Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, May 20, 2014

Agenda

Tuesday, May 20, 2014, 9 a.m.

1.  Welcome and history of Sulzer Regional Library (info only)
   • Dana Revilla, Acting Regional Director
2.  Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting on April 15, 2014 (action required)
3. CPL Capital Project and Facilities Reports (info. only)
   • Greta Bever, Assistant Commissioner of Central Library Services
4. Commissioner’s Report
   • Brian Bannon, Commissioner
5. Other Business
6. Questions and comments from the audience

Next Board meeting:
Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 9 a.m.

Open Session Minutes

Board Members in Attendance

Physically Present

• Lynn Lockwood
• Josephine Gomez
• Barbara Bowman
• Jodi Block
• Chaka Patterson

Present by Means of Video or Audio Conference

Absent

• Linda Johnson Rice
• Christopher P. Valenti
• Cristina Benitez
• Denise Gardner

Welcome and History of Sulzer Regional Library

Dana Revilla, Acting Regional Director, opened the meeting and gave brief history of the Sulzer Regional Library. This location is one of CPL’s 2 regional libraries and serves a large and varied population of the north side of Chicago. Named after Conrad Sulzer, a pioneer settler of Ravenswood, this branch was dedicated in 1985 and is the local library to the Lincoln Square and Ravenswood communities. The Sulzer Regional Library circulates the second highest volume of materials (over 550K) items per year, has a weekly patron count of 10K and is open to patrons 7 days a week.

Sulzer is also home to the Neighborhood History Collection which highlights historical and contemporary materials about Northside neighborhoods. Additionally, the branch offers a computer commons that features 88 computers for adults and 22 computers for children and has generated several new and improved programs such as Puzzle Corners, Sci-Fi and Non-fiction book clubs, Game Night, Forced Migration Photovoice Project and increased story time and lapsits for parents and caregivers to accommodate high volume of patrons visiting the Library.

Approval of Minutes

The Board voted (5-0) to approve the open session minutes of the May 20, 2014 meeting.

CPL Capital Project and Facilities Reports

Greta Bever, Assistant Commissioner of Central Library Services, provided the capital projects report and highlighted new activity on the following locations:

Projects under Construction

• Albany Park - Roof in progress, face brick complete, window framing and glazing near completion. Interior framing installation in progress. Mechanical equipment delivered and installed gas, electric, and water service to the building complete. Projected Substantial Completion: June  2014

Projects in Design

• Chinatown - National submittals and fabrication underway, site mobilization pending IGA approval with IEPA, application intake sessions (Job Fairs) Community Meeting scheduled for May 7 & June 13, 2014, Groundbreaking ceremony held May 13.

Projects in Planning

• Whitney Young – pending project scope and budget confirmation
• Galewood-Montclare – location closed May 10^th -June 8^th  for renovation and to redecorate interior to focus on Early Learning and Play; will reopen on June 9^th  for kick off of Summer Learning Challenge; New hours: Mondays & Wednesdays, Noon-8pm; Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10am-6pm; Fridays, 9am-5pm; Closed Saturdays & Sundays

Facility Improvements & Maintenance

• Façade replacements underway for Woodson Regional, Austin and Legler libraries
• Estimates and recommendations received for HVAC system replacements at Austin Douglas and Pullman branches
• Fire Alarm Systems - on site reviews and reports for Blackstone, Hall, Chicago Bee, Hegewisch, South Shore have been completed
• At Sulzer, EXP is analyzing existing conditions of the building envelope – destructive testing of the walls is scheduled for this week. Upon completion, the rehab/upgrade strategy will be determined.
• Design for all packages is complete for HWLC -JOC contractor is pricing the fire alarm, generator and cooling tower packages. Roof replacement package is being bid thru City roofing vendors.
• Automated Materials Handling System is on schedule for projected completion in Fall 2014

Commissioner’s Report

Commissioner Bannon gave the Commissioner’s report and announced the following:

• CPL’s Strategy Plan will be presented at next month’s Board meeting, the key priorities of the Plan are to offer: Access for All, Nurture Learning, Support Economic advancement, Strengthen communities and serve patrons effectively.
• Under leadership of Michelle Frisque, CPL has created the Department of Technology, Content and Innovation which will merge library technology, collections and acquisitions into one unit.
• The 20^th Annual All Staff Institute Day (ASID) took place on May 7, 2014; six sessions were offered that included an unconference, Get Wild about the Summer Learning Challenge, Program/Service effectiveness, Human Centered Design and Customer Service, Surviving the public and Serving Up Excellence at the Customer Service Café.
• CPL will host an IMLS event on STEM Learning at HWLC on June 5^th, 2014. The focus of the meeting is to understand and better support STEM learning in libraries.
• CPL was selected as a recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service; President Rice, Vice President Valenti and Commissioner Bannon accepted the award on behalf of the Library in Washington D.C. on May 8^th, 2014
• CPL received a $150,000 grant from Motorola Mobility to extend the Maker Lab project through summer 2015.
• Google donated 500 Finch Robots to CPL to support computer science education for age’s 8-adults. The Finch Robot press event was held on Sat, May 10^th, 2014 at the Northtown Branch.
• Board members were given a report of the online resources that have been renewed between Jan-May 2014. CPL did not purchase or license any new content during this time.

Other Business

None

Questions and Comments from the Audience

The Board addressed comments from the audience regarding consideration for a new branch to replace the Independence Branch library; a request to consider adding solar to library locations, and a request to offer new programs semi-annually or annually regarding mental health awareness.

Next Board Meeting

The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 9 a.m. at the Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State Street.

Commissioner’s Report – May 2014

Strategy Update

We have decided to postpone the deadline for the final draft and will present the plan at our June 17 board meeting.

Department of Technology, Content and Innovation

It is with great pleasure that I am announcing the creation the Technology, Content and Innovation department. This new department will merge library technology, collections and acquisitions into one unit. The department will have four areas of focus: technology, content, innovation and data management/analysis. The department will be headed by Michelle Frisque, Chief, Technology, Content and Innovation. Andrew Medlar will serve as Assistant Chief, Technology, Content and Innovation.

DTCI will play key roles in the:

• Management, support and evaluation of the Innovation Process
• Selection, acquisition, processing, cataloging, circulation and on-going management of content
• Technology planning, management and implementation
• Managing the collection, analysis and dissemination of metrics used to measure the success and efficiencies of CPL’s programs, services and operations
• Coordination of cross function operational projects
• Coordination of a cohesive presence among CPL’s virtual, physical and computer technologies

This change is being made for the following reasons:

• Future trends related to the creation, publishing, acquisition and distribution of content will focus on virtual instead of physical content.
• Many of the key projects of Collections and Library Technology overlap and are in fact being co-lead by members from each department. Examples include the new website, ILS, digital repository of special collections
• Many core functions of each department overlap including ILS, data gathering and reporting, electronic content access and distribution, etc.
• The merging of acquisitions and collections will mean the life-cycle of a content item will now reside within one department.

Two new roles have also been created. Diane Marshbank Murphy will become the Director of Engagement and Special Projects Management. In this new role Diane will coordinate the management of the innovation process and large scale projects that cross multiple departments and have different Project Managers at different phases of the project. This role wills support some of the new innovation work Andrea Sáenz shared during her ASID presentation.  Marie Hardy will become Data Manager. She will work with library departments to develop and implement structure and process for measuring effectiveness of library programs, services and operations.

ASID

CPL employees attended the 20^th Annual All Staff Institute Day on Wednesday, May 7 at the Harold Washington Library. The day was dedicated to discovery, learning, and sharing built upon the theme of “Ideas in Action”.  This year’s six sessions were designed to equip staff for new challenges and offer practical information on subjects that could be immediately used at work sites.

The day began with a soft launch of CPL’s new Strategic Plan, and the sessions for the day included an unconference, Get Wild about the Summer Learning Challenge, Program / Service effectiveness, Human Centered Design and Customer Service, Surviving the public and Serving Up Excellence at the Customer Service Café.

Creative activities during the morning and lunch breaks were facilitated by our colleagues who teach at our award-winning Maker Lab.

IMLS Event on STEM Learning

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will hold the third in a series of three stakeholder convenings about trends in library service on June 5 at Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington Library Center. The focus of the meeting is to understand and better support STEM learning in libraries. First Deputy Commissioner Sáenz participated in the second convening focused on participatory learning spaces in libraries on May 15. IMLS will release a revised National Leadership Grant application this summer that will reflect the priorities identified during these meetings.

CPL Recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service

The Chicago Public Library was selected as a recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service; the United States’ highest honor for institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.

Commissioner Brian Bannon, CPL Board President Linda Johnson Rice, and Community member Chris Force accepted the medal on behalf of CPL in Washington, D.C. on May 8.

Maker Lab Extension

CPL received a $150,000 grant from Motorola Mobility through the Chicago Public Library Foundation to extend the Maker Lab through summer 2015.  We will also continue to organize pop-up maker activities in branches and developing partnerships with education and other institutions in support of patron skill development and community strengthening as a result of this grant support.

Finch Robots

500 Finch Robots, tools supporting computer science education for ages eight through adults, have been donated by Google to the Chicago Public Library. Patrons can check out the finch robots individually or in sets of 5, for classroom instruction, in 21 day intervals.

There was a Finch Robot press event on Saturday, May 10 at the Northtown branch library. Finch robots were demonstrated by the Northtown library “Code Phreaks” during the event.

The Finch Robots have been a huge success, all individual finch robots are currently checked-out with 64 requests on hold and there are 12 sets of 5 available for group instruction.

Quarterly Reports of Contracts

Also, in your packet, you will find a list of the contracts and licenses for the library’s online resources that were renewed between January-May 2014. Chicago Public Library did not purchase or license any new content nor did they cancel any contracts or licenses during this time. The report includes the month the license or contract was renewed, the cost of the license, name of the vendor that provides the content and a description of the content that is available as part of the license or contract.