IFLS Board of Trustees #008(15)
INDIANHEAD FEDERATED LIBRARY SYSTEM
Board of Trustees
January 28, 2015
M I N U T E S
The Board of Trustees of the Indianhead Federated Library System met on Wednesday,
January 28, 2015 at Indianhead Federated Library System, 1538 Truax Boulevard, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Mike Norman called the meeting to order at 12:32 pm.
QUORUM AND CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE
WITH OPEN MEETINGS LAW:
Joanne Gardner established that a quorum was present and certified that the meeting had been properly noticed in compliance with the open meeting law.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:
Judy Achterhof (St. Croix County); Steve Anderson (St. Croix County); Mary Ellen Brue (St. Croix County); Jan Daus (Eau Claire County); Pat Eggert (Dunn County); Robert Fraser (Eau Claire County); Marilyn Holte (Chippewa County); Lyle Lieffring (Rusk County); Ron McLaughlin (Price County); Robert Mercord (Pierce County); Warren Nelson (Polk County); Mike Norman (Pierce County); Louie Okey (Barron County); Jackie Pavelski (Eau Claire County); Jean Schlieve (Eau Claire County); Gyneth Slygh (Pepin County); Linda Thompson (Barron County); Jim Tripp (Dunn County).
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:
Sue Duerkop (Polk County); Larry Willkom (Chippewa County).
OTHERS PRESENT:
John Thompson (Director); Juli Button (Business Manager); Joanne Gardner (Administrative Associate/Recorder); Kathy O’Leary (PR and Communications Coordinator).
APPROVE AGENDA:
MOTION #08(15): To approve the January 28, 2015 Agenda as presented. Mercord/Brue
RESULT: Carried.
CITIZEN COMMENTS:
There were no citizen comments.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE/INTRODUCTIONS:
Norman expressed the Board’s sympathy and condolences to Thompson on the recent passing of his father and brother.
A certificate acknowledging Marjorie Lindemann’s term on the IFLS Board was presented for Norman’s signature.
Louie Okey was introduced as the new trustee from Barron County replacing Marjorie Lindemann. Introductions were made.
Holte noted that it was Eggert’s birthday today.
ELECTION OF 2015 OFFICERS:
The Nomination Committee provided a slate of candidates to serve on the Executive Committee in 2015. Thompson asked if there were nominations from the floor. None were forthcoming.
Trustees were asked to select five trustees from the ballot. The five gaining the most votes will be declared the Executive Committee.
The following members were declared the Executive Committee: Steve Anderson, Pat Eggert, Lyle Lieffring, Michael Norman, and Jackie Pavelski.
Norman was unanimously elected as Board President by separate ballot.
MINUTES:
MOTION #09(15): To approve the Board of Trustees minutes dated November 19, 2014 (Doc. #060-14). Fraser/Daus
RESULT: Carried.
MOTION #10(15): To acknowledge receipt of the Director Evaluation Committee minutes dated November 19, 2014 (Doc. #059-14). Holte/Fraser
RESULT: Carried.
FINANCIAL REPORTS:
MOTION #11(15): To approve the November 2014 Check Register (Doc. #003-15). Daus/Holte
RESULT: Carried.
Button is still waiting for a couple bills to get paid before she closes the books for 2014. It appears IFLS will recover at least $20,000 going into 2015. This comes from a number of line items including tech income and lower costs in phone, building, and courier, etc.
Questions were asked about payroll, credit card transaction report, and credit card reward usage for staff networking and development.
MOTION #12(15): To approve the November 2014 Financial Reports (Doc. #004-15). Lieffring/Eggert
RESULT: Carried.
Questions were asked about state aid payments, electronic resources, delivery service, and the St. Paul Public Library Friends/Bremer Funds.
(Slygh arrived at 1:04 pm.)
Other questions related to the Financial Reports included the fuel surcharge and the system tech grant.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT OF MONTHLY ACTIVITIES
AND AGENDA ITEMS:
The first page of Thompson’s report provided an overview of activities in 2014 and included participation in State/regional events, library visits, and consulting for member libraries and boards.
Thompson met with Rebecca Schmitt yesterday. Schmitt was hired as the new director in Spring Valley.
Joe Niese was promoted from an Information Services Librarian to the Director at the Chippewa Falls Public Library. Thompson will probably meet with Niese in February.
Lori Pickard accepted the Director position at Dresser. She formerly worked at the Frederic Public Library.
Button and Thompson started working on member library annual reports. Once all 53 library reports have been reviewed, then IFLS’ will need to be completed.
We are waiting to hear from the Governor’s Office about the 2015-2017 Budget. Currently there is a deficit in state revenues. There has been mention of cuts to the UW campuses system budgets.
Thompson wished to go on record to note that when he returned from funeral leave there was nothing left for him to do in the office. IFLS Staff did a remarkable job in the office and he very much appreciates the support of staff.
With the loss of Thompson’s Father and Brother, it has been a very challenging few weeks. Thompson appreciates everyone’s support and he has received numerous cards and notes of support from libraries within the system. This means a great deal to Thompson.
Since Thompson was hired in January 2007 until now, there has been a lot more consulting with and for individual libraries. Thompson has seen a lot of director turnover. Thompson plans a visit with all new directors.
Libraries have been looking at their services and spaces and planning for the future. This entails a fair amount of Thompson’s time, but is important for the libraries.
Thompson has worked with several libraries with space and long range planning. Ten or so libraries are looking at various building projects including renovation and new construction.
Fraser commented that an increase in consulting is a good sign. It signifies that IFLS has a lot to offer to the libraries and assisting them in moving forward.
Thompson credited IFLS Staff for their dedication to the system’s mission.
TRUSTEE ORIENTATION/OVERVIEW:
Thompson noted that there has been a fair amount of turnover on the IFLS Board since he was hired in 2007. There are only six of twenty board members still active on the board from when he was hired.
A Trustee Orientation packet was handed out. Thompson pointed out some essential functions of being a system trustee. Trustees of the system need to consider not only your community or county, but the entire region served by the system and all the libraries and users of the system.
Library Boards are governed by State Statute. Each system trustee is provided with the Trustee Essentials Handbook. The relevant Trustee Essentials are referenced on agendas and within the orientation handout. Although the Trustee Essentials handbook is designed for public library boards, Trustee Essential #26 is aimed specifically for system trustees.
The system makeup for IFLS is based on the system population within the borders of the ten counties comprising IFLS. Each county has 1-3 representatives. The Resource Library also has a representative on the system board. Statutes allow for 1 of the positions of each county to appoint a representative from the county board. This is not a requirement but rather a county decision.
While the system is state-funded, we are considered a local government entity. Powers as the System Board are defined by State Statue. One of the big responsibilities of the system board is to review the financial reports. Questions are always encouraged.
In addition to the financial reports for system operations, IFLS is the fiscal agent for MORE; a consortium development in partnership with local libraries. MORE is governed by library directors of participating libraries and meets every other month to set policies and the budget. IFLS subsidizes a share of the MORE cost. IFLS does have a vote in decision making. Any decisions made by the MORE Directors Council can be appealed to the IFLS Board, which would be the final arbitrator.
As a system trustee, board members cannot make policies for any member library. System trustees should avoid any unnecessary interference with the autonomy of member libraries. IFLS trustees don’t set policy for local libraries. Local libraries are governed by their local library boards.
Member libraries must meet membership requirements of being a system member. If they do not meet the requirements, the system must develop a plan to bring the library back into compliance. An example would be that each library needs to have a properly certified director.
Library Systems are service organizations established to support member libraries. The MORE Shared Catalog is one service. Other services include delivery, continuing education, etc.
Most system trustees who chose to serve on the board have a great passion for libraries and like to hear about the activities of our 53 member libraries. The Advisory Council of Librarians reports to the system board. This group meets 2-3 times per year and shares information from their county. Board members are encouraged to visit the libraries you represent and meet with the directors and staff.
The System needs to develop a budget based on the service needs of public libraries. Although courier as a whole is expensive, it is a relatively inexpensive process to move items and ends up costing 9-10 cents an item each way.
Because of the size of our System and number of member libraries, IFLS has a full time Business Manager. Button handles the payroll system and financials. In addition, Button assists with the System Annual Report and member libraries with their reports. Button offers consulting on QuickBooks software and budgets.
As trustees of the system, advocacy is important. Trustees should be prepared to go out and ask legislators to support library system funding. One way to advocate would be to attend Library Legislative Day. If you cannot attend, you are encouraged to contact your legislators and attend events in your area and support libraries. IFLS will send out Library Legislative Day materials to trustees prior to the event. Fraser noted that he has been down to Library Legislative Day in the past and reiterated the importance as functioning as advocates for the system and libraries, especially with it being a budget year.
The IFLS Executive Committee did not meet in 2014 and Thompson anticipates they won’t need to meet in 2015. The role of the Executive Committee is to discuss policy in the interim between Board meetings. The Executive Committee has dealt with the mid-year budget recommendations for change. The decisions made by the Executive are decisions the full Board should and does make. Thompson has been providing reports in the months between Board meetings. The Personnel Committee meets to discuss personnel policy and to recommend wages to the full Board.
The Board of Trustees is a public body and must adhere to Wisconsin’s Open Meeting Law. Trustees should not send email which invites discussion or action. Hitting “reply all” creates a violation of open meeting law and should be avoided. Trustees are personally liable as it relates to Open Meeting Law and violations.
The Board of Trustees can go into closed session for personnel issues, but is not required to. Typically the Board would go into closed session for negative personnel issues. Although, if the Board is conducting a disciplinary hearing, the individual has the right to hold the hearing in open session.
In creating agenda, they should be as complete and detailed as possible. The Board is bound by ethics and conflicts of interest law.
Trustees cannot take any official action that produces a financial benefit or has significant financial interest. The statutes do not allow a library staff member to be on the Board. If Board members see a potential for conflict, they should let IFLS know. The Auditors also do a check on conflicts annually.
(Break from 2:00pm until 2:15 pm)
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS:
Executive Committee appointments include Norman as Chair and Anderson serving as Treasurer. The other officers of the Executive Committee will be decided when they meet. The Executive Committee will meet virtually when meetings are warranted.
The 2015 Personnel Committee consists of: Steve Anderson, Sue Duerkop, Bob Fraser, Marilyn Holte, and Jim Tripp. Typically the Personnel Committee meets the morning of the full board meetings.
LEAN/COLAND UPDATE:
COLAND is the Council on Library and Network Development. Appointments are made by the Governor and include representatives from library professionals, trustees, and citizens. COLAND makes recommendations to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Governor.
Thompson explained the LEAN process used for creating efficiencies in workflows and processes. The LEAN Study Committee, which Thompson was involved with, looked at ways to deliver library services in a more cost effective way. COLAND took the LEAN recommendations and created a road map for the future of library systems. The recommendations include how to better use the resources in the State to better help the member libraries.
Systems were created long before the Internet and before the shared cataloging system was created. Some of the current state mandates predate the Internet. Currently there are 17 systems responsible to meet each of the mandates.
The final report will be issued by COLAND and will include a steering committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations. This will include hiring of a project manager to keep the implementation on track. The final report will be send to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Some recommendations may move forward quicker than others.
BOARD MEETING DATES/TIMES:
Board members were in agreement to continue meeting bi-monthly on the fourth Wednesday of the month, except for November. 12:30 pm will continue to be the start time. A handout was included with the proposed meeting dates.
REPORTS:
In-depth Staff Report: Kathy O’Leary, Public Relations and Communications Coordinator was present to given an overview of her work for IFLS and the member libraries.
When O’Leary was first hired she created website redesigns for all the member libraries. She is now starting over again on the newly designed websites. She has received good feedback and 5 of the new websites are done. The newly designed websites are responsive websites and make it easier for those wishing to access the website via mobile devices. O’Leary hopes the new round of websites will finish at a quicker pace. The MORE website is on the list for a redo. O’Leary hopes to take on this project within the next six months. The process used includes interviewing the libraries to see what they want and then create a mockup. Once that is created and approved the site is made live. O’Leary noted that there is a lot of communication to getting the sites up and running. O’Leary created videos for training the libraries on how to create slides for their websites. The libraries are doing a good job.