AADL Board of Trustees Meeting - November 12th, 2018

[00:00:18.40] So as we do the approval of the agenda, I think we need a motion. But then I have something to say. Great.
[00:00:24.49] ED SUROVELL: So moved.
[00:00:25.12] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Don't we need Josie?
[00:00:26.50] JAIME VANDER BROEK: So Josie--
[00:00:28.22] ED SUROVELL: She's not a board member. We don't need her.
[00:00:30.97] JAIME VANDER BROEK: She is attending to the Taiwanese event upstairs. And she'll be down as soon as she can. So Eli's going to sit in for a bit.
[00:00:39.58] But so before we vote on approving the agenda, the executive committee met. And we were thinking maybe we would not meet in December. So I wondered what you all might think about that. If we all feel like that sounds like a promising thing to discuss, we can add it to the agenda.
[00:00:55.37] ED SUROVELL: You mean this really is the end?
[00:00:57.36] VICTORIA GREEN: Oh, it would be your last week.
[00:01:00.53] JAIME VANDER BROEK: There's no new business, right?
[00:01:02.46] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: No. There's no new business. There may be actions having to do with the building. I'm hearing--
[00:01:11.02] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Lots of talk in the community and stuff?
[00:01:12.42] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: That doesn't affect the board, but eventually it might.
[00:01:15.05] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Right, right. No.
[00:01:16.19] JIM LEIJA: We talked. We discussed with Josie in Executive Committee today that there is no pressing business for December.
[00:01:22.30] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I talked to somebody who's talking to other people who said they would keep Josie--
[00:01:26.89] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Informed?
[00:01:27.56] JIM LEIJA: Sure.
[00:01:27.75] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Things may happen.
[00:01:28.91] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK. Well, we could--
[00:01:31.75] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: You can always call a meeting.
[00:01:33.75] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Yeah. So why don't we put this on the agenda to discuss. OK. So does someone move? I guess I could move to cancel the December meeting.
[00:01:43.83] ELI NEIBURGER: Add to the agenda.
[00:01:44.21] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Oh, right. To add to the agenda canceling potentially the December meeting. Thank you, Eli.
[00:01:49.29] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I second the motion to talk about whether or not we cancel the December meeting.
[00:01:55.06] JAIME VANDER BROEK: We're getting better at this-- adding to the agenda.
[00:01:57.28] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: When do we inaugurate the new board?
[00:02:01.45] JAIME VANDER BROEK: In January.
[00:02:02.41] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: In January.
[00:02:04.27] JAIME VANDER BROEK: So all those in favor of adding to the agenda potentially canceling December?
[00:02:08.89] ALL: Aye.
[00:02:11.51] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK. So then we can move to approve the agenda as it's been amended. So all those in favor?
[00:02:18.83] ALL: Aye.

[00:02:20.37] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Opposed? OK. All right, consent agenda. Is there a motion?
[00:02:26.01] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: So move.
[00:02:27.13] JIM LEIJA: Second.
[00:02:28.81] JAIME VANDER BROEK: All those in favor?
[00:02:30.00] ALL: Aye.

[00:02:31.27] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK. All right, so we move on to citizen's comments. Has anyone signed up, Karen?
[00:02:37.52] KAREN: I have not received any.
[00:02:39.49] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK. All righty, so Bill? There you are.

[00:02:44.56] [LAUGHS]
[00:02:46.09] Financial reports.
[00:02:47.65] BILL: Good evening. You have my report for October 31st, 2018. As of the end of October, we have collected nearly 96% of our estimated tax revenue. Actual cash receipts as of October 31, $15,635,986. And we have currently year to date revenue over expenditures of $11,078,591. And there were no line items over budget.
[00:03:24.61] Anybody have any questions for me?
[00:03:27.94] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Not the kind of report you question.
[00:03:32.12] LINH SONG: So I have a quick question.
[00:03:32.94] BILL: Yes?
[00:03:33.93] LINH SONG: The no capital of project fund expenditures for October 2018, so the rearranging some of the rooms in the other branches into meeting spaces didn't come out of--
[00:03:44.21] BILL: We haven't actually dispersed any money yet.
[00:03:46.03] LINH SONG: Oh, OK.
[00:03:46.42] BILL: So these are-- I'm reporting actuals and not accruals on these reports. So once we actually cut the checks for those, then it will be reported.
[00:03:53.65] LINH SONG: OK. Got it. Thank you.
[00:03:55.08] BILL: Yeah.
[00:03:57.51] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Anything else? Thank you.
[00:04:02.77] BILL: Thank you.

[00:04:05.70] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK, so committee reports-- the first up, the executive committee-- we just met. And we talked mostly about the upcoming audit presentation that we'll talk more about in the meeting.
[00:04:18.01] And then also Josie attended the retreat of the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library recently. So she updated us on how that went. And we discussed just being a more regular presence with the Friends, like attending their meetings and things like that. Linh and I went last month.
[00:04:35.44] LINH SONG: Right.
[00:04:36.58] JAIME VANDER BROEK: I think some people are going to go this month. And just sort of being more present with the activities of the Friends I think could only benefit us. So those are the two main things that we talked about tonight. And we'll meet again in December. Any questions?
[00:04:52.69] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: That's important.
[00:04:53.80] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Yeah, I think so too.
[00:04:56.35] LINH SONG: I think we talked a little bit about onboarding the new trustees too.
[00:04:59.14] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Oh, right. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
[00:05:02.14] And actually, one thing, when we discussed the onboarding the new trustees, we thought all of us maybe could do something in parliamentary procedure just so that when we do the adding to the agenda and stuff, right? Victoria is nodding vigorously.
[00:05:17.15] JIM LEIJA: Yes.
[00:05:18.43] JAIME VANDER BROEK: We don't get so tied up in things or feel a little bit more solid on that. I know that for Jan and Ed, you've known it a long time, but maybe for the rest of us, we could use a refresher.
[00:05:31.27] JIM LEIJA: So Josie and Eli are going to look into an online learning opportunity, as well as potentially an in-person learning opportunity for us to be better at our procedure in meetings.
[00:05:46.56] JAIME VANDER BROEK: And that's in addition to the legal training that they'll get that we all got.
[00:05:52.73] VICTORIA GREEN: I have a question about the legal training. I remember doing it two years ago. Do we all get invited to that again? I'd be interested in attending again.
[00:05:59.05] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Yeah, right. I can't remember whether we all attend.
[00:06:02.71] JOSIE PARKER: You could. It was an open meeting. Anyone could come. So we'll do it in January or February.
[00:06:08.32] VICTORIA GREEN: OK.
[00:06:08.77] JOSIE PARKER: Right.
[00:06:09.22] VICTORIA GREEN: Yeah, if you could just make sure you let us all know whenever the date is.
[00:06:13.10] LINH SONG: And that's closed session, right?
[00:06:14.89] JOSIE PARKER: No, no. No, it's open.
[00:06:17.55] ED SUROVELL: I think the suggestion is you never outgrow your need for continuing legal education.
[00:06:23.92] JIM LEIJA: Indeed.
[00:06:25.50] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Yeah, agreed. There's a lot of complexity. So I feel like-- I don't know. I mean, I'm speaking to the choir, but--
[00:06:32.77] ED SUROVELL: The law changes.
[00:06:34.71] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Right.
[00:06:35.19] JOSIE PARKER: That's right. And as a point, in fact, on Wednesday morning, I contacted the attorneys. And I sent our policy around illegal substances in the library to them in light of the change in Michigan Law towards marijuana. And they'll be looking at that for us to see if there's anything we need to do to change that and how because the law changed-- as an example. And if it does need to, it'll come before you.
[00:07:03.66] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Which law you're talking about?
[00:07:05.04] JOSIE PARKER: The legalization of marijuana in Michigan.
[00:07:07.05] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Oh.
[00:07:09.41] VICTORIA GREEN: Thank you, Josie.
[00:07:10.45] ED SUROVELL: Now we can be--
[00:07:12.32] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Any other question?
[00:07:13.18] ED SUROVELL: --no pawn stores, no gun. [INAUDIBLE]

[00:07:19.00] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK, budget and finance.
[00:07:21.51] JIM LEIJA: The Budget and Finance Committee met on Thursday.
[00:07:25.37] JOSIE PARKER: Correct.
[00:07:26.09] JIM LEIJA: Thank you, Josie.
[00:07:26.82] And we met with Raymond to discuss the final version of the audit, which will be presented today for the entire board. There isn't anything really to report beyond that. We discussed the audit, asked our questions, and we received the-- the committee received the final audit on Friday, I believe. So we'll just wait for that discussion further on in the agenda.
[00:08:02.68] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Questions?
[00:08:03.04] COLLEEN SHERMAN: What Jim said.

[00:08:03.91] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK, great. OK. All right, director's report.
[00:08:10.15] JOSIE PARKER: In addition to the one that was written, it was just my pleasure to be upstairs to introduce the I Wan Jan Puppet Theater performance that is brought to us by the Michigan Taiwanese American Organization. They asked me to be there specifically because they wanted to make a presentation to me to the library. So I accepted a plaque from them that has the I Wan Jan puppet theater represent actors, puppet masters, on this plaque. But it says, with grateful appreciation, Ann Arbor District Library, in recognition of your generous sponsorship and dedication to the success of I Wan Jan Puppet Theater performance in Michigan since the May of 2016, the Michigan Taiwanese American Organization. So I'll have it here if you wanted to see it.
[00:09:01.66] Also, they gave me a book, which is something-- it's a book, apparently in Taiwan, that is a very important book about Taiwan. It's Art and Civilization of Taiwan for the collection. So I thought that was very appropriate. And it was special. And it's heavy. So I'm happy to pass it around, but just know when you take it that it's very heavy.
[00:09:28.18] In addition to this this evening, after the Director's Report was written and you received a letter in your ephemera package, I received from the governor of Shiga Prefecture in Japan-- when we hosted the calligraphy exhibit here, the governor of Shiga came. This was part of the Sister State Anniversary in Michigan, not only the Sister City of Ann Arbor, Hikone. But the state of Michigan is a Sister State to Shiga.
[00:10:06.96] And several years ago, Governor Snyder was there. And he did a huge piece that hung up here in our calligraphy exhibit with this Governor Taizo Mikazuki. The governor was here. And he asked to come to the library with his aide. The two of them came, and I took them through the exhibit.
[00:10:25.37] And then he wanted to see the library. Most of the collection in the public libraries there is digital. And the fact that we have items that people take away and bring back is astonishing and, in his mind, amazing.
[00:10:48.91] So this letter, I want to thank you. Dear Mrs. Parker, I want to thank you for your incredible cooperation and support in organizing the Shiga calligraphy exhibition. It was amazing to see the 140 or so works by Shiga residents displayed in your library. In addition, it made us think of how we could use Shiga's libraries, including to hold exhibitions and other events. Therefore, I'd also like to thank you for letting us learn about working towards improving our libraries.
[00:11:16.93] I think of all the things he and I talked about that that's what he took away is something that I'm very pleased about for him and also for the ADL. And next year, Ann Arbor and Hikone will be celebrating 50 years as sister cities. The calligraphy exhibition was not only an opportunity for the people of Ann Arbor to enjoy the world of calligraphy, but also a chance to arouse their interest in Shiga and Hikone. I would be happy if it also became an opportunity to include the Sister City relationship in the Sister State exchanges.
[00:11:48.11] And what he's talking about are adults from various parts of our industry, and arts, and culture, and government going there to visit. They were here this year. And he's hoping that that would happen in reverse over there. I hope we will continue to have your support in both of those relations.
[00:12:08.48] It's a fun, lovely letter. He did a small drawing for me because he was one of the artists in the calligraphy exhibit. So I did put this in the ephemera, but here it is in real. And so you're welcome to look at that.
[00:12:21.76] JAIME VANDER BROEK: It's nice paper.
[00:12:24.01] JOSIE PARKER: It's beautiful. It's everything, it's all beautiful.
[00:12:27.49] So in the director's report-- and I'm going to look at the screen, not my paper so I won't get confused. The ADL Halloween party and puppet show-- our total downtown Halloween door count was 2,929. And at that moment in time, that day, that was very close to being the highest door count in the downtown library.
[00:12:52.42] However, Tuesday, election day, that number was surpassed by several hundred, which was an amazing thing all the way around because we have been an election precinct site for years and years and years. And it's usually less than 150 people who vote here. And it was a big, big day. So I'll put this in because I wanted you to see that that crowd for Halloween, but also to tell you we had a higher number less than a week later.
[00:13:20.40] LINH SONG: Do you know about how many came at each show?
[00:13:25.29] JOSIE PARKER: That's one show.
[00:13:26.40] LINH SONG: Right.
[00:13:26.88] JOSIE PARKER: And the second show was that show, that same. It was huge.
[00:13:30.11] ELI NEIBURGER: You had about 450 for each show.
[00:13:31.47] JOSIE PARKER: For each show, about 450.
[00:13:33.87] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: So you had more than 2,900 people--
[00:13:37.05] JOSIE PARKER: In the library, in the library on election day. So I don't know how many people they actually said voted.
[00:13:43.54] ELI NEIBURGER: 750
[00:13:45.23] JOSIE PARKER: 750 voted. Yeah.
[00:13:46.83] ED SUROVELL: What was the vote total?
[00:13:49.00] JOSIE PARKER: 750.
[00:13:50.28] ED SUROVELL: How many Democrats?
[00:13:51.72] JOSIE PARKER: I don't know that. I didn't ask.
[00:13:55.63] ED SUROVELL: Well, but that's public record.
[00:13:57.24] JOSIE PARKER: I know, but I didn't look. I guess we could.
[00:14:00.33] So the other thing on my director's report that I want to acknowledge because this is something that-- we are a five star library for the 11th year in a row. We are now one of 10 libraries in the nation ranked five star for so many years.
[00:14:16.65] [APPLAUSE]
[00:14:17.18] There were-- thank you, Ed. Thank you very much.
[00:14:22.90] There were 13 last year. Three dropped off the list. But there were other five star libraries in Michigan, which has not happened except once in all those years. Richland Community Library, for the second time, is a five star library. And the, um--
[00:14:38.92] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Where is Richland?
[00:14:39.95] JOSIE PARKER: Richland's on the west side.
[00:14:41.67] ED SUROVELL: Gull Lake.
[00:14:42.65] JOSIE PARKER: There we are, Gull Lake. Thank you. The other one is West Bloomfield, which is northeast of Ann Arbor near Detroit. And so we're very happy for them.
[00:14:52.51] There were also-- Salem-South Lyon was a three star. Took them totally by surprise. They had no idea that was going to come up. So they were delighted and pleased. I'm leaving one out.
[00:15:05.21] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: So those are three Michigan libraries.
[00:15:07.74] JOSIE PARKER: Besides AADL.
[00:15:08.63] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: And Gull Lake. But they've got to be smaller libraries.
[00:15:11.43] JOSIE PARKER: They are all smaller libraries. Yes. Oh, Kent. Kent District was also three star.
[00:15:16.65] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Outside of Grand Rapids.
[00:15:17.51] JOSIE PARKER: That's correct. So we have communicated our acknowledgment to all of them. And so they're all very pleased. But we are happy too. And wanted to make sure that we put that on the slide show.
[00:15:31.18] Yes, Ed?
[00:15:35.62] ED SUROVELL: I guess I speak for the board. The five star is an enormous accomplishment. Just being first in Michigan only says it in the small part of what it really is. It's the leadership of the nation.
[00:15:55.21] And it's recognition that the kind of approximate one being library of the year when we were first, when Marianne was here, it was almost as if the library didn't know what to do with these honors. I certainly recognize it as an enormous accomplishment for the community and for the library because it's a partnership. We have to do it. And they have to come.
[00:16:29.59] JOSIE PARKER: Right.
[00:16:30.77] ED SUROVELL: And it's certainly, it's a credit to Mrs. Parker and to the entire staff. And it's one hell of a way for Jan and me to go out. Congratulations enormously.
[00:16:45.17] I'm going to ask a favor. You know me, I like to brag about things. And I would love to make certain that in all of our lobbies that there is a clear public statement congratulating our patronage on their accomplishment in telling them what we have all done together. Because I just-- you can't get any better than that.
[00:17:15.91] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Is this the first year there have been other Michigan libraries?
[00:17:19.45] JOSIE PARKER: No, it's not the first year. It's the most in one year. Richland has been a five star now two years in a row, which I was delighted. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, it would be great if every library in Michigan could be a five star library.
[00:17:32.88] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Where's Richland?
[00:17:33.94] JOSIE PARKER: Richland community is in Gull Lake, near Gull Lake.
[00:17:37.15] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: And where is Gull Lake?
[00:17:38.37] JOSIE PARKER: West side, right, Ed?
[00:17:39.43] ED SUROVELL: It's Battle Creek, Kalamazoo area.
[00:17:41.17] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I need to go on Ed's tour of Michigan.
[00:17:44.49] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Right, exactly.
[00:17:45.49] JOSIE PARKER: It's between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, isn't it?
[00:17:49.90] ED SUROVELL: Yes.
[00:17:50.31] JOSIE PARKER: Yeah. OK, right. Thank you, Ed. Thank you--
[00:17:54.43] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Didn't Canton have something once?
[00:17:56.74] JOSIE PARKER: It did. But it hasn't in a while. Correct. Right.
[00:18:00.29] You know, I think just to follow up, I think a thank you to the staff is appropriate. And some of them are here. They'll be watching that we put the message out the day I found out to the staff. And there were a lot of yahoos and yay. And everybody was excited.
[00:18:16.90] And what I said to the management team later is it struck me. And Ed will appreciate this. This is my 11th, personally, my 11th five star. It's still exciting. It still means a tremendous amount.
[00:18:33.13] But it was the first five star for many people who work here. And watching their reactions reminded me that the five star is fresh every time. And we can't lose sight of that. So I appreciate Ed's comment.
[00:18:47.74] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: And this award is given by the--
[00:18:49.93] JOSIE PARKER: Library Journal. Library Journal.
[00:18:54.31] ED SUROVELL: It can go away just as easily, which is why it's important to get it back.
[00:19:02.71] JOSIE PARKER: The consistency--
[00:19:04.23] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: We haven't lost it.
[00:19:05.32] JOSIE PARKER: No, we haven't.
[00:19:07.39] JOSIE PARKER: This is a photograph from our Paint along with Bob Ross event-- Valerie Sobczak is doing a marvelous job here, making everybody feel talented and welcome. And so we have been featured in American Libraries. And then because of the article in American Libraries, a week ago Friday, I was interviewed by CBC Radio's "As It Happens" about, why Bob Ross? And why is it so amazingly popular?
[00:19:34.48] And we are still getting press and social media acknowledgment about the Bob Ross event, and how we do it, and how many people are coming. So if you are interested or curious, you may join us for our next one-- I believe it's in January. Correct? On a Saturday. Yes-- and so we'll do it twice that day, because we know we'll book out on the first one so we'll do it again.
[00:20:00.67] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Whose idea it? Was it a--
[00:20:03.26] JOSIE PARKER: I think it was mostly Valerie's idea. And she brought it forward as an idea, and then she let it, and she made she did all of the work on making sure we got the rights to the show, itself, to him. We wanted to do it with him teaching it from a screen, not staff here doing it.
[00:20:23.23] She made sure it was affordable, in terms of all the supplies that we have to have. She got volunteers to help. She's been involved in all of the programming since then-- it's amazing.
[00:20:32.98] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Are other libraries picking up on it?
[00:20:34.48] JOSIE PARKER: Yes. It's become-- and this was part of why the CBC wanted to talk to me. Our numbers are super high. We don't limit how many people can come, and we don't charge. And it sets us aside a little bit.
[00:20:50.53] And they were asking me why-- why this? And other libraries are picking up on it. We had a number of people call and talk to us after the CBC article, too. You can see what's happening is people are painting to his instruction in this space altogether, and they're in this space-- in this particular one. And it's quiet, it's contemplative.
[00:21:17.53] Sometimes people come in with people they know, like they do it is as like, let's have a date, or let's do it as a roommate thing, or a kid and parent thing. We have teenagers that are involved in this. It's quiet.
[00:21:31.03] He is-- if you remember him, he's a Mr. Rogers of painting. He has respectful tone, he's encouraging, he's confident, he gives you that.
[00:21:43.21] COLLEEN SHERMAN: What is Valerie's last name?
[00:21:44.71] JOSIE PARKER: Sobczak.
[00:21:45.55] COLLEEN SHERMAN: OK. Children everywhere watch Bob Ross, I know that. I know that he's been calming children for generations.
[00:21:54.17] JOSIE PARKER: It's amazing. So we're part of that. We're glad to be.
[00:21:57.83] So here is the-- oh, this is Raccoon Ranch mystery afternoon. These are the staff members involved in our first ever Murder at Raccoon Ranch event. And down on the floor are the volunteers who came and helped with this huge event. There were 3,000-- wait, sorry, over the November series, over 3,000 attendees.
[00:22:21.08] How many people came to Raccoon?
[00:22:23.33] ELI NEIBURGER: About 150.
[00:22:23.60] JOSIE PARKER: I was recovering from three days of toddler granddaughters, and I didn't make it. [LAUGHS] So it was a big event. We've had some good comments about how well this went, and it was a lot of fun. So I'm sure we'll be doing it again.
[00:22:36.77] In the library last Thursday, in addition to Susan Orlean, who was here to talk about the library book-- in this room was the launch event of "In Our Own Words," which is the survivors of Larry Nassar's victim statements without editing. They are as they spoke them, and as they wrote them.
[00:23:02.33] These are all up on this website. And four of his victims were here, and were here to talk about not their experiences with Mr. Nassar so much, but about their experiences after they revealed that they were abused. They also were here to talk about how important the press was in making sure that story got out.
[00:23:26.15] And consequently, they all worked with the press, different-- Michigan Daily, U of M and others, to make sure that this website launched. It was an incredibly powerful evening. It was not an easy one to be in the room to listen to-- there were tears all around. But incredibly valuable.
[00:23:46.97] And they asked if it could be held here, and we were very delighted that they asked us. And we were more than happy to be that location for them.
[00:23:55.70] So you should know that. And that was something that Tim Grimes was part of, making sure that that went smoothly.
[00:24:03.86] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: What was the attendance?
[00:24:05.63] JOSIE PARKER: The attendance was small, Jan, it was about 30 people. Which frankly surprised me. But the people who were here wanted to be here. It was incredible. Each of these young women now have gone on in their lives, past their athletic lives, into professions, most of them. And they talk about what those are.
[00:24:28.82] Almost all of them have something to do with survival, survivor services for women who have been abused and raped. And how they are trying to make sure that the general public understand that eight and nine-year-old children don't lie about these things when they go to a trusted adult to tell them that someone's hurting them. They don't lie.
[00:25:00.56] And that we don't believe children when they say these things to us is our failing as adults. It was very powerful, very powerful.
[00:25:10.02] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: What was the attendance for the librarian?
[00:25:13.44] JOSIE PARKER: The library book? About 300. Upstairs.
[00:25:19.07] And then on Sunday afternoon of this past-- the weekend before last-- the 5th Avenue Press launched its five new titles. Three of them are children's books, and one is a fiction whodunit by, We Thought We Knew You. And Setting the Record Straight is another novel, and I--
[00:25:42.41] ELI NEIBURGER: It's YA.
[00:25:43.07] young adult. Whoops, we lost it.
[00:25:46.91] I want to just point out that the Paint the Night is a book by Tracy Gallup. Tracy is a well-known and awarded children's writer and illustrator, and she lived in Chelsea when I was a children's librarian right out of grad school in Chelsea. She lived around the corner from the library. And Tracy was already doing dolls, wooden dolls-- and I have one in my office.
[00:26:17.66] And Tracy, for very little bit of money, did the artwork for our summer reading program the year I was a children's librarian in Chelsea. So I've known her a long time. She has a very successful writing career, she's published. And she chose to do this book with the library-- she wanted that experience.
[00:26:39.92] The Snail, I Love You book is a partnership. Becky Grover is a quilt artist, and Ms. Platt and Willa Teel is the daughter, little girl, they wrote the words. Becky Grover did the art with quilt, and then photographed it. They did a Kickstarter campaign to pay for the first printing, because the library publishes these books digital. If you want them to be printed, then you have to negotiate that with Thomson-Shore, generally, is who most of these are published by.
[00:27:21.23] And so they did a Kickstarter to get the first printing paid for, and then now their books are selling and they're paying for it on their own.
[00:27:29.86] Akeina the Crocodile is done by a husband and wife. He did the art. And they worked on this book together for over-- how many years, Colleen? You know the answer to this. Five years? Colleen knows the family who did this.
[00:27:44.83] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I was an early editor of this book.
[00:27:47.60] JOSIE PARKER: And this is a fabulous book, in terms of its color and execution. So Linda Cotton Jeffreys was there, and I'm trying to remember-- I talked with her. She had been working on this book for a long time, and she never thought it would be anything other than a story in her head.
[00:28:13.86] And then she heard about the library being a publisher, and she pitched it to the library. And from what my understanding is, all of the people who read her submission were like, whoa, this book is amazing. And so I am looking forward to reading that one-- I haven't read it.
[00:28:32.61] So I wanted you to see these. We will have another launch of titles in May. And so this is where it's gone, Fifth Avenue Press. And we had about, how many people at that launch? About 150 people in the lobby for that launch, as well.
[00:28:51.32] JAIME VANDER BROEK: So Josie, how do you assign the reading of all the submissions that come in? Do people want to get on that assignment?
[00:28:59.31] JOSIE PARKER: Yes, people raise their hand to read, and we pay for the editing. Our staff are involved, and we have other people who pay for the editing. But staff want this duty. Yes.
[00:29:16.91] Keegan Rogers and his event series were featured and All about Ann Arbor. Keegan is a chef at Food Co-op-- I could see it, I couldn't name it. He brings huge crowds in. And we'll be doing more with him in-- is it December? Is it macarons? Making macarons. It's going to be in the lobby.
[00:29:47.24] Yes, come, just in time for your holiday meal preparations.
[00:29:53.35] Ignite returned to Ann Arbor, and it returned to the downtown library, a week ago this past Friday. I'm thinking, I'm trying to remember, because I came to this. That was another 200 people, came for Ignite. If you don't know what Ignite is, 16 people talk for five minutes each, and they have 20 slides, and that's it. So whatever topic they want to talk about it, it has to be within 20 slides in five minutes, and it's just like that.
[00:30:22.26] And it was everything from a person who was working on technology that you use on your phone when you ask your phone a question, and your phone answers you back out loud, to a person who helped develop that and is working on that, because she was going to China to work, and she was doing trying to take language lessons and realized because she didn't have anyone to talk back with her, she did not know if she was pronouncing things correctly or not.
[00:30:50.47] So part of that technology is from that. Give me another example?
[00:30:54.48] AUDIENCE: The Victorian--
[00:30:56.34] JOSIE PARKER: Oh, you would bring that one up. There was a librarian, of all, a bookstore librarian book person, who did research on discussions and illustrations of a sexual nature in books written and published in the Victorian era. And we had to do a disclaimer ahead of this, because we had picture books-- I mean, we had a bunch of children in this room, as well.
[00:31:21.91] LINH SONG: Including my 13-year-old.
[00:31:22.68] JOSIE PARKER: Including your 13-year-old, who, your husband kind of did that, and that was that. So it was not bad, it was just something that--
[00:31:31.95] LINH SONG: He did not mention it.
[00:31:33.61] [LAUGHTER]
[00:31:34.59] JOSIE PARKER: You can ask him about it.
[00:31:35.89] LINH SONG: I will now.
[00:31:38.10] JOSIE PARKER: It was all the terrible stuff that we all know people used to believe about why people did what they did and why they didn't do what they didn't do. And these Victorian medical books-- some of them not novels-- and line drawings, that sort of thing. So there was that one.
[00:31:55.17] VICTORIA GREEN: I'd just like to say that Garrett's daughter was way too embarrassed to come listen to him talk about it.
[00:32:01.20] JOSIE PARKER: I can understand why. So anyway, it was a great evening.
[00:32:05.04] So these are our things that are underway. The meeting room subcontracts for Pittsfield, Malletts, and Traverwood, you will see how that's going on Wednesday. The fourth floor staff area renovation design, that work's completed, we'll be beginning that in early this year. We will be putting that out to the staff involved in the next week to see what we're doing, to get their feedback, if we need to make final adjustments.
[00:32:29.85] That's the staff area where we have four departments working in one particular area.
[00:32:35.97] We'll be planning for the removal of the WLBPD digital cartridge storage, and the FAADL space shift will be beginning then. I did attend the Friends of the Library retreat, and I was able to talk to all of the people who work in the basement and for the Friends and sorting about this, so that was about 100 people-- or actually about 60 people, about 60 people? It was, it was lot of people.
[00:33:03.13] So it was good, because we had that information out to a lot of people. So I was glad to do that.
[00:33:08.82] You know about the architectural program, and we'll be getting a report back early part of the year. Our half-day training with Cook Ross was canceled on their side of things. We have rescheduled, and it will happen in early December with managers and supervisors.
[00:33:24.16] This is a summary of comments about Bob Ross-- they're getting so popular that word is spreading across the border. And this was the CBC conversation that I had, that we talked about earlier.
[00:33:39.04] This young person says, we never get tired-- we, I say, we never get tired of cute kids and our chest sets. And it's a cute kid in our youth area chess set. And if you haven't gone in there some time to just hang out, the chess set is interesting because of the ages of children who think they know how to play chess. And they tell you they do, and so just sit down and try to play with them. You will lose, every time.
[00:34:06.94] Children's author Mike Curato visited the library and posed with one of his fans.
[00:34:13.62] Our MelCat totes continue to delight our patrons. And you saw a comment about that in my director's notes about somebody was really happy that MelCat was back, and they thought that the tote bag was a great idea.
[00:34:29.83] This is the tools collection, helped make a few Halloweens even more special. Our even lights were used for a fundraiser at the Zal Gaz grotto club-- they did that last year. They checked out a bunch of material, and used it for benefiting the Washtenaw County Shelter Association. And then our giant Connect Four and Jenga sets made a patron's Halloween party a blast.
[00:34:53.74] I can tell you from my own personal experience-- I have a 10-year-old boy my life. And he checked out a lot of our light equipment for a big party event at Open Middle School. And he timed it so that the date due was after Halloween. And then he set his whole house up, and his whole yard up, for this light show. And you walked up the sidewalk, and it tripped it, and you were tripping. It was pretty amazing.
[00:35:25.20] And he was letting people know, it was the library's stuff, and they could get it, too.
[00:35:33.64] Summer-- this is second grade visits, and you all know we do this annually. So these are kids from Lawton elementary, and they couldn't be happier.
[00:35:43.28] And this person, Matt Naud, wrote in, "Happy I can get tea and these at my library." And this is a Westgate slide. And this is a Westgate slide, and look closely, and you will see the child who's playing with a new Everbright.
[00:35:58.31] And this one is Westgate, and this is a group of yoga teachers in training, who just showed up at Westgate and took over the west side room this past weekend, and just took it over to learn together. And there was no conflict, so we left them alone. And this leads to the point of our having more meeting rooms across the system.
[00:36:18.17] And this is Robot Rickshaw-- and this was a Saturday afternoon event here. This was a synth expo. This is his robotic synth rickshaw, and he brought that in on the back of a U-Haul truck, rolled it in here, rolled it up on the stage with those things that cars drive up and guys work underneath them, and then he played this on the stage.
[00:36:52.22] And the most important thing about what he did, is he came down and he explained to all the children in the room exactly how that worked. And it has drums, clarinet, guitar, several drums. And it's all digital. And then he talked talk to them about how-- and he made it so simple and so straightforward, and it was really amazing.
[00:37:18.08] And this is people of all ages and backgrounds and musical talent, attended the synth expo. And we're going to show you a film of a little girl playing with those things.
[00:37:30.59] [VIDEO PLAYBACK]
[00:37:31.09] [MUSIC PLAYING]
[00:37:54.50] [END PLAYBACK]
[00:37:55.52] The theremin, the first one, we hear a lot about, a family takes a theremin home, and then it comes back pretty fast.
[00:38:02.95] [LAUGHTER]
[00:38:04.57] LINH SONG: We've never told our children they could check it out.
[00:38:08.42] [LAUGHTER]
[00:38:09.87] JOSIE PARKER: So that is the director's report. So it was a good one. A lot going on. Pretty amazing.
[00:38:16.93] LINH SONG: Josie, can you tell us, have there been events where we've had to turn people away?
[00:38:24.72] JOSIE PARKER: We did, for the last Bob Ross event that was held, I don't know, a couple weeks ago, we had the lobby full, and we pushed people to the fourth floor auditorium. And then I think we had to turn a few people away, even then. That was 155 people. That was a Thursday night, and it was raining. And we still had to turn people away.
[00:38:50.34] When we do this on Saturday, the last time, it was over 200 people and we split it. And we knew-- we did it on purpose. We were ready for it.
[00:38:58.29] So the one in January, I believe, is a Saturday. And it will be a split. So two, as well.
[00:39:04.90] We try so hard not to turn people away. We had an event over the weekend at Traverwood, where naturalists from U of M came and talked about being a naturalist and what naturalists do. That's the type of program, four or five years ago, might have seen 35 people maybe. It was 200.
[00:39:27.63] LINH SONG: At Traverwood?
[00:39:28.65] JOSIE PARKER: 99 adults, and 99 children.
[00:39:30.28] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: What is the cut-off? How many people can you have in there?
[00:39:32.82] JOSIE PARKER: It's about how many people are safely in the room. So we let people sit on the floor, people stand around the edges, and people fill up the chairs.
[00:39:42.10] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: It used to be--I remember we used to have speakers, and the fire department would only let so many people come in.
[00:39:47.91] JOSIE PARKER: Every room has a fire department code number, but it's generally a pretty high number. It's about getting out, it's about making sure there's egress and way to get out. And those new libraries do that well.
[00:40:01.09] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: So do you do it by door count? How many people are coming in?
[00:40:03.81] JOSIE PARKER: We watch it. We look and see how people-- we don't let people pack in, where you can't see, or where you're walking on each other, or anything like that. We haven't had a situation like that. If we did, we would stop it. We would stop the door count.
[00:40:17.32] LINH SONG: Do people say anything when you turn them away?
[00:40:20.49] JOSIE PARKER: They're disappointed. They're disappointed. And the library tries to acknowledge how many people are here, and we're sorry.
[00:40:29.31] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Do you give them a number? I mean, how do they not know that there are too many?
[00:40:32.47] JOSIE PARKER: We-- Jan, this is exactly why we have been using the lobby, because of this exact question. Because if we take the programming that we've been offering, and we have not been able to fit people in this room for a long time, and then we've redone the fourth floor auditorium to be able to do that. But we don't have the sound system there, that's something that didn't happen-- so we have to do that to make this better.
[00:41:01.81] The lobby is the only room in the library system where we can put hundreds of people safely in a space, and be able to get them out in the event of a fire, or some other emergency. And that's why we're doing so much in the lobby.
[00:41:16.27] LINH SONG: But we have to move entire collections to make that happen.
[00:41:18.92] JOSIE PARKER: We do. And that is why the decision was made to shift the fixed stack collections to the second and third floors, and to spread them around, because they had more room up there to expand the fiction collection, and the CD collection-- that part of the A/V collection. We left the DVD and the teen area collections downstairs.
[00:41:45.40] But all that other space, that became-- that part of the collection, which is on rolling carts, and that's the tools collection. And that's why it came into that space, because it's not as difficult.
[00:41:57.11] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I was asked that question about the third floor-- people who came tonight, all of our tables that were around, which is this usually used for? What's usually here, when you don't have the tables?
[00:42:07.81] JOSIE PARKER: What's usually there? Did you know, Jan?
[00:42:09.88] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I did, and I told them about the fact that we had to be able to use the spaces differently. And therefore-- I said it was the teenage room.
[00:42:22.12] JOSIE PARKER: It isn't now, it was. Now it's quiet area upstairs, because that's where the magazine and newspapers are, and it's where the-- I'm trying to remember, Eli, it's the literary fictions up there?
[00:42:39.13]
[00:42:39.34] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: We had sofas and things there.
[00:42:40.56] ELI NEIBURGER: The magazines, the newspapers, and the local history.
[00:42:42.32] JOSIE PARKER: And the local history collection's up there. So when those tables are not there, for an event like tonight, there are armchairs, and a big sofa.
[00:42:50.44] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: And the round sofa-- that's what I told them.
[00:42:53.38] JOSIE PARKER: And that's a much more quiet area. The teen collection moved back down to the first floor.
[00:42:58.30] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I told them it was for a quiet teenagers.
[00:43:00.52] JOSIE PARKER: That's OK.
[00:43:01.80] JAIME VANDER BROEK: If they exist.
[00:43:02.77] JOSIE PARKER: We can wish.
[00:43:05.74] It was a good question, thank you.
[00:43:10.06] JIM LEIJA: I just want to congratulate you on a brisk period of programming. There's always lots happening here, but October was exceptional.
[00:43:17.83] JOSIE PARKER: And November will-- has been the same. And then we start again a little bit late November, early December, we have another series of programming in the lobby. So I think it's important to acknowledge the library staff, because of all of the moving and shifting that has to happen every single time, and pulling it together to be able to-- there's no way we could bring this many people in the library. We didn't approach it this way.
[00:43:45.22] And we keep doing it--
[00:43:46.46] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Do we have to increase the staff in order to do that?
[00:43:48.91] JOSIE PARKER: We have, over the last couple of years, increased staff in certain parts of the organization, yes, in order to do that.
[00:43:57.06] JIM LEIJA: The Susan Orlean event was very popular, and I was talking to a volunteer at work, and she said she was coming over to the event, but she didn't understand how it could be in the lobby. And I was like, well, let me tell you. And I said two things.
[00:44:13.07] One is, now we can move things in and out of the lobby on rolling carts and tables, and so forth. And that allows us to use this space like a public gathering space, which points to the need for a space like that in our building. But more importantly, just to speak of the ingenuity of the staff in using this building to its absolute complete capacity and limit, and thinking creatively about how to get more people in here for events.
[00:44:44.18] So I was very pleased to be able to talk about those two things.
[00:44:47.98] JOSIE PARKER: Thank you. I think what I'll say about that, and probably I should say this-- since 2012, the mandate from the public was to make do. And what I'll say about making do is making do is expensive. And we try hard to make do, economically and carefully, but it's not inexpensive to have to move things all over the place. That time that we use, staff time that we use moving all of that is expensive.
[00:45:22.57] JIM LEIJA: I also want to share one more anecdote as a patron. This past month, I had a lot of work to do that was after work-- because I was reviewing proposals for particular grants in the arts-- and I spent quite a bit of time at Westgate as a patron, doing that work, and really have never felt more grateful to have the new Westgate than when I had about 25 hours worth of proposals to read a night. And I could sit there and get a little bit of noise and a little bit of coffee and a nice char, and it's worth sharing. Because I'm also a patron.
[00:45:58.36] JOSIE PARKER: Thank you, Jim.
[00:46:00.46] LINH SONG: I spoke to folks who coming in on Halloween, and I asked them where they were coming from, how often they come to the library. And we had quite a few locals, young families, who arrange their entire schedules around the library schedule-- coming downtown.
[00:46:21.05] And I was really, really moved to see, at the same time as families are coming from the parking garages, coming off of buses, with kids in their costumes, coming into our front entrance right alongside our most vulnerable community members. Everyone's going at the same time, different reasons, right next to each other. And I was really moved by that.
[00:46:46.01] So thank you to you and the staff for being able to provide this essential resource downtown.
[00:46:55.92] JAIME VANDER BROEK: So I guess I feel like I don't want this to go on too long, but I have something to say, too.
[00:47:02.26] [LAUGHTER]
[00:47:04.61] So the numbers you talked about for that, the naturalists at Traverwood, when I worked here, I can envision that program being down here on a weeknight. Maybe you're right, like 30, 40 people would come. In a work meeting today, there was discussion of something we were going to try to attempt-- it's a public art kind of thing in my library-- and they're like, oh, well, maybe there should be a community aspect to it, and maybe AADL would be interested in doing something. And people were very anxious about promoting it and getting people to come.
[00:47:38.24] And the people who knew AADL are all looking around the room at each other, like, if AADL is involved in this, I have no worries. It will be awesome, people will come to it, everyone will know about it, and it will be a complete success and we will have to worry not at all. You have just this incredible reputation around town, and it's because you are so-- I mean, just ace, all of this stuff. And it's just growing and growing.
[00:48:08.00] Yeah, literally bursting at the seams here.
[00:48:10.70] JOSIE PARKER: When Jan asked earlier about staffing, what I'd like like to say to address that part of this is that, what makes AADL-- how AADL is able to succeed at this is AADL hires the talent it needs to accomplish these events and these jobs. Librarians are not trained as sound techs. Librarians are not trained to do A/V, filming, or any of those, podcasts, or any of those things.
[00:48:40.99] Librarians have a unique role, an important one in libraries, and they have for a long time, and they will for a long time to come. But they are no longer the only essential professionals in a public library. And what AADL has done is hire those other essential professionals to get this work done.
[00:49:02.30] And it's why there's a five star for 11 years in a row. It's why you have a program, like a natural history program, that's just people talking. And people come with their children, and they love it. And it's 200 people.
[00:49:16.74] So I want to say that about how AADL manages it.
[00:49:23.98] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: AADL is the library.
[00:49:26.47] JOSIE PARKER: Yes ma'am. It is the library. And that is, yes ma'am.
[00:49:30.73] LINH SONG: Jose, can you speak to why we have so many events?
[00:49:35.09] JOSIE PARKER: Well, Valerie Sobcheck's a great example. Valerie had this idea. She pitched it to a team-- we work in teams here. She pitched it to a team. She had done all the research, she looked into what we needed to do to make it happen.
[00:49:49.46] It's hands-on, and it's not like anything we've ever done, or it's not like anything else that's happening. So they decided to move forward.
[00:49:58.64] So a lot of people here think of things that they would like to see us do. They go through a process here of discussion and vetting, and it moves up. And then we have people who are interested in seeing it happen. We have the space available.
[00:50:15.93] And then we promote it, and we do it. So we're not seeing ourselves as only providing traditional library programming, but more general appeal programming for all ages.
[00:50:31.85] One of the other programs that we've been doing is the 60th Nerd Night is coming up this week. We didn't begin Nerd Night, but we were soon into it. So the 60th Nerd Night is this week, and that's not a traditional program for a library at all. But it packs. And everybody associates it with us, as ours. And it's not.
[00:50:58.10] So when you ask me about why we do so much programming, it's the way to bring people to you, and to share all that you are with your public, without diminishing the book-centric user, and why they come into the library. So that's why we do it.
[00:51:20.25] LINH SONG: Thank you.
[00:51:24.65] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Thank you, Josie. What a month. Holy cow. I hope you're taking some time off at Thanksgiving.

[00:51:32.99] Well, we'll move on to more good news, I hope, from the auditors. It's time for the auditor's report. So could Richard Carpenter come to the-- thanks, Josie.
[00:51:45.07] JOSIE PARKER: Yeah, good evening, Richard. Thank you for sitting through all of that.
[00:51:48.55] RICHARD CARPENTER: No, not a problem. It's wonderful news. Thanks for having me.
[00:51:52.07] Just really quick, I'd like to state that Nathan Balderman sends his regrets for being unable to join you guys tonight. If there's a silver lining, I get to see Josie again. It's been a few years since I've been able to come and visit you guys here at the library. And just a quick congratulations to both Ed and Jan for your tenure here on the board.
[00:52:14.23] You should have before you two items. The first item I'm going to walk you through is a letter. It should be stapled. And then the second item we're going to walk through is actually a bound copy of our report.
[00:52:29.97] So just making sure we all have the letter in front of us. Excellent.
[00:52:34.88] So just really quickly-- I don't want to spend a ton of time reading to you a letter. But I we'll walk through some of the key points that are within the letter. This is a letter that is required from us, the audit firm, to you, as those charged with governance of the organization, to help you to understand what it is that an audit is, and some of the information that we found during the audit.
[00:52:57.32] I'm just going to hit some of the highlights from each section, and we're going into a little bit more detail as we start talking about the actual results of the financial statements, themselves.
[00:53:06.60] The first main section here is our responsibility as it relates to the financial statements, and the audit. So just so that we're all clear, the audit firm's responsibility is to test the financial transactions that represent the underlying data for the financial statements, to produce our opinion on whether or not those financial statements are fair and accurate in all material respects.
[00:53:33.11] It is a responsibility of management to make sure that that data is complete and accurate, and the financial results are also the responsibility of management. So just helping understand that there is a line between the audit firm and management.
[00:53:46.23] The second section here talks about the plan scope and timing of the audit, and so I'm happy to note that we were able to complete the audit in the plan's scope and timing, as we had planned.
[00:53:57.66] Third section on this first page is just that we, as an audit firm, we are independent, as is required for an independent audit. So you need that requirement as required by the AICPA.
[00:54:12.05] On page two, if there were any significant accounting policies that we'd want to make sure that you're aware of as you read the financial statements, we would include that here. The primary things that we would point you to are some significant estimates that are included-- estimates are a normal part of the financial statement reporting process. But that means if those estimates were to be determined to be inaccurate, for example, when you get to the point of saying, oh, this is what actually happened, maybe it's not perfectly in line with that estimate, it can change your financial results.
[00:54:41.97] For example, capital assets, and how long those assets will be good-- the useful life of those assets-- is a significant estimate. While we take things like buildings and we assume that they'll be good for 20, 30, 40 years, in reality, there are things that could happen that we can't determine today that might cause those estimates to be inaccurate. And we'd have to address them in a future period.
[00:55:03.86] Avery normal part of the audit process, but things that we want you to be aware of.
[00:55:08.67] If there were any significant difficulties that the firm were to have encountered during the process, we would have to report that in the next section on page two. There were none, and I'm happy to report that. If there were any uncorrected or corrected misstatements that we determined were material, we'd have to report that. And again, happy to report there were no such material misstatements or material corrections.
[00:55:30.56] Any disagreement with management, we'd have to report that. There were no such disagreements.
[00:55:37.70] Representations requested from management-- and there's actually a letter that's attached to this letter. What we do is we asked both Josie and Bill to provide to us their representation that they are providing us-- all the information completely and accurately, as we have requested, in order to do our audit correctly. It is not possible for an audit firm to find, or do a complete and accurate audit, if we don't have complete cooperation from management.
[00:56:06.35] So that's just them telling us, yep, we did cooperate. And so we do rely on that letter from them.
[00:56:13.91] And then attached to this letter, we also provide some upcoming accounting pronouncements-- that's attachment A. Again, don't want to get into too much detail for you on that. But there is one coming up for your fiscal year 2020, so we would be two years in the future, related to fiduciary activities. We're still in the process of determining what impact that might have for the library. So we'll keep that in mind as we look into the future.
[00:56:40.46] So that's the high level on the letter. I don't know if you've had a chance to read it in advance. If not, I do encourage you, since it is to you, as the board charged with governance. And if you have any questions on it, I'd be happy to try to take those. Otherwise, I'll jump into the financial statements.
[00:56:59.39] All right, in the financial statements, we'll start with what, of course, I consider the most important part, which is page one, and that's the opinion on the financials. Again, we talked about management's responsibility, which is the production of the financial statements. We talked about the auditor's responsibility, which is to test the underlying information and come up with our opinion.
[00:57:19.96] And then on page two is where the important information is that, in our opinion, the financial statements referred to above do present fairly in all material respects, the financial position of the organization. Which means it is a clean opinion, it's the best type of opinion that you can have on your financial statements.
[00:57:38.83] So with that, I would like to say congratulations to Josie, to Bill, and to the team for the work that they've done to make that possible.
[00:57:47.63] We did want to bring out in the second paragraph of page two a significant item, which is that in the current year, we did implement Gatsby 75, which has to do with retiree health care. And so as a result, we did have to restate the beginning position for the organization. Because this is the first year that you are required to report that information.
[00:58:09.14] And I'll dive into that in a little bit more detail as we get into the financial results.
[00:58:14.81] So again, congratulations on the clean opinion.
[00:58:18.39] Just to touch on a few quick items, I'd like to move to page 11 of the financial statements-- which is your statement of net position. So just quickly, we have at the end of June 2018, we have total assets of just under $35 million.
[00:58:40.23] Deferred outflows-- so this is a new type of transaction, a new type of item, that really comes into play when we start talking about pension and retiree health care, but for all intents and purposes you can treat it as if it's an asset. So because it results in something that you're going to be able to use in the future to pay for your retiree-- either your pension or your retiree health care. So about $500,000 in deferred outflows.
[00:59:07.05] Liabilities $3.5 almost $3.6 million. And of that, you have about $2 million related to your pension liability, and about $700,000 related to that retiree health care costs. And I point those two out because we're going to talk about those two numbers in just a little bit more detail in a moment.
[00:59:25.05] And then you have a deferred inflow of resource, again, related to primarily the pension and the retiree health care, of about $300,000. Resulting in total net position of $31.4 million. Now, not all of that is money in the bank, you have about $26 million of that that is tied up into your capital assets, your building, your bricks and mortar, that is not spendable. You do have some of that that's restricted for endowments, some that's non-spendable-- $325,000. Some that is expendable, about $40,000.
[00:59:57.33] And then you have about $5 million dollars that is unrestricted. So in general, that's the amount that we would have the ability to utilize in the future for needs of the organization.
[01:00:10.48] If we move on to page 12, that's an increase over the prior year of about $1.6 million, which is a good indicator of the health of the organization.
[01:00:24.71] I wanted to point out the two items because the pension and retiree health care are new this year. And so if we move back into the notes, to the financial statements, page 20-- let's see, 29 through 36, is all of the information that talks about pension and retiree health care.
[01:00:56.71] It's a lot more information than you probably want to know about, but I want to point out on page 36 of that particular note, those liability amounts that I mentioned, they are very volatile, because it does rely on how well the investments are doing within the trust, as well as any changes that are being made. If changes are made to both the pension and retiree health care.
[01:01:23.36] So what you'll see is we have our liability amount-- and I'm on the first little schedule on page 36, of $2 million for pension. If the actuary were to just change the discount rate, which is of the assumptions in that, by only 1%, that $2 million liability could go up to $2.6 million, or could go down to $1.5 million. So there's half a million dollar swing on either side of that.
[01:01:48.03] Similarly for the retiree health care, if 1% change could be $100,000 increase, or $100,000 decrease. So just something to keep in mind-- it's something I'd like to point out to the board is, the accounting standards can be very complex. But some of these things, little changes can make big differences in some of these numbers. So just something to keep your eye on as you look at these particular liabilities going forward.
[01:02:13.98] JOSIE PARKER: Richard, can I ask you to explain a little bit more about what pension fund this is? Where this money is? Is this not the MPSERS?
[01:02:27.77] RICHARD CARPENTER: So yes, this is included in the Michigan Public School Employers Retirement System.
[01:02:36.91] JOSIE PARKER: And is it not so that when the last person here who receives benefits through MPSERS retires, the library's liabilities go away? Is that correct?
[01:02:51.34] RICHARD CARPENTER: It is directly calculated based on the number of employees that are in the system at the time.
[01:03:01.09] JOSIE PARKER: And so I just want to make it clear that, when they're talking about retirees, pension, and health care, they're not talking about most of the full-time employees of the library. We're talking about those who were part of the school system who remained with us, and were covered by MPSERS-- what we call MPSERS-- and now that number is smaller and smaller as years go by.
[01:03:26.91] And we carry a liability like every other public employee in the state that uses MPSERS. And once we no longer employ-- because people couldn't opt-in after a certain period time, so we no longer have people entering into this. So I just want to make sure we understand, it's a liability that will go away.
[01:03:48.75] RICHARD CARPENTER: That's correct.
[01:03:55.16] All in all, I'd say that you guys-- your financial statements are very strong. They present very strong, which is good. And again, it's a clean financial audit. So congratulations.
[01:04:06.62] Any specific questions on the financial statements, or the letter that we've presented this evening?
[01:04:17.10] If not, thank you so much for having me this evening.
[01:04:20.28] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Thanks for being here. And before we move on, I know we really wanted to congratulate Bill-- and this is an achievement, I think, to have a perfectly clean audit, and to have prepared all of the material, that's a lot of work that I think deserves to be recognized. So thank you.
[01:04:38.72] [APPLAUSE]

[01:04:44.83] JIM LEIJA: I would like to move to accept the 2017-2018 financial audit prepared by Rehmann, and that all resolutions and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded.
[01:04:56.22] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I second. Oh, Ed beat me to it.
[01:05:00.00] JAIME VANDER BROEK: All those-- or any discussion?
[01:05:02.65] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I've read these, I reviewed these, I'm on the committee with Jim. I'm very comfortable approving this. Yeah.
[01:05:10.87] JAMIE VANDER BROEK: Great.
[01:05:11.32] RICHARD CARPENTER: Thank you.
[01:05:12.39] JAIME VANDER BROEK: All those in favor?
[01:05:13.41] ALL: Aye.

[01:05:15.88] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK, all right, that brings us to snow removal.
[01:05:22.27] [LAUGHTER]
[01:05:24.01] Yeah, snow removal. It's going to snow tonight, I think.
[01:05:27.43] LINH SONG: No, don't say that.
[01:05:28.33] JAIME VANDER BROEK: I'm sorry.
[01:05:30.10] LEN LEMORIE: Good evening.
[01:05:31.83] LINH SONG: Hi, Len.
[01:05:32.47] LEN LEMORIE: So, I'm back again. Since the last meeting, we did put our snow removal contract out on the street for bid. It was listed on our website, and two RP hosting websites. And I think everyone's been provided the results.
[01:05:51.16] So it would be our recommendation to go with AM Services that currently does our lawn contract. They've been a good vendor of ours, and very strong contractor for us.
[01:06:05.70] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Any discussion about that?
[01:06:08.50] VICTORIA GREEN: So I just have a question, Len-- are all four firms bidding on the same work? Or were there any differences in terms of what they said they would do?
[01:06:15.99] LEN LEMORIE: No, we gave them an RFP to bid on. And so yes, they actually had to scope. I've received a few questions, not very many. And from the hosting sites, we didn't receive any bids. But these were local contractors.
[01:06:33.70] VICTORIA GREEN: And are you recommending AM Services because you think we'll actually get a better-- they're not the lowest bidder, of course--
[01:06:38.31] LEN LEMORIE: They're not.
[01:06:39.01] VICTORIA GREEN: And are you recommending them because you think we'll get more timely service, better service, or they'll actually cost us less because we won't be paying staff to have to deal with them as much?
[01:06:49.33] LEN LEMORIE: All of the above. They're a local company, they do our lawn service. Over the last two years, when the last contractor couldn't make it up here from Toledo in time, they jumped in. They did service our sites at a one-time cost per visit.
[01:07:04.55] So they've helped us out in the past. They also have existing contracts near all of our facilities, which is very helpful.
[01:07:12.91] VICTORIA GREEN: So you have a higher degree of confidence that they'll be able to--
[01:07:15.70] LEN LEMORIE: Yes, they're close to every one of our sites. So there won't be anything logistically.
[01:07:20.74] ED SUROVELL: I can speak for them. They do work on my house, and have done it for 20 years. They're just fine.
[01:07:27.52] COLLEEN SHERMAN: The lowest bidder feels like higher risk?
[01:07:30.01] LEN LEMORIE: Yes. Yes, and the low bid, they didn't meet the threshold of 15 years snow removal experience. They've been in business longer, but the snow removal, they didn't have 15 years.
[01:07:43.79] COLLEEN SHERMAN: OK.
[01:07:46.07] JIM LEIJA: I would move that the contract for snow removal services be awarded to AM Services for the next three years, for the bid amount of $47,000. And that all resolutions and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded.
[01:07:59.81] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Second.
[01:08:02.08] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Any discussion further? Thank you. All those in favor.
[01:08:10.58] ALL: Aye.
[01:08:12.54] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Anyone opposed?
[01:08:17.39] All right, I think that you look like you want to beat Jim to reading this one out loud.
[01:08:21.05] JIM LEIJA: Oh, I'm done reading for the moment.
[01:08:24.41] LINH SONG: Is it me, or--

[01:08:25.46] JAIME VANDER BROEK: So we move along to a resolution of appreciation to Jan Barney Newman. Linh, would you like to read it?
[01:08:35.00] LINH SONG: The board resolves one, that the Ann Arbor District Library would like to officially think Jan Barney Newman for her 12 years of outstanding service as an Ann Arbor District Library board trustee. Two, that the Ann Arbor District Library board would like to recognize Jan Barney Newman for her dedication, leadership, and commitment to the library, community, and staff.
[01:08:56.66] Three, that all resolutions, and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded.
[01:09:05.51] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Time for discussion?
[01:09:06.69] JIM LEIJA: Second. I'll second that. I'm sure we all would.
[01:09:11.47] JAIME VANDER BROEK: But yeah, now time for discussion.
[01:09:14.60] COLLEEN SHERMAN: What am I going to do when you're not sitting to my left?
[01:09:17.68] [LAUGHTER]
[01:09:19.47] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: You'll be fine. [CHUCKLES]
[01:09:21.97] VICTORIA GREEN: So I just want to point out something about Jan's dedication to the community. Can you guys tell how sick she is, sitting next to me? Yeah, yeah-- Jan, I'm going to miss you, too. I just want to say thank you for all the years that you served on the board before I did, and all the hard work that you did for this library.
[01:09:40.30] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Thank you.
[01:09:43.21] ED SUROVELL: I would like to make comment, if I might. I talked Jan into this.
[01:09:47.87] [LAUGHTER]
[01:09:49.56] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: You did.
[01:09:50.37] ED SUROVELL: I did. Jan was my neighbor for many years. I have many times-- she doesn't always know it-- deferred to her judgment as being better than my own.
[01:10:07.47] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I can't believe that.
[01:10:10.39] ED SUROVELL: I'm absolutely truthful about that. And I would say I would miss her, but I won't be here to do so. It would not have been the same without you. And I mean that in more ways than I can say here, and that I'm willing to say. You've been a wonderful trustee.
[01:10:32.54] Just wish you were still a neighbor. But such is life. Anyway, it has been my privilege to serve with you. And I will, oh, yes.
[01:10:46.68] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Thank you, Ed.
[01:10:52.49] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Jan, I think we-- it's hard to picture the board without you, and without Ed. I think I can't even-- it doesn't feel like the board to me, I think it's going to be really strange.
[01:11:04.18] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: But that's always true as the board changes.
[01:11:06.29] JAIME VANDER BROEK: I know, but you both just bring such--
[01:11:10.06] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Gravitas.
[01:11:10.78] JAIME VANDER BROEK: You each bring something-- no-- you each bring something that's your own, and very important to the board. And I think that you, Jan, I just can't get over how-- like the high standard that you hold yourself to. I don't think I've ever met someone who holds themselves to such a high standard, and then is so willing to admit when they feel like they haven't made the grade, I guess.
[01:11:34.78] So it makes me feel like I want to be a better board member. And I think that I'll really-- I don't know how to think about how the board will be without someone like that on the board.
[01:11:46.57] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: I'm just wondering how you'll all feel once you catch this cold.
[01:11:51.04] [LAUGHTER]
[01:11:53.80] JAIME VANDER BROEK: But seriously, we're--
[01:11:55.14] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Good riddance.
[01:11:57.85] JAIME VANDER BROEK: We've been, you know-- I think it's been the library's privilege to have been able to work with you for so long on this, in this way. And--
[01:12:09.07] [APPLAUSE]
[01:12:10.72] Oh, it's like they're applauding for you. It's the program upstairs.
[01:12:18.40] [INTERPOSING VOICES]
[01:12:20.90] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: It's certainly been a very rewarding experience for me. It's made me feel a part of the community. And it's true that Ed got me into this, but it's been an enriching experience.
[01:12:38.58] Not only-- I think our boards are always good. Ed and I have talked about past boards that we've been on, and the talented people who have been on this board, and you are all the same. So you have a tradition to follow. It's not just us who are leaving, there are others who have been here, who've done all this work.
[01:13:03.72] Not to mention the friends of the library, you've got the millage that we've-- or got the-- yeah, the millage, two mills, that has made all of this possible. So we're building on this strong foundation, and you are, too.
[01:13:24.33] ED SUROVELL: Could I say something about that, particularly the friends? The friends, those who preceded us-- most of them are no longer with us-- built a foundation without which this board would be nothing. The two mills, and the enormous strength that the library has had of support amongst the public, and you saw some of those people tonight-- Fred Mayer, was wonderful to see Fred there, and some of the others.
[01:13:59.57] You have no idea that we have had a naive and often hostile press. We have had community leaders who ought to have known better, and had nerve to call themselves community leaders-- being unsupportive of what is, in fact, obviously a five-star community gem.
[01:14:29.73] And it has been my privilege, and Jan's-- and certainly my privilege to sit with Jan. But we would have been nothing without those who preceded us. I'm stealing your thunder here, I realize. But it was that mention of the friends-- they were critical to our success.
[01:14:55.55] And if somebody doesn't say Lee and Bob Gunn, we will have been remiss.
[01:14:59.88] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: [INAUDIBLE] Lee and Bob Gunn were the ones.
[01:15:05.73] OK, vote.
[01:15:07.15] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Those in favor?
[01:15:08.18] ALL: Aye. OK.
[01:15:14.51] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Can I make a resolution?
[01:15:15.94] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Yes.

[01:15:17.63] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I move that the board resolves that the Ann Arbor District Library board would like to officially thank Edward Surovell for his 22 years of outstanding service as an Ann Arbor District Library board trustee. Also that the Ann Arbor District Library board would like to recognize Edward Surovell for his dedication, leadership, and commitment to the library, community, and staff.
[01:15:40.16] That all resolutions and parts of resolutions that conflict with the provisions of this resolution are rescinded. Can I get a witness?
[01:15:47.81] JIM LEIJA: Second.
[01:15:54.93] COLLEEN SHERMAN: You have been great. You've taught me a lot, from the moment I first met you in 1997-- which, of course, you don't remember. But you've been teaching me lessons ever since, so thank you.
[01:16:05.91] ED SUROVELL: Thank you.
[01:16:06.88] VICTORIA GREEN: I want to say one anecdote, and then one thing that I learned from you. I came to Ann Arbor in, I don't know, sometime in the 1990s. And it was before there were real estate signs on the front lawns. But it wasn't too long until there were real estate signs on the front lawns.
[01:16:22.05] And that's when I started to think, who is this Ed Surovell guy, whose signs are everywhere? Because it seemed like every house was being sold by Ed Surovell.
[01:16:31.41] So I started to hear stories about Ed before I ever met you. But as a board colleague, I just want to say one thing that I have really appreciated about the chance to serve for two years with you, Ed-- and that's the way that you'll be quiet throughout a discussion, and then you'll bring to the discussion a fully thought-out, cogent, argument-- I might agree or disagree-- but it totally is put together in your head, with all the logical pieces together. And I hope to be able to do that as well as you do someday.
[01:17:03.90] ED SUROVELL: Thank you.
[01:17:04.52] VICTORIA GREEN: Thank you.
[01:17:05.16] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Very well said.
[01:17:09.41] ED SUROVELL: You want to hear a story about the signs?
[01:17:11.67] ALL: Yes.
[01:17:15.12] ED SUROVELL: Ann Arbor, for 34 years, did not permit for sale signs in yards-- commercial sale signs. It permitted for sale by owner signs. And the law said you could put a sign in your front yard, it could only have the words, for sale, and a telephone number. The law in Michigan requires her real estate companies, licensees, that they put their name out.
[01:17:41.21] The very identical wording in Ann Arbor that was used to enforce those signs was used in Dexter to enforce signs. Go figure. I'm sorry Ingrid's not here, she's a part of the story. I am a believer in free speech, and in some regards, that meant commercial free speech.
[01:18:10.48] And I certainly believe that the law required us to put our name on a sign, and that if you're selling your house, you were entitled to have a sign in your front yard. It's also a matter of public information, and permitting everybody to know that any particular house was for sale.
[01:18:39.42] The almighty came down to me one day and said, it's time to do it. I did it. I announced it to my firm-- agents went out and put some signs in the ground. The first thing I did was call Ed Pedakevich, the editor of the news, and told him I had done it. He said, good, give me an address.
[01:18:59.75] The second thing I did was calling Ingrid, who was, at the time, mayor. There was just silence at the other end of the phone. And she said, can we wait a while? No.
[01:19:14.74] And for the next six months, Edward Surovell Realtors, and sometimes me, personally, was bad-mouthed by the city council. I finally sued the city council in federal court for having a chilling effect on public business. The city did not file, but forced me to write a very expensive brief.
[01:19:42.01] And the day of the hearing, they didn't show up. That's how democracy works. But there have been signs here, ever since.
[01:19:51.83] I think the public is the better for it. Some signs are nice-- I liked my old blue and green and white sign.
[01:20:04.75] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: What year was that, Ed?
[01:20:10.77] ED SUROVELL: It was in the late '90s-- it was probably '95, '96, I don't recall. I'd have to go back. But that issue gets brought up to me frequently, within in the last month. And here again, thank you very much. I'm touched.
[01:20:32.91] So we have signs. Of course, city council made no such prohibition about putting political signs up.
[01:20:39.51] [LAUGHTER]
[01:20:41.77] Absolutely none whatsoever for a while, they required you had to take one down for every one that you put up. That did not work. But such it is. And it was a great pleasure for me.
[01:20:58.69] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I want to build on that thought before we get to the vote by saying that leadership often makes one uncomfortable-- you sometimes have to say hard things or hurt feelings. And I think I've thought about that a lot since, over the last couple of months, as we've worked to be as public as we can.
[01:21:21.55] And I think you've set the tone for that. You say difficult things when you think it's important. And it's driven by integrity. And like Victoria said, we may not always agree or see eye to eye, but the ability to bring out issues, and examine different sides of them is critical.
[01:21:44.97] And thanks for being willing to play.
[01:21:48.48] ED SUROVELL: Thank you. It's been great fun. It has.
[01:21:51.64] All 22 years-- I had made a list which I wasn't given a chance to read in public.
[01:21:58.68] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Do you want to do it right now?
[01:21:59.03] ED SUROVELL: Of the approximately 800-900 meetings I've attended of the $6,380,000 in fines and fees that have been collected since I've been a trustee of the library.
[01:22:14.58] COLLEEN SHERMAN: $6 million?
[01:22:15.33] ED SUROVELL: Of the approximately 22 million people, which is three times the population of the state of Michigan, that have come through our doors. And my greatest pride, [INAUDIBLE] and then number them, that we have not had one day of labor strife since I have been a trustee of this library. That we have built four new branches.
[01:22:41.71] When we took over the library from the public schools, we had this one building, and a radon-infested branch out at Loving. A couple of sorry, unhappy rentals. And each one of them had its defenders-- this is the best we can do.
[01:23:07.43] But the effort that the board and the dozens and dozens of people who have served as trustees have taken to bring our facilities to a world class standard, and the fact that we have done it by and large without acrimony within the board-- that's remarkable. I wish you well.
[01:23:42.33] I am certain that things, life will go on without Jan and me. And I can assure you that Jan and I will do well without continuing the 800 or 900 meetings that we were attending.
[01:23:58.83] [LAUGHTER]
[01:24:00.05] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Well, I have to make a correction. Mr. Mayer gave me more credit-- he said that I entered the board with Ed, which I didn't. I was an ex-officio board member, when it was the school board. And I attended meetings, and I guess said things that he seemed to remember. But I did not join the board when Ed did-- quite a few years after.
[01:24:28.86] ED SUROVELL: No, Jan was very polite at not pointing out that Fred was wrong.
[01:24:32.72] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: No, that would have been horrible. But you should know.
[01:24:36.81]
[01:24:38.57] JIM LEIJA: I do think that what's been such a kind of revelation, and also just an honor of serving with both of you, is the fact that Ann Arbor has caretakers in this community like both of you, who really care about holding these kinds of assets that we have in the library in the public trust, and making sure that we all take care of the long view. And I've lived now in this community for over 20 years, and this library was a gift to me when I was an 18-year-old who arrived here.
[01:25:13.28] And it's, in large part, due to the service and work that you both have done over these years. And I think you've really instilled in us the importance of caring about this community, and caring that this resource is executed fairly and equitably, and in such a way that it will be here for many, many, many, many generations to come.
[01:25:38.39] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: It's recognized as one of the valuable public institutions of this town. We have to keep in mind that our schools and our library are the most important things we have.
[01:25:49.51] JIM LEIJA: We are very lucky to be able to continue to do this work, building on the foundation that you both have created.
[01:25:56.24] ED SUROVELL: Thank you. By the way, think of it, that this institution is the most frequently visited public institution in any good community. People come here 100 times more than they go to the police station, 100 times more than they go to city hall, at least as many times as they go to the parks and actively use them. This is the soul of a community, and you would not want to live in a community that did not have a good public library.
[01:26:29.49] Point out also that in my 22 years, we have spent close to a quarter of a billion dollars of publicly raised tax funds to support ourselves, and that the public has committed heavily, and that we are responsible for the husbanding, shepherding of those funds, and making certain that they're well used.
[01:26:57.77] And it's been an honor to be a part of.
[01:27:02.49] JAIME VANDER BROEK: I think my favorite thing about you, Ed, is that you always ask where people live. And then you can see in your face that you know what that means when they say. I live on a tiny dirt street that no one else had hear of, but I remember when I told where I lived, you were like, oh, yeah, Barber.
[01:27:23.61] And I just think that's amazing, you have this incredible mental map of Ann Arbor. And that extends to the way that you think about the possibilities for us. And I think that's the sort of charming thing that I like to think about when I think about you.
[01:27:39.72] But I think that the flip side to your presence on the board is just-- I think rigor is the word. It doesn't matter how difficult the discussion is going to be, if it's important, you're going to say it. And I think that for me-- I might cry-- but I think that you've taught me a lot about saying something when it needs to be said.
[01:28:07.26] And I think that takes a while to get your bearings in this kind of forum. And I think that you have always pushed all of us-- but I've felt pushed by you, certainly-- and I think that I've grown a lot from serving with you, Ed. And I appreciate it.
[01:28:26.79] ED SUROVELL: Thank you.
[01:28:27.77] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: That's lovely.
[01:28:28.99] ED SUROVELL: Can I tell you a story about streets?
[01:28:32.80] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Ed, let's get this meeting over.
[01:28:34.17] [LAUGHTER]
[01:28:34.57] ED SUROVELL: It'll be very short. It will be short.
[01:28:38.37] COLLEEN SHERMAN: Wasn't it Fred who said, Ed will shut up when you tell him to?
[01:28:41.89] ED SUROVELL: I was, last Christmas, I was 15,000 miles short on my gold status on Delta. And I flew from here to Maui, I spent two nights in Maui, turned around and came back. In that time, I discovered that every cab driver and Uber driver in Maui was a Vietnamese. And yes, I asked them where they were from.
[01:29:06.17] And the last one that took me to the airport said that he had been brought to Detroit as an orphan, and he hated it. And he asked to be transferred. And they took him to Tecumseh. And for those of you who don't know, I had a great big business in Tecumseh.
[01:29:27.70] And I said to this kid, you have no idea who you've got in the backseat of your car. It always helps everybody to find where people are from. It does make a difference.
[01:29:42.85] Thank you. Further, I sayeth not.
[01:29:47.51] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK, all those in favor?
[01:29:50.21] ALL: Aye.
[01:29:52.96] JOSIE PARKER: So it's my turn, on behalf of the staff. Jan, what you give us all every time we're around you is the unmistakable expectation that we will behave well, that we will put our manners out there first and foremost, and that we will not forget that we represent the Ann Arbor District Library.
[01:30:19.36] And for that, we all appreciate you, and are grateful to you.
[01:30:23.75] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Am I too stuffy?
[01:30:25.29] JOSIE PARKER: No, ma'am. You are the best. You are that woman from my childhood who followed me into my adulthood, who taught me how to be a lady, and to not forget it. And I really, really appreciate it, and I will always be grateful for it.
[01:30:42.28] And Ed, for all the talk about knowing what to say when, what you taught me-- and you're going to say it with me--
[01:30:49.33] TOGETHER: Never pass up the best opportunity to keep your big mouth shut.
[01:30:55.64] [LAUGHTER]
[01:30:56.92] JOSIE PARKER: And that has served me beautifully for 17 years. And you taught me how to do press conversations, how not to do press conversations. You also were that person through many years of public meetings-- some very difficult-- who I knew intellectually had my back, as well as emotionally had my back.
[01:31:25.63] And for some of the people who've worked here for a very long time, you understand that when the library launches on its first ever building project, that there's a lot of ground that some of us are asked to walk on that we've not before. And so the learning curve is huge.
[01:31:45.95] And Ed was one of those trustees-- and there were several-- who made sure that we could walk out there and do it. They did not leap out in front of us, they did not push us to the back, they did not say, you cannot. They said, let us help you, listen to us, we will show you. And they did.
[01:32:06.55] And he was part of that. And he remained part of that. And he still does it today. And he did it here tonight.
[01:32:13.90] So for that, I thank you.
[01:32:18.07] ED SUROVELL: Thank you.
[01:32:22.16] JAIME VANDER BROEK: All right, we already voted, so that just brings us to discussing whether we'll meet in December.
[01:32:27.67] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Let's vote.
[01:32:29.20] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Should we just vote? OK, so all those in favor of canceling the December meeting-- or no, we need a resolution. I'm sorry. I'm all befuddled. We can just make up a resolution.
[01:32:43.54] COLLEEN SHERMAN: I move that the board resolves to cancel December's scheduled meeting. Do I hear a second?
[01:32:50.65] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Second.
[01:32:52.33] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Is there any discussion? All those in favor?
[01:32:56.54] ALL: Aye.

[01:32:58.90] JAIME VANDER BROEK: OK. All right, citizens' comments.
[01:33:07.03] MELANIE BALDWIN: Hi, guys-- I just wanted to say--
[01:33:11.28] JIM LEIJA: What is your name?
[01:33:12.12] MELANIE BALDWIN: Oh, sorry, I'm Melanie Baldwin, I'm from Whitmore Lake. I am not anymore the director of the friends, but I just-- since Rachel couldn't be here-- I just wanted to say that I really appreciate Jan and Ed, and everything you've done for me, personally, over the last almost three years, as I was the FAADL director, and the whole board, and everything you've done to help me.
[01:33:38.37] And I just wanted to say congratulations on your retirement from this board, and I wish you all the best. Thank you.
[01:33:45.66] JAN BARNEY NEWMAN: Thank you.
[01:33:46.23] ED SUROVELL: Thank you.

[01:33:48.65] JAIME VANDER BROEK: Is that it, Karen? OK, great. All right, we'll see you in the new year, some of you. We're adjourned.
[01:33:59.96] NARRATOR: This program was recorded on November 12, 2018, at the Ann Arbor district library.