I will begin.

Oh.

I'll be there as well.

So at the time of 303, I'll begin the Thursday, October 23rd meeting of the Sacramento Public Library Authority Board.

Um, may we have the roll call clerk?

Roger Dickinson.

Karina Telemontes.

Phil Plucky Baum.

Katie Maple.

Here.

My Vang.

Phil Cerna.

Patrick Kennedy.

Rich Desmond.

Rosario Rodriguez.

Pat Hume.

Mary Jane Lopez Taff.

Here.

Rod Brewer.

Here.

Kevin Spees.

Tim Reed.

Linda Budge.

Tanya Kravchuk.

Vina Lefkovitz.

Here.

And who else is attending?

That gives us a Nick Voice there.

So we have eight members present.

Thank you, Clerk.

And now we have the meeting statement.

This meeting of the Sacramento Public Library Authority is broadcast live and recorded with closed captioning.

It is cable cast on Metro Cable Channel 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and Direct TV Uverse Cable Systems.

It's also live streamed at Metro14Live.sackCounty.gov.

Today's meeting replays Saturday, October 25th at 4 p.m.

on Metro Cable Channel 14.

Once posted, the recording of this meeting can be viewed on demand at YouTube.com slash metro cable 14.

The meeting will also be recorded via Zoom.

A DVD copy will be available upon request no later than two weeks following today's meeting.

The full agenda, including reports, is available on the library website at www.saclibrary.org.

Members of the audience wishing to address the board should complete a speaker identification form located at the back table and give it to the clerk.

Members attending via Zoom should raise their hand on the Zoom program.

Please speak clearly when addressing the board and state your name for the record.

Comments are limited to three minutes so that everyone may be heard.

Thank you.

I applied to you to the flag in the United States of America.

And to the Republican stands, one nation, Underground, Indivisible, and Justice For.

You may please be seated.

Item number two, public comment on matters not on the agenda.

I do not have any any slips.

So we'll move on to item number three, presentation.

Thank you, Chair Brewer and members of the authority board.

This week marks National Friends of the Library Week.

It's an annual celebration recognized this week, October 19th through 25th.

This is a national um week sponsored by the American Library Association and others to uh thank and recognize and promote the great work that the Friends groups across this country do for America's public libraries.

And so we have a proclamation today thanking the friends for their work.

It's a little lengthy because the friends do a lot, so I ask for your patience as we share all the great things the friends have done for us.

Whereas National Friends of the Library Week was is celebrated throughout the nation in Sacramento County and all of the cities and communities therein from October 19th to October 25th, 2025, and whereas the Friends are the library's official fundraising partner, and along with its affiliates provide more than $300,000 annually to support library programs, collections, and services in all 28 locations.

And whereas the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library have impacted the lives of first graders throughout Sacramento County, thanks to their generous support of the library's book first program.

And whereas in the 10 years, Book First has been a library initiative, the Friends have raised more than $600,000, which provided over 169,946 books to first graders and helped Sacramento Public Library staff visit over 4,588 classrooms in 185 schools.

And whereas through its legacy, ARM established in 2021, Friends Investing in Sacramento Public Library.

The Friends have raised over $569,103 for the Rivca SAS Young Readers Endowment Fund, and holds almost $2,543,000 in other invested funds, which are used for general improvements to library services in Sacramento.

And whereas the Friends believe in and promote civic engagement and volunteer in libraries to monitor ballot boxes, assist voter service centers, and ensure that election days are safe and successful.

And whereas the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library are library advocates, community ambassadors, volunteers, fundraising partners, and true friends.

And friends' gift of time and commitment to Sacramento Public Library sets an example for all in how volunteerism leads to positive civic engagement and the advancement of our community.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Sacramento Public Library Authority Board does hereby proclaim National Friends of the Library Week and thank the hundreds of friends who support and enhance our libraries.

Great.

And Chair Brewer, I'd also like to mention that it's been brought to my attention that since they've begun donating money to the library.

The friends have given over a million dollars to the library in total, and it's even more than that.

They are a tireless advocacy group, and we appreciate their friendship and all the good work they do to support libraries across our community.

Thank you very much for that overview.

That's really great.

And that resolution definitely strikes a strikes a proper cord and the work being done and the partnership.

So thank you so much.

And we'll have for the record that Director Mora is now present and with us.

Well, that's item through.

I'm sorry.

Yeah.

So now we have uh item 3.2, Friends of the Sacramento Public Library.

Hi there, I'm subbing for Devon Graves.

My name is Anita Scurry, I'm the past president of the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library, and I'd like to deliver his report.

And I also like to let uh Director Coyle know that our records show that in the past 10 years we've actually given over five million dollars, five million to the library.

Which it doesn't count the human resource hours and the volunteer hours that have been recovering since the pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, I believe it was over 56,000 hours of volunteer time, and I think we're back up into the 40,000 range.

So I think that that has a value of its own.

So, members of the JPA, thank you.

This is this is the Vaughn's report with a couple of little additions.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a report on behalf of the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library, which is the officially recognized community partner to the Sacramento Public Library.

Since the last JPA meeting in September, the Friends have remained engaged with key issues related to the organization's success and the benefits for our membership.

And so here are a couple of items we wanted to share with all of you today.

First, I want to share this is uh hot off the press news, which is we had an antiquarian sale at our booked in over the weekend, and it made $10,000 in six hours, which is pretty good.

Um, with respect to the Colonial Heights Library, we're encouraged by the reporting on the anticipated January 2026 opening of the Colonial Heights branch, and we stand in solidarity with the friends of the Colonial Heights Library and advocate for a timely return to operations for that branch.

We we hope the library desert in that area will end soon.

Um communications committee.

I'm actually the chair of our communications committee, not my forte, but the committee has convened to discuss the results of a survey that was completed by, I think we had almost every single branch friends group report back to us and complete the survey and regarding our attempts to develop a communications plan.

We're focusing on areas of improvement and places of interest for internal and external communications, that includes with the library, and our committee is working through how to implement recommendations and best practices.

And for those of you, I wish you all I hope you all are, but for those of you who are members of the Friends, we have some events.

We have a paper shredding event on October 25th at 1 p.m.

at the booked in, which is a new benefit.

It's an event with some company called Lone Mountain, which is an opportunity for members and affiliate boards to eliminate paper clutter.

So stop by the book den, shred your stuff, shop in the warehouse in the store, and but this shred event is only for paper.

There is a tea room and garden event on November 17th at 10 15 a.m.

at Sack State, at the I hope I'm pronouncing this correctly.

So Kiku Nakatani Tea Room and Garden, located on the lower level of the Sacramento State Library.

So I guess you can have a tea room in your library.

We will share the serenity of a tea ceremony.

We will encourage attendees to come with questions about this beautiful Japanese tradition to share with our hosts.

The ceremony and visit will last approximately an hour and a quarter.

And afterwards, members will have the uh opportunity to view the art gallery on the main library, library main floor.

So that is Devon's report.

Do you have any questions?

Any questions from any of the directors?

Thank you.

I actually I want to see if we can take all take a picture with you with the National Friends of the Library Week Proclamation, because obviously because even though we are local, it's still a national effort, and your partnerships is really makes us makes this all go and makes us key.

So if we can all go down and join director coyle and take a picture, that'll be great.

I don't know.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Chair.

Yes.

This is Linda Butch.

Nice.

Thank you for joining us, Director Budge.

Absolutely.

I want to add congratulations to the friends also.

For decades, I don't know how many decades.

They have run this uh wonderful book den that has been available to teachers and everybody, not only for donating but also for getting books for their classrooms and whatnot for incredible opportunities for their kids.

And the Rancho Cordova Friends have played a unique role in getting um bus service restored to the Rancho Cordova Library when it disappeared, and now they're helping us to create a long-awaited light rail station at Horn Road, which is directly across the street from the Rancho Cordova Library.

So I want to congratulate Pam Whitely and Jerry Jaggers and all their team.

Thank you so much, Director Budge.

And congratulations for the progress out there in Retro Cordova.

So now we move to item 3.3 building projects Update.

Deputy Director Keller.

Well, good afternoon, everyone.

Bring up the presentation.

Dramatic pause for the presentation to come up.

All right.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Today I'm gonna provide an update on the Colonial Heights uh library restoration as well as the other building projects that we have going on.

As everybody knows, 2025 has been the year of building projects in all of my times in years in libraries, and it's been quite a few.

This is the most concurrent projects that we have ever done.

First update I'm gonna provide is on Colonial Heights.

As we all know, on July 26th of 2024, the tragic fire occurred in the Colonial Heights community room.

Uh while the fire was contained to the community room, the entire branch was smoked.

As a result, the entire branch was declared a loss.

Both the city of Sacramento and Sacramento Public Library swung into action as early as August uh 7th.

We were working with our insurance provider uh for compensation for the loss.

The city of Sacramento entered into contracts with Belfort, the restoration company.

In September, Sacramento Public Library was able to settle their claim.

And September through December of 2024, we worked to clear the library.

Uh and you know, as you know, a library is just more of a place of books.

It's technology, it's furniture, it's other equipment.

So it took us a few years, a few months to complete this.

In the end of December, we handed over the Colonia Heights Library to the city of Sacramento so they could uh proceed with additional abatement and restoration efforts.

From January to February of 2025, um, based on a lot of learning that we've had from the new um Elk Grove uh library projects and the Martin Luther King Jr.

Library projects.

We uh looked at different furniture fixture uh fixtures that we could use in this location, but we also looked at what we have learned from operating colonial heights.

There's a lot of historic tension points with the layout, so this gave us an opportunity to rethink this and so that when we repopulate it with furniture and the collection, what works best for the community, and to provide service.

So uh one thing that we have uh could do a better job of is talking about really how long does it take to outfit a library once it's handed over.

When we receive uh a library from a jurisdiction, it can take up to three to six months to outfit it.

While we have done all of the ordering of the furniture fixtures and equipment and the collection, there's a lot of the actual receiving of the items.

I will say, in all the years I've been doing this, this has by far been the most frustrating time to receive items on time.

There have been significant delays.

Um, but in addition, it's putting the furniture in all the furniture is special order.

This isn't something that we get from an IKEA.

It's special order, it's industrial grade, we have a lot of IT infrastructure set up as well as the actual final installation of the collection, which I'll talk a little bit more about, and all of the equipment.

And then again, preparing it, kicking it off for for the community so they can enjoy the space.

So a little bit about the collection.

Um, so if you look at the collection, what's going in, there's approximately 22,798 items that are going in.

That translates to 2,637 linear feet of shelving, 217 bays.

If you're to line up all the books, that's a half a mile of books.

And there's a lot that goes into this collection.

It's uh everything from adult children to teen.

It's very detailed on the different um uh aspects of the collection that we offer.

So from purchase to shelf, the actual library book processing um journey is very long.

Uh we just can't buy a whole bunch of books from Amazon and put them on the shelf.

There's a lot of work that goes into it.

The books have to be ordered, they have to be sourced.

In many cases, it's very difficult to source.

Typically, for a uh opening day collection like this, the providers ask at least 18 month time frame.

So our provider was very aggressive in being able to provide us um items for the opening day collection.

But there's the acquisition and ordering.

There's the actual cataloging of the materials.

Think about this as like providing an address for your home.

There's actual the physical processing of this.

This is putting the mylar jackets on, the RFID tags, the labels.

It's a very extensive process, as well as linking the items in the library system, and quality check.

Unfortunately, some items, you know, we receive, and maybe the last page is missing, and so sometimes there's issues there.

Um, as well as then finally getting them on the shelf.

So it is quite an extensive process.

So uh we have been working since uh March uh is when we started all of our major ordering.

We ordered the collection, the technology, the furniture, and then some additional items have uh trickled in with some ordering as we identified a few things that were missing, and these are mainly just um some uh items like some artwork and such.

So um through June of through June through August is when um the city of Sacramento uh basically handed the building over to us during that time, as with a home.

There's always going to be some issues with it.

We had issues with uh cell electrical issues, there were some carpeting issues, some ceiling tiles.

Um, shout out to the city of Sacramento for addressing those.

So it's given us the opportunity to proceed forward with outfitting further outfitting the library.

Uh in September of October, we hit a major milestone because of the extent of damage that was done in the community room and how all of the power and data ran through there.

Took a little while longer than we had planned to have our building security systems and card readers online, but those are officially online now.

So uh the uh October has been a very busy month.

On September 30th, we took possession of uh the library uh uh computer tables as well as some of the adult furniture.

Uh and on October 2nd through 10th, the city of Sacramento removed all the boarded up windows and installed the glass.

On October 13, um, our shelving installation was complete, as well as we have started the construction clean, which just finished yesterday.

Um on October 27th, we will be receiving our final order of the public furniture, which is very exciting that we'll be receiving this.

Also, on October 27th, the first delivery of books from our media hotel will be arriving at the Colonial Heights Library, and we're anticipating the new items to arrive on October 28th.

That will be one of many deliveries.

So, one thing to remember is that when we do order books, it's usually a couple major deliveries, and then items have a tendency to trickle in over the next three to six months.

So that is an update on the colonial heights.

Oh no, sorry, sorry, uh missed there.

Um, in terms of completed milestones, I said we had furniture and infrastructure um completions as well as shelving and security installations and service desk uh install.

I'm now gonna share a couple pictures, and I do want to apologize in advance that I am one of the world's worst picture takers.

What I can't guarantee is there's no pictures of my thumb in here.

So uh this is when you're looking into the Colonial Heights library, you'll see that there is new carpet as well as paint, and you can see there's a bunch of shelving and furniture in there.

Once again, I am horrible at taking pictures.

This is the new service desk that is there and will be installed a little later this month with what will be anchored in place as well as power and data provided to it.

This is the shelving, all the shelving is in, and you will notice that everything is labeled and marked for the collection to go in.

Everything has a place.

We have an intelligent material management system that tracks where every item is at any point in time on the shelves, and it has to go exactly there.

Uh this is the computer tables.

This is one of the friction points that we used to have.

This was an area where we had a lot of um angst um being that the computers were so uh pushed together, we will be moving the computers over to the window area, which will provide a lot more versatility, and we'll be moving the uh furniture in the middle of the library, which will uh make it much more user-friendly.

Uh community room restoration, major milestone.

Appreciate the city of Sacramento for um approving an action on October 21st so that they can finish the restoration of the community room.

Uh, this is a picture of it as it stands right now.

We're very excited about that because the community room is an essential piece of the library.

This is where our story times occur, this is where lunch at the library occurs, and most importantly, in 2026, it will serve as a vote center.

So we're very excited that uh this will be back in into service soon.

So as we head into November 2025, this is our final preparation.

Our second collection drop is anticipated to occur in early November.

We are awaiting confirmation from our vendor.

Our staff will start to return.

The construction fence will be removed over a certain portion of the library.

Please keep in mind that construction still will occur in the community room, so there still will be a fence over a portion.

And as what is part of our our final install progress, we install the public computers and the public technology once all the furniture and the collection has been placed.

We are right now targeting a December 2025 soft opening.

We know how important it is to have this library back in service.

We wish it could be done faster.

We are moving as as as quickly as possible.

So we will have more information on a soft opening.

By January 6th, the Colonial Heights Library will be open.

And so we are very excited about that.

Now, moving on to the next said, as I said, 2025 has been a very busy, busy, busy year.

There are three major projects that were funded by the California State Libraries Building Ford Infrastructure Grant.

Those are the Martin Luther King Jr.

Library, the Alt Grove Library, and the North Sacramento Hagenwood Library.

Both of these projects are making incredible progress.

And just I just want to reiterate again when we do receive these buildings from the jurisdictions, it will take us three to six months to outfit these buildings and open them to the public.

So the King Building, the Martin Luther King Jr.

Library is moving along very quickly.

You can see on the left, that's the depiction of the main floor.

This is the progress that they have.

They've had substantial uh abatement of materials.

They've started framing the building, is really starting to come together.

In addition, the city of Sacramento has also been in the process of stalling EV charging, which will be a very much needed addition.

Very quickly, as you can see, the depiction of what the main entrance will look like.

The two pictures to your right are where it's at right now.

They are in the framing process of the building, as well as finishing the roof, and more progress will be made.

We started with our kickoff meetings.

This is the picture of what the building will look like.

We will be able to provide more of a detailed timeline on all of these projects at the next authority board meeting.

As we are heading into the winter months and sometimes with with weather, it does impact the timelines.

So we'll be providing more information.

And as remember at the last authority board meeting, I presented about the ILTI renovation update.

Uh voted to use supplemental funding to help uh backfill the budget deficiency, and we're anticipating to return the Isleton Library back into service at the end of November, early December.

And finally, as if there weren't enough projects already going on, there are still additional ones that were funded by the Building Ford Infrastructure Grant project, and most of these are um county locations with the exception of Del Paso Heights.

Del Paso Heights has been going through a parking lot renovation project where ADA enhancements were done, as well as putting in the necessary EV charging infrastructure.

That project will complete in November and we will be able to reopen the branch.

Southgate Library will be going through ADA and accessibility enhancements in December.

Walnut Grove Library will close from November and reopen in December for a much needed HVAC overhaul and installation.

The Arden Demic Libraries in April and May of 2026 will be having ADA accessibility enhancements as well as HVAC improvements.

Carmichael Library from February to March of 2026, ADA enhancements.

And from February to March of 26th, North North Highland's Antelope Library will also be having ADA enhancements.

And in 2027, the last project that the county has planned to close out their Building Ford infrastructure grant program is the Sylvan Oaks Library, where there will be ADA improvements as well.

We are closely working with the jurisdictions to try to schedule these so that we do not have multiple locations closed at once.

So based on that, that is my presentation.

Does the board have any questions?

Thank you for the comprehensive overview.

Definitely like the updates that are going on with Colonial Heights.

And definitely love what I'm seeing from the Oak Grove Library update and the speed that is moving.

So I'm very pleased to see all this happen.

Thanks.

And thanks for the thanks for the report.

The question I have is triggered by what's going on with Colonial Heights, but it really I think has more general application and goes to your comment that it's it's three to six months after completion of construction before a branch is actually opened.

It makes me uh wonder whether or not there are steps that could be taken in preparation by the uh authority for uh occupation and then operation.

That could that could be advanced beyond what their schedule is now, and uh and I mean it could apply to potentially I suppose to Colonial Heights, but certainly to other uh uh projects as well.

For example, with Colonial Heights, you you may be acquiring uh a new collection, but you know the space you've got.

At least I presume you know the shelf space you've got, you've know the layout you're going to have.

You know a number of the elements that are essential to actually placing materials, furniture, and the rest, and then and and then opening.

Can you think of ways that you actually could advance what you're doing in preparation so that it's not three to six months, but it's something substantially shorter in time because one obviously uh we all want branches open as soon as they can they possibly can be.

But secondly, I think it's really frustrating to the public to see a building sitting there that's a library, and it appears that there's no construction activity that that's completed.

The building looks like it's ready to go, and yet it's it's not open.

And so that sense of that that sense of frustration doesn't really serve any anybody well.

Uh so I I again I asked the question whether whether there are things that you could do sooner in time, if not compressing time, but to sooner in time that would allow you to shorten that period of time once you actually can take possession.

Yes, no, very good question, and I appreciate that.

Um yes, we are always looking at process improvements, and um one of the things that we're working with is with the furniture vendors and the book vendors to have more of an accelerated time frame.

We have put orders in and pretty plenty of time, but I'll be honest with you, we've had some shipping delays, and so with that, we are being more aggressive with basically um giving hard timelines for the vendors for for uh quicker delivery of items and accepting them.

I do understand it is very frustrating, especially in the case of Colonial Heights, and we are trying to do process improvements, uh especially with um trying to work a little more closer with the vendors, not that we have not been, but trying to accelerate delivery.

So one of the major challenges of us be very candid is going to be with collections as well.

You know, there's been in informational item I have there is an issue with a major change up with uh with a book vendor in the library um world right now.

So it is uh creating a little bit of tensions for everybody to get collections.

So we are also working through those issues as well.

So we have done post-mortems on these and looking at where we can improve it moving forward, especially so that we can cut down that three to six month timeline to even quicker.

But there also are some things that we don't always have control over.

So, in in some issues, there are cases where we have issues with telco providers in being able to um re-establish service to a building.

So there's a lot of challenges, and I hear you, and we are definitely working on continued process improvements.

But uh it seems to me fair to say you can focus on everything you can do yes before you're you're in the building.

So in the case of Colonial Heights, you you've got uh um replenishing, re restocking the collection because of what happened with the with the fire.

In the case of say uh the North Sacramento Hagenwood library, you're gonna move from one small branch, you're gonna get more space.

Right.

So you gotta obviously you're gonna take that into account.

But that's that's an instance where or any of the other renovation projects where you know what the collection is.

It's not the collection, it's not damaged, you're not replacing.

Maybe you're augmenting it.

Yes, but but it seems to me you can in those instances to say we know what we've got, we know the space we're gonna have.

We we can we can figure out the moment we get the key to the door, yes, we can arrange move that stuff over.

Now you get the the electrical and uh all the rest of it, you can't do till you get in the meme.

But I would really hope that in the in the um case of all of these projects that are causing um facilities to be closed for any length of time, that you're focused on everything you can do to expedite the reopening, because that's really what what the public's looking for.

And I can assure you we are doing that, and to your point with the Alt Grove Library, the North Sacramento Hagen Wood, the King, there's already an existing collection, and yes, it's programmed and yes, it's ready to go in, and it will be augmented.

Colonna Heights was a little different in that it was a complete collection loss, and so um, but to your point, we do understand that, and we are looking at process improvements to make sure that we can compress that timeline.

Director Maple or Vice Chair Maple.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, and I appreciate Director Dickinson's comments.

Um I really want to appreciate you, the team for meeting with uh myself and Councilmember Guerra at Colonial Heights Library yesterday.

Uh it was helpful to see um on the ground how it looks inside.

It was helpful to see some of the damage too.

And so, you know, I recognize all the things that have been said here that there are challenges, and we get that.

Um I think one of the things that I've heard from several community members, and we discussed this a little bit yesterday, Jared, is um this feeling that they're that we haven't been communicating well enough.

Um, and that's on, you know, both the library authority side and the the city side to the community about what to expect in terms of timeline, and that may add in some of the frustration that that councilman Dickinson mentioned.

And so it'd be my my hope and my request that we, you know, it's great to see this slide in here about the soft opening and the anticipated date in January, and and we do recognize that that timelines are squishy.

We see it a lot in government, but I think it's great to have something to aim towards.

Um and I would really request that we share that information proactively with the surrounding community.

So in that Tahoe Park community, Colonial Heights, um, Oak Park, we can obviously assist with that myself and Council Member Guerra.

Um, and also with the friends of the Colonial Heights Library who I know that you speak with frequently, but we received, I'm sure you did, too, a rash of emails from community members, and it seemed to me that uh that several people were just unsure of what the what was the right information, what was the right timeline.

So I just uh want us to be over-communicative so that people feel as if they know what's going on.

Thank you.

Any other questions from directors online or on here on the diet?

Hearing and seeing none.

No, I definitely want to thank you for the report, uh, Deputy Director Keller.

Um I know we've been talking about Colonial Heights since the initial fire.

And the timeline that it need that we needed to take to get things back on track.

What I didn't realize is that during that fire, you had total the books, the books were just completely destroyed.

And uh, because one of the questions that was that I was asked um was why can't we use the current stack of books that were not affected by the fire, but you can't.

Um, because you have a lot of different ancillary effects that come from it, and you have liability purposes.

And so when I said that it's important that we have a safe, responsible reopening of the library, those are the things because there's things that are within our control that lessons learned as we move on to the next projects, we can make those adjustments and put those vendors by a little fire under them and have expedite, but there's some things that are out of our control, and there's some things that Mother Nature puts in play that makes it difficult for us to make those sorts of snap decisions.

And so I definitely understand the frustration from the residents in and around the area, but I definitely applaud the work that is being done on your part and on your team's part to make sure that we're getting everything moving in the right direction.

Um felt like things were moving moving in the right direction in terms of timetables and getting the library back open, but we're not far away from January 6th.

Actually, it's like it's there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully, we can get things back and restored once all our materials are in place, because we're still waiting for those to come in place, and hopefully we can light a fire under those vendors to get those things to us as quickly as possible because once winners passed, then more angst will build.

Um, but I definitely want to thank the work you're doing.

I want to thank the work of Director Maple, Councilmember Guerra for um for keeping that in the front burner of people's minds and focus, but um it's definitely a team effort, and we will get it completed within the time frame that we have.

So I want to thank you for that report.

Thank you.

So now we move on to item 3.4 brand and website presentation, Lisa Martinez.

All right.

Well, thank you very much, Chair Brewer and members of the board for having me here.

I'm gonna give myself a second just to get that presentation up.

But I am thrilled to be before you today to share with you some of the work our team has been doing.

Um in just uh a few weeks, we will be introducing a new brand, a new look for the Sacramento Public Library and a new website.

So that will launch on November 5th.

And before I dive into what it looks like and uh and what to expect, I want to share with you a little bit about how we got here and the why behind um this project in general.

It has been a long time coming.

Uh we actually started this project uh back in 2023.

Um, and so you know, one of the first questions that people ask me as a library system why do you need a brand?

Um, and you know, in the library world, we often say libraries are for everyone.

And when we look at our website and we look at our brand, it's not built for everyone, it's built for some people.

So when you're looking at our website, and particularly back in 2022, we did an audit, an accessibility audit on our site, and we weren't meeting the standards required um to meet the needs uh through the website accessibility guidelines.

Um, and when we looked at that, we also said, well, you know, it's not just our website, but it's also our visual standards for our brands.

If we want to be able to serve everyone in our community, we have to think about all the needs that people have.

Whether you have low vision, uh, if you have different reading levels, if you're using assisted devices uh to access a website, we want to make sure, just like when you're in a branch, that you have the same experience no matter how you're accessing the library.

Um, and so um, you know, we were looking at all those different pieces, and we started on this process um to rebrand the library, and before we got into you know the fun part of branding where it's all the visuals, we asked a lot of questions.

And so the brand's website um strategy and approach was really shaped, um, it's research-driven, it's audience focused.

We asked a lot of questions to understand the why, uh, what people value about the library, what they need, what they like, what they wish they had, so that we're not just creating something in a vacuum.

We're thinking about how we build something that will last for a long time with um for the library.

And so we asked a lot of questions.

We are kicked off both of those projects with a very intense discovery process that research.

We did one-on-one uh interviews, we did audience surveys online, we did staff surveys, we did focus groups, we even went out to the community and we asked them questions about the library.

And what did we find?

What we heard from our community is that some things that were, it was nice to see these affirms.

Um, first and foremost, when we talked about the library, people love the library.

That's what we heard over and over again.

We love the library.

The library is important to us.

Um, it's a space for me.

They also very much appreciate our staff.

Um, some of the other themes that kind of surfaced in both the website and the brand research is that they really appreciate the wide variety of services, the breadth and the depth, not just the books and collection, which is important, but the online resources, the learning resources, the in-person services that we provide over and above of what you would expect from a library.

Another theme that came up is just this constant sense of discovery and wonder.

People, when you talk about the things that we offer, they were always surprised of, oh, I didn't know the library did this, or oh, I went in maybe to pick up my holds and I realized I could drop off my ballot and vote today.

Or I found a seed library.

Those moments of discovery and that ability to access our collection freely is something that folks really value.

The other element is that people see the library not just as a place to pick up books, but it's a place for community.

We have physical spaces, our meeting rooms, our programs provide an area where people can connect, where different community members can intersect, learn about each other, and build those relationships.

We also provide online spaces for people too, if they can't get into the library.

Um, and then finally, we have 28 branches across the entire county.

Every experience is slightly different at every branch because we reflect the communities that we serve.

And so our collection might be a little bit different.

The services and the amenities might be a little bit different for each branch.

So we took this research and we wanted to distill it down into some salient points, some big ideas.

Um, and so we developed a positioning statement, and this is more internal, but this kind of gives you a flavor of where we started off in this journey.

Um, our positioning statement is Sacramento Public Library supports a diverse community and fosters equity through unique public spaces and services for all that redefine the library experience.

There are a lot of words in here, and there's some that are bolded because those are some of those foundational themes and ideas that really really connect with our mission and vision as a library.

Um, and that's a lot of words, but I think what you probably are really interested in is what does it look like?

What does it feel like?

And so I'd like to share with you our new uh brand identity.

So I'll start with a video.

Every time you step into a branch, you'll find yourself in your history, in your community, and in your future.

Whatever you're looking for, we can help you find it.

Sacramento public library is much more than just books.

We're the ultimate search engine.

Well, you may come in with a question.

We're sure you'll leave with a world of answers and possibilities.

Always evolving, forever adapting.

We're on this trip together.

Sacramento public library.

Discover more than you expected.

And so, yes, this is a new look for the library, but when it comes down to it, it's the same heart, the same message, the same way we serve our community when we're at a mobile services stop, when we're at an outreach event, when we're in a classroom, our new tagline where curiosity meets community, it really speaks to those intersections and the way we bring people together, the way we provide access to information, and free access to all.

And I want to talk a little bit about some of the design choices too.

And I I forgot to mention the beginning of this that our current brand has served us well, and we've had it for over a decade.

And before that, we've had very various iterations of our brand.

One of the challenges that we saw with our current brand was that from far away, if you didn't know us, you didn't know that you're looking at the library.

So when we're looking at the design of this new logo, we wanted something that read library.

And our bread and butter, it's all about the books, right?

The stories, the pages that we turn, and bringing people in, and when people think of the library, that's what they think of first.

But there's so much more to discover beyond that.

And that's where you see that expansion in different directions.

Those pages break off into different pieces.

They represent all the different ways that we serve the community.

There's also a lot of pieces that fit together, kind of like a puzzle.

And they're all different shapes and sizes that kind of speaks to our 28 branches, all the different communities that we are serving throughout our region.

And there's also these, you know, spaces are filled in with color and these empty spaces.

We want to make sure that people can see themselves in the library.

We want people to be able to see themselves in our collection and our services to know that they have a place here at the library and know that we're going to leave space for them.

And those intersections really are what, you know, those those themes that we pulled into this.

You'll also notice that there's no color hierarchy, too.

We don't have a dominant color.

And when we think about Sacramento County, the Sacramento region is one of the most diverse in the country, right?

When you're thinking about language, we know we want to make sure that we have a lot of different options and our collections available in 13 community languages.

You'll see when I show you our website that we have some new tools and features that allow you to translate our website into different languages as well.

That we want to make sure that everyone sees that they have a space here.

So I'll show you a little bit more about how it will roll out.

And we will launch this new brand on November 5th.

It's a starting point.

It will take us quite some time to change out the logo, the look, all of the materials, and we're going to start first and foremost with a digital launch with our new website.

So our new color palette was inspired by our community, our environment.

We've got Railroad Steel, Capital White, Midnight Stacks, Royal Purple, Rose Garden Pink, Neon Tower Theater Orange, Tower Bridge Gold, and Delta Blue.

We have a lot of flexibility.

We want this brand to last for a long time, and so we have a lot of different options and variations that will grow with us that can evolve with us, but will always represent one Sacramento public library.

This is an example of what exterior building sign will look like.

We haven't gone down that.

That's a next phase of this project of introducing the new logo onto our exterior buildings with 28 locations and different facades.

It will take us some time to introduce this.

And you'll see that we're also working through and making sure that we have the ability to produce materials in multiple languages and in different formats so that when we're out and about, we're able to speak the landers' languages that people are most comfortable with.

So the big change that you will notice on November 5th will be our website.

While we'll have everything there, all the content that on our current website will still be on our new website, it's gonna look a little bit different.

It'll feel a little bit different, and we're hoping that it'll be a lot easier to use.

So some things you'll notice, it'll be easier to navigate.

We'll have more streamlined navigation and more plain language.

You'll be able to find what you're looking for, but also we have some tools that let you discover more.

So you might be looking at books, but you'll find things are related based on audience or categories.

We're chunking out the content so it's easier to skim and read, and that works really well when you're working on smaller devices like mobile, and also we wanted to make sure that it works with assisted technology.

Regardless of how you're accessing the website, we want to make sure that you're able to use it.

Ultimately, the website should mirror that experience that you get when you walk into a branch where we adjust and we work with you to find what you're looking for.

So this is our new website.

This is a home page.

Oops.

I'm going the wrong way.

Hold on.

Let's get back here.

I'm not sure how to can you help me get back into the.

So with the home page of the website, you'll see a different navigation.

That will make it a little bit easier to use.

Again, we will be launching this on November 5th.

It's that very last one on the bottom, I think.

Just open that up and I'll get there.

Here we go.

I don't think is there a I oops.

Okay.

Forget that.

Nope.

I did it again.

Okay.

I will I will share that new website with you, but it's definitely it's visual, highly impactful.

We have a lot of icons, different ways for you to find the information you're looking for.

And again, we look forward to introducing this to the public.

This is the starting point, but it's a way for us to continue to make sure that the library is relevant, that we're able to connect with people, that we're able to share what we offer so that everyone has that opportunity to connect to the library.

Thank you very much.

I'll open up to any questions if anyone has any.

Thank you, Lisa.

Do we have any questions from any other directors?

Yeah, Director Dalamantis.

Can you go back to the logo?

Yes.

I think I can.

This one.

Okay.

So those are meant to, can you explain the logo again?

Like I know the colors that why they were selected, but are those meant to be like books?

Or were we not?

It is meant to feel like it's meant to be a little ambiguous.

So it could feel like books on a shelf, it could feel like pages opening up.

It could also be shelves within a library.

It also evokes kind of like that feel that it feels kind of like it's expanding out.

So it also evokes how we serve our community where, you know, we're always looking at something responding to the community needs.

Those little pieces fit together just like our 28 branches within our library system.

Through our research, we found out as you know, people are very familiar with their local branch, but they don't always realize that as a library cardholder, I can go anywhere within the 28 library system throughout the county and access services there too.

Okay.

And what font is that, Sacramento Public?

Uh, the font is uh it's called PP Object Sans.

We chose a sans serif fonts specifically as we're looking at um readability.

Um the sans serif tends to be easier for people to read, particularly if they are um have lower reading uh levels.

Um it's easier to chunk out that font versus something that uh a sans serif font that has kind of like the feed um and flourishes at the end.

Okay.

And then when you do the branding for our website and everywhere else, is the tagline where Curiosity meets community gonna be at on every single item, or is it mainly gonna be the top piece in that?

It would be it would be with the logo itself, but the content throughout this site will you know change based on the whatever the topic is.

Okay, thank you.

Um I like the logo particularly as you explained it.

Like I saw I saw the meaning behind it.

And um I like the multiple colors and the way you showed us how those represent different um items or things in Sacramento.

I really like the fact that you know you are embracing the diversity of our community and the fact that you have 17 languages.

I think you said your website's gonna, yeah, that's amazing.

So congratulations on that.

Um could you talk a little bit about where curiosity meets community and explain kind of your understanding of that?

So that came from our research.

So when we were talking about the library with patrons, with community members, there was always a sense of wonder when it came to the library.

I had no idea that the library offered this.

Um that idea that um being able to ask questions and be curious, and um, it could be anything from something as simple as your reading choice.

So if I always read, I like a lot of cozy mysteries, right?

But being able to go into a branch and look at anything and check out 60 items at a time and explore different genres, to be able to uh walk into a branch, and a branch like the central library that has a makerspace.

But I didn't know that we had a sound studio within the makerspace at the central library.

So I could go in there and I could dabble in and record something, use some professional sound equipment.

And if I'm curious about developing a new skill, if I want to learn how to DIY something, we have online resources and tools that can do that.

It speaks to that ability where you can come to library if you have a have this inkling that I want to do something, I want to learn something, I want to find something.

Most likely you'll find it here.

Another example is say our library of things.

Also, if you go to some of our programs, if you've ever been to some of our early learning programs, particularly Explore and Learn, you'll see that as the kids are, you know, we're we've created these experiences where kids can play.

But that's a part of learning too.

And watching them grow and evolve in those moments is really powerful and impactful.

It also happens when you get a collective group together, like we have done for our UB Strings uh Quartet concerts at the Galleria, that collective awe and wonder is something that the library does and does so well.

And then the other part is just that intersection of community.

Um, when you walk into a branch, you'll see your neighbors, but you'll meet people that you've never met before.

You'll have conversations with people that are just there.

Um, when you go to a program, maybe you join a book group, and you might meet a new friend, you might meet a new colleague, you'll have conversations with people, and I think where the library does really well is we can we're a convener, we bring people together, and then that intersection between the people in our community and those ideas, I think is really what sets not only a library apart, but Sacramento Public Library.

Well, thank you.

That was um I do agree that so many people say to me, I can't I just didn't know the library did all that.

So I d I like I like the way you described it, and I hope as you do your marketing, um, some of those um unique things that the library offers will get lifted up and shared so um people will become more curious.

Um I always think of the library as a place for everyone, um, so just um especially as I get to know more and more about what this organization does, which I think is a really special thing that everyone can find a place in the library.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Yes, is that director budge?

Yes, thank you.

I'm sorry.

Our system doesn't have a way to raise a hand that I can tell.

Um, I just want to say that I completely understand the difficulty in branding or rebranding.

Um it is an incredibly difficult exercise, and trying to please everybody is extremely hard.

Um, personally, I have not liked the um the logo that we have been using for the last um eight or ten years, and so I find this very refreshing to actually go back and say that it's the Sacramento public library.

Um I love the tagline.

It expresses the mission of the library without using any of the uh words that in some quarters have become negative buzzwords today.

Um my only request is a wonder of whether we could and and I like the library, the the logo.

I like the fact that it expresses an open book without being an open book.

And my only question is whether um understanding why the colors were chosen, but wondering if we could boost up the intensity, so they're not so pastel.

That would just be my personal thought about it.

Thank you for the feedback.

And um what you're seeing in the logo colors, that's kind of the primary colors, but we actually have a much extended um color palette that goes a shade darker and a shade lighter.

So depending on what um how we use this.

Yes, exactly.

We wanted to pick colors that have very high contrast too, so that um if you have low vision, it's easier for you to perceive the text and the colors separately.

I understand.

Thank you.

Any other questions from directors?

Hearing and seeing none.

No, I I like I like the I like the illustrative manner and how the logo comes about and the the lead in for the opening for the website.

One of the things I thought that was interesting is that um where when you do when you do have it, you have this preamble.

Uh, and the preamble kind of leads into the imagery.

And I was wondering, uh, can is there a way to have the preamble be addressed as you're showing the images, and maybe some light music in the background to really build up that interest for the user as they go into the web page.

And if they wanted to skip that whole preamble, they could just hit the button and go straight into the web page.

Um because I definitely I definitely understand the the the method behind the madness as you're as you're putting that together, and to director budget's point, what I noticed on the logo is like Tower Bridge Gold, but the page, but the but the gold is more of a lighter yellow, and so if we can make that a little bolder.

And one of the other things I noticed is that um you have a nice rainbow collage, but there's no green in it, and with every kaleidoscope, you have some representation of some of your primary colors in with the pastels that make it all mix, but other than that, it's really good.

I really like it.

Um I like the storyboard behind it.

I like the I like the catchphrase because the catchphrase is very ha has intention behind it.

Well, and and just to be honest, I didn't even know that the Sacramento Public Library had a catchphrase um before today.

So I guess pop quiz.

What is the catchphrase of the Sacramento Public Library?

It's funny because we don't use it very often and we've adopted different things, but it's um books are just the beginning is a phrase that we've been using over the past few years, yeah.

And it's like, and if it took us three seconds to even come up with it, then obviously something else needs to be used and something quicker and more impactful, and I think this definitely strikes that chord.

But this is a really good job.

I really appreciate it and really like that very much.

Um any questions or comments from directors.

If there are none, great job, and we will move on to the next item.

Thank you.

So now I have the executive team report.

Uh, item 4.1.

Thank you, Chair Brewer.

Um, I'll draw your attention to the written report and a couple items I'll highlight.

Um, this last month we had the honor of celebrating 50 years of service at the Rancho Cordova Library.

Uh we were joined by uh Director Budge and some uh large numbers of the community came out to support that, and it was a great event to have people reminisce on their early experiences in the library.

We in fact had a retired staff member who recognized some of the customers who had come for that day.

So it's really a little homecoming of some sorts for some staff and and members of the community.

It's really a great opportunity for us to showcase the work that the library's done in that community for the last 50 years, and we appreciate the support of the member jurisdictions uh in making that happen.

Uh we've also had some some very large events this last year, or this last month rather.

Uh Jody Cantor, the Pulitzer Prize doing the New York Times uh reporter, spoke on her book and uh spoke to a capacity uh audience at the uh galleria.

It was very fascinating to hear her recitation of breaking the Harvey Weinstein story and some of the issues around journalism today.

And we also graduated uh 71 students of the career online high school, a number of those, 14 of them uh participated in the ceremony, and this is our 11th year doing this program through the with partnership with the state of California State Library, and since we launched 365 people have earned their high school equivalency diploma uh through this program.

So we're very proud to continue to offer that to help our members of our community continue to learn and grow, and this month we uh closed on Wednesday, October 15th for our annual all day staff day, um, and that was a full day of workshops and presentations and interactive experiences for staff to hone their skills and better themselves as library professionals.

Uh, we were honored to have a presentation in the keynote by Shamicha Holman, who is the author of a book called Meet Me at the Library, a place to foster social connection and promote democracy.

Uh, we chose him as a speaker because that dovetails with our strategic plan and direction for the next couple of years, and then we were um in the afternoon uh Lessa Kanameapua Paleo Lazato, who is the former ALA president, American Library Association president and the director of the Glendale Public Library, made the trek north and gave us a presentation on staff culture and development, and um it was very uh enjoyable day for all.

Uh, we did have some llamas for um staff uh and some therapy dogs as well.

So we had a full day of lots of fun uh but lots of work and learning as well.

Um and the highlight of the.

Just a quick clarification question.

Were those therapy llamas as well or amazing?

They were arranged for they didn't just show up randomly.

We we uh hired a group that is here in Northern California that that does this.

Um and the llamas are very well behaved.

I was we this is our second year in a row having them, um, and they were such a hit last year that um I think that was our number one request from the staff this year was to have the llamas.

So we were happy to have them, and they are cute, not my thing, but um we we had them nonetheless.

Um but the highlight of the afternoon, other than the llamas, was our staff um anniversary and milestone recognition, where we had a number of staff recognized for their length of service.

Um, we have some staff members who have been with us 30 and 35 years, um so it was an honor to recognize those that have been with us and those who have even been with us just a year.

Um we have a great group of staff, and it was great to bring everyone together, one of the few times a year that all of the staff can be together and see their colleagues that work at other locations.

Um that's the end of my written report, and I'm happy to answer any questions and and comments that the the board might have at this time.

Makes me want to pedal llama.

That was a great report.

Thank you so much.

Any questions from any directors?

Hearing and seeing none, we will move forward.

Item number five, obviously, we have a monthly financial report.

Um I trust that everyone has seen that and read that.

Any questions from directors on that item?

Hearing and seeing none.

We now move on to item number six, consent calendar.

We have four items on the calendar for um for consideration.

I'll move that one second.

So we have a first from Director Talamantes, the second from Vice Chair Maple.

Any comments from the public?

Hearing and seeing none.

Clerk, maybe please call the roll.

Roger Dickinson.

Aye, Karina Tolamantes.

Phil Pluckyball, Katie Maple.

Aye.

My Vang.

Yes, Phil Cerna, Patrick Kennedy, Richard Desmond, Rosario Rodriguez, Pat Hume, Mary Jane Lopez Taff.

Aye.

Rod Brewer.

Aye.

Kevin Spees.

Tim Reid.

Linda Budge.

Yes.

Noelle Mora.

Aye.

Vina Lefkovit?

Yes.

Nick Bloyce.

Aye.

And motion passes with 10 members voting.

Thank you, board.

Um, now we move on to item number seven.

We have no action items.

Item number eight, reports, ideas, questions from board members.

Are there any items from directors?

Hearing and seeing none.

Now we will uh actually we will depart into closed section session.

Uh we will and we will go on to recess.