Board of Directors Meeting Minutes – September 15, 2020

Attention: This post is over 2 years old and the information may be out of date.Attention: This post is over 2 years old and the information may be out of date.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

September 15, 2020, 9:00 a.m.

Virtual Meeting

  1. Approval of minutes for the June 16, 2020 meeting (action required)
  2. Schedule of Requisitions, Contracts and Licenses (info only)
  3. Health and Safety Commitment (info only)
  4. Upcoming Budget Timeline (info only)
  5. CPL Capital Projects and Facilities Report (info only)
  6. Commissioner’s Report (info only)
    • Priorities for CPL  
    • Summer Program Summary
    • Fall @ CPL
    • Strategy Update
    • Retirements
  7. Chicago Public Library Foundation Report (info only)
  8. Other Business
  9. Public Comment

Next Board meeting:

November 17, 2020, 9:00 a.m.

Location TBD

 

Open Session Minutes

Physically Present: None

Present by Means of Video or Audio Conference: Linda Johnson Rice, Christopher Valenti, Lynn Lockwood, Jodi Block, Barbara Bowman, Alexi Giannoulias, Ivy Walker, Dominique Jordan Turner

Absent: Patricia Gaytan Perez

Approval of minutes for the June 16, 2020 meeting (action required)

The Board voted (8-0) to approve the minutes for the June 16, 2020 meeting.

Schedule of Requisitions, Contracts and Licenses (info only)

Baronica Roberson, Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Finance, presented the quarterly report on contacts and purchases made for magazines, books, databases, periodicals and articles of educational and instructional nature. For this quarter (June 1 – September 1, 2020), 1989 invoices were paid totaling $1,711,208.93 to various vendors.

Health and Safety Commitment (info only)

Mary Ellen Messner, Acting Commissioner, reported that CPL issued a revised version of its Service Guidelines to all Chicago Public Library (CPL) employees on September 3rd. The document summarizes policies, procedures and practices in effect to support staff and the public, with specific guidance for service during COVID-19. CPL aims to continue safely restoring library services to the community while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 to patrons and staff. The guidance contained in the updated Service Guidelines is based on policies and from the City of Chicago Workforce committee, Chicago Department of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control, and library industry standards.

Upcoming Budget Timeline (info only)

Baronica Roberson, Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Finance, provided the timeline for the 2021 budget process as follows:

  • The local budget request and grant budget request were submitted July 17th
  • Department budget hearings with the Office of Business Management (OBM) will be held in September, date TBD 
  • The Mayor’s budget address to City Council will take place on Oct 14th
  • Departmental budget hearings with City Council will be held between Oct 14 - Oct 31; date CPL will present TBD
  • The final budget vote will be held in November, date TBD
  • 2021 budget will be effective January 1, 2021 
  • Departmental budget hearings may possibly be held via Zoom to prevent the spread of COVD-19. More information will be provided at a later date.

CPL Capital Projects and Facilities Report (info only)

Maggie Clemons, Deputy Commissioner of Library Operations and Patron Experience (LOPE) highlighted CPL’s active capital projects.

Merlo – construction is now completed; the branch opened to the public on July 2nd with a socially distanced opening day celebration. The branch was designed by Ross Barney Architects; project managed by the Public Building Commission. Scope included a full gut renovation with the addition of early learning and teen spaces.

Altgeld – renovations for Altgeld have reached substantial completion; staff is onsite. As soon as we receive confirmation from the Mayor’s office we will share the opening date. The new 12,150 square foot building replaced the old Altgeld Branch Library within the Altgeld Gardens Housing complex. Scope included buildout of a combined CPL library branch with an early childhood center being offered through CHA. The branch was designed by Koo & Associates; project managed by CHA.

Legler Regional Library – scope includes re-establishment of the Legler branch to regional library status. Renovations include the build-out of a computer lab on the second floor, upgrades to power and data, relocation of the community room and other upgrades. Renovations are still underway and are expected to be complete by beginning of October. Books have been delivered to the branch and we are working out a plan to return staff to the branch. Projected opening date in November. Legler is being designed by RATIO Architects; project managed by the Public Building Commission. The branch closed to the public in September 2019.

Obama Presidential Center Branch (no changes) – (no change) Design by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects; project managed by OPC. Proposed scope includes 5,000 sq. ft branch library on the Obama Presidential Center campus. Project is still in design development, CPL is reviewing plans with the architect; expected completion TBD.

2FM’s CARE Program – Select CPL locations have been undergoing 2FM’s CARE program “Clean and Repair Everything” which provides in-depth seasonal and deferred maintenance, carpet replacement or cleaning, paint and a general refresh of the facility on the part of CPL and 2FM staff. Projects have required branches to be closed short term for 3 to 4 weeks. Scottsdale and King have successfully completed the CARE Program; Pullman and Bezazian will be completed later this year. The following branches will also undergo the CARE Program: Logan Square, Hall, South Chicago and Wrightwood-Ashburn.

Commissioner’s Report (info only)

Acting Commissioner Messner outlined the current priorities for CPL. Ms. Messner began serving as Acting Commissioner for CPL after Commissioner Telli’s retirement in August, while the city initiates a national search for a permanent replacement. During this interim period, the senior team will be focused on three key priorities:

  • Delivering quality and equitable library experiences
  • Ensuring the health and safety of patrons and staff
  • Innovating as needed to respond to community need during this uncertain time

Ms. Messner also highlighted the following initiatives:

Summer Programming Summary: As part of Phase 3 of the Reopening Chicago framework, CPL reopened 74 locations to the public on June 8th and successfully delivered in-person and virtual services to patrons. Sunday hours were also implemented at 11 neighborhood branches and the regional libraries. During the summer months, services were provided in a socially distanced manor and patrons were allowed to browse library collections, use computers and Wi-Fi, receive one on one assistance from librarians and take grab-n-go activities. CPL locations continued to see an increase in patrons using library services; by Phase 4, approximately 200,000 patrons were visiting, 240,000 items checked out, 160,000 Wi-Fi sessions, and 44,000 PC sessions were being used on a monthly basis.

Additionally, CPL’s six-week long Summer Learning Challenge and Teen Summer Challenge engaged over 60,000 youth over the summer. Other summer initiatives included online programming via branch-led Zoom meetings, our citywide “Live from the Library” story time, and the Hope and Unity teen mural project to mention a few. CPL also partnered with city departments and other organizations such as the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Census efforts to provide additional services to patrons.

Fall @ CPL: With CPS students beginning the school year learning remotely from teachers this fall, teams in Children Services & Family Engagement and Teen Services are working to support additional branch-based and system wide initiatives to support students and families.

Some of our fall highlights include: 

  • CPL’s annual library card initiative to promote and expand access to everything we offer, as well as new features like online card updating. 
  • Piloting a virtual homework help service to provide youth with real-time academic support. 
  • Continuing the groundswell of branch-led virtual programs and taking system wide programs online. 
  • Enhancements to our website with new resources for educators as well as tools to help students and families navigate all that CPL has to offer.  

Ms. Messner also announced that One Book, One Chicago 2020 will run September through December. This season, CPL selected the New York Times bestseller "Exit West" by Mohsin Hamid and explores the theme "Beyond Borders"; themes of immigration, refuge, home and family. CPL will offer over 40 virtual programs as well as book discussions, recommended reading lists, digital content and web TV series from September through December that will explore these questions. The keynote program, Author Mohsin Hamid in conversation on CPL’s YouTube channel will take place on Thurs, Dec 3rd at 7 p.m.

Strategy Update: CPL had initially planned to release its 2020-2024 Strategy on March 18, 2020. In light of the pandemic and other challenges facing Chicago and the country, it was decided to delay its release. CPL proudly launched its 2020-2024 Strategy on August 12th. Between March and August, we learned to live in a “new normal” and to deliver our services in ways that we could not have anticipated. We are in a unique moment to begin to shape the future path of CPL, and the Strategy is more important now than it has ever been; reflecting the best of who we are, and highlighting the passion and commitment of staff across all our library locations.  

CPL’s 2020-2024 Strategy has the following six overarching objectives:

  • We provide free and open access to information and experiences.
  • We encourage exploration and nurture learning.
  • We create respectful, safe and welcoming spaces
  • We share pride and purpose.
  • We value creativity and resourcefulness.
  • We broaden the perception of what a library can be.

Over the next six months, the Strategy will be incorporated into our programs, services and operations. For more information, CPL’s full strategy is available to view on our website.

Retirements

  • Nancy Eggert - Librarian IV, Literature & Language, 26 years of service​
  • Karen Griebel - Librarian III, Jefferson Park, 29 years of service​
  • Sharon Hicks - Librarian IV, Bessie Coleman, 7 years of service​
  • Susan Jorgensen - Librarian IV, Portage Cragin, 33 years of service​
  • Thomas Novak - Library Clerk, Sulzer, 32 years of service​
  • Jelena Radicevic - Librarian IV, Newspapers & Periodicals, 31 years of service​
  • Rosalinda Salinas SR. - Library Clerk, Dunning, 12 years of service​
  • Paul Smith - Library Clerk, Popular Library, 30 years of service​
  • Andrea Telli - Commissioner, HWLC, 29 years of service​
  • Miles Turner IV - Library Associate, Chicago Lawn, 19 years of service​ 

Chicago Public Library Foundation Report

Brenda Langstraat, President of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, provided the Foundation report on behalf of the staff and Board of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, highlighting the following:

To date in 2020, CPFL reports:

  • The Foundation has secured a total of 905 gifts; of these, 16 gifts were of $25,000;
  • They have raised nearly $1.8M in total gifts and pledges; and
  • Welcomed 138 new donors along with major investments from various partners.

Other announcements mentioned included:

  • CPLF offices successfully moved to Impact House in June;
  • CPLF’s annual report is expected to be live by September 15;
  • A multi-year project with the CME Foundation will launch in September to support early learning at the library;
  • The “Live from the Library” story time series has shown 102 videos with 22 million views;
  • The Carl Sandburg Literary Awards event will be held virtually in early December; a save the date will be shared in mid-October.

Public Comment

None

Next Board Meeting

The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 9:00 a.m., location TBD.

Commissioner's Report

Priorities for CPL

Chicago and the world are still deeply impacted by the pandemic, economic uncertainty, and the inequities that are inherent in our social fabric. Workplaces and other gathering places continue to evolve how they bring people together safely and purposefully, and CPL is at the forefront of this work. Mary Ellen Messner began serving as Acting Commissioner for CPL as the city initiates a national search for a permanent replacement. CPL has been fortunate to have had both Brian Bannon and Andrea Telli’s leadership for our organization over the past 8 years, and we are confident that CPL is on a great path looking ahead.

During this interim period, the senior team will be focused on three key priorities:

  • Delivering quality and equitable library experiences
  • Ensuring the health and safety of patrons and staff
  • Innovating as needed to respond to community need during this uncertain timeAs part of our continued work, the senior team will continue to visit branches, meet with division leaders, and maintain open lines of communication with the Mayor’s Office to ensure that our strategic priorities remain at the forefront during the search for CPL’s next leader.

Summer Program Summary

On June 8, 2020, CPL reopened nearly all its locations to the public as part of Phase 3 of the Reopening Chicago framework. Over the summer months of June, July and August, CPL successfully navigated delivering in-person library services to Chicagoans both in the library and in the community during COVID-19 pandemic, while also rapidly innovating and adapting our work to offer an array of low/no contact and virtual services. This memo highlights these accomplishments and details the impact CPL has made over the summer.

CPL has reopened 74 library locations across the city including Sunday hours at 11 neighborhood branches, 2 regional libraries and the Harold Washington Library Center. Over the summer, members of the public were welcomed backed into our spaces to browse for books, use computers and Wi-Fi, get one on one assistance from librarians, and take grab-n-go activities – all in a socially distanced manner. Numbers have grown steadily through June and stabilized in Phase 4 at approximately 200,000 people visiting, 240,000 items checked out, 160,000 Wi-Fi sessions, and 44,000 PC sessions – all on a monthly basis.

CPL successfully concluded its signature six-week long Summer Learning Challenge for youth age 0-13 and Teen Summer Challenge for youth age 14+. Cumulatively, we engaged over 60,000 youth directly through summer initiatives, circulated thousands of items to children and teens, and answered countless reference and readers advisory questions. In addition to taking summer programming online through hundreds of branch-led Zoom meetings and our city wide Live from the Library story time, we also distributed tens of thousands of grab-n-go activities. We also provided safe and meaningful opportunities for people to connect over art and music, such as the Hope and Unity teen mural project now on display at BMO Harris headquarters.

CPL also supported a number of city and partner efforts over the summer, including taking library services to neighborhood streets as part of the interdepartmental Mobile Services initiatives, distributing over 54,000 meals with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and using library locations to drive completion of Census 2020 in low turnout wards.

Fall @ CPL

In August, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released its Final Reopening Framework which has all CPS students starting the school year learning remotely from their teachers, at home. Students started school on September 8, and their day-to-day experience this fall will look very different than it did during remote learning in the spring.

CPL will continue our essential role in serving students and families in Chicago, just as we did this summer. In addition to the countless and unique one-to-one interactions that will happen with students and families, teams in Children Services & Family Engagement and Teen Services are working to support additional branch-based and system wide initiatives. Some of our fall highlights include: 

  • CPL’s annual library card initiative to promote and expand access to everything we offer, as well as new features like online card updating. 
  • Piloting a virtual homework help service to provide youth with real-time academic support. 
  • Continuing the groundswell of branch-led virtual programs and taking system wide programs online. 
  • Enhancements to our website with new resources for educators as well as tools to help students and families navigate all that CPL has to offer.  

All CPL social distancing and service plan guidelines are still in effect based on guidance from the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control. This includes meeting room closures and limited seating.

One Book One Chicago

CPL is pleased to announce One Book, One Chicago 2020, running September through December. This season, we will explore the theme "Beyond Borders" and the book "Exit West" by Mohsin Hamid.

Theme: Beyond Borders:

This season will explore themes of immigration, refuge, home and family. How has our family’s journey influenced who we are today? How do we tell our immigration stories? What does it mean to be an American? How do we honor and celebrate our cultural background, and how do our backgrounds influence and complement each other, especially in a “melting pot” of America? What if, as in the book, there was a world without borders?

Book: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

A New York Times bestseller, the astonishingly visionary love story that imagines the forces that drive ordinary people from their homes into the uncertain embrace of new lands.

In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.

Exit West follows these remarkable characters as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are. Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, it tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time.

Programming:

CPL will offer over 40 virtual programs as well as book discussions, recommended reading lists, digital content and web TV series from September through December that will explore these questions.

Highlights include:

  • Keynote program: Author Mohsin Hamid in conversation on CPL’s YouTube channel, 7 p.m. Thursday, December 3
  • Path to Citizenship workshops: Join representatives from HIAS Immigration & Citizenship to learn about the journey from permanent resident (Green Card holder) to U.S. citizen. English/Spanish.
  • Celebrating Our Journeys: Programs celebrating the journeys of the cultures that influenced Chicago, including Native Journeys: Dr. Anton Treuer; American Warsaw: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Polish Chicago with Dominic Pacyga; Citizen Illegal: Poet Jose Olivarez and Fashion Beyond Borders with Hoda Katebi.
  • Learn New Skills: CPL librarians host workshops to teach new skills that explore culture, including cooking web TV show Snacks in the Stacks, workshops to get help with genealogy research using CPL's online resources, and video demonstrations of cultural crafts with Art Beyond Borders.
  • Web TV series Chicago Neighborhoods Beyond Borders: Urbanologist Max Grinnell will lead One Book neighborhood tours, featuring 10 episodes exploring neighborhoods across Chicago and the impact of immigration and migration.
  • Book clubs and discussion groups citywide.

Strategy Update

2020 has truly been a remarkable and humbling time in our city. As you may recall, we planned to release the CPL 2020-2024 Strategy on March 18, 2020. Led by First Deputy (and now Acting Commissioner) Mary Ellen Messner, this document – and the goals and outcomes laid out within it – emerged from a comprehensive 12-month effort involving hundreds of staff, thousands of patrons, and countless partners. Given all that was facing our city in the spring and into the summer, we opted to delay the release of the Strategy until we had a better sense of what the future might hold.  On August 12, CPL proudly launched its 2020-2024 Strategy.

Throughout the weeks and months since March, we have learned to live in a “new normal” and to deliver our services in ways that we could not have anticipated. We saw civil unrest and calls for justice and unity. Despite all these changes, what remains constant is that the resources CPL provide for relevant, non-biased information are essential, and that what we represent in our communities will help to foster equity, inclusion and healing.   

We are in a unique moment to begin to shape the future path of CPL, and to that end, the Strategy is more important now than it has ever been. It reflects the best of who we are, highlighting the passion and commitment of staff across all our library locations.

CPL 2020-2024 has six overarching objectives:

  • We provide free and open access to information and experiences.
  • We encourage exploration and nurture learning.
  • We create respectful, safe and welcoming spaces
  • We share pride and purpose.
  • We value creativity and resourcefulness.
  • We broaden the perception of what a library can be.

CPL’s full strategy is linked on our website at https://www.chipublib.org/strategic-plan/. Over the next six months, with the senior staff's leadership and guidance, the Strategy will be incorporated into our programs, services and operations. We will listen to our communities – and to you – about how the goals and objectives detailed in the Strategy look in our new environment and how they will impact CPL over the course of the next 5 years.   

Retirements

  • Nancy Eggert - Librarian IV, Literature & Language, 26 yrs. of service​
  • Karen Griebel - Librarian III, Jefferson Park, 29 yrs. of service​
  • Sharon Hicks - Librarian IV, Bessie Coleman, 7 yrs. of service​
  • Susan Jorgensen - Librarian IV, Portage Cragin, 33 yrs. of service​
  • Thomas Novak - Library Clerk, Sulzer, 32 yrs. of service​
  • Jelena Radicevic - Librarian IV, Newspapers & Periodicals, 31 yrs. of service​
  • Rosalinda Salinas - Senior Library Clerk, Dunning, 12 yrs. of service​
  • Paul Smith - Library Clerk, Popular Library, 30 yrs. of service​
  • Andrea Telli - Commissioner, HWLC, 29 yrs. of service​
  • Miles Turner IV - Library Associate, Chicago Lawn, 19 yrs. of service​

Chicago Public Library Foundation Report

Brenda Langstraat, President of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, will provide the Foundation report on behalf of the staff and Board of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, highlighting the following:

Contributions to Date

  • To date in 2020, we have
    • Secured a total of 905 gifts. Of these, 16 gifts were of $25,000 or more.
    • Raised nearly $1.8M in total gifts and pledges.
    • Welcomed 138 new donors.
  • We’ve received major investments from BMO Harris Bank, The James and Madeleine McMullan Family Foundation, The Allstate Corporation, Polk Bros. Foundation, CME Group Foundation, and the Norfolk Southern Corporation, as well as many other generous partners.

Exciting Updates

  • In June 2020, our offices finished moving to Impact House, the world’s largest work hub for individuals and organizations committed to social change. This means exciting new opportunities for collaboration and information-sharing.
  • The Foundation’s annual report is expected to be live by Sept 15; visit cplfoundation.org to see how donors helped drive impact at the Library in 2019.
  • A major catalyst grant from CME Foundation is helping to re-imagine early learning at the Library. The multi-year project will launch this September.
  • Live from the Library, weekday virtual story-time, continues to attract viewers. To date, 102 videos have been shown; 22 million views and 43 national and international media outlets have covered the innovative virtual program. We continue to work with CPL to develop and expand the program including the launch of First Chapter Fridays and collaborating with organizations such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
  • The Library Foundation’s Annual Awards presentation event, including the Sandburg Literary Award, will be held virtually in early December. We are excited for this opportunity to engage a more broad and global audience in this annual celebration of exceptional thinkers and creators. The event is accessible to all, and proceeds will benefit the full scope of our work with the Library. We will be sharing a save the date in mid-October.