Birmingham Public Library Board Minutes

Call To Order

• Meeting called to order by Mrs. Welch.
• Reverend Johnson gave the invocation.

Approvals

• Mr. Rumore moved the approval of the agenda. Ms. Adams seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
• Ms. Blair moved the approval of the consent agenda. Reverend Johnson seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

Committee Reports

Personnel Committee Report

• Mrs. Allen moved the approval that all personnel actions will be approved by the board. Mrs. Blair seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
• Mrs. Allen moved that administration begin the process of reclassifying the neighborhood librarians to match that of the community librarians. Mrs. Sims seconded the motion, which carried with a vote of 9-1 (Mr. Adams opposed and Judge Owens was not present).
• There have been some transfers and additions of responsiblities within the library. These changes are temporary in order to fulfill the duties of the twenty five retirees.
• City attorney Fred Fullerton stated that each board member should have a good understanding of the structured interview process. There will be structured interview traning on January 20, 2011 from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. in the Arrington Auditorium. Mrs. Rumore, Mrs. Sims, Mrs. Blair, Mr. Rumore, Mrs. Allen, and Mrs. Welch will attend the training and report back to the board.
• Mrs. Allen moved the approval of the Personnel Committee minutes from December 14, 2010. Mrs. Blair seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.

Director's Report (as submitted)

Buildings, Facilities, and Projects Update

• For details, see Angela Hall’s Building Report.
• East Lake’s new heating system is not working. We have been forced to close for a few days for repair. The contractor and the City Architect’s office are working on it.
• East Ensley's heating has failed, but equipment to replace it is on order and will be installed by the city ASAP.

Finance and Budget Update

• A copy of the Library Fund Budget and a copy of the November City Budget Report are provided in the board packet. Please let me know if you have any questions.
• You have received a copy of the library’s annual audit. Lindy Eichelberger, who performed the audit, will make a presentation regarding the audit at this meeting.

City Retirement Incentive Plan

• BPL is in the midst of trying to get everything done in spite of the loss of 25 full time people or, stated another way, 1000 staff hours each week that have to be made up. So far our plan is working and all locations are open their regular schedule and serving the public. The people temporarily transferred are in place and doing well. All of us are working together, from Angie Hall and me to the staff at all levels all across the system to support the library’s mission. There is still no word from the City regarding filling the 25 positions. We very much hope that they allow us to follow our plan and to fill positions soon.

Miscellaneous

• The library catalog and patron account services is now available on your mobile phone. We are very excited about this. To access it go to http://m.vulcan.bham.lib.al.us/ from your phone. You can also download an icon so you can go directly to it with out putting in the URL. Try it and let us know what you think.

• The computer commons at the Central Library is tentatively set to open mid-January. I will let you know the actual date as soon as it is final.
• In all the retirement activity I failed to report the very successful United Way campaign at the library. This year we raised $18,064.62, beating last year's total of $ 14,602.37! This is a 19% increase. I am very pleased that we did so well. I was afraid with some of our larger contributors retiring that our total would actually fall.
• The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) hosted its annual Local Authors Fair on Saturday, December 4. More than 85 self-published authors were on hand for the event. Santa pictures were made on the same day.
• The library was unsuccessful in getting our Pepsi Refresh proposal in for January. We plan to submit again in late summer or early Fall. It is very difficult to beat the rush at the time of first submittal.

• We have filed a Notice of Intent with the Alabama Public Library Service that we will be making a proposal for LSTA funding to improve WiFi at all library locations and to increase our capacity for self checkout at several branches and Central Library. The actual grant is due in the spring of 2011. The funding, if we get it, will come in FY2012.

• Season’s Readings 2010 is hot off the press, and you will receive copies at the board meeting. We added a list of books researched in the Archives Department and published in 2010. Thanks to Mrs. Welch, Mrs. Sims, and Mr. Rumore for contributing reviews.

Gifts and Grants Received (September 23-October 20):

• We are having a moderate success with our “Give the Gift of Reading” Campaign and continued gifts to the donation campaign. From 11-18 through 12-15 we received $2,835.
• $5000 from Birmingham City Schools for Arts After School (teens)
• $1000 from Alabama State Council on the Arts for Bards and Brews
• $1000 from Alabama State Council on the Arts for Word Up!
• $4000 from Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham for after school arts programming (elementary)
• The “Donate Now” button on our Web page is extremely easy to use. We would like for all board members to make a donation to this drive. The amount is not important but having all board members support the campaign is.

Current and Upcoming Events

• Free Santa Claus pictures for families at the following branches:
  • North Birmingham Branch Saturday December 11, 2010 2-5 p.m. Avondale Branch Sunday, December 12, 2010 2-5 p.m. Five Points West Branch Sunday, December 19, 2010 2-5 p.m.
• Neighborhood branches, including Wylam, Ensley, North Avondale, Woodlawn, and Powderly will close at 5:00 p.m. from November 22 though January 7. East Ensley and Inglenook will be open from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. instead of 2:00-6:00 p.m. during this period.
• Bards and Brews will be on January 7 at the Central Library at 6:30. (Attendees must be 18 or over and IDs will be checked.)

• SaveFirst, a free tax help program that is sponsored by Impact Alabama, will operate out of Woodlawn, Smithfield, and West End branches from January 17 through the week of March 5.

• Be sure to check the BPL Blog at http://bplolinenews.blogspot.com/ to keep up with all the activities going on at this library. You can subscribe and have any updates sent to your email if you have not already done so.

Comments

• Ms. Adams stated that this was her last board meeting. She has enjoyed working with the board and believes that the library is in good hands with Renee Blalock and Angela Hall as Director and Associate Director, respectively.
• Reverend Johnson stated that he will miss Ms. Adams.
• Mrs. Allen enjoyed having Ms. Adams as a part of the board. She also congratulated her on the work she is doing at the School of Fine Arts.
• Mrs. Amamoo stated that she appreciates the relationship between Renee Blalock and Gwendolyn Welch which allows them to solve issues before they reach the board.
• Mrs. Rumore stated that she is still learning the duties of being a board member and that she appreciates that Ms. Adams will still be available if needed.
• Mrs. Sims wished Ms. Adams good luck. She also stated that Angela Hall is doing a magnificent job and welcomed Pat Rumore to the board as the new president of the Friends.
• Mrs. Blair stated that it has been a pleasure serving with Ms. Adams on the board.
• Mr. Rumore thanked Ms. Adams for her work on the board and also thanked the entire board for their service. He reminded the board that they are all public servants and should work together for the good of the library.
• Mrs. Welch read an email to Ms. Adams regarding a woman who is trying to contact her. She also thanked Angela Hall for the Buildings and Facilities report and for her professional response at the Personnel Committee meeting. Mrs. Welch also stated that the board must be consistent and that every library must follow policies and that the director should have a copy of all policies and procedures on file.

Fiscal Year 2010 Audit

• Mr. Adams requested that the board go into executive session for approximately five minutes for discussion of the audit.

Submitted By

Irene S. Blalock, Secretary