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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-11-17 City Council (7)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATT.:FINANCE COMMITTEE FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY SERVICES DATE:NOVEMBER 17, 1998 CMR: 434:98 SUBJECT:PROPOSED JOINT CITY/SCHOOL PROJECT AT GUNN HIGH SCHOOL This is an informational report, and no Council action is required. BACKGROUND Included in the Palo Alto Unified School District’s (PAUSD) Building for Excellence, Measure B of 1995, was a proposal to remodel the Gunn High S~hool Library. At that time, it was perceived that this was an opportunity for the City and School District to develop this project jointly, and make the facility and services available to the community and students. The 1997-98 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) included funding to perform a feasibility study of such a joint project. In March 1998, a draft Library Master Plan was submitted to the City Council. The City/School District collaboration was addressed as a part of the Plan in the following statement: "The City and PAUSD may take the opportunity to develop a project at Gunn which demonstrates an innovative, technologically enabled information service or capability available for the community and students alike." DISCUSSION Since the Winter of 1998, PAUSD and City staffs have been meeting jointly to clarify scope of the project; understand the timing of building projects on the Gunn campus; learn about the new vision for the future of the PAUSD’S Gunn Library; outline requirements for a jointly operated facility.; review architectural siting issues, including parking and traffic configurations; and discuss collaborative and cost-effective student and community options for a joint service program. CMR:434:98 Page 1 of 2 From these meetings, the City and School District staffs have developed a proposal. Since the Gunn Library complex will have significant computing and audio visual resources available only to students and only during school hours, the concept of making these resources available with meeting spaces to create a "Community Media Center" open to the public (including students) after school and on weekends is being proposed. This concept is consistent with the draft Library Master Plan. On October 24, 1998, a community meeting was held at Gunn High’s Spangenberg Auditorium to explain the Media Center concept to the public and to generate input on the idea (see Attachment One). Approximately 60 people were in attendance and provided comments. While a report summarizing the feedback received orally and through a survey distributed at the meeting has not yet been received from the consultant, some key points made by several audience members were: A joint library needs to include books and other reading materials geared toall ages, not just high school curriculum needs, and have the facility open all day not just after school hours. Use of the multimedia capabilities in the building, and space for small and large training groups would be a plus, but it is not enough on its own. It would appear that community input suggests that a truly combined school/public library is desirable and could replace Terman Park Branch Library. This is in conflict with the draft Library Master Plan, which is awaiting review pending initiation of the new Library Advisory Commission. The City/School Liaison Committee met Wednesday, October 28, 1998, and after a lengthy discussion, Council Members Wheeler and Huber decided that the City Council needed to consider the issues in full and receive input from the community before acting on the City/PAUSD project. A staff report will be prepared describing the possible options and their implications for Council consideration. This staff report will be available in early January, and be agendized for discussion at the Council meeting of January 25, 1999. Attachment: A National Perspective of Changes Occurring in Public Libraries Department Head: City Manager Approval: PAUL THILTGEN D~~ C~ervices C,~t/y Manager ~-~ CMR: 434:98 Page 2 of 2 A National Perspective of Changes Occurring in Public Libraries New Buildings - New Technology Services Elizabeth (Bets) Barrett National Director of Instructional Division Meeks Technology Group Educational Technology Consultant Introduction The environment in which libraries operate is shifting dramatically. Accelerated change and realignment is the way of the future. Changes are coming so rapidly that exact strategies to deal with them must continue to evolve. Libraries have always been devoted to open access of recreational, informational, educational and cultural library materials and resources in response to the needs of the community. In the context of both official languages and the public’s freedom of access to information, they strive for: * timely access to accurate and useful information in a variety of formats and technologies * access to resources that allow independent life-long learning *access to enhanced local and global communications and information networks *access to recreational materials offering opportunities for the creative use of leisure time The Forces of Change THE LIBRARY IN TODAY’S WORLD Just as there are storytellers in an age of reading, there will be libraries in an electronic world. Old traditions will live on, paper will be stored. The thoughtful will still want to convene in reading rooms. But libraries should not be just pleasant relics. They should have an active role as a place to get information - particularly for those unable to afford computers, modems and the rest. There are several ways of trying to prevent the electronic age from widening the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots." Public libraries offer a good future choice, but a combined school and community technology rich library present aneven better solution. Librarians continue to discuss the tendencies of the changing library faced on both a national and local level. They are: 1. The user, its needs and information interests becomes the focal point for all library activity. 2. The main functions of the library remain unchanged, but turn partly into a new content and importance. The organization has to adapt. 3. The library has to cope with manifestations of new forms of information and communication as well as with the emerging new media. 4. The working processes and the distribution of the work inside the library and between libraries has to been changed and oriented towards the usage of the information. 5. The importance of library buildings and of central libraries is diminishing rapidly. 6. Information structuring, discovery, orientation and retrieval tools gain considerable importance. New tools have to be developed. The definition of and the characteristics of the "information unit" are changing. 7. User support and education turn into main tasks for librarians, but have increasingly to be carried out with computer aid, multimedia tools and as distance education. 8. Libraries have to deal with the organization and support of scientific publishing and need to improve their own publishing. 9. There is a need to develop completely new services and to integate them into appropriate traditional ones. 10. Mosi of the librarians are going to work as decentrally located information specialists. A close cooperation with experts on computing and information science is needed. 11. Library services and the performance of librarians is increasingly exposed to competition and judged according to cost-benefit measures. Completely new coalitions of "intermediaries in the information- and edutainment business" are developing with a need for tibrarianship qualifications. CYBERSPACE AND THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY: TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND OPPORTUNITY The convergence of computing and telecommunications technology has resulted in the creation of a new concept: that of virtual communities where people from widely separated geographical areas can come together through a computer network to share information about work, play, common interests and concerns. The limitations of physical place are being superseded by the notion of cyberspace, where networked communities can connect to each other in the twinkling of an eye through the high-speed, broadband channels known as the Information Highway. The key component of this "highway" is the Internet with the World Wide Web and other services. The Internet has been accompanied by an explosion of developments in other areas of information technology such as natural language searching, imaging, digitization, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, client-server computing and hypertext. This convergence means new possibilities for the development and delivery of information services in multimedia formats to an increasingly sophisticated clientele. These developments are having a profound influence on how a library functions. They also provide new opportunities for service delivery. The library without walls is beginning to exist, providing high-speed access services not only to its own collections, but also to information resources round the region, the country and the world through the Internet and other networks. A WORLD WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES Changes in information technology change what people can do in life. New technologies do not determine human fate, they alter the spectrum of potentials within which people act. The new information technologies significantly affect the matters that give ideas value in human activity - - their production, their storage, their transmission, and their intelligen.t processing. - - thereby transforming the range of options within which people will determine their lives. In both work and leisure, people will increasingly find that success turns on.using new forms of information and communication. Wealth creation, as well as full social participation, will require people to organize and use information, to create new knowledge, both personal and public. Therefore, it is imperative that the continued education in the 21 st Century must provide people with mastery of the intellectual and technical skills necessary to participate to their full potential. How will this technology facility enable the "new" library users to succeed? In its environment, they will be collaboratively focused on: 1.inquiry 2.innovation 3.design and engaged in: 1.producing new knowledge 2.ideas 3.and experiences. The new library will need to allow all learners to develop the skills required to interact with multimedia information access. It will need to allow for a multimode literacy involving video, audio, graphics, animation, and simulation, as well as text. Further, the library user will need to be able to acquire a more refined ability to handle the language of electronic inquiry. They will know where and how to formulate and frame their questions to obtain useful information and create empowering ideas. They will refine the capacity to produce new knowledge by discovering, selecting, and combining previously unrelated data in novel ways. * Libraries need more user-friendly spaces designed to support simple and quick connectivity to worldwide resources. This is a shift from the storage and organization of physical items. * A library staff must be highly computer-literate, with training in data manipulation and search techniques, as well as highly developed communication skills. * The Library must continue to foster a sense of community by participating in local and regional networks. * The Library’s role as a part of the social safety net will increase by using electronic resources to ensure that timely and accurate information is accessible to all citizens, regardless of economic or social standing * Outreach services for people with special needs can be enhanced by. the use of technologies such as speech synthesizers for assisting the visually impaired, interactive multimedia tutoring stations for improving literacy, numeracy or other skills and connections to remote sites for distance learning. * Greater equity of access can be achieved across the system through the establishment and maintenance of a high-performance network infrastructure linking all libraries. THE CHANGING CUSTOMER: A LIFELONG LEARNER Our traditional views on learning and work are constantly being challenged. People today face the reality of changing jobs several times in the course of their working lives. Adults everywhere are upgrading and expanding their skills - - in the workplace, in colleges and universities, in community learning courses, and in their homes. The key to this exciting world is to understand that learning - be it upgrading work skills, preparing for a new career, developing a hobby, or enriching our.personal lives - is a lifelong process. Learning technologies will play an integral part in this lifelong learning. Learning technologies can help citizens adapt to the new knowledge based economy. Th~ challenge for today’s lifelong learner lies in learning the potential and uses of these technologies - what they offer, how and where they can be applied and how to best. take advantage of them. Our nations populace is becoming more culturally diverse, requiring different services, formats and languages. We are finding new definitions for families and those families are becoming smaller. As government and business reduce and diversify their staffing levels, there are an increasing number of entrepreneurs and. home-based businesses that need information -fast. Outsourcing and individual contracting are becoming more popular. Workers are not only moving from civil service jobs to high-tech jobs but we are also seeing an increase of "McJobs" - lower paying jobs inthe service industries. Information resources are becoming more and more important to job seekers. Spaces in which they Can meet their clients and interact electronically mean the difference to their success or failure. The Libra., of the Future THE PEOPLE WE SERVE 1. Non-profits As it becomes more difficult for non-profit organizations to keep up with an ever changing technological world, the library spaces can answer many of their connectivity needs. Access to teleconferencing and Internet resources will allow them greater access to their members, and a much more timely way in which to disseminate information related to their organizations. 2.Small Businesses The small business community will be able to utilize the production and creation spaces and systems to their advantage in positioning themselves in a newer more electronic marketplace. They will be able to establish more timely and cost effective connections to other related small business organizations and services to ensure their success. 3.ESL Learners Many adaptive technologies exist that would allow second language citizens access to the global network, allowing them to not only learn about a new language and.culture, but to also remain connected to their heritage. Utilizing the teleconferencing and training capabilities of the spaces identified would surely hasten their comfort and adaptation. 4.Lifelong Learners and Tutoring All citizens are faced with the need to stay up to date with our changing world. As families change, as workers must seek new employment, as students discover a much broader world of information, they will all, undoubtedly, turn to technology as a part of the process. 5.Home Office Workers The "virtual office" is no longer a term reserved for the future. A growing number of workers have become home business entrepreneurs and/or telecommutors. Many, however can not hope to provide themselves with the spaces and systems that are provided by only the largest of companies. Having access to teleconferencing rooms, on- line services, and production and creation systems and spaces would be invaluable to them. Instead of relying on less than ideal restaurant settings, or sometimes costly hotel spaces and meeting rooms, they could utilize the new library spaces. 6.Community Groups with Training Needs The single biggest challenge facing corporate America, today, is that of staff development. How can they possibly stay one step ahead of the technology race? And, if it is so difficult for big business, how can the average household ever hope to stay current? New systems and spaces would allow for the "group" training on such electronic research challenges as electronic geneology searching, current tax law, medical research, and even landscaping your garden. THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE: Hours of Service Potential Cost Recovery - relationships with others Potential business equipment support On-going Expenses Ox~erall Project Costs Emerging Technology Spaces and Systems ELECTRONIC CAFES AND GENERAL ACCESS Much like the malt shop of the 50’s, a new space is emerging in the design of libraries. An electronic caf6 is simply a compact, very flexible and moveable specialized access point. It usually resembles a grouping of furniture configurations that replicate the "stand up counter" and the "booth" concept of the caf~. Electronically it is an area of high traffic and multimedia activity. It is a great place to quickly access email or sit in a grouping for an extended period of time to generate a home page of hold a desktop teleconference. Many libraries use it as a location to highlight other more formal training - - stations devoted to tax preparation in the spring, genealogy research, home page and desktop production activity. It reacts to the quick in quick out needs of the library patron. TRAINING SPACES OR FLEX LABS Creating and/or providing a space in which to train staff and community in larger groups is a must. When consideration is given to keeping the staff and community prepared as a group for electronic access a larger space or room must be provided for that use. It is imperative to rethink this space to make it as flexible and adaptive as possible. It must be able to allow for larger goup demonstration, teleconferencing, presentation, and general use. It must be placed in a way to be highly accessible and convenient to staff. TELECONFERENCING SPACES In a very untraditional way, teleconferencing should not be a "place" or special room devoted solely to that use, but a philosophy and system design that permeates the capabilities throughout the facility. Sufficient thought must be given to the facility and system design to allow for a broader range of application. With more sophisticated design strategies it is not only possible, but comparatively simple to provide teleconferencing at multiple access points. ELECTRONIC COMMONS Multimedia production and creation, computers, and an increase of more complex printing needs usually create an environment of havoc in the traditional library design. Replacing the traditional reference desk area with an area more suited to electronic access makes more sense. Placing the "people" assistance in a highly visible and cent.ral area allow the interaction between patron and staff to succeed. Placing this electronic commons in a sight path with the other areas of electronic supervision, allow for better assistance strategies and less stress on the part of the library staff. DIGITAL CREATION AND PRODUCTION SPACES While digital creation.and production can certainly occur at any desktop, the usual design consideration is not based on the "how can the technology be used" issue, but on the "how will people collaborate" in that creation and production. This area can be separated and enclosed, for sound protection, or it can become a sheltered and protected alcove type of design. Regardless, it will need to be very visual and convenient to staff members who might need to be assisting more than one user. COMMUNITY .MEETING FEASIBILITY OF AND NEEDS FOR A JOINT CITY/SCHOOL PROJECT AT GUNN LIBRARY Spangenberg Auditorium Gunn High School October 24, 1998 9 am - Noon AGENDA Welcome City of Palo Alto & Palo Alto Unified School District Representatives Introduction & Background of Project Chris Rich, Principal, Gunn High School Mary Jo Levy, Director of Libraries, City. of Palo Alto o National Perspective of Changes Occurring in LibrarieS: New Buildings & New-Techno!ogy Services Presentation by Elizabeth (Bets) Barrett, Meeks Technology Group, Cary, N.C. 4. Break New Gunn High School Needs Kristi Bowers, Gunn Librarian Compatible City Library Needs Diane R. Jennings, Manager, Main Library Services 7.Public Needs, Input, Reaction