Board Minutes: April 2009

350 West Georgia St.

Vancouver, BC

Canada V6B 2B1

Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Present:  Joan Andersen, Chair; Loring Bohach; Shannon Daub; Cindy Grauer; Heather Harrison; Erfan Kazemi; Larry Kuehn; Stuart Mackinnon, Vancouver Parks Board Representative, Lori Mathison, Debbie Millward; Tim Stevenson, City Council Representative

Absent:  Mike Lombardi, Vancouver School Board Representative; Tommy Tao

Management Present:  Paul Whitney, City Librarian; Diana Guinn,  Director, Neighbourhood and Youth Services; Shelagh Flaherty,  Director, Central Library; Teresa Hartman,  Director, Human Resources; Debbie Schachter,  Director, Technology & Collection Management; Eric Smith,  Director, Corporate Services; Daphne Wood, Director, Planning & Development

Staff:  Jean Kavanagh, Manager, Marketing & Communications; Dawn Ibey, Manager, West Area

Guests:  Patricia Moir,  President, VPL Friends; Alex Youngberg, President, CUPE Local 391; Laura Safarian, 1st Vice President, CUPE Local 391; Penny Ballem, City Manager, City of Vancouver; Joe Martignago, Project Manager, Olympic & Paralympic Office; Paul & Katherine Runnals Brand Live

Recording Secretary: Chrysalyn Tolentino, Executive Assistant

The Chair called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

PRESENTATION

b)  Presentation on Vancouver House

Central Library Director Shelagh Flaherty introduced CoV Olympic and Paralympic Operations Office Project Manager Joe Martignago and BrandLive representatives who presented the concept of Vancouver House, which will be the City of Vancouver’s official host site during the Olympic Winter Games in February 2010. Vancouver House will be an inclusive, interactive experience in the Central Library promenade and will be open to the public from February 5th until February 28th. The Bookmark store will partner with the Book Publishers of BC to highlight published books from BC during the Games. Trustees suggested that the project should also highlight library services during its run.

a) City Manager Penny Ballem

City of Vancouver’s City Manager Penny Ballem indicated that she had been attending the different Boards from City agencies to learn about their respective challenges and opportunities. She is an avid supporter of library and literary work and is committed to help the Library as much as she can. Dr. Ballem acknowledged the economic situation facing City operations at this time and expressed appreciation for the Library Board’s contribution in dealing with the current challenges. Dr. Ballem said she sees the hiring freeze as an interim measure and a temporary tool to address some of the economic issues currently facing the City. Dr. Ballem is also very supportive of Trustee Cindy Grauer’s suggestion to enable all City agency Boards to collaborate in coming up with innovative ideas to support the four Council priorities including homelessness, building strong, safe and inclusive communities, robust economy and making Vancouver the greenest city in the world. She also congratulated the Library for the enviable position of hosting the Vancouver House. Library Board Chair Joan Andersen thanked Dr. Ballem for her deep understanding and support for the Library.

ADMINISTRATION

1.  Minutes

The draft minutes of Regular Meeting held March 25, 2009 was presented to the Chair for approval.

Moved by Lori Mathison and seconded by Loring Bohach

THAT the draft minutes of Regular Meeting held March 25, 2009 be approved as received.

CARRIED

ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

• Provincial election advocacy
• 1st Quarter Statistics
• Council orientation
• Meeting with Vancouver School Board
• One book, one Vancouver and Poet Laureate launch

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

• CUPE Local 391
  
  1st Vice President Laura Safarian reported that majority of the CUPE Executive members are attending the CUPE BC annual convention. She added that CUPE Local 391’s annual general meeting is scheduled on Sunday, April 26th wherein the membership will elect the executive team and committee members. Laura reminded the Board that April 28th is the national day of mourning for those who died in the workplace. Laura encouraged the Board to consider directing management to extend medical & dental benefits to part time staff affected by the reduction of hours due to the hiring freeze. She also mentioned that staff are concerned about the lack of communication on why some vacant positions are not filled, lost of acting opportunities and additional work for staff without additional pay. She encouraged the Board to monitor carefully and mitigate the hiring freeze impact on staff.

• Friends
  
  Friends of VPL President Patricia Moir reported that Friends earned $4,000 from the recently held book sale and that a specialized sale on old books will be held in mid-June. She also added that the Friends annual general meeting will be held on April 28th.

• VPL Foundation
  
  Library Board Chair Joan Andersen reported that the VPL Foundation received $170,000 Raise-a-Reader funding and $5,000 from London Drugs to support the Mt. Pleasant collection. Joan added that the VPL Foundation Board has a new member and has started the process of hiring a consultant from funds provided by the Library Board. The consultant will help out with individual giving projects.

• British Columbia Library Trustees Association
  
  Trustee Loring Bohach reported the following:

• The recently held BCLA/BCLTA annual conference was a huge success and that the constitutional changes proposed at the BCLTA annual general meeting passed with minor amendments. Loring added that the highlight of the conference was watching Trustee Shannon Daub receive the Super Trustee award from BCLTA.
• BCLTA working on funding from PLSB to conduct an infrastructure survey. They have engaged Daphne Wood as consultant to work on the survey using this as an advocacy tool to bring infrastructure projects to fruition.
• BCLTA is involved in the Library 2020 discussion and is continuing to look for ways to collaborate across sectors to provide better services to our patrons.
• BCLTA will draft a TILMA report in May.

• InterLINK
  Trustee Debbie Millward reported that the next InterLINK meeting will be held on May 26th. She also referred to the InterLINK Board summary report in Tab 12 for Trustee information.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

2. Services, Finance & Human Resources Committee Regular Meeting Minutes

The draft minutes of the Services, Finance and Human Resources Committee Regular Meeting held April 15, 2009 were presented to the Chair.

Moved by Larry Kuehn and seconded by Shannon Daub

THAT the draft regular meeting minutes held April 15, 2009 be received as amended.

CARRIED

3.  SFHR Management Report with Recommendation

Moved by Larry Kuehn and seconded by Debbie Millward

THAT the Board receive for information the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008.

CARRIED

b) 2008 Statement of Financial Information

It was agreed that Corporate Services Director Eric Smith will look into modifying the template as per Trustee Erfan Kazemi’s suggestion.

Moved by Larry Kuehn and seconded by Stuart Mackinnon

THAT the Vancouver Public Library Board approve the financial statements and schedules included in the Statement of Financial Information, produced under the Financial Information Act, and that the Chair of the Library Board sign the approval on behalf of the Board.

CARRIED

c) Statement of Revenues and Expenditures to March 31, 2009

Moved by Larry Kuehn, and seconded by Stuart Mackinnon

THAT the Board receive for information the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for the three months ended March 31, 2009.

CARRIED

d) Staffing Hours / $ Comparison to March 31, 2009

The Board referred this report back to the Services, Finance & Human Resources Committee for discussion.

e) Revised Art Donation Policy

Staff requested that Trustees approve a change in the policy language regarding the Board’s Art Donation Policy to include provisions that donations of art may be accepted with the approval of the City Librarian when the work has particular relevance for the Library and is appropriate for public display. The amended policy will be stated as follows:

“Recognizing that the library does not have adequate storage facilities for art and that the collection of visual art has not been a mandate of the Library, offers of donations of visual art will normally be referred to appropriate institutions such as the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The temporary and permanent display of visual art can significantly enhance the Library’s public spaces. Donations of art may be accepted with the approval of the City Librarian when the work has particular relevance for the Library and is appropriate for public display. Costs associated with accepting a gift of a work of art such as obtaining an appraisal for tax purposes will be the responsibility of the donor unless otherwise approved by the Library Board.”

Moved by Larry Kuehn and seconded by Stuart Mackinnon

THAT the Board approve the proposed revision to the Library’s Art Donation policy.

CARRIED

f)  Pet Policy

The Library Board supported the staff recommendation that the existing policy on animals in VPL locations be maintained.

4.  SFHR Management Reports for Information

a) Joint Committees Update

For Board information.

b) Food during Board Meetings

For Board information.

5. Community Relations, Planning & Development Committee Regular Meeting Minutes

The draft minutes of the Community Relations, Planning & Development Committee Regular Meeting held April 15, 2009 were presented to the Chair.

Moved by Shannon Daub and seconded by Debbie Millward

THAT the draft regular meeting minutes held April 15, 2009 be received as amended.

CARRIED

6. CRPD Management Report with Recommendation

a)  2015 Visioning

Planning & Development Director Daphne Wood presented a proposal to Trustees to move ahead with a strategic planning process, including a timeline culminating in a Strategic Plan for approval at the June Board meeting. Trustees suggested that the three priority areas (Community, Service and Staff) be modified and align it with City Council’s priorities. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board agreed to plan a separate session of several hours to set their strategic objectives followed by a day-long meeting to develop the strategic plan.

INFORMATION

7. Activity Reports: Central / Branches–East / Branches–West

Trustee Larry Kuehn commended the Carnegie Branch staff for giving away 19 totes of donated books to the Friday afternoon Book Giveaway on Hastings Street outside the Carnegie Centre. He suggested that staff include shelters as one of the recipients of donated books.

Board Chair Joan Andersen acknowledged that she supports staff’s funding request for four additional career exploration workshops as it is currently in high demand by patrons. City Librarian added that the Central Library is hosting a job fair on April 23rd.

For Trustee information.

9. Correspondence

The Board received the following from:

• Feb 25/09 – Letter from Jacqueline van Dyk, PLSB Director to Paul Whitney re: Provincial funding for interlibrary loans and OutLook Online
• Apr 12/09 – Email from BCLTA to Library Board Chairs/Liaisons re: TILMA
• Apr 20/09 – Letter from Claude Lemay, Chair of the Strathcona Business Improvement Association to Joan Andersen regarding their unanimous support for the DTES/Strathcona library branch to be considered for an East Hastings location in Strathcona.

10. Articles

The Board received the following:

• March 2009 Bookmark Newsletter

OTHER BUSINESS:

11. Provincial Election Advocacy

The BC Library Trustees Association has prepared advocacy documents for Trustees’ use during the provincial election campaign to keep library issues such as increasing library funding at the top of their agenda. A letter from Board Chair Joan Andersen will be sent to party leaders and all Vancouver riding candidates highlighting the value of the Library in the community, particularly during difficult economic times.

12. Quarterly Statistics

The quarterly statistics for the months of January to March 2009 were distributed to the Board for information. Trustees reviewed the report and provided suggestions as to what measurement they would like to see and referred it back to the Services, Finance & Human Resources Committee for further discussion.

13. Council Orientation

Staff presented the slide that we will be demonstrated at the Council orientation on April 27th for Trustee review. The presentation provided an overview of the library structure, scale of operation, list of goals and challenges for 2009, upcoming council decisions, and site decisions for DTES/Strathcona branch. Trustees provided suggestions which will be incorporated in the final version. Trustees were encouraged to attend the orientation.

14. Joint Board meeting with VSB

City Librarian Paul Whitney reported that staff are coordinating with the Vancouver School Board in setting up a joint Board meeting between VSB and VPL. It is anticipated that the meeting will take place in June.

TRUSTEE REPORT:

Trustee Larry Kuehn asked staff as to why the Kensington bookshelves are only 20% full. Neighbourhood & Youth Services Director Diana Guinn responded that there was a tremendous increase in library usage in Kensington and that the demand for the materials are higher than usual.

Trustee Loring Bohach will attend the BC School Trustees Association annual general meeting in Kelowna on April 25th.

Library Board Chair Joan Andersen encouraged Trustees to attend the One Book One Vancouver book launch tomorrow, April 23rd at City Hall. Joan added that the celebration for Poet Laureate George McWhirter’s book launch was held yesterday, April 21st and that the City has purchased copies of the book to give out as protocol gifts.

Trustee Stuart Mackinnon represented the Library Board last April 13th at a book launch for “I Have My Mothers Eye” holocaust memoir penned by Barbara Bluman, a former VPL Board Trustee. Stuart encouraged his fellow Trustees to participate and represent the Board in this kind of programming.

ADJOURN

There being no further business, the Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. and moved to in-camera.

Signed by: Joan Andersen, Chair and Paul Whitney, Secretary