Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, April 15, 2014

Attention: This post is over 2 years old and the information may be out of date.Attention: This post is over 2 years old and the information may be out of date.

Agenda

Tuesday, April 15, 2014, 9 a.m.

Harold Washington Library Center
400 S. State Street
Multi-Purpose Room, Lower Level
  1. Approval of the minutes of the regular meetings on March 18, 2014 (action required)
  2. Circulation Policy Change (action required)
    • Michelle Frisque, Director of Library Technology
  3. CPL Capital Project and Facilities Reports (info. only)
    • Andrea Telli, Assistant Commissioner of Neighborhood Services
  4. Chinatown Land Acquisition (action required)
  5. Public Building Commission
  6. Commissioner’s Report
    • Brian Bannon, Commissioner
    • Guest: Michelle Frisque, Director of Library Technology
  7. Other Business
  8. Questions and comments from the audience

Next Board meeting:
Tuesday, May 20, 2014, 9 a.m.

Sulzer Regional Library
4455 N. Lincoln Avenue

Open Session Minutes

Board Members in Attendance

Physically Present

  • Linda Johnson Rice
  • Christopher P. Valenti
  • Barbara Bowman
  • Jodi Block
  • Chaka Patterson

Present by Means of Video or Audio Conference

Absent

    • Josephine Gomez
    • Denise Gardner
    • Lynn Lockwood
    • Cristina Benitez

Approval of Minutes

The Board voted (5-0) to approve the open session minutes of the December 17, 2013 meeting.

Circulation Policy Change

Michelle Frisque, Director of Library Technology, presented on behalf of the Circulation Policy and Procedure working group to recommend the following changes:

      • Increase the fine threshold to $10.00
      • Allow overdue material to be renewed, as long as the patron does not exceed the fine threshold.
      • Allow patrons with CPL delinquencies to renew library card. (Exception- patrons with Reciprocal delinquencies would not be allowed to renew their library card until the delinquency with the reciprocal library was resolved.)

The Board voted (5-0) to approve the recommended circulation policy changes.

CPL Capital Project and Facilities Reports

Andrea Telli, Assistant Commissioner of Neighborhood Services, provided the capital projects report and supplied new information on the Albany Park branch which is 40% complete and has brick installation, roofing and framing of the vestibule and interior walls installed; North and South parcels for the new Chinatown branch have been approved by the PBC Board and the branch is projected to open in Spring 2015; and the Whitney Young branch is on track and pending project scope and budget confirmation. Also, from the funds received by the Illinois State Library Public Library Construction Act Grant, facility improvements are still underway and include: façade rehabilitations, updated HVAC and fire systems at several branch and regional libraries. The TIF funds received are being used for electrical upgrades, exterior envelope and HVAC repairs for the Sulzer Regional Library and Harold Washington Library Center. The Galewood-Montclare branch is temporarily closed for renovation and due to reopen June 9th in time for the Summer Learning Challenge and with new hours of operation in place; Mon and Wed noon - 8PM, Tues and Thurs 10AM – 6PM, Fri 9AM-5PM, closed Sat and Sun. Funds for Galewood-Montclare’s renovation were granted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the branch will focus more closely on early learning and play. Additionally, part-time librarians and clerks will be placed at the branch.

Greta Bever, Assistant Commissioner of Central Library Services, gave an update on the new automated materials handling system being installed at the Harold Washington Library; material is being redirected to make space for building the machine and is projected to be complete by Fall 2014.

Chinatown Land Acquisition

Terri Haymaker represented the Public Building Commission and requested that the Board approve acquisition of a second parcel of land to build the new Chinatown branch. The land will be approximately 5000 sq ft and estimated to cost $1.225 mil to build.

The Board voted (5-0) to approve land acquisition for the second parcel to build the new Chinatown branch.

Commissioner’s Report

New CPL Website

Michelle Frisque, Director of Library Technology, gave a demonstration on the new Chicago Public Library website and highlighted key enhancements to the site that include:

      • 2 new types of content – Hoopla and Zinio
      • access to your library account by creating a username and password
      • add book reviews to the site for others to view
      • keep track of book lists for later reads
      • ability to know your place on the holds list
      • features books and movies by genre on the homepage
      • on the homepage, cards are created and allows CPL to easily link to social media sites to promote programs and collections (new cards are added daily)

Brian Bannon, Commissioner, reported on the strategic plan that is on track and expected to be presented at next month’s Board of Directors meeting. With assistance from the Civic Consulting Alliance (CCA), CPL recently completed its first large-scale community survey and received an extraordinary response, garnering over 30,000 submissions—more than 1 percent of Chicago’s population.81 percent of respondents stated that they were either very or extremely satisfied with CPL. From the feedback provided, many were satisfied with the access to resources that the Library offered that they would otherwise not have access to. The survey also measured patrons content with the Library’s website, assistance from Library staff and patrons’ satisfaction with what they were able to accomplish by visiting the Library, these areas scored very high as well.

Commissioner Bannon also announced that CPL was recognized at the NASDAQ Bell Ringing Ceremony for winning of the 2013 Chicago Innovation Award in which he and First Deputy Commissioner Saenz represented the Library; and mentioned that the Library will be closed on April 20th in recognition of the Easter holiday and for All Staff Institute Day (ASID) on May 7th.

Other Business

None

Questions and Comments from the Audience

The Board addressed comments from the audience that including a brief history of the Chicago Public Library; and requests to hold Board of Directors meetings at branch locations and to state “Harold Washington Library Center” on invitations to events that are held at the Central Library.

Next Board Meeting

The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. at the Sulzer Regional Library, 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue

Commissioner’s Report - April 2014

Special Guest: Michelle Frisque, Director of Library Technology

Chicago Public Library’s New Website is Live!

Chicago Public Library’s new redesigned website and improved catalog is now live at www.chipublib.org. The website was launched on Wednesday, April 9. Made possible by a generous grant from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, the new website will serve as the model for public libraries around the world.

New features of the website include:

      • Better search and browse features including the ability to search what’s new on the shelves or discover what is coming soon
      • Download magazines with Zinio
      • Stream or download movies, television, music and audiobooks with Hoopla
      • For the first time ever, users will be able to download a CPL iPhone or Android app for their mobile devices

NASDAQ Bell

Recipients of the 2013 Chicago Innovation Awards were given the opportunity to ring the NASDAQ bell on March 31st in New York at Times Square. Commissioner Brian Bannon and 1st Deputy Commissioner Andrea Saenz rang the bell on CPL’s behalf.

Announcements

The Chicago Public Library will be closed on April 20, 2014 in observance of the Easter holiday and May 7, 2014 for All Staff Institute Day (ASID).