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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 03/15/2018 Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting March 15, 2018 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, March 15, 2018 in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, 515 Douglas Avenue, with Acker, Barchman, Butler, Glatz, Kluesner, Linch, and Rohret in attendance. Briese arrived later and Marshall was excused. Library Director Carey and staff members Alissa Hawes and Mary Logsdon were also present. Call to Order: Board President Acker called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Consent Agenda: Moved by Glatz, seconded by Butler, to approve the following items on the consent agenda: 1) Resolution accepting donations: a) In memory of Evon Bailey from i) Paul Anderson ............................................................................................ $50.00 ii) Dorothy Bailey, Susan Langstaff, and Karen Schaapveld ........................... $30.00 iii) Betty and Tom Barton ................................................................................. $20.00 iv) P. Jeffrey and Frances Berger .................................................................... $25.00 v) Deborah and Mark Blaedel ......................................................................... $20.00 vi) Jim and Lori Eldridge .................................................................................. $10.00 vii) Jane and Gerald Kennedy .......................................................................... $50.00 viii) Loraine Safly ............................................................................................... $15.00 ix) Laura Shanks ............................................................................................. $25.00 x) Jan Eldridge Sorenson ............................................................................... $10.00 b) In memory of Janet Klaas from i) Paul and Marlaine Domoto ......................................................................... $30.00 ii) Margaret and Dan Jaynes ........................................................................... $25.00 iii) Erwin Klaas............................................................................................... $500.00 iv) Diane and Greg Nelson .............................................................................. $10.00 v) Clay and Ann Pierce ................................................................................... $50.00 vi) Helen and Robert Rod ................................................................................ $24.00 vii) Story County Soil & Water Conservation District Commissioners ............... $40.00 c) From anonymous patron in thanks for AARP Tax Aide help ............................. $75.00 d) From ISU Women’s Club .................................................................................. $70.00 2) Motion approving minutes of the regular meeting of February 15, 2018 3) Motion approving payment of claims 2/1/18 – 2/28/18 Vote on Motion: 7-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L006 adopted. Public Forum: None. Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) Report: Acker reported that Literary Grounds had income of $3,400 last month and the previous weekend’s book sale brought in over $8,000. The April 15 Author Café is sold out, with an expanded number of tickets having been made available. Trustee Butler said that March was the last meeting for Acker and Ana McCracken was nominated to take the position being vacated by Jennifer Garst. Art Committee Report: Acker showed a slide of a piece of art made of cast and stained aluminum and glass, measuring about 25 inches by 20 inches by 18 inches, that she had seen exhibited in the Palm Springs Library. The work, called Personal Spaces, depicted two persons 2 perusing library books. Acker said it was the last in series of library pieces by American Artist Lucy Lyon. Acker said the Art Committee was positively disposed toward purchasing it for APL, but it carries a $30,000 price tag. She said the purchase could be made in three installments, if the Board were interested in pursuing it. Briese arrived at 7:05 pm The trustees found the subject matter and design appealing, but noted that the Library does not have any other art work valued this high. The Library would not purchase a piece with the intent of making an investment or selling it later, and if it were to be part of the permanent collection, it would need to be mounted on some sort of pedestal, lighted, and protected. Ongoing maintenance and security could become issues. The question of whether there might be any local artists who could create something similar was also raised, as their works are to be given preference according to the Library’s policy. It was suggested that a purchase such as this would only make sense if it were done on the private side. At the direction of the Board, for example, APLFF could see if people were interested in donating to purchase a special piece that held significance and then commemorate it at a special event. No action was taken. Carey stated that the original artwork from Stewart Buck had been delivered and a reception will be held on May 16 at 7 p.m. in the Farwell T. Brown Auditorium. Refreshments will be served and Mr. Buck will do a presentation and show a four-minute video on the concept and creation of the work. She said he did a lot of research into the subject matter and the piece is historically accurate. The unveiling will take place in the Heritage Room, where the piece will be hung. Carey said that Mr. Buck now lives in Ankeny, but grew up in Ames. Director Evaluation Committee Report: Trustee Rohret said that the committee had met with Carey on Monday and her evaluation would take place under New Business. Administrative Staff Report: Carey said that Julia Slocum and Kate Oltman were hired as clerks in Customer Account Services and four new youth/teen interns were hired; the Human Resources Intern helped conduct interviews with staff. A new student who is working his Master’s degree at the University of Missouri will be working 130 hours over the summer for his practicum. He is interested in teen programming and met with the Teen Librarian. Fiscal Year 2016/17 statistics from the Iowa Urban Public Library Association (IUPLA) were distributed, showing how the libraries compared amongst themselves. Carey pointed out that Ames had far higher figures for volunteers and programming than the others, especially considering the population. She said that Cedar Rapids has an interesting arrangement with two social workers who go to the library three days a week and use library space to meet clients. It is helpful to those who need services, provides the social workers a way of reaching people who can’t meet in their offices, and expands the services the library is able to offer. She also related that Davenport Public Library is planning a pub crawl in April, after hearing about APL’s. Staff Development Day took place in February; Glatz and Barchman were able to attend. Responses about and from the presenter were good. In-house experts also presented that day: Cathy Cooney spoke about services to the homeless; the Safety Team offered updates; and the Budget Team gave its presentation to staff. Trustee Glatz said he had run into the presenter after Staff Day and she told him how impressed she was with staff’s level of engagement and the Library’s overall commitment to the concepts of empathy and creating a welcoming environment. 3 Carey said that February was a banner month for programming. She said transformation could be seen taking place in the room during some of the Black History Month events. She personally saw tears and witnessed hour-long conversations that were held afterwards. She said March promises to be just as engaging—Page One is a full six pages long. Board Education: Director Carey, along with Adult Services Manager Mary Logsdon and Resource Services Manager Alissa Dornink Hawes, shared the budget presentation they had given to the City Council in February. The team used an American Library Association theme, “Libraries Transform,” to structure the presentation and demonstrate how the library can play a transformative role for citizens who use it. They spoke about highlights from last year, ongoing and upcoming activities, and funding requests shown on pages 184 through 199 of the City’s Draft 2018/19 Program Budget, and how they relate to APL Strategic Plan Initiatives such as: • strengthening the relationship with ISU Community; • ensuring excellent customer service; • developing welcoming and accessible destinations; • engaging community members; • encouraging early literacy skill development; • cultivating program partners; • curating responsive collections and programs; • advancing digital literacy; and • exploring streaming services. Acker noted that City Council has been well disposed toward the Library and said she is pleased that the members look favorably on the Library’s requests. Carey agreed that they provide strong support and also challenge the Library in a favorable way. Director’s General Job Duties Policy: Moved by Glatz, seconded Kluesner, to retain the Director’s General Job Duties Policy without changes. Glatz said that the policy was the basis for this year’s performance appraisal questions and had provided an adequate framework. Rohret suggested that the Board might want to review the policy again when a recruitment takes place, rather than waiting three years. Carey pointed out that the policy is not actually a position description—it describes what a director has to make sure is happening—but agreed that the Board would want to make sure the position description fits with the policy. She said she had obtained the position descriptions from all the other IUPLA libraries and offered to get their policies, as well. Vote on Motion: 7-0. Approved unanimously. Sex Offender Policy: Glatz said he felt the policy was a bit confusing because one section states that appeals will not be entertained, but another discusses exceptions to the general regulations. It was agreed that the language should be changed to make it clear that exceptions may be requested, but may not be appealed. Revisions will be presented in April. 2018/19 Enrich Iowa Agreement: Moved by Linch, seconded by Barchman, to adopt a resolution authorizing execution of the Enrich Iowa agreement, including Direct State Aid, Open Access, and Interlibrary Loan Reimbursement for the period from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. 4 When asked if the Library had any issues with the compliance requirements, Carey replied in the negative. She said the Direct State Aid report focuses on impact and the State Library asks for stories to relay to the legislature; the other statistics are gathered by staff throughout the year. Vote on Motion: 7-0. (Unanimous approval.) Resolution No. 2018-L007 adopted. Contract for Website Redesign: Carey reported that staff had no recommendation on awarding a contract yet because the demonstration that was to have taken place the previous day did not happen. Staff is in hopes that it can take place on Friday. In the meantime, Carey said she would like authorization to proceed with negotiations. APLFF funding in the amount of $30,000 was included in the budget; however, without approval by the Board, the Director’s contracting authority is limited to $25,000. Moved by Briese, seconded by Rohret, to adopt a resolution authorizing the Library Director to work with representatives of a selected vendor to negotiate for redesign of the APL Website, based on responses to Request for Proposal No. 2018-056. Carey noted that the Library might not even need a contract—a purchase order could possibly serve as a contract—and terms and conditions would be approved by the Legal Department, but the vendors of both products under consideration are very busy, so the Library would like to get on a calendar soon. Vote on Motion: 7-0. (Unanimous approval.) Resolution No. 2018-L008 adopted. Director’s Performance Evaluation: Acker stated that Carey requested that the meeting be closed under the provision of Iowa Code Section 21.5(1) (i), which refers to the evaluation of the professional competency of an individual whose performance is being considered. Moved by Rohret, seconded by Glatz, to close the meeting under the provisions of Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i) for the purpose of discussing the Director’s performance evaluation. Roll Call Vote: 8-0. (Voting aye: Acker, Barchman, Briese, Butler, Glatz, Kluesner, Linch, Rohret). Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was closed at 8:15 p.m. and reconvened in open session at 9:08 p.m. Director’s Salary for Fiscal Year 2018/19: Moved by Briese, seconded by Rohret, to adopt a resolution setting the Director’s salary at $140,000 for fiscal year 2018/19. Vote on Motion: 7-0. Motion carried unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L009 adopted. Election and Installation of Officers: The slate of candidates presented by the Nominating Committee in February was: Charles Glatz for President; Roger Kluesner for Vice President; and Sarah Barchman for Secretary. Acker asked if there were any further nominations for the office of president. Hearing none, she declared nominations for the office of president closed. She welcomed further nominations for the office of vice president. None were offered and nominations for the office of vice president were declared closed. Additional nominations for the office of secretary were invited. None were offered; nominations for the office of secretary were declared closed. 5 Moved by Butler, seconded by Briese, to elect the slate of Glatz, Kluesner, and Barchman as presented. Vote on Motion: 8-0. (All voting.) Motion carried unanimously. The new officers were declared elected and installed for the upcoming year. Recognition of Retiring Trustees: Acker and Rohret were recognized for their time and efforts as trustees for six and three years, respectively. Each was given a commemorative plaque. Trustee Comments: Kluesner, Briese and Barchman all thanked Acker and Rohret for their service as trustees. Rohret thanked Glatz and Marshall for their help on the Director Evaluation Committee. Glatz said it was rather scary to think of losing Acker and Rohret and their years of experience, but he hoped their absence would inspire the rest of the Board to “step it up.” Adjournment took place by consensus at 9:13 pm. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, April 19, 2018, at 7:00 p.m., in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue.