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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 02/18/2016Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting February 18, 2016 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, February 18, 2016 in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue, with Bradley, Briese, Butler, Linch, Rohret, and Stow present. Acker, Campbell, and Manus were excused. Library staff members Briseño, Carey, Hawes and Logsdon were also present. Call to Order: Library Board Vice President Briese called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Consent Agenda Moved by Stow, seconded by Linch, to approving the following items on the consent agenda: 1) Resolution No. 2016-L006 approving donations 2) Motion approving minutes of the regular meeting of January 21, 2016 3) Motion approving payment of claims 1/1/2016 – 1/31/2016 Vote on Motion: 5-0. Approved unanimously. Public Forum: None. Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) Report: Trustee Butler reported on the February 11 APLFF Board Meeting, which included updates on activities of the Development Director and Teen Advisory Group (TAG) and reports from the various committees. She also noted that: • APLFF is one of the organizations that customers who shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) may now select as the beneficiary of a charitable contribution (0.5% of the price of eligible purchases) from the AmazonSmile Foundation; • The February 2016 issue of VOYA magazine featured TAG’s Brain Dead 5K fundraiser; • A new APLFF logo has been designed by Scott Thornton; and • Karen Hallberg will complete Anselman’s unexpired term on the Board of Directors. Art Committee Report: Trustee Stow distributed an artist’s proposal for six fabric wall hangings that would hang on the wall adjacent to the Greater Iowa Credit Union Grand Staircase. He said the artists would use colors and concepts from both buildings to tie the spaces together and the estimated cost is $2,600. The trustees agreed to vote on the proposal in March. Director Evaluation Committee Report: Trustee Rohret said the committee met on January 28 to review feedback, look at salary comparisons, and start summarizing. A second positive and productive meeting was held with Carey on February 2. A report will be ready in March. Nominating Committee Report: A slate of candidates was submitted for next month’s election, as follows: President, Jane Acker; Vice-President, Kyle Briese; Secretary, John Linch. Strategic Planning Committee Report: Carey distributed a draft strategic plan, which she said was presented to staff members last Monday for their reaction and further input. The draft was based on work done on Staff Day 2015, the sessions led by Jamie LaRue, and over 3000 responses to the public survey. She said the managers looked at all the data and determined what should be incorporated into the plan and which things would be addressed in another way. 2 They are suggesting that the plan look three years into the future, with the idea that it be reviewed continually—or possibly extended to five years. Carey explained the graphical representation, created by Valerie Donnell, which showed the plan in three tiers: four major Priorities that characterize the Library; ten Strategic Initiatives which identify the work that would be done to accomplish the Priorities; and numerous Activities that would fulfill the Initiatives. As the list of Initiatives and related Activities was passed out, Carey explained that the managers were very intentional in their use of language. The word “support” was used when an activity encompasses things the Library is already doing and intends to continue doing at an excellent level; the term “create” was used in conjunction with ideas that staff will work on; and “investigate" or “evaluate” means that staff will look into the possibility of adding services, but will look at return on investment and the available resources and there is no implied commitment to do them unless they can be done at an excellent level. Customer Account Services Manager Tracy Briseno, Adult Services Manager Mary Logsdon, and Resource Services Manager Alissa Dornink Hawes offered further detail about the listed activities. Carey asked for feedback from the Board and assistance in developing the tasks that have already been identified. She said measures should be incorporated into the plan at some point; however, she has found in the past that when the measure was established at the beginning, it sometimes became more important to meet the measure than to develop the most relevant tasks. Carey said she hoped the Board could adopt the plan next month at the Priority, Initiative, and Activity levels and would like to share progress made on the tasks at each monthly meeting. Some concern was raised about whether the plan might be too extensive, given that APL only has the equivalent of about 45 full time employees. Staff was also asked if expanding services both within and beyond the building would pull in two directions. The trustees indicated that, even without measures, they would like to see some ideas about how success would be evaluated and how progress would be reported. Overall, it was noted that this is the most well- thought-out, well-developed plan that has been presented in the last seven years. It was agreed to put the plan to a vote in March. Administration Report: Carey spoke about the activities that took place on Staff Day, reported on staff changes, and spoke about several meetings that took place during the month. She said that the new Assistant City Manager, Brian Phillips, will be a liaison to the Library. Iris Woolery, an Iowa State University junior studying animal ecology wildlife rehabilitation, who will be working with Carey through the Non-Profit Protégé Program, introduced herself. Carey said that she, Tracy Briseño and Jerri Heid had made the budget presentation to City Council and Jane Acker attended to represent the Board. The trustees were invited to attend the Iowa Library Association’s Legislative Day at the State Capitol on March 14. Building Project Update: Carey said the most notable item to report was a lower-than- anticipated utility bill for the month of January. Board Education: Librarian Alissa Hawes, Resource Services Manager, explained how APL’s materials are selected, obtained, prepared, showcased, and weeded, using the construction process as an analogy. The blueprint for success, she concluded, is the strategic plan, which will help the Library look toward the future and guide planning for an excellent and well-used collection. 3 Carey remarked that APL’s efficiency is very high. Hawes also noted that there is no back-log at APL—something that is very different from other libraries in which she has worked—and turn- around time while materials sit on shelves is also very low. Volunteer Services Policy: Moved by Bradley, seconded by Linch, to adopt a resolution approving revisions to the Volunteer Service Policy as presented/amended. Sarah Bohlke, Volunteer Services Coordinator, said the policy was cleaned up a bit and reorganized, with a few of the changes reflecting the recent departmental reorganization. She noted one error in the proposed revisions—the first sentence under Daily Operations was not to have been deleted and should not be stricken out. She said staff does not want to give the impression that the Library could function with only volunteers and wants to be clear about its intentions; in fact, some of the Library’s contracts (with RSVP, for example) stipulate that volunteers will not replace or displace employed staff. Bohlke explained the new definitions and some of the changes in terminology. Because “community service” is a term so closely associated with the court systems, the term “service learning” is now used in referring to youth volunteerism. She also wanted to get away from the term “position.” Bohlke said APL has about 100 volunteers who regularly come in to perform dedicated tasks, but most are cross trained and perform a variety of functions. Bohlke said that current practice with respect to background checks is reflected in the revisions. While a certain level of checking is done on all regular level applicants, Bohlke does not check on those who may be volunteering for only two hours and does not submit criminal histories through the State Department of Criminal Investigation. No files are kept, but there are records for documentation. Bohlke added that supervision practices have evolved over the years and some of them changed with the Library’s reorganization, but each volunteer is supervised at some level. The City’s Risk Manager was consulted on best practices and procedures. Vote on Motion to approve the policy as presented with the noted correction: 5-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2016-L007 adopted. Personnel Policy: Moved by Stow, seconded by Linch, to adopt a resolution approving revisions to the Personnel Policy as presented/amended. Vote on Motion to approve the policy as presented: 5-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2016-L008 adopted. Bylaws Policy: Briese stated that the Bylaws are scheduled to be reviewed in May. He invited any interested trustees to volunteer to assist with the process, and asked for comments. Stow brought up three considerations for the committee: acceptance of donations and whether or not donor’s names should be included; the date of appointment of the Director Evaluation Committee; and the number of trustees to be named to the Nominating Committee. Acceptance of Artwork Moved by Stow, seconded by Rohret, to adopt a resolution accepting a framed, limited-edition print entitled “What We Love About Ames” by Sarah Grant, presented to the Library as a 2014 Outstanding Community Organization Award by Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau. 4 Vote on Motion: 5-0. Approved unanimously. Resolution No. 2016-L009 adopted. Trustee Comments: The managers were thanked for their attendance and wonderful presentations. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by consent at 8:47 p.m. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, March 17, 2016, at 7:00 p.m., in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue.