REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR

Winnefox Library System

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

 

 

In conversations and email correspondence, Winnefox trustees, Tom Widener, Merry Whipple and Judy Malueg have asked that several issues and/or questions be placed on the Board Agenda (their correspondence is included for your information as Exhibit A) for System Board discussion and possible action.  They will appear separately on the agenda as requested and will occur before my report.  I include them in my report so I can prepare and reference exhibits as is customary on my part.  If time permits, I may prepare supplemental material and try to send it to you in advance of the meeting via email for those of you who have access and through regular mail for those who don’t.  They requested three items be added as follows:

 

OMRO/WINNECONNE NON-RECIPROCAL     Tom Widener has requested that this issue

PAYMENTS TO OSHKOSH PUBLIC                    appear on this meeting agenda.  He has

LIBRARY                                                                  requested time for a presentation from the

                                                                                    Omro Library regarding the issue.  At our last meeting, you all received an overview of the issues and background that was prepared by me and provided to the Omro and Winneconne library directors and their municipal administrators.  It would be worthwhile for you to reacquaint yourself with that document (Exhibit G in last months packet) and perhaps bring it with you.  If for some reason you can’t find it, it is available online at: http://www.winnefox.org/trustees/boardreports/2005/052505-May/Exhibits/ExhibitG.htm on the Winnefox website or you can call the office for a copy at 236-5220.  Also, I’ve enclosed a recent article from the Omro Herald (Exhibit B) which discusses the issue and the decision by the Omro City Council to discontinue the payments as well as an interesting historical report we found from 1961 about OPL Extension services.   Discussion.  Action: prerogative of the Board.

 

INDEPENDENT, OUTSIDE AUDIT                      Tom Widener has requested that the

                                                                                    issue of an outside, independent audit be placed on this agenda as follows: “with Winnefox entering into a new contract with the Oshkosh Library the Board needs to know specifically what monies  are exchanged between the two bodies.  I will be requesting an independent audit of those activities.”  As preparation for this discussion, it would be helpful if you reviewed two documents that spell out the exchange of funds between Winnefox and OPL: a) the Resource Library Agreement and b) the Contractual Services Agreement for 2005 (included in Exhibit C).  They are annual agreements and were approved by you in September of 2004.  You will be receiving revised versions for renewal at the next meeting in September.  Discussion.  Action: prerogative of the Board.

 

 

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JOINT DIRECTOR DECISION –                          As you can see from Merry’s emails, she

CLARIFICATION RE: CONTRACTUAL has some questions about how the existing

ARRANGEMENT                                                    contractual arrangement for the OPL

                                                                                    Director’s services should continue and what the real intent of the Board’s action was at the last meeting.  At the meeting of the joint Executive Director Search & Screen Committee, this was discussed and Judy Malueg asked that I

provide an overview and explanation of the current arrangements for everyone’s clarification at this meeting.  I will also try to provide some additional information to address Merry’s concerns and questions.  Discussion.  Action: unknown.

 

Other issues that may come before the Board for discussion/action:

 

DIRECTOR’S EVALUATION PROCESS

 

HIRING FREEZE

 

FREQUENCY OF BOARD MEETINGS

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH &                  The joint Search & Screen Committee

SCREEN PROCESS UPDATE/ISSUES                  met (their minutes are in your packet).  A

                                                                                    variety of issues were discussed and some of them requiring your discussion and/or action follow:

 

·        SEARCH & SCREEN COMMITTEE CHARGE – the Committee’s recommendation of it’s charge/role/responsibilities is contained in their minutes and should be acted upon by the full Board if you agree with it.  Discussion.  Action Requested: approve Committee charge as contained in the minutes of that meeting.

 

·        JOB DESCRIPTIONS – we have developed and/or revised the position descriptions for Winnefox Director and Assistant Director which are included in your packets as Exhibit D.  They were developed by Mark Arend and Joan Mueller after reviewing samples from other public library systems and from the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) samples.  New language is shown in italics.  The original description for Coordinator (now Assistant Director) is also included.  The Committee discussed them briefly, took no action and submitted suggested edits by emails (which have been incorporated).  Discussion.  Action Requested: approve drafts of job descriptions as contained in Exhibit D.

 

 

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·        CHALLENGES/OPPORTUNITIES FORMS – we are asking all member library directors (and staff if they so choose) to complete these forms (Exhibit E) to gather feedback on what everyone expects as challenges or opportunities their libraries, libraries in general and/or Winnefox faces during the next 3-5 years.  It would be very helpful if you would also take a little time and complete them with any of your ideas.  We will be compiling them for the Committee’s next meeting (Aug. 4th) as well as providing them with all the ones we receive.

 

·        RECRUITING PROCESS COST ESTIMATE – at the Committee meeting, the question was asked about whether we should have a spending level for the recruitment process.  After some discussion which suggested we should have an estimate to monitor but some reservations about having a limit that could affect the Committee’s ability to recruit an attractive candidate, I will prepare an estimate of key costs we might experience and provide it to you at the meeting.  Keep in mind that there are many as yet unknown variables so it is difficult to be anything other than general in the estimates for many of the categories at this time. 

 

·        Meet and Greet Reception – the Committee charge contained a suggestion for involvement of other trustees, member library directors and staff as well as community leaders through a meet and greet reception.  This was done in Oshkosh when the new school district superintendent was hired (actually held at the library).  I’ve discussed this with the City of Oshkosh Human Resources department and they see no problem in our pursuing that idea, so we will plan on incorporating that into the interview process.

 

·        COST REIMBURSEMENT FOR PARTICIPATION OF MEMBER LIBRARY DIRECTORS IN INTERVIEW PROCESS – the Librarian Advisory Committees are discussing their selection for a five-member committee of directors to participate in the interview process.  In order to make it easier for their participation, we would like to suggest that Winnefox compensate them for mileage and for the services of a substitute librarian during the time they would be absent from the library.  We estimate the costs to be about $2,600 or less depending upon who is selected and whether they need substitutes.  Discussion.  Action Requested: approve reimbursement of member library directors for participation in interview process as described.

 

WINNEFOX LIBRARY SYSTEM  -                       The audit for Winnefox for 2004

2004 AUDIT                                                               is included in your packets as Exhibit F

along with a memo from Rick Bowman,

Business Manager, addressing a few of the issues raised in the audit letters and report.  The audit is required by Statute and generally finds us in very good financial condition.  Most of the

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comments/suggestions have been made in past audits and Rick and I will review them with you briefly.  Discussion.  Action Requested:  accept 2004 Winnefox audit as contained in Exhibit F.

 

WCTS Grant Program                                    Exhibit G contains a memo from Mark

                                                                                    describing a proposal for a new grant program from WCTS undesignated reserve funds as approved and recommended by the WCTS Executive Committee.  Discussion.  Action Requested: approve proposed grant program as described in Exhibit G.

 

WALS ANNUAL ASSOCIATES                              The 2006 WALS Associates Fee

AUTOMATION FEES FOR 2006                            proposal (Exhibit H) will be reviewed by the

                                                                                    WALS Executive Committee just prior to this meeting.  The Associate fees for 2006 range from a low of $6,143 up to $9,021.  The increases are mostly in the range of 0-6% with the average around 3.5% when you factor out Campbellsport as a new Associate in 2006.  Over the past several years, we have been gradually reducing the savings to the Associates in the form of lower fees due to:

·        A temporary reduction due to the Gates Foundation server grants permitting us to lower the amount we annually budget for a shared capital reserve account;

·        An adjustment for WCTS member libraries based upon their financial support of a PC support position within the WALS staff.

But we have always pointed out that the reductions were temporary and would be phased out over time as we are doing.  As the Gates grant factor disappears and the need to replenish our Shared Capital Reserve fund for computer/network upgrades and replacement grows, the fees need to gradually rise.  Even so, the range for Associates fees in 1998 was $6,600 to $9,100.  So the proposed 2006 fees, although higher than last year, are still lower than those paid in 1998.  Since the libraries are developing their budgets for 2006, we would like to set these fees now so they know what to budget.  If there are any proposed changes as a result of today’s WALS Executive Committee discussion, we will advise you of them at the meeting.  Discussion.  Action Requested:  approve the recommendation for WALS Associates fees as included in Exhibit H.

 

WPLC OVERDRIVE DIGITAL                              This matter was deferred until we could

AUDIO BOOK DEMONSTRATION –                  fulfill a request to obtain a legal opinion

LEGAL OPINION                                                     regarding legal liability for copyright

                                                                                    violations by users of the service.  We have obtained that opinion (included as Exhibit I along with a recent article about the subject of downloadable audio books).  We have provided a copy of that opinion to the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) coordinator who is sharing it with Overdrive requesting their review, comment and possible contractual changes.  While the WPLC members at the last meeting were interested in this opinion and support requested changes, if possible, in the

 

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contract, most, if not all, are proceeding with implementation of downloadable audio books from Overdrive.  We have also requested comment from the Division of Libraries, Technology & Community Learning (DLTCL) in Madison since this opinion technically affects all our current contracts for electronic services and even may affect anything a library checks out.  We will provide you updated information as we receive it.  Since this opinion doesn’t just affect this medium, but has implications for all the materials libraries check out today, and because the primary risk is from a publisher and holder of copyright that is trying to establish a new market in cooperation with a vendor of electronic versions, I believe the actual risk to the system and libraries is relatively small.  For that reason, I would suggest we proceed with this demonstration project.  Discussion.  Action Requested: authorize Winnefox staff to proceed with implementation of a demonstration of downloadable audio books through the WPLC consortium.

 

LEGISLATIVE ISSUES                                           Things are very active in the legislature right

                                                                                    now.  The Governor will be announcing vetoes shortly but public library system aids and Badgerlink funding should be relatively secure at this point since the budget the legislature provided to him includes his original recommendations for those items.

 

There are a number of other issues emerging that are of great concern to the library community and we should advise you of them and ask for your support of positions we can communicate on behalf of libraries within Winnefox.  There are also two bills (the “Language Bill” and the “Reform Bill” which you have reviewed before) being introduced by DLTCL on behalf of the library community.  The newest ones are as follows:

 

AB483 re: Maintenance of Effort – see Mark’s memo in Exhibit J.  There is a great deal of discussion taking place within the library community and we will try to share some of it with you by email if you would like to sample the flavor of the reactions.  Over recent years, a number of libraries within Winnefox have been held to the exact MOE amount of funding.  I have no doubt, that if that requirement were eliminated, library funding in a number of libraries would fall even further.  Discussion.  Action Requested: authorize drafting of a letter opposing the elimination of the Maintenance of Effort requirement and submit to appropriate legislators.

 

SB258 re: “R” Rated Video Circulation to Minors – this is also generating a great deal of discussion within the library community.  The position of the library community is to leave this issues as a matter for local libraries to address through local policy.  This proposal would prohibit circulation of “R” rated videos to anyone under 18 without the library having affirmative proof that their parents/guardians have authorized that activity.  The System Board reaffirmed support for the Library Bill of Rights and its interpretations in 1996 (you can find links to these under the Trustees section of the Winnefox website (www.winnefox.org).  Exhibit K contains the Access for Children and Young Adults to Nonprint Materials provision for your information.   Discussion.  Action Requested: authorize drafting of a letter opposing the SB258 and submit to

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appropriate legislators.

 

RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION –                  Exhibit L contains a Resolution of

DEANNA BOONE                                                    Appreciation for service as a

                                                                                    Winnefox trustee of Deanna Boone.  Deanna recently resigned her position since she and her family were relocating to South Dakota.  Discussion.  Action Requested: approve Resolution of Appreciation.

 

COUNTY PLANS – STATUS                                   Mark and I will provide a brief update on the

                                                                                    status of the county planning processes that leads to the funding requests for libraries in each of the counties.  This is a very active area of System support right now.  Discussion.  Action Requested: none at this time.

 

REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR – is included as Exhibit M for your information and questions.   Mark and/or I may report briefly on any of the items contained therein.

 

PERSONNEL MATTERS – see Mark’s report.

 

MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS –

 

·        OCLC Members Council Election – Karen Boehning (Winnefox Library System), one of the WiLS OCLC Members Council delegates from Wisconsin, was nominated to run for Vice-President/President-elect of the OCLC Members Council. This is quite an accomplishment - great for Karen and very exciting for WiLS even though Karen wasn’t elected.  OCLC is the premiere international cataloging consortium in the world serving over 56,000 libraries in 96 countries with a catalog database of 58 million records.  Just being nominated by her colleagues is considerable recognition for Karen.

·        At the June meeting of the Collaboration Workgroup (a group of human service providers from Winnebago county agencies and non-profits that have been meeting together from several years), John Nichols was presented with the You Make a Difference Award by the group for 2005 for “significant accomplishments in demonstrated collaboration in improving life for Winnebago County residents.”  Cited in particular were our efforts in Information & Referral service development (started as a result of the collaboration conference that led to the CWG) and Local Indicators for Excellence (L.I.F.E.) report done in conjunction with the Winnebagoland FOCUS Executive Committee.  The award was presented by Sue Panek, Executive Director of the Oshkosh Area United Way.

·        Mark and I will be attending the Annual Meeting of Public Library Systems with DLTCL in Madison on Thursday, July 21st.  The agenda for that meeting is attached as Exhibit N.  If there is anything to report, we will advise you at the meeting.

·        I also attended the recent meeting of the Council on Library and Network Development

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·        (COLAND) of which I am a member.  The agenda for that meeting is attached as well (Exhibit O).  If time permits, I will report briefly on two areas of interest from that meeting.

·        Articles – I’ve included an interesting article (Exhibit P) by Peter Drucker, “Defining the Duties of the American CEO” which should be interesting in anticipation of hiring a new executive director.

·        Correspondence – I’ve included a nice thank you note from Coloma Public Library for the staff’s help with their Summer Reading Program (Exhibit Q).

 

NOTE: I think this is a record for exhibits. 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

 

John V. Nichols

Director