Birmingham Public Library Board Minutes

Call To Order

• The meeting was called to order by President Kimberly Richardson. Georgia Morgan Blair gave the invocation.

Public Voices

• Bridget Brown proposed the library enter into a creative partnership with the civil rights activist Angela Y. Davis’ childhood home at 1 11th Court North in Dynamite Hill which is currently for sale. Brown expressed it is time for libraries to re-imagine the needs of the community. Last year, the Chicago Public Library partnered with a local barbershop and provided haircuts for young people from the Inglewood neighborhood in addition to facilitating a discussion of issues of concern and violence in the community. Georgia Morgan Blair commented that a 501(c)3 organization has looked into purchasing the house. Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch suggested Brown consider taking the idea to the mayor’s office since the city council recently discussed the Ballard house, Dr. Herschel Hamilton’s former house. Brown informed the board the space could be used as a creative resource, community engagement, or unconventional library space. The house costs $150,000 and approximately 2800 square feet.
• Richardson mentioned the library has constraints of ownership of property, and the city owns all of the library buildings with the exception of Eastwood which is a leased property. If an organization attains the property, the library could then discuss a partnership with the organization. Richardson thanked Ms. Brown for bringing this information to the board and believes it should be brought to the attention to the mayor and city council especially since the recent national park designation for the civil rights institute.

Presentations

• There were no presentations.

Approval of Agenda

• Georgia Morgan Blair moved to approve the agenda. Eunice Johnson Rogers seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Approval of Consent Agenda

• Georgia Morgan Blair moved to approve the board meeting minutes from January 2017. Eunice Johnson Rogers seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Georgia Morgan Blair moved for the approval to amend the agenda in order to consider the personnel recommendation before approving the personnel actions.
• Sandra Vick Lee made the recommendation for the Coordinator of Finance to the board. Georgia Morgan Blair moved to accept the personnel action with the amendment of accepting the recommended candidate, Damien Baity, at a rate not to exceed his current salary with the city plus 5%. Willie S. Davis III seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Terry Oglesby, City Architect

• Sandra Vick Lee updated the board on Trane updates throughout the system. Some buildings had to close during the repairs when water was shut off or installation of lighting upgrades in the smaller branches. Trane will start to replace transformers and the HVAC unit at Avondale.

Kayla Lawrence, City Attorney

• Attorney Lawrence did not have any business to discuss. Attorney Nicole King sent the board an email stating that with her promotion, she will not be returning to the library. Attorney Lawrence will continue in her role as attorney for the library.

Operational Items Requiring Board Approval

Finance Reports

• Georgia Morgan Blair moved to approve the finance reports. Gwendolyn Amamoo seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Request to close the Central Library for Steel City Jazz Fest, Saturday, June 3

• The library was open the first year of the Steel City Jazz Fest in 2015, and the noise level was high, distracting patrons and employees. The library closed last year for the day. Kimberly Richardson asked if there was a way to get the library involved with community engagement in these types of events including the Magic City Classic. Gwendolyn Amamoo asked for follow up on speaking with Parks and Rec about the parking arrangement for the Classic. Amamoo suggested charging to use the library parking lot during these events. Judge Scott Vowell suggested checking with the legal department to see if it is permissible for liability purposes. Richardson asked for Lee to explore ways of community engagement and charging for parking within the next thirty days, and it will be on next month’s agenda.

Request from the Ensley Library to have Vending machines

• The Ensley library is the pilot for the business center. Alisha Johnson has rearranged furniture and created a comfortable seating area in the tile area of the building. Johnson has requested a vending machine for this area. At Central, the vending machines are paid for by the Staff Association. A company stocks and maintains the machines, and the staff association receives a percentage of the sales. Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch suggested vending machines at branches use the proceeds for programming and that could be an incentive for the staff member to maintain the machine.
• Judge Scott Vowell moved to approve the exploration of the feasibility of having vending machines at the branches. Willie S. Davis III seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Reports of Committees

Advocacy Committee

• Chair Dora Sims reported that once the legal department drafts the language for the memorandum of understanding, the committee can decide how many hours a BPL employee can spend of Foundation business.
• Sims updated the board on the results of the IAMBPL award. The committee recommends that employees be allowed to send five personal faxes per month, free of charge, not to exceed five pages per fax. Dora Sims moved to send this item to the Policy Committee for the consideration of adding it to the personnel manual. Gwendolyn Amamoo seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Dora Sims moved to approve the continuation of the Innovative Awards ($1900) and the I AM BPL Award ($400) for 2017 using up to the amount of $2300 from the board fund.
• Richardson asked for the exploration of asking someone for an in-kind donation of installing and wiring hand dryers in the Central building restrooms.

Executive Search Committee

• Kimberly Richardson reported that the Executive Search Committee, personnel staff Edith Major, and Jamilah Woods, in the presence of Attorney Lawrence, conducted the phone interviews. The committee selected three finalists who will be brought in for interviews in March.
• Attorney Lawrence recommended going into Executive Session to discuss matters of personnel pursuant to Alabama code 36-25A-22.
• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch moved to reconvene the meeting. Gwendolyn Amamoo seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Kimberly Richardson moved to extend an invitation to the top three candidates for an interview for the director position on March 14, 2017. Eunice Johnson Rogers seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Long-Range Planning Committee

• The committee discussed the strategic plan and indicated items that have been accomplished and adjusted dates of completion.
• The Daniel Foundation approved the Wylam grant proposal. Paint color will be matched with the tile color. Richardson asked that a list of plans be shared with the branch manager and city councilor Marcus Lundy.

Nominating Committee

• The nominating committee comprised of Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch, Willie S. Davis III, and Judge Scott Vowell. The nominations for president were Georgia Morgan Blair, Kimberly Richardson, and James Sullivan. The nominations for vice president were Willie Davis III, James Sullivan, and Judge Scott Vowell. Kimberly Richardson withdrew her name from the president elections.
• For president, Georgia Morgan Blair received two votes and James Sullivan received one. For vice president, James Sullivan was voted unanimously for vice president. The committee recommends Georgia Morgan Blair for president and James Sullivan for vice president. James Sullivan withdrew his name from president election.
• The board voted as follows:
• Georgia Morgan Blair for President
  • Gwendolyn Amamoo – Yes
  • Georgia Morgan Blair – Yes
  • Willie Davis III – Yes
  • Kimberly Richardson - Abstain
  • Eunice Johnson Rogers – Yes
  • Dora Sims – Yes
  • James Sullivan – Yes
  • Judge Scott Vowell – Abstain
  • Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch – Yes
• James Sullivan for Vice President
  • Gwendolyn Amamoo – Yes
  • Georgia Morgan Blair – Yes
  • Willie Davis III – Yes
  • Kimberly Richardson - Abstain
  • Eunice Johnson Rogers – Yes
  • Dora Sims – Yes
  • James Sullivan – Yes
  • Judge Scott Vowell – Yes
  • Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch – Yes
• Georgia Morgan Blair was elected president, and James Sullivan was elected vice president. The officers will take their oath of office at the end of February.

Unfinished Business

• There was no unfinished business.

New Business

• There was no new business.

Director’s Report for February 2017

• The Alabama Media Group who published the Birmingham Best Bites book informed the library that a check for $2464.32 will be issued to the library from a portion of the book sales. The total distribution is $6,020.32. It is expected to complete the sale of the book this spring, and a final check will be distributed.
• The Alabama Public Library Service will have Legislative Day in Montgomery on February 21, 2017, and Lee requested to attend with the other librarians in the state.
• Lee updated the board that the staff member involved in an incident reported to the board on January 28, 2017, was terminated.
• Lee informed the board the audit is complete and is ready for the Finance Committee to review.
• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch asked Sandra Vick Lee what community engagement activities the library is offering to help fund events such as Eat Drink Read Write (EDRW), Bards and Brews, and the author’s conference. EDRW 2016 was paid for by various line items. Welch asked what plan is in place for events such as the author’s conference. Welch suggested getting a business to underwrite the program or charge the authors a fee to participate. Lee reported that Development and PR are working on sponsorship packets to send to businesses. There is already a list of sponsorship possibilities including businesses and organizations that may be interested. A sponsorship packet was made last year and did not receive enough response partly due to the late commitment of EDRW headliner. A local chef is being considered this year to draw more attendees.
• Eunice Johnson Rogers and Kimberly Richardson expressed the need to develop funding for the author’s conference and not rely on city funds. Richardson stated the cancellation of this year’s Author’s Expo should have been brought to the attention of the board and took issue with how it was handled. Moving forward, there should be earlier planning, earlier engagement, and getting support from the community and underwriting. Georgia Morgan Blair commented that she has worked with organizations that charge a flat fee for participating in events ($100 or more) and some that ask for a percentage of sales.
• Welch suggested the library start to work on replacing the Barnum and Bailey, Out of this World holiday program since the circus is going out of business.
• Lee informed the board that every library has mobile hotspots available for checkout.
• Richardson updated the board on the Reading Initiative which is pending authorization from the mayor for the disbursement of funds.

Board Members'Comments

• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch thanked the Executive Search Committee.
• Georgia Morgan Blair thanked the trustees for their votes. Blair did not think that she would be president of an organization that she was not allowed to use 53 years and 9 months ago. Blair asked the trustees to support her in her role.
• Dora Sims congratulated the new officers and commended Kimberly Richardson for her time as president. Sims thanked the whole board continue to move forward in 2017.
• Gwendolyn Amamoo wished everyone a happy Valentine’s day. Amamoo congratulated the new officers. Amamoo expressed that she will miss Richardson and her leadership and knows Blair will do well. Amamoo thanked the Executive Search Committee for their time and effort. Amamoo thanked the Nominating Committee and all committees.
• Richardson thanked everyone for their support over the past two years. Richardson expressed her full confidence in the new officers.
• Richardson adjourned the meeting, and Blair will preside as president at the next meeting.

Next Board Meeting is Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

Submitted By

Mary Little, Senior Secretary