BOARD THAT THE FENCING WAS PAID FOR BY THE DOWNTOWN DALLAS INC. THEY GAVE US, I THINK, A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLAR GRANT TO DO THAT. AND THEN THE FURNITURE AND SOME OF THE PLANTINGS WERE PAID FOR BY THE FRIENDS. ALL RIGHT. SO OUR SECOND OBJECTIVE WAS TO IMPLEMENT A REGIONAL SERVICE MODEL. SO AT THIS POINT, I WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY THAT THESE OBJECTIVES WERE CREATED AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF YEAR TWO. SO ALL THE THINGS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR ARE NOT NECESSARILY REFLECTED IN THE OBJECTIVE ITSELF. UM, AND SO TO JUST SPEAK TO HOW WE HAVE KIND OF PROGRESSED ON THIS OBJECTIVE, COUPLE OF THINGS. WE DID PUT A PROPOSAL TOGETHER IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE, I'M GONNA SAY IT WRONG, OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE, UM, TO ALLOW FOR US TO KINDA CREATE A MODEL TO [00:25:01] ANALYZE AND EVALUATE DATA TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION POSSIBLE FOR, FOR THE CHALLENGE THAT WE WERE GIVEN. UM, AND IN THAT, WE IDENTIFIED FOUR LOCATIONS FOR CLOSURE, UH, AND THEN WE ALSO, UH, ACTUALLY INTRODUCED FLAGSHIPS AT THAT POINT. UH, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE GONE ON SINCE THEN, INCLUDING A QUALAC PRESENTATION, AN MLB PRESENTATION, A FRIENDS PRESENTATION, AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF ASKS SINCE THEN AS WELL. UM, HOWEVER, ULTIMATELY, AS YOU GUYS GOT TO SEE, WE NOW ARE, HAVE A RESULT OF SIX DAYS A WEEK SERVICE AT BRANCH LIBRARIES AND BOOKMARKS, AND SEVEN DAY A WEEK SERVICE AT FLAGSHIP LOCATIONS IN CENTRAL. UM, AT THE SAME TIME, NO MATTER WHAT WAS HAPPENING, WE CONTINUED TO DO CONDITION ASSESSMENTS OF THE BUILDINGS, GET AN IDEA OF THE ASSETS WE HAVE AND AN INVENTORY OF WHAT WE HAVE IN EACH BUILDING, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY CREATE, UM, KIND OF A PRIORITY LIST SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF START TACKLING SOME OF THESE THINGS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS THAT WE HAVE FOR THE FLAGSHIPS. UM, THAT BEING SAID, WE DO REGULARLY UPDATE THE LIBRARY'S WEBSITE. UH, WE'RE GONNA SHOW THE RE-IMAGINE PAGE HERE IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT YOU GUYS WILL SEE THAT. SO THAT INFORMATION IS REGULARLY UPDATED AND AVAILABLE FOR Y'ALL. THEN WE HAD ENHANCED SAFETY ACROSS LIBRARY LOCATIONS. UM, THIS IS JUST AN IMPORTANT THING FOR BOTH STAFF AND CUSTOMERS. IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE FEEL SAFE WHEN THEY ARE IN OUR BUILDINGS. SO A COUPLE THINGS WE'VE DONE IS WE HAVE CHANGED OUR INCIDENT REPORTING SYSTEM THAT JUST ALLOWS FOR STAFF TO BETTER INFORM US ON WHAT HAS HAPPENED AND ALSO ALLOW FOR US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, THE DATA AROUND IT. SO IF WE HAVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES TO HELP WITH OUR SAFETY, WE CAN, AND WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION AND DATA BEHIND THAT. UH, WE'VE ALSO HIRED A SERGEANT WHO IS STATIONED AT CENTRAL, BUT ALSO WORKS WITHIN ALL OF THE LIBRARIES. HE, IN FACT, I THINK WAS HERE AT VICKY, VICKERY EARLIER THIS DAY. UM, BUT HE ALSO ASSISTS WITH SECURITY TRAINING, THE MANAGEMENT OF THE SECURITY GUARDS, AS WELL AS JUST GENERAL COMMUNICATION AROUND SECURITY AT ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS. SO IT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL TO HAVE SERGEANT GILBERT ACTUALLY, UM, AT CENTRAL LIBRARY TO JUST ASSIST WITH THAT COMMUNICATION AND ENSURING THAT THE SECURITY GUARDS ARE UP AND READY TO GO AND, AND KNOW OUR BUSINESS AND KNOW HOW TO HANDLE SITUATIONS. ALL RIGHT. THEN WE HAVE PROVIDE DATA-DRIVEN COMMUNITY RESPONSIVE PROGRAMMING. SO PROGRAMMING IS INTEGRAL TO THE LIBRARY'S WORK. UM, IT, IT TRULY CREATES VIBRANT COMMUNITIES. IT IS WHAT WE DO BEST IN THE LIBRARY. SO A COUPLE THINGS WE HAVE DONE. WE, WE HAVE KIND OF STARTED FROM SCRATCH, IF YOU WILL, BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WITH THIS NEW MODEL, WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOING. WE WERE DOING THE BEST FOR THE COMMUNITIES AND WE KNEW HOW TO PIVOT WHAT WE WERE DOING WITH PROGRAMMING. SO WE DEVELOPED PLANS TO HAVE THAT BETTER ALIGN WITH EACH COMMUNITY NEED. UH, WE USED DATA AND THINGS FROM POLICY MAP TO ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE COMMUNITIES AROUND EACH LIBRARY. UH, WE'VE CREATED TARGET AUDIENCES, INTEREST GROUPS, AND CREATED PRIORITIES FOR EACH OF THOSE SO THAT WE ARE ALIGNED AS A SYSTEM AS TO WHAT IS ACTUALLY A PRIORITY AS FAR AS PROGRAMMING GOES. UM, AND THEN WE'VE ESTABLISHED A THREE-YEAR PLAN TO SUPPORT AND STRENGTHEN ALL OF OUR YOUTH SERVICES PROGRAMMING. UM, AT THE SAME TIME, THE MANAGERS ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT THESE PLANS AND UPDATE THEM AS THE YEARS GO ON, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE THAT PLAN JUST STAY IN THE TIME FOR WHICH WE, WE CREATED IT. WE WANT TO UPDATE IT AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS CONSTANTLY BEING SERVED EVEN IF IT CHANGES. ALL RIGHT, WE'RE ALMOST DONE. RIGHT SIZE COLLECTION FOR THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE, UM, DECIDED TO, TO LOOK AT FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UM, OBJECTIVE WAS OUR SHELVING CAPACITY, BECAUSE WE HAVE A THING CALLED A FLOATING COLLECTION. AND WITH THAT MEANS THAT SOMETIMES OUR BOOKS WILL MOVE THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM WITHOUT OUR CONTROL. YOU CHECK IT OUT ONE PLACE, RETURN IT AT ANOTHER PLACE, IT DOES DIFFERENT THINGS WITH THAT BOOK. SO IF WE ACTUALLY HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF THE SHELVING CAPACITY, IT MEANS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BE A LITTLE MORE PROACTIVE TO ENSURE THAT THERE ISN'T, YOU KNOW, OVERCROWDING AT THIS LOCATION AND A LITTLE LESS, UM, OFFERINGS AT ANOTHER LOCATION. SO THIS SHELVING CAPACITY JUST ALLOWED FOR US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT A LOCATION CAN HANDLE SO THAT IF THERE IS SOME OVERCROWDING, WE CAN REBALANCE THAT COLLECTION AT ANOTHER LOCATION. WE ALSO IMPLEMENTED THE WORLD LANGUAGES. I'M SO GLAD WE'RE HERE SO THAT I COULD SAY THAT AND YOU GUYS COULD, COULD KNOW THAT THIS, IF THEY'RE HERE, UM, BUT [00:30:01] WE DID IMPLEMENT THAT, THAT WORLD LANGUAGES COLLECTION, AND YOU GUYS CAN SEE IT. IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL. UM, THAT TOOK SOME TIME, UH, JUST FOR PROCUREMENT, BUT WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE'RE FINALLY ABLE TO GET THESE BOOKS ON THE SHELVES. UH, WE ALSO DEVELOPED A COUPLE OF TOOLS IN THE NEW CATALOG TO ASSIST CUSTOMERS WITH JUST INTEREST BROWSING. UM, BEFORE, WE DID NOT HAVE AS DYNAMIC OF LISTS OR THE LITTLE CAROUSELS YOU GUYS SEE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE CATALOG THAT KIND OF HELP YOU WITH, YOU KNOW, OH, I LIKED THIS BOOK. WHAT OTHER BOOK IS KIND OF LIKE THIS? IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE BY THIS AUTHOR? IS THIS A PART OF A SERIES? SO HAVING THAT CATALOG AND THE TOOLS WITHIN IT TO ACTUALLY ENCOURAGE INTEREST AND EXCITEMENT AROUND BOOKS HAS BEEN REALLY NICE AND HELPFUL. UM, AND THEN FINALLY, ONE THING THAT WE, I, I FEEL LIKE WE DO PRETTY WELL, BUT THAT JUST MAY BE BECAUSE I'M PROUD OF MY TEAM. UM, BUT WE CONSTANTLY EVALUATE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL CIRCULATION TO MAKE THE BEST CHOICES AND MAKE EVERY DOLLAR GO AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. UM, CIRCULATION IS, IS INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, NOT JUST A BLACK AND WHITE ISSUE. IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN JUST SAY THERE'S A LOT HERE, THERE'S NOT A LOT HERE. THERE'S A LOT OF COMPONENTS THAT GO INTO IT, INCLUDING HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE CHECKING OUT A DIGITAL ITEM VERSUS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE CHECKING OUT A PHYSICAL ITEM. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, MEETING THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE, NO MATTER IF THEY'RE POWER USERS OR THEY ONLY COME IN A COUPLE OF TIMES. WE WANNA JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PUTTING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE RIGHT PLACES. AND SO, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE REALLY SAT DOWN AND KIND OF WRITTEN OUT THE, WE'VE KIND OF DONE IT ALL ALONG, BUT WE'VE REALLY PUT IT DOWN ON PAPER SO THAT IT HELPS, YOU KNOW, FUTURE GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE LIBRARY COME THROUGH AND BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT. IT HELPS US BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO IT MORE. UM, AND SO WE'RE CON - GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS WE SEE OUR DIGITAL AGE CONSTANTLY CHANGE. ALL RIGHT, SO FOR YOUR THREE OBJECTIVES. UM, I WILL SAY, UH, IT HAS BEEN QUITE THE YEAR. UH, SO WITH OUR, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, FUNDING CHANGES THAT WE SAW A COUPLE WEEKS AGO ON THE 16TH, UM, WE NOW GET TO ESTABLISH SEVEN FLAGSHIP LOCATIONS, WHICH WE HAD INITIALLY, UH, SAID FIVE WITH SEVEN IN THE FUTURE. SO WE'RE ACTUALLY VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND THAT OUT. UM, WE ALSO ARE UPDATING WITH MORE EVENING HOURS, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING WE'VE HAD IN A VERY LONG TIME. I THINK THE LAST TIME WE HAD THAT WAS WHEN SARAH AND I BOTH STARTED AT THE LIBRARY 11 YEARS AGO. UM, SO IT'S BEEN REALLY NICE TO SEE THAT WE COULD DO THAT FOR THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. UM, BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS JANUARY 2027 LAUNCH OF THE FLAGSHIPS, UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS WE WANT TO DO IN THIS YEAR THREE. WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE WITH THE REIMAGINED CENTRAL LIBRARY BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL HAVE SEEN IT, IT'S KIND OF A LARGE BUILDING. IT, IT NEEDS SOME TIME. WE NEED SOME TIME TO CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THAT. THERE'S MANY OPTIONS WE HAVE. THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT, UM, COULD, COULD HAPPEN IN, IN THE, WITHIN THAT BUILDING. AND SO AS YOU'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THE PULITZER, WE'RE REALLY WORKING ON WAYS TO KIND OF REVIVE THE, THE FEELING WHEN YOU WALK INTO THAT BUILDING, AS WELL AS CREATE SOME INTENTION AROUND WHAT WE ARE DOING IN THE BUILDING. IT USED TO BE A RESEARCH BUILDING, THAT'S WHY THE FLOORS ARE ALL SEPARATED THE WAY THEY ARE. SO WE'RE REALLY GONNA TAKE THE TIME TO CONTINUE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO REDO EIGHT FLOORS, UM, IN A WAY THAT MAKES SENSE AND LOOKS INTENTIONAL. THEN WE ALSO HAVE IMPLEMENT A FLAGSHIP MODEL. NOTICE THE NAME CHANGE. UM, NOT ENTIRELY DIFFERENT, BUT DEFINITELY HAS, UH, THE CHANGE FROM, UH, REGIONAL TO FLAGSHIP BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT IT'S ABOUT. UM, SO WITHIN THAT, WE HAVE A COUPLE THINGS WE ARE GONNA BE DOING. OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE REFRESH BECAUSE WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE SOME, SOME FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY GET SOME NEW STUFF GOING AND, AND RE - AND REVIVE THOSE LOCATIONS. UM, BUT WE ALSO WILL BE DOING A COUPLE OF SMALL SCALE, UM, WHAT WE CALL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ALL AROUND. SO IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE VERY EXCITING. WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT STAFFING, CREATE A NEW STAFFING MODEL. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATION AROUND PART-TIME. WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO WITH SOMETHING LIKE A PART-TIME, UM, MODEL FOR OUR STAFFING. UH, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE, UH, HOURS CHANGES. SO WITH THAT, OF COURSE, COMES THE, THE SUNDAY HOURS CHANGE. SO WE'VE GOT A LOT TO WORK ON AS FAR AS MAKING THIS WORK RIGHT, AS WELL AS MAKING THE CHANGES WORK WELL. UM, THEN WE HAVE, UH, THE IMPLEMENT STRATEGIC PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS GOALS. UM, SO THIS IS A SLIGHT CHANGE FROM OUR PROGRAMMING GOAL. PREVIOUSLY, WE DID A LOT OF WORK ON PLANNING. WE DID A LOT OF WORK ON ESTABLISHING A LOT OF THINGS. SO THIS IS REALLY MORE ABOUT [00:35:01] ACTUALLY TAKING STEPS FORWARD TO IMPLEMENT A GOOD PORTION OF THAT PLANNING THAT WE DID FOR PROGRAM. UM, WE ARE, WE ARE HOPING TO KIND OF, AGAIN, REALLY IMPLEMENT SOME STRATEGIC PLANNING, PROGRAMMING AROUND EACH LOCATION. WE ARE ALSO CHANGING, OF COURSE, LARGER, UH, PROGRAMS WILL LIKELY MOVE TO FLAGSHIPS, WHEREAS SOME, UH, YOU KNOW, DAY-TO-DAY PROGRAMS WILL STILL BE AT BRANCH LOCATIONS, BUT MAYBE THOSE LARGER ONES WILL BE AT FLAGSHIPS. SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT THAT KIND OF, UM, IDEA. UH, WE HAVE ADDED IMPLEMENT VISION FOR YOUTH SERVICES BECAUSE YOUTH SERVICES IS SOMETHING WE HAVE STARTED TO OVERHAUL. I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL REMEMBER, I JUST TALKED ABOUT THE THREE-YEAR PLAN THAT WE MADE. WE'RE VERY MUCH MAKING THIS A, A, A PRIORITY ON OUR LIST TO INVEST INTO YOUTH SERVICES MORE THAN WE HAVE IN RECENT YEARS. SO THAT'S WHY IT'S KIND OF PULLED OUT IS BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE AND CONTINUING ON WITH THIS PLAN AND MAKING SURE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THAT AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. UM, OPTIMIZING THE COLLECTION FOR THE COMMUNITY NEED. UH, SO A COUPLE THINGS WITH THAT. UM, I DID TALK ABOUT THE SHELVING. WE ARE GONNA BE WORKING THROUGH MOVING THOSE BOOKS AROUND, BEING MORE PROACTIVE AS OPPOSED TO REACTIVE SO THAT, UM, STAFF TIME AT THE BRANCH IS NOT NECESSARILY HAVING TO LOOK AT OVERCROWDING AT, UH, ON SHELVING, BUT THAT, UH, WE AT CENTRAL CAN ACTUALLY HELP WITH THAT. AND ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS PULL FROM A LIST. UM, BUT THEN WE ALSO ARE GONNA BE INTRODUCING WHAT WE CALL LUCKY DAY COLLECTIONS. SO LUCKY DAY COLLECTIONS ARE BOOKS THAT ARE NOT HOLDABLE AND CHECK OUT FOR A SHORTER CHANNEL, CHECK OUT FOR TWO WEEKS, BUT THEY WILL BE ON THE SHELF. SO IF SOME... AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY POPULAR THINGS. SO THINK OF YESTERYEAR. EVERYBODY HAS BEEN REALLY WANTING YESTERYEAR. UM, THE LUCKY DAY COLLECTIONS ARE MEANT TO BE AT THE LOCATION, BE THERE FOR YOU TO WALK IN, CHECK OUT, CHECK OUT AND WALK OUT. NOW, AGAIN, IT DOES HAVE A SHORTER CHECKOUT TIME. UM, SO, SO YOU DO HAVE TO READ IT QUICKLY. UM, BUT IT, IT DOES NOT GO ON HOLD, SO IT HA - IT ONLY CHECKS IN AND SITS THERE ON THE SHELF TILL SOMEBODY ELSE PICKS IT UP AND CHECKS IT RIGHT BACK OUT. UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THAT FOR THE FLAGSHIPS SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF MEET SOME OF THAT DEMAND AND BE ABLE TO SUPPLEMENT, UM, AND, AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE FOR THOSE DAYS WHERE THEY, YOU KNOW, MIGHT HAVE THEIR LOCATION CLOSED, BUT THEY COULD GO TO ANOTHER LOCATION TO PICK UP A BOOK THAT THEY MIGHT REALLY WANNA CHECK OUT. AND SKIP THAT LINE, IF YOU WILL, A LITTLE. UM, AND THEN WE'VE ADDED TWO OTHER ONES. UM, SO ONE OF THEM IS PROVIDE DATA ANALYSIS. WE'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT ON THE WEBSITE SO FAR. WE DO HAVE A STATISTICS PAGE. UM, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF CHANGES WITHIN NOT ONLY OUR DEPART- DEPARTMENT, BUT THE CITY OF DALLAS. SO WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THE DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT. UM, YES, THANK YOU. IT'S A, IT'S A LONG NAME. I HAVE TO GET ALL OF THE, THE WORDS RIGHT. UM, BUT WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THEM TO, TO BE ABLE TO KEEP UP THAT STATISTICS PAGE, POSSIBLY IMPROVE IT, POSSIBLY MAKE BETTER DECISIONS ON DATA. UM, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE PEOPLE WHO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT THEY DO ALL DAY, UM, AND, AND THEY CAN GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK ON WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TO KEEP SHOWING, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE COLLECTION CIRCULATION LOOKING LIKE FOR EACH LOCATION? WHAT IS VISITOR COUNT LOOKING LIKE? WHAT ARE THOSE VIRTUAL VISITS LOOK AT, LOOK LIKE? WE WANNA KEEP, UM, LETTING YOU ALL KNOW EACH, EACH QUARTER WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. THE CHANGE, UH, IS THAT THEY'RE HAVING TO TAKE OVER THAT IN, IN ITS ENTIRETY. SO, UM, WE MIGHT BE A LITTLE SLOW, BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE AND WE'LL GET IT POSTED. WE'RE HOPING TO NOT BE, BUT WE'LL SEE. UH, AND OUR LAST ONE, UTILIZATION OF TRUST, PRIVATE, AND SPECIAL FUNDS. ANOTHER FUN THING THAT I DON'T KNOW, I, I KNOW EVERYBODY KNOWS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL KNOW, UM, WE WERE, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE A TRUST THIS LAST YEAR, UM, FOR 2.8. YEAH. YOU MAY RECALL COUNCIL ACCEPTED THIS TRUST NOT THAT LONG AGO, BUT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF SPECIAL FUNDS. IF SOMEONE DONATES DIRECTLY TO THE LIBRARY, IT, THAT IS THE ONE TIME THE MONEY DOES NOT GO INTO THE GENERAL FUND. AND SO A TRUST ACCOUNT IS CREATED AND THAT ROLLS OVER YEAR AFTER YEAR. SO GETTING ORGANIZED AROUND THE TRUST FUNDS IS A PRIORITY FOR ME. THIS ALSO COVERS WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS WAS TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FRIENDS OF THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY. AND, UH, DENISE AND I ARE TALKING ABOUT AND REVIEW BETWEEN OUR TWO ENTITIES, DEFINING OUR RELATIONSHIPS, UM, IN A MORE FORMAL WAY. SO ALL OF THAT, THIS IS REALLY MY OBJECTIVE TO TACKLE THIS YEAR. [00:40:01] I'M SO GLAD. AND SO IT'S, IT'S FIGURING OUT BEYOND JUST THE OPERATING DOLLARS THAT WE GET OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH ARE REALLY WELL DEFINED INTO HOW WE USE THEM. WE DO HAVE THESE ANCILLARY POCKETS OF FUNDS THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE EVER REALLY HAD A VISION FOR THEM. SO WORKING THROUGH THAT, GETTING ORGANIZED, FINDING THE PAPERWORK FOR SOME OF THESE WHICH WERE GIVEN DECADES AGO AND THE RESTRICTIONS ON THEM. SO, UH, WE'VE SORT OF BEEN LAX ABOUT ORGANIZATION AROUND THOSE. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT I'M HOPING TO TACKLE THIS YEAR. UM, THAT'S, THAT'S IT. SO AS SALLY... THANK YOU, SALLY. WELL DONE. UM, AS WE GET BACK TO BEING ABLE TO SEE THE REST OF THE BOARD, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, YOU KNOW, THIS WHOLE YEAR, UH, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET THAT HAS REALLY JUST CONSUMED US THIS YEAR. UH, I SAID TO DENISE EARLIER TODAY, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL I CAN GO TO THE MUNICIPAL LIBRARY BOARD AND TALK ABOUT THINGS OTHER THAN BUDGET, BECAUSE WHAT I WANT YOU ALL... I HOPE YOUR TAKEAWAY FROM SALLY'S PRESENTATION IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST REACTING TO OUR BUDGET CRISES THIS YEAR. WE REALLY HAVE BEEN CONTINUING TO OFFER HIGH QUALITY SERVICES ACROSS 29 LOCATIONS TO 1.3 MILLION RESIDENTS OF DALLAS. TWO MILLION VISITORS ENTERED OUR BUILDINGS THIS PAST YEAR, NOT FOR NOTHING, RIGHT? LIKE, PEOPLE ARE USING US LIKE CRAZY. AND IT'S IMPORTANT AS A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT WE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. WE KNOW WHAT OUR NUMBERS LOOK LIKE. WE HAVE A PLAN AND A VISION. AND SO MY HOPE IS, IS YOUR TAKEAWAY WILL BE THAT WE HAVE THAT AND WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS IT. AND SO WITH THAT, WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT, THAT YOU MAY HAVE US. OH, I DO HAVE A QUESTION. UM, WE TALKED ABOUT MOVING PROGRAMS FROM THE BRANCH LIBRARIES TO THE FLAGSHIP, AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I HEARD YOU SAY. YEAH. YEAH. SURE. AND I'M SURE WHAT YOU'LL DO... I MEAN, I'M EXCITED ABOUT... I'M SURE WHAT YOU'LL DO IS ANALYZE WHAT THOSE PROGRAMS MEAN AT THE BRANCH. OH, ABSOLUTELY. YOU'RE NOT STRIPPING THE BRANCH OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS. YES. AND WE DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK WE'RE TAKING PROGRAMS AWAY FROM THEIR BRANCH. WE'RE MOSTLY THINKING ABOUT SCALE. SO THINK OF LIKE A HUB AND A SPOKE MODEL, RIGHT? SO THE LARGE SCALE PROGRAMS WILL HAPPEN AT THE LARGER LIBRARIES, BECAUSE REMEMBER, WE'RE NOT BUILDING FLAGSHIPS. RIGHT. AND WE PICKED FLAGSHIPS. ASIDE FROM VICKERY, WHICH IS AN INTERESTING PICK FOR FLAGSHIPS, EVERY OTHER FLAGSHIP IS LARGE, HAS A LARGE PARKING LOT. I MEAN, THERE'S A REASON MANY OF US HAD TO PARK FIVE BLOCKS AWAY, RIGHT? BECAUSE THIS DOES NOT, THIS BRANCH DOES NOT HAVE A LARGE PARKING LOT. YOU GO TO LOCKWOOD, YOU GO TO HIGHLAND HILLS, THEY HAVE A HUGE PARKING LOT, A HUGE FOOTPRINT. AND SO IT MAKES SENSE TO PUT THE LARGE SCALE EVENTS THERE. AND THEN THE MORE SORT OF SMALL, COZY NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAMS LIKE, UM CLUB, THOSE THINGS THAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DO. THAT'S GOOD. SO THERE'S A QUESTION ONLINE FROM DEBRON. I, I DIDN'T WANNA MISS IT. UM, HE WAS ASKING IF THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY OR THE FRIENDS PARTICIPATE IN NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY, AND THE ANSWER IS YES, THE FRIENDS DOES. YES. AND AS A MUNICIPAL ENTITY - ACTUALLY DID VERY, DID VERY WELL THIS YEAR. WHICH DENISE CAN TALK ABOUT IN HER REPORT. I, I'M SURE. AND, UM, IS THAT IN THE CHAT? YEAH. I THOUGH THE CHAT WAS GONNA BE - THE CHAT. IT'S VERY HARD FOR US TO MONITOR THE CHAT, UM, DURING THE MEETING, SO WE WOULD LOVE IF YOU WOULD RAISE YOUR HAND AND COME OFF MUTE. AMY? YEAH. I HAD A QUICK QUESTION FOR SALLY. YES. UH, YOU SAID THAT THE STATISTIC PAGE IS ON OUR WEBSITE NOW. YES. AND, UM, COULD YOU CLARIFY THE DATA PEOPLE - YEAH. WHATEVER THAT LONG NAME IS. YES. ARE THEY GONNA COMPLETELY TAKE OVER GATHERING THE STATISTICS? YEAH. 'CAUSE I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LIBRARY LAND, YOU'RE COUNTING EVERYTHING. SO THAT, THAT, UH, CHORE, IF YOU WILL, IS GONNA NOW BE MOVED TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT. SO WHAT SALLY DID NOT SAY VERY GRACIOUSLY , SO I'M GONNA SAY IT. THE CITY MADE A DECISION TO PULL THE DATA COORDINATORS FROM A HANDFUL OF DEPARTMENTS AND CENTRALIZE THOSE POSITIONS INTO THE DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT. SO WE LOST OUR DATA FOR A SECOND. I HAVE TO SEE. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES. SO, SO THE DATA PAGE, THE STATISTIC PAGE IS THE REPORT I'VE BEEN SENDING THE BOARD AFTER EVERY QUARTER OF THIS YEAR. SO WE HAVE MET WITH DBI TWICE TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT HOW THIS WILL WORK AND HOW WE PULL OUR DATA. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO CREATE A DASHBOARD. WHAT WE HAVE ON OUR WEBSITE IS REALLY KIND OF STATIC DATA. IT'S JUST A PDF THAT I SEND YOU ALL. MM-HMM. I THINK THE LONG-TERM DREAM IS THAT WE HAVE A DASHBOARD [00:45:01] WHERE WE CAN ALL GO IN AND PLAY WITH THE DATA, LOOK AT SPECIFIC BRANCHES COMPARED TO OTHER BRANCHES, THAT KIND OF THING. BUT THAT IS A WAYS AWAY. BUT THE REASON IT'S HAPPENING IS, IS BECAUSE OF THAT. SO WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT. THANK YOU. SO DO WE THINK THAT WE WILL STILL HAVE QUARTERLY DATA REPORTS? SO WHAT SEAN HAS TOLD ME IS THAT BEFORE SHE GOES, WHICH THAT POSITION HAS BEEN WITH RIFT OUT OF OUR DEPARTMENT. BEFORE SHE GOES, SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT WE NEED TO GIVE YOU THE FINAL QUARTER OF THIS YEAR. AFTER THAT, IT'S UNCERTAIN HOW QUICKLY DBI WILL BE ABLE TO SET UP THE NEXT ROUND OF REPORTING. I'M SORRY. I KNOW WE HAD JUST GOTTEN THERE WITH THAT REPORT. THEY ARE VERY ENCOURAGED TO DO THIS. THEY HAVE ALL THE INTENTION TO, LIKE, HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. OR EVEN OUR SECOND MEETING WAS A WORKING MEETING, SO WE WENT THROUGH EACH OF THE THINGS ON THE DASHBOARD AND HOW WE PULL THEM. SO WE HAVE A, A... WE ARE ACTIVELY TALKING THROUGH THIS WITH THEM AND THEY VERY MUCH WANT TO ACHIEVE THIS. UM, SO - WELL, I TOLD MY COUNCILPERSON SHE MIGHT HAVE TO WAIT FOR HER LIBRARY REPORT. SHE SAYS, "I'LL JUST CALL THE OFFICE. THIS IS RIDICULOUS." I'M LIKE, "OKAY. YOU DO THAT." YEAH. BUT THAT'S EXTRA PRESSURE. I HAVE A QUESTION JUST ABOUT THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGIONAL MODEL. WITH ALL SEVEN FLAGSHIPS BEING BUILT ONCE, IS THERE ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL FLAGSHIPS? SO THE, THE QUESTION IS, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF THE OWL CAN, CAN HEAR YOU PICKED YOU UP. THAT'S OKAY. UM, THE QUESTION WAS... WELL, LET ME JUST SAY, AND, AND SALLY SAID THIS IN HER PRESENTATION, WE ARE TRYING NOT TO CALL IT THE REGIONAL MODEL BECAUSE WHAT WE LEARNED WAS PEOPLE ASSOCIATED THE WORD REGIONAL WITH CLOSURES. AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THAT ASSOCIATION BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT FLAGSHIPS ARE THE FUTURE AND THEY'RE A POSITIVE THING. AND SO WE'RE... YES. SO WHAT NATALIE - YES. RIGHT, BECAUSE WE CREATED THOSE A YEAR AGO. A YEAR AGO. YEAH. RIGHT. BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT WE WERE MOVING TO ONLY SEVEN LIBRARIES. RIGHT. YES. RIGHT? INSTEAD OF STILL HAVING ALL OF THE OTHER BRAND LIBRARIES, WHICH IS - YES. A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY OF APPROACHING THIS. BACK TO YOUR QUESTION, ROBIN, ABOUT WHETHER THERE WILL BE MORE. I DON'T KNOW AT THIS POINT. I MEAN, I THINK FOR NOW, SEVEN IS GOOD. WITH SEVEN, 92% OF DALLAS RESIDENTS WILL BE WITHIN A 15-MINUTE DRIVE OF FLAGSHIP LIBRARY. THAT'S, UH, THAT'S AN AVERAGE OF DRIVE TIME. YOU GUYS CANNOT TALK TO ME ABOUT FIVE O'CLOCK ON A TUESDAY. LIKE, OBVIOUSLY. AND YOUR LOCAL BRANCH WILL ALSO BE OPEN, JUST NOT AS MUCH. BUT IT IS NOT, IT IS NOT 3:00 AM. I PROMISE YOU IT IS NOT 3:00 AM. UM, WHAT'S MISSING FROM THAT IS, UH, A, A BIT DOWN BY MOUNTAIN CREEK LIBRARY, WHICH IS IN DISTRICT THREE, FAR SOUTHWEST DALLAS, THAT OUTER EDGE DOWN BY DUNCANVILLE. THEY UNFORTUNATELY WILL NOT BE COVERED BY THE 15 MINUTES, BUT THEY WILL STILL HAVE MOUNTAIN CREEK. AND REMEMBER, ALL OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES WILL BE OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK THIS COMING YEAR. AND THEN CYPRESS WATERS. YES. UM, WHICH IS THAT, THAT... I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE IT. THE SQUARE AND THE NORTHWEST. THAT'S THROWING OFF IN 15 MINUTES A BIT. UM, MOST PEOPLE WILL TRULY LIVE NOT THAT FAR AWAY FROM A LIBRARY OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. AND THEN, OF COURSE, THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY WILL STILL BE OPEN SIX. SO FOR NOW, NO. WE DON'T HAVE PLANS, BUT I WOULD NEVER CLOSE THE DOOR ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE FUTURE. A PROBLEM WITH THE REGIONAL LIBRARY, AND I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT FROM NEW YORK CITY, BUT IN PARTICULAR WHERE I WORK, IS THAT YOU'RE NOT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AVAILABILITY. WE DID. YES, MA'AM. WE DID. WE DID. IF YOU RECALL THAT PRESENTATION I GAVE TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMITTEE BACK IN JANUARY, WE ALSO COVERED PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. OBVIOUSLY, WE CANNOT CLAIM 15 MINUTES. THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE. BUT WHAT, WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR BRANCHES IS WITHIN A SHORT WALK OF EITHER A BUS STATION OR A DART STATION. WE... I... HERE'S WHAT I NEED THE BOARD TO HEAR. REMEMBER, WE ARE STILL FUNCTIONING UNDER THE SAME BUDGET THAT WE HAD, BUT WE ARE GIVING PEOPLE MORE THAN THEY HAVE NOW, JUST SIMPLY BY SHIFTING RESOURCES. SO WHAT DALLAS DOES NOT HAVE RIGHT NOW IS LIBRARIES OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK UNTIL 80 PM DURING THE WEEK. SO I, I MEAN, WE CAN SHIFT TO THE BUDGET CONVERSATION IF, IF WE'D LIKE. SO LET ME, LET ME GIVE A WRAP UP. ACTUALLY... YEAH, GO AHEAD. MAY I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION? YEAH, IF WE COULD GET... SURE. WE CAN FINISH WITH THIS, RATHER. YEAH. I DID [00:50:01] WANNA ASK ABOUT THE, THE MISSION FOR YOUTH SERVICES, WHAT YOUR NEXT STEPS ARE IN. YEAH. LET'S SEE WHAT - SO ACTUALLY FINDING THAT, UM, OBVIOUSLY, THIS YEAR THREE STARTS IN TWO DAYS, SO WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS BECAUSE THE WHOLE POINT IS TO SPEND A YEAR. RIGHT. UM, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN I, WHEN I GOT HERE, I WAS VERY SURPRISED AT SORT OF, UM... AND WE SERVE CHILDREN, OF COURSE, AND WE SERVE FAMILIES. EVERY LIBRARY DOES. BUT IN MY EXPERIENCE, IT IS STANDARD IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES FOR THAT TO BE A PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE BUSINESS, SERVING KIDS, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES. AND WE'VE REALLY GOT AWAY FROM THAT AS SORT OF AN ORGANIZED VISION. AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET BACK TO IS WHAT I'LL CALL EVERYBODY SERVES YOU. THAT MEANS EVERY BRANCH, EVERY STAFF PERSON, THE KID COMES IN, IT IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY. WE SHOULD HAVE STORY TIMES AT EVERY LOCATION. ULTIMATELY, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS AT EVERY LOCATION, PEOPLE WHO SPECIALIZE IN YOUTH SERVICES AND SERVING KIDS. UM, THAT'S SORT OF WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO, IS A UNIFORM VISION THAT RUNS ACROSS THE ENTIRE LIBRARY SYSTEM. WE'VE GOT A WAYS TO GO. WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS, BUT AS WE HIRE LIBRARIANS, UM, WE WILL BE HIRING AS MANY, UH, AS, AS WE CAN. UM, THIS... I CAN SEE MIRIAM LIKE THAT. UM, THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY OUR BUSINESS. AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE DON'T SERVE ADULTS. OF COURSE, WE DO. BUT THE IMPACT THAT WE CAN HAVE ON YOUTH AND FAMILIES IS SO PROFOUND, AND WE REALLY JUST SORT OF MOVED AWAY FROM THAT BEING A FOCUS. SO THIS IS US MOVING BACK. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. UM. HELLO. HELLO. UH, SO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE, UM, IS THAT WHEN WILL BE... WHEN WILL THE CONSTITUENTS POTENTIALLY BE ABLE TO GET THE DATA TO SEE HOW WE DECIDED ON THE FIVE FLAGSHIPS? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I'VE, UH, ASKED ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE ADDING TWO MORE. AND SO I'VE HAD A MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE ASKING ME, YOU KNOW, HOW DID WE F - UH, WHAT METRICS WERE BEING MEASURED AND HOW DID WE DECIDE ON THOSE FIVE? AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, WITH THE TWO NEW ONES THAT ARE, UH, GOING TO BE ADDED, UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I'VE ALSO RECEIVED IS, I BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS ONE LIBRARY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE HAD TO, I BELIEVE, STOP OPERATIONS DUE TO WATER DAMAGE. AND SO SOME OF, UH, SOME OF THE AVID LIBRARY USERS THAT I'VE SPOKEN TO HAVE ASKED, LIKE, WITH THIS NEW BUDGET, UH, IS THERE GOING TO BE A REOPENING OF THOSE, THAT LIBRARY DUE TO WATER DAMAGE? AND NOW WITH THE TWO ADDITIONAL FLAGSHIPS, UM, IS THAT INCLUSIVE OF AFTER DOING THOSE WATER DAMAGE MAINTENANCE COSTS AND THINGS SUCH AS THAT? SURE. THANKS, MISTICA. SO I'LL COVER THE CLEABROOK-RILEY WATER DAMAGE LIBRARY AND THE FACILITIES REPORT, SO I'LL GET TO THAT. AS FOR THE FLAGSHIPS, YOU MAY RECALL, UH, WE DID A LOT OF WORK WITH THE DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT, AND THEY PRODUCED A WHITE PAPER WAY BACK IN JANUARY THAT WE PRESENTED TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMITTEE THAT HAD ALL THE DATA AND STATISTICS THAT WAS USED IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHICH LIBRARIES WERE GONNA BE FLAGSHIPS. AND THEN, OF COURSE, AT THE TIME, WHICH LIBRARIES WERE UP FOR POSSIBLE CLOSURE. WE ALSO USED SOME SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT, WHICH IS US, UM, TO DETERMINE THE FLAGSHIPS BECAUSE IT'S REALLY, UH... WE'VE JUST BEEN DOING THIS A LONG TIME, SO I FEEL CONFIDENT IN SAYING THAT FLAGSHIPS WERE DETERMINED. THERE WERE THREE OR FOUR MEASUREMENTS. LET'S SEE IF I CAN DO IT. UM, WELL LOCATED NEXT TO MAJOR INTERSECTIONS AND, UH, TRANSIT HUBS, LARGE FOOTPRINT IN TERMS OF SQUARE FOOTAGE, LARGE PARKING LOTS, UH, EXTRA AMENITIES LIKE BLACK BOX THEATERS. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR FLAGSHIPS EXCEPT FOR VICKERY PARK HAS A BLACK BOX THEATER. THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, AND, AND OF COURSE, WHERE THEY WERE IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LIBRARIES AROUND THE CITY. UM, AND YOU MAY RECALL WHEN WE HAD FIVE, IT WAS THE 80% OR 87% OF PEOPLE WERE TH - WERE WITHIN A 15-MINUTE DRIVE. SO THEY NEEDED TO BE SPREAD OUT TO COVER THE IN, AS MUCH OF THE CITY AS POSSIBLE, AND THEN THEY NEEDED TO HAVE THOSE OTHER ATTRIBUTES. SO WE'VE HAD THOSE FLAGSHIPS SET SINCE LAST JANUARY, AND THE EXTRA TWO WERE ALSO DETERMINED AT THAT TIME. I'VE MENTIONED THEM PUBLICLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS FUTURE FLAGSHIPS. BUT TO BE CLEAR, WE ARE NOT DIVERTING FUNDS FROM OTHER BRANCHES OR TAKING [00:55:01] THINGS AWAY FROM ALL OF THE OTHER BRANCHES AND GIVING THEM TO THE FLAGSHIPS. YEAH. SOMEONE SHOULD NOT FEEL LIKE THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD BRANCH IS SOMEHOW NEGLECTED IN THIS PROCESS OR BECAUSE - NO, BECAUSE THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES ARE GETTING MORE. REMEMBER, WE'RE, WE'RE... I'M TRYING NOT TO GET TO BUDGET SO THAT I CAN HAVE THE STRATEGIC PLAN CONVERSATION AS, AS MUCH AS PEOPLE WANT, BUT I WILL BE ADDRESSING WHAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES ARE GETTING. AND IF, IF THIS... IS THIS ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN OR... YES. OKAY. I JUST WANNA SAY NOT CLOSING BRANCHES IS CERTAINLY A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AS LONG AS WE CAN KEEP THE BRANCHES THAT WE HAVE OPEN, I THINK WE HAVE MORE PUBLIC SUPPORT. IT'S NOT EVEN - I MEAN, YES, I APPRECIATE THAT. TO BE CLEAR, NONE OF US AT THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY WANTED TO CLOSE BRANCHES. I, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT. HAVING BEEN A PUBLIC LIBRARY AND A CHILDREN'S LIBRARY. WE WERE SIG - OUR BUDGET WAS REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, WAS SUPPOSED TO BE REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN, IN THIS COMING BUDGET YEAR. UM, SO, BUT I WILL GET TO THAT IN THE, IN THE BUDGET CONVERSATION. LET ME MOVE ON, IF, IF YOU DON'T MIND. I HAVE A COUPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS BEFORE I GET TO BUDGET. UH, ONE, I WANTED TO LET THE GROUP KNOW THAT WE HAVE A BRAND NEW BRANCH FRIENDS GROUP IN FRETZ PARK. I THINK CAROL IS WITH US, YES? UM, SO I HAD THE PLEASURE OF VISITING, UH, ALONG WITH DENISE, THEIR FIRST MEETING WITH US LAST WEEK. IT'S MY FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO ONBOARD A BRAND NEW FRIENDS GROUP. SO THIS IS REALLY, REALLY EXCITING. SO THAT TAKES US UP TO 11 FRIENDS GROUPS, WHICH ARE PRIVATE, OR THEY ARE, UM, SEPARATE 501 ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY, SPECIFICALLY THE BRANCH THAT THEY IDENTIFY WITH. THEY ARE NOT CONNECTED WITH THE FRIENDS OF THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY. THEY ARE ALL SEPARATE ENTITIES. UM, BUT WE GET, WE GET A LOT OF SUPPORT, BOTH FINANCIAL AT THE BRANCH, AND ALSO ADVOCACY FROM THOSE FRIENDS GROUPS. SO THANK YOU TO, UH, TO CAROL FOR ALL OF HER WORK. THEY HAD TO ESTABLISH THEMSELVES AS A 501 SO THIS WAS A BIG EFFORT FOR THEM, AND SHE'S BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR A LONG TIME. UM, CATHERINE MENTIONED THE PULITZER EXHIBIT THAT'S COMING THROUGH THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. THAT IS PART OF OUR PLAN TO REIMAGINE THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. THAT IS OPENING OCTOBER 24TH ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE CENTRAL LIBRARY. IT'S A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION AND THE PULITZER FOUNDATION TO FEATURE, UM, PULITZER AWARD WINNERS. AND THE EVENING OF THE 24TH, WE ARE WELCOMING AUTHOR BARBARA KING SOLVER AS THE KICKOFF TO THE EVENT. IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR TICKETS, YOU MAY BE OUT OF LUCK AT THIS POINT. THEY WERE FREE, BUT THEY WENT VERY, VERY QUICKLY. BUT MAYBE DENISE WILL COVER, UM, HER... SHE'S OUT OF TICKETS TOO. OKAY. UM, I THINK WE'RE REOPENING MORE TICKETS, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT IS. SORRY. YEAH. UM, BUT THE EXHIBIT WILL BE IN PLACE THROUGH THE END OF D- DECEMBER. AND THEN SOMETIME IN THE SPRING, I DON'T HAVE A DATE YET, BUT WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER EXHIBIT COMING, AND THAT ONE WILL BE IN PLACE FOR 18 MONTHS. SO IF YOU CAN RECALL WHERE THE COMPUTERS USED TO BE UNDERNEATH THE STAIRCASE UP TO THE CHILDREN'S AREA, THAT'S... WE TOOK ALL OF THOSE OUT. IT'S JUST KIND OF AN EMPTY SPACE RIGHT NOW, BUT THE PULITZER EXHIBIT WILL BE THERE. AND THEN STARTING IN THE SPRING, THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM, WHICH IS A MUSEUM WITHOUT WALLS, THEY'RE A DIGITAL MUSEUM, THEY HAVE STARTED EXHIBITING PHYSICAL EXHIBITS. UM, THEY STARTED WITH THE DC PUBLIC LIBRARY LAST YEAR. THEY HAD A, UM, THEY HAD AN EXHIBIT CALLED WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM: BLACK FEMINIST DC. THAT WAS IN 2023. AND THEN THIS SPRING, THEY'RE GONNA DEBUT HERE, AND THE EXHIBIT WILL BE CALLED FAITH AND FREEDOM: WOMEN'S SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVISM THROUGH THE LENS OF SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION. SO IT WILL FEATURE, UM... I'M SORRY, THAT'S NOT IT. SLIGHTLY. IT'S NOW CALLED UNTIL WE ARE OF ALL FREE: WOMEN, FAITH, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. UM, IT'LL FEATURE SEVERAL TEXAS WOMEN. IT WILL BE IN PLACE, LIKE I SAID, FOR 18 MONTHS. SO FROM THE SPRING OF, OF 2027 ALL THE WAY THROUGH LATE SUMMER, EARLY FALL OF 2028. MORE TO COME ON THAT. THEY ARE CUSTOM BUILDING THIS EXHIBIT FOR OUR SPACE, AND THEY ARE ALSO FUNDING... THEY WILL BE HIRING SOMEONE TO OFFER CLASSES AROUND THE LIBRARY SYSTEM AND PROGRAMS THAT FEATURE THIS EXHIBIT. SO THIS IS A REAL GET FOR US, UM, AND REALLY SPEAKS TO THE WORK WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO [01:00:01] HAVE THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, UM, BE MORE WELCOMING AS PEOPLE COME IN TO SEE THE DECLARATION OR TO GENEALOGY RESEARCH. LET ME GIVE THE, UM, THE FACILITIES REPORT, IF YOU DON'T MIND, CATHERINE, JUST TO GET THAT OUT OF THE WAY SO WE CAN TALK BUDGET. I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT, UM, NEXT MONTH'S MUNICIPAL LIBRARY BOARD MEETING, A REPRESENTATIVE OR TWO FROM THE PUBLIC ART DEPARTMENT WILL BE COMING TO TALK ABOUT PUBLIC ART PROJECTS. UH, THEY... SO AS YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THERE'S A BOND PROJECT, A PERCENTAGE OF IT IS DEDICATED TO PUBLIC ART. AND SO EVERY BUILDING THAT WE HAVE THAT'S BUILT NEW HAS A PUBLIC ART COMPONENT. THEY DON'T ALWAYS FOLLOW THE SAME TIMELINES THAT WE DO. SO FOR EXAMPLE, VICORY PARK HAS BEEN OPEN FOR FIVE YEARS AND WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO START WORKING ON THE PUBLIC ART PROJECTS. THAT'S SOMETHING I'M TRYING TO CHANGE. WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT WITH THE PUBLIC ART FOLKS. THEY WORK UNDER THE OFFICE OF ARTS AND CULTURE. SO WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC ART HERE, THE NEW ONE AT PARK FOREST, THE PRESTON ROYAL PUBLIC ART AS PART OF THAT RENOVATION. UM, SO I WON'T SAY MUCH ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT IT NEXT, NEXT MONTH. AND THEN IN NOVEMBER, THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT WILL BE COMING TO TALK ABOUT THE TWO BOND FUNDED PROJECTS THAT COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS MENTIONED THAT HAVE THE PUBLIC HOUSING OR THAT HAVE THE HOUSING BECAUSE THAT IS A NEW PROJECT FOR THE CITY. WE'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS HERE. AND IT'S A REAL JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN US, THAT OFFICE, OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE COUNCIL MEMBER'S OFFICE. HE'S GONNA COME AND TELL YOU ALL WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THE PROCESS. SO I'M NOT GONNA SPEND ANY TIME TALKING ABOUT THAT EITHER. NOTHING'S REALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, BUT HE'LL COME AND, AND TALK ABOUT THOSE. SO FOR THE FACILITIES REPORT, UH, PRESTON ROYAL, THE DESIGN IS GOING, UH, GANGBUSTERS. WE ARE FINALIZING THE DESIGN AND, UM, WORKING ON THINGS LIKE FURNITURE, FIXTURES, EQUIPMENT, THAT SORT OF THING, BUT THE FLOOR PLAN IS, IS SET. MY HOPE IS THAT ONCE IT'S 100% SET, I CAN BRING IT TO A MUNICIPAL LIBRARY BOARD MEETING FOR YOU ALL TO SEE. I DID WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT THE TIMELINE HAS SLIPPED VERY SLIGHTLY. WE WERE GOING TO CLOSE THE LIBRARY IN THE WINTER. WE ARE NOW GOING TO CLOSE IT IN THE SPRING OF 2027. I KNOW THAT'S A SEASON AND IT'S VAGUE, BUT THAT'S DELIBERATE BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A DATE. UM, BUT IT HAS SLIPPED A LITTLE. WE WERE TALKING EARLY IN THE CALENDAR YEAR AND NOW IT'LL BE, UH, MORE LIKE SPRING. NOTHING'S WRONG. IT'S JUST THAT THE DESIGN AND THE PRICING HAS TAKEN A BIT LONGER, UH, THAN WE HAD HOPED IT WOULD. UM, THE FIRST, THE BATHROOM RENOVATIONS. I THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE LAST TIME WE HAVE TO TALK BATHROOMS, AND I'M PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. UM, THEY ARE ALL COMPLETE. YAY. I WISH SEAN WAS HERE TO HEAR ABOUT BOB. UH, SEAN HAS DONE A YEOMAN'S JOB OF WORKING ON THOSE BATHROOM PROJECTS, UH, AND THEY, AND MANY OF THEM TOOK LONGER BECAUSE OF HIS INSISTENCE THAT THEY BE DONE AT A VERY HIGH QUALITY. UM, BUT THEY, THEY ARE ALL... SO THE PARTITION SHOULD BE PERMANENT. THEY ARE DONE. SO THAT'S GOOD. AND THEN AS FOR CLEABURG RILEY, SO TO, TO WHAT MYSTICA ASKED ABOUT, SO YOU MAY RECALL THAT IN JANUARY, FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR WHEN WE HAD THE GIANT ICE STORM, WE WERE CLOSED FOR, I THINK, THREE DAYS. DURING THOSE THREE DAYS, A PIPE BURST AT THE CLEABURG RILEY BRANCH LIBRARY AND FLOODED THE LIBRARY. WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG THAT WATER RAN. WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THAT WATER SAT. WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT THE HEATER WAS ALSO RUNNING AND IT WAS QUITE WARM IN THERE, AND WE'VE HAD TO BE CLOSED EVER SINCE. UM, SO WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR IS THAT THEY, A LONG TIME AGO, UH, EXTRACTED THE WATER AND, AND DRIED THE BUILDING. AND THEN, UM, THE, UNFORTUNATELY, WE LOST THE, THE ENTIRE COLLECTION BECAUSE OF, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT MOLD. UM, EVERYTHING WENT INTO STORAGE, ALL THE FURNITURE, AND, UM, THE REMEDIATION WORK ON THE FLOORING AND THE WALLS HAS BEEN STARTED. THAT'S BECAUSE THAT'S BEEN DONE IN-HOUSE BY THE FACILITIES DEPARTMENT AT THE CITY. WHAT IS HOLDING EVERYTHING UP IS THE INSURANCE CLAIM. AND I'M BEING ASSURED THAT THIS IS, ALTHOUGH IT FEELS SLOW TO US, BUT THIS IS HOW THESE THINGS GO. AND WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE DIRECTOR OF RISK [01:05:01] IS THAT WE HAVE SUBMITTED FOR AN ADVANCE PAYMENT REQUEST BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO REPLACE THE COLLECTION. COLLECTION, A COLLECTION OF THAT SIZE IS ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS, AND WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO REPLACE THE FURNITURE, THE DESKS, THE SHELVING. EVERYTHING WAS MOVED OUT. SO THE WALLS AND THE FLOORING WILL BE DONE, BUT WE CANNOT OPEN AN EMPTY BUILDING. AND SO WE HAVE REQUESTED AN ADVANCED PAYMENT TO THE INSURANCE CARRIER FOR CONSIDERATION. UM, THEY'RE NOT OBLIGATED TO GIVE US AN ADVANCED PAYMENT, AND IT'S AT THEIR DISCRETION. SO WE'RE JUST WAITING TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY. AND AT THE SAME TIME, THE INSURANCE CLAIM IS TRUCKING THROUGH THE, ITS PROCESS. AND THAT, THAT REALLY IS ALL I CAN SAY. AND I KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY IS, IS WANTING TO GET THEIR LIBRARY BACK. I, I WANNA OPEN THEIR LIBRARY. CLEABURG RILEY UNFORTUNATELY HAPPENED RIGHT ABOUT THE SAME TIME THAT WE ANNOUNCED THE REGIONAL MODEL, AND SO IT GOT SWEPT UP IN THAT CONVERSATION. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT. WE HAVE ALWAYS INTENDED TO REOPEN CLEABURG RILEY. WE JUST NEED THE FUNDS. WE NEED THE FUNDS IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE COLLECTION AND BUY ALL THE FURNITURE. AND THERE IS NOTHING THAT I OR ANYONE AT THE CITY CAN DO TO SPEED THAT PROCESS UP. WE JUST HAVE TO WAIT FOR IT TO COMPLETE. IN THE MEANTIME, THE CLEAVER... IS IT CLEABURG RILEY REC CENTER OR JUST - UH-HUH. CLEABURG RILEY REC CENTER IS NEXT DOOR, AND THEY GRACIOUSLY GAVE US A ROOM MANY, MANY, MANY MONTHS AGO, AND WE'VE BEEN OPERATING A SMALL LIBRARY OUT OF THAT SPACE. WE HAVE PUBLIC ACCESS COMPUTERS. WE HAVE A SMALL COLLECTION. WE DO PROGRAMMING IN THEIR MULTIPURPOSE ROOM. SO THE GOOD NEWS IS, IS THAT THE COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO HAVE A LIBRARY. I GET THAT IT'S NOT THE FULL SERVICE, FULL SIZE LIBRARY THAT THEY HAD BEFORE, BUT WE ARE DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO CONTINUE TO, UH, OFFER SERVICES WHILE WE WAIT FOR THEM. UH, THAT IS THE ENTIRETY OF THE FACILITIES REPORT UNLESS SOMEONE HAS A QUESTION. SAID ALL THE FURNITURE WAS TRASH. SO THE FURNITURE WAS REMOVED AS PART OF THE REMEDIATION PROCESS AND PUT INTO STORAGE. AND THEN IT'S ON THE INSURANCE COMPANY TO EVALUATE HOW MUCH IS LOST, IF YOU WILL. THE BOOKS ARE LOST. THE BOOKS ARE LOST. THE BOOKS WERE LOST. THE FURNITURE... I, I MEAN, MY HOPE IS THAT IT, THE FURNITURE IS A TOTAL LOSS AS WELL, SO WE CAN GET THE FULL AMOUNT AND BRING ALL NEW FURNITURE. UM, ALSO, YOU MAY RECALL, I THINK WE'VE MENTIONED IT TO THE BOARD BEFORE, BUT, UM, DENISE AND THE FRIENDS REALLY STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE AND THEY PUT A PLEA OUT. I THINK I ORIGINALLY ASKED FOR $3,000 JUST FOR STUFF TO PUT IN THE LITTLE TEMPORARY LIBRARY, BUT THE COMMUNITY REALLY SHOWED UP FOR CLEBURG RILEY ACROSS THE CITY OF DALLAS. AND THERE'S ABOUT $25,000 FOR CLEABURG RILEY. WE COULDN'T POSSIBLY SPEND THAT ON THE TEMPORARY SPACE. HONESTLY, THAT WAS TOO MUCH FOR THAT SPACE. SO WE'RE JUST LETTING IT SIT IN THERE. AND THEN ONCE WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO PURCHASE FOR THE, THE BIG LIBRARY, WE'RE GONNA USE THOSE FUNDS. I SUSPECT FOR THINGS LIKE YOU SAW IN THE MUNSON KITCHEN AT THE INVENTOR, THINGS FOR KIDS, REALLY FOR THE, TO JUST ENHANCE AND MAKE MORE VIBRANT THE CHILDREN'S AREA, THINGS FOR KIDS TO PLAY WITH, MANIPULATE, THAT SORT OF THING, BECAUSE WE DID LOSE THE MUNSON KITCHEN OUT OF CLEBERG. SO WE NEED TO REPLACE THAT. ALSO TO THE, UM, A LOT OF THE, THE BITS AND PIECES IN THE LIBRARY THAT'S IN THE REC CENTER WERE PURCHASED FROM THAT ORIGINAL FUND. SO THEY WERE LIKE - YES. STORY TIME CUSHIONS AND POSTERS SHELVES AND THINGS. SO - THAT WAS THE 3,000 THAT WE THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT IT WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE TO HAVE PEOPLE. YEAH. FOR AN AREA OF TOWN THAT, THAT REALLY NEEDS IT. SO DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FACILITIES REPORT? OKAY. SORRY WE'RE RAMBLING OVER, UM, THIS WEEK. SO JUST REALLY HIGH LEVEL, YOU'VE HAD MULTIPLE EMAILS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE BUDGET, BUT LITERALLY AT THE 11TH HOUR, IT WAS THE 11TH HOUR OF THE COUNCIL MEETING. UM, OUR BUDGET WAS RESTORED WITH SOME CAVEATS. SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU THOSE CAVEATS. UM, THE, THE... I DIDN'T BRING THE EXACT NUMBERS WITH ME, BUT WE WERE ASKED TO REDUCE OUR BUDGET BY ABOUT $3.3 MILLION GOING INTO FISCAL YEAR 27, WHICH STARTS ON OCTOBER ONE, SO IN TWO DAYS. UM, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF AMENDMENTS [01:10:01] PUT FORWARD. ONE OF THEM COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS MENTIONED TO GIVE US MONEY TO MAKE THE FLAGSHIP FLAGSHIPS AND MORE TO FOLLOW, MORE TO COME ON THAT. UM, AND THAT WAS ONE-TIME MONEY. AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY PUT FORWARD AN AMENDMENT TO RESTORE MONDAY HOURS AT HALF OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES. SO THAT'S 11, BECAUSE THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES, THERE'S 21 OF THEM. SO THAT WAS HIS AMENDMENT. UM, A, A LARGE PORTION OF THAT AMENDMENT WAS, WAS ALSO ONE-TIME MONEY. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 11TH HOUR WAS COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN PUT FORWARD AN AMENDMENT TO RESTORE SIX, THE, ALL THE BRANCHES BACK TO SIX DAYS A WEEK. AND THE ENTIRETY OF THAT AMENDMENT WAS ONE-TIME MONEY. SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT IF THIS, IF THIS WASN'T CLEAR TO THE BOARD BEFORE, THAT WHILE WE CAN DO A LOT IN THIS COMING YEAR, UM, OF THE APPROXIMATELY 3.2 MILLION THAT WAS RESTORED TO OUR BUDGET, I THINK IT'S ABOUT 2.4 WAS ONE YEAR MONEY. SO WE ARE NOT DONE, UNFORTUNATELY. UM, SORT OF TO SANDRA'S POINT EARLIER, UM, WE CAN DO A LOT WITH THE RESTORATION, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE SOME HARD CHOICES ALL OVER AGAIN NEXT YEAR. SO, UM - AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE IT WASN'T MONEY PUT BACK IN THE LIBRARY BUCKET. IT WAS MONEY TAKEN FROM THINGS LIKE POSTAGE AND LAUNDRY AND OTHER - ACTUALLY, THAT WAS THE ONGOING MONEY. OTHER AREAS OF THE BUDGET THAT ARE NOT OURS, RIGHT? THAT WAS THE ON - THAT'S THE ONGOING MONEY. SO THE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE $10,000 THAT COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY FOUND FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THEY USED TO BUY SERVICE PENS, THAT IS ONGOING. IT WAS THE IT FUND BALANCE THAT BOTH COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY AND COUNCIL MEMBER MENDLES DREW DOWN FROM, AND THAT WAS ONE-TIME MONEY BECAUSE THAT'S NOT AN ONGOING FUND. THAT'S AN EMERGENCY FUND THE IT DEPARTMENT USES, UM, FOR THINGS LIKE RANSOMWARE ATTACKS OR TO, TO FIX, UH, LARGE SCALE IT INFRASTRUCTURE. SO, UM, IT WAS APPROXIMATELY A LITTLE UNDER $700,000 THAT WAS ONGOING. HOWEVER, WE ARE A BIG LIBRARY SYSTEM. WE HAVE 29 LOCATIONS. THE CENTRAL LIBRARY HAS EIGHT FLOORS AND WE HAVE 400 STAFF. THAT MEANS THAT SMALL CHANGES ACROSS THE BOARD MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. SO WHAT THIS RESTORATION FOR ONE YEAR DID IS IT DIDN'T TAKE AWAY ALL THOSE VACANCIES AND ALL OF THOSE STAFF. REMEMBER, WE WERE LOSING 72, 72 POSITIONS. WE ARE NOW LOSING SEVEN. FIVE OF THOSE ARE FROM ADULT LEARNING, AND ONE WAS THAT DATA COORDINATOR THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER. SO NONE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE POSITIONS ARE GONE ANYMORE FOR THIS COMING YEAR. SO WE CAN MOVE PEOPLE AROUND IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE WHAT I THINK IS AN INCREDIBLE NEW SCHEDULE FOR THIS, FOR THE CITIZENS OF DALLAS. SO I'LL ASK SALLY AT THIS POINT TO SHARE WITH THOSE ONLINE AND TO PULL UP, UH, ON THE SCREEN FOR ALL OF YOU WHAT THE SCHEDULE WILL LOOK LIKE. NOW, IT'S NOT GONNA START UNTIL JANUARY BECAUSE NOW WE FIND OURSELVES IN A CRAZY POSITION WHERE WE HAVE A LOT OF VACANCIES AND WE NEED TO HIRE, BECAUSE REMEMBER THOSE FOUR VACANCIES THAT WERE GOING TO BE ELIMINATED. UM, SO AS SHE'S DOING THAT, LET ME JUST SAY ON A HIGH LEVEL, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED IN HERE A COUPLE OF TIMES, THIS IS ALLOWING US TO OPEN ALL SEVEN FLAGSHIPS, TO HAVE THE 21 NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK AND THEN TILL 8:0 PM, THREE DAYS A WEEK, WHICH THEY DON'T HAVE NOW. CENTRAL LIBRARY WILL BE OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND BOOKMARKS AT THE NORTH PARK CENTER WILL BE OPEN ON SUNDAY AFTERNOONS. SO... A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN - AND THEN SALLY GOING BACK TO THE PAGE AND THEN EXPANDING IT. SO IF YOU GO DOWN, TAKE YOUR CURSOR, CLICK INTO THE PAGE. THERE SHOULD BE... THERE. SEE IT? THERE WE GO. YES. OKAY. SO THIS IS WHAT THE HOURS WILL LOOK LIKE STARTING IN JANUARY. I THINK IF YOU SEND PEOPLE TO THE REIMAGINE PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE, I THINK THIS IS EXTREMELY CLEAR. AND MY HOPE IS THAT EVERYONE WILL SEE THE VALUE OF THESE HOURS AND WE'LL FIND THE MONEY SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THESE HOURS. SO YOU CAN SEE THE SEVEN FLAGSHIPS. THEY ARE OPEN UNTIL 80 PM, FOUR DAYS A WEEK WHEN WORKING FAMILIES NEED US. [01:15:01] THEY ARE OPEN ON SUNDAYS IN THE AFTERNOON. WE'RE CURRENTLY OPEN SUNDAY MORNINGS WHEN IT'S QUITE CLO - QUIET. MOST... I KNOW SOME PEOPLE USE SUNDAY MORNINGS. I HEAR WE COULD NOT BE OPEN SUNDAY MORNINGS AND ACHIEVE EVERYTHING YOU'RE SEEING HERE. SACRIFICES DID HAVE TO BE MADE IN CERTAIN PLACES. AND THEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES, UM, MONDAY HOURS WERE RESTORED. THOSE WILL BE UNTIL FIVE O'CLOCK. AND THEN TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY OPEN UNTIL 8:00, WHICH THEY, WE DON'T, DO NOT HAVE NOW. THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, WHAT WE HAVE DONE SIGNIFICANTLY AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY IS NO MORE EVENINGS. AND I KNOW AT FIRST THAT MAY BRING UP A REACTION IT DID FOR ME, BUT EIGHT FLOORS. IN ORDER TO BE OPEN UNTIL 8:00 EVERY NIGHT AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY REQUIRES A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE. WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING WE'RE DOING WITH THE BRANCHES. AND FRANKLY, CENTRAL LIBRARY'S VERY QUIET IN THE EVENINGS. IT TRULY IS. AND THEN BOOKMARKS. THE HOURS I BELIEVE ARE STAYING THE SAME EXCEPT FOR SUNDAY. JUST ADDING SUNDAY. SO WE'RE JUST ADDING SUNDAY. IF THE BUDGET HOLDS AND WE LOSE ANOTHER $2.4 MILLION, UH, IN 2028, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE IMPACT OF THAT. I WOULD SAY THE EASIEST THING TO DO WOULD BE TO RECONSIDER THE MONDAY HOURS AGAIN, BECAUSE YOU MAY RECALL THAT WAS THAT... AND, AND, AND CENTRAL WOULD GO BACK TO BEING... CENTRAL'S CLOSED ON MONDAYS NOW. SO GO BACK TO BEING CLOSED ON MONDAYS AND THEN PROBABLY THE 21 LOCATIONS, WHICH IS NOT IDEAL. I KNOW WE ALL LIKE THE SIX DAYS A WEEK, BUT IT'S ALSO MAINTAINS ALL THE WITH EVEN JUST THE ONE-YEAR RESTORATION. IT'S ALSO SUPER HELPFUL FOR EVERY SINGLE NEIGHBORHOOD BRANCH TO HAVE THE SAME SCHEDULE BECAUSE I NEVER KNOW WHEN ANY BRANCH IS OPEN. I'M CONSTANTLY LOOKING ON THE, YOU KNOW, NOT THE APP, BUT THE WEBSITE TO SEE IS THIS BRANCH NEAR ME OPEN? CAN I GO HERE TODAY? STANDARDIZING HOURS WAS A REALLY KEY PART OF THIS. UM, OUR HOURS NOW, I UNDERSTAND WHY WE DID IT. WE MADE A CHOICE TO CURATE HOURS SO THAT EVERY REGION HAD A LIBRARY OPEN UNTIL 8:00 EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, BUT I THOUGH IT WAS THE MOST CONFUSING THING. AND ALSO, THE LIBRARIES WILL BE OPEN UNTIL 8:00, SO PEOPLE WON'T HAVE TO REMEMBER. UM, THERE WILL BE SOME PEOPLE UPSET ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS WITH THE SCHEDULE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE UNLIMITED RESOURCES. CHOICES DID HAVE TO BE MADE. SO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS BEING ACHIEVED WITH THE SAME NUMBER OF STAFF WE HAVE NOW. THIS IS JUST A CHANGE IN HOW WE DISTRIBUTE OUR RESOURCES, PRIMARILY OUR STAFF. SO I, I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO DO THIS SINCE I GOT HERE, TO STANDARDIZE THE HOURS. AND SO YOU NOTICE WE'RE OPENING AT 10:00 INSTEAD OF 9:00. THAT HOUR ACROSS THE BOARD IS AN EVENING HOUR. SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE ABLE TO DO IT AT SUCH A LARGE SCALE. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE HOURS? IS GREAT. GREAT. UM, UH, OTHER IMPACTS TO, TO THE BUDGET AND WHY I, I HESITATE TO SAY THE BUDGET WAS RESTORED IS BECAUSE ADULT LEARNING, THERE WAS... THE CITY MANAGER ACTUALLY MADE A CHANGE. YOU MAY RECALL THAT WE WERE, UH. UM, WE WERE... HAD PROPOSED TO ELIMINATE THE ADULT LEARNING DEPARTMENT ALTOGETHER, NOT BECAUSE ANY OF US WANTED TO, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE, IT COSTS MORE TO RUN THAT DEPARTMENT THAN IT COSTS TO RUN A BRANCH. AND SO WITH THE, THE BUDGET REDUCTIONS WE WERE BEING ASKED TO ACHIEVE, IT WAS, IT WAS, IT HAD TO BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION. BUT WHAT THE CITY MANAGER HAS DONE IS GIVEN US MONEY TO RETAIN THE MANAGER POSITION AND AN OFFICE ASSISTANT POSITION SO THAT WE CAN RETAIN THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM FOR ONE MORE YEAR AND THAT THEY CAN HELP, UH, WITH A SOFTER RUNWAY TO OUR PARTNER AGENCIES RUNNING THE, UH, UH, OFFERING THEIR OWN PROGRAMS SO THAT IT'S NOT SO JARRING, FRANKLY. BUT WE ARE STILL PLANNING TO DIVE- DIVEST OF THAT FUNCTION IN FISCAL YEAR 2028. ONE OF THE DIFFERENCES WHEN WE DIVEST IS WHAT I UNDERSTOOD IS THAT PARTNER AGENCIES, THEY'RE REQUIREMENTS TO PARTICIPATE. SO IT WILL ELIMINATE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE PROGRAMS. YEAH. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT EVERYONE WAS SO PROUD ABOUT WITH OUR PROGRAMS THAT HAD, UH, BASICALLY NO BARRIER TO ACCESS, WHEREAS OUR PARTNER AGENCIES IN DALLAS COLLEGE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND THE WILKERSON CENTER, [01:20:01] THEY, UH, BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED STATE AND FEDERAL MONEY, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO ASK PEOPLE TO PROVE THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UNITED STATES. UM, SO THAT WILL MEAN THAT SOME OF OUR STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE. WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, BECAUSE WE NEVER ASKED EVEN THAT QUESTION. FRANKLY, WE DID NOT KEEP GOOD DATA ON THIS DEPARTMENT. WE SHOULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB. THERE... WE WERE NOT VIOLATING PEOPLE'S PRIVACY TO ASK THEM WHERE THEY LIVE. WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY ARE DALLAS RESIDENTS. WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT OUR CURRENT STUDENTS. SO DALLAS COLLEGE AND WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS ARE, ARE REALLY COMMITTED TO TRYING TO HELP US FIGURE THAT OUT, AND THAT'S WHAT, ONE REASON WE'RE RETAINING THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM FOR ONE YEAR, UM, TO SEE, JUST TO SEE HOW MANY OF THESE STUDENTS QUALIFY. THE MORE THEY QUALIFY THAN I KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE DON'T KNOW. WE HAVE NO IDEA. UM, AND I, I WOULD SAY THAT THE LACK OF, OF GATHERING ANY KIND OF DATA REALLY HURT US AS WE WERE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, BECAUSE I COULD JUST... I COULD NOT, UM, REALLY SPEAK TO ANY- ANYTHING. UM, AND THEN ARCADIA PARK, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIS MENTIONED IT. SO ARCADIA PARK, UH, IS IN COUNCIL MEMBER CADENA'S DISTRICT. AND WHAT THE DATA SHOW, IT'S, IT'S ONE OF TWO DISD PARTNERSHIP LIBRARIES, THE OTHER ONE BEING HAMPTON, ILLINOIS. UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THOSE TWO LIBRARIES SIDE BY SIDE, IT IS PRETTY CLEAR THAT THE COMMUNITY OF ARCADIA PARK IS NOT USING THAT LIBRARY. UM, THE SCHOOL IS, BECAUSE THE SCHOOL NUMBERS, THE CHECKOUTS BY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS BASICALLY MATCHES THE CHECKOUT NUMBERS OF HAMPTON, ILLINOIS BY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT COMMUNITY CHECKOUT, WE CAN TELL BECAUSE THEY HAVE DIFFERENT LIBRARY CARDS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT COMMUNITY CHECKOUT, 900% NEWER CHECKOUTS COME FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT ARCADIA PARK THAN AT HAMPTON. UM, BUT THEY ARE OPERATED LIKE A PUBLIC LIBRARY. SO I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE TRY NEW THINGS AND WE TRY NEW PARTNERSHIPS, BUT THAT WE ALSO, WHEN SOMETHING'S BEEN EXISTING FOR 20 YEARS AND UNDERPERFORMING FOR 20 YEARS, THAT WE ARE WILLING TO SAY, "PERHAPS THIS IS NOT WORKING." AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH ARCADIA PARK. SO PART OF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN'S AMENDMENT, COUNCIL MEMBER CADENA TACKED ONTO THAT AMENDMENT, UH, TO BRING ARCADIA PARK BACK UP TO THE BRANCH HOURS THAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS, AND THAT... SO ARCADIA PARK WILL BE OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK, THE SAME HOURS AS EVERY, UH, OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. HOWEVER, WE WILL CONTINUE CONVERSATIONS WITH DISD ABOUT THEM TAKING IT OVER AND LEARNING IT AS ONLY A SCHOOL LIBRARY. UM, SO AGAIN, LESS THAN $700,000 WAS ONGOING MONEY. SO UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T GET TO NOT TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET WITH YOU ALL THIS YEAR. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO KEEP, UM, TALKING ABOUT IT. I KNOW THAT DENISE HAS BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT ADVOCACY, AND I'M SURE SHE'LL SPEAK TO THAT. UM, BUT THAT, THAT IS THE BUDGET SITUATION, AND WE BEGIN THAT IN, IN TWO DAYS. HOWEVER, THE SCHEDULES WILL BEGIN IN JANUARY, BECAUSE WE NEED TIME TO REALLY RAMP UP TO THESE NEW, TO THESE NEW SCHEDULES. IF WE NEED TO HIRE PEOPLE, UH, I WILL KEEP YOU ABOUT THAT. AND UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, THAT IS FINE. ANY QUESTION? OKAY. UH, MOVING ON. UM, OH. STRICTLY ABOUT THE BUDGET. IS THE HIRING FREEZE? THE HIRING FEES IS IN PLACE UNTIL THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, SO IN TWO DAYS. WE CAN. YEAH, AND BELIEVE ME, WE ARE READY. YES. GOOD QUESTION. OKAY. UH, NEXT, UH, FRIENDS OF THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY UPDATE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DENISE. WELL, WE'RE DEFINITELY OVER, SO I'LL JUST BE LIKE A COUPLE OF THINGS AND THEN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU POSSIBLY HAVE. UM, WE ARE THRILLED WITH THE, WITH THE OUTCOME OF THE BUDGET. WE REALLY ARE. AND, UM, I GET TO BE MORE EXCITED BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TO HIRE ALL THE POSITIONS AND MAKE ALL THE CHANGES, BUT, UM, I SAW PRETTY MUCH ALL OF YOU OUT IN SOME WAY WITH, UM, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THROUGHOUT THE BUDGET PROCESS. SO I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL THE WORK THAT WAS DONE, UM, FOR THAT ALL THE WAY TO THE VERY END. AND SO MY, UM, MY MESSAGE FOR MOVING FORWARD IS THAT WE SHOWED UP BEFORE, WE CAN SHOW UP AGAIN, BUT IT'S A CONTINUATION OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE. WE DON'T GET TO, LIKE, PULL BACK. WE JUST KEEP GOING AND WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT HOW, UM, IMPORTANT THE LIBRARIES ARE TO US. [01:25:01] AND, UM, I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF MOMENTUM TO STOP THIS CUT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. WE REALLY FEEL LIKE THERE'S SO MUCH POSITIVE ENERGY, THERE'S SO MUCH SUPPORT, THERE'S SO MUCH VERY VOCAL, UM, RESIDENTS OUT THAT ARE DOING IT, AND I THINK THEY'RE STARTING... THE, THE COUNCIL IS SEEING THE A - THE, UM, THE RESULTS OF THE ACTIONS. WHAT ALSO IS VERY EXCITING, UM, FOR US IS THAT BECAUSE THEY'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO SEE THE FLAGSHIPS AND THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES, WHICH I'M SORT OF REFERRING TO AS AN ECOSYSTEM OF LIBRARIES, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD BRANCHES AND FLAGSHIPS BEING COMPLIMENTARY ALL ACROSS THE CITY, UM, YOU HEAR TALK MORE AND HEAR ABOUT VISION. WE'RE ABLE TO DO THIS FOR THE VISION. WE'RE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES FOR THIS, IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES FOR THAT. AND THE FIRST YEAR THAT THE TWO OF US WERE IN THESE POSITIONS, WE NEVER WERE ABLE TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS. SO OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO SUPPORT THE LIBRARY IN THE WORK THAT THEY DO, WHICH MEANS THAT WE ACTUALLY ARE ABLE TO SAY, "WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE?" AND BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. YOU HEARD TALK ABOUT COLLABORATION. AND A LOT OF THAT GOES TO, UM, KNOWING THE PRIORITIES AND THE THINGS THAT ARE DONE FROM THE LIBRARY. SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF LIKE, "OKAY, WE GET TO DO SOME FUN STUFF." SO YOU'LL HEAR MORE FROM US ABOUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO FUND OR DIFFERENT, UM, PLACES THAT WE'RE FUNDING. BUT AS ALWAYS, WE, WE ARE ADVOCACY AND WE ARE SUPPORT, UM, FINDERS OF SUPPORT. SO WE APPRECIATE ALL OF THAT. DID YOU WANNA ANSWER THAT? OH, THE NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY. SO, UM, THE LIBRARY CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY, BUT THE FRIENDS ABSOLUTELY CAN. AND THE BRANCH FRIENDS DID AS WELL, AND I THINK THEY ALL HAD, UM, SUCCESS IN THEIR OWN WAY. WE HAD AN INCREDIBLE, UM, NORTH TEXAS GIVING DAY. LAST YEAR, WE RAISED ABOUT $35,000. THIS YEAR, WE RAISED 113. WE HAD A REALLY EXTRAORDINARY GIFT THAT CAME IN AS A CONNECTION WITH A BOARD MEMBER. AND, UM, IT'S, AGAIN, IT'S A LOT ABOUT MOMENTUM, AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PUT SOME THINGS INTO PLACE THAT WERE ON THE LIBRARY'S INITIAL GIFT WISHLIST AT THE START OF THE YEAR FOR THE FRIEND. SO, UM I WAS NOT ABLE TO USE MY HUSBAND TO GO TO A LOT OF EVENTS, SO I STARTED AN EMAIL - UH-HUH. TO EMAIL PEOPLE THAT I DIDN'T THINK WERE INVOLVED IN THE LIBRARY. AND MY SHOCK WAS PEOPLE RESPONDING IF THEY DIDN'T KNOW THE LIBRARY WAS BEING CONNECTED, THEY DIDN'T NOTICE ANYTHING, UH, WHICH JUST ASTONISHED ME. BUT I HAVE EMAILS NOW TO OTHER PEOPLE, WHICH IS EXCELLENT. I, THAT ISN'T GONNA WORK. THIS IS THE KIND OF PUBLICITY. I KNOW NOBODY READS THE DALLAS BUT I REALLY THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE PUBLICIZED. THE FACT THAT DUE TO PUBLIC, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER PUSH, THE LIBRARY'S BUDGET HAS BEEN RESTORED AND WE CAN HAVE A REGIONAL MODEL. I THINK THAT, UM, I, I DON'T KNOW. UH, THIS IS THE WAY LIBRARIES HAVE TO OPERATE. I UNDERSTAND THAT. PROBABLY OVER 50 YEARS AGO, THE DALLAS, THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY WENT TO THIS KIND OF MODEL. UM, BUT WHAT WE DID WAS HAVE ONLY A CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN IN THOSE LITTLE BRANCHES. THERE WAS A, A REGIONAL BRANCH AND THEN FOUR OR FIVE LOCAL BRANCHES THAT DIDN'T HAVE BIG POPULATION USAGE THAT HAD A CHILDREN'S LIBRARY. AND I HAPPENED TO BE A CHILDREN'S LIBRARIAN AT THAT STAGE OF MY LIFE AND IN THE REGIONAL BRANCH AND SUPERVISING, UM, BRAND NEW BABIES WITH THE BRANCH LIBRARY. BUT IT, IT'S A WONDERFUL MODEL AND NOT CLOSING LIBRARIES. I THINK THAT IS THE EMPHASIS THAT THE LIBRARY SYSTEM NEVER WANTED TO CLOSE BRANCHES, BUT WERE FORCED TO BY THE BUDGET NOW HAVE A SYSTEM WHEREBY THERE ARE EVEN MORE HOURS. I MEAN, IT, IT'S REMARKABLE. THANK YOU. IT IS, IT'S ACTUALLY REMARKABLE THAT A LOT OF THIS... SO, AND A LOT OF IT IS DONE BECAUSE YOU ALL ARE ABLE TO SEND BACK TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS THE INFORMATION THAT HAPPENS HERE AND KEEP THEM VERY INFORMED BECAUSE I WOULD SAY THROUGH THE PROCESS AND TALKING TO A LOT OF THE COUNCIL, THEY KNEW IT WAS UP. AND A LOT OF THAT, IT COMES FROM THE CONNECTIONS THAT ARE HAD HERE. YOU GUYS ARE VERY, VERY GOOD AT, UM, BEING THE AMBASSADORS FOR THE LIBRARY TOO. SO I, I MEAN, WE APPRECIATE IT. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, OF COURSE, LET ME KNOW, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE'S DINNER, SO... THANK YOU. OKAY. NEXT, [IX. Discussion of Proposed MLB Meeting Locations for 2026-2027] UM, STAFF PUT TOGETHER LOCATIONS FOR, UM, MOB MEETINGS FOR 2026 TO 2027 AND DISTRIBUTED THAT. OH, THEY TRIED [01:30:01] TO MAKE SURE THE MEETINGS WOULD BE DISPERSED ACROSS DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ACROSS THE CITY NEXT YEAR. I DID ASK THAT WE RETURN TO CENTRAL FOR ONE MEETING AND GET A TOUR OF THE FALL. YES, ANNE AND I HAVE BOTH TALKED ABOUT THAT. SO CENTRAL WILL BE RETURNING TO GET A TOUR OF ALL IN PARTICULAR. UM, JUST SO YOU KNOW THAT IN ORDER FOR US TO VISIT EVERY LOCATION, WOULD I SAY IT WOULD TAKE US THREE AND A HALF YEARS? SO IF YOU DON'T SEE YOUR LIBRARY ON HERE, IT'S, IT'S NOT OUT OF MALICE. IT'S JUST WE'RE TRYING TO, WE TRIED TO GO NORTH, SOUTH, NORTH, SOUTH, MOVE THINGS AROUND. WE TRIED TO CONSIDER TIME OF YEAR AND, UH, WHEN, WHEN IT GETS DARK. SO WE TRIED TO CONSIDER A LOT OF THINGS IN, IN THIS. ALSO, UM, WE PRIORITIZE THE FLAGSHIPS. SO WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT. THAT'S, SO WE HAVE VICKERY PARK TODAY AND THEN WE'LL HAVE BACHMAN IN HIGHLAND AND THEN WE'LL GO TO CENTRAL FOR JANUARY. I THOUGH YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO PARK UNDERGROUND IN JANUARY. PRESTON IN, IN FEBRUARY BECAUSE IF WE DON'T GET IN THERE, WE RUN THE RISK OF IT BEING CLOSED BEFORE, BEFORE WE CAN GET IN THERE. AND THEN THE FINAL, UM, FLAGSHIP IN LOCKWOOD IN MARCH. AND THEN FROM THERE, WE JUST WENT NORTH, SOUTH, NORTH, SOUTH WITH PICKING BRANCHES AND, AND THINKING ABOUT SPACES AND CAPACITY AND, AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO I REALLY HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE AT MOUNTAIN CREEK. IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO MOUNTAIN CREEK, IT IS BEAUTIFUL. BEAUTIFUL. SO PRETTY. AND IT'S, THAT'S THE ONE DOWN BY DUNCANVILLE. AND YOU'LL FEEL LIKE YOU AREN'T IN DALLAS ANYMORE. SO IT IS - IT'S LIKE THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY IS SO PRETTY. IT IS BEAUTIFUL. YES. AND THEN YOU NOTICE WE HAVE A CLEABURG RILEY MISSED AGAIN IN AUGUST, WHICH I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT. I THINK YOU'RE DRIVING, SO PLEASE DON'T LOOK, BUT THAT IS OPTIMISM THAT CLEABURG WILL BE OPEN. UH, LISTEN, WE'LL REVISE IF WE HAVE TO, BUT I'LL BE VERY SAD IF CLEBERG IS OPEN BY NEXT AUGUST. UM, SO FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. AND, UH, FOR, FOR JANUARY, I KNOW THAT'S OUR, YOU BROUGHT UP THE, THIS MEETING, SO WE MIGHT FLIP - YEAH, SO THIS BODY AS A WHOLE SUBMITS AN ANNUAL REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL THAT'S DUE IN FEBRUARY. SO DURING OUR JANUARY MEETING IS WHEN WE DECIDE WHAT GOES IN THAT ANNUAL REPORT. BUT IN THE PAST, UM, WE HAVE, UM, CATHERINE AND I HAVE DRAFTED THAT IN ADVANCE OR THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR HAVE DRAFTED IT IN ADVANCE. AND THEN EVERYONE CAN JUST REVIEW THE DRAFT RATHER THAN TRYING TO SPEND AN ENTIRE MEETING PUTTING A DRAFT TOGETHER. SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL ONLY TAKE OPTIMISTICALLY 15, 20 MINUTES OF OUR MEETING AND THEN WE CAN GO TOUR THE ARCHIVES AND REAR BOOK VAULT AND ALL THE FUN THINGS ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR. THERE'S SOME GOOD STUFF IN THERE. YEAH. YES. WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO - RIGHT. WE'RE NOT DOING THE WHOLE. WE HAVEN'T FIGURED THAT OUT. YEAH. WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT. CLOSE TO SIX. YEAH. SO WE HAVE TO BE OUT OF THERE BY, BY SIX. UM, SO WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT MAYBE, MAYBE IF WE CAN HAVE A TOUR STARTING AT 4:00. I KNOW THAT'S EARLY, BUT WE COULD DO THE HOUR. I MEAN, THE TOUR COULD TAKE HOURS AS YOU CAN IMAGINE. BUT I WAS THINKING THAT MISTY WOULD ACTUALLY DO THE PRESENTATION SORT OF LIKE SARAH DID FOR YOU WHERE SHE WOULD TALK ABOUT SORT OF THE TOTALITY OF THAT FLOOR AND WHAT THEY DO. BUT THEN IF PEOPLE WANTED TO COME EARLY, YOU COULD SEE THE VAULT. AND IF IT GOES A LITTLE BIT OVER, VANYA HAS THE KEY TO THE BUILDING. I DO, BUT CENTRAL IS TOUGH BECAUSE OF ALL THE SECURITY THAT WE NEED IN THAT BUILDING TO KEEP IT OPEN. SO IT'S DIFFERENT THAN A BRANCH. YES. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU WOULD ADD OR COMMENTS? DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THIS? I DON'T THINK SO. WE DIDN'T PUT IT DOWN. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THE LIST. ALSO, UH, LASTLY, NEW BUSINESS OR OTHER DISCUSSION, DOES ANYONE WANT TO BRING UP THE GREEN TOPIC OR ADDRESSING TOPIC? OKAY. SEEING NONE, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 6:30. IF ANYONE PARKED IN THAT FAR AWAY AND WANTS TO WALK TOGETHER, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.