Birmingham Public Library Board Minutes

Minutes	April 19, 2012	8:30 a.m.	Central Library Boardroom
Meeting Called By	Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch, President
Type of Meeting	Regular Board Meeting
Attendees	Trustees: Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch, President; Gwendolyn Amamoo, Vice-President; Nell Allen, Georgia Morgan Blair, Samuel Rumore, Dora Sims, Judge Scott Vowell, Advisory Member Present: Patricia Rumore Staff: Irene S. Blalock, Director; Angela F. Hall, Associate Director; Danny Dorroh, Business Office; Edith Major, Personnel Officer; Reba Williams, Central; Marie Nash, North Avondale; Judy Coffey, Avondale; Donna DeMedicis, Springville Road; Monica Slater, Central Fiction; Denise Ford, West End; Casandra Scott, Avondale; Shekera Stanley, North Birmingham; Samuel L. Finch, Southside; Deidre Powell-Sims, Eastwood; Travis Young, North Birmingham; Russell Lee, Central Art/Literature/Sports; Wanda W. McGinnis, East Lake; Karen J. Clark, Titusville; Tomiko Nixon, Centra; Cynthia Phillips, East Ensley; Mary Merchant, Ensley; Carla Threats, Five Points West; Monica Cottrell, Five Points West; Grace Slaughter, Springville Road; Barry Crane, Springville Road; Tiffany West, Springville Road; Cynthia King, Central Circulation; Stephanie George, Business Office; Marilyn Billups, Business Office; Lisa A. Bradley, Central Catalog; Fannie Jolly, East Ensley; Justin Banger, Springville Road; Jane Clapp, Southside; Vera W. Broussard, Central BST; Byron F. Williams, Powderly; Jemilah Woods, Powderly; Candice Hardy, Five Points West; Barbara Holland, Avondale; Leslie Deason, Central Fiction; Tina Samuel, Titusville; Debra Bonner, Social Sciences; Kathy Brewis, Computer Commons; Perdeta Long, North Birmingham; Eve Parker, Avondale; Darnita Marshall, Avondale; Rose Mary Siler, Central Catalog; Debby Howell, Avondale; Francine Cooper, Central Catalog; Lenairria Creer; North Birmingham; Linda McFarland, Central Microforms; Diane Blaylock, West End; Byron D. Williams, East Lake; Paul Cockrell, Southside; Michael Fagin, Inglenook; Leonette Jackson, Springville Road; Rosalind Brooks, Central Government Documents; Gigi Gowdy, Central Archives; Ann Austin, Centra; Sequoria Lewis, Woodlawn; April Furlow, Circulation; William Bowie, Administration Others Present: Nicole King, City Attorney; Bruce Herrington, Herrington Architects; Anne Marie Ellis, Herrington Architects; David Sussex, City Architect

Call To Order

Meeting called to order by President Gwendolyn B. Welch.
The invocation was given by Grace Slaughter.

Approvals

Georgia Blair moved the approval of the agenda. Dora Sims seconded the motion, which carried.
Georgia Blair moved the approval of the consent agenda. Nell Allen seconded the motion, which carried.

Staff Spotlight

All of the Birmingham Public Library Library Assistant III's were presented certificates for recognition of their service.

Pratt City Update and Other Projects

The finishing construction documents for the new Pratt City Library will be completed by May 25, 2012. The City will review the plans and make any necessary changes and then the project will go out for bids.
The contract has been submitted for Inglenook.
The contracts are currently being signed for North Birmingham. A purchase order should be ordered within two weeks. After that time, a preconstruction meeting will be held.

Advocacy, Fundraising, and Development Committee Report

The Advocacy, Fundraising, and Development Committee met on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.
Dora Sims moved the approval to set the BPL new logo unveiling budget at $50,000 and to present SIX Branding Design Company with a $3,500 honorarium. Gwendolyn Amamoo seconded the motion which carried with a 5-2 vote. (Nell Allen and Judge Scott Vowell voted NO)

Personnel Committee

The Personnel Committee met on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 3:30 p.m.
The full Board will vote on the changes to the Director's Evaluation at the May Board meeting.

New Business

Pratt City will hold a commemoration on Friday and Saturday, April 27-28, 2012. Please make plans to attend.
Georgia Blair moved the approval to move Eastwood Library over one space. It will be located in the same shopping center and will have more space. Gwendolyn Amamoo seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. The lease extension contract for Eastwood will be further discussed at the May Board meeting after a Finance Committee meeting is held.

Director's Report

Finance and Budget Update

Let me know if you have any questions regarding the budget reports. We seem to be on target for the end of the year. The city funds must be obligated by the end of April per orders by the city finance department. This date is a little earlier than usual and we are busy ordering work that needs to be done before the end of the fiscal year.

Trivia Contest Update

By the time of our meeting we will know whether or not the BPL Trivia Team has won the statewide part of the Alabama Impact Brightest Company Competition. The state wide competition will be held on Tuesday, April 17 here at Central. The competition is being held simultaneously in Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville, and here in Birmingham. If our team wins a second $10,000 will go to the Friends of the Birmingham Public Library.

Director's Activities

Angela Hall and I have spent much if not most of our time preparing for the trial of the lawsuit which is scheduled to begin on April 23. We have had meetings and work sessions with our attorney Fred Fullerton.
We are continuing work on several building projects. These include Pratt City renovations and there will be a report at the April 19 meeting. At this point there is no news regarding the planned temporary site. We hope the new HVAC and roof project at North Birmingham will begin by mid-May.
Two sessions of training on "Civility in the Workplace" took place in March. Several additional sessions in such areas as supervision, leadership, customer service, and performance evaluation have been scheduled for the next few months. In addition many staff members are taking advantage of classes offered by the City of Birmingham Personnel Department on a regular basis.

Miscellaneous

BPL staff led by Angela Hall visited the Alabama State Legislature on March 3 to advocate for public libraries in the FY2013 budget.
The Alabama Humanities Foundation discussion series "Making Sense of the American Civil War" continues to go well.
BPL is working with the Mayor's Office on plans for celebrating 2013, the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham. We will be assisting in producing an exhibit with them and the Museum of Art.
The Word Up! Student Poetry Slam 2012 was held on April 1 at the Central Library. Students from across the county participated. This event has grown in both participation and quality of the presentations over the five years since it was begun. Haruyo Miyagawa who has headed up this effort for the library has done an excellent job of both presenting and promoting poetry at BPL.

Current and Upcoming Events

Commemoration of the April 27 storms is in the planning stage. One event is a 5K and a ½ mile fun run on April 28. The proceeds will benefit the Pratt City Branch restoration. I will send more details of other activities as I receive them.
The Art of Science series of after school programs have been extremely well received. These programs presented by Elinor and Winfield Burks at libraries around the system are funded by the Kresge Arts in Birmingham Grants administered by the Cultural Alliance.

Exhibits in Central's Gallery

April 16—May 25: Four Decades: Photography from Montevallo, current photography from faculty and former students from the University of Montevallo Department of Art, Photography Program.
June 4—20: Photographs by Eudora Welty, traveling exhibit by the History Museum of Mobile

Reminders

Dial a Story - Call 226-3650 to listen to a great story over the phone!
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.
Sign up for the BPLinks newsletter at http://www.bplonline.org/programs/
All BPL programs and events are listed on Birmingham365.org (http://birmingham365.org/) to access BPL programs and events only, go to the BPL Web site at http://www.bplonline.org/programs/.

Comments

Dora Sims stated that a Library Board Trustee should be placed on the Friends Board to serve as an advisory member.
Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch stated that Five Points West Library should have community information on the "distinguished citizen" bulletin board. Dora Sims stated that she would bring this up at the next neighborhood meeting.

Submitted By

Irene S. Blalock, Secretary