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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Minutes of the Regular Meeting 09/15/2011Ames Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes September 15, 2011 The Ames Public Library (APL) Board of Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, September 15, 2011, in the City Council Chambers at 515 Clark Avenue with Bradley, Budd, Campbell, Luckett, Meier, Rawlins, Schill, and Stow in attendance. Manus was absent. Library Director Art Weeks and Assistant Director Lynne Carey were also present. Call to Order: Board President Luckett called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Adoption of Agenda: Moved by Budd, seconded by Bradley, to approve the agenda. Vote on Motion: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Approval of Minutes: Moved by Meier, seconded by Rawlins, to approve the minutes of the meeting of August 18, 2011. Vote on Motion: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Public Forum: None Consent Agenda: Stow moved and Schill seconded adoption of a resolution approving the consent agenda: 1) Gifts a) From the Story County Genealogical Society for genealogy books. . . . $298.85 b) From Mary Lohr for the reference genealogy collection, one copy of the book Military Service Records c) From Will McCollum, one copy of his book Rural Route One 2) Claims Report 8/1/11 – 8/31/11 3) Financial Reports for August 2011 Vote on Motion: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Correspondence: A letter from the Story County Alliance for Philanthropy was received, which announced that the library’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG) had been selected to receive the 2011 Outstanding Youth Philanthropist Award. On behalf of the board, Luckett expressed appreciation for the group’s activities in support of the library and its programs. Administrative Staff Report: Weeks stated that a lot of activity would be taking place with community business leaders over the next few weeks. He will be doing presentations at an Ames Economic Development Commission meeting, the Ames Chamber of Commerce business meeting and ―Business at Breakfast‖ forum at the library in September. Weeks also reported that the First United Methodist Church, located directly west of the library, will begin work on its expansion project in the next week. An easement has been acquired to allow passage of the bookmobile over the church property as it goes in and out of the garage. The library will be taking advantage of several community events, including Saturday Farmers’ Markets, FACES of Ames on September 24, and the Octagon Art Festival on September 25, to provide information about the Library Renewal Project. Information Services Supervisor Mary Logsdon explained that, effective September 15, three special computers provided by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) had become ―virtual access points,‖ locations outside the IWD offices where people can get information about IWD services. Logsdon explained that the Ames office of IWD was scheduled to close on August 31. After meeting with Workforce Development representatives, APL agreed to extend services to the community by providing space for their computers. These specialized computers are available during all library hours and they are equipped with software that allows for live chat with IWD personnel when they are on duty. Responding to Trustee Stow’s inquiry, Logsdon said the arrangement would not bring any revenue to library. The expectation is that the computers will be self-service stations, but library staff will help people locate the stations and answer typical computer questions, as they regularly do. She said the computers are located at the south end of the library in carrels beyond the science fiction collection. Signage indicates that they are the property of Iowa Workforce Development and the units are supposed to be used specifically for job searching, filing for unemployment, and communicating with IWD. Trustee Bradley asked who would advertise the availability of the virtual access points. Logsdon said they would be advertised on IWD’s on-line map and the state may make announcements to advise people. The library itself does not anticipate doing any promotion. Stow asked if the IWD had entered into agreements with other libraries. Logsdon replied that the libraries in Nevada and Story City were still negotiating, and it was her understanding that social service agencies that serve specialized populations may also have virtual access points throughout the county. Trustee Campbell asked if the usage was being tracked. Logsdon said that IWD had told her that the software was designed to track the number of people who are accessing its site. The hardware and software belongs to IWD and the agency is responsible for all maintenance. Luckett said he was glad the library could perform this public service. Ames Public Library Friends Foundation Report: Campbell stated that the directors had met the previous week, where they learned about the award to TAG. The fall book sale is coming up September 23-25. A special book sale in August raised $1100, and another special sale is being planned for December. The Library Renewal Project has been split into two efforts now, with one group working on the philanthropic side and another focusing on public awareness. Stow said that the Renew The Library political action committee (PAC) was formed and is in high gear with a focus on getting out the vote. The team will be working with TAG to encourage new high-school age voters. It is also planning lots of activity at community events, soliciting locations for yard signs, and planning other referendum-related activities. Library Building Project Update: Weeks said that more meetings were held in the last week to discuss fundraising. Carey said that she is serving as a consultant to the PAC to keep the board informed of its activities. Three persons have taken the leadership positions of campaign chair, campaign manager, and treasurer. Eleven other ―lieutenants‖ are heading up various efforts to get out the vote and many people are signing up to help. Carey said the PAC’s sole goal is to identify people that support the library renewal project and get them to the polls. Weeks said several decision points will be coming up very quickly, if the project is approved by the voters. Those include selection of an architect to move into Phase II and development of a new contract, followed by handling of the construction phase, requests for proposals, and execution of contracts. Weeks said that the City Attorney and the city’s Purchasing Agent will both work with the board on these issues. Stow requested that these decisions be plotted out to upcoming agendas so that the project can move along quickly. Weeks speculated that the architect’s contract would be dealt with in November and construction management could be considered in December or January. He said he would like to be able to award a bid in late spring or early summer so that work could begin in late summer or early fall. Luckett stated that, in order to move the process along, he would not object to having special meetings in addition to the regular meetings. Policy Review: Gift Policy Moved by Meier, seconded by Rawlins, to adopt a resolution approving changes to the Gift Policy as presented/amended, subject to review by the Legal Department of the City of Ames. Weeks stated that some changes were being introduced, and this meeting would allow the trustees to make further revisions before the policy is sent to the Legal Department for review. If the attorneys find no problems, the policy will be adopted; if they recommend changes, the policy could come up again on another agenda. Information Services Supervisor Mary Logsdon explained some of the changes staff recommended, including substitution of the word ―donation‖ for ―gift‖ and references to the Ames Public Library Friends Foundation, or APLFF, throughout. The ―Acceptance of Donations‖ section was moved to the beginning, since it relates to all of the categories described. The other paragraphs were re-arranged to put monetary and book donations first, since they are received most regularly. In the section on works of art and personal property of value, new content describing criteria for acceptance was included. The donor recognition section is being deleted, since the board recently adopted new donor recognition/naming policy covering that topic. Carey added said that in the section on books and media it has been made clear that they go directly to the APLFF, which acts as the library’s agent for handling those items. She said the library will continue to look over materials to see if they can be added to the collection and, if they end up being sold, the funds will be returned to the library. Stow asked how many donated books were typically added to the collection. Carey said the number varies – items that are best sellers or are frequently reserved are often added. W eeks added that the books always have to meet collection development standards to be considered. Luckett asked for more information about donations of personal property. Weeks said that some guidelines were added because the library does not have a means for providing security or maintenance for certain materials such as works of art, collectibles, or real property. They could add a burden to the library that it would not want to take on, so the trustees should have an opportunity to consider the offers before acceptance. Meier noted that the final line of the policy still referred to an agreement with the APL Foundation. Weeks explained that the existing agreement actually is with the Foundation. Because the merger was set up so that the Friends officially dissolved and merged into the Foundation, the agreements made with the Foundation are still in force. Stow recommended the policy not be approved until the agreement between the two entities is updated. Responding to an inquiry from Trustee Budd, Weeks stated that the code sections included under the references were written by the state legislature, not the library. The Legal Department will review them as well. Vote on Motion as presented, with the recommendation that the agreement between the Library Board of Trustees and the Ames Public Library Friends Foundation be updated: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. Trustee Comments: Bradley congratulated the Teen Advisory Group for winning the youth philanthropy award. Budd echoed Bradley’s sentiment. Campbell congratulated TAG, thanked Mary Logsdon for her presentation, and commended Ann Dobbs for her leadership on the adult summer reading program. Stow stated that the TAG co-chairs, Divya Navi and Tripti Upreti are amazing high school students and both are very active at the library. He said their dedication emphasizes how much the library needs to be renewed—there are very active teens in this community and adequate space is not provided for them. Meier encouraged people to visit the Farmers’ Market and learn more about how they can be part of the Library Renewal Project. Adjournment: Moved by Stow, seconded by Schill, to adjourn at 7:45 p.m. Vote on Motion: 7-0. Motion approved unanimously. The next regular meeting will be on Thursday, October 20, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., in the City Council Chambers, 515 Clark Avenue.