HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 4318
City of Palo Alto (ID # 4318)
Policy and Services Committee Staff Report
Report Type: Meeting Date: 12/10/2013
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Renaming Main Library
Title: Discussion and Consideration of Recommendation to City Council on
Renaming of Main Library
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Library
Recommendation
Staff seeks direction as to how to select a new name for the Main Library, based on the motion
as stated in the Discussion section below.
Background
On August 23 and September 27, 2012, Library Advisory Commission (LAC) discussed
possibilities for renaming the Main Library and recommended “Rinconada” to tie into the
neighboring park while reflecting the history of the land grant name for that area. On June 13,
2013, the Palo Alto Historical Association Board reviewed the suggested change and confirmed
the historical accuracy and appropriateness of that name choice. Following the City’s
procedure for renaming resources, the LAC submitted the proposal to City Council for
consideration.
Discussion
At its September 9, 2013 meeting, City Council referred this issue to the Policy and Services
Committee for discussion, consideration, and further recommendation, with the following
City of Palo Alto Page 2
motion: “To refer this item to the Policy and Services Committee with directions that they work
with Palo Alto Historical Association to bring a recommendation to the City Council to rename
the Main Library for a distinguished person in Palo Alto history or recommend the continued
use of the name Main Library if an appropriate individual cannot be determined.”
The LAC and staff have no specific recommendations for naming, though have researched
possible issues:
The Palo Alto Library Foundation (PALF) created, with City Council’s approval, a naming
process to use for fundraising for the Measure N bond projects. This includes naming
rooms for large donations. In discussion with the PALF Board, they likewise could have
foreseen requesting a building be named for a particularly large donation to their
fundraising efforts, which benefit Downtown, Main, and Mitchell Park libraries,
specifically.
Past foundation requests for building support outside of the library fundraising have
included foundations which use the name(s) of influential figures in Palo Alto history.
These foundations have indicated that they have specific restrictions on the use of the
names; potentially selecting those names could create logistical problems for the name
change process.
Attached are documents related to the discussions, as well as the City’s policy regarding how to
change named resources.
Policy Implications
The item is now before Policy and Services for direction and action. Should the Council decide
to pursue renaming the library for a person of historical interest, they would need to override
the policy requirements, declining the recommendation from the LAC as well as the
endorsement by PAHA.
Resource Impact
City of Palo Alto Page 3
There will be impacts to costs related to print materials, though these are used less frequently
than in the past. Changing the name will require staff time as it relates to web-based
information and other promotional materials, though again, it is expected that this will be
relatively minimal. Signage for the renovated building is included in the Measure N budget and
these changes can be incorporated at this time.
Environmental Review (If Applicable)
This does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act. Therefore,
no environmental assessment is needed.
Attachments:
Attachment A: August 23, 2012 Library Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes and
Packet Information (PDF)
Attachment B: September 7, 2012 Library Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes and
Packet Information (PDF)
Attachment C: June 13, 2013 Email Correspondence from Steve Staiger, Historian, Palo
Alto Historical Association (PDF)
Attachment D: City Policy and Procedure 1-15, Naming City-Owned Land and Facilities
(PDF)
Attachment E: Palo Alto Library Foundation "Launch our Libraries" Naming Recognition
Schedule (PDF)
APPROVED
MINUTES
Library Advisory Commission (LAC)
August 23,2012
Downtown Library Community Room
270 Forest Avenue
7:00 p.m.
Commissioners Present: Leonardo Hochberg, Eileen Landauer, Bob Moss,
Theivanai Palaniappan, Mary Beth Train
Tolulope Akinola, Noel Bakhtian Commissioners Absent:
Staff Present: Monique Ie Conge, Evelyn Cheng
Council Liaison: Greg Schmid
CALL TO ORDER -Palaniappan called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS -None
AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS -None
BUSINESS
1. Approval of draft minutes of Regular Meeting on July 26,2012
• Without corrections, Train moved to approve minutes of Regular Meeting
on July 26,2012. Moss seconded. Minutes were approved unanimously.
2. Economic Impact of eBooks
• Ie Conge presented basic data for the collection development and use of
eBooks, started in Palo Alto in 2007, and the economic impact of providing
such in the Library, from the customers' view and on staffs ability to
provide services, and how to achieve greater success in the future.
• Additional documents were provided/referenced: e.g. American Library
Association's report on eBook Business Models for Public Libraries
(August, 2012); Library Journal's "eBooks Choices and the Soul of
Librarianship -the Digital Shift" (July 2012); Pew report "Libraries,
Patrons, and eBooks" (http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/06/22I1ibraries
patrons-and-e-books/)
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• Discussion followed, with members of the LAC asking
questions/clarification about the use of eBooks and the impact on libraries.
• Ie Conge said the Library offers access to four vendor databases for
online readable eBooks and one for downloadable ones. A comparison of
costs by vendor, including budgetary and statistical information can be
provided for continued discussion at the next LAC meeting in September.
3. Draft Library Statistics for FY2012
• Ie Conge prepared a draft of the statistics the Library has to date
regarding circulation, attendance, programs, and services, for the fiscal
year covering 2011-2012.
• Ie Conge added that the draft will not be considered complete until the
library submits its annual data to the California State Library and collection
counts, budgetary information, and other statistics will be included in that
final report.
• FY2011/12 highlights increase in customer use of library facilities,
materials and many services, in part due to the re-openings of the
renovated College Terrace Library in November 2010 and Downtown
Library in July 2011; increase in program activity with the new 60-seat
community meeting room at Downtown Library; and additional volunteer
opportunities at both renovated branches. Overall checkouts of library
materials increased 5.6%, branch visits increased 8.6%.
• Graphs comparing checkouts and visits at each branch library in the last
eight fiscal years (FY2005-2012) were also provided, to show the impact
of the various branch closings and re-openings during that time. In 2015,
the Library would have a full year of having all branches open and expects
to show significant impact on Palo Alto.
• Commissioners commended staff for increasing the number of programs
and new library cardholders, and asked questions/clarification about the
various data collected.
• Schmid said it would be helpful to include 2009 statistics since all Palo
Alto libraries were open that year and use that as a standard for
comparison. Ie Conge said she will have these available at the
September meeting.
• Palaniappan asked about meeting room reservations at Downtown Library
and allowing customers more flexibility to make reservations. Currently,
the public can make reservations three days in advance. Ie Conge said
she will have staff look into changing the policy.
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• Hochberg asked if it would be possible to collect the data use at each
library branch and include this in the Library's annual data collection;
Ie Conge said she will check with the City's IT department.
• leConge also provided two weeks of use statistics on Freega/ and
Discover and Go, the Library's most recently-added online services.
(Freegal is a new music download service; Discover and Go provides
free and discount passes to a wide variety of Bay Area museums and
other cultural destinations)
4. Possible Name Change for Main Library
• Ie Conge prepared materials related to the history of the naming of
Main Library as requested by the LAC at the July 2012 meeting .
.. Clipping files from 1955 and 1958 were i!1c1uded, showing in essence
that the Main Library was named for its function at the time.
• Discussion followed, with members of the LAC giving
comments/suggestions for possible name change for the library and
asking questions about origin of some names (e.g. Rinconada, Newell,
Embarcadero, neighborhood name of Community Center), the
process, if any, for naming City-owned land and facilities, and how this
was handled in the past.
• Ie Conge said she will find out from Steve Staiger, local historian and
librarian, where some of the names come from, and invite him to the
September meeting to answer additional historic questions from the
Commission.
• Moss said since the names of other branches in Palo Alto are location
related, it would make sense to keep that approach.
• Ie Conge will put together a list of names with their historical
perspective for further discussion at the September meeting. As part
of the discussion, the Commissioners agreed that it would be helpful to
get a better understanding of the Rinconada "campus" idea and the
corresponding signage plan to help inform their decision regarding
choice of names.
5. LAC Priorities
a) LAC ByLaws (member: Moss)
Moss provided a revised draft of the proposed revisions to the LAC
ByLaws, incorporating the comments/recommendations from the
City Attorney's Office.
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Commissioners asked for clarification on Section 6 -Agendas,
specifically on the preparation of agenda items, i.e. if other
Commissioners can provide input/suggestion outside the public
meeting.
- A clean copy of the LAC ByLaws will be provided at the next meeting
for the LAC's final review and adoption, and the City Attorney's
clarification on Section 6.
b) Community Relations/Advocacy (members:Train, Bakhtian)
-Train presented the subcommittee's updated presentation
template/talking points that can be used as a tool to promote library
awareness and the role of the Commission to the community, including
sample elevator pitches.
Members of the LAC gave feedback and asked questions about
various slides in the presentation, and agreed to continue their
review/discussion at the next meeting in September.
Since Bakhtian has resigned from the Commission and is moving to
another state, Hochberg offered to help Train revise the presentation
template.
c) Finance (members: Landauer, Palaniappan)
Landauer gave a brief update of the subcommittee's research work
and web browsing. She also met with staff to discuss plans and
directions for services, technology and staffing when Mitchell Park
opens.
Landauer added that she has an idea on how the subcommittee can
move ahead but will need to discuss this first with Palaniappan to see if
this is the right path to pursue, as well as with Ie Conge to see if their
plan fits within the overall long-term vision of the library.
Discussion to continue at the next LAC meeting in September.
d) Virtual Library (members: Akinola, Hochberg)
Hocberg said the subcommittee intends to work with staff on the mock
up of the virtual branch soon.
LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Ie Conge provided a written report (included in packet) on recent activities of
interest in August, and made special mention of the following events:
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-August 27, An Evening with Tomi Reichenta/, 7 p.m., Downtown
Library. Reichental is a Holocaust survivor and will share the story of
his past.
November 2-4,2012 California Library Association (CLA) Annual
Conference, San Jose, CA, with Jonathan Reichental as CLA Master
Speaker.
OTHER REPORTS
Commissioner reports and questions:
1. Moss gave a brief background on Cable Co-op's "Nine Libraries Project" in
2004 and a status update on the grant awarded to Palo Alto Library, where
public dollars are being used effectively for the purchase of technical furniture
and equipment in libraries.
2. Moss said the Friends of the Palo Alto Library (FOPAl) Board did not meet in
July; Train attended the Palo Alto Library Foundation (PAlF) Board meeting
held on August 14.
Council Liaison Report:
Schmid said he uses the Library's services and resources to entertain his
grandchildren when they visit and/or go on long trips.
COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Marissa Moss, author and daughter of Commissioner Moss, will be participating
in the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center's Litquake (literary festival)
event on August 26.
Hochberg said he was pleased to see more children using the kids' area at
Downtown Library and cannot wait until Mitchell Park Library opens.
AGENDA for meeting on September 27,2012:
The items suggested for the meeting are:
• Continuing discussion: Economic impact of eBooks
• Continuing discussion: Possible name change for Main Library
• Information on Google Cloud Print
• Presentation on Axis 360
• Updates from lAC Subcommittees
Train moved to adjourn.
THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 9:38 p.m.
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LOBRARY
PALO ALTO CITY
August 16, 2012
TO: Library Advisory Commission
FROM: Monique Ie Conge, Library Director
RE: Main Library, Naming Information
At the July 2012 Library Advisory Commission meeting, I was asked to
prepare material related to the history of the naming of Main Library in
preparation for a discussion on the matter. At the January 2012 joint
meeting with the City Council, it was suggested that perhaps changing
the name could be considered in the near future, coinciding the building
construction projects and I believe this was suggested by Council member
Klein earlier than that. This was mentioned again by Ned Himmel at the
July 2012 LAC meeting. This information is presented with the assistance of
Kathy Shields and Anita Delaney, both Senior Librarians at Main Library,
and Steve Staiger, local historian and librarian.
In essence, Steve Staiger ascertained from his clipping files that Main
Library came about its name without much thought or discussion. It seems
that it was named for its function at the time. The two articles attached
reference the "main library" and the "Main Library." Apparently, the
original Carnegie library was the main library in Palo Alto. Then, the city
built a new larger facility, which was to act as the new main library.
One interesting side note is that a planning consultant for the library
thought that one large library would meet the Palo Alto community
needs. He also thought the library should be built with the population of
85,000 in mind, though made no formal recommendation.
An October 1957 report prepared by the City Manager's Office, titled
"Library Facilities in the Downtown Palo Alto Area" likewise calls the
Carnegie building the main library and discusses the new planned facility,
to be called a main library, with the Carnegie building to become the
"downtown" library. This information is likewise conveyed in Palo Alto and
Its Libraries: A Long-Time Love Affair, by Tom Wyman. These documents
will be available at the August LAC meeting.
Please let me know if you require any additional information.
. ·r
APPROVED
MINUTES
Library Advisory Commission (LAC)
September 27,2012
Downtown Library Community Room
270 Forest Avenue
7:00 p.m.
Commissioners Present: Leonardo Hochberg, Eileen Landauer, Bob Moss,
Theivanai Palaniappan, Mary Beth Train
Tolulope Akinola, Noel Bakhtian Commissioners Absent:
Staff Present:
Council Liaison:
Monique Ie Conge, Evelyn Cheng, Greg Betts
Greg Schmid
CALL TO ORDER -Palaniappan called the meeting to order at 7:22 p.m.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS -A member of the public spoke about his idea to
have library used as incubator space, tapping into the City's vibrant network.
AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS -Item marked as "7e" in the
LAC packet should go with "7d".
BUSINESS
1. Approval of draft minutes of Regular Meeting on August 23,2012.
• Without corrections, Hochberg moved to approve minutes of Regular
Meeting on August 23, 2012. Train seconded. Minutes were approved
unanimously.
2. Continuing Discussion: Possible name change for Main
• Following the August 2012 LAC meeting, Ie Conge invited Steve Staiger,
local historian, and Greg Betts, Director, Community Services Department
(CSD), to the meeting to provide additional information that would be
useful in the LAC discussion regarding choice of names for the library.
• Staiger provided a historical perspective of some of the possible names
for Main Library, their meaning, origin and/or historic nature of the name,
e.g. Rinconada, Newell, Embarcadero and Community Center.
• Betts gave a brief discussion on the intent of CSD's Rinconada signage
plan and way-finding program, with the increasing awareness of
Rinconada Park as a kid-centric campus. Betts said after consideration of
several names, the direction is heading to branding the area as
"Rinconada Cultural Park" but the process requires numerous steps,
including the review/approval by the different Boards and Commission
(e.g. Architectural Review Board and the Historic Review Board).
• Discussion followed, with members of the LAC providing comments and
asking questions about project timeframe, placement of signage, and how
best to integrate the Main Library and Art Center to the area, as well as
possible names the Commission should consider for renaming the facility.
• Landauer presented a file she received from an individual while asking the
community about their opinion on a new name for the Main Library.
Included in the file were names of Palo Alto neighborhoods and fire
stations at parks, and a proposed solution to have the remodeled facility
be integral to Rinconada Park.
• Commissioners agreed that the name "Rinconada" has historical value, is
consistent with the area and would tie in well.
• MOTION: Moss moved, Train seconded
"The LAC recommends to City Council, when Main Library's
renovation is complete, to rename the facility 'Rinconada
Library' ."
• Discussion followed, with Commissioners expressing their preference to
keep the Motion to renaming the facility only and to leave the effective
date unspecified to give it more flexibility.
• AMENDMENT: Landauer moved, Train seconded
Removing from the Motion "when Main Library's renovation is
complete"
Amendment Passed: 4-1 (Moss opposing)
MOTION, as Amended, passed, 5-0.
• Ie Conge said the City has a policy for naming city-owned land and
facilities, which establishes criteria to guide Commissions in
recommending names to the Council for approval. "The commission shall
conduct a public hearing, confirm that the recommended name meets the
criteria of appropriate significance, select recommendation(s) provided by
the Historical Association, and shall forward its recommendation to the
City Council." (Policy and Procedures 1-15/MGR)
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• Staff will confirm with the City Clerk's Office on next steps to move the
LAC's recommendation forward.
3. Presentation on Axis 360 -Amy Glaza, Baker & Taylor
• Ie Conge announced that Agenda item no. 3 will be re-scheduled since
presenter, Amy Glaza of Baker & Taylor, was unable to come to the
meeting.
4. Additional Information: Draft Library Statistics for FY2012
• Following Councilmember Schmid's suggestion at the August meeting,
staff prepared updated statistics for FY2009, FY2011 and FY2012.
FY2009 is the last year that all five Palo Alto branch libraries were open.
• Commissioners appreciate seeing the numbers and noted that customer
visits and checkout of materials held up very well even when libraries
closed. However, reference and database searches as well as public PC
sessions have gone down.
• Ie Conge said that going forward, statistical information on basic upper
level elements (e.g. circulation, visitor counts, program attendance) will be
provided to the LAC on a quarterly basis. Statistical highlights are posted
on the Library's website and will be included in the City's new Open Data
platform soon.
5. Continuing Discussion: Economic Impact of eBooks
• To broaden the discussion of eBooks and economic impacts, staff
provided a comparison of eBook costs versus book costs, and developed
comments regarding actions and future thinking about eBooks, as well as
articles of interest.
• Discussion followed, with members of the LAC providing comments,
asking clarification and questions about costs/pricing, advantages of
providing eBooks, and limits to checkouts. Commissioners noted the high
cost of purchasing eBooks as compared to book costs.
• Ie Conge said that there are changes on a day-to-day basis and staff will
continue to keep the LAC informed and updated on eBooks and its impact
on libraries.
6. 2012 LAC's Joint Meeting with City Council
• The LAC agreed to schedule their joint meeting with City Council at the
start of 2013 when new Council members are on board and libraries are
set to close and/or open.
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• Staff will check with the City Clerk's Office on available dates in the
January/February timeframe and advise the Commissioners.
• Priority setting for the joint meeting with City Council will be discussed at
the next LAC meeting.
• Hochberg said several years ago, the LAC Chair and Vice Chair had an
informal dialogue with Council Members Elect on library issues -this was
part of the Commission's outreach activities which he felt was effective
and helpful.
7. 2012 LAC Priorities
• The subcommittees presented thejr final update/report to close out their
work, following the 6-month term for special committees and to be
consistent with the policy and procedures established by City Council.
Community Relations/Advocacy (members: Train, Bakhtian)
-The LAC Advocacy template was revised, incorporating the comments
and recommendations from the Commissioners, and Train will provide
the final draft at the October meeting.
Finance (Landauer, Palaniappan)
-The focus was narrowed to evaluating options for pilots at Mitchell
Park to highlight and assist with planning for staffing and funding
issues at the time all branches are open. The subcommittee
recommends when Mitchell Park and Temporary Main open, staff
should continue to evaluate and pilot services that may have minimal
funding impacts by either utilizing volunteers or by tapping into private
funding sources.
Virtual Library (members: Akinola, Hochberg)
-Hochberg and Akinola will continue to interact with staff and work on
finalizing the identification of issues before moving forward with
establishing a special committee.
ByLaws (member: Moss)
-After final review of the ByLaws
MOTION: Moss moved, Hochberg seconded
"the LAC adopt the ByLaws as presented."
Motion passed, 5-0.
• 2013 LAC Priorities. Commissioners agreed to table this item for the
October meeting.
LIBRARY DIRECTOR'S REPORT
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Ie Conge provided a written report (included in packet) on recent library activities
of interest in September, as well as follow-up on items previously
discussed/requested by the LAC, which include
Request for Information (RFI) process before selecting an
Integrated Library System (llS) will start in January 2013.
Google Cloud Print is available at the Mitchell Park Library, for up
to 15 pages per Google account per day. Google provides all the
necessary supplies.
LiquidSpace reservations have been extended to 7 days in
advance.
-Wifi data use cannot be tracked currently, but may be possible
when city-wide upgrades to a standardized system is completed.
OTHER REPORTS
Commissioner reports and questions:
• Moss expressed his concern about the construction progress report for
Mitchell Park Library and the media broadcasting system at Downtown
Library which is still not fully functional.
• Moss attended the September 12 Friends of the Palo Alto Library (FOPAl)
Board meeting; Train announced that the Library Foundation Board did not
meet this month, a retreat is planned early next year.
Council Liaison Report:
Schmid addressed Moss' concern about the status of the Mitchell Park
construction project and mentioned some of the highlights in Staff Report #3125
(Mitchell Park Construction Contract Bi-Monthly Report).
COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Ie Conge said the City Clerk's Office is asking the LAC's help in recruiting
applicants interested in serving in one unexpired term ending January 31,
2014 (Bakhtian's).
• Library has a new subscription service called Credo Reference which is a
great resource for students working on special projects. Topic pages pull
together links to Palo Alto library books, full text magazine articles and news
and images to complement projects.
AGENDA for meeting on October 25,2012:
The items suggested for the meeting are:
• 2012-13 LAC Priorities
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• Presentation on Axis 360
• Joint Meeting with City Council
Hochberg moved to adjourn.
THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 10:37 p.m.
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LOBRARY
PALO ALTO CITY
September 13, 2012
TO: Library Advisory Commission
FROM: Monique Ie Conge, Library Director
RE: Naming Information, Main Library
Following up on the August 2012 LAC meeting, I've asked Steve Staiger to
find some answers for you based on your question, regarding possible
names for Main Library. Here are his notes:
Rinconada comes from the Spanish for elbow or inside corner. The land
upon which the original Palo Alto town was developed was originally part
of the Rancho Rinconada del Arroyo de San Francisquito land grant. The
Park name came from a contest held by the Chamber of Commerce to
rename the City's Waterworks Park in the mid 1920's.
Newell is named for Dr. Newell, an early resident of the area, who bought
land in the 1860's from the Soto/Greer family. His home is today the oldest
home in Palo Alto, located on Edgewood near Newell Road (Zuckerberg
is the current owner).
Embarcadero Road (rough Spanish of "road to landing") is the name for
the path that led to the small boat landing on San Francisquito Creek
where Capt. John Greer sailed in the early 1850's and found his love,
Maria Soto). Present day Newell Road was once part of the
Embarcadero as it turned left and led to the landing located just
downstream of the present-day Newell Bridge.
Community Center: I'm not sure of how this name came about, but my
guess is that Carol Blitzer of the Palo Alto Weekly may have had
something to do with it. Prior to the Weekly's series of articles on various
P A neighborhoods there were neighborhoods without accepted names.
In order to cover the entire community, Carol gave names to
neighborhoods that did not have common or officially accepted names.
This may be one of those names of 15 -20 years ago. The area was
originally called Alba Park back in the first decade(s) of the 20th century
when that was the name of the subdivision being promoted just outside
the original town of Palo Alto.
Cheng, Evelyn
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Staiger, Steve
Thursday, June 13, 2013 1:45 PM
Cheng, Evelyn
rename of Main Library
The Palo Alto Historical Association board met yesterday and discussed the proposed renaming ofthe Main Library. The
board agreed that the proposed new name (Rinconada) is historically appropriate for the library on Newell Road and will
support its adoption.
Steve Staiger
Palo Alto Historical Association
Landmarks and Streets Committee, chair
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