AGENDA

June 19, 2018, 9:00 a.m.
Blackstone Branch
4904 S. Lake Park Avenue

1. Welcome and History of the Blackstone Branch (info only)
2. Approval of minutes for the May 15, 2018 meeting (action required)
3. Schedule of Requisitions, Contracts and Licenses (info only)
4. CPL Capital Projects and Facilities Report (info only)
5. Commissioner’s Report (info only)
   1. Special Report: 2018 Summer Learning Challenge
   2. Press Events:
      • Chicago Public Library and the Greater Chicago Food Depository Partnership
      • Chapin Hall
   3. Retirements:
      • Mark Andersen, Director of Learning and Economic Advancement
6. Other Business
7. Public Comment

Next Board meeting:  September 18, 2018, 9:00 a.m.
Harold Washington Library Center
400 S. Plymouth Court
Lower Level, Multi-Purpose Room

Open Session Minutes

Physically Present: Linda Johnson Rice, Christopher Valenti, Barbara Bowman, Jodi Block, Dominique Jordan Turner, Patricia Gaytan Perez

Present by Means of Video or Audio Conference:  None

Absent: Lynn Lockwood, Denise Gardner

Welcome and History of the Blackstone Branch

Anne Keough, branch manager opened the meeting and provided a brief history of the Blackstone Branch Library which opened in June 1904 as the first branch of the Chicago Public Library. Named after Timothy Beach Blackstone, president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad and the first president of the Union Stockyards and Transit Company, this 14,000 sq. ft. library serves the Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods. Inside the branch, there is artwork by Chicago artist Oliver Dennett Grover which features the themes of literature, science, labor and art along with other notable architectural details such as an upper-level glass floor, stained-glass ceilings, carved marble, mosaic tile floors and mahogany wainscoting. The Blackstone branch is open 6 days a week and offers services such as homework help, meeting room space for public use and in addition to print and electronic materials, the library also has fishing poles for patrons to check out.

Approval of minutes (action required)

The Board voted (6-0) to approve the minutes for the Mary 15, 2018 meetings.

Schedule of Requisitions, Contracts and Licenses

Commissioner Bannon presented the quarterly report on contacts and purchases made for magazines, books, databases, periodicals and articles of educational and instructional nature. For this quarter (April 1, 2018 – June 15, 2018) invoices were paid totaling $1,580,240.97 to various vendors.

CPL Capital Projects and Facilities Report (info only)

Andrea Telli, Assistant Commissioner of Neighborhood Services presented the following CPL capital projects:

Now Open!

Kelly - Project Scope: Envelope repairs, including tuck pointing, new entry door, stairs and window repairs; new LED lighting and new flooring, including new terrazzo entry; improvements to building systems and new fire alarm system; reconfiguration of program areas including new circulation desk, upgrades to furniture, and build out of an Early Learning Play Space and YOUmedia; renovation of rest rooms and staff areas. Upcoming Milestones: elevator cab replacement will begin 9/3; additional electrical work and retrofit of exiting signage will also take place during the elevator cab replacement; the branch will be closed to the public from 9/3-9/28 to accommodate this final phase of work; selection of new furniture will be in progress during this time.

Major Maintenance, Repairs and Renovations

Chicago Bee - Project Scope: full renovation and reconfiguration of first floor to include an Early Learning Play Space and YOUmedia; relocation and expansion of adult reading room and community room; repairs to envelope and parking lot; upgrades to mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; new flooring, paint, ceiling tile, lighting, and furniture, installation of additional power and data. Milestones and Current Activity: street-side façade restoration is underway; finishes, electrical outlets and lighting fixture installation are in progress; circulation and self-service counter are in fabrication; structural calculations for the north stairway replacement will be finalized next week; stair fabrication is also underway; project completion is on schedule for 3Q18.

Douglass – (No changes) Project Scope to Include: exterior masonry repairs and new energy efficient roof; build-outs of an Early Learning Play Space and teen area; new flooring and paint throughout; new Circulation Desk and installation of additional power and data; upgrades to community room and staff work areas. Milestones & Current Activity: design is underway; exterior construction to begin in 2Q18; interior improvements will begin in 3Q18, after the end of Rahm’s Readers.

Jefferson Park – Project Scope to Include: tuck pointing and repair of exterior facades, retaining walls, ramps and stairs; replacement of the exterior concrete walkway at entry; replacement of exterior stair guardrail and handrail; power wash and repair of concrete sign soffit, east and south exterior facades, and retaining walls; replacement of light fixtures at main exterior soffit; paint underside of exterior main soffit and bike rack; replacement of clogged roof drain and repair of adjacent damaged roofing; removal of “THE” in exterior CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY sign; replacement of large windows at east and south facades. Milestones and current activity: exterior work began April 24 and was completed at the end of May; scope building meeting for interior improvements to be scheduled with 2FM and CPL.

North Austin - Project Scope: exterior masonry tuck pointing and mechanical upgrades; new flooring and paint throughout; circulation desk and restroom upgrades. Milestones and Current Activity: shelving installation and re-shelving of collection is in progress; branch will reopen July 2, 2018.

Sulzer Regional Library - Scope for Current Phase: carpet replacement on first and second floor including installation and restoration of terrazzo, replacement of flooring in basement; paint throughout; construction of a new meeting room on the second floor and restoration of existing built-ins, including upgrades to power and data; installation of additional power and data, AV upgrades in the auditorium; build out of an Early Learning Play Space and upgrades to children’s area; renovation of restrooms on first and second floors; upgrades to the Circulation Desk area; AV upgrades in the auditorium. Milestones and Current Activity: major work on current phase is complete; installation of new book detection gates and book drops is anticipated to complete by end of July.

CPL-CHA Partnerships

Altgeld - CHA project management: Site to combine a CPL library branch with an early childhood center, Design Architect: Koo & Associates. Milestones and Current Activity:
CHA is finalizing work with the State Historic Preservation Agency (SHPA) and 2FM on review of design revisions, including landscape changes; CHA is working on procuring a contractor for the project and anticipates being ready to pull permits in September 2018; project completion, 3Q19.

Independence Branch - Developer: Evergreen Real Estate Group, new construction 16,000 square foot public library building in a planned development with 44 senior housing units, Design Architect: John Ronan. Milestones and Current Activity: Final building permit has been received and construction is approximately 27% complete; project completion, 4Q 2018.

Northtown Branch - Developer: Evergreen Real Estate Group, new construction 16,000 square foot public library building in a planned development with 44 senior housing units, Design Architect: Perkins + Will. Milestones and Current Activity: construction is in progress with approximately 24% construction completion; AT&T situation with the VRAD relocation has been resolved; project completion, 4Q 2018.

Roosevelt - Developer: Related Midwest, new construction 16,000 square foot branch library in a planned development with 73 multi-family housing units, Design Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Milestones and Current Activity: foundation work is complete and the superstructure is under construction; closing documents were submitted to HUD in late April and CHA expects to close in the financing of the facility in late May; projection completion, 4Q 2018.

Full Renovation and Expansion

Whitney Young - Milestones and current activity: existing building and new addition floor slabs have been poured; installation of site sanitary and storm water piping is complete; new roof being installed at existing building, scheduled completion 6/28; new gas service installation to begin 6/26; mechanical, electrical and plumbing renovations in progress at existing building; project completion: 4Q 2018.

Merlo - Milestones and current activity: project will be going to the PBC’s July Board meeting on July 10. Projected completion will be 4Q 2019.

Developer Project

West Loop Branch - Developer: Sterling Bay, proposed 17,000 sq. foot library in an existing office building, Design architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Milestones and Current Activity: demolition is near completion; existing condition of bow truss ceiling is being reviewed; furniture selection to finalized and ordered in the next two weeks; project completion, 4Q18.

Obama Presidential Center Branch

(No changes) Scope: proposed 5,000 sq. foot branch library on the Obama Presidential Center campus; Design architects are Tod Williams and Billie Tsien. Milestones and Current Activity: Letter of Intent between the Obama Foundation and the City has been signed; preliminary design meetings have been held with the foundation and the architects.

Commissioner’s Report (info only)

Katie Eckert and John Mangahas of CPL’s Children Services Department, provided a special report on the 2018 Rahm’s Readers Summer Learning Challenge. This year’s theme “Earth Explorers” will challenge Chicago’s kids to investigate earth systems science, environmental literacy and climate resiliency. For this year’s program, CPL added a separate booklet for Rahm’s Little Readers ages 0-5 years. The Summer Learning Challenge will be held June 18 to September 1st.

Commissioner Bannon also reported on the following:

• On Tuesday, June 5th, the City of Chicago and the Greater Chicago Food Depository announced their partnership surrounding a new program Forward Together: A Roadmap to Reduce Food Insecurity across the City of Chicago, that will work to provide greater access to food for households in need in hopes to aid in reducing hunger and underlying poverty.
• On Wed, June 13th, Commissioner Bannon was joined by Amy Rule to announce results from a Chapin Hall Collaborative analysis that showed that the Library’s Teacher in the Library (TIL) program is serving youth in Chicago who have the greatest need for additional educational support.
• Lastly, after 28 years of dedicated service to Chicago Public Library, Mark Andersen, Director of Learning and Economic Advancement will retire, effective June 29th.

Other Business

None

Public Comment

The Board addressed comments from the audience from the Friends of Woodson about their outreach efforts to get the community more involved at the Woodson Library and also hope for a partnership between the Chicago Public Library and Chicago Public Schools.  A representative from the Friends of Bezazian group was also present to announce the upcoming book fair in the Bezazian neighborhood.

Next Board Meeting

The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. at the Harold Washington Library Center located at 400 S. State Street.

Commissioner’s Report

Special Report: Katie Eckert and John Mangahas, Children Services Department

Press Events

Chicago Public Library and the Greater Chicago Food Depository Partnership

On Tuesday, June 5th, a press announcement was held to unveil the partnership between the City of Chicago and the Greater Chicago Food Depository regarding a new program Forward Together: A Roadmap to Reduce Food Insecurity across the City of Chicago, that will build upon resources that are already in place that may provide greater access to food for households in need while searching for alternative solutions to reduce hunger and underlying poverty.

The announcement was made at the Chicago Public Library Douglass Branch in North Lawndale which is the Food Depository’s newest program collaboration with the City of Chicago. The Healthy Student Market program model will be implemented where the Food Depository will provide fresh produce and groceries for families with children enrolled in city-supported Head Start programming in North Lawndale on a semi-monthly basis. 

The Healthy Student Market at the Douglass Branch is a ground breaking approach that will help alleviate childhood poverty and food insecurity. The plan will be implemented by a steering committee of nine City agencies – including DFSS, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Public Libraries, Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago Park District, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Police Department and the Mayor’s Office on People with Disabilities as well as staff of the Food Depository and other community based organizations.

Chapin Hall

On Wed, June 13th, another press announcement was held at the Chinatown Branch with Amy Rule and Commissioner Brian Bannon regarding results from a Chapin Hall Collaborative analysis that indicated that the Library’s Teacher in the Library (TIL) program is serving youth in Chicago who have the greatest need for additional educational support.

Chicago Public Library offers the largest and most comprehensive free homework help program in the country, supplementing in-person support from a certified “Teacher in the Library” citywide with online tutoring for any subject or writing assignment.  Accredited teachers and trained assistants work with students to use the appropriate learning strategies and find the best resources for completing their homework assignments.

Analysis from Chapin Hall’s first match of TIL data with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) data found that on average, youth participating in the program are less likely to be academically proficient than their peers before engaging in the program, as measured by standardized tests in math and reading.
As such, TIL is successfully providing much needed supplemental academic support to youth who most need the assistance.

Retirement

Mark Andersen, Director of Learning and Economic Advancement
I am both happy and sad to announce the retirement of Mark Andersen, Director of Learning and Economic Advancement, effective June 29. After 28 years of dedicated service to Chicago Public Library, Mark will begin a new life chapter to more fully engage with his family, hobbies and travel.

Mark joined CPL as a page at the West Belmont Branch from 1980 - 1984. From 1985 - 1983 he held positions at several libraries and also received his MLIS from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign during this time.

Mark returned to CPL in 1993 where he has held several positions within the Harold Washington Library Center. He provided librarian services within Interlibrary Loan and BST, becoming BST Division Chief in 2004 and then assumed his current role as founding Director of Learning and Economic Advancement in 2014. In these roles, Mark has guided several key projects including the opening of Computer Commons, Maker Labs, Small Business Resources, Learning Circles and he initiated CPL’s first Tomorrow’s Technology Today Interactive Expo in 2017.

Upon Marks retirement, the Department of Learning and Economic Advancement and Cultural and Civic Engagement, along with their respective staff, will merge into one department. The department will become the Adult Services Department under the direction of Craig Davis. This transition will not impact programs or services.

Please join me in thanking Mark for his service to CPL and sending him well wishes as he transitions into retirement!