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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 10/15/2015Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting October 15, 2015 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, October 15, 2015 in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue, with Acker, Bradley, Briese, Linch, Rohret, and Stow present. Briese and Butler were excused; Campbell and Manus arrived later. Library Director Carey was also present. Call to Order: Board President Acker called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Consent Agenda Moved by Linch, seconded by Stow, to approving the following items on the consent agenda: 1) Resolution approving donations a) From Vicki Morain in memory of Katie Finn Milleman ................................... $20.00 b) From Jane Johnson in memory of Larry Jones ............................................. $50.00 2) Motion approving minutes of the regular meeting of September 17, 2015 3) Motion approving payment of claims 9/1/15 – 9/30/15. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Approved unanimously; resolution adopted. Public Forum: None. Financial Reports: Trustee Linch reported on the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2015/16. He noted that contractual expenses are considerably higher this year than last because annual maintenance agreements are now being paid on equipment that was new last year. He also spoke about certain expenses, such as magazine subscriptions, that are paid in full early in the year, making the reports show that a fairly large percentage of the annual budget has already been spent. In spite of this cyclicality, Linch said the Library is on target relative to the budget in place right now. Staff is scheduled to discuss adjustments with the City on November 17. Library Director Carey stated that unspent funds for strategic planning and some salary payments that should have been paid in the last year were carried over. She also explained that the Finance Department had proportionally reallocated expenditures for the Renovation Project for accounting purposes before closing out Fiscal Year 2014/15—assigning 90% to the bond fund, 5% to bequests, and 5% to private donations. Payments will continue to be drawn from all three funding sources as the Library continues to spend. Manus arrived at 7:05 p.m. Ames Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF) Report: Carey spoke about the Teen Advisory Group’s successful Zombie Run, which yielded net proceeds of $2,726. She said the Budget and Finance Committee did an annual review and the 990 is now being studied by the board in preparation for filing. The committee was also pleased to learn that a penalty charged by the Internal Revenue Service for late filing will be refunded. The Sales Committee reported earning about $2,300 at Literary Grounds last month and the fall book sale raised $8,539. So many book donations are being received that the committee has decided to add a third sale next year. The Marketing Committee has completed a branding survey and will be working on a new APLFF logo. There was discussion about this year’s sales income as compared to last year. 2 Strategic Planning Committee Report: Carey said a survey will be ready to go out in the next week and Jamie LaRue is scheduled to come to APL on November 20 and 21. Administrative Staff Report: Carey said she had met with two human resources practicum students from Iowa State University (ISU) the previous day. They will be hired to work two hours per week to continue developing an intern program and evaluation tools. Carey said she hopes to hire interns for public relations/marketing and for video design/production, and possibly for other purposes in the future. Carey highlighted many activities, including: • programming collaborations with ISU; • a series on iPads and that started the previous week; • an upcoming movie that will be co-sponsored with Audubon Society; • a lecture series proposed by Ames Historical Society; • the anticipated hiring of a few more presenters for Project Smyles, in conjunction with adoption of the new, more sustainable program model; • a transition to a new custodial contractor (the firm that submitted the second lowest bid in 2014) because of recent non-performance problems with the first firm; • work being done by staff and the Police Department on a series of progressive consequences to be used when library visitors misbehave, as well as hand-outs explaining what the expectations are when a person is asked to leave (or is served with a Notice of Trespass); and • the Story Co Alliance for Philanthropy Luncheon on November 12, at which APLFF Board Member Monica Porter will be presented an Outstanding Individual Volunteer Fundraiser Award. Carey described several major systems failures that had occurred the previous Sunday due to a glitch with Polaris, the integrated library system. She said the issues did not appear to be security related, but representatives of Polaris are trying to determine what happened. She commended staff for remaining cheerful and helpful and thanked library customers for being understanding, in spite of inconveniences. Carey said the Library had several grant applications in preparation and one had been submitted earlier in the day. Campbell arrived at 7:36 p.m. Carey stated that she was working with the Finance and Legal Departments to finalize issues for the Small Talk community-based research grant. She said an anonymous donor will be adding another $100,000 to the initial $435,000 that will come in over the three years. She said the benefit locally is that education will take place at the Library and possibly at Eastwood Apartments and other sites. She said the Library will be the sponsored organization and APLFF will be the grantee. APLFF will receive the funds, and the expenses for payroll and equipment will be run through the City Finance Department the same way as they are for Project Smyles, with a separate account. APL will retain the equipment at the end of the process, as well as the knowledge and training on parenting education aspects of the program. Because it doesn’t have enough staff to take on this project, Carey said APL will hire a coordinator and parent educators. She and Jerri Heid will attend training sessions at the Library 3 next week and travel to the LENA Conference in November. The speakers will be leaders in the field of early literacy development and the importance of family and community involvement. This is a new kind of involvement for APL, and she anticipates that parents who come to sessions for eight weeks will want to continue meeting on a weekly basis. Other libraries have found that families developed some healthy competition and their level of comfort in using the library increased. Carey said the ISU employee she is working with has a co-appointment through ISU Extension and she intends to spread this model across the state, and possibly across the country, though Extension Offices. Carey asked if the trustees were in support of this and received a positive response. She stated that no studies have been done yet that tie Small Talk to school readiness, which is the major interest of Raising Readers; however, Raising Readers will roll it into the other programs they are offering. That organization has also applied for a grant that would include other Story County libraries, which Carey helped write. A proposed new Policy Review Schedule was shared. Trustee Manus asked if there were any new policies that would address the protocol that comes into play when improvising or during contingencies. Carey said disaster recovery planning is being done, and there is also work being done by the City on handling public relations issues. Manus said that it is usual to have a policy backed up with procedures for crisis management and staff should be trained, in coordination with the City, on who does what if the Director is out and how the Board gets informed. Carey handed out the Iowa Trustee’s Handbook table of contents and said she would like to include an educational component in future Board meetings. The trustees indicated a preference for alternating between topics in the handbook and reports from staff. Acker asked the trustees to let her or Carey know which sections they found most interesting and to suggest other topics they would like staff to speak on so that she and Carey could develop a plan. Building Project Update: Carey said that preparations are being made for closing out the project next spring. The Library will have identified all purchases or have them underway by the end of the calendar year. In the meantime: • Meeting room equipment will be installed over a two-week period starting November 9; • A local contractor has been hired by the custom furniture company to work through the final punch list; • A meeting was held about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Commissioning and Carey feels the commissioner is close to being able to submit application. • New trees have been planted in the patio. Conduct in the Library Policy: Moved by Bradley, seconded by Campbell, to adopt a resolution to approve the Conduct in the Library Policy with revisions as presented/amended. The trustees discussed the proposed changes and proposed certain revisions. It was noted that certain misbehaviors are cited while others are not, either because they occur more often or because are not actually illegal, but are disallowed on Library premises. Vote on Motion to approve the policy with the changes proposed by staff, except as 4 follows: • reject the proposed changes in both the third and seventh bullets below “Definition” and insert the words “any person on the library premises” instead; and • in the fourth bullet below “Consequences,” replace the phrase “including being banned or trespassed from the Library” with “including being banned from the Library or served with a Trespass Notice:” 6-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted. Unattended Child Policy: Moved by Manus, seconded by Rohret, to adopt a resolution to approve the Unattended Child Policy with revisions as presented/amended. The trustees discussed the policy at length. They revised the fourth line in the proposed “Policy” section to read, “When made aware of an unattended child, Library staff reserves the right to notify the police,” removing any indication that staff would assume a responsible caregiver role. Discussion transitioned to the topic of how the Library should best handle children who do not need to be attended, but may not be entirely independent. It was noted that age may not necessarily be the determining factor, but also pointed out that setting age parameters may be helpful to staff. A related concern was that a person who misbehaves in the Library may be asked to leave, according the Conduct in the Library policy, but that action could potentially place a child in a dangerous situation. The trustees wondered about the Library’s legal responsibilities for minors when they are present and unaccompanied, about any potential liability if they were kicked out and then got hurt or abducted, and the legal definition of a child. While they want the policy to be helpful to staff from an administrative standpoint, they also want to avoid potential legal risks to the Library or City when dealing with that in-between age group. Moved by Acker, seconded by Stow, to postpone the motion pending legal advice, staff input on what would be most helpful to them, and additional definition of “child.” Vote on motion: 6-0. American Library Association (ALA) Guidance Documents: Moved by Stow, seconded by Manus, to adopt a resolution to no longer include ALA Guidance Documents as part of the Ames Public Library Policy Manual. Carey said this move was being suggested because the Library Board does not have ability to change the ALA Guidance Documents. She said they are used in policy development and it is useful to refer to them as educational pieces, but the Board may not care to follow them exactly. In addition, libraries are not notified when the documents are updated, so it would be better to simply include links to the most recent documents on the ALA website in the Library’s policies. There was a suggestion that the guidance documents be included as standing items along with policy review, so the Board could look at them when the policies are being discussed. The Board also agreed that hyperlinks should be included in the references, so as to maintain the connection between APL policies and the ALA positions. Stow amended his motion to add the words, “however, relevant guidance documents will be referenced within applicable policies.” Linch proposed adding the words “as appropriate.” Stow accepted the friendly amendment and the additional phrase was revised to read, “however, guidance documents will be referenced in policies, as appropriate.” 5 Vote on Motion as amended: 6-0. Motion approved unanimously. Resolution adopted. Trustee Comments: Rohret commended everyone who worked on the Zombie Run. He felt it was successful for the first time in that format, and said he enjoyed working as a volunteer. Acker said that the trustees will be able to meet some of the TAG to show them appreciation and learn about their activities next month. Adjournment: Moved by Stow, seconded by Campbell, to adjourn at 8:49 p.m. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion approved unanimously. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, November 19, 2015, at 7:00 p.m., in the Dale H. Ross Board Room, Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Avenue.