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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 12/20/2018Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting December 20, 2018 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, December 20, 2018 in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, 515 Douglas Avenue, with Barchman, Butler, Glatz, Kluesner, Marshall, Raman, and Wang in attendance. Briese and Lynch were excused. Library Director Carey, Librarians Briseño and Logsdon, and Assistant City Manager Phillips were also present. Call to Order: Board President Glatz called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Consent Agenda: Moved by Butler, seconded by Kluesner, to approve the following items on the consent agenda: 1) Resolution accepting donations: a) In honor of Marny Buck from Thomas and Nancy Green .......................... $100.00 b) In honor of Herb Harmison from Duane Aske ............................................. $50.00 c) In memory of Arlene Johnson from Almira and Etsuro Eumura ................... $24.00 d) In memory of Lowell Richardson from Connie and Glen Maze .................. $100.00 2) Motion approving minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 15, 2018 3) Motion approving minutes of the Special Meeting of November 19, 2018 4) Motion approving payment of claims for 11/1/2018 – 11/30/2018 Vote on Motion: 6-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L035 adopted. Public Forum: None. Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) Report: Trustee Glatz reported that the Board welcomed a new member, committee rosters were reviewed, Teen Advisory Group information was received, and the Director Search and its outcome were discussed. Carey invited everyone to attend a Donor Wall Reception scheduled on December 27 from 2 – 3:30 p.m. in the Library lobby. Administrative Staff Report: Library Director Carey reviewed personnel matters: three new Library Aides were hired; Librarian Ray Johnson resigned and his position has been posted; Karen Thompson will be retiring in January—her position will be reclassified to Secretary 1 and that opening will be posted soon. Carey also said staff has been working hard on the budget presentation; the next step will be a meeting with the City Manager. Reporting on meetings she had attended, Carey stated that: • She and Jerri Heid attended the Story County Library Association meeting earlier in the month, after which the group made its annual report to Board of Supervisors. She said they spoke about their commonalities and approach to the budget, as well as the libraries’ role in economic development. • She attended the Iowa Urban Public Library Association meeting and asked for those members to help with APL’s director recruitment by reaching out to colleagues. • She and Mary Logsdon attended a Workforce Day meeting in Ames. Employers open to having marginalized or non-traditional workers and social service agencies who work with those who are difficult to place discussed how those workers might be able to be employed. The Library attended as a “connector,” because it has a role in helping job 2 seekers. After the discussions, there was a job fair. Carey said IowaWorks will soon be opening an office in the Department of Transportation building on Lincoln Way. • She and Logsdon also attended a lectures meeting with Iowa State staff. Four upcoming lectures have been identified which the Library will promote. Director Search Committee Report: Glatz said the committee met, reviewed the candidates that had been interviewed before, and determined that it would be best to re-start the process. The committee wants to recruit good applicants in a short time frame and there is a job fair at the ALA Midwinter Conference where there is potential to make connections. The committee also hopes to get a better sense of interactions next time by doing initial interviews with Skype, rather than telephone. Glatz said the committee’s recommendation is to implement the plan proposed in the memo from Brian Phillips that was included in the meeting packet. Phillips said he also recommended that a hard application deadline be put on this recruitment to reduce confusion. There was discussion about advertising the position and Glatz mentioned that he and Carey would attend the job fair at the ALA Midwinter Conference. Moved by the Director Search Committee to implement the plan and timeline as proposed in the memo (with the application period from January 7 - February 11, 2019; Skype interviews in late February; on-site interviews in early March; and the anticipated start date by mid-April): Vote on motion: 6-0. Motion declared approved unanimously. Carey said that she is willing and able to stay through February 22, 2019. Mary Logsdon has expressed willingness to serve as Interim Director and has the full support of the management team, so the team proposes that Mary serve in that capacity until the new Director is in place. In case the upcoming search is not successful, however, Logsdon has indicated that she would like an opportunity to reconsider the position. Further details of the proposal were detailed in a handout. Moved by Barchman, seconded by Wang, to accept the Transition Proposal as presented, with: • Carey working through February 22, 2019; • Logsdon appointed to serve as Interim Director until the new Director is in place; • Logsdon being compensated for working out of class by having her salary adjusted to the base rate of the Director classification ($95,769) for the duration of the appointment; • If the upcoming search is unsuccessful, the Interim Director appointment will be revisited; • Carey completing the budget process, performance appraisals for her direct reports, the application for State Library accreditation, and open recruitments, including Adult Services Librarian and Secretary 1. • Carey identifying and training a replacement to handle APL recruitments; • Logsdon reassigning selected duties within the Adult Services workgroup; and • Managers sharing responsibilities for supporting Logsdon and training the new Director. Glatz expressed appreciation for Logsdon’s willingness to step up and for the support of the Managers. Logsdon confirmed that she holds a Master of Library Science degree. 3 Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion carried unanimously. Carey added that Logsdon is a familiar face to library visitors and a gracious and knowledgeable representative of the Library. In turn, Logsdon complimented Carey for mentoring and leading the managers to the point that any one of them would have been able to step into the position. Glatz said that after she has some perspective, the Board would like to hear her comments on the Library’s organizational structure and recommendations for possible changes. Donations Policy: Moved by Kluesner, seconded by Marshall, to adopt a resolution approving revisions to the Library’s Donations Policy as presented/amended. Vote on Motion (as presented): 6-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L036 adopted. Exam Proctoring Policy: Moved by Barchman, seconded by Raman, to retain the Exam Proctoring Policy without changes. Carey said the not all libraries provide this service, but there seems to be more and more demand. Jill Anderson does most of the proctoring and becomes a part of the students’ journey. There was some discussion about how proctoring and proctor approval takes place. Vote on Motion: 6-0 . Approved unanimously. Library Variations from the City of Ames Personnel Policy: Moved by Marshall, seconded by Barchman , to adopt a resolution approving revisions to the Library’s Personnel Policy as presented/amended. Glatz noted that the policy would need a more thorough review once the City makes changes. Vote on Motion (as presented): 6-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L037 adopted. Art Collections Policy: Glatz asked if art were often accepted or purchased outside the parameters of the policy. Carey said that since the policy has been in place, it has not. Kluesner asked how the APLFF policy on accepting assets and art compares to APL’s. Carey said the APLFF policy focuses on donations, whereas the Library’s addresses acquisition. Marshall asked about how art might be deaccessioned. Carey said the Donations Policy states that any donations become APL property, so the Library may make decisions of that nature. The Art Collections Policy indicates that deaccession would be a Board decision. When asked if APL had a rotation process, Carey said it’s not at present, but that could be the case if there happened to be enough in the art collection. There was discussion about an art collection that circulated many years ago, and a silent auction that was held when it was decided to discontinue the practice. Carey said an auction was also held prior to moving out of the building in 2012 for the renovation and expansion. It was agreed that a meeting of the Art Committee could take place in the next month or suggestions could be e-mailed to Carey if anyone felt there were issues to be addressed. 4 Volunteer Services Policy: Concerns were raised about the last paragraph in the section about background checks. Carey said she feels the Volunteer Coordinator is very careful to consider risk; she makes an assessment of each group and its supervision in advance and is very careful not to have unsupervised volunteers. It was proposed that there be written assurance that potential volunteers have been vetted by the organization and a requirement that they be supervised by organization staff. Barchman asked if the trustees were considered volunteers, and if they had gone through background checks and a probation period. Carey said that the Trustees are appointees of the Mayor and do not undergo background checks in that capacity; however, they would go through the regular process if they became regular volunteers. When asked for more specifics, Cary said that the Volunteer Services Coordinator checks Courts on Line and the Sex Offender Registry, but full background checks are done through Iowa State University on Small Talk volunteers. APL has over 500 volunteers. Story County Contract: Moved by Kluesner, seconded by Wang, to adopt a resolution to approve continuing the Library Service Contract for Story County for Fiscal Year 2019/20. Carey said the Board of Supervisors has been very pleased with the way the county libraries work together and are appreciative of APL leading the way. In answer to a question, Carey stated that Iowa code requires all incorporated cities to provide library services to their residents and counties have to provide services to all residents outside city boundaries. Individuals are not charged for services. In response to an inquiry, Briseño stated that APL is currently providing services to 1,532 rural residents. Vote on Motion (as presented): 6-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L038 adopted. Proposed Budget Requests: Moved by Raman, seconded by Butler, to approve adjustments to the operating budget for fiscal year 2018/19 and requests for fiscal year 2019/20 as presented/amended. Carey said she was asking to increase Library Aides wages by $1 per hour this year (to $10 per hour). This would be for entry level, non-benefited employees. She said staff had conducted a pay study and Aides indicated that the rate of pay was affecting the Library’s ability to retain them. She said there had been a 75% drop in applicants over the last few years—Ames’ 1.1% unemployment rate is having an effect. Carey said APL has still been able to get good employees, but it’s harder, takes longer, and there is much more turnover. Funding for an additional ten hours per week of custodial work in the staff areas is also being sought. Carey said APL had a placement from Experience Works for seven years. His services did not cost the Library anything, but the individual aged out of the program and it doesn’t appear that he will be replaced. She added that a typical increase for collections was included, as well as costs predetermined by the City (for things such as insurance, internal services, and known utility rate increases). She said a placeholder was included for Administrative staff members that will be retiring. 5 Wang asked if there were large changes across the City or much year-to-year fluctuation. Phillips said the budget was mostly stable, although more debt may be issued in the form of bonds for construction projects and replacement of the emergency services radio system. He said the health insurance increase would be modest. The biggest uncertainty is on the revenue side because the City is dependent upon receiving funding that was lost when the state enacted commercial property tax reform. Revenue of about $1 million has been gained in past years, but that funding may not continue and it would be challenging to have to make up for it. He said there was some risk that that funding would go away last year, but it did not. It’s unknown if it would go away immediately, in phases, or not at all. Carey said she is also asking for an additional ten hours per week at the Library Clerk level in Youth Services. The funding would come from savings resulting from a reclassification and that matter will be discussed next week with the City Manager. Funding of requests will be considered after all departmental budgets have been reviewed, so any major changes will be known in the next few weeks. Carey said that presentations will be made to City Council the first week in February and the budget will be approved and certified in March. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L039 adopted. Moved by Raman, seconded by Wang, to approve adjustments to the Donations Budgets for fiscal year 2018/19 and proposals for fiscal year 2019/20 as presented/amended. Carey said this budget is harder to talk about because donations and potential requests are guesses; it is based primarily on past experience. She said the trustees will be approached in the next few months with funding requests for APLFF for next year. Carey noted that the Library is in the process of spending the balance of the money donated by APLFF for the Library Renewal Project money. She also stated that some amounts are included in the budget so that spending may take place if a need arises—it’s a matter of building the opportunity in. Vote on Motion (as presented): 6-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2018-L040 adopted. Trustee Comments: Barchman thanked Logsdon for her willingness to step into the Interim Director position. Wang thanked Carey for training the managers so they were prepared to step up. Kluesner thanked Ames Tribune reporter Michael Crumb for turning out and for the paper’s coverage of Library activities, especially the Director search. Butler wondered if the trustees could share information about the person offered the Director’s position the reason it was declined—especially with those who were involved in the process. Phillips said he was not sure of the City’s official position, but felt that out of respect for the candidates, it might be best not to reveal it. Raman echoed the previous trustees’ thanks and added thanks to the Search Committee. He said he felt the first search had been well done and he appreciated their willingness to do it again. Glatz thanked the board for showing up for all the occasions they were called upon; now they are well-rehearsed and should be prepared for the next time. 6 Adjournment: Moved by Barchman, seconded by Wang, to adjourn at 8:20 p.m.. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion carried unanimously. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, January 17, 2019, at 7:00 p.m., in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue.