AADL Board of Trustees Meeting - July 16th, 2018

[00:00:10.82] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Hey, everyone. We should get started. OK. All right. So is there a motion to approve the agenda.
[00:00:23.46] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: So moved.
[00:00:24.37] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Second.
[00:00:26.75] JOSIE PARKER: Do you want to amend the agenda?
[00:00:29.71] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Oh, right, right, right. Yes. So I think we should cancel the August meeting. Oh, my gosh, you guys.
[00:00:40.19] JOSIE PARKER: There wouldn't be a code there.
[00:00:41.17] [LAUGHTER]
[00:00:43.84] ED SUROVELL: I think you're out of order.
[00:00:46.06] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Can we give them the points just for being here tonight?
[00:00:47.95] COLLEEN SHERMAN: We have to decide that before we approve the consent agenda, correct?
[00:00:52.26] ED SUROVELL: No.
[00:00:53.21] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: I think we have to approve it before we approve the entire agenda. Because it's mentioned at the end.
[00:01:00.06] JOSIE PARKER: No, you have to add it to the agenda.
[00:01:01.90] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Oh, we have to add it. That's right. We have to add talking about it to the agenda. That's what we have to do.
[00:01:05.74] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Oh. Got it.
[00:01:06.94] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: OK, sorry.
[00:01:07.63] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I move that we add talking about an August meeting and whether or not we have one to the consent agenda.
[00:01:14.97] ED SUROVELL: Support.
[00:01:15.91] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: To the agenda.
[00:01:16.42] VICTORIA GREEN: The agenda we are discussing.
[00:01:19.75] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Any discussion? OK. All those in favor?
[00:01:22.57] VICTORIA GREEN: Aye.
[00:01:22.96] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Aye.
[00:01:23.34] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Aye. OK. Opposed? Great. OK. Now we can approve the agenda. Sorry, everyone.
[00:01:32.85] LINH SONG: I move to approve the agenda.
[00:01:35.20] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Second.
[00:01:38.13] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Discussion? All those in favor?
[00:01:39.37] VICTORIA GREEN: Aye.
[00:01:39.71] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Aye.
[00:01:40.38] LINH SONG: Aye.

[00:01:40.93] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Opposed? OK, great. Now, consent agenda.
[00:01:47.67] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Move to approve.
[00:01:49.77] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Second.
[00:01:51.46] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: All those in favor?
[00:01:52.55] VICTORIA GREEN: Aye.
[00:01:52.97] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Aye.

[00:01:53.55] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Opposed? OK. All right. Now, citizen's comments. Come and get your points. I assume you're in some sort of order that Karen here will have. OK.
[00:02:03.97] KAREN WILSON: The first one is Onna Solomon.
[00:02:09.93] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: And if you all wouldn't mind telling us, in addition to your name, kind of where you live in Ann Arbor, that would be great.
[00:02:15.42] ONNA SOLOMON: My name's Onno Solomon. And I live on Madison Place off of Eberwhite in the old west side. In the spirit of the summer games, I have written the library a love letter.
[00:02:28.92] Dear library, I love you. I have loved you as only a poet can love you. For the catalog of slim volumes lovingly selected, the obscure, the contemporary, the local I've delighted in finding on your shelves. Knowing they are there means more than just my own chance to take them home. It's a reminder that I am not alone in my love of these little books and little presses. To find them there is a gift of connectedness.
[00:02:58.27] I love you as only a mother can love you. For the daily ritual of story times where members of the magical society of storytellers miraculously arrive with puppets and felt boards and old folk songs that save me and my ilk of the bedraggled, sleep-deprived, crazed new mothers and fathers, and have, day after day, week after week, year after year, helped raise children delighted by story by the rhythm of call and response, the balance of stillness and movement, and the mysterious pleasure of communal listening.
[00:03:34.15] I have loved you as everyone loves you, because you are a unicorn, or maybe a narwhal-- library humor-- among government institutions, a place of imagination, a place of play, a place of calm, a place of innovation, a place that brings people together. I love your codes and your badges, your fish and your librarians, your tents and your hula hoops, your secret labs, your lawn games, your disco balls, your theremins, your art. I love you for what you are and what you have been and what you will become. With summer games in my heart, yours truly, Onno Solomon. Thank you.
[00:04:16.16] [APPLAUSE]
[00:04:22.95] KAREN WILSON: I have Linda Peck and Nancy Elder.
[00:04:27.32] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Can I ask a quick question? The rule is that we aren't encouraged to respond. We can say thank you, though, right? OK. Thank you. That was fantastic!
[00:04:41.18] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: But we do need to know their address.
[00:04:48.40] LINDA PECK: Good evening. My name is Linda Peck, and I'm a member of the League of Women Voters. And we've just held a poster contest that invited all high school students in Washtenaw County to invent a poster with the theme Vote 2018. So we had 103 entries, and they're fabulous.
[00:05:13.12] So we just heard today from Terry Soave that the library is willing to work with us and display some of these posters downtown and at the branches. So I wanted to just show you a couple. I've got 10 here.
[00:05:31.23] I wanted to pull out a couple. You are not alone. Let them know. Vote-- with the White House.
[00:05:43.65] My point in coming here, let's see. Not voting isn't a protest. You're forfeiting your freedom. When you do not vote, you have no right to object.
[00:05:51.55] So I'll just stop there with demonstrating and just say that we're really thankful the library is willing to work with us. They hosted our awards ceremony at the Pittsfield branch, which was packed to the gills, and it was great. And so now, as a poster committee, we would like to ask the library to break with tradition a little bit and consider doing an exhibit that would include a few posters, that would bring some reference material from the library to include. So it would be informational, not just pictures on the wall, if that's possible.
[00:06:34.24] I know it's kind of an old-fashioned idea. And I understand that there are no tables for display. So it could be problematic. But that's kind of what our idea was, that we could work together and come up with something that would be attractive with these beautiful posters and also informational.
[00:06:55.60] And we have a lot of free bookmarks with the logo Vote411.org. If you go to the link, it's a league link. It gives all the information about if you're registered, how to register, forums, everything. So we would give you those to distribute.
[00:07:16.64] So thank you very much for your time. And we'll just see what happens. We'll work with Terry. But if you have any input at all on that suggestion to go with kind of a little bit more complete exhibit, we'll work with you in any way we can to get that to happen.
[00:07:35.54] And the other point is, if we can, out of the 103 posters, it would be so nice to take examples from students in the neighborhoods around the branches, so that when people come, they say, oh, that's so-and-so. I know him. I go to school with him, or whatever they say. Thank you so much.
[00:07:53.47] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Thank you.
[00:07:53.98] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yeah, thank you for taking the time to bring those.
[00:07:58.02] KAREN WILSON: Laverne Jackson Barker.
[00:08:03.27] LAVERNE JACKSON BARKER: Good evening. How are you? I've thanked some of the other librarians around town where I've stopped from time to time for all that you do. You're so forward-thinking. At one point, you provided me with a computer and a printer I had water damage in my home.
[00:08:29.11] And before I told them to not pack my computer and my printers, they had packed them and moved them away from my house. And so the library saved my life. Because I was able to come and keep doing what I do with your computers and with your printers. So I'm thankful for that.
[00:08:51.97] In addition to that, I thank you for all of the activities, all the opportunities that you have around town. In addition to-- oh, my god-- the game, the summer game. I love the summer game.
[00:09:05.74] So thank you for all of that-- all of the events, all the speakers, the crafts that you could come to the library and do. And the thing about it is, it's not just throw together. It is well-planned, well-prepared. It's just well done. So thank you. Thank you very much.
[00:09:25.50] And oh, my god, the code.
[00:09:29.04] [LAUGHTER]
[00:09:30.27] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: We gotta write it down. What's your address?
[00:09:35.81] LAVERNE JACKSON BARKER: Oh, I'm on the west side of town on Elizabeth Road.
[00:09:39.27] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Great.
[00:09:40.76] ED SUROVELL: Hey, Laverne?
[00:09:42.09] LAVERNE JACKSON BARKER: Yes.
[00:09:42.48] ED SUROVELL: Come here.
[00:09:45.22] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: We used to require that.
[00:09:46.14] ED SUROVELL: Where the hell have you been all these years?
[00:09:48.39] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: When did that change?
[00:09:48.86] [LAUGHTER]
[00:09:50.27] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: We don't actually need to ask them their address.
[00:09:51.74] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: OK. I always thought we had to.
[00:09:53.61] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: I know, but Josie looked it up and we don't.
[00:09:56.02] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Great.
[00:09:56.34] ED SUROVELL: Nice to see you.
[00:09:56.50] LAVERNE JACKSON BARKER: It was good seeing you.
[00:09:57.81] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: That changed, but without telling us.
[00:10:02.41] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: So maybe in lieu of your addresses, you could tell us which branch you like to go to the best when you come up.
[00:10:07.66] SPEAKER 3: Do we have to kiss somebody too?
[00:10:09.30] JOSIE PARKER: No.
[00:10:11.98] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Please don't. Please.
[00:10:16.36] KAREN WILSON: Madeleine Faye.
[00:10:22.99] SPEAKER 4: Ready? OK.
[00:10:28.67] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: We're not scary. I promise.
[00:10:29.81] SPEAKER 4: Yeah, they're not scary. Do you want to-- OK. Well, this is Madeleine Faye. She's playing the summer game. She lives on Morton Avenue in Burns Park. And she wanted to say thank you before we got here for all the great books that are helping her learn how to read when she gets ready for kindergarten in the fall. Is there anything else you want to say? OK, thanks.
[00:10:55.31] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Thank you, Madeleine.
[00:10:56.27] [APPLAUSE]
[00:10:58.68] And good luck in kindergarten.
[00:11:03.27] KAREN WILSON: Kathleen-- I can't read the last name.
[00:11:11.65] JOSIE PARKER: Is that you, Kathleen? OK.
[00:11:21.77] KATHLEEN: So I want to say thank you and echo everyone about the summer games. As the years have gone by, you've become more mindful of persons with disabilities, and codes have become easier to find. They're not in stairwells or in levels that we can't access. So I want to thank you for that and for thinking of us.
[00:11:40.23] I also would like you to consider and think about two areas of accessibility needs here at the main branch at AADL, the first one being in this room here. This weekend specifically, I came for the book sale, and they had books up on the staging area. And I was not able to access the audio-visual materials. And so I'm wondering what the library is considering to do in the interim.
[00:12:05.91] The other area that I would like the library to think about is the patio area on the first floor. I don't know if any of you have attended the summer festival, but they have these amazing little pre-fab ramps that kind of hook to the curb.
[00:12:22.97] And I know that it's not a very long way down. I could probably make it down. I just couldn't make it back up again. So I would like the library to consider making some changes if it could, as we're still talking about possibly having a new library altogether. But I want to thank you for everything that you do. I appreciate you.
[00:12:42.14] JOSIE PARKER: Thank you.
[00:12:42.95] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Thank you
[00:12:44.68] [CLAPPING]
[00:12:47.12] JOSIE PARKER: But she can't see the code, Eli.
[00:12:51.50] KATHLEEN: OK, thank you.
[00:12:56.87] KAREN WILSON: Melanie Baldwin.
[00:13:02.82] MELANIE BALDWIN: Hi. You guys all know me. I'm Melanie. I'm from the friends and the staff and everything. I just want to say thanks. I love the summer game. I love helping you guys with it from the friends point of view and just from playing it.
[00:13:14.85] And it's just awesome. And I just wanted to say thanks and get the code.
[00:13:18.58] [LAUGHTER]
[00:13:19.07] So thanks everybody!
[00:13:23.46] KAREN WILSON: Edward Vielmetti.
[00:13:25.39] JOSIE PARKER: Yes, that's right.
[00:13:32.35] EDWARD VIELMETTI: Hi. I'm Edward Vielmetti. I live on Brooklyn Avenue, halfway between Malletts Creek and downtown on the number five route.
[00:13:42.33] I wanted to thank you for the summer game. It reminds me how much of the library every year. And it reminds me to come back and check out some books. Because I had zero checked out at the beginning of the summer, and now, I have several.
[00:13:56.05] I want to thank you for having an acquisitions budget that lets you get new books all the time, which is really great. I lived in a town that had a library that had a $0 budget one year, which was really, really sad. But I don't live in a town like that right now, which is really lovely.
[00:14:16.32] And I want to encourage you all, as soon as a spare moment comes free-- I'm very much looking forward to MeLCat coming back, as I think we all are. I know that it's a bunch of work to do that, that interfacing two complex systems is a very complex problem. But I'm very much looking forward to MeLCat again. Thank you very much.
[00:14:45.08] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Thank you, Ed.
[00:14:45.89] JOSIE PARKER: Thank you.
[00:14:46.31] [APPLAUSE]
[00:14:47.56] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: When I worked here, Ed was known as the super patron.
[00:14:50.76] EDWARD VIELMETTI: I was a code.
[00:14:51.67] [LAUGHTER]
[00:14:53.04] JOSIE PARKER: He was a code one year.
[00:14:55.72] KAREN WILSON: Joshay?
[00:15:01.19] SPEAKER 5: Joshua maybe?
[00:15:03.18] KAREN WILSON: OK, that might be it.
[00:15:04.45] [LAUGHTER]
[00:15:06.54] All right.
[00:15:23.94] [LAUGHTER]
[00:15:34.37] JOSHUA CORCORAN: My name is Joshua Corcoran. I live on Fountain Street. I love this-- [LAUGHS] --library. And I love to check out books here. I come here once a week, sometimes twice. I also love watching videos here-- from here, anyway. I think that the library should have more classic Doctor Who.
[00:15:59.28] [APPLAUSE]
[00:16:02.93] I also wanted to come up here to get the code.
[00:16:04.55] [LAUGHTER]
[00:16:05.52] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Did you get it?
[00:16:07.96] [APPLAUSE]
[00:16:14.31] KAREN WILSON: OK. Kim Borges with James Borges.
[00:16:18.70] KIM BORGES: Borges. I'm Kim and this is Jamie. His first visit to the library was at six days old. And he spent most of his first birthday here playing with the Green Toys bus. He loves the bus and the rocket ship. And his favorite book is Touch And Feel Town. So thank you. Not much to say now that we're up there.
[00:16:41.37] [LAUGHTER]
[00:16:43.35] [APPLAUSE]
[00:16:47.81] KAREN WILSON: And our regulars, Lat and Tom Bell.
[00:16:56.73] JOSIE PARKER: No kisses, just regulars.
[00:16:59.29] LAT BELL: I'm Lat. And this is my dad Tom.
[00:17:01.97] TOM BELL: Hi.
[00:17:03.19] [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
[00:17:04.13] That's all I need.
[00:17:04.91] [LAUGHTER]
[00:17:07.23] LAT BELL: And we live at 2609 Cranbrook Road. And we are at the Malletts Creek library. That's our library.
[00:17:15.72] TOM BELL: So first thing-- these blankets we got from the summer game, these are so great. We've laid out on them many nights watching shooting stars. And they're fantastic. But they're really hard to fold back up.
[00:17:28.29] [LAUGHTER]
[00:17:35.18] We have some other stuff too. We brought some stuff. Like, we got these bags from the-- the bags, right? These are great. I use this every day going to school. I work Dearborn High School.
[00:17:46.41] And we were hoping maybe there could be a summer game code in Dearborn. But then we thought that might be a little too far.
[00:17:53.04] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: That might be a little too far.
[00:17:54.74] TOM BELL: So I guess not.
[00:17:55.83] LAT BELL: And I work in the Ypsilanti Public Library at the cafe, in Beezy's. And sometimes, people recognize my Ann Arbor District Library stuff, and I feel like there's a competition going on.
[00:18:05.57] [LAUGHTER]
[00:18:07.90] And we also got these binoculars so we can see all of you better. And here's a coaster. It's very vintage. It's from the puzzles. And we made coasters this year.
[00:18:22.56] TOM BELL: We made coasters this year.
[00:18:23.22] LAT BELL: At a summer game event.
[00:18:24.79] TOM BELL: Yep, making coasters.
[00:18:25.83] LAT BELL: We like the crafting events.
[00:18:27.34] TOM BELL: Oh, yes.
[00:18:27.69] LAT BELL: Because you get to make cool stuff. I also work at the SCRAP Box. And I'm in contact with a librarian to get a code at the SCRAP Box this year. It's very exciting.
[00:18:42.46] TOM BELL: Very exciting.
[00:18:43.74] LAT BELL: And sometimes, I get so excited that I have to pour myself a drink--
[00:18:48.09] [LAUGHTER]
[00:18:48.52] --and drink it out of my library tumbler. But sometimes, I need to drink on the go.
[00:18:55.61] [LAUGHTER]
[00:18:56.56] So I've got my library water bottle. But sometimes, there's too much water altogether. So I have to find my library umbrella.
[00:19:08.62] TOM BELL: And our most useful item, according to the wife, is the pizza cutter.
[00:19:12.84] LAT BELL: We use the pizza cutter a lot, to cut pizza, usually. Anything else we have? Oh, what's your hat from?
[00:19:20.78] TOM BELL: Oh, I made the hat this year.
[00:19:23.60] LAT BELL: At the summer game kick-off.
[00:19:25.23] TOM BELL: Yeah. Sometimes, I'll come to an event just to get the code, and then I wind up doing the crafty thing, whatever it is. And I go, wow, that was really fun. And that was cool. And that was great.
[00:19:37.01] I went to see this speaker about Albert Kahn. And I thought, oh, that's going to be blah. And it was fantastic. The guy was really good. And I was really impressed. So thank you for all that stuff-- for the codes, for the game, and for the library, yes?
[00:19:49.36] LAT BELL: Thank you very much.
[00:19:50.74] [APPLAUSE]
[00:19:56.88] KAREN WILSON: Gerry and AJ Berkheiser.
[00:20:04.55] JOSIE PARKER: I think you're going to have to pull the small one down. What a cutie.
[00:20:15.03] AJ BERKHEISER: I love the summer game.
[00:20:16.88] [APPLAUSE]
[00:20:20.34] GERRY BERKHEISER: No? OK. So that's my son AJ. I rediscovered the library about six years ago. He's six and a half. [LAUGHS] And I discovered the summer game about halfway through that year.
[00:20:35.98] And the following year, I became very, very competitive. And the following couple of years, I was so competitive, it drove me insane. And I was probably top 10 players somewhere. And it drove me so crazy that I'm like, I've got to stop.
[00:20:50.32] So I don't know where I am anymore, but I know I'm nowhere near top 10, because I had to back off. It drives me crazy.
[00:20:56.01] But they inspired me a little bit. Because I remembered that I had something in my purse that I got from the summer game. And I was so excited when you guys offered it, because I have a back story for it.
[00:21:07.90] So many, many years ago, my family had to go down to Tennessee for a passing in my family. And on our way back, we hit this horrible snowstorm in Ohio. We could have made it home. We were, like, 45 minutes from home.
[00:21:21.37] But it was so bad, and it was the middle of the night. We were so tired. We pulled over at a hotel and stayed the night at the hotel.
[00:21:26.38] And this was, like, April, June? Do you remember, Brent? It was, like, May. It was past when you would have your snow scraper. In the car, right? And we come out, and our front windshield is covered in ice. But I think we actually had our snow scraper. Or maybe we didn't. I don't remember.
[00:21:41.56] But anyways, you offered this. So now I keep this in my purse. And it's an ice scraper. And I got it from the summer game.
[00:21:51.22] So the other thing I wanted to say was, a couple of years ago, I was up here getting my code, and I mentioned how one of the other local libraries that I have-- by the way, Ed, if you you recognize me, you do. I'm able to be a part of another library around here, because I work in that district. And they offer Amazon e-books. And I came up here, and I said, please, that's so wonderful. They offer Amazon e-books.
[00:22:19.60] And you guys expanded your e-books. And we're loving it. And he's loving it. And he's reading them. And he's having so much fun.
[00:22:25.33] He actually filled out his own card. I made him actually do his own reading this year, because he learned how to read this last year. And I'm reading chapter books to him. So I filled my card out with all the chapter books I've read to him.
[00:22:38.63] So I don't want to take any more of your time. But we love the summer game. Thank you. All right. Good job, honey.
[00:22:42.62] [APPLAUSE]
[00:22:48.84] KAREN WILSON: Amanda Reel?
[00:22:52.08] AMANDA REEL: Hi, everyone. I'm Amanda Reel. I most often frequent the downtown branch and the Westgate branch, which is lovely. Good job on that.
[00:23:02.25] I work for the United Way of Washtenaw County. I support our grant making and also our volunteer center. So thank you for volunteering in all that you do.
[00:23:10.38] But I just wanted to say, as a nonprofit public sector person, thank you for serving all of our community in all that you do. I know, sometimes, that's challenging. But it's also very important. And I really appreciate that the library is there for everybody.
[00:23:25.95] Kudos to your staff for continuously evolving in programming. I'm just amazed at the creativity that comes out of the Ann Arbor District Library. And high praise for the summer game. Whoever came up with that is a genius for pushing us out to the community, maybe driving us crazy finding codes, but encouraging people to go places and do things that might be out of their comfort zone. So thank you very much.
[00:23:47.74] [APPLAUSE]
[00:23:54.60] KAREN BELLA: Monica Bella.
[00:23:57.54] MONICA BELLA: Hi there. I have to say, I'm real impressed at how many people wrote things down and the fact that it didn't even occur to me that I could write things down. I'm on Fernwood. Malletts Creek is my branch. I'm a very long-time library user.
[00:24:13.68] In fact, I used to go to the Loving branch. And in fact, as a master gardener, I wrote for the Master Gardener newsletter. And I was on the Malletts roof when the water roof-- rain roof-- what is that called-- was planted, which was really fun.
[00:24:33.37] I love all your books, but also, your videos. I'm a big British TV fan. I'm always impressed when I look up a video, going, they're not going to have this, it's super obscure, and then you have it.
[00:24:48.21] I also really like your library lockers. I sometimes work crazy hours, and it's a real nice way for me to still get my books in a time that's convenient to me.
[00:24:59.40] I also love the summer game. As the other person said, I got super crazy with it last year. I was also in the top 10 and totally had to scale back this year. I would say I don't know where I am, but I'm 241.
[00:25:14.53] [LAUGHTER]
[00:25:19.92] I really like the branch explorer badges, because mostly, everyone just goes to their own local library branch. And I think it's neat to go out and see the other branches. I love the parks walks. A friend and I go on regular walks, but, again, we stick to four or five parks. And we've been able to go to different ones that we wouldn't necessarily go to.
[00:25:44.19] So that's all. And thank you. And got my code!
[00:25:48.99] [APPLAUSE]
[00:25:53.79] KAREN WILSON: Emily Hein.
[00:25:59.07] EMILY HEIN: Hi. I'm Emily Hein. One of the things I love about the summer game is that it makes me do things I wouldn't normally do. I confess that I could see the code from back there. And I considered maybe not coming up to the podium. But here I am.
[00:26:15.72] And I wanted to say, my first branch, when my son, who's now nine, was a toddler, was the branch that was in the Plymouth Mall. And so I saw that sort of expand and become the Traverwood branch.
[00:26:33.15] And then my next local branch was the Malletts Creek branch. And now, we live close to the Westgate library. And when I go to the Westgate library, it's really very clear how much the renovations there transformed that library branch into something-- I mean, not that it wasn't a great branch before, but just exciting in a new way. Especially as a parent, I love the Sweetwaters connection, and being able to take my kids to a free place to play that also has so much else going on.
[00:27:05.05] And I guess I don't know where you guys are at with talking about the renovations to the downtown library. But if I was going to say anything, it would be just to give my support for renovating that space the way I've seen Traverwood and Westgate be renovated. So thanks for listening.
[00:27:24.18] [APPLAUSE]
[00:27:29.00] KAREN WILSON: Meg Hickson.
[00:27:35.91] MEG HICKSON: Hello. So I prepared my remarks while sitting here. [LAUGHS] So I currently live at the confluence of 14 and 94, in that area, as Jamie can attest. We ride the same bus.
[00:27:50.36] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: We're neighbors.
[00:27:51.11] MEG HICKSON: Yeah. Altogether, throughout the course of the past 14 years, I have lived in Ann Arbor for 10 of them. And I realized that, at some point in my life, given that I did a lot of apartment hopping when I was in school, every single branch has been my home branch.
[00:28:06.59] It's now Westgate. And it's the first time I've really spent time out there. So I was never in the old space. So I really have come to appreciate each of the branches. And I'm really glad to have a local branch, no matter where I've been living in town or working or whatever branch was most accessible to me.
[00:28:21.69] So let's see. So I came here for the summer game points-- not surprising-- like a lot of people. But when I knew I had to talk, I was like, oh, no, what am I going to say? And I started thinking about what makes the AADL special and why I love it and why I'm invested in this summer game thing.
[00:28:36.27] And there are a lot of reasons. I lived in a lot of places. And in all of those places, I've been very fortunate and privileged to have very good and broad and well-supported library systems.
[00:28:45.87] And it's truly astonishing what the AADL is able to offer, in terms of the breadth of its programs and the diversity of its programs and the amount of its programs, not just during the summer. I mean, I've seen concerts. I've played video games. I've made a flashlight. I've participated in a spelling bee. And that's, like, what has happened in the last month and a half.
[00:29:06.36] [LAUGHTER]
[00:29:07.69] So that's just really cool. And it's just amazing for a city that really isn't that big, population-wise or size-wise, that the library is so well-supported and so much a part of the community that you can offer so many enriching events. There are so many different types of enrichment I didn't even know that I wanted or needed.
[00:29:26.70] I also wanted to say, about the summer game, that I think it's truly amazing that it gives adults, especially, the chance to play. play.aadl.org, I think it's something that we don't really think about in our culture, don't really emphasize enough. And as an avid board gamer, old school video game player, I love the opportunity to seize on something and just to have fun with it-- to go out and explore these parks that I've never even heard of, despite living here for 10 years, to go out and to compete, you know, like a little thrill of competition, or to do a scavenger hunt in a branch or to see one pop up in the library where I work.
[00:30:02.79] It's just a lot of fun. And I think that it really just brings a nice community spirit to Ann Arbor. And it's one of the things that, after a few years living away and coming back, has really made Ann Arbor feel, again, like home to me, just the library and the summer games.
[00:30:17.23] So thank you for all that you do. It's truly appreciated. And I think you're really leading the way in public library service.
[00:30:23.70] [APPLAUSE]
[00:30:28.55] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Since so many of you play the summer game, Meg's being very humble, but she won the summer game last year.
[00:30:34.86] ALL: Ooh.
[00:30:37.08] MEG HICKSON: I'm not winning this year.
[00:30:40.44] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: So just thought you might all appreciate that more than your average person.
[00:30:44.08] SPEAKER 6: Like, way more points than should even be possible.
[00:30:49.00] KAREN WILSON: Paul and Sarah.
[00:30:55.89] PAUL: Hi, I'm Paul, with Sarah. We're Mallett's Creek patrons.
[00:30:59.77] MONICA BELLA: Woo!
[00:31:00.43] PAUL: Yeah. A little while back, last winter, we were looking into insulation for the house and doing some research. And we saw a lot of really cool pictures of heat escape from a house, based on a camera that took pictures of heat escape. And Sarah said, you know, that's something that the library would probably have-- a camera that would do that.
[00:31:25.76] And so I have to say congratulations on conditioning your patrons to automatically assume--
[00:31:31.91] [LAUGHTER]
[00:31:32.72] --that you'd have something like that. And I that's kind of risky stuff, making that sort of outlay for circulating things. But please, in the future, take more risks. Even if they're not all successful, it's really great to see that you're taking the risks and seeing what future libraries will have.
[00:31:56.65] SARAH: Thank you.
[00:31:58.53] [APPLAUSE]
[00:32:03.68] KAREN WILSON: Dave.
[00:32:10.25] DAVE: Hey. I'm Dave. Incidentally, I don't really play the summer game. But-- I know, gosh, right?
[00:32:19.14] JOSIE PARKER: Tomorrow, you will.
[00:32:20.14] DAVE: My life is just really busy right now. But I do have to say that it's really cool. I've been coming to library programs for probably the better part of a year. And to see, like, so many more attendees during the summer, probably because of the summer game, is just really cool.
[00:32:37.13] So I wanted to talk about events a bit. I go to a lot of events. I actually help run a few here, which is really cool, probably every three months.
[00:32:49.50] But as far as events go, I have these programs. And I carry a few with me at pretty much all times and give them out to people. And I realized, in doing that, that this might be the only exposure that people get to the program. So they might not go online and check what's coming on, or they might not come into the library and see the poster that's like, oh, this is what's going on this week, or this is what's going on today. Some people might just look through here.
[00:33:18.50] This month, in particular, I noticed the last two pages had an error. The sewing lab came twice. So I don't know if something was missing there that should have been there.
[00:33:31.22] And an event that I had come to monthly for a while was not on the program, but I found it on the website. So if I didn't check multiple places, I might not know. So I'm thinking, similar to how we have the weekly "this is what's going on this week," it might be cool to have a poster that's like, oh this is [INAUDIBLE] from the programs, or, these are new programs that are added that aren't in the printed programs, so people can at least be aware of them.
[00:34:00.60] So that's pretty much it. Again, props to everybody here for playing the summer game. I hope you all, you know--
[00:34:08.30] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Win.
[00:34:09.10] DAVE: --have a fun time. You can't all win. But yeah-- unless you all tie. Thank you.
[00:34:14.78] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Thank you.
[00:34:15.17] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Thank you.
[00:34:16.13] [APPLAUSE]
[00:34:21.89] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: All right. Wow. Well, if you didn't manage to sign up before the start of the meeting, you can speak at the end. But thank you all so much. That was amazing. That's the most I can-- I mean, right? In years.
[00:34:34.12] LINH SONG: Yeah. That was great. It was great.
[00:34:36.26] JOSIE PARKER: If there's anyone else who didn't sign up and wants to speak, they're totally able to-- I will say that--
[00:34:43.35] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Oh, yes, right now.
[00:34:44.11] JOSIE PARKER: --and not have to wait until the end.
[00:34:44.83] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Sure. You don't have to wait until the end. I'm sorry.
[00:34:47.87] CATHY: We're not shy.
[00:34:48.68] JOSIE PARKER: Go ahead.
[00:34:48.82] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Oh, good, good, good. Great.
[00:34:52.76] JOSIE PARKER: Yeah, just give us your name.
[00:34:53.24] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: You do have to stand at the podium.
[00:34:54.43] CATHY: We can't do it from our seats? They're recording.
[00:34:57.71] TAMMY: I'm Tammy. This is Cathy.
[00:34:59.99] CATHY: West is our branch. We love our new branch. Thank you. Though we do spend a lot of time here because of the secret lab next door. So thank you for that.
[00:35:10.12] TAMMY: We love the name-- secret lab. We tell everyone about it. So just so you know, it's no longer secret.
[00:35:14.31] [LAUGHTER]
[00:35:15.97] Just letting you know. So I want to tell you that this is my friend. Her name is Cathy. But her second name is The Enabler. I didn't know anything about the summer game several years ago. And my friend Cathy said, you what? You don't know about this?
[00:35:34.01] And now, it's pathetic. I have gotten things for my house. I made a rug for my house. I made coasters for my friends to come over. I know where to go, because I found a new B&B.
[00:35:51.05] Let's talk about food Keegan Rodgers-- love him. I cook once a year. Ask my friend. She comes over, and she is my sous chef for Thanksgiving, literally one day year. Now I can cook more. Who knew you could do so much with-- what do they call them-- garlic scapes? Who knew? I just found that out. It's an unusual vegetable that he taught us about last week.
[00:36:14.35] And let's talk Zingerman's. Brilliant move. Thank you. The bacon-- oh, please.
[00:36:22.54] And from the game shop, you have enabled me to keep my people at work dry. I have the same umbrella. Fourth of July, that is my blanket, so people can find me on State Street. Look for my library blanket. And by the way, if you need help folding, see me.
[00:36:40.20] [LAUGHTER]
[00:36:41.89] The soft-sided cooler-- every year, I go on vacation, and it enables me to bring back chocolate from the chocolate garden for my friend. And let's see what else. I said thank you for the West branch, which we can both walk to. It's so close.
[00:37:02.23] I started looking up how many events I did. It's an average of 10 to 12 a month. Now, you might think I don't have a life going to that many things. I work three jobs-- a full-time job and two part-time jobs.
[00:37:12.94] That is how good you are. You have that many things that I can't choose. I would probably go to 20, but I do have three jobs.
[00:37:21.40] And also, I wanted to thank you in a kind of backwards way. Because I love all the cool things you do. And I do mean cool. Because I'm going to confess, I don't have air conditioning, and the expanded hours at Westgate-- I have really been taking advantage of the 8:00 on Saturday and Sunday with no air at my house. So thank you.
[00:37:45.98] CATHY: I just want to thank you for the variety of programs and tools that you have available here. And honestly, I just came for the code.
[00:37:52.71] [LAUGHTER]
[00:37:55.11] [APPLAUSE]
[00:38:01.35] JOSIE PARKER: Anyone else? Thank you.
[00:38:05.29] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yes. Thank you all so much.
[00:38:06.92] LINH SONG: Yeah. That was great. That was great.
[00:38:07.87] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Amazing.
[00:38:11.00] LINH SONG: You can watch yourselves on YouTube, too. So this has been recorded forever.
[00:38:16.44] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: It's good you waited until after to tell them that.

[00:38:18.13] LINH SONG: Yes. [LAUGHS] OK. I think it's Bill's turn to come up.
[00:38:29.08] BILL COOPER: Good evening, everyone. You have my report for June in front of you. We collected $15,634,833 in tax receipts which is $36,775 more than what we had budgeted. We are ending the year under budget for expenditures by $1.5 million.
[00:38:54.14] JOSIE PARKER: Would you explain that number?
[00:38:56.12] BILL COOPER: OK, well, that number is kind of inflated. We have $816,000 in the capital fund project that comes out of that. So we're really only $700-some thousand under budget. So that money will roll into next year and the capital fund project.
[00:39:18.80] JOSIE PARKER: And that $700,000 is mostly as a result of taxes that we did not budget for at the beginning of the year?
[00:39:26.53] BILL COOPER: Well, we only about $37,000--
[00:39:30.50] JOSIE PARKER: Over?
[00:39:30.92] BILL COOPER: --over in tax receipts. So that's just underspent--
[00:39:33.77] JOSIE PARKER: Underspent.
[00:39:34.48] BILL COOPER: --in some other areas. Any question for me?
[00:39:40.34] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Any questions for Bill? No? Thank you.
[00:39:45.24] BILL COOPER: All right. Thank you.
[00:39:46.28] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Thanks. Josie?

[00:39:50.73] JOSIE PARKER: OK. Director's report. Thank you. Let me get my notes here. All right.
[00:39:55.22] This is an upcoming event on August 19. The Shiga Prefecture from Japan will be bringing an calligraphy exhibit here. And we will have a reception on August 19 on Sunday afternoon. The public's been invited.
[00:40:11.66] This exhibit's going to pretty much take over the entire library, and, midway through, will change out completely. So it's two exhibits in one. There's so much material.
[00:40:21.55] There will be a demonstration on the 19th, and then in the week, a couple of days following that. So you can come and learn to do calligraphy for yourself from masters who are coming here for the period of time.
[00:40:34.94] We're very pleased to be able to do this. And we're partnering with several organizations in town and the university to bring this. And they chose the Ann Arbor District Library as the location, locally, for this exhibit. So we're very happy about that.
[00:40:50.58] These are some upcoming events, just in the near future. The 13th annual Lego contest, which will be at the Kensington Court Hotel on the ninth. Viewing-- you know, where I come from, viewing's not about alive people.
[00:41:06.15] [LAUGHTER]
[00:41:07.33] So every time I read that, I have to stop myself. Viewing of Lego entries will be at 6:00 and awards will be at 8:00. This is a huge event. Every year, it gets bigger and bigger. Hundreds of people submit entries into this, from toddlers up to the oldest person you can imagine who wants to put Legos together.
[00:41:30.24] And some of them are so amazing and complicated and some are so simple and sweet. It's a great evening to come out. And there's plenty of parking at Kensington.
[00:41:39.59] AADL presents the First Annual Ann Arbor Wayzgoose and Printing Festival. This is a modern event based on something that printers did, traditionally, in terms of how to refine the craft, to promote the craft of printing. And so we will be using the secret lab, the letterpress, and all the equipment that we've accumulated over time to have a great event for everyone to come out and try their hand at printing.
[00:42:15.59] And then, believe it or not, the game will end. Summer game 2018 will end. There's a Game Over Gala on the evening of Friday, August 31. And it begins at 6:00. And it is here at the downtown library. So those are three things to look forward to in August that you should know about.
[00:42:36.02] The AADL and our public school summer school partnerships is part of a strategic initiative of the library. And this is Laura Rayner on the steps of one of the schools in town talking about the library. And we have had a number of field trips in the library over the last few weeks, people coming in and being here.
[00:42:57.95] And in my report to the board, I talked about the summer institute. The English Language Institute for the summer schools chose to come to the library downtown for a half day. They're doing it twice, two different groups. And they're touring the library, finding out all the things that are available at the library.
[00:43:17.76] And this is rising fifth graders all the way through rising ninth graders. And their theme this summer is reading. And they were through library, through the secret lab, got library cards. It was great. It was wonderful.
[00:43:32.91] They walked down here from Pioneer on one of those really hot days. And from here, they went over to the Museum of Art on campus, and then walked back to Pioneer from UMA. So we're very happy that all this work that we put into reaching out to media specialists and teachers has culminated in something where the summer school principal and media specialists felt that it was so important that they come down here. So we're welcoming them here.
[00:44:03.84] A couple of weeks, an intern from MLive came and asked if he could do a photo gallery of our unusual stuff-- our tools collection. And he did. And a library in Spain loved it.
[00:44:18.07] And so this was picked up by-- and I don't speak Spanish. I know it's "la biblioteca." And it was in-- I'm trying to remember now. It's a university in-- I can't tell you.
[00:44:33.87] SPEAKER 7: Salamanca.
[00:44:34.70] JOSIE PARKER: Yes. The University of Salamanca. And can you do it, [INAUDIBLE]?
[00:44:39.30] SHERLONYA TURNER: The Ann Arbor District library shows all types of objects, from telescopes to musical instruments.
[00:44:45.69] JOSIE PARKER: Thank you. And so they took some of our photos and they put them up and they highlighted them on their blog. And then we found it online. So we were very happy about that.
[00:44:57.49] We have two initiatives underway that are also part of our strategic plan. We have found that the bookable meeting rooms at Westgate have been so successful that we have added two downtown. We have taken two large study rooms on the second floor and converted them into bookable meeting rooms, so that there's such a space in the downtown library. So it's making that work in the space.
[00:45:23.32] We're also in the process of receiving a final architectural renderings so that we go out to bid on creating bookable meeting rooms in each of the three other branches, in Traverwood and Pittsfield and Malletts Creek. The idea is that, when you walk in, you will believe they were always there, from day one of the opening of the branch. They will fit into the architecture.
[00:45:45.00] So some of the spaces will be changed, but they will include a room, a space-- in one case, two-- where you will be able to book a meeting room the way you do online at Westgate. So we're hoping for that to happen, with bids go out on those projects in the fall.
[00:46:02.73] And the library board has asked that administration work toward developing a more diverse workforce. So we have a contract with Cook Ross to bring in a half-day training for supervisors and managers-- those persons here who hire-- to look at the occurrence of unconscious bias in the hiring process and how we can eliminate that as we move forward.
[00:46:30.62] This is a summary of public and staff comments. And the photos here are shared by happy patrons, including a dad and his daughter reading downtown, a pair of young summer game players working on their reading at Westgate, and some summer game sticker play from one young reader. So you see that.
[00:46:49.28] This is the middle school field trippers who visited I spoke about earlier, who were here earlier this month, and got to test their skills on one of our giant Jenga sets. They were all over the games, as you can imagine-- adolescents in the library with things to knock down. So they were having a very good time.
[00:47:07.93] A patron says, "Go to AADL's Traverwood branch to admire their gorgeous ash beams and drive the dirt roads of Ann Arbor's riverside hoods." So it's like a date.
[00:47:18.68] Or like another patron, look out the windows and see some of our regulars, which we have in the woods outside the library. This patron writes, "Wonder if it's browsing for a summer game code?" [LAUGHTER]
[00:47:31.88] We have a patron who is a connoisseur of fast wireless in town. He's actually put up-- did you say a blog, Rich?
[00:47:38.69] RICH REYTI: It's a little hashtag.
[00:47:39.94] JOSIE PARKER: A hashtag about the fast wireless in town. And so far, AADL tops the locations for the fast wireless in town.
[00:47:50.30] Looks like things are getting pretty serious this new library card holder.
[00:47:54.06] [LAUGHTER]
[00:47:56.06] No, it's incredibly special when a person gets a library card and they want everyone to know it. I mean, just think about that. Of all the things that you could want the world to know about in your life, getting a library card-- I mean, personally, that's the most wonderful thing that can happen. And this this guy was so funny with it. So we're happy about that.
[00:48:21.98] It's great to see how AADL is seen as a valuable resource by organizations in town, including U of M. This tweet is from an incoming law student who makes a point of saying in the very last sentence that the orientation kit also includes information on how to get a library card in Ann Arbor. And I don't think they were talking about the university libraries, from the way it was written. So we were happy about that.
[00:48:45.85] Speaking of lawyers, no big deal here, but just a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court tweeting about our tools collection-- also referencing that same gallery that made it all the way to Salamanca. If you can't check out T Rex mandibles at your library, well, that's just another way Ann Arbor is lapping your town. Justice McCormick wasn't the only one excited about the gallery on MLive that featured the telescopes, the guitars, art prints, and the T-Rex mandible. Here are a variety of comments that came out about that gallery. AADL is, hands down, the best thing about Ann Arbor.
[00:49:27.43] And that's that part of my director's report. And I had a written director's report, if anyone on the board had any questions about anything that you saw in the written director's report?
[00:49:41.09] LINH SONG: Can we speak a little to the summer games extravaganza?
[00:49:46.71] JOSIE PARKER: Oh, I'm sorry. Summer Game Spectacular was this past Saturday. Thank you.
[00:49:51.44] [CLAPPING]
[00:49:51.62] Oh, thank you, obviously. There were well over 1,000 people attending the Summer Game Spectacular. It was hot, but not sunny. So it was OK. We managed. Everybody was happy there.
[00:50:05.31] We were very pleased. I will say this. While all of you are wonderful regulars and we love you, love you, love you, and we're so glad you're able to be here, it's very gratifying to have a major event and see hundreds of faces that we don't normally see. And that happened last summer at the Spectacular and it happened this summer at the Spectacular.
[00:50:26.61] And so we're so gratified, then, that the next year, we see those people popping up in story times, lectures, programs. And we're building the users of the people who take advantage of the institution by meeting them in the park, outside of the library. And so it was a wonderful day.
[00:50:43.98] And we had great food trucks. If you don't know about the Spectacular, it's a way to come out and play games in Vets Park. We rent the whole park. We set up all the games that we have, and others.
[00:50:53.82] The metal detectors are a favorite, because things are hidden, and kids can find all the things that are hidden. There were 15 codes there. If you didn't know about it, I'm so sorry. There were 15 codes there.
[00:51:08.19] Help me out with the name of the circus.
[00:51:10.77] ELI NEIBURGER: The Aviary.
[00:51:11.37] JOSIE PARKER: The Aviary, which is a local group in town that does demonstrations and teaches circus arts, mostly on the high wire and on the ropes. They did three performances at Spectacular, very well attended. And people love them. It's a lot of fun.
[00:51:32.25] The City of Ann Arbor parks and rec-- their volunteer program helped us. And we were very happy about that. I mean, you can imagine, that many people in one space, it's a lot to keep up with. So we had a great day. Thanks very much.
[00:51:46.95] I want to make sure if there's anything else that you all felt needed to be discussed in the--
[00:51:52.74] LINH SONG: I just wanted to say I really appreciated it the volunteers who wore the shark outfits and did bubble activities with the kids in the hot weather.
[00:52:00.43] JOSIE PARKER: That's a vendor.
[00:52:01.65] LINH SONG: Oh, that's a vendor?
[00:52:02.94] JOSIE PARKER: That's a vendor. That's what they do for a living. And it's called Shark Bubbles.
[00:52:07.11] [LAUGHTER]
[00:52:07.47] And they are amazing. And those bubbles are pretty special. Yeah, a big hit.
[00:52:16.92] And then you have the Aviary. You have big events. We have all the badminton and checkers set-- the giant checkers set. But up near the table where you can get water and find out where to go around the area, we brought toys out of the story room-- trucks and cars and things that roll on the ground and hula hoops. And they were constantly being used. And so it's an all ages event. And I hope you make it next year. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:52:52.64] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Thank you. OK. Let's see here.
[00:52:58.99] So every month, there's almost like a placeholder in the agenda for the strategic plan 3.3, the downtown library's future. And when Josie and I were talking about the agenda, we thought it might make sense to talk a little bit about the retreat. It's been about six weeks, I guess, or maybe longer-- two months-- since we had that retreat. And we haven't really had a chance to be together and talk about it since.
[00:53:24.41] So this is just a time for us to just say if there's something that came out of it that we feel like we really want to carry forward, or if there are things that we didn't do that we need to add to agendas coming forward. This is a time where we can share some of those thoughts or reactions.
[00:53:48.71] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I read the report today. It was seven pages. And it was somewhat helpful, although it didn't, to me, reflect the spirit of the many hours we put in. I really liked how Fran Alexander facilitated, because it was very "brainstormy," just in its very nature. I thought the format was helpful.
[00:54:17.67] To me, it's not that we did something remarkably forward-thinking, in terms of next steps. We laid groundwork. We're doing more of what we want to see. Inform our conversations through the year.
[00:54:34.92] It's summer now. And I think the pace is a little slower for this group during summer. But I think we can go back to the notes. And there was going to be visual reflection too. There was a graphic artist who was there. And that wasn't in the seven pages that we saw.
[00:54:52.83] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yeah, we do have that separately. So I'll make sure that you get that.
[00:54:56.05] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Has anyone seen that? Is it good? Is it cool?
[00:55:02.58] It's a bad question. Let me try again. Is it helpful to look at that? Does it capture ideas that came across that weren't captured in the seven-page summary?
[00:55:14.55] JOSIE PARKER: No.
[00:55:15.43] COLLEEN SHERMAN: OK. Great.
[00:55:17.77] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: I think it illustrates things that are captured more than it gives ideas that are different that you could only get from images.
[00:55:26.01] JOSIE PARKER: Yeah.
[00:55:26.18] COLLEEN SHERMAN: OK.
[00:55:31.04] LINH SONG: Did the time work out well-- the shift in time?
[00:55:34.23] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Wait, for you?
[00:55:36.47] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: She wasn't there.
[00:55:37.25] LINH SONG: Yeah, I know. I was only there for an hour.
[00:55:38.92] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: What were doing that night?
[00:55:39.21] LINH SONG: I went to compete for The Moth.
[00:55:41.61] VICTORIA GREEN: But that wasn't because the time was bad. That was just bad luck.
[00:55:44.55] LINH SONG: Yeah. I didn't win.
[00:55:46.40] [LAUGHTER]
[00:55:49.32] VICTORIA GREEN: So we haven't talked about this too much. But one thing that I really appreciated about the retreat was, Eli, you did a great presentation on changes we've already seen downtown.
[00:55:59.53] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Oh, yeah.
[00:56:00.31] VICTORIA GREEN: And I think one thing that that day brought out for me more strongly was, when we talk about what we want downtown to be or could be or ideas for the future, it's not that we've had a long history of stability, and, oh, my gosh, we need a change. This building and our library patrons, our community, the services we offer have been changing for 50 years. And this isn't some special moment in time. It's just another moment with more change in the future.
[00:56:32.17] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yeah. I forgot about that part of the day. And that was really helpful to me too.
[00:56:36.72] I mean, personally, I think I sometimes think about knowing this institution when I worked here, and then, at that point, I sort of stopped knowing it in a deep way, and then picked that up when we all joined. In that intervening period, it was really helpful to get signposts of what was happening, in terms of the downtown library.
[00:56:57.66] And you're right. There's just been constant "move this here, move that there, try to make this work" sort of activity.
[00:57:03.85] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I thought that there were a few people who attended who were not our staff or not ourselves that had specific thoughts to communicate with us and were very sincere. I was disappointed there weren't more of them. And I think we expect that there would be. But we'll just keep trying.
[00:57:30.39] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Well, maybe we should hold it in the summer so people can get points for coming.
[00:57:33.98] [LAUGHTER]
[00:57:35.63] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Points might be a very good idea.
[00:57:40.01] LINH SONG: You know, I did catch Eli's presentation at the beginning. And I think the big takeaway for me was that we host over 2,000 events in a year. And that number is pretty remarkable. Am I right? It's over 2,000 events in a calendar year. I don't think people are really aware of the number of activities that happen here.
[00:58:02.31] VICTORIA GREEN: Wait. Is that eight per week? No. Math is wrong. It's 40 per week. That's a lot.
[00:58:11.93] COLLEEN SHERMAN: We had a lot of staff there. The staff were not required. They were volunteering to be there. Is that correct?
[00:58:18.74] That was helpful. It was really helpful to have conversations with people who work at the library who have a different perspective than me. The brainstorming was made easier by so many different perspectives. That was kind of a way of saying thanks to the folks for coming out.
[00:58:50.57] LINH SONG: But we have work ahead of us.
[00:58:52.34] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yes. Yeah. Personally, after that event, I think my own style tends toward wanting to hear from everyone in the room. But then, sometimes, I think I go too far in that direction and we spend a lot of time brainstorming. And now, I kind of want to talk again about, well, now, what are we going to do? And what came out of that brainstorming?
[00:59:21.65] It's almost like we need a second retreat or another conversation to talk about, well, what did we hear, and now, where do we want to go? So I think that's something that's just challenging because of the structure of our service, and how we are having an informal conversation in some ways right now, but we're also being recorded on YouTube and there's an audience.
[00:59:44.15] So it's a challenge, I think, for us to figure out. Like you said, there's work ahead. But how will we take what we did and move forward?
[00:59:55.97] COLLEEN SHERMAN: So the way we timed it out last year that I liked is, we took August off, but I think it was September that we had that three-hour board meeting, where we really got into the work. We really got into applying that work of the brainstorming.
[01:00:10.48] And I see that happening again in the fall, just in a cyclical way, in terms of what happens when summer game is over and we're thinking more about how we move and build on some of these ideas and what needs to be done right now. I'm not suggesting we address the August question. It just seems to me that it's very cyclical.
[01:00:30.98] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yeah.
[01:00:34.03] LINH SONG: So we're gathering pieces, right? So we have the Epic MRA survey results. We have the building analysis. We have to do the rest of the re-imagining and hope that the air conditioning and sewage and septic tanks hold out for the remainder of the thousands of events that we do here.
[01:00:59.00] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Well, you should all make a note that September might be three hours long. So it's good you're here now. It definitely won't be three hours. OK.
[01:01:07.30] Anything that we have not covered that you want to cover? No? Great. Well, thanks everyone.
[01:01:17.31] And thanks for being there for that event. I am glad we had it at that time. It's sort of a hard time, because energies fade and things. But it was nice to not have to take that day off of work, I have to say.
[01:01:30.17] VICTORIA GREEN: And I just think it's nice, rather than the same time every year, if we have it at different times, it just means different people's needs and abilities come.

[01:01:38.72] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Right. True. OK. Good. All right. So we need to amend the 2017-2018 budget. And Jim's not here. And he's one who really love to read resolutions out loud. Are there any volunteers?
[01:01:56.99] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Why don't you read it?
[01:01:58.39] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Oh, my goodness gracious. Page 28. OK. The board resolves as follows-- to transfer $3,545.80 from salaries and wages to purchase services, to transfer $12,090.05 from salaries and wages to building rental, to transfer $870.87 from salaries and wages to capital outlay and maintenance, to amend grants and memorials to reflect the $200,000 actually received, to move $500,000 of the $1,698,737 revenue over expenditures to the capital project fund and the remaining balance of the general fund. But all resolutions and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded.
[01:02:51.38] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Support.
[01:02:54.53] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Question.
[01:02:54.95] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: OK. So now, it's time for discussion. Would you like to say anything to get started?
[01:03:01.80] BILL COOPER: This is just a resolution. We have to have a balanced budget at the end of the year. And this is moving the money down to the penny to get that to balance.
[01:03:11.28] COLLEEN SHERMAN: What was the budget on grants and memorials originally?
[01:03:15.25] BILL COOPER: $50,000 was what was put in the budget, but we actually received $200,000.
[01:03:19.53] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Great. Thank you.
[01:03:24.90] VICTORIA GREEN: That's great news.
[01:03:29.33] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Other questions?
[01:03:34.29] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Number five, move 500,000 of the 1.6-plus million of revenue over expenditures to the capital project fund.
[01:03:44.84] BILL COOPER: Yes.
[01:03:48.53] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Can you just give me a little explanation about why the move?
[01:03:53.48] BILL COOPER: We decided, in the finance committee, the last one we had, that we would move $500,000 of the capital project fund to next year for the Epic MRA study-- the different things that they have outlined that need to be done over the next few years. All of that will come out of the capital project project.
[01:04:13.57] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: The building assessment?
[01:04:16.80] BILL COOPER: Yes.
[01:04:19.11] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Oh, right. Sorry. I didn't even notice that.
[01:04:22.23] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I knew what you were saying.
[01:04:28.86] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Are we set?
[01:04:31.85] VICTORIA GREEN: Wait. I have one question. What's our flexibility in moving things between capital project fund and general fund? Is that changed?
[01:04:40.21] BILL COOPER: No. No, we can't. That takes board approval to do that.
[01:04:44.89] VICTORIA GREEN: But the board can do it, is my question.
[01:04:46.70] BILL COOPER: Yes. Yes. You can do it.
[01:04:47.20] JOSIE PARKER: Oh, sure. Yep. Yep.
[01:04:52.01] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: OK? All right. Thank you very much. OK, so shall we have a vote? OK. All those in favor?
[01:05:00.15] ALL: Aye.
[01:05:01.44] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Opposed? OK.
[01:05:03.54] JOSIE PARKER: [INAUDIBLE]
[01:05:06.45] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: All right. So does anyone motion to cancel the August meeting?
[01:05:14.61] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: So moved.
[01:05:16.19] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Is there a second?
[01:05:17.01] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Support.
[01:05:18.33] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Now we may have discussion. I hear audible sighs. OK. So aside from the loss of potential summer game points, let's talk about why we might not meet in August. Josie, do you have anything you want to say?
[01:05:31.83] JOSIE PARKER: I do. We do not have any business going forward through the rest of the summer that would require a board vote. So pretty much, we'd be meeting for finance report. And we have, in the past, deferred that report to September from August. This is often the case.
[01:05:52.48] And there have been more summers where we don't have an August meeting than when we did. So we're just recommending that you not meet because of the lack of business.
[01:06:03.64] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Jamie, do you have a feeling, as far as strategic planning and following up on the retreat [INAUDIBLE]?
[01:06:08.00] LINH SONG: Yeah, that's what I was wondering.
[01:06:10.52] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yeah. On the one hand, we could maybe use the time to have sort of a "debriefy-type," "retreaty-type" discussion. But on the other hand, I know we're going to be down at least one person.
[01:06:23.51] JOSIE PARKER: Two.
[01:06:23.84] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Two in August.
[01:06:25.58] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Well, that's a reason not to. I think, for those discussions--
[01:06:29.42] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yeah. Gotta have everyone.
[01:06:34.40] COLLEEN SHERMAN: We are more likely to get higher attendance going into fall. And those conversations-- if there is a good reason not to wait, then I would say have the August meeting. But I don't hear a good reason not to wait, that it's time-sensitive.
[01:06:52.46] LINH SONG: Plus committee meetings will still continue. So we'll still have our committee meetings. It's just the general board meeting.
[01:07:01.85] COLLEEN SHERMAN: When we didn't meet in August last year, the executive committee, if something urgent comes up, we can cover it, right? OK.
[01:07:11.19] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Right. I think it's very sensible to take a break once a year. Though that's my opinion. Anyone else?
[01:07:21.66] VICTORIA GREEN: I guess I'm happy to meet. It's fine with me to meet. But just like at work, I don't want to have a meeting if there's no business. I mean, that's just a waste of everybody's time.
[01:07:31.14] As a board member, I think it's fine. I'm more concerned about the staff time. I mean, think about the work--
[01:07:36.92] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: All of us.
[01:07:37.91] VICTORIA GREEN: Yeah. Setting the room up, videotaping us-- there's no reason to spend that money and time if we're not going to have any business. I am a little concerned about the summer game code points.
[01:07:49.63] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: I know, me too. Yeah. Because that's the last chance.
[01:07:53.73] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Can we come up with other things?
[01:07:54.56] ELI NEIBURGER: It says in the badge --[INAUDIBLE]
[01:07:57.25] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: OK.
[01:07:57.45] SPEAKER 11: And there wasn't an August meeting last year.
[01:07:59.86] JOSIE PARKER: No, there wasn't.
[01:08:01.10] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: OK. So you guys were already sort of prepped.
[01:08:03.50] COLLEEN SHERMAN: It seems like there are a lot of opportunities for points.
[01:08:06.59] [LAUGHTER]
[01:08:08.74] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: I get the sense there's never enough.
[01:08:17.38] COLLEEN SHERMAN: If someone wants to come to my office, you guy can give me a code. I don't think that's a violation of university policy.
[01:08:26.59] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: I don't know. We'll have to check with that.
[01:08:29.75] VICTORIA GREEN: So I think the summer game code thing-- if there were complaints or issues about that, if we wanted to add a "meet a board trustee" at 7:00 PM at the time of the meeting or some such thing, I'd be happy to volunteer to shake hands and with anyone who might feel unaware that we weren't going to have it other than that.
[01:08:49.97] LINH SONG: I'll join you. That's a great idea.
[01:08:51.48] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yeah, I think we should do that.
[01:08:52.08] LINH SONG: Wouldn't it be fun?
[01:08:52.36] JOSIE PARKER: I like that. I like that.
[01:08:53.32] VICTORIA GREEN: I'd totally do it.
[01:08:54.83] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Perfect.
[01:08:57.94] LINH SONG: I'm not going anywhere.
[01:08:59.71] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I like hearing people tell us what they like about the library. It's helpful.
[01:09:04.88] LINH SONG: You're perfectly welcome to tell us things that you don't like. We should make that clear. I've actually told children at the Spectacular, you should come and give public comments. You can sing a song. You can complain. You can say whatever you want to say. So we should say that too. Yeah.
[01:09:23.52] VICTORIA GREEN: Good. Yeah.
[01:09:25.95] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: OK, so cancelling August? And we don't have to vote about that, right?
[01:09:30.20] JOSIE PARKER: Mm-hmm.
[01:09:30.66] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: We do need to vote about it?
[01:09:31.21] JOSIE PARKER: You need to vote.
[01:09:32.13] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: OK. All right. So all those in favor of canceling August?
[01:09:37.53] ALL: Aye.

[01:09:39.23] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Opposed? OK. All right. OK. I think that takes us to citizens' comments once again. Anyone else sign up?
[01:09:50.94] KAREN WILSON: I did have another sign up. Santhiya? S H A N T I?
[01:09:59.49] JOSIE PARKER: Can you come to the microphone? If you guys can't tell, Karen's coming down with a terrible cold. She's not going to be here tomorrow, are you, Karen?
[01:10:10.57] KAREN WILSON: I don't think so [INAUDIBLE].
[01:10:13.00] SHANTI PRIYA: Yeah, I am Shanti Priya. I came from India. So I'm very happy for this library. I learn much from the books, and also, how to use the internet through the library website. And I appreciate that.
[01:10:34.20] And also, one thing I am bothered about is the events which you have given-- some are kindergarten to fifth grade, some of the events. But the grading will be same, but it will be in different library branches at the same time. Then my kids are fighting. Mama, I want to go to this library. Mama, I want to go to this. The other child no, that is not good, I what I want to go.
[01:11:07.80] Actually, my disadvantage is is, I don't know how to drive. I know how to board the buses and come. So it's a little bit of confusion about that. So please consider that, that same group of the grades should not be in different branches at the same time.
[01:11:28.48] JOSIE PARKER: Thank you.
[01:11:28.63] SHANTI PRIYA: So thank you for that.
[01:11:30.81] JOSIE PARKER: Thank you.
[01:11:31.19] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Thank you.
[01:11:31.58] SHANTI PRIYA: Thank you.
[01:11:32.55] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Thank you. That's really helpful feedback.
[01:11:33.54] [APPLAUSE]
[01:11:39.42] KAREN: Joy Schultz.
[01:11:46.29] JOY SCHULTZ: Hi, I'm Joy. I live in Glencoe Hills. And I normally go to Malletts Creek. I prepared some things while listening to everyone. I share the love for Malletts Creek lockers, which have just enabled me to go at midnight. If I want to go pick up my books at 3:00 AM, I can do that, which has just been delightful, in an odd kind of way.
[01:12:12.87] Delight's sort of the theme I've got. The summer game in particular, but the library, in general-- if you're a library newbie or if you're an Ann Arbor newbie, here's all these things that you can learn about how to use the catalog really, really effectively and different facts about different dynasties in China or mysteriously disappeared colonies in Virginia-- all the things that you learn about the city, which I tend to keep to myself. So again, this encouragement to go places that you wouldn't normally go.
[01:12:56.75] And Maggie's point about giving adults a chance to play. I've often thought in the years of work that you lose the sense of seasons if you just go to work day in, and day out. You don't have summer vacation. You don't have fall break. You just have vacation when you take it, if you get that.
[01:13:18.59] And so to have something that says, it's summer, I'm really grateful for that. And so I just want to thank the library for existing year-round. But I want to thank them for the summer game. I want to think Erin, who interacts with people who comments on the badges, for her patience and graciousness, and to whoever describes the items in the game shop for being brilliant and hilarious. So thank you all for your time and your attention.
[01:13:49.26] [APPLAUSE]
[01:13:54.61] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: That's really well said about summer. I'm glad that was being recorded. OK. Anyone else?
[01:14:01.70] JOSIE PARKER: No.
[01:14:02.13] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: No? OK. All right. Well, thank you all for being here. I'm not going to cry. I'm definitely not going to cry.
[01:14:12.56] But it's just amazing. We do this all year. And in the summer, you all come. And it's so much better when you come. So thank you for being you and for loving the library so much and coming and sharing yourselves with it. You are why we do this.
[01:14:27.79] VICTORIA GREEN: And Jamie, I just want to say, you all were so kind to thank us, but we want to thank the staff, who are the folks who really do all the work that you are thanking us for. So thank you to all the library staff.
[01:14:39.26] COLLEEN SHERMAN: There's one more-- the friends. So the friends are the people whose work pays for the summer game shop. And oh, my gosh. How colorful and wonderful and sweet of them is that? They volunteer and they put so much time into that store.
[01:14:57.13] And then you have all these cool things that you can win.
[01:14:59.66] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yes. You get picnic blankets that you can help fold. It's great.
[01:15:04.11] JOSIE PARKER: Yeah.
[01:15:05.24] COLLEEN SHERMAN: It builds our community.

[01:15:06.99] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Yes Is that everyone? All right. Well, thank you, everyone. Have a great evening. See you in September.
[01:15:14.46] ANNOUNCER: This program was recorded on July 16, 2018, at the Ann Arbor District Library.

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July 13, 2018 at Downtown Library

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AADL Board Meeting