Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution Authorizing the City Manager and the Library Director to accept a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) CopyCat grant award from the California State Library to receive $19,320 for the Library to purchase equipment and provide training to establish a Memory Lab.
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the City Council adopt a resolution to agree to the terms set forth in the CopyCat grant award agreement from the California State Library (CSL) to the San Leandro Public Library (Library), which runs from January 2022 through August 2022, whereby the Library would receive $19,360 for purchasing equipment and supplies to:
(1) build a Memory Lab at the Main Library and
(2) purchase additional equipment for use at the Museum and at community sites.
Staff further recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute all documents and appropriate the funds.
BACKGROUND
A. The California State Library is the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature. It has an extensive collection of documents from and about the State’s rich history and is one of the major genealogical reference libraries on the West Coast. It also directs state and federal funds to support local public libraries and statewide library programs and services. The State Library’s CopyCat Grant program is a competitive, small-grant program that enables libraries to duplicate successful projects of other California public libraries, helping libraries easily implement tried-and tested-programs. CopyCat grants are Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants that are federally funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and are awarded by the State Library to eligible California libraries.
B. History: The Library has received many grant awards from the California State Library, including a previous CopyCat grant to create a craft program for adults (Summer 2019) and an LSTA virtual programming grant for children (Summer 2021).
C. Current Programs: Under this CopyCat grant award ending August 2022, the Library would create a Memory Lab at the Main Library and a mobile Memory Lab as part of the City’s Sesquicentennial programming efforts. While some people can come to the Library, those who can’t easily get to the Main Library will have opportunities to engage the Memory Lab by bringing a mobile version to places like churches, senior living facilities, or the San Leandro Senior Center, for example. A Memory Lab is a space for free do-it-yourself digitization of photos, documents, audiovisual recordings, and other formats. It provides Library staff and patrons with guidelines, tools, and training for personal analog and digital archiving. The Memory Lab will include equipment purchased by Library staff based on the Memory Lab model plus community input; training for staff, volunteers and patrons on how to use the equipment; and establishment of operating hours for the Memory Lab space in the San Leandro History Room in the Main Library starting in June 2022. The Library will receive $19,360 total for equipment, supplies, and translation services. The result of the Memory Lab will be a way for the Library and Museum to connect with the community to save shared history; to develop a digital preservation workstation that meets the transfer needs of their community collections; for community members of all ages to learn how to organize, digitize, and share their family collections; and to expand the photographs and documents held by the Library and Museum to reflect the diverse makeup of the people in San Leandro.
D. Funding: The State Library will provide the Library payment of $19,360 upon execution of the grant agreement for the activities and costs specified in the approved award application. $14,360 is for supplies/materials; $3,000 is for services related to making Memory Lab training available in Spanish and Chinese; $1,760 are for indirect costs. The Library is required to spend all the funds of the grant award by August 2022.
The grant award is earmarked and to be solely used for the Memory Lab activities and equipment. All expenditures are tracked by a Senior Librarian and reported to the State Library in quarterly and final reports.
• Funding through the grant must be spent according to the award agreement (see ATTACHMENTS titled GRANT AWARD LETTER 40-9281_San Leandro_Memory Lab and AWARD AGREEMENT 40-9281_San Leandro_Memory Lab).
If approved, the funding through the grant award will enhance City Council approved Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Library operating budget.
Fiscal Impacts
This Memory Lab will cost $19,360, which requires increasing the FY 2021-2022 budget by the same amount for the Library and will be funded by the California State Library LSTA CopyCat grant through a one-time payment to the City for the award obligation totaling $19,360. This award requires no matching funds from the City and will be awarded in full, not as a reimbursement. Staffing will be in-kind.
Budget Authority
All expenditures will be captured in account 150-68-014 and off-setting revenues will be deposited into account 150-3607.
Attachment(s) to Staff Report
• AWARD AGREEMENT 40-9281_San Leandro_Memory Lab
• GRANT AWARD LETTER 40-9281_San Leandro_Memory Lab
• LSTA IN FULL Pmt Claim LS-21
PREPARED BY: Brian Simons, Library Director, Library Department and Kelly Keefer, Senior Librarian, Youth Services