DEARBORN DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARIES

LIBRARY COMMISSION MEETING

MARCH 9, 2007    

1. ATTENDANCE

In attendance were: MRS. NANCY ZAKAR, Chairperson; MR. MARCEL PULTORAK, Vice-Chairperson; DR. ALEX SHAMI, Secretary-Treasurer; MR. ROBERT TAUB,

MR. DAVID SCHLAFF, MRS. DIANE PEPPER, Commissioners;

MRS. MARYANNE BARTLES, Library Director; MRS. JULIE SCHAEFER, Deputy Library Director; MS. TARA GNAU, MR. STEVE SMITH, Administrative Librarians; MS. OPAL ZIEMER, AAUW.

EXCUSED: MRS. CANDYCE ABBATT; Commissioner.

 

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The minutes of the February Commission meeting were approved as submitted.

 

3. FOUNDATION UPDATE

Mr. Pultorak reported that he was not receiving the Foundation minutes.  The rest of the Library Commissioners in attendance, except of Mrs. Pepper who does not have email, stated that they are receiving the Foundation minutes. Mrs. Bartles reported on the last Library Foundation meeting.  She stated that the Library Foundation discussed investing the Library Foundation funds.  They want to invest the money so that it earns interest but still have the money accessible.  Foundation Board member Janine Brycz gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Library Foundation’s plans for gift giving.  Foundation Board member Allison Fishwick is working on the Foundation web page.  The Foundation was interested in getting an additional set of design ideas for the renovations of the children’s area at HFCL besides the plans submitted by Architects Design Group.  Mrs. Bartles suggested contacting Library Design Associates who have been in business for a long time and have done at lot of work for other libraries in the area.  We spoke to the owner of Library Design Associates and he will work with the children’s staff to come up with a second proposal for the renovation of the children’s area at HFCL. 

Mrs. Zakar asked if donations that we receive now are going to the Foundation.  Mrs. Bartles explained that donations currently are donated directly to the library or to the Friends of the Library (FOLD) group. Money donated directly to the library goes into the Cities general fund.  Mrs. Bartles can get larger donations appropriated to a specific library fund.  We have more flexibility with funds donated to FOLD.  We use those donations for things we would otherwise not be able to afford such as children’s programming.  In the future Mrs. Bartles would like to see a page on our web page called “How you can help the library”  and have links for volunteering, the Library Foundation and the Friends of the Library. 

 

4. BUDGET AND STAFFING UPDATE-

Mrs. Bartles stated that they are still trying to fill the part time position in Automation.  Mrs. Bartles had Steve Smith and Mark Hancock work on the testing and interview questions for the position so that we can make sure the candidate has the right skills.

Mrs. Bartles expected to have already seen a calendar of dates for departments to meet with the City Council on the budget.  The budget review process was to start of March 14th but Mrs. Bartles understanding is that it will be postponed until the following week but the actual schedule has not yet been determined.  We are confident that we know our budget well if we are called to report on it. 

 

5. OLD BUSINESS

  1. By-Laws Review Committee- Mrs. Zakar reported that the by-laws review committee has met.  Mr. Pultorak will ask the Legal Department about the definition of a quorum and whether a quorum is required. He will also ask about the language to use when adding Commissioner participation by conference call.  Mrs. Zakar stated that because one of the Library Commission roles is policy they would like to see a list of policy changes made by the Commission so that they can review them and update them as necessary.  Some policies may be outdated and some may need to be updated. 
  2. Coffee Shop- Mrs. Bartles stated she found out why her questions for the buyer in the Purchasing Department were falling on deaf ears.  The buyer is out on extended sick leave.  They have assigned another buyer to the project and Mrs. Bartles has submitted a requisition.  Mrs. Bartles is hoping the new buyer will be contacting her soon. 
  3. Word Processing- Steve Smith announced that we will be launching word processing at HFCL on March 20, 2007.  We think that we have all the network issues taken care of but we launch it quietly and will not publicize the service for the first couple of weeks just to make sure we have all the bugs worked out and that things are working well. 
  4. Computer Classes- Mrs. Bartles announced that the computer classes continue to be very popular.  We offered the first class that we charged a $10 fee for and had eight people attend so we made $80.  That pays for the instructor and leaves a little left over for the next class.  The Commissioners were given copies of the newspaper article that appeared in the Dearborn Times Herald newspaper advertising the computer classes.   We give the class attendees instructor evaluations after each class and they are always very positive.  We are going to try to offer as many classes as we can.  Dr. Shami stated that a friend of his thanked him for the availability of computers for the public at the library but complained to him about the how slow the computers have been lately.  He asked Mrs. Bartles why we are having these problems and if it was because we needed to add more computers.   Mrs. Bartles reported that the problem we had is that we were making network changes over the last month but we think we have it straightened out now. The library and the City were sharing two T1 lines. Our Internet traffic was dragging down the City’s system so we had a T1 line added for library traffic only but we sometimes exceed capacity for that line. We may need to add another T1 line. Mr. Pultorak asked if we received any federal Internet connectivity grants.  Mrs. Bartles stated we applied once a few years back and did not qualify. It is based on the number of free lunch programs a community has and we just fell under the threshold.   Mrs. Bartles stated we could apply again as the number of free lunch programs may have gone up.  Mr. Pultorak stated it should definitely be on our radar.  Mrs. Bartles stated that in the future she may have to come to the Library Commission to request that we limit the amount of bandwidth patrons can use for games. 
  5. New Commissioner- Mrs. Bartles stated that the new Mayor has a policy where each week the Department Heads provide him several facts about the week that has past and what the Department Head needs from him.  Mrs. Bartles let him know that we need a new Commissioner so that he can get it on his calendar.  We have submitted two names for consideration as Library Commissioners.  When Mrs. Bartles found out that Commissioner Watters was resigning from the Commission she asked the staff at Snow Branch to check with a patron we thought might be interested in being on the Library Commission but he declined. 
  6. Capital Project Update-Fire Stair Enclosure- Mrs. Bartles stated that we have an excellent fire alarm system in this building but it can make construction a real nightmare because even dust in the air can make the alarm go off.  We have had to evacuate the building several times since the project started.  So we now have a procedure where we take down the fire system and have the library staff on fire watch rather than have to keep evacuating the building.  The two enclosed areas being built are up.  They will start sanding and painting them next week.  There will be telephones in each enclosure. 
  7. Library Column- Tara Gnau reported that the Marketing Committee will handle management of the library column.  They will handle deciding column topics and deciding who will write the column each month.  The column will run in the Dearborn Times Herald on Wednesdays and in the Dearborn Press and Guide on Sundays.  The same column will run in both papers.  Mrs. Pepper asked if this would be like a bulletin board.  Mrs. Bartles stated that it would not be.  We will continue to submit press releases regarding our programs but we will use the newspaper column to educate the public.  Ms. Gnau stated that the first column would focus on services available to the disabled patron at the library. 

6. NEW BUSINESS-

  1. Commissioner Ron Watters Resignation- Mrs. Bartles reported that Commissioner Ron Watters contacted her to let her know he was resigning as a Library Commissioner.  He did not share with her why he was resigning other than to say his health was not an issue.  He did not submit a formal resignation letter to the Mayor but he advised Mrs. Bartles that he would do so after he returned from a trip he was getting ready to go on. 
  2. Jackie Bencher spoke to the Library Commission regarding her son, Patrick Bencher’s, removal from the Friends of the Library Board.  Ms. Bencher read the letter that was sent to Patrick Bencher by Don Valocik, President of the Friends of the Library Board and the letter that was sent to Mr. Valocik in response.  Mrs. Zakar stated she does not have a copy of the Friends of the Library by laws so it is difficult for her to address this issue at this time.  Ms. Bencher stated she was attending the meeting to bring the situation to the attention of the Library Commission. Mr. Pultorak stated that any action that reflects badly on the Friends group also reflects badly on the library.  Mrs. Schafer stated that the same letter was passed out at the last Friends of the Library board meeting but it seemed to already be a done deal and the board members seemed to be aware of the issue.  Library Administration will investigate this issue further and report to the Library Commission Chairperson. 
  3. Opal Ziemer reported that the Friends of the Library raised around $2600 at their last book sale, March 7, 2007.
  4. Mrs. Bartles reported that former Library Commissioner Joan Elwart passed away.  Her family asked that donations be made to the Friends of the Library and we have been receiving memorial donations for her. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 4:55pm.