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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - LB - 2020.07.211 Burlingame Library Approved Board of Trustees Minutes July 21, 2020 I. Roll Call Trustees Present: Kristin Capkin, Mike Nagler, Randi Murray, Elisabeth Ostrow Trustee Absent: Danielle Garcia Staff Present: Brad McCulley, City Librarian Sidney Poland, Recorder II. Library Board of Trustees Minutes The Trustees unanimously approved the minutes of the June 16, 2020 Board of Trustees Meeting with the following changes: correct spelling of Kristin Caplin's name and note that July 21st is the correct date for July meeting. M/S/C (Nagler/Murray). III. Highlights of July Statistics • Curbside Pickup Requests since beginning in June : 1,000 • Virtual Adult Programs: 6; Attendance 100 • Children's and Easton Programs: 25; Attendance 939 • Brad noted that PLS has been talking about consolidating individual library programs so there is not as much duplication. For example, all libraries in PLS have story time, so story times would be divided up among all PLS libraries. This change would cause the statistics for individual PLS library programs to decrease, but would make more patrons aware of available programs. IV. From the Floor (Public Comments) No members from the public attended the meeting. V. Reports A. City Librarian’s Report – Highlights • As of July 20, library staff has been divided into two cohorts: A and B. A cohort works MWF; B cohort works TTh. The main purpose of this plan is to provide for contamination safety and flexibility: if a staff person in Cohort A contracts the virus and that cohort must quarantine, Cohort B can continue work, allowing current library operations to continue. • Library staff — especially through the Wellness Task Force — are continuing to reach out to hourly staff through e-mails, phone calls and town halls. • All returned items are being held in the Lane Room for quarantine purposes for 3 days. Changing the quarantine period to 4 days is under consideration. 2 • As of July 1, 2020, the Burlingame Library has instituted a no fine policy. Redwood City and most PLS libraries have followed suit. Due to financial constraints, San Bruno and Daly City are not able to implement this policy. B. Foundation Report The Foundation Board will meet on July 23rd to discuss possible ways to raise funds for the library during COVID-19. VI. Old Business A. Re-Opening Procedures Re-opening Procedures are a work in progress. Updates will be provided when changes are made or new procedures put in place. VII. New Business A. 7 Member Board of Trustees — Discussion Item The Trustees discussed the possibility of enlarging the Board of Trustees from 5 to 7 members. Highlights of the discussion are noted below. 1. Purpose — Increasing the number of Trustee board members would provide an opportunity to create a more racially, socio- economically and generationally diverse board. Adding trustees would give qualified residents of Burlingame and Hillsborough a greater chance of being selected. 2. Role of City Council — Since the City Council makes the final selections for new Trustees, members of the Council will play a significant role in bringing diversity to the Library Board. 3. Input on Selection Process – The board will invite the mayor and any other interested council members to meet with Trustees to discuss the kinds of qualifications and the types of diversity that might be desirable in new trustees. 4. Characteristics of the Board of Trustees — The Trustees hope that the City Council will help the board strive for and achieve greater diversity, focusing on recruiting and selecting more racially and socio-economically diverse candidates, and also younger candidates, and candidates with children who currently attend the Burlingame schools. 5. Marketing — The board would like to find ways to make more people aware of vacant board positions. One idea is to display posters inside and outside the library (and perhaps elsewhere) for patrons to see regarding open positions and how to obtain application materials; another is to encourage library staff to make frequent and engaged library users aware of openings; and another is to put information about vacancies in the City newsletter and Library newsletter. 6. Size of Board — Trustees discussed whether the board should remain 5 or grow to 7 members. (Having an even number of members is not an option, but the Trustees explored how to grow to 7 members, and whether it would be possible to 3 sometimes have fewer than 7, depending on the qualifications of available applicants.) 7. Term Limits The board discussed the possibility of instituting term limits to increase the opportunity for more people to serve. B. Equity Action Plan — Discussion Item In advance of the meeting, each Trustee and the Equity Committee submitted suggestions regarding how to promote greater racial equity and more racial and socio-economic diversity in the Library and our community. To move forward on formulating an action plan for the board of Trustees, and to better understand the issues: • The Trustees would like to have a member or members of the Equity Committee attend a Trustee meeting and discuss their equity plans and goals; • The Trustees also queried whether a member of the Trustee Board would be welcome to attend an Equity Committee meeting; • The Trustees discussed the scope of their authority, and agreed that one Trustee — Randi Murray — would work on synthesizing the suggestions from Trustees and the Equity committee into one comprehensive document. VIII. Action Items A. Brad requested that each Trustee send their specific ideas regarding the formation of a 7-member Board of Trustees to him by the next meeting. B. Randi Murray will synthesize the information from the Trustees’ suggestions and the Equity Team’s suggestions regarding racial equity into one document for review at the August Trustee meeting. C. Megan, Chair of the Equity Committee, will arrange a time for a Trustees to join an Equity Team meeting and plan for a committee member to meet with the Trustees. IX. Announcements • Brad is working on a power point presentation for Elisabeth and Danielle which will a include a virtual tour of the library, as well as an overview of Trustee responsibilities. • Although Trustee meetings generally run from 5:30 to 7 pm, Trustees should be aware that they may run later on occasion. X. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 6:53pm. M/S/C (Nagler/Murray) The next meeting of the Library Board of Trustees will be held on August 18, 2020 at 5:30pm. The Trustees will be provided with necessary information needed to attend the Zoom meeting. 4 Respectfully Submitted /S/ Brad McCulley City Librarian City of Burlingame