NEW
YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF LIBRARY BOARDS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING
NYSALB Board of Directors Meeting
Saturday September 16,
2006
The meeting was called to order by President
Norm Jacknis at 9:05am.
N.
Jacknis, R. Strauss, G. Stamatiades, S. Patton,
R. Presutti, N. Simaitis, K. Achilles, Joan Hurley,
Mary Ellen O’Connor, and Suzanne Stockman
(via speaker phone). Excused: Larry
Jorgensen and Jack Taylor. Late: Francis
Picart. Also present were: Association
Manager, M. Malicki and new director nominees,
Arnold Elman and Sally Swierczek.
R.
Strauss presented Arnold Elman and Sally Swierczek
to fill the two vacant director slots on the
board of directors. Dick further
moved that we accept Arnold and Sally each for a term of three (3) years to
begin now. Bob P. seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Minutes: The May
Board of Directors meeting minutes and the NYSALB
Board of Directors’ Organizational Meeting
minutes were presented for approval. Bob
P. moved the minutes be accepted as written.
Sam P. seconded the motion. The motion
carried unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report: Margaret
M. gave an update in L. Jorgensen’s absence: Under1.)
Membership and investment columns have decreased. Investments show a loss of
$1300 due to the market. The Velma
Moore Award reimbursement will be entered the end of September. 2.) Meeting
Expenses are up. (Attendance at meetings has been greater plus costs
at hotel increased). Karen A. moved that we accept the treasurer’s
report. Dick S. seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously and will be filed
for audit.
The 2007 NYSALB Budget was presented. It
will be voted on at the November Board Meeting.
The 2007 Institute budget was discussed as well.
It will be different from years past due to location.
The board discussed subsidizing the Institute. Mary
Ellen O. asked if we could raise extra monies
through sponsorships (vendors, book companies,
construction companies, businesses that work
with libraries, architecture firms, unions, technology
companies, etc.) The board will collect
business cards at the NYLA conference and solicit
interest. It would be helpful if the board developed
a list of potential sponsors to draw on.
Education:
Trustee Institute: A lengthy
discussion followed. Possible speakers
(Regent Dawson, Mayor Bloomberg, Assemblywoman
Patricia Eddington, Assemblywoman Catherine
Nolan, Director of the Queens Library, Tom
Galanti, and David Patterson) were mentioned.
Please pass along other workshop suggestions
to Margaret M. Workshop ideas were
presented (see handout from S. Stockman).
Added suggestions were Security, Teen Library
Services (issues surrounding policies for
teens), Basic Trustee Training (import the
overview of modules from Pulisdo), Green
Libraries (ecological impact). and Long Term
(Five Year) Financial Planning. Please
let Margaret M. know if you have suggestions
for workshop presenters. Ideas were expressed
for entertainment. It was the consensus
that a Storyteller would be appropriate. Suzanne
S. will begin work on that. A budget
needs to be put together so that the menus,
etc. can be decided upon. George S. questioned
whether we needed activities for spouses and
significant others. Those attending need
to make an early commitment to insure the room
rate of $129.00 plus tax. That rate will
apply to Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
and Monday stays. Those attending will
contact the hotel directly to make reservations. The
Board discussed what amount NYSALB would subsidize.
The figure of $3000.00 was mentioned. It
was stressed that an early deadline is crucial.
By the November Board meeting speakers and workshop
presenters should be committed. Joan
H. strongly urged that the Institute Brochure
be mailed by mid January. Norm J. complimented
Suzanne S., George S., and Margaret M. on their
thorough planning.
The education report was adjourned temporally
so that our invited guests could speak.
Guest Reports:
Rachael Baum, incoming president of NYLA, spoke
to the group about the 2006 library successes;
monies awarded by the state for construction,
legislative initiative, putting together Lobby
Day etc. She would like to see partnerships
developed and library trustee membership with
NYLA. Perhaps when a library joins at
the organizational rate, all library trustees
could be included as members. Rachael
B. reminded us that the NYLA Conference will
be November 1st – 4th at
Saratoga Springs. There will be workshops
for trustees. Francis P. asked about
the possibility of a joint membership with
NYSALB and NYLA. Rachael B. and Margaret
M. will discuss this further. Francis
P. also invited a member of NYLA who would
be local to Suffolk County to attend the informational
meeting with Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington. Rachael
B. is available to attend.
Cassandra Artale, Library Development Specialist,
representing Carol Ann Desch gave an overview
of her job. She discussed the New York
Knowledge Initiative, Public Library Construction,
the State Library “Spanish Language Outreach
Program”, and the 2006 – 2007 Reading
programs. (See Handout for details). She
continued that the 2006 Summer Reading program
was very successful, and that the data will be
out soon. In 2007 and 2008 the State is
collaborating with 40 other state library reading
programs. The joint materials are impressive.
Writing thank you letters to legislators was
mentioned. It
was noted that several board members were a part
of this.
Education (continued)
Trustee Manual Assignments to use for newsletter
columns
Francis P. reported that three articles were
ready for the newsletter. He does not have
the fourth article from David Krogman and inquired
as to how to get a hold of him.
LSTA training grant
Dick S. reported that he had attended a training
session for the Pulisdo Grant. Each module
is to be a 3 – 4 hour session. To review
the content go to www.pulisdo.org.
There is a place for feedback.
Margaret M. will present a workshop at the NYLA
conference on fundraising. If you have
an idea for next year’s conference, please
let Dick S. know. Sam P. had an idea: “Recruiting
Trustees and Evaluating the Director – How
to Fire the Director”.
Executive:
There was no report.
Legislation and Policy:
Dick S. reported on the PAC. Dick will
finish his term in December 2006. If anyone
on the Board is interested in serving on this
committee, please let Dick know. Francis
P. will be meeting with an ad hoc group in October
to plan for their meeting with Assemblywoman
Eddington in November. He requested ideas
for agenda items. Norm J. noted that NYSALB’s
agenda was 1.) Library Trustee education should
become law and 2.) There should be a dedicated
permanent source of funding for libraries. A
lengthy discussion followed. It was suggested
that Carol Ann Desch speak to the board on this
subject in November. George S. will arrange
a meeting perhaps over dinner with Assemblywoman
Catherine Nolan and Francis P. to discuss legislation.
Our agenda should be kept to two to five items
preferably two both for Ms. Nolan and Ms. Eddington.
Membership:
Bob P. presented the membership figures. Bob
referred the board to the handouts: Membership
Analysis and Membership Summary. Bob
has visited numerous to discuss membership. Libraries
want to know: What NYSALB can offer if they
join? The answer is NYSALB is the
only organization that represents library trustees,
and NYSALB has an extensive education program
for trustees.
Our board suggested that membership work with
the system libraries to obtain lists of all library
trustees in order to get the message to trustees
that NYSALB is their voice. Members receive reduced
cost at Institute. It was noted that we are the
voice in Albany. The newsletter is another
plus. George S. moved that NYSALB institute
an invoice/billing system to be mailed to the
Accounts Payable Department at each library.
Bob P. seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
George S. inquired about sending a monthly newsletter.
Would this help membership increase? Norm
J. suggested sending a monthly newsletter electronically.
Joan H strongly urged the board to use the list
serve. Francis proposed that a system receive
a discount based upon the number of local libraries
belonging to NYSALB. We already have a
policy for this in place. Dick S. feels
we need strong visibility. Norm J.
suggested that the board look at this again at
the March board meeting. Perhaps the board
could negotiate with Utica National Insurance
Co. for a lower D & O rate if a library joins
NYSALB. Sally
S. will discuss this with Utica National Insurance
before the March meeting.
Newsletter/Public Relations:
Sam P. reported there was a good response for
the next newsletter. He will add Institute
News. Suzanne S. gave an update on the
web page newsletter topic index. This
will be an on-line library for trustees and
will be completed by the end of this year.
Norm is developing a section for the web site
to include library policies. How to organize
this was discussed with the conclusion it should
be by type and size. Norm J. asked for
a show of hands if the board wanted “a member
only” section. The answer
is: “yes”. Two proposals
were presented for web site management. Norm
J. will no longer do this job. One proposal
was $2000.00 for redesign of the web site and
$50.00 an hour to update the site. The
second proposal was $2500 for redesign of the
web site and approximately $50.00 an hour to
update the site. Norm would like to enter
into a contract with one of the above. Dick
S. suggested we include the cost of the redesign,
etc. into our 2007 budget. Dick S. moved
that we contract with proposal number one.
George S. seconded the motion. The
motion passed unanimously.
Velma Moore Award:
Karen A. reported that the call for participation
for the Velma Moore Award will be included
in the next newsletter. She will post
the call on NYLINE and the NYSALB web sites.
Karen will also send letters to those who nominated
persons in the past two years to update their
information.
Communications:
Tina Thompson sent an article about Suzanne Stockman’s
community service.
Old Business:
The committee assignments for 2006 – 2007
were reviewed. The certified trustee program
was discussed by Margaret. Send forms to
Bob P. This is a way of promoting NYSALB.
The November 18, 2006 meeting was addressed.
Karen A. will be absent. Someone will need
to take minutes. The 2007 meeting calendar
was discussed. It is not perfect for everyone
but will remain in place for now.
New Business:
Francis P. asked that the future nomination process
be conducted in a more systematic way with
the complete participation of all nominating
committee members. In order for there
to be sufficient time for the procedure requested
by Francis, Norm J. then asked the nominating
committee to start its process early and provide
a report of its initial work for the November
meeting. Dick S. assured Francis P. that
the process would go forward in November.
There being no further business the meeting
was adjourned at 2:35pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Achilles, Secretary
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