Birmingham Public Library Board Minutes

Call To Order

• This meeting was called to order by President Kimberly Richardson.
• James A. Sullivan gave the invocation.

Public Voices

• There were no public voices.

Presentations

• There were no presentations.

Approval of Agenda

• Gwendolyn Amamoo made an addition to the agenda to state the next board meeting date of August 9, 2016. Georgia Morgan Blair moved to approve the agenda with necessary corrections. Gwendolyn Amamoo seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Approval of Consent Agenda

• The personnel action will be replaced with an updated version with Edith Major’s signature. With this change, Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch moved to approve the consent agenda. Georgia Morgan Blair seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Terry Oglesby

• Terry Oglesby was away on vacation for this meeting. Sandi Lee provided an update on building and facilities. Lee stated parts for the Central elevators are projected to arrive between July 14 – July 18. The anticipated completion date is August 1, 2016.
• The repaired air conditioner at Springville Road Library was turned on for testing on Friday, July 8, 2016, and it appears to be working. The library will return to regularly scheduled times on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

Nicole King, City Attorney

• At 4:36 p.m., Attorney Nicole King recommended the board go into Executive Session under Alabama State Code 36-25-A7 to discuss professional competence and potential litigation. Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch moved to approve the board enter Executive Session, and Georgia Morgan Blair seconded the motion. All were in favor.
• At 5:47 p.m., the Executive Session ended. Georgia Morgan Blair moved to approve a letter to be placed in said employee’s personnel file based on the findings of the Ad Hoc Committee and other sources. Eunice Johnson Rogers seconded the motion. The board voted in favor except for Judge Scott Vowell who voted no. The motion carried.

Operational Items Requiring Board Approval

• Sandi Lee gave a summary of the financial reports for June 2016 and July 2016. Lee will be requesting information from the city about using last year’s budget since the current year’s budget has not yet been approved.
• Kimberly Richardson asked to look at the financial reports closely with the Finance Committee meeting to ensure BPL is on track with projections for 2017. Richardson stated to Sandi Lee that if she needs assistance with accounting, a request for support can be made from the city’s accounting staff. Richardson stated that when looking at the funds that the Board and BPL manages without much financial expertise on staff, the board needs to make it a priority and goal in terms of strategic planning. More about this subject will be discussed in the board retreat for the strategic plan.
• Georgia Morgan Blair asked about the criteria for keeping police officers as off duty police security guards versus staff security guards. Sandi Lee received feedback from coordinators who looked at reports including incident reports. Karyn Davis, Public Service Coordinator, stated Smithfield, West End, Southside will retain off duty police security guards.
• Georgia Morgan Blair moved to approve the financial reports for June 2016 and July 2016. Willie Davis III seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch made a correction in the off duty security guard contract. “Deputy Director,” should be in place of “Associate Director.” Kimberly Richardson stated language was added in the contract giving BPL the ability to terminate the agreement.
• Georgia Morgan Blair moved to approve the authorization of Sandi Lee to execute off duty officer contracts pending final approval by Attorney King. Judge Scott Vowell seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Judge Scott Vowell moved to approve appointment of Sandi Lee as Interim Director and to pay her 5% out of classification. Lee has served as Interim Director for at least thirty days. James A. Sullivan seconded the motion, and all were in favor.

Committee Reports

Long Range Planning Committee Report

• The board retreat for the strategic plan with Vantage Associates will take place on Saturday, July 23, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Inglenook library. Sandi Lee stated all coordinators will be there.

Unfinished Business

• Kimberly Richardson stated the executive director search process should be kickstarted, and a committee should be developed. Since Sandi Lee is planning on applying for the Director position, she will abstain from being a part of the planning process. Richardson suggested the newest board members, Willie Davis III, James A. Sullivan, and Eunice Johnson Rogers, be included in the executive search team. Georgia Morgan Blair volunteered to be on the team.
• Kimberly Richardson has spent time on Facebook responding to negative comments about the condition of the Central library building. Richardson communicated this to Sandi Lee who has been working with Rod Ziegler in Building Services to set a schedule for cleaning and monitoring. Richardson encourages board members to be engaged and share correct information as advocates for the library since there is miscommunication among the public.

New Business

• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch read in the Director’s Report there was a recent art opening on the fourth floor. Welch previously stated that exhibitions should be reconsidered to moving on the first floor due to the out of service elevators. She recommended asking if the artist would consider moving their show to the first floor. If they prefer the fourth floor, then BPL can reschedule their show at a later time when the elevators are in working condition. Kimberly Richardson suggested asking Haruyo Miyagawa who manages the exhibition schedule to see if it is possible to push back the exhibition schedule until the elevators have been repaired.

Director's Report for July 2016

• The Rotaract Club contacted BPL about hosting back-to-school giveaways on August 6, 2016 at four BPL locations. The proposed locations are Five Points West, Avondale, Springville Road, and North Birmingham.
• Former Director George Stewart will be honored this fall at the University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Communications by inducting him to the Hall of Fame. This will take place at the Alys Stephens Center. The College of Communications reached out to BPL to purchase a sponsorship table at the event in honor of Stewart.
• The Birmingham Barons will have a BPL night on July 20, 2016. BPL will have a staffed table at the event with information.
• BPL has been working towards creating evaluations of library programs to respond to funders and grantors for several years. Reports with charts along with narratives can be available. The development office and Tobin Cataldo, Collection Management, has been instrumental in making this available.
• BPL currently has 13 vacant positions. In May 2016, BPL requested the city to advertise five positions, and there has been no response. These positions include five full-time and eight part-time. Three staff members are currently out on long term medical leave, one staff member on short term medical leave, and five confirmed retirements in August – October 2016. Due to staff shortage, Government Documents and Microforms will be closed on the weekends. A reader printer will be moved to Southern History to be available on weekends.
• Gwendolyn Amamoo suggested giving Ms. Whitman at Miles College an honorarium for her time and effort in the creation of a promotional video she creating pro bono for Eat, Drink, Read, Write (EDRW). Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch agreed. Kimberly Richardson requested to know the cost of the promotional video before making a motion to give her an honorarium. Richardson recommends utilizing an event planner and other professional services to support the EDRW committee.

Board Members' Comments

• Kimberly Richardson asked if BPL is drawing down every dollar in terms of grant writing. Olivia Alison confirmed.

• Sandi Lee reported Olivia Alison and Tiffanie Jeter are in the process of segregating the donation history in the GiftWorks program to reflect clear notation on donations to BPL, Friends, or Friends Foundation. Alison confirmed any new donations will be automatically segregated, and Jeter confirmed the coding applies to all past donations.

• Richardson wanted to confirm the Development office has made points of contact to donors other than standard acknowledgements before the annual fund approaches. Alison confirms phone calls are made and some receive special gifts. Jeter stated they are working towards strategically planning more donor engagement besides requesting funds.
• Georgia Morgan Blair asked how a withdrawal distribution shown in the development report occurred. Olivia Alison stated it is a quarterly distribution. Blair made a correction to the development report to State Representative Rod Scott’s name.
• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch thanked Edith Major for her report from the American Library Association Conference 2016. Welch recommends working on an Active Shooter Policy based on Major’s suggestions. Welch also thanked Major for offering to send personnel policies to other libraries and for the organizational chart.
• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch announced the “I Love My Librarian Award” is open. Welch nominated Saundra Ross in 2011, and she won the $5,000 award. Welch recommends nominating Lance Simpson.
• Gwendolyn Amamoo encouraged the board members to purchase a premium package for the Birmingham Barons BPL night.
• Eunice Johnson Rogers thanked the board for the opportunity to attend the ALA Conference in Orlando, Florida. She received good information and had a wonderful experience. She spoke with a representative from ABC Mouse who wanted to make sure all locations of BPL have this program free of cost. Karyn Davis and Sandi Lee confirmed ABC Mouse is in place. Rogers went to the Little Libraries donation. Rogers spoke with someone about a reading program that encourages literacy and has apps that notifies readers about new releases at your local library.
• Willie S. Davis III spoke with someone about a program describes as an “Uber for libraries” which would need to be in partnership with schools. Someone would put a call out for a tutor in a particular subject, location, and time. The app sends a message with this information to a network of tutors who are paid by the app company and BPL would pay for the service. Davis met trustees and people from other systems.
• Dora U. Sims experienced a death in the family. Richardson expressed condolences.

Next Board Meeting is August 9, 2016

Submitted By

Mary McCann, Senior Secretary