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MEETING MINUTES

Minutes of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Board of Trustees

January 21, 1999

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library was held on Thursday, January 21, 1999 in the Central Library pursuant to due notice to trustees. The following members were present:

Rebecca L. Mahoney, Chair; Phyllis A. Horton, Vice Chair; Simone Mitchell- Peterson, Secretary; David J. Shenk, Treasurer; James W. Burns;Frank Gist; Annette A. Juncewicz; Remy Orffeo; Elaine M. Panty; Robert J. Plache; Daniel T. Roach; Stanley H. Zagora; George M. Zimmermann, Trustee Emeritus

Excused:Salvatore R. Martoche, out of town; Judith K. Summer, conflict; Sharon A. Thomas, conflict; 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 4:00 p.m. in the Joseph B. Rounds Conference Room.

On motion by Ms. Panty and seconded by Mr. Orffeo the Agenda was approved as presented.

On motion by Mr. Shenk and seconded by Ms. Panty the Minutes of the December 1^st special Board meeting regarding the Bylaws were approved as mailed.

On motion by Ms. Panty and seconded by Ms. Horton the Minutes of the December 15^th special Board meeting regarding the Bylaws were approved as mailed.

On motion by Mr. Plache and seconded by Mr. Shenk the Minutes of the December 17^th regular Board meeting were approved as mailed.

Report of the Chair
Ms. Mahoney reported that in addition to Board committee meetings she and Acting Director Chrisman met with the Town of Tonawanda Board and Supervisor Carl J. Calabrese on January 7^th and the Hamburg Board on January 19^th regarding the Strategic Plan. A meeting with Legislator Fred Marshall is scheduled for January 22^nd. Ms. Mahoney noted that people are coming to the meetings with interesting and pertinent questions and comments. She indicated that she has been taking notes and suggested that perhaps the Library should keep a record of the comments and questions received at these meetings.

In response to Mr. Burns’ question regarding the general tone of the meetings, Ms. Mahoney noted that people have been receptive to discussion and ask many of the same questions the Board has asked. For example, where will the Third Mmillenium fund come from and how will it be enacted? She indicated that the Planning Committee will have more to report on this subject later in the meeting.

Ms. Mahoney called attention to the LJ Hotline advertisement for the position of Library Director which was included in board members’ packets. This ad will also appear in other library publications in February. A brochure featuring information about the Library has been prepared for distribution to those who apply for the position. Ms. Mahoney indicated that Executive Committee members had received copies of the brochure and if other trustees are interested, Mrs. Chrisman and Human Resources Assistant Deputy Director Angstadt have copies. She expressed the Board’s appreciation to Ms. Angstadt for her assistance during the search process.

Mr. Zagora informed trustees that he had met with former Director Walters during a December visit to Las Vegas. Mr. Walters indicated that he is happy in Las Vegas and asked Mr. Zagora to deliver his best wishes to the B&ECPL Board and staff.

Mr. Zagora went on to say that he felt Assistant Deputy Director Mahaney did a very good job during his WBEN radio interview with Sandy Beach regarding the B&ECPL Internet Policy.

Executive Committee
Ms. Horton reported that the January 14^th Executive Committee meeting was cancelled due to the weather. The Committee met briefly prior to this meeting and approved the agenda and heard an informational report on Resolution 99-2 from Deputy Director Stone.

Budget & Finance Committee
Agenda Item 4.b.1. Contract Library Transfers. On motion by Mr. Shenk and seconded by Ms. Panty the following was unanimously approved:

RESOLUTION 99-1

In response to Mr. Plache’s suggestion that perhaps the Town of Tonawanda Public Library may require budget counseling as they had such a big surplus in their health insurance account, Mr. Stone indicated that the surplus was due to the fact that a number of positions were vacant during the year and some employees had waived their health insurance coverage.

Agenda Item 4.b.2. Emergency Assistance Contract Library State Retirement Expenses. Budget & Finance Committee Chair Mitchell-Peterson explained that part of each fiscal year-end closing process involves distributing the State of New York Retirement System Annual billing among contracting libraries. Erie County typically receives the billing in December, with detail provided in late December (early January this year). The entire bill for Central Library, Buffalo branch, and contracting library employees is charged to the main system operating budget. B&ECPL then issues billings to the contracting libraries for their share of the cost.

While the State Retirement billing for the system as a whole is well below budget, several contracting libraries were impacted by one-time Section 803 1998 Extract billings. Section 803 is a program authorized by Chapter 437 of the Laws of 1993 under which certain employees were granted retroactive membership in the system (in some cases changing the retirement "tier" under which they will receive benefits). The "1998 Extract" represents the lump sum employer’s cost of this change.

In the case of one library, East Aurora, the "1998 Extract" amount alone will exceed its retirement budget substantially. The East Aurora Library Board has requested assistance, under the provisions of the 1998 contract, with this obligation. Staff are still reviewing and verifying Section 803 billings for two other libraries, at least one of which may need assistance if the billings are verified as accurate.

Resolution 99-2 will solve this problem by waiving, for any contracting library that requests assistance per its contract, that portion of the State Retirement reimbursement requirement that exceeds said contracting library’s retirement budget as a result of the New York State Section 803 1998 Extract costs.

This approach addresses the problem with a minimum of paperwork (it would not be necessary to reissue the contracts.). The unreimbursed portion would be absorbed within the overall system retirement budget.

On motion by Ms. Juncewicz and seconded by Ms. Panty the following was approved unanimously:

RESOLUTION 99-2

The Financial Report for the period ending November 30, 1998 was included in board members’ packets for informational purposes.

Library Board’s Foundation Review Committee
A meeting of the Foundation Review Committee has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 2^nd.

Bylaws Committee
Ms. Horton reported that a draft of the revisions approved at the December board meetings is in preparation for transmittal to legal counsel Patrick E. Martin. Following his review the final draft will be presented to the Board for adoption.

Planning Committee
Ms. Juncewicz reported that the administrative team has been conducting staff focus groups to discuss issues, concerns, strengths and weaknesses of the Strategic Plan. In addition, Acting Director Chrisman and Board Chair Mahoney have been attending meetings with local officials to hear their concerns. The Board acknowledged receipt of the Aaron Cohen study at its meeting on November 4, 1998. As there has been no real Board discussion on that subject since that time, the Planning Committee is proposing that a day-long informational retreat on the Strategic Service Plan be scheduled. Following some discussion it was the consensus of the Board to meet on Saturday, February 6^th from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Joseph B. Rounds Conference Room in the Central Library.

Agenda Item 5. Report of the Nominating Committee. Nominating Committee Chairman Plache indicated that committee members Summer, Gist, Martoche and Roach met and proposed that the present officers and Executive Committee continue their service for another year. The slate follows: Chair – Rebecca L. Mahoney; Vice Chair – Phyllis A. Horton; Secretary - Simone Mitchell-Peterson; Treasurer – David J. Shenk

In addition to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board, the following trustees were proposed to serve on the Executive Committee: Annette A. Juncewicz; Elaine M. Panty; Remy Orffeo

There being no discussion, on motion by Ms. Mitchell-Peterson and seconded by Mr. Roach the slate as presented was approved unanimously.

Chair Mahoney expressed her appreciation for the vote of confidence and indicated that the officers and Executive Committee hope to live up to the Board’s expectations for another year.

Report of the Director
In addition to her written report Mrs. Chrisman called attention to a newspaper article included in the Board Correspondence Book which notes the selection of Rebecca L. Mahoney as "Citizen of the Year" by the Gold Shield Association of the Cheektowaga Police Department. The press release regarding the award lists some of Ms. Mahoney’s many accomplishments. as follows: She has served as Chairperson of the Advisory Board since 1994, and her work on the Board included involvement in the Advisory Board’s involvement inthe National Night Out Survey, Buffalo State Survey, Zero Tolerance Anti-Crime Program, DARE Program, School Safety Program, Police Facility Foot Patrols, Local Cable TV Showand the Neighborhood Strike Force Grant. Board members concurred with Mrs. Chrisman’s observation that this is an impressive list and offered their congratulations to Ms. Mahoney.

Mrs. Chrisman reported that a second proposal has been received from Soundprint regarding the radio program included in the Milestones of Science project. She indicated that when Assistant Deputy Director Michael Mahaney returns to work, following a bout with pneumonia, they will meet with Patrick Martin to discuss this latest proposal.

Mrs. Chrisman further reported that an application based on the development of the B&ECPL web site has been prepared by Mr. Mahaney and transmitted to the County for submission to the National Association of Counties’ (NACO) awards program.

Mrs. Chrisman informed the Board that she has been invited to an informational meeting on the new Clarence library at the Clarence Town Hall on January 27^th. She will speak about the County commitment, system approval of the project and will address whether the Aaron Cohen recommendation will have any impact on the Clarence project. She indicated that B&ECPL board members are welcome to attend.

Trustee Gist congratulated staff on the Library’s very impressive web site. He invited board members to "check it out" at one of the workstations on the Central Library concourse.

Ms. Mahoney added that there are nine new Internet and twenty-eight web-based catalog workstations in the Central Library. She noted that it is very exciting to walk through the Library and see people working at the computers installed on the beautiful new furniture.

Ms. Panty recalled that at the December 17^th board meeting Chair Mahoney had asked trustees to bring their calendars to the January meeting to schedule meetings regarding the Strategic Plan. Acting Director Chrisman indicated that plans have changed since the December meeting. The Administrative planning team has prepared a work plan for 1999 which will be on the agenda of the February 6^th work session.

In response to Ms. Panty’s question regarding the meeting with Legislator Peoples which was mentioned at the last board meeting, Ms. Mahoney indicated that she has been in contact with Ms. Peoples’ staff and will keep Trustees Gist and Mitchell-Peterson informed of the outcome of her discussions.

Mrs. Chrisman called attention to the correspondence book which contained a copy of Trustee Gist’s article in the Buffalo Criterion on the subject of the Strategic Plan.

Ms. Mahoney expressed her appreciation to Acting Director Chrisman for including a copy of the "Library Highlights for the State of the County Message" in board members’ packets. She felt it was a wonderful presentation. Mrs. Chrisman indicated that although she signed the report, it was written by Michael Mahaney and she expressed her gratitude to him.

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

Strategic Planning: On January 7^th, Board Chair Rebecca Mahoney and the Acting Director met with Town of Tonawanda Supervisor Carl Calabrese and Town Board members. This was the first in a planned series of meetings with local municipal officials to discuss recommendations of the Aaron Cohen Associates, Ltd. consulting team. Tonawanda officials were reassured that an open and comprehensive process to solicit community input will precede B&ECPL Board action on ACA recommendations. Meetings with Hamburg representatives and Collins officials are scheduled later in the month.

On January 13^th, Deputy Director Kenneth Stone, Assistant Deputy Director Patricia Angstadt and the Acting Director met with Deputy County Executive James Keane, Budget Director Kenneth Kruly and Commissioner of Personnel Leonard Lenihan to discuss ACA’s recommendation to move toward one hiring authority. B&ECPL staff explained the advantages of this concept, but noted the many issues that must be addressed.

Page Recruitment and Retention: Reportedly a dilemma throughout the System, the Central Library is experiencing record-high turnover in the page and senior pages titles. Last year the turnover rate for pages was 115%; the senior page rate was 70%. At this time of year the need for these employees is greatest because of increased materials’ retrieval and shelving requirements combined with tasks related to computer sign-up. The competition for minimum wage employees is keen even among local businesses with private sector employers’ raising the bar closer to $6 for beginning workers. The cost of parking and/or public transportation and common misconceptions about safety downtown make Central Library even more difficult to staff.

OPAC and Internet Arrive!: Public service staff throughout Central hailed the long-awaited arrival of the on-line catalog on December 21^st. The low-key introduction of graphical Internet workstations allowed network support and public service staff to make technical and procedural adjustments for smooth service delivery.

Word travels fast! The seven Internet workstations in the Learning Center are in constant use. On the whole, public reaction is very favorable. The fact that the Central Library will have an additional 56 Internet access points by mid-year is welcome news for all concerned.

Sunday Hours at Crane and Dudley: The Crane and Dudley branch libraries began Sunday service hours on January 3, 1999. Although both branches experienced low circulation on that date, the following Sunday saw Crane’s circulation more than double. Dudley’s circulation remained about the same, but with improved weather conditions and public awareness of the service, both branches anticipate increased business.

1999 Materials Budget: On January 6^th the Materials Budget Committee, chaired by Assistant Deputy Director Lucille DeFranks, met to discuss the distribution of the $3.8 million materials budget approved by the Board at the December 17^th meeting. After putting aside a modest amount for expenses like freight, the Committee responded to the opinions expressed in the focus groups conducted by Insight Associates last October by earmarking additional money to purchase books and to provide technology. The Committee recommended a 2% increase to each library’s book budget and an amount of $151,437 for software and/or database subscriptions for the System. The Library administration approved these recommendations.

Fire on December 15^th – Clean up and Recovery: Thanks to the tremendous effort of staff in Maintenance, Shipping, Processing, Catalog and Acquisitions, the clean up and recovery from the electrical fire which occurred in the new book storage area on December 15^th is just about complete. The ceiling tiles have been replaced; the walls, floor, shelves, books and supplies have been washed. Recon activity was cut back and mending was put on hold, while all available staff tended to processing the new material that had been in the storage area. As a result, over 30,000 new books were sent to System libraries in less than a month!

Inclement Weather Closes Libraries: The Central Library and all City branches were closed on January 4^th because of a severe snow storm and City of Buffalo driving ban. Most contract libraries were closed also. On January 14^th, the Executive Committee meeting was cancelled; the annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. scheduled for the Mason O. Damon auditorium was postponed; and Central as well as City branches closed at 5 p.m.

Library Highlights: Enclosed with the packet of materials for the January 21, 1999 Board meeting is a memorandum to the County Executive outlining the Library’s 1998 accomplishments and anticipated 1999 activities.

Board Committee Meetings: The Nominating Committee and Planning Committee held meetings on January 12^th.

Special Events for Children & Families: The Children’s Department’s Kwanzaa Program (December 26^th) featured the African Cultural Center Children’s Dance and Drum Group and the St. John Christian Academy music students and attracted over one hundred and eighty five children. Central’s Sharon Holley served as co-coordinator for Citywide Kwanzaa activities in Buffalo. North Jefferson branch manager Sandra Williams Bush was the featured storyteller at the Langston Hughes Center Kwanzaa celebration.

Radio Broadcast Covers Internet Issues: On Monday, January 11, WBEN-AM’s Sandy Beach devoted his afternoon call-in show to Internet access at the public library. Beach cited cases in Livermore, CA where parents are suing the library over pornographic content their son downloaded from the Net, and Loudin County, VA where the ACLU won its lawsuit against the public library for using filters to obstruct access to constitutionally protected information. Assistant Deputy Director Michael C. Mahaney spoke on the air with Beach, explaining elements of B&ECPL’s Internet policy that make comparable situations here unlikely, if not impossible. He reminded listeners that parents, not the library, are responsible for what their children read and view and that B&ECPL requires parents to authorize children’s use of the Net at the Library. The exchange was cordial and informative, and feedback has been positive.

White House Contacts the B&ECPL: A woman representative of the White House contacted Niagara and North Jefferson branches to get a sense of the concerns of the Buffalo community, since the President will be visiting next week. She asked about staff’s personal concerns as well as the issues on the minds of library patrons. She was interested in B&ECPL’s Altogether Now Toddler Time program and the exciting work at North Jefferson Branch with the LSTA-funded programming directed at single, urban, black female parents. The representative then inquired about the "beef on weck" sandwich, wanting to know if the sandwich is as popular as the Buffalo chicken wing, how it is made (what is the weck part?) and at what type of restaurant could one order such a sandwich. B&ECPL staff had all the answers, of course!

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

Fire Prevention: Damage from the December 15^th electrical fire has been repaired and the room is in full operation. On December 29^th Acting Director Diane Chrisman, Maintenance Supervisor Robert Gervan and I met with County Public Works staff to develop plans to reduce the risk of a fire in the future.

Second Erate Funding Commitment Letter Received for System Internet Services: The full amount requested was funded, totaling over $11,000. A "Form 486" was promptly filed to confirm that services are being received, which is the next step in the process. More paperwork must be filed to obtain retroactive reimbursement for 1998 discounted services received. We expect to see the first payment in the March-April 1999 timeframe.

Erate Funding Window for 1999-2000 extended to 100 days: The request window for the July 1, 1999-June 30, 2000 funding period is now open. "Forms 470" for Contracting Library basic telephone services have already been filed. Additional funding requests are being developed and will be submitted within the timeframe.

Priority request shipments for city and contracting libraries ended 1998 up four and three percent respectively over 1997: While overall circulation declined three percent, movement of materials to meet specific patron requests has steadily increased. As more OPAC libraries are brought on-line, movement of priority request items is expected to continue to increase.

Central Library Using #6 Fuel Oil, Saving Over $1,000: LepCorp, the contractor operating Erie County’s pooled Natural Gas purchasing program, recently advised maintenance staff that switching to #6 Fuel oil would save approximately $1,000 over Natural Gas over the short-term. The building’s new primary heating boilers can operate under either Natural Gas or #6 Fuel Oil. The building’s humidity boilers, needed to maintain acceptable humidity levels to avoid damage to the collection, operate only using Natural Gas.

Maintenance Department Replacement Pick-up Truck Arrives: The truck was immediately pressed into service plowing snow on the back lot and the sidewalks surrounding the Central Library.

New Front Reception Workstation Installed: Casey Jurek, Carpenter on the maintenance staff, built and installed a high quality and very functional workstation in the entry to the Administration Offices. This arrangement will allow us to streamline reception and new part-time employee processing in one location, providing a much more efficient workspace for Senior Library Clerk Marie Brombos.

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

Gates Library Foundation Urban Leadership Grant: A major milestone was met at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library on December 21, 1998. Thirty-eight new personal computers, funded with the Gates Library Foundation Grant, were made available to the patrons at the Central Library. Nine of these computers offered access to the Internet and twenty-eight provided patrons the ability to use our new web-based catalog. Reception has been excellent.

The Network Support implementation team is now preparing the personal computers for North Jefferson, East Delavan, Niagara and Dudley. Detail plans for their installation will be made with Bill Miles, Diane Bockrath and Extension Services next week.

OPAC – Branches and Towns: Network Wiring Systems, the same company that performed excellent work in the completion of Phase II of the Central Library Infrastructure project, was awarded the bid for data cabling of the last 15 branch and town libraries. Their bid of just under $23,000 was $10,000 less than the next lowest bidder. Work will commence as soon as the contracts are signed with Erie County.

MCI LibraryLINK Grant and the B&ECPL Web Site: The new Buffalo & Erie County Public Library web site has been very well received. To date, it has been accessed 6,889 times.

In the future, changes will be made to the DRA system processing to allow the catalog to be available during the nightly backup and reporting cycles.

Telecommunications Act of 1996 and E-Rate 1998 and 1999/2000: The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library received an "e-rate" funding commitment letter for the cost of our Internet Service Provider, Applied Theory Communications Inc. The Schools and Libraries Corporation will provide B&ECPL with 60% of this cost, $11,422.17. We are still waiting for decisions on 18 additional applications submitted in 1998 for funding for network related projects.

Year-end Processing: The first year-end closing of the DRA Library Automation System executed by the new B&ECPL operations staff was successfully completed. Extensive planning by the entire department was required. Several reports to produce statistical information for the generation of the "State" reports still remain to be completed.

The following report was submitted to the Acting Director by the Service Evaluation and Planning Coordinator and transmitted to the Board for information:

Staff Focus Groups: Five focus groups on the Strategic Plan are being held during January and February at the Central Library, the Kenmore Library and the West Seneca Library. Their purpose is to elicit details of the issues, concerns and strengths of the Plan from a staff perspective. The first session was held on January 13 and was very productive.

Report of the Foundation Director
A written report which included information on Communication, the John R. Oishei Foundation, OPAC Workstations, Children’s Author-Illustrator Series, Magnet Project for the B&ECPL Circulation Department and the Library Foundation Nominating Committee was distributed to board members at the start of the meeting.

In addition to her written report, Ms. Vedder informed trustees that in the last three months the Foundation will have provided over $400,000 in support of the B&ECPL with an additional $50,000 slated for the Pan American Exposition pamphlet and the staff training room. She expressed her appreciation to Mrs. Chrisman for her graciousness in accepting and requesting gifts. Ms. Vedder went on to report that the Nominating Committee will meet in late January to prepare a slate of officers for the Library Foundation. She noted that the Foundation Bylaws indicate stipulate that officers may only serve in the same position for a maximum of three consecutive years and as George Zimmermann will conclude his term this year, the torch will pass to a new president. She indicated that the Foundation is deeply grateful to Mr. Zimmermann for his faithful service

Ms. Mahoney concurred with Ms. Vedder’s sentiments about Mr. Zimmermann’s service to the Foundation and to the B&ECPL.

Public Comment
Elizabeth Berry of Buffalo wanted trustees to know that she has been asked what will happen to the children who use the library after school if city branches are closed as proposed in the Strategic Plan. Bus passes for those in high school are very limited and the closing of branches will impact the ability of students to go to the library for school purposes.

Mrs. Chrisman responded that public transportation routes play a major role in the location of any new library. She indicated that although this is not addressed in the Aaron Cohen recommendation, it would certainly be addressed by the Library Board before any library was built.

During discussion Mr. Burns suggested that there be communication and resource sharing between the Library and the Buffalo Public schools before any commitments are made on facilities, sites, etc.

Ms. Panty noted that when the Aaron Cohen Associates visited the Riverside Branch, it was brought out that people asked wonderedwhy the Library is not providing certain services which the schools do not offer. Ms. Panty felt that the Library is there to augment not to take over what the schools should be providing. She stressed that schools should not abdicate their responsibilities and put their burdens on the public library.

Mr. Burns responded that this was not his suggestion. He just felt it would be appropriate and beneficial for the two institutions to communicate with each other.

Mr. Orffeo indicated that the Board should be careful when adopting the final plan that they do not disenfranchise anyone because of geographical considerations, not only in the city but also in the suburbs and rural communities.

There being no further discussion on this topic, ACT President Thomas Mudra stated that he wanted to correct a statement in a recent Buffalo News article. There are twenty-three contract libraries with twenty-three boards of trustees and twenty-three separate charters. The contract libraries are not twenty-three branches of the B&ECPL.

Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business on the agenda.

New Business
There was no new business on the agenda.

Ms. Mahoney distributed copies of the standing committees as approved at the December 1^st special board meeting and the current list of special committees. She requested that trustees let her know their committee preferences within the next two weeks so that she can have her assignments ready for the February board meeting.

There being no further business, on motion by Mr. Burns and seconded by Ms. Panty the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted
Simone Mitchell-Peterson, Secretary

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