catalog

databases

page turners

search our site

reference desk

kids corner

teen space

parents place

home

MEETING MINUTES

Minutes Regular Meeting of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Board of Trustees February 17, 2000

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library was held on Thursday, February 17, 2000 in the Central Library pursuant to due notice to trustees. The following members were present:

Rebecca L. Mahoney, Chair; Elaine M. Panty, Vice Chair; Annette A. Juncewicz, Secretary; James W. Burns, Treasurer; Frank Gist; Simone Mitchell-Peterson; Remy Orffeo; Daniel T. Roach; David J. Shenk; Judith K. Summer; Sharon A. Thomas; George M. Zimmermann, Trustee Emeritus

Excused: Robert J. Plache; Stanley H. Zagora; Roland R. Benzow, Trustee Emeritus; Richard O. Hopkins, Trustee Emeritus; Morton H. Stovroff, Trustee Emeritus; John P. Wickser, Trustee Emeritus

Chair Mahoney called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. in the Joseph B. Rounds Conference Room.

Agenda Item B – Approval / Changes to the Agenda. Ms. Mahoney informed board members that Agenda Item J.1 under New Business has been removed and referred to the Foundation Review/Select Committees for further discussion. On motion by Ms. Mitchell-Peterson and seconded by Mr. Gist the Agenda was approved as amended.

Agenda Item C – Minutes of the Meeting of January 20, 2000. On motion by Ms. Panty and seconded by Mr. Gist the Minutes of the meeting of January 20, 2000 were approved unanimously.

Agenda Item D – Report of the Chair.

Agenda Item D.1 – Committee Assignments. Ms. Mahoney distributed copies of the proposed Committee Assignments. She indicated that she had attempted to honor trustees’ requests regarding committee preferences. On motion by Ms. Panty and seconded by Mr. Gist the Committee Appointments were approved as submitted.

Ms. Mahoney reminded trustees that an ACT meeting will be held at the Orchard Park Public Library on Saturday, February 19^th at 10 a.m.

Agenda Item E – Committee Reports.

Agenda Item E.1 – Executive Committee. Ms. Panty reported that the Executive Committee met on February 10^th to approve the Agenda for today’s meeting. Deputy Director Stone explained contract library transfers and the Gates Library Foundation grant award. Charles M. Swanick, Chairman of the Erie County Legislature, joined the meeting at approximately 4:45 p.m. to discuss the community hearings on the Strategic Plan. The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:45 p.m.

Agenda Item E.2 – Budget & Finance Committee.

Agenda Item E.2.a – Contract Library Transfers. On motion by Mr. Shenk and seconded by Mr. Burns the following was approved unanimously:

RESOLUTION 2000-6

Agenda Item E.2.b – Gates Library Foundation Grant Award. Budget & Finance Committee Chair Mitchell-Peterson informed the Board that a total of $87,050 has been received from the Gates Library Foundation to provide computers and printers for the Cazenovia, East Clinton, Mead and North Park libraries and a branch based computer training lab for the East Delavan Branch Library. The proposed resolution amends the Library grants budget by increasing revenues and expenditures by $87,050.

On motion by Mr. Roach and seconded by Ms. Summer the following was approved unanimously:

RESOLUTION 2000-7

Gates Library Project Budget

Revenue: From Gates Library Foundation $ 87,050

Cazenovia, East Clinton, Mead & North Park

Computer & related equipment $ 51,400

Computer Training Lab for East Delavan Library $ 35,650

Agenda Item E.2.c – Amend 2000 Budget – Legislative Contingency for Crane, Fairfield, Niagara, Cheektowaga. On February 3^rd the Erie County Legislature adopted a resolution sponsored by Legislator Judith P. Fisher designating $6000 to purchase exterior books drops for the Crane, Fairfield and Niagara branches and an additional $4000 to purchase Spanish language materials for the Niagara Branch. The Legislature also adopted a resolution sponsored by Legislator Gregory B. Olma allocating $4000 to support computers and computer-Internet access at the Cheektowaga libraries. Ms. Juncewicz moved adoption of the proposed resolution and Ms. Summer seconded the motion. During discussion, Mr. Orffeo suggested that the second "Resolve" be amended to include Legislator Olma’s full name to be consistent with the first "Resolve" which contains Legislator Fisher’s full name. There being no further discussion, on motion by Ms. Juncewicz and seconded by Ms. Summer the following resolution was approved as amended:

RESOLUTION 2000-8

Agenda Item E.2.d – Amend 2000 Budget, Appropriate State Legislature Member Aid. Ms. Mitchell-Peterson informed the Board that in late 1999 the Library received notification from the New York State Department of Education of grant-in-aid awards totaling $27,000 for six B&ECPL libraries. As the allocations were received so late in the year, there was insufficient time to budget and expend the funds in 1999. Therefore, the proceeds are included in the 1999 ending fund balance and are available for reappropriation in the 2000 budget. The designated libraries were solicited for recommendations regarding utilization of the funds. Four libraries responded. Ms. Mitchell-Peterson requested a motion to appropriate $17,000 for the Concord, Clarence, Gowanda and Amherst libraries as indicated in the proposed resolution. Elma and West Seneca have not made a determination regarding their share of the remaining $10,000. Ms. Summer presented a motion to approve Resolution 2000-9. Mr. Gist seconded the motion.

Following discussion Resolution 2000-9 was approved as moved and seconded earlier.

RESOLUTION 2000-9

Agenda Item E.3 – Planning Committee. Ms. Juncewicz reported that approximately one hundred community members attended the public hearing the previous evening at the Hamburg Public Library. Members of the Hamburg and Frontier school boards, town board members and Erie County Legislators Jeanne Chase, Ed Kuwik and Charles Swanick were in attendance and heard what is being said all over the county - people want their libraries just the way they are. Ms. Juncewicz reminded trustees that there are sixteen public meetings left on the schedule and reiterated earlier requests that board members try to attend at least three hearings – one in the city, one in the suburbs, and one rural library as these meetings provide insight into community priorities.

Mr. Roach echoed Ms. Juncewicz’s remarks. He noted that he has attended two city meetings and one in Tonawanda. He stated that listening to the voices of the people will be important when the Board makes its ultimate decision.

Mr. Gist wondered if newly elected city officials had received copies of the Strategic Plan because he has been hearing things that are totally wrong concerning the Plan. He felt the Board must be clear on many of the issues which have been distorted. Ms. Chrisman said the newly elected officials did receive copies of the Plan. Ms. Mahoney indicated that she and Library administrators have alwaysrepeatedly offered to meet with elected officials and did so prior to the community meetings. She noted that it is important to meet with these peopleofficials to discuss the Plan and report the facts.

Mr. Orffeo questioned why Legislator Swanick met with the Executive Committee. Ms. Mahoney indicated that Chairman Swanick has attended all but one of the community meetings and met with the Executive Committee to present his perceptions of those meetings. Ms. Juncewicz noted that there has been no representation from the County Executive’s Office at any of the hearings. Ms. Chrisman indicated that she had spoken to the Deputy County Executive earlier in the day and mentioned that the Executive’s Office may want to be observers at the hearings.

Agenda Item F – Report of the Director. In addition to her written report, Ms. Chrisman informed the Board that she and Deputy Director Mahaney met with the Parkside Community Association to discuss the Strategic Planning recommendations. She felt it was time well spent as the group had a better understanding of the recommendations following the presentation.

Earlier in the day Ms. Chrisman, Deputy Director Stone and Human Resources ADD Patricia Angstadt met with the Deputy County Executive, the Budget Director, an assistant county attorney and a representative from County Personnel regarding centralized human resources. Mr. Stone explained the financial impact of this concept and arrangements were made for Ms. Angstadt to meet further with Personnel representatives to develop an implementation plan.

Ms. Chrisman, Mr. Stone, Mr. Mahaney and Assistant Deputy Director Miles attended the City Capital Project budget hearing on February 16^th. Mr. Stone presented the Library’s request. The other staff members answered questions about Strategic Planning recommendations.

The following report was submitted by the Director and transmitted to Board members prior to the meeting:

Public Meetings on Proposed Strategic Plan: To date, B&ECPL has conducted five of twenty-two community meetings to invite public comment on the proposed strategic plan. The most recent meetings have been held at the Northwest Branch (January 26^th), Lancaster Public Library (February 1^st), Crane Branch (February 2^nd) and Kenilworth Branch (February 9^th). Attendance has varied from approximately 30 in Lancaster to approximately 200 at Kenilworth. A revised meeting format has abbreviated the staff presentation and added a formal public comment period. The revised format contributes to a more cordial and more constructive forum for exchange.

Legislature Chairman Charles Swanick has attended all but one of the meetings. Legislators Lynn Marinelli, Judith Fisher and George Holt have attended meetings at libraries in their legislative districts. New York State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt attended the meeting at Crane. Buffalo Common Council Members Barbara Miller-Williams, Betty Jean Grant, Charley Fisher and Dominic Bonifacio, Jr., Lancaster Town Supervisor Robert Giza, Tonawanda Supervisor Ron Moline and other local officials have attended meetings in their communities.

Each meeting has been attended by at least two B&ECPL trustees. Rebecca Mahoney, Annette Juncewicz, Simone Mitchell-Peterson, Elaine Panty, Frank Gist, Sharon Thomas, Phyllis Horton, Dan Roach and Stan Zagora have attended at least one meeting each.

While each meeting has been unique, there are overall similarities. Lancaster’s meeting was exceptional, primarily because the plan proposes no major changes in that community. Generally, attendees are opposed to replacing their current library with one they presume might be less accessible. There is repeated concern about the problems posed by vacated buildings. The prospect of retrofitting present facilities is a recurring suggestion. The importance of convenient neighborhood libraries, particularly for children and senior citizens, is emphasized consistently. By and large, people endorse management changes, such as the migration to centralized human resources.

In routine public speaking engagements with the Buffalo Kiwanis, Lancaster Civic Club and other community groups, Deputy Director Michael Mahaney frequently responds to questions about the implications of the planning recommendations. Interest remains high in the media as well, with continuous attention on TV and radio and in local and regional newspapers.

Other Strategic Planning Activities: Centralized Human Resources was on the agenda when CFO Kenneth Stone, Assistant Deputy Director Patricia Angstadt and the Director met with Deputy County Executive Carl Calabrese on January 28^th. Favorable response on the part of Mr. Calabrese and then support from County Executive Joel Giambra led to scheduling another session for a discussion of the impact this proposal will have on the County. On February 17^th, Library representatives will meet with Mr. Calabrese, County Budget Director Joseph Passafiume, Personnel Commissioner Leonard Lenihan and Timothy Trost of the Labor Relations Department.

On February 10^th, Deputy Director Mahaney and the Director met with NFTA representatives to continue discussion of ways to improve transportation access to public libraries in Erie County.

Western New York Rare Book Consortium: Following the endorsement of the WNYRBC by the Board of Trustees last month, Board Chair Rebecca Mahoney and the Director attended the first meeting of the Steering Committee, which is charged with guiding the efforts of the Consortium as it seeks to provide wider accessibility to the treasures of our community. Attorney Patrick Martin and W. Lawrence Buck, President of the Library Foundation, also serve on the Steering Committee. The first task of this Committee is to interview firms applying to provide the architectural and consulting services required for the Historical Society renovation efforts and the Central Library’s exhibition space expansion program. Both rehabilitation projects are key to accommodating the rotating displays of rare books, manuscripts and related artifacts, which are fundamental to this collaboration. The Steering Committee session was followed by a meeting of William Siener, Director of the Historical Society, Dr. Robert Bertholf, Curator of the Poetry and Rare Books Collection at the University and the Director on February 8^th to prepare a detailed outline of the project’s objectives.

On February 8^th, Deputy Director Mahaney, Assistant Deputy Directors Ruth Collins and Lucille DeFranks and the Director met with Barbara von Wahlde, Director of the University Libraries, and her associates to discuss standards and cost projections for preparing electronic catalog records and the construction of a web site for the virtual rare book library. Kathryn Vedder, Executive Director of the Library Foundation, is preparing a request to the John R. Oishei Foundation to fund this first phase of the project

Assistant Deputy Director Community Relations: A job description for this important post has been prepared and is being distributed regionally. According to plan, a candidate will be proposed to the Board in March or April.

American Library Association Midwinter Meeting: Deputy Director Mahaney and the Director attended the annual work session of ALA from January 14^th through 17^th in San Antonio. Committee meetings and discussion of library issues with colleagues provide excellent opportunities to keep abreast of current professional concerns.

Executive Committee Meeting: Legislature Chairman Charles M. Swanick attended the February 10^th session of the Executive Committee to discuss his perspectives on the public meetings about strategic planning. In addition, Committee members reviewed the agenda for the February 17^th Board meeting.

Angola Public Library Celebration: Deputy Directors Mahaney and Stone accompanied the Director to the Angola Public Library on January 27^th to attend the dedication of building renovations, including a remodeled façade, which adds significantly to the appearance of the structure. Community leader Donald "Doc" Carbeck was honored for his generous contributions to the library.

Board of Regents Funding Proposal: The State Board of Regents has proposed a $90 million funding initiative to improve public library buildings in New York State. If approved, this could provide crucial support for building projects already scheduled in Erie County and impact future efforts to upgrade aging libraries.

The following report was submitted to the Director by the Deputy Director, Chief Operating Officer and transmitted to the Board for information:

Central Staff Prepare for Remote Reference Center: After considerable discussion and planning, Assistant Deputy Director Ruth A. Collins reports that Central Library is moving ahead in the implementation of one of the Strategic Plan recommendations pertaining to Central Library as a HUB for the system. The Central Reference Team has been investigating the telephone, fax, and e-mail operations of other library systems to determine requirements for the initiation of a fully integrated remote reference information center at Central. Since last August, modifications to the automated attendant recorded greeting and to "telephone tree" options have directed incoming calls first to "Quick Check Line" (QCL), the precursor of this center. QCL has been handling approximately 57% of the telephone calls received for all departments. These are mainly general questions about the Library, BEACON (title / author) inquiries, and directory assistance (local and long-distance phone number) look-ups. Non-librarian personnel have been trained to handle such calls and forward "true reference" questions to the appropriate subject area. As a result, patrons have confirmed that they are experiencing less lengthy "on hold" situations before being connected with a subject specialist.

The Central Reference Team (Pat Blackett, Jennifer Childs, Debbie Fink, Betsey Higgins, Mary Jean Jakubowski, Darlene Lysarz, Cynthia Van Ness, Rosemary Vazquez) expect that, by mid-year 2000, QCL will be enhanced to include additional telephone lines, fax, and e-mail capabilities. Staffing will be a mix of paraprofessional personnel and librarians from Central subject departments. Paraprofessionals will continue to handle the same types of inquiries, and librarians will address the ready reference questions for all Erie County patrons. As a hub library for the System, Central library will maintain a dedicated telephone hot line for unit librarians who need immediate assistance with patron inquiries.

More Networked Electronic Resources Planned for 2000: Throughout this year, the Electronic Resources Evaluation Committee, chaired by Chris Moesch, will assess additional databases for possible enhancement of networked choices at all units. By popular demand, the committee’s focus during 2000 will be on selection of children’s databases and learning games. Regional libraries will receive access to Reference USA, Mitchell’s RepairNet, and College Search as soon as licensing and technical details are finalized. In addition, the much-anticipated Dialog@Carl databases, funded by New York State, should be available early next month at all B&ECPL sites and for remote access through BEACON.

RECON Project: The RECON Team working in the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) stacks clocked a combined total of 106 hours during January. At the rate of 106 hours per month / 1.9 sections reviewed, RECON of HSS materials could be completed in 20 months. Earlier estimates (based on far fewer hours assigned to this task per person / month) predicted a 7-year target for completion. In light of competing responsibilities (desk duty, new materials selection, public training, committee assignments, etc.), it is reasonable to project that the average monthly commitment to RECON will drop from its current level. A more realistic target date for completion is 4.5 to 5 years.

Central Library Aid: The Central Library Development Aid and the Central Library Book Aid grant applications have been received and are due May 1^st. Board approval is required and will be requested at the April meeting.

Riverside Showcases Historic Churches: With the co-sponsorship of the Black Rock/Riverside Historic Pride Committee, the Riverside Branch Library recently hosted a well-received display of historic churches located in the neighborhood.

Martin Luther King Tribute: B&ECPL’s Coordinator of Urban Services, Sharon Holley, was a guest on WKBW-TV/Channel 7’s "A.M. Buffalo" on January 17^th as part of its tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In a segment that included Buffalo Common Council President James Pitts, Ms. Holley spoke not only about the legacy of Dr. King, but also about the annual tribute presented by B&ECPL’s Department of Extension Services the previous week. Taped segments from that event were featured during the broadcast.

B&ECPL Branches Assist US Census: On a weekly basis, several Buffalo branch libraries are cooperating with the US Census Bureau by serving as screening sites for potential census enumerators.

Branches Benefit from New Gates Grants: In January, the East Clinton, Cazenovia, Mead and North Park Libraries received notification that they are to receive additional computer equipment in the latest round of grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Included in the most recent awards are funds for a state-of-the-art computer training lab at the East Delavan Branch Library.

Black History Event: On February 8^th, The North Jefferson Branch Library hosted a Black History celebration that included music and dramatic readings featuring the Native American Magnet School Choir under the direction of Richard L. Williams, a gold-record recording artist. 172 library customers, students from M.L.K. Magnet School, School #74, parents and friends attended this energy-filled program.

Planning Communication: The informational brochure on the proposed Strategic Plan, "More Than Words," has been distributed throughout the System. Copies were mailed to public officials and trustees as well as those on the strategic plan mailing list. Printing production costs were underwritten by the Library Foundation.

Survey of Contract Library Part-time Clerical and Librarian Staff: In an informal survey, Contract Library Directors have been polled for the names and hours worked (in FY 1999) of any clerical or librarian staff who are employed full-time at one library location and who work part-time at other locations. The names of non-B&ECPL employees who work part-time at multiple locations were also requested. Results are due February 15^th and will be compiled to determine the extent of "moonlighting" throughout the System, as this is of significant concern under a potential single employer umbrella for all B&ECPL libraries.

Hub Services Task Force: The committee met on January 24^th to review a draft of its final report. The report is undergoing editing and will be distributed to task force members next week. Once approved, the document will be forwarded to the Board’s Planning Committee for its consideration.

Staffing Models Committee: A workload analysis for public service positions at King County (WA) Library System has been received and reviewed. After review of the recently received executive summary from the Resource Utilization and Branch Activities Assessment study at The New York Public Library, a meeting will be scheduled to set short-range goals for the B&ECPL Staffing Models Committee.

Output Measures for 1999: All units will be reporting their output measures data for 1999 by February 14^th. The information is used in both the State Reports and the Public Library Data Survey, conducted by the Public Library Association and due March 3^rd.

The following report was submitted to the Director by the Deputy Director, Chief Financial Officer and transmitted to the Board for information:

Central Library Staff Mourn the Loss of William Silver: Fondly known as "Billy" to most of us, Mr. Silver passed away unexpectedly last weekend. Billy worked as a part-time cleaner in the Maintenance Department and was well known for his infectious good will and cheerfulness as he went about his work throughout the Central Library.

Mr. Silver recently was one of six in Erie County to receive the 1999 County Executive’s Award for "individuals with disabilities whom [sic] have demonstrated exceptional performance on the job." He was very proud of this award, as were we for him. He will be sorely missed.

Nationwide Amounts Requested for Year 3 E-Rate Funding More Than Doubles: This week the Schools & Libraries Division announced that a total of $4.72 billion had been requested in over 36,000 applications. This is substantially higher than the annual $2.25 billion funding cap. SLD has indicated that it will allocate funding in the same manner that it did in Program Year 1, i.e. "all telecommunications and Internet requests (currently estimated at $1.44 billion) would be funded, but internal connections funding would be available only to the higher discount applicants."

B&ECPL has requested up to $243,000 for telecommunications and Internet access requests to support increased bandwidth and performance requirements of our recently expanded automated network (now serving all 52 libraries). We also requested up to $151,000 for "internal connections" for projects such as additional servers, networking equipment, and data cabling. Unfortunately, chances of funding for most if not all of the "internal connections" is greatly reduced by the high volume of requests nationwide.

Work Begins on Central Library Chiller Replacement Project: Work on this project began 2/11/00 with set-up for abatement of asbestos coating equipment in the chiller room. This work will take place entirely in the chiller room, not affecting other staff or any public areas of the library. The project, which will also involve replacing the roof-top cooling towers, should be substantially complete (air conditioning operational) by the third week in May.

The following report was submitted to the Director by the Deputy Director, Corporate Information Officer and transmitted to the Board for information:

Year-End Reporting Underway: Each year, Network Support generates many special reports that are used to produce some of the statistics used in the annual preparation of the "State" reports. Peggy Brent has done an excellent job in this year’s production and all except a newly created set of Acquisitions reports have been completed.

New Electronic Resources Coming Soon: Work continues to provide several exciting additions to our Electronic Resource Collection. Plans are now underway for testing and staff training for these databases as well as for coordination with the Regional Libraries. In addition, Network Support is now addressing several issues with vendor response problems and security.

Distribution of 220 New Laser Bar Code Scanners Planned: The 220 new laser bar code scanners are scheduled to arrive before the end of the month. Preliminary plans for their distribution have been made and installation instructions have been written. The instructions will be finalized with the first installations and then, the improved equipment will be widely distributed.

Virtual Services Sub-Committee Holds First Meeting: The "Virtual Services" sub-committees of the New Services Plan Task Force met for the 1^st time. It is led by Maureen McLaughlin. The charge of this sub-committee is to investigate what services, beyond the walls of the Library, should be provided in the 3^rd millennium by the Library. Final recommendations are due in September 2001.

Collections Agency: In 2000, the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library will begin to utilize the services of a Collection Agency to assist in the prompt payment of overdue fines and lost book fees. In preparation, several special reports were generated and work was begun to obtain the Collection Agency module from DRA.

Oishei Foundation Grant Application: Assistance was provided in the development of the grant application to the Oishei Foundation.

Agenda Item G – Report of the Foundation Director. The Foundation Director’s written report, which contained information about the Western New York Rare Book Consortium, financial support of the B&ECPL, the More Than Words brochure, and the Barbara L. Kimberly bequest, was included in board members’ packets. Ms. Vedder further reported that at its February 15^th meeting the Foundation Board unanimously approved an amendment to its Bylaws to include five B&ECPL trustees along with the Library Board Chair on its Board of Directors. The Board also unanimously approved the Nominating Committee’s recommendation to appoint Stanley Zagora, James Burns and Robert Plache to its membership. They will join Daniel Roach, Phyllis Horton and Library Board Chair Mahoney who currently serve on the Foundation Board. Ms. Vedder expressed her appreciation to George Zimmermann and Dan Roach for their service on the Bylaws Committee.

In anticipation of the B&ECPL Board’s approval, the Foundation Board also approved the disbursement of $7000 for the Ethnic Newswatch Internet connection.

Ms. Mahoney thanked Foundation Board members for their efforts to add current trustees to the Foundation Board of Directors.

Agenda Item H – Public Comment. Valerie Niederhoffer offered her observations on community meetings she has attended.

Elizabeth Berry of Buffalo also spoke about the public meetings and offered her views.

In response to Ms. Summer’s question regarding the Library’s plans for the Pan American Centennial next year, Ms. Chrisman indicated that the Library does have a project in the works and will provide details soon.inform the Board as soon as it is ready.

Agenda Item I – Unfinished Business. No unfinished business.

Agenda Item J – New Business.

Agenda Item J.2 – Ethnic Newswatch. Ms. Chrisman informed trustees that the proposed resolution will enable B&ECPL to expand its service to the Ethnic Newswatch which is currently received as a CD Rom product at the North Jefferson Library. United Way donations to the Foundation have supported this project for the past few years. In its current CD Rom format this product is only available at the one location to one user at a time.

With changing technology comes the opportunity to expand access to all Buffalo branches and the Central Library using the Internet at a cost of $9775. In addition to the ability to have multiple simultaneous users accessing these articles, the new service will provide monthly web usage statistics.

To accomplish this expanded access, proposed Resolution 2000-11 requests $7000 from the Library Foundation. The Library would provide the remaining $2775 from United Way funds donated directly to the B&ECPL. On motion by Mr. Gist and seconded by Ms. Panty, the following was approved unanimously:

RESOLUTION 2000-11

Agenda Item J.3 – Director’s Proposed Goals and Objectives. Ms. Chrisman called attention to the Proposed Goals and Objectives for the year 2000 which waswere prepared by the administrative team and was included in board packets for trustees’ review. The Board will be kept up to date on the activities involvedassociated with these goals and objectives through the Director’s monthly reports. Ms. Chrisman indicated that she will prepare a summary of accomplishments at year's’ end.

Ms. Mahoney indicated that when the Board receives the summary, an evaluation could be undertaken in January.

Mr. Orffeo called attention to Goal D.1 – Continue to increase minority hiring. He noted that Erie County has a substantial Hispanic and Black population which is not reflected in the library system. He asked if the Library has a game plan to accomplish this goal. Ms. Chrisman responded that there is relatively balanced representation in the non-professional staff areas but it has been very difficult recruiting minority librarians. B&ECPL has created some library trainee positions to encourage minority staff to attend library school. She indicated that she is also attempting to recruit minority staff on an informal basis. In an effort to attract minorities to the library profession the Library School at the University at Buffalo matches the $5000 Spectrum Scholarships which are awarded by the American Library Association.

During discussion regarding recruitment of Spanish speaking and other minority librarians, Ms. Mitchell-Peterson stated that when she looked at the goals most of them were very measurable but the one relating to minority hiring was very broad. It didn’t identify whether the goal was to increase minority hiring in general or only in the area where it is critical. She indicated that if the Library hired one additional minority staff member per year, it will give a benchmark. In the future perhaps two minorities will be hired and so on.

Mr. Gist echoed the concern of other trustees and felt this should be an ongoing effort.

There being no further discussion regarding minority hiring, on motion by Mr. Shenk and seconded by Ms. Panty the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Annette A. Juncewicz, Secretary

Return to top of page