Birmingham Public Library Board Minutes

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Call To Order

• The November 9, 2021 board meeting was called to order by Eunice Johsnon Rogers at 4:35 p.m.
• Lynn Flowers-Martin provided the Invocation.
• Eunice Johnson Rogers announced that there will be no voting due to the absence of a quorum

Public Voices

• Community leaders and citizens spoke in opposition to the closures of North Avondale, Titusville, East Ensley, and Ensley Library.
  • David Russell
  • Dorothy Scott
  • Crystal Smitherman, City Councilor, District 6
  • Adam Washington
  • Michael Broadnax
• Rogers informed citizens that the Board has not yet voted on any library closures. Meetings with the mayor's office, members of the city council, neighborhood groups, and community leaders will take place before a final decision is made.

Approval of Agenda

• No vote due to the absence of a quorum.

Approval of Consent Agenda

• No vote due to the absence of a quorum.

Malera Wright, City Attorney

• No report.

Operational Items Requiring Board Approval

Finance Report

Damein Baity, Chief Financial Officer, presented the financial report to the board.

Reports of Committee:

Personnel Committee:

• Carter reported that they are still waiting for Trustee responses regarding the interview of the Executive Director. They will move forward once those responses are received.

Unfinished Business:

• Langston reminded Trustees to complete their APLS training. Information on how to access the training is provided in the packet.

New Business:

• The development office is working on several projects, including a year-end holiday giving campaign. They are also working on a proposal for a spring fundraiser event called "A Novel Tasting." The event will be held on Thursday, April 7, 2022, during Library Giving Week. It will be a joint project with the BPL staff, the Friends Foundation, and the Board of Trustees. More information will be shared at the next Advocacy, Fundraising, and Development Committee meeting.

Interim Executive Director's Report:

• On Thursday, November 11, our nation will pause to honor our military veterans. I would like to take a moment to recognize and honor the military veterans that serve as part of the BPL team. We’re most appreciative of the military service and the service they provide every day to the City of Birmingham. Our military members include Olivia Butler, U.S. Army; Angela Brooks, U.S. Army Reserve; Monica King Slater, U.S. Army; Norman Griffin, U.S. Army; Jimmy Smith, U.S. Army; Kenneth Padgett, U.S. Army; William Darby, U.S. Army; Gavin Tucker, U.S. Army; and Roderick Zeigler, U.S. Marine Corp.
• These names will also be included in the All Staff Meeting tomorrow morning. Mayor Woodfin also acknowledged our veterans at this morning’s City Council meeting. Two of our own were present.
• The BPL team members participated in a variety of outreach events during October. This included in-person enrichment programs for Birmingham City School’s intersession. Schools visited included Avondale, Central Park, Tuggle, and Philips Academy. They will continue to provide these intersession programs throughout the city. The programs include story time, STEM programs, robotics, and arts and craft.
• We also had team members participate in the Birmingham Zoo program, Hoots and Howls. Staff was there for six days and presented 18 story times with over 2500 children in attendance. They shared information about the library and gave out over 900 grab-and-go craft kits.
• Team members continue to represent the Birmingham Public Library at neighborhood meetings both virtually and in-person.
• We hosted a number of in-house activities and programs during October, including story times and arts and crafts programs. Our Star Wars Reads system-wide event was well received. Our system-wide Halloween event, Trick-or-Treats, Socks on Your Feet, was very popular.
• Please take notice of the “Evicted” exhibit on the first floor of the East building. That exhibit will be up through December. They held a reception on October 21st that was very well attended.
• Our locations continue to host book clubs and craft programs for teens, children, and adults.
• The Local Authors Expo event will be held Saturday, November 20th from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Central Library.

Board Member's Comments

Members of the board expressed their gratitude to the staff for their efforts. They also expressed appreciation to the public for attending Board meetings to express their concerns. President Rogers stated that citizen’s concerns are being heard and taken into account before any decisions on library closures are made. Sandi Lee reported the Friends Foundation has two new board members - Marcedia Bolden, Budget Officer at Miles College, and Christin French, Attorney at Petway, French, & Ford, LLP.

Next Board Meeting is scheduled December 14, 2021, at 4:30 p.m.

Adjourned at 5:03 p.m.

Submitted By

Janine Langston, Interim Director