DEARBORN DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARIES
LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING
1.
ATTENDANCE:
In attendance were: MRS. NANCY ZAKAR, Chairperson,
MR. MARCEL PULTORAK,
Vice-Chairperson; MRS. CANDYCE ABBATT, MR. ROBERT
TAUB, MRS. SYLVIA PRESSMAN; Commissioners;
MARYANNE BARTLES, Assistant Library Director, MRS.
JULIE SCHAEFER,
Administrative Librarian. MARGE ECKERT, AAUW.
EXCUSED: MR. DAVID SCHLAFF, MR. RONALD WATTERS;
Commissioners;
ABSENT: DR.
ALEX SHAMI, Secretary-Treasurer, MRS. DIANE PEPPER, Commissioner.
2. APPROVAL
OF MINUTES:
The minutes from the March
Commission meeting were approved as submitted.
3. DIRECTOR
SEARCH UPDATE:
Human Resource Director
Valerie Murphy Goodrich spoke to the Library Commission regarding the search
for a new library director. She said it
has been her pleasure to work with Marcel Pultorak on the logistics of the
director search and she did not want to duplicate any information he had
already shared with the Commission. Mr.
Pultorak stated that Mrs. Zakar sent out an email to the Commissioners about 1
week ago updating them on the state of the process and where they were at. Ms. Goodrich asked if any of the
Commissioners had any specific questions that they wanted to ask. Mrs. Abbatt asked what specifically the sub
committee needed to do once they have identified candidates that they wanted to
interview. Ms. Goodrich stated that a
list of interview questions should be prepared and Human Resources would be
happy to assist with those questions.
They can also assist with scheduling interviews as well as checking
references. When evaluating candidates
for the position the candidate’s education and experience should be compared
against the job description. Mr.
Pultorak has some good information about the interview process which he has
shared with the sub committee that emphasizes asking interview questions that
really relate to the job. Once the
determination has been made to offer the position to someone there is some
paperwork that is involved. Information
about the salary schedule has already been shared with the sub committee. The rule of thumb is that if the Commission
wanted to offer a salary that was more than the third step of the salary
schedule the request would have to go to the Civil Service Commission. Mrs. Zakar stated that she knew that the
Commission needed to present their candidate to the Mayor and asked if Human
Resources could assist in arranging that.
Ms. Goodrich stated that they could and asked if the Mayor was specific
regarding whether he only wanted to meet with the final candidate. Mr. Pultorak stated that was correct and they
would have the final candidate selected within the next couple of weeks. They would advise Ms. Goodrich of that so she
could arrange the meeting with the Mayor.
Ms. Goodrich also advised
it had been a pleasure working with Dr. Coady over the years. Dr. Coady
complimented Ms. Goodrich and Sharon Spain for the work they do for the
library.
4. CHILDREN’S
DESIGN CONCEPT:
Julie Schaefer gave a
presentation on the Children’s design concepts. A Children’s Services Study was done and out
of that study the mission statement for the Children’s agencies was developed.
The mission statement is to create an exciting place for children and their
families to visit so that they will become lifelong users of the library and
all of its resources. The print collection is the basis of the library and we
want to create places for children to sit, read and enjoy library
programming. Mrs. Schaefer advised the
Commission that the costs listed in the handout given to the Commissioners are
estimates. The Children’s Committee,
which consists of the Children’s librarian at each agency and Mrs. Schaefer as
Administrator, worked with the architect and design person. The architect and
design person visited each locations children’s agency, took pictures and
interviewed the children’s librarian at each location to find out the needs of
each agency.
Each children’s area is
lacking in a unified theme that clearly identifies the area as the children’s
area of the library. Also, each location
has a program room that is used for many different types of children’s crafts,
activities and programs. Henry Ford
Centennial Library Children’s area is the largest space to be updated. The architects design idea was to use parks
as the theme and the use of “club house” areas for various purposes. We also
need to draw children over to the area as they enter the library. The architect used the idea of trees to draw
attention to the area. The program room is in need of a lot of improvements
such as sink and counter space and possibly either Murphy tables which could
fold into the wall when not needed or a stage space. Shelving needs to be improved for better
displays as well.
The Snow Branch Library was
built in the 1950’s and space is at a premium.
An idea given by the architect was to enclose all or part of the patio
space to give more space. Two costs were given depending on whether or not the
entire patio area was enclosed. The program room also needs updating and there
is a need for storage space to be added.
The building has brick walls so the idea of bringing more color into the
building was discussed.
At the Bryant Branch
Library the Children’s area is a much smaller space. The architects suggested a discovery zone
type layout in the middle of the library at Bryant. Various themes were given for the discovery
zone. A program room update and
additional storage space for Bryant were also discussed.
The Esper Branch Library
was remodeled not that long ago but the architects still had some valid
suggestions for upgrading the children’s area.
The children’s area is at the back of the building and there is a need
to draw children to the area. Updates to
the program room including more tables are also needed at Esper.
Mrs. Abbatt stated that at
the last Library Foundation meeting the foundation board stated that they were
looking for some ideas of projects. They
may wish to contribute some seed money to the project. Mr. Pultorak stated the projects do not all
have to be done at the same time. Mrs.
Abbatt asked if there was some prioritization of the projects. Mrs. Schaefer stated she could bring it back
to the Children’s Committee at there next meeting for their ideas about it but
thought that the HFCL Children’s area needed the upgrades first. Mrs. Schaefer will also give this
presentation to the Library Foundation at their April meeting.
5. FOUNDATION
SERVICE AGREEMENT UPDATE:
Dr. Coady reported that he
is working with Bill Irvine in the Legal Department to draft a service
agreement between the City of
6. BUDGET
UPDATE:
Dr. Coady reported that the
budget meetings have not concluded and he is not sure when it will
conclude. Mr. Pultorak stated the City
is hoping for adoption on
Dr. Coady reported that
there is a good possibility that there will be funding for some capital
improvement projects as well. Mrs. Zakar
asked about the status of the Bryant replacement windows project. Dr. Coady reported that it had been funded
and it should go out for bid soon. The
roof/gutter project at Bryant will begin soon and central air conditioning will
also be added to the building.
7. NEW BUSINESS:
Horizon-Mrs. Bartles reported that the last few days have
been very hectic for the staff. We were
off Dynix on Sunday in the evening. We
did not have a computer system on Monday and Tuesday. The tech. support team from Dynix were here
Monday through Wednesday to work with the staff. We were back on line on Wednesday on the
Horizon system. Staff are getting used
to it and there are some things that we will need to tweak. Horizon is great software though because the
flexibility to make changes is there.
Dr. Coady stated that Mrs. Bartles appointed staff to ten teams that
have been working on the change over since January. He is proud of both the Automation staff and
all the staff who worked so hard on the change over. Mrs. Abbatt asked if patrons were able to
tell the difference when they log on to the system. Mrs. Bartles advised that patrons can tell
the difference and for the most part patrons have been very understanding about
the change over.
HFCL Carpeting Project-
City Charter Revision-Dr. Coady stated that at the recent City
Development Initiative meeting Mark Guido advised the Department Heads that the
Mayor wants to replace the departmental structure in the City Charter in favor
of the Mayor having the responsibility to define staffing and functions. He also advised that the Library Commission
was not being targeted for reworking.
Dr. Coady advised that the Commission may want to meet with the Mayor
regarding this and rework the language in the City Charter regarding library
function.
Marcel Pultorak stated that
he would talk to the Mayor regarding his ideas regarding restructuring the City
away from a departmental structure and how it would work.
The Commissioners read
through the City Charter statement dealing with the Department of
Libraries. The current statement says:
The Department of Libraries
shall be under the general management and control of a Library Commission
consisting of nine members appointed by the Mayor. The commission shall determine the policies
of the department and shall select a Chief Librarian who shall be a member of
the classified service and who shall administer the activities of the
department and be the appointing authority for all other library employees.
The statement was revised
by the Commission to read:
The library system shall be
under the general management and control of a Library Commission consisting of
nine members appointed by the Mayor. The
commission shall determine the policies of the library system and shall select
the Library Director who shall be a member of the classified service and who
shall administer the activities of the department and be the appointing
authority for all other library employees.
Dr. Coady stated that a
City Charter update would be added to the May Commission meeting agenda so that
Mr. Pultorak can report on his conversation with the Mayor.
Election of Officers-Mrs. Zakar reported that officer elections
for next year needed to take place at our June meeting. The Nominations Committee recommended the
same slate of officers be nominated for next year. A motion was made by Mr. Taub to accept the
recommendation, seconded by Mrs. Abbatt, all approved.
Presentation to Dr. Coady-This is Dr. Coady’s last Library
Commission meeting as he is retiring on
The meeting was adjourned
at