Birmingham Public Library Board Minutes

Call To Order

• Meeting called to order by President Georgia Morgan Blair.
• Gwendolyn Amamoo gave the invocation.

Public Voices

• There were no public voices.

Presentations

• There were no presentations.

Approval of Agenda

• Judge Scott Vowell moved to approve the agenda. Eunice Johnson Rogers seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Approval of Consent Agenda

• Dora Sims amended the minutes to include the motion that was passed during the Finance Committee meeting about extending the State Aid budget to include travel for staff and trustees to receive training and education. Dora Sims made the motion, and Judge Scott Vowell seconded the motion. It was approved.
• Georgia Morgan Blair made a correction to the Development report stating the postponed Lakeview Progressive Trivia date is April 26, 2018.
• Dora Sims made a motion to approve the consent agenda with the amendments, and it was approved.

Terry Oglesby, City Architect

• Terry Oglesby reported Trane projects are approaching their end point for libraries. HVAC and lighting upgrades are currently underway in both buildings at Central. The roofing on both buildings is complete, and the next step is installing a new roof over the crosswalk.
• Trane is repairing damaged ductwork. Oglesby thanked Sandi Lee and Billy Connor for their coordination with the work done across the library system.
• The purchase order for Creig Hoskins, Studio H2 Architecture, needs to be completed by the mayor’s office.
• The Voice Over Internet Protocol wiring funding will be on the next city council meeting agenda.

Kayla Lawrence, City Attorney

• Attorney Lawrence certified as a licensed attorney in the state of Alabama, there were matters of potential litigation that needed to be discussed in executive session. Gwendolyn Guster Welch moved the board enter into executive session. Dora Sims seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Gwendolyn Guster Welch moved the board reconvene and exit out of executive session. Gwendolyn Amamoo seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Newly elected Darrell O’Quinn city councilor of District 5 entered the meeting and introduced himself to the board. O’Quinn wanted to check in and let the board know he is an advocate for the library.

Operational Items Requiring Board Approval

Finance Reports

• Sandra Lee provided an updated State Aid spending proposal to reflect funds for staff and board travel expenses to attend conferences. Some of the computer supply funds and computer lease funds were rearranged and appropriated into the travel line item. Eunice Johnson Rogers recommended combining Registration, Travel, and Continuing Education. Judge Scott Vowell confirmed that travel must be approved by the board prior to the trip.
• Floyd Council emphasized the importance of sending staff to conferences in order to achieve strategic benchmarks. Kimberly Richardson added that limited staff and scheduling issues will need to be addressed while planning for staff to attend conferences. Richardson acknowledged Councilor O’Quinn’s presence at the meeting and hopes city council is made aware of some of the library’s concerns.
• Welch asked Council to have the finance department prepare statements of availability of funds, specifically from Fund 60, gifts from Neighborhood Associations or individuals that are earmarked for specific programs. Each branch and/or department heads should be made aware of the funds available and the balance. Staff will need to be trained in order to prevent overdrawing the account. Welch stated there is a need for accountability and transparency. Sandra Lee replied that the accounting system MAS 90 is in the process of being upgraded. The installation be complete in December. When it comes online after the installation, the requested reports should be up to date and more accurate.
• Gwendolyn Amamoo moved to adopt the State Aid review with the changes in the Registration, Travel, and Continuing Education line item. Dora Sims seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Committee Reports

Special Called Meeting

• Gwendolyn Amamoo moved to adopt the State Aid review with the changes in the Registration, Travel, and Continuing Education line item. Dora Sims seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• A Meet and Greet reception is being planned for new Executive Director Floyd Council. The board discussed donating funds to supplement the reception expenses. Judge Scott Vowell moved to pay up to $2000 from the board fund for the executive director’s reception. Gwendolyn Guster Welch seconded the motion, and it was approved. Willie Davis will take care of the decorations, and it will be provided by Onyx.

Unfinished Business

• The board has not received communication from the Education Committee of the City Council regarding board appointments. Kimberly Richardson suggested putting the board member requests in writing to the Education Committee. Welch said the ordinance states the library positions should be filled at the last council meeting of the year, and the trustees that have been assigned should be seated at the first board meeting of the year. Richardson commented board appointments are late each year.

New Business

• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch received an envelope asking for donations from the Friends Foundation. The Friends Foundation envelope had the BPL logo instead of the new Friends Foundation logo. Welch said the marketing materials need to be updated.
• Dora Sims said the December board meeting is the same day as the Alabama Senate special election. Dora Sims moved to change the date of the December board meeting to Monday, December 11, at 4:30 p.m. Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch seconded the motion, and it was approved. The board voted as follows:
• Gwendolyn Amamoo: Yes
• Georgia Morgan Blair: Yes
• Willie Davis III: Yes
• Kimberly Richardson: Yes
• Eunice Johnson Rogers: Yes
• Dora Sims: Yes
• James Sullivan: Yes
• Judge Scott Vowell: No
• Gwendolyn B. Guster Welch: Yes

Director's Report for November 2017

• Sandra Lee provided an update on computer leases. Currently, the library is leasing 658 machines at a cost of $30,313.65 per quarter and approximately $120,000 per year. In February 2018, one hundred sixty of the leases will expire. Nineteen of these computers are used in the Five Points West Library Computer Commons. Lee and staff are planning to move under-utilized computers to Five Points West prior to February 1st. Baity recommended waiting to see if the budget passes which included additional funding of computer leases. A technology committee will be developed in line with the strategic plan, and they will consider new technologies for the library in place of some PCs.
• Floyd Council added all the other libraries in the Jefferson County Library Cooperative lease their desktop computers. Council and Lee will review whether or not to continue leasing computers in addition to considering national trends such as personal devices. Kimberly Richardson would like the library to pursue corporate sponsorships and underwrite equipment and software needs.
• Sandra Lee updated the board on a prior request to see how many library employees do not have library cards. Currently, twenty-two employees are without cards. Currently, it not a policy, so it is not a requirement.
• Lee clarified the $10,000 that was discussed in the Advocacy Committee meeting’s Eat Drink Read Write report was the total donations when the Lakeview trivia event was still scheduled. When that event was postponed, $7500 had to be subtracted from $10,000.
• Lee informed the board about a new service from the Jefferson County Library Cooperative, Shoutbomb, which allows patrons to sign up for text notifications regarding their account.
• Lee announced Gwendolyn Guster Welch will be honored as a library champion for 2017 at the JCPLA luncheon on December 5.

Comments

• Gwendolyn Guster Welch, Willie Davis, and Judge Vowell welcomed Floyd Council.
• Kimberly Richardson also welcomed Council and announced Nicole King, the previous city attorney for the library, will be the new head of the law department for the city.
• Eunice Johnson Rogers welcomed Council.
• Gwendolyn Amamoo welcomed Council. Amamoo requested sending an official letter to Nicole King to congratulate her. Amamoo thanked Sandra Lee for her work as Interim Director.
• Georgia Morgan Blair said a patron Corina Cappelinni called to share her concerns about the condition of the appearance of the library. Blair invited her to speak at the December board meeting.

Next Board Meeting is Monday, December 11, 2017

• The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

Submitted By

Floyd Council, Secretary