Cleveland Heights – University Heights Public Library Board meeting highlights [4-16-12]

APRIL 16, 2012

  • Open Doors collaboration
  • Telephone system to be upgraded
  • Status of Dobama liquor license
  • March public service report highlights

Board Members James Roosa, vice president, and CarDala Carter were absent. [Carter had resigned due to an out-of-town move.]

Open Doors collaboration

Annemarie Grassi and Alyssa Nevins talked to the board about the activities supported by the Starting Point grant, which involves the library and Open Doors Academy. Basic activities are for middle and high school students with an eight-week summer camp and family programming. Parents are expected to give back time to the program. There’s an alumni program for students that continue to need support. The program for Heights High students is held at the library and includes tutoring twice a week for those with a grade-point average below 2.8, college visits, an apprenticeship program, and a field trip this year to El Salvador.

Telephone system to be upgraded

Technology fund expenditures requested this month were $44,295.49, which will cover an upgrade to a new telephone system plus replacement of a staff laptop used for training. CLEVNET now offers its member libraries the opportunity to link with its Cisco-based VoIP phone system, and the expenditure will cover equipment and licensing.

Status of Dobama liquor license

The issue of a liquor license for Dobama is still tabled as liability insurance coverage continues to be an issue for further review.

March public service report highlights

  • Circulation staff is test-driving Tech Logic, a new self-charge system, so staff will be comfortable with the new system before demonstrating it to customers.
  • Coventry Library’s program with author Dan Chaon hosted 80 people. In another program. Kambri Crews, the hearing daughter of deaf parents, presented a reading and discussion of her memoir, Burn Down the Ground, to 65 people.
  • Noble’s Tuesday Evening Jazz program featured artist Debaniece. Reservations and waiting list were filled within a week after registration opened.
  • Targeting grades three through six, the Youth Services Department is piloting a partnership program for Kids’ Science Challenge with WCPN 90.3 ideastream. The partnership will plan for a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.
  • At the University Heights Library, Robert Conrad, president of WCLV Radio, spoke at  Senior Citizen Happenings, and Aleese Fluharty, children’s services associate, presented a Lorax-themed family program at Whole Foods.
  • The University Heights Library and John Carroll University (JCU) partnered to offer two genealogy classes. of Genealogy” in the computer classroom at the Lee Road Library. In February, a session on researching African-American family history was held in the electronic classroom at JCU’s Grasselli Library. In turn, Marcy Milota, JCU librarian, presented “The ABCs of Genealogy” in the computer classroom at the Lee Road Library in March.

LWV observer: Anne S. McFarland.

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

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

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Volume 5, Issue 6, Posted 9:24 AM, 06.01.2012