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Thomas Memorial Library Trustees

Agendas June 18, 2009

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Agendas

Thursday, June 18, 2009 – 6:30 p.m.
  • Call to order
  • Approval of Minutes:
    Meeting of May 21, 2009
    Special Meeting of June 2, 2009
  • Phase III status
  • Other Business
  • Confirmation of next meeting:  Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 6:30pm
  • Adjournment

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Draft Minutes

In Attendance: Representing:
Nancy Marshall, Chair
Edward Nadeau, Secretary
Robert Chatfield, Jessica Sullivan and Nancy O’Sullivan TML Board of Trustees
Norman R. Jordan CE Historical Society
Anne Swift-Kayatta CE Town Council
Jay Scherma, Library Director Thomas Memorial Library
Absent:
Pat Bredenberg and Virginia Cantara TML Board of Trustees
Penny Olsen Former TML Trustee
Agenda:
1. Call to order: 6:34 P.M. Nancy Marshall, Chair
2. Approval of Meeting Minutes:
Motion: Accept minutes of the May 21, 2009 meeting
Result: Unanimously approved
Motion: Accept minutes of the June 2, 2009 special meeting
Result: Unanimously approved
3. Phase III, status:
o The hard copy of the Phase II final report was distributed to committee members.
o Phase III requires the consultants to complete a series of schematic drawings for Scheme B1(revised), a.k.a. the “clean slate” approach. However, the aforementioned schematics have not been completed in time for this meeting.
o It was determined that a “Special Meeting” is necessary to review and discuss the schematics for B1 (revised). Thursday, July 2nd was proposed. The time and date will be finalized upon completion of Committee member poll.
o The tentative calendar of milestone dates is as follows:
August 10, 2009 Submit the Committee’s Final Report to the Town Council.
September 3, 2009 Workshop with Town Council (perhaps in TML Community Room).
o Several funding ideas surfaced and were discussed briefly.
4. Other Business: (none)
5. Confirm meeting: “Special Meeting” July 2, 2009, 6:30pm date to be confirmed
Regular monthly meeting: Thursday, July 16, 2009 @ 6:30pm
6. Adjournment: 7:08 P.M.


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RFP Draft


TOWN OF CAPE ELIZABETH
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
THOMAS MEMORIAL LIBRARY
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND
DESIGN CONCEPT FOR A
LIBRARY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
" I hope that this will prove a little lighthouse of knowledge. I hope it will lead you to a life more intellectual, more elevated and more spiritual. I have built a lighthouse and furnished the lamp, but it is for you, inhabitants of Cape Elizabeth, to keep the lamp burning so that it shall shine over this town forever."
From Thomas Memorial Library Dedication Address
William Widgery Thomas Jr.
April 22, 1919

Table of Contents

Introduction 1
I. Background 2
II.A Description of the Town 2
II.B Description of the Library 3
III. Consultation for Needs Assessment,
Improvement Program and Conceptual Plan 4
PHASE I: Needs Assessment 4
PHASE II: Improvement Program 5
PHASE III: Conceptual Plan 6
IV. Qualifications for Consultants 6
V. Proposal Organization and Submission Requirements 7
VI. Criteria for Evaluation of Proposals 8



Introduction
The Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee, on behalf of the Town of Cape Elizabeth, is soliciting proposals for contracting with professional library consultants to conduct a Needs Assessment, define a Library Improvement Program and develop a Conceptual Plan based on the prescribed needs assessment and programmatic analysis.
Submission Date
Sealed bid proposals will be received at the Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Road, Cape Elizabeth, Maine 04107 c/o Jay R. Scherma, Library Director, until Friday, 21 March 2008 at 2 p.m. No faxes or email submissions will be considered. Postmarks will not be considered. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to insure that the proposal arrives on time and at the designated place. No proposals received after that date and time will be considered.
All proposals must be clearly marked on the envelope as follows: "BID PROPOSAL FOR LIBRARY CONSULTATION."
After a timely review of the proposals, two or more of the final candidates will be invited to make presentations and be interviewed by the Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee. A recommendation will then be made to the Town Manager and a contract for services will be drawn up as soon thereafter as is practicable.
The Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee and the Town of Cape Elizabeth reserves the right to select a consultant that best meets the RFP criteria regardless of low bidder, to waive any bid formalities, to reject any and all proposals, to re-advertise for bids, and to cancel procurement at any time it is deemed in the best interest of the Thomas Memorial Library and the town of Cape Elizabeth.
The library is not liable for any costs incurred by consultants prior to the award of a contract. The consultant’s response to the RFP will become part of the contract subject to negotiations.
For additional information contact Mr. Jay Scherma, Library Director, Thomas Memorial Library, 5 Scott Dyer Road, Cape Elizabeth ME 04107. Phone (207) 799-1720;
Email: jscherma@thomas.lib.me.us
Nancy H, Marshall, Chair
Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee

I. Background
On 10 October 2007 the Cape Elizabeth Town Council unanimously adopted a new Comprehensive Plan for the community. First among the Public Facilities Goals is a commitment to “continue the work of the last decade to assess, renovate and construct public facilities that make it possible to deliver the quality of services that residents expect and fund.” The first implementation step to address this goal was to “Appoint a committee to formally assess the physical plant and programming needs of the Thomas Memorial Library.”
On 5 November 2007 the Town Council approved the creation of the TML Study Committee, as follows:
The Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee is hereby created and is requested to accomplish the following:
• Recommend to the town manager a consultant to assist with library planning.
• Seek funding from the Thomas Memorial Library Foundation to assist with the study and provide funding recommendations for the study from existing library funds.
• Conduct a library needs assessment
• Define a library program projected to serve the patrons of the Thomas Memorial Library and the community of Cape Elizabeth for the next 30 years.
• Develop a conceptual plan for any proposed improvements to library facilities
• Include as part of the program and plan, an analysis of the opportunities to continue to utilize space for records preservation activities
• Recommend a funding plan for any proposed improvements including the potential for both private and public funding.
• Provide regular updates to the Cape Elizabeth Town Council and provide opportunities for public participation in the committee process.
• Develop a plan for any proposed rehabilitation of the structure and for any site changes.
• Provide a final report to the Cape Elizabeth Town Council no later than May 1, 2009.
II.A Description of the Town
Cape Elizabeth is a Southern Maine coastal community of 15 square miles located at the entrance to Casco Bay and five miles southeast of Portland, Maine’s largest city. Cape Elizabeth has a population of 9,068 according to the 2000 US census, and the projected growth for each forthcoming 10 year period will not exceed 2%. 16% of the population is 65 or older while 26% are 17 and under. 58% of the population is between the ages of 18 and 64.
Although the aging of the population will continue to be the dominant demographic force of the future, Cape Elizabeth is gaining a higher share of Baby Boomers and losing a greater share of its young people than the county (Cumberland) or the state. Although families comprise three-quarters of Cape Elizabeth’s households, the fastest growing group is people living alone, particularly the elderly.
Cape Elizabeth households earn the highest median income of any municipality in the state, with one in three earning more than $100,000 per year. Cape Elizabeth is the most educated town in the state, with the highest high school completion rate and the highest concentration of bachelor’s degrees than any other community. In a 2005 Telephone Survey undertaken for the Comprehensive Plan Committee 85% of the respondents indicated they were very satisfied with library services.

II.B Description of the Library
Thomas Memorial Library Mission Statement:
The Town of Cape Elizabeth has established the Thomas Memorial Library to provide a place where patrons, with the assistance of an experienced and helpful staff, can explore the wealth of human knowledge through a dynamic collection of printed material and related resources selected for the community.
The Thomas Memorial Library was founded in 1919 as a consequence of a donation from William Widgery Thomas Jr. The library consists of an historically significant former school house first built in 1849, another former school house built in 1859, the former Pond Cove School Annex constructed in 1912, various additions built in the 1950s and 1960s and a connecting link built in the 1980s. The library facility is approximately 13,250 sq. ft.
It is located in the Town Center. The site includes 40 parking spaces, including 3 spaces dedicated to handicapped parking.
The library is a department of the Town of Cape Elizabeth. The Town Manager appoints the Library Director in consultation with a seven-member advisory library Board of Trustees appointed by the Town Council. The current library budget totals $ 477,739 or $52.58 per capita.
The library collection includes approximately 30,000 adult materials and 22,800 juvenile/young adult materials. It has 25 adult reader seats, 12 young adult reader seats, 31 juvenile reader seats and 5 Parenting Area seats for a total seating capacity of 73. A meeting room which holds 80 people is used for storytelling as well as other purposes. The library staff (excluding city maintenance staff) totals 8.5 FTE. The library is open 55 hours per week.
The library annually circulates approximately 125,200 materials and offers year-round programming with an emphasis on children's services. The library participates in a cooperative automation network (MINERVA) with more than eighty other libraries, including public libraries, college libraries, and high-school libraries; the network uses the Innovative Interfaces automation program, which provides: cooperative cataloging; an integrated circulation/borrower registration system; a combined database of holdings; and on-line public access catalogs (OPACs).

III. Consultation for Needs Assessment, Improvement Program and Conceptual Plan
The Thomas Memorial Library has outgrown its existing library space. The library seeks a Consulting Team to conduct a three-phased study with recommendations to serve the patrons of the Thomas Memorial Library and the community of Cape Elizabeth for the next thirty years. The study will include:
PHASE I: Needs Assessment
1. Conferring with the Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee (which includes the Library’s Board of Trustees), library staff, town officials, Thomas Memorial Library Foundation Board members, Friends of the Library, community and business leaders, library users and others to be designated regarding present and needed services, finances, staffing, and library spaces and staff spaces.
2. Conferring with the Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee and the Library Director to solicit, compile, and analyze library reports, statistics, service data, library organization, etc. for the past five years with regard to finances, library budget allocations, materials holdings, staffing, circulation, reference/ information services, programming and related activities.
3. An analysis of the library's staffing, financing, expenditures, materials collection, state of Maine and Public Library Development Program (PLDP) annual statistics.
4. An analysis of the library with at least nine other comparable libraries in the state using PLDP performance measures.
5. Evaluation of several user-specific focus groups regarding library services. Focus groups to include: pre-school and K-5 parents and children; middle and high-school students; senior citizens; business and professional representatives. The Study Committee shall contact and arrange the focus groups. The Consultant(s) shall analyze and report the results and findings.
6. As part of this data gathering phase, the Study Committee will contract with a local firm to develop and conduct a random scientific telephone survey of adult residents. The Consultant will incorporate the findings of the telephone survey into the Needs Assessment draft report.
7. Assess the existing library in terms of site, size, structural stability, soundness, aesthetics, environmental sensitivity, electrical and mechanical systems, lighting, and compliance with ADA standards, functional layout, flexibility, and related criteria in terms of its useful life
Based on the above studies and data, Consultants shall prepare and submit a Needs Assessment draft report that incorporates the findings and proposes recommendations for:
? Phased recommendations with cost estimates for improving library services, finances, materials development, staffing, etc., over the next ten years.
? Library space needs for the near term and for the next thirty years.

PHASE II: Improvement Program
1. Upon approval of the Phase I Needs Assessment draft report, the Consultant will prepare and submit a draft report that incorporates the assessment’s evaluations and describes the space needed to carry out the program and how the major service areas should be functionally designed. In the process, the consultant will:
? Address the space and storage needs for current and projected patterns of the following: library users, staff functions, print and non-print collections, technologies, services to the community, and space enhancements
? Address possible creative community uses for the library, including but not limited to: book sales, lecture programs, music and dramatic performances, art displays, quiet and collaborative study areas, educational workshops, and similar concerns.
? Designate the name of each area, specify the square footage, and describe the functions that take place within the area
? Compare the actual and proposed assignable areas for public and staff use
? Include as part of the program an analysis of the opportunities to continue to provide space for the town of Cape Elizabeth’s historical records preservation activities
? Specify the number of occupants to be accommodated in each function area and the equipment, furniture and storage capacity to be housed in each area
? Describe the relationships of an area to other areas in the building and provide flow charts and diagrams and indicate priorities for proximity and distance between function areas.
? Detail the requirements for: acoustics, computers, internet connections, environmental controls, equipment, flexibility, lighting, furnishings, shelving, security systems, signage, energy conservation and green technologies for compliance with local, state, and federal regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other considerations.
2. Prepare a draft plan for the three alternative options to be evaluated.
1) Rehabilitation of the current structure, including but not limited to, rearrangement and/or renovation of the existing library.
2) Construction of new space in addition to renovation of the current structure.
3) Replacement of library, including construction of new building on the current site, on adjacent property, or at another location.
3. Each plan shall incorporate an assessment and evaluation including cost estimates for three alternative options and facilities to meet the library's thirty-year space needs

PHASE III: Conceptual Plan
Upon approval of the Phase II draft report proposing an Improvement Program and most effective site recommendation, the Consultant(s) shall develop a Conceptual Plan for any proposed improvements to library facilities and, especially, to building infrastructures comprised of two or three preliminary schematic floor plans of the expanded library for critique by the Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee.
The Consultant(s) shall prepare a final draft report incorporating the approved reports from Phases I and II, including the most effective schematic floor plan, and submit five copies of it in loose-leaf binders. A subsequent meeting will then be held with the Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee and others to review the final draft report. The final draft report shall recommend a funding plan for any proposed improvements including suggestions for the potential of both private and public funding.
Upon approval of the final draft report, the Consultants shall submit twenty-five (25) bound copies of the final report along with a "reproduction-ready" copy of the report and a computer disk with the report to the Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee. In addition, the Consultants shall present a formal summary presentation of the final report and recommendations to the Thomas Memorial Library Study Committee and the Town Council.
IV. Qualifications for Consultants
The Consultant(s) or consulting firm must include one principal member with a master's degree in library science from an ALA accredited institution, with at least five years practical and relevant experience in library administration, consulting, and planning. The Consultant shall provide evidence of at least three recent projects that incorporate library needs assessment and building planning with public library projects of a similar size.
The Consultant(s) or consulting firm must have knowledge of modern public library services, trends, and functions, current library furnishings/fixtures, and equipment industry and markets.
The Consulting group shall include a licensed architect with experience in planning public library buildings. The aforementioned architectural expert shall participate in the assessment of the three library alternatives and prepare the preliminary schematic floor plans.

V. Proposal Organization and Submission Requirements
A Final Report to the Cape Elizabeth Town Council is due no later than 1 May 2009. However, in order to be part of the final budgetary process for 2009-2010, the Study Committee seeks a Final Report and recommendations from the selected consultant and/or firm no later than 1 January 2009.
The proposal shall conform to the following outline and shall not exceed twenty-five (25) 8.5" X 11" typewritten, single-spaced pages: resumes and examples of related work are not included in the 25-page limit. The proposal shall include:
Overview /Scope of work To convey the Consultant(s) understanding of the study objectives and requirements.
Description of Consulting Team Provide listing of all team contractors and/or subcontrac¬tors with description of qualifications and experience.
Plan of work and technical approach A description of the proposed course and sequence of action or tasks including methodologies and a time-phased statement of project milestones.
Staff-time breakdown/proposed site visits A breakdown of the estimated staff time for each task outlined in the Plan of Work including proposed site visits with the chargeable rates for each staff person.
Staff availability A description of availability of consultant for meetings and consultations, including assisting with presentations to town bodies and the general public.
References Provide at least three references for similar studies; include a narrative summary of the study and name, address, and telephone number of person to contact.
Cost estimate The total inclusive proposed cost for accomplishing the work program. Include the name, title, address, and telephone number of individuals with authority to negotiate and contractually bind the company to a proposal.
Standard contract If you have a standard contract which covers the scope of services requested, please send it with the proposal but without cost figures.
Additional services Include a statement of how fees would be calculated if additional services not explicitly stated herein were required later in the process
Signature The proposal must be signed by a person authorized to negotiate and execute contracts on behalf of the Consultant(s) or company and must be binding for 60 days.
Submission requirements Please submit twelve copies of the proposal, in addition to a production-ready copy and a digital copy. Consultants or consulting firms shall be totally responsible for the cost of preparing and submitting the proposals.

VI. Criteria for Evaluation of Proposals
Consultant selection will be based using the following criteria (not in priority order):
1. The responsiveness, comprehension, and quality of the proposal in response to the RFP.
2. The technical quality of the work plan approach and methodology.
3. Experience and qualifications of the consultant(s) and other personnel assigned to the project.
4. Ability to document and present recommendations clearly, both orally and in written format.
5. Demonstrated knowledge of planning, management, interview, and evaluation skills, and experience in utilizing them.
6. References from previous clients regarding competency and satisfaction of completed work.
7. Proposed time schedule for the work described.
8. The proposed cost to perform the work described in Section III in relation to the other proposals received and relative to the number of hours of professional consulting services to be received and the overall expertise of the consulting personnel proposed to perform the work.
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Phase I Needs Assessment Report (Adobe's Acrobat Reader is required )

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Phase II Library Improvement Program Report (Adobe's Acrobat Reader is required )