ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY BOARD
343 S. FIFTH AVENUE, ANN ARBOR, MI
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2018
18-095 I. CALL TO ORDER
President Vander Broek called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.
18-096 II. ATTENDANCE
Board Present: Jim Leija (arr. 6:08 p.m.), Jan Barney Newman, Colleen Sherman, Linh Song, Ed Surovell, Jamie Vander Broek
Board Absent: Victoria Green
Staff: Josie Parker, Eli Neiburger, Bill Cooper, Karen Wilson (recorder)
Others Present: William Stapleton, Hooper Hathaway
18-097 III. RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION FOR DISCUSSION OF REAL ESTATE AND LABOR NEGOTIATIONS
18-098 IV. RECONVENE TO REGULAR MEETING AT 7:00 P.M.
President Vander Broek reconvened to the regular meeting at 7:09 p.m.
18-099 V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
(Item of action)
Trustee Sherman, supported by Treasurer Leija, moved to approve the agenda.
AYES: Leija, Barney Newman, Sherman, Song, Surovell, Vander Broek
NAYS: None
Motion passed 6-0.
18-100 VI. CONSENT AGENDA
(Item of action)
CA-1 Approval of Minutes of May 21, 2018
CA-2 Approval of Minutes of May 23, 2018
CA-3 Approval of May 2018 Disbursements
Treasurer Leija, supported by Trustee Barney Newman, moved to approve the consent agenda.
AYES: Leija, Barney Newman, Sherman, Song, Surovell, Vander Broek
NAYS: None
Motion passed 6-0.
18-101 VII. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS
David Diephuis
Thank you. One of the things I really appreciated this past year is having your meetings on tape, so to speak, where I can view it if I’m not able to come, if I want to check if something is available. I would like to make one other suggestion that revolves around your consultant reports. Over the past six months you’ve had a number of consultant reports, redefine on how to do the executive director evaluation, facility evaluation, audit report, survey of citizens and to hear about tonight review of the retreat. I would like to see that these written consultant reports that have been provided to you, are somewhere available on the AADL site. For example, when you to go About Us I would expect to see not just the annual reports, but the audit report where I could click on it and review it at my leisure. Somewhere, one central way these written reports should be available.
Quynh Song
Hi, my name is Quynh. My favorite library is the Downtown Library. I like the Downtown Library because there are so many books to look at. Another reason why I love the Downtown Library is because I like all the fish in the kids section. I love going to the library because it’s always quiet and so many different books. My favorite library series is Nancy Drew but I also like different libraries like school libraries, public libraries and all sorts of libraries. Most of all I like the summer games at AADL. There always so fun and getting points for next year. Again my name is Quynh Song, oh and always, always read.
Jaegun Song
I just wanted to commend AADL for being such a prominent part of Ann Arbor’s cultural infrastructure and I just wanted to say that I really enjoy the summer game. Mostly because of the great puns but also because they carry some humor with them as well. Thanks.
Ronen Bailey
I love that there’s big chess at the library and a lot of books at the kids section and computers and I want more sports books. Top ten list of everything - books. Thank you.
18-102 VIII. FINANCIAL REPORTS
Bill Cooper, Finance Manager
Finance Manager Cooper presented the May 2018 financials in the Board Packet. He noted that $15,486,283 in property taxes, 99.3% of the budgeted amount, has been received year-to-date. Currently year-to-date expenditures are under budget by $1,568,577. It is anticipated that revenue will exceed expenditures by $900,000 this fiscal year.
18-103 IX. COMMITTEE REPORTS
18-104 A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President Vander Broek reported that the Executive Committee met last week and discussed the final draft of the Director’s evaluation and the Board retreat. The Board retreat report from Bridgeport was not received in time to present to the Board this evening.
18-105 X. DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Josie B. Parker, Director
Director Parker submitted her written report in the packet and highlighted the following:
An AADL Board candidate information session will be held on Tuesday, June 26th at 6:30 p.m. in the 4th floor meeting room.
The It’s All Write Teen Writing Contest received over 700 entries, a record number. One winner and their family came from Idaho. There were a total of twelve winners.
MGoBlog recently blogged about a Pulp article about Washtenaw County dive bars written by AADL librarian Elizabeth Pearce.
Concentrate featured two of AADL podcasts, Martin Bandyke’s Under Covers and Vault of Midnight’s SuperSkull.
Director Parker recently spoke at an Orchard Hills/MapleWood Neighborhood Association meeting which had an attendance of about forty people.
A backup generator has been installed for the Downtown Library server room.
Public comments were viewed including ones regarding the recent A2 Comic Arts Festival event.
Vice President Song remarked her family attended both days of the A2CAF and that it was a well-run event. Director Parker noted that attendance was around 5,000 over the two days and publicly thanked Anne Drozd for overseeing the event. She also thanked all staff who participated in and supported the event.
18-106 XI. OLD BUSINESS
18-091 A. DIRECTOR’S EVALUATION LETTER FROM AADL BOARD
President Vander Broek read the following:
AADL is great because remarkable and kind people are hired and allowed to think, work, and innovate. The management team is impressive and the outcomes are remarkable. To build a dynamic organization requires dynamic thinking. And bravery. I have the impression that Director Parker possesses both things and brings them to work each day. -- from Colleen Sherman’s evaluation for Josie Parker, May 20, 2018
Dear Josie,
The Executive Committee would like to congratulate you on another successful year, one highlighted by the launch of a new website and integrated library system, and the prestigious distinction of having been awarded a five-Star Library designation ten years in a row. These two stories in particular illustrate your ability to successfully direct a complex and progressive organization that is highly responsive to the community in which it operates, while setting an example for libraries and public service organizations around the world to follow. To quote from your self-assessment draft, “there is no cap on idea generation here.” We find that evident in the performance of the Library over the past year.
The new website includes carefully thought-out features that represent both the best of what the population asked for as well as great ideas suggested by the staff. The implementation plan was well-crafted and was communicated well to the Board and to the users of the Ann Arbor District Library’s website. Your continued five-Star recognition demonstrates that while you have taken the Library in a direction that consistently pushes the boundaries of what a public library can and should be, you’ve maintained an extremely high level of service to the community. This shows not only visionary leadership, but also solid fiscal management of available resources.
This year you also led a team that set records on participation for the Library’s wildly popular Summer Game, and launched a venture into a new arena for AADL, the Fifth Avenue Press. In an environment in which libraries are being asked to pay increasingly exorbitant prices for content, we applaud your forward-thinking approach with this entry into content creation.
You made several important hires in the past year, most notably filling positions to manage the Library’s finances and direct communications. We agree that you’ve assembled a strong leadership team. This is evidenced by the coming transition to a new budgeting model that will more closely reflect the flow of spending throughout the year in the Library, and by demonstrated dramatic increases in social media engagement.
We applaud your management of the external projects conducted this year to advance the Strategic Plan Goal 3.3 with collaborators at O’Neal Construction and Epic MRA. These projects are extremely important for the Board’s continued investigation of the future of the flagship downtown library services and space. Your keen sense of timing and direction for this project continues to be a major asset to the Library and to the Board.
Your commitment to external service is excellent. We congratulate you on being asked to co-teach a massive open online course (MOOC) on public library management with partners at the University of Michigan. To us, this shows that you are considered an expert in what you do, and that you also have the ability to share your knowledge with others in an academic setting--something that does not come automatically to all skilled practitioners. We also see that you are consistently engaged with the community on key issues relating to the Library. This visibility and impact on conversations on important social and infrastructural topics serves the Library well. We also commend you for your involvement at the state level, further demonstrating your recognition as an important voice with expertise to share within the field and with partners in government.
Looking forward, we are glad to see your shift from a discussion of physical plant shortcomings to considering the issues of capacity facing the Library going forward. We think this framing will help us toward a more progressive outcome when addressing the future of the flagship downtown library. We also agree that a focus on fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all users of the Library is an important and effective use of your skills and resources.
There are two areas in which we have suggestions for continued growth. One is in addressing issues of diversity within the Library. We would like to see AADL take on the issue of organizational diversity in a big way. We hope you will consider professional development at all levels of the organization, implicit bias training, and a commitment to reexamining the hiring process to strive towards more diverse candidate pools.
A second area is in providing opportunities for professional development and engagement with the Board of Trustees. We would like to suggest a tailored approach. The Board is composed of members with a variety of strengths and interests, and we think a strategy that’s personalized for each trustee would serve well, and could help the Library harness the skills and experience of the current trustees.
Congratulations on another incredibly successful, big year. We couldn’t be more grateful to work with you as the Director of the AADL. You are an asset to the Library and to the community, and we are really looking forward to what the next year will bring.
Jamie Vander Broek on behalf of the Ann Arbor District Library Board of Trustees Executive Committee
Director Parker responded with her appreciation of the Board for their support and understanding of the vision of the Library. Director Parker credited the staff and expressed her heartfelt thanks to them in helping accomplish all that AADL does.
18-107 XII. NEW BUSINESS
18-108 A. RESOLUTION TO AMEND THE 2017-2018 BUDGET
(Item of action)
Treasurer Leija, supported by Trustee Sherman, moved the Board resolves as follows: to transfer $10,000 from Salaries and Wages to Employee Benefits; to transfer $10,000 from Salaries and Wages to Custodial Services; to transfer $25,000 from Salaries and Wages to Communications; to transfer $2,500 from Salaries and Wages to Software License/Maintenance; to transfer $25,000 from Salaries and Wages to Capital Outlay/Maintenance; that all resolutions and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded.
AYES: Leija, Barney Newman, Sherman, Song, Surovell, Vander Broek
NAYS: None
Motion passed 6-0.
18-109 B. RESOLUTION TO APPROVE AND RATIFY AGREEMENT WITH THE ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY LIBRARIANS ASSOCIATION
(Item of action)
Treasurer Leija, supported by Trustee Barney Newman, moved the Board resolves as follows: to approve and ratify the Agreement effective July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023 between the Ann Arbor District Library Librarians Association and Ann Arbor District Library; that all resolutions and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded.
AYES: Leija, Barney Newman, Sherman, Song, Surovell, Vander Broek
NAYS: None
Motion passed 6-0.
18-110 C. RESOLUTION TO APPROVE AND RATIFY AGREEMENT WITH THE ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY STAFF ASSOCIATES
(Item of action)
Treasurer Leija, supported by Trustee Sherman, moved the Board resolves as follows: to approve and ratify the Agreement effective July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023 between the Ann Arbor District Library Staff Associates and Ann Arbor District Library; that all resolutions and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded.
AYES: Leija, Barney Newman, Sherman, Song, Surovell, Vander Broek
NAYS: None
Motion passed 6-0.
18-111 D. VOTE FOR CLOSED SESSION FOR AT THE JULY 16, 2018 REGULAR BOARD MEETING FOR DISCUSSION OF REAL ESTATE
(Item of action)
Roll call vote
Treasurer Leija, supported by Trustee Barney Newman, moved for a closed session for discussion of real estate at the July 16, 2018 Board meeting.
A roll call vote was taken.
AYES: Leija, Barney Newman, Sherman, Song, Surovell, Vander Broek
NAYS: None
Motion passed 6-0.
18-112 XIII. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS
There were no additional citizens’ comments.
18-113 XIV. ADJOURNMENT
President Vander Broek adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m.