Birmingham Public Library Board Minutes

Call To Order

• Meeting called to order by President James Sullivan.

Public Voices

• There were no public voices.

Presentations

• Jeffrey White of Banks, Finley, White, & Co. presented the audit report to the board for 2017. The information given to the firm was “presented fairly” which is the best possible type of report.

• Janine Langston provided a report on Summer Learning 2018.
• Sandra Lee provided a report on the library’s involvement with a project, The Many, from the David Mathews Center for Civic Life and in partnership with Spaceship Media and AL.com. The project included a closed forum on Facebook with different topics of discussion with people from various parts of the country. The library supplied facts for a discussion that took place between women who live in Alabama and voted for Donald Trump and women who live in California and voted for Hillary Clinton.

Approval of Agenda

• Kimberly Richardson moved to approve the agenda. Judge Scott Vowell seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Approval of Consent Agenda

• Judge Scott Vowell moved to approve the consent agenda. Willie Davis III seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Terry Oglesby

• Terry Oglesby met with staff to discuss the Wylam project. The project was previously approved, and the board requested the design team make a presentation of the proposed design to the board. Construction is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2019. Oglesby is obtaining pricing for the resealing of the 3rd floor crosswalk at Central. The purchase order meeting for the VOIP project is set for Thursday. The Powderly Branch Library roofing is held up in the Accounting Department.
• For transparency, Kimberly Richardson asked that communication be sent to the Daniel Foundation letting them know that the funds provided for Wylam were mostly used for items that will carry into the new building for Wylam.

Veronica Merritt, City Attorney

• Attorney Veronica Merritt certified as a licensed attorney in the state of Alabama, there were matters to discuss in executive session pursuant to code 35 -25-A7-A2 to review a formal written complaint against an employee whom the board oversees and pending litigation. Kimberly Richardson moved to enter into executive session. Fatima Carter seconded the motion, and it was approved.
• Gwendolyn Amamoo moved to exit out of executive session. Fatima Carter seconded, and it was approved. The matter was referred to the Personnel Committee.

Operational Items Requiring Board Approval

Finance Reports

• Damein Baity presented the finance report to the board.
• The board reviewed the amendments made to the State Aid report which were made after the city supplemented the library’s computer leases. The funds for the computer leases from State Aid will be used for computer supplies, furniture, and programs.
• Judge Scott Vowell moved to accept the recommended amendments to the State Aid funding. Kimberly Richardson seconded the motion, and all were in favor.

Unfinished Business

• There was no unfinished business.

New Business

• There was no new business.

Director's Report for August 2018

• Floyd Council reported staff members are reviewing the ADA policy for the libraries. Not all locations are in full compliance.
• All staff members will be signed up for JCPLA memberships, and some staff are scheduled to attend the JCPLA Staff Day.
• Council and the Executive Team will attend a training on September 25, Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
• Staff members are working towards complying with the city grants procedures.
• Kimberly Richardson shared her concern about the merging of the Development Department and Community Engagement Department. Richardson will share details with Council and the board via email.
• Council thanked the staff for a fabulous job in the past month.
• James Sullivan reported that he and Council met with members of the Friends Foundation board to talk about establishing a relationship between the library board and Friends Foundation board.

Board Members' Comments

• Wardine Alexander gave kudos to staff for the Google event. Alexander visited Central Library that day and witnessed the training sessions.
• Willie Davis also stopped in for the Google event and thought it had good energy. Davis shared a concern about security cameras in general needing an upgrade. In looking at the incident reports, some of the incidents are in areas where there are currently no cameras. Davis believes this will affect patrons coming into the library. Council stated the biggest concern is security. A request for cameras throughout the locations has been denied. The library will continue to ask for funding and look into how more police officers can work at library locations.
• Kimberly Richardson congratulated the staff on the recent events in the news. Richardson saw great PR and participation surrounding the Local Authors Expo. Richardson gave kudos to the staff.
• Fatima Carter reported she had a good experience at the ALA conference. Carter gave kudos to the staff for the Google events.
• Sherri Nielson attended the last two sessions of the Grow with Google event. Nielson has also been taking Excel classes at the Central Library. Nielson commented the instructors are good, and the class is well developed. Nielson thanked the staff for their hard work regarding the Local Authors Expo and summer programming.
• Pat Rumore is working with the board and contractors to evaluate what is possible.
• James Sullivan commended the staff on a great job with the Google event. Sullivan asked to think about communication regarding security. Council stated Community Engagement is working on a media strategy to address concerns.

Submitted By

Floyd Council, Secretary