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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-05-18 MinutesFayetteville Public Library • Board of Trustees Regular Meeting May 18, 2009 Minutes Prepared by S. Terry, Communications Manager Board Members present: L. Brewer, D. Ferritor, M. Hunt, E. Jordan, M. Malone and B. Schaffer. Absent: S. Clark Staff present: C. Raw, L. Schaper, S. Terry and S. Thorup Press: S. Descant, The Morning News and R. Mero, The Northwest Arkansas Times. I. E. Jordan was sworn in by Judge Rudy Moore. II. The Board of Trustees meeting was called to order at 4:09 p.m. by L. Brewer. III. Trustee Emeritus presentations were made to Don Marr, who served on the board from 2006 to 2009, and Anne de Noble, who served on the board from 2002 to 2007. IV. Approval of minutes. D. Ferritor made a motion to approve minutes from the March 4 meeting. B. Schaffer seconded. All voted aye. V. Reports. A.) Management reports — Strategic Plan Progress: L. Schaper noted that the solar test bed project launched in March. S. Thorup said the library now has five mini laptops available for two week check out. Thorup noted the library hosted a Volunteer Luncheon in April that recognized the more than 12,000 hours of volunteer time given in 2008. Thorup said the library has now joined Twitter. Thorup noted that the library recently participated in a study by University of Washington researchers. A second portion of the study, a web -based survey, will continue later this month. Thorup said library staff is working in small groups to resolve issues discovered in the recent climate survey. C. Raw said the audit is complete; she will request the auditors present at the next audit committee meeting. Performance Measures: L. Schaper said circulation and the hold service continues to rise. Volunteer hours and the number of volunteers have also both increased. B.) Financial Report — C. Raw said the library budget is where it is expected to be. Other income is up because of a sales tax refund that came in for purchases made late in 2008. • Rew said utilities are close to budget, which doesn't allow much room with the warm summer months approaching. VI. Unfinished Business. A.) Discussion of strategic directions and issues — 1.) 2009 Objectives: L. Schaper said library staff is making great progress on the strategic plan, including recently beginning the space study. B.) NEH status — L. Schaper said there is no additional news to report, but it remains a focus of FPL staff. VII. New business. A.) Additions to designated funds — C. Rew reminded the board they had voted on 12/18/06 to set up designated funds. Rew requested the unexpended monies from the 2008 IT ($12,890) and building budgets ($52,435) be transferred into those designated funds. D. Ferritor moved to approve; M. Malone seconded. All voted aye. B.) ICMA grant for solar test bed project: L. Schaper said the library has received the $56,000 in grant funding, which needs to be added to the budget. Schaper requested $68,360 (ICMA and AR Energy Office grants) and $20,000 from reserves be added to the 2009 budget with the understanding if these funds are unexpended at the end of 2009 they will be rolled into 2010 and any unexpended reserve funds will be returned to reserves. D. Ferritor made a motion to approve. B. Schaffer seconded. All voted aye. C.) Announcement of Roberta Fulbright Society annual event featuring Ed Begley Jr. — L. Schaper said the event with the actor / author / environmental activist will be Friday, October 23. Begley's visit will include a luncheon, press conference, a dinner, a talk for the public, a VIP book signing and a public book signing. D.) Policy revisions: 1.) Collection development policy update: a.) MC: Collection development (revision): S. Thorup said changes in the policy include removing the mentions of speck formats, like DVDs and VHS tapes. B. Schaffer made a motion to approve. D. Ferritor seconded. All voted aye. 2.) Library card eligibility and registration policy: a.) LR: Registration (revision): b.) LK: Library card eligibility (revision to include Bentonville residents): S. Thorup said this allows a reciprocal borrowing agreement with the residents of Bentonville. A similar agreement is in place between the Fayetteville Public Library and the Rogers Public Library. Thorup will present • information about creating a reciprocal agreement with Benton County at the board's June meeting. M. Malone made a motion to approve. M. Hunt seconded. All voted aye. 3) Clarification of policies: a.) PA -31: Inclement weather (revision): Thorup said the inclement • weather policy now references hours, rather than days, worked during periods of inclement weather. E. Jordan made a motion to approve. D. Ferritor seconded. All voted aye. b.) PA - 39: Personal copies (revision): Thorup said the personal copy policy requires people to pay for their copies on the day they are made and allows people to send and receive faxes at no charge. D. Ferritor made a motion to approve. M. Hunt seconded. All voted aye. 4) Personal policy revisions I: a.) PA -12: Paid time off (revision): b.) PA -13: Sick leave (revision): c.) PA -17: Leave donation bank (new): Tabled to June meeting. 5) Personnel policy revisions 11: a.) PA - 63: Disciplinary action (revision): b.) PA -55: Appointments (revision): Tabled to June meeting. E.) Special Announcement: L. Schaper announced she will retire as of Friday, October 30. When she began 12 years ago, Schaper said her vision was to create a public library that met community expectations and had a customer -focused dedicated, caring, creative and flexible staff. She said that vision has been realized and she is happy to leave the library in such a strong position. She added that with a university and a city seeking to be excellent, it is critical for the library to be excellent. Schaper noted that when the library wasn't leading the way in delivering library services it followed the very best exemplars. That combination of leading and following helped the library reach its national class level. L. Brewer said that it's been a leadership that's been visionary and inspiring and enabled us to serve this library. D. Ferritor said that there are core values that Schaper instilled—service, professionalism, quality—that come from leadership. Schaper said she will ensure everything is organized for the next executive director and will help in whatever way possible to assist the board in their search. L. Brewer said the board should determine whether to use a search firm or a form a search committee. M. Malone suggested using a search committee made up of trustees. B. Schaffer made a motion to approve a search committee. M. Malone seconded. All voted aye. L. Brewer asked D. Ferritor, M. Hunt and M. Malone to serve on the a search committee. The board will reconvene for a special meeting Tuesday, June 2 at 4 p.m. to discuss the job description and job advertisement. Representatives from the search committee.will meet with library staff as soon as possible to hear what they want from a new director. • VIII. Executive Session: Did not go into executive session. IX. Presentation of Public Input Sessions for Space Study: Architect Jeff Scherer, FAIA, said he would make recommendations for short, medium and long-term improvements when he returns with a list of final recommendations later this summer. The five key aspects of the study: finding room for the teens, making the building work better for the staff and patrons, improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, improve working conditions for the staff and allow for future change to happen. X. Adjournment: D. Ferritor moved to adjourn. B. Schaffer seconded. All voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m. 0