draft 2020 Annual Report — original pdf

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Annual Internal Review This report covers the time period of 7/1/2020 to 6/30/2021 Library Commission Mission Statement: The Library Commission shall make recommendations to the city council on matters relating to the establishment, maintenance, and operation of the public libraries. City Code Section 2-1-150 1. Describe the board’s actions supporting their mission during the previous calendar year. Address all elements of the board’s mission statement as provided in the relevant sections of the City Code. Unfortunately, during this reporting period, Austin was under strict quarantine guidelines due to the Covid -19 pandemic as a result of the Governor’s Covid-19 Disaster Declaration and the City of Austin’s quarantine guidelines. This seriously impacted the Commission’s normal activities. a. Commissioners served as liaisons to branches within their respective council districts. b. Commissioners informed their respective City Council members about major issues facing the library. c. Commissioners were briefed about the library operations so as to be able to answer questions from the City Council members and their constituents. • Austin History Center Association Update • Proposed Budget for FY21 Update • Student Library Card Initiative • Covid-19 Operations • Proposed Budget for FY22 Update Annual Review and Work Plan 2020/2021 • Non-Resident Fees • APL Investigative Audit Report • Reopening Phase 3 – Curbside Service d. Commissioners met remotely from July 2020 through June 2021 due to the Governor’s Covid-19 Disaster Declaration and the City of Austin’s Covid-19 quarantine guidelines. Due to all the branches being closed during this time period, Commissioners were unable to visit the branches. e. Commissioners did use the curbside services and were impressed with the timely and courteous service of staff and were also impressed with the eBooks selection. Commissioners were also able to participate in the Virtual Holiday Craft Crawl in December and complimented staff on the great job of explaining the different crafts which made it fun. f. Due to a major reduction in library operations, Commissioners met remotely only six times during this time period. g. Commission Chair responded to questions from the community and from local media. h. Commissioners reviewed and passed two recommendations: • APL Commission Recommendation 20210426-5b: Support for Austin Public Library Proposed Budget for FY22 • APL Commission Recommendation 20201217-3a: Support for Equitable Access to Austin Public Library Resources for Students 2. Determine if the board’s actions throughout the year comply with the mission statement. As outlined in the previous question, all actions comply with the mission statement. 3. List the board’s goals and objectives for the new calendar year. In light of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and the Governor’s Covid-19 Disaster Declaration and the City of Austin’s Stage 3 guidelines to address this pandemic, the goals and objectives for the new year are limited. a. Using the City Council districts; commissioners will continue to be assigned specific branches and serve as liaisons to those branches. b. Commissioners will continue to inform their respective City Council member about major issues facing the library. Annual Review and Work Plan 2020/2021 c. Commissioners will be well informed about system wide Library operations; they will be prepared to answer questions about the Central Library, the Austin History Center, and the Austin Public Library Branches.