The wood floors used as part of Traverwood’s design – featured in the video “Up From Ashes” – include wood from dead ash trees harvested at the branch’s site on the north side of Ann Arbor. It’s the only wooden flooring in any of the system’s buildings. As part of regular maintenance, the floors need to be resealed every year.

From the AADL’s post: “The finishes used that adhere to standards that are in keeping with the sustainable principles used to build the building have not held up to the high traffic in that location. The floor needs to be sanded, repaired in some places, and recoated and sealed. We could simply throw all caution to the wind and finish the floor like a basketball court, but that seems shortsighted and unjustified. A product that meets our standards, and is proven to hold up well in high traffic areas will be applied. Annual maintenance on these wooden floors will always be required, but it is our hope that extensive work will not be required for years.”

The first time Traverwood was closed for this purpose was in 2009. At an August 2009 meeting of the library board, AADL director Josie Parker informed board members that an initial attempt to reseal the floors had been done incorrectly. The library then had to hire a contractor to sand down the floors, reapply the sealant and let it dry. Prep work included wrapping the shelves of books and other items in plastic, to keep them clean amid the dust from sanding.

Celeste Choate, AADL associate director of services, collections and access, holds up a replica of a fossilized wooly mammoth tooth and a wooly mammoth model – items that are included in Science to Go kits available from the AADL. Choate was giving a presentation on the library's realia collections. (Photos by the writer.)

Among the most popular is AADL’s art print collection, which includes work by local artists, according to Celeste Choate, AADL associate director of services, collections and access. Meter readers to gauge the energy efficiency of home appliances and electronics are also popular.

Science to Go kits are the newest addition to AADL’s realia collection. Each kit focuses on a theme – prehistoric mammals, for example – and contains materials that include books, DVDs, Fandex educational cards, and objects like a replica of a fossilized wooly mammoth molar. The kits have only been available for about a month, but are all checked out, each with a long wait list. The realia collections are listed in “Unusual Stuff to Borrow” on AADL’s website.

Other agenda items for Monday’s meeting were less show and more tell. The board re-elected its current slate of officers for another year, with president Margaret Leary noting that the board faces several important decisions in the coming year – she indicated that continuity of leadership would help the board in that context. Though she did not mention it explicitly, Leary likely was alluding to plans discussed by the board in November to restart the process for determining the future of the AADL’s downtown location.

In a formal address at the start of Monday’s meeting, Leary reviewed the library’s accomplishments for 2011. Among other things, she mentioned the board’s decision to keep its millage rate down, while still balancing its budget. AADL’s millage rate for the current fiscal year is 1.55 mills – below the 1.92 mills that the district is authorized to levy. However, she cautioned that if the state eliminates the personal property tax and no replacement funding is found, the library would lose about $600,000 annually in revenues out of a $12 million budget.

Later in the meeting, the board was briefed by Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development, on a draft terms-of-use policy for the library’s website. The decision to develop the policy was driven in large part because of issues related to the library’s digitization of the former Ann Arbor News archives – AADL will be putting a lot of material online for which it doesn’t hold the copyright. The board is expected to vote on the policy at its Feb. 20 meeting.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the board voted to approve a two-year lease renewal with Westgate Enterprises LLC for the location of AADL’s branch at the Westgate Shopping Center, at Jackson and South Maple roads. The annual lease rate is $82,260, beginning Feb. 1.

Election of Officers & President’s Remarks

In the meeting’s first action item, the board re-elected its slate of officers for 2012. The board’s president for a second one-year term is Margaret Leary. Other officers re-elected were Prue Rosenthal (vice president), Barbara Murphy (treasurer) and Jan Barney Newman (secretary). There were no competing nominations, and all the votes were unanimous. Board member Rebecca Head was absent.

Following the election, Leary commented that it’s a good thing to have the same officers in place because the board faces important decisions in the coming year, and it’s nice to have a smooth transition. She indicated her preference to keep the committee membership unchanged as well, but asked board members to contact her if they’re interested in changing committee assignments.

Outcome: The board unanimously re-elected its previous slate of officers. Later, in a separate vote, the board also unanimously approved its 2012 schedule of meeting dates, and will continue to meet on the third Monday of each month.

Before the election, Leary addressed the board, saying it was important to pay attention to what the board and the library accomplished in 2011. She noted that in November, AADL received the Library Journal’s five-star rating for the fourth year, and was the only Michigan library to achieve five stars – the highest possible rating.

In October, board member Ed Surovell had received the Michigan Library Association’s Trustee Citation of Merit, Leary continued. It was awarded for his contributions in promoting library cooperation, working toward state legislation and funding that benefits libraries, and for outstanding work in developing local library services. She read from a statement issued by the MLA: ”One of his contributions has been to push his fellow trustees to break new ground architecturally and programmatically, and to understand the political, financial, historical, and strategic factors when considering a decision, whether the decision is large or small.”

Directing her comment to Surovell, Leary said: “Ed, I hope you’ll continue to push us in that direction.”

AADL board president Margaret Leary was re-elected to another term in that board office at the Jan. 16 meeting. In this photo, she's signing attendance sheets for local high school students who attended Monday's meeting.

Among other awards, Leary cited the four ADDYs for marketing and promotional materials that AADL received in 2011, including a gold award for materials related to AADL’s summer reading program. The awards are given by the Ann Arbor Ad Club.

Leary also highlighted the recognition of associate director Eli Neiburger, named by Library Journal as one of its 2011 Movers & Shakers, in the category of tech leaders.

The Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library have continued their generous support of AADL, Leary said, especially for the summer reading program. In May, the library and FAADL renewed the space use agreement that allows FAADL to operate a bookstore in the lower level of the downtown library building. In June, FAADL’s annual meeting was hosted at the site that the library leases for its digitization project of the former Ann Arbor News archives, she noted. And while the AADL and FAADL are separate organizations, they are building increasingly tight symbiotic relationships that benefit both groups, she said.

In July, Leary noted, AADL director Josie Parker addressed the Ann Arbor city council, a report that included data on the impact of the library’s Fifth Avenue location on the downtown. Parker will continue to participate in discussions at the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority regarding downtown development, Leary said. Parker’s involvement helps the AADL board understand those issues, she said, and Parker has a lot to contribute to the DDA discussions.

Leary listed several examples of AADL involvement in national and international projects during the year. Tim Grimes, AADL’s community relations and marketing manager, helped develop a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)-funded project titled “Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Worlds.” That effort resulted in AADL being selected as one of six libraries chosen to serve as focus groups for the project. Also, Grimes and Neiburger are advisors on another NEH-funded project: “From Bluegrass to Broadway: A Film History of America’s Popular Music.”

Parker was also involved in national and international projects. Leary cited Parker’s participation, by invitation, in a small working group that helped launch the Digital Public Library of America project. Parker was also invited to serve on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation‘s public access technology benchmarks program, and was asked to speak at the second UNESCO Forum on Culture and Cultural Industries, held in June 2011 in Milan, Italy with the theme “The Book Tomorrow: The Future of the Written Word.”

The board’s own education about library services continued during 2011, Leary said, with presentations from staff on eBooks in April, the Old News project in October, and the Play@AADL game in November.

Regarding the library’s finances, Leary said AADL continues to be a fiscal success – levying less of the millage than it’s authorized to use, running a balanced budget, and getting a clean audit. In May, the board adopted its $12 million budget for fiscal 2011-2012, which kept AADL’s millage rate unchanged at 1.55 mills – below the 1.92 mills that the district is authorized to levy.

Leary gave an example that she said showed how the library is remaining fiscally responsible and alert. In 2004, the library changed the vendor it uses to collect overdue fines. The library’s return on investment for that service is over $7 for every dollar it pays the collection company, she noted. Since 2004, about $600,000 in cash has been recovered, plus more than $100,000 in materials.

The year ended with the board approving labor agreements with two unions representing library staff, Leary reported.

Looking ahead, Leary pointed to the possibility that the state would eliminate the personal property tax, which she said would have a very negative effect on the library. If no replacement funding were found, eliminating the PPT would result in a loss of about $600,000 annually to AADL, she said – or about 5% of its budget.

Leary concluded her remarks by thanking Parker and her husband Robert Parker for their generous financial contribution to the library.[Responding to a follow-up query from The Chronicle, Parker indicated that the contribution – an undisclosed amount – was made in honor of the board and is designated for the Marcy Westerman Fund, which supports youth programs.]

Parker responded briefly, thanking the board on behalf of the administration and staff.

Westgate Lease Renewal

The board approved a two-year lease renewal with Westgate Enterprises LLC for the location of AADL’s branch at the Westgate Shopping Center, at Jackson and South Maple roads. The annual lease rate is $82,260, beginning Feb. 1. That’s unchanged from the current rate, according to AADL director Josie Parker. The new agreement also includes two one-year renewal options.

Known as the West Branch, the 5,900-square-foot library branch has been open there since 1977. It’s the only branch of AADL that operates in leased space.

Margaret Leary clarified with library staff that the lease renewal options mean that if both the owner and the library agree, the lease could remain in place at this rate for a total of four years. AADL director Josie Parker said this is the same agreement the library has had with Westgate for the previous two leasing periods.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the lease renewal at for the branch at Westgate.

Director’s Report

AADL director Josie Parker’s report focused on upcoming participation by library staff at professional events.

AADL director Josie Parker.

Erin Helmrich, a teen services librarian at AADL, is chair of the American Library Association committee that selects the Michael L. Printz award, given for excellence in young adult literature. It’s an award on par with the ALA’s Newbery Medal and Caldecott Medal awards, Parker said, and the selection committee is a prestigious group. Helmrich is traveling to Dallas this week for the award’s final selection process.

In February, Eli Neiburger – AADL’s associate director of IT and product development – will represent AADL and the U.S. at an upcoming conference in Australia, Parker said. He’ll be giving a presentation on information technology and digital access in public libraries. [Neiburger later clarified for The Chronicle that he'll be giving the talk at VALA, a group originally known as the Victorian Association for Library Automation, which is now an independent nonprofit that conducts tech education and support conferences. He'll also be speaking at the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney. Neiburger noted that expenses for these professional trips are paid for by the conference organizers, not AADL.]

In March, Celeste Choate  – associate director of services, collections and access – and DeAnn Doll, manager of human resources, will be speaking at the Public Library Association conference in Philadelphia. They’ll be on a panel about the development of the next generation of librarians, and talking about a partnership between AADL and the University of Michigan’s School of Information. The library recruits UM students twice a year to fill public library associate (PLA) positions.

Parker said she wanted the board to know that library staff are out there in many ways and many places.

Financial Report

Ken Nieman – AADL associate director of finance, HR and operations – noted that because the board didn’t meet in December, the Jan. 16 meeting packet included financial reports from both November and December. [The board held a special meeting on Dec. 8 to approve labor agreements, but canceled its regular Dec. 15 meeting.]

Nieman focused his brief report on the December financial statement. [.pdf of December 2011 financials] The library’s unrestricted cash balance was about $13 million, and AADL has received about 96% of its budgeted tax receipts. Three items that are over budget are expected to come back in line with the budget by the end of the fiscal year, he said. [AADL's fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. The over-budget items are in communications, software licenses and postage.]

Nieman noted that $44,168 in the line item for grants/memorials reflects a donation from the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library.

Board members had no questions regarding the financial report.

Website Terms-of-Use Policy

Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development, briefed board members about a proposed website terms-of-use policy that the board is expected to vote on at its Feb. 20 meeting. [.pdf of draft terms-of-use policy]

AADL director Josie Parker introduced the topic by saying that the need for such a policy reflects the success of the library’s online services. She noted that the policy has been reviewed by the board’s policy committee and the library’s legal counsel.

Eli Neiburger, AADL associate director of IT and product development.

Neiburger described the policy as a fairly standard attribute of corporate websites. It defines the legal relationship between the website’s users and its owner, and is put in place in case there is any problem regarding the website’s use or content.

Users won’t need to click on an “Accept” button to agree to the terms. Recent case law has indicated that if a link to the terms-of-use policy is included in a website’s footer, by simply using the site you are agreeing to be bound by those terms, Neiburger said. The library retains the right to revise the terms, he noted – the document is not set in stone.

Neiburger briefly described the different sections included in the five-page document. The website privacy policy defers to the library’s existing general privacy policy. The content on the site is licensed under the Creative Commons license for non-commercial use. This means that most content is available to use for free for non-commercial purposes – such as educational, personal or research uses. Credit must be given to the library if content is used.

However, the site does include material that is protected by copyright – such as digitized content from the former Ann Arbor News archives. The AADL policy states that the onus is on the user to obtain permission from the copyright holder to use this kind of material.

Other sections of the policy cover guidelines for user-generated content; how copyright complaints will be handled; the policy for website registration, accounts and passwords; issues related to points awarded by the library for its summer reading game and other activities; spamming; external site links; termination of use; disclaimers; and indemnity.

Website Terms-of-Use Policy: Board Questions

Margaret Leary asked whether any aspects of the policy might be considered controversial or unique. Neiburger replied that it’s fairly unique for a library to put its website content into the Creative Commons, and that the item related to library points was also unique because the point-system approach is relatively unique. Also the fact that the policy is brief and clear is somewhat unusual, he said.

Leary asked whether it’s typical for a library to have this kind of policy. It’s typical for corporate sites and large libraries to have a terms-of-use policy, Neiburger said. The decision to develop one for AADL was driven in large part because of issues related to the library’s digitization of the former Ann Arbor News archives, he said, since AADL will be putting a lot of material online for which it doesn’t hold the copyright. Neiburger said that the policy being reviewed by the board differed only slightly from the draft that was prepared by the library’s legal counsel.

Jan Barney Newman, who chairs the board’s policy committee, said the committee was fascinated by the policy’s scope and felt it was important to “get ahead of the game” in implementing this kind of policy. The board anticipates voting on the policy at its Feb. 20 meeting.

AADL Realia Collections

AADL director Josie Parker introduced this agenda item by saying it was prompted by conversations regarding a recent Michigan Radio report on bicycle rentals, which indicated that AADL might start a bike-sharing program. In that context, she felt that the staff should share with the board the types of realia items that the library does circulate, adding “and we don’t circulate bicycles!”

The presentation was given by Celeste Choate, AADL associate director of services, collections and access. Choate noted that the most popular realia collection is the art print collection, which the library has been circulating for over 20 years. Over 500 prints are circulating, and new prints are added every year. Typically 80-90% of that collection is checked out, she said. Each item can be checked out for an eight-week period.

In the past couple of years, the focus has been on acquiring work by local artists, Choate said. It’s possible to search the collection by artist name or the name of the print, or patrons can browse thumbnail images of the prints online.

Another realia collection – of energy meter readers – began with a partnership with the city of Ann Arbor. The city originally gave the library 10 meter readers to distribute, enabling residents to check the amount of energy used by different home appliances. The city later added to the collection to bring the total to 19 meter readers. Most recently, 10 outlet energy meter readers – which resemble a power strip – were added to the collection. [As of Jan. 17, all of the new outlet meter readers were checked out, with 56 holds placed on the items.]

Celeste Choate holds up a set of Fandex cards with information about famous painters.

Choate said that in the context of the library’s strategic plan, staff began thinking about how they could increase current realia collections – the art prints and energy meter readers – as well as adding different items that would address the library’s strategic goals of serving the needs of educators and students.

She highlighted some of the newest additions to the collection, including Brain Quest and Fandex educational cards. The 22 Fandex sets include information on dinosaurs, painters, birds, Washington D.C., Africa, the Civil War and a range of other topics. There are 20 Brain Quest sets available, on topics ranging from math and reading basics to general quizzes that “challenge the mind.”

The library also recently added new Science To Go kits to its realia collection. The kits are an outgrowth of Stories to Go kits that were started several years ago with funding from Pfizer, Choate said.

Each Science to Go kit has a theme – prehistoric mammals, for example – with supporting materials that include books, DVDs, Fandex cards, and objects like a replica of a fossilized wooly mammoth tooth and a small-scale model of a wooly mammoth.

Seven topics are available, with two identical kits per topic. They’ve proven to be popular – all kits are checked out, with multiple holds on each, Choate said.

AADL Realia Collections: Board Questions

Jan Barney Newman asked if the AADL staff puts together the science kits. Yes, Choate said. For example, AADL librarian Jody Harnish compiled the materials used in the life cycles kit, which includes examples – preserved in lucite blocks – of bean germination, dragonfly development and other life cycles. Those materials were purchased separately, but Harnish decided what should be included in the kit. AADL director Josie Parker noted that Harnish was also the librarian who designed the popular exhibit of Cecropia moth caterpillars this summer. Kids and families would return to the Traverwood branch multiple times to watch the caterpillars grow through their life cycle, she said.

In response to a question about how the items in the kits are tracked, Choate said that each kit contains a tag that lists all of the items in the kit.

Prue Rosenthal said she was curious about the art prints. What kind of people check out the prints – are they primarily students? Choate replied that a range of people are interested in the prints, including students but also families and businesses. Newman noted that the art print collection was started by the Ladies Library Association.

Barbara Murphy asked about the renewal policy. Choate explained that art prints can’t be renewed, but they circulate for a longer period – eight weeks. Generally, though, there’s no limit to renewals unless other patrons have reserved the item.

Margaret Leary asked Choate to comment on what kinds of realia collections work well for the library, and what might not work. One criteria would be what users want to borrow, for example. Leary ventured that another criteria might be whether the library’s existing infrastructure would support circulation of the collection. However, Leary speculated that some items – like lawnmowers, for instance – wouldn’t be something the library would want to circulate.

Cost is one factor, Choate replied, including how often someone might purchase the item themselves, or how often they might use it. Is it a high-cost item that someone might want to try first, before they buy it – or need to use only one time?

Another factor is how easily the library can move the item through its existing circulation system, including how many copies the library would need and how much space would be required for storage. It sounds mundane, Choate said, but the library isn’t equipped, for example, to provide lawnmower storage. Parker added other factors, including maintenance, parts replacement and how often items are broken.

As for circulation infrastructure, Choate said the goal is that it won’t take longer to check out realia than it does to check out a book or DVD. That’s why the library isn’t circulating chemistry sets, she joked.

Leary said that an item’s potential to do harm might be another consideration, in the context of liability to the library.

Nancy Kaplan asked whether the Science to Go kits are being requested by educators. Choate said the kits have been available starting only about a month ago, so she’s not sure that many teachers know about them yet. One kit per topic is located at the downtown branch, and the second copies of the kits are distributed throughout the branches. For the Brain Quest and Fandex cards, one set of each is available at each branch.

Several board members praised the staff’s efforts, and the board gave Choate a round of applause.

Closed Session Set

At the end of each monthly meeting, the AADL board typically votes to schedule a closed session at its next month’s meeting. On Monday, board members voted to hold a closed session at its Feb. 20 meeting for the purpose of getting the opinion of legal counsel.

Present: Nancy Kaplan, Margaret Leary, Barbara Murphy, Jan Barney Newman, Prue Rosenthal, Ed Surovell. Also AADL director Josie Parker.

Absent: Rebecca Head

Next meeting: Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the library’s fourth floor meeting room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

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This brief was filed from the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown library at 343 S. Fifth Ave. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

This brief was filed from the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown library at 343 S. Fifth Ave. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Josie Parker, right, director of the Ann Arbor District Library, talks with AADL board chair Margaret Leary at the board's Dec. 8 special meeting. (Photo by the writer.)

The board had called a special meeting for Thursday to vote on these contracts, which run from Jan. 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015. The agreements are with the Ann Arbor District Library Staff Associates, which represents 30 employees, and the Ann Arbor District Librarians Association, which represents 14 AADL librarians. All but two of these 44 workers are full-time employees with benefits. The library employs a staff of nearly 200 at its five location throughout the district, including about 100 full-time workers.

The previous contracts expired on June 30, 2010. The main difference between the old and new contracts relates to a change in health insurance providers, plans and employee contributions, according to AADL director Josie Parker. She said she appreciated the hard work that both sides of the negotiations had done to reach an agreement.

The two AADL bargaining units are part of the Michigan Education Association, dating back to the years prior to 1996 when the library was still part of the Ann Arbor public schools system. Paul Morrison, executive director of the Ann Arbor Education Association – the local MEA unit – participated in negotiations and described the outcome as “not great for labor” but reasonable, given the economic circumstances.

The board took two other actions at its meeting on Thursday: (1) a vote to cancel its Dec. 15 meeting, because there are no pressing agenda items; and (2) a vote to call an executive session for its Jan. 16, 2012 meeting, to discuss the written opinion of its legal counsel.

Labor Agreements Finalized

There was little discussion at Thursday’s meeting about the two labor agreements. Board chair Margaret Leary noted that trustees had received copies of the documents for review earlier this week, and had discussed the negotiations extensively in executive sessions over the last year. [.pdf of agreement with Ann Arbor District Library Staff Associates] [.pdf of agreement with Ann Arbor District Librarians Association]

AADL director Josie Parker told the board it was with great pleasure that she was bringing the agreements for a vote, and noted that they would be effective from Jan. 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015. [AADL's fiscal year ends on June 30.]

Barbara Murphy, the board’s treasurer, thanked the staff for their perseverance, observing that it had been a long haul and everyone had worked hard to arrive at an agreement.

Outcome: In separate votes, the board unanimously approved the two labor agreements.

Glen Modell, co-president of the staff associates bargaining unit, and Beth Anderson, the librarians association bargaining committee representative, attended Thursday’s meeting but did not address the board. When queried by The Chronicle after the board adjourned the meeting, Modell indicated that he preferred not to comment on the agreement or the negotiations, other than to say that it was a long process.

In response to an email from The Chronicle, Paul Morrison of the Ann Arbor Education Association left a message on voicemail describing the negotiations as very difficult due to economic constraints of the public sector. The process went through the entire range of steps, including fact-finding and mediation, he said. The outcome is “not great for labor,” Morrison said, but is reasonable considering the circumstances.

The contracts, because of their duration, provide some stability for both employees and the board, he said. Morrison said he hoped to see a brighter future for employees, “but it will be a while.”

The agreements cover a range of issues, including health insurance, a grievance and arbitration procedure, seniority, layoff and recall, vacations, leaves of absence, and performance evaluations, among others. The salary range for librarians in 2011-2012 is set between $41,743 and $59,579. The salary for staff, with six pay grades, ranges from $25,081 to $59,579.

In response to a Chronicle query, Parker elaborated on the agreements. For the new contracts, the bargaining units chose to accept the same health care providers and plans as AADL’s non-union staff, she said. She noted that currently, the health insurance offered to non-union employees falls well below the state-mandated caps that take effect Jan. 1. [On Jan. 1, 2012, public employers will be prohibited from paying more than $5,500 for health benefits annually for a single employee, $11,000 for an employee plus spouse, or $15,000 for family coverage.]

The final agreement was the same as the library’s initial offer, Parker said. Employees have five plan options with three health care providers – Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Care Network, and Priority Health – at varying costs. Two of the plans that are the least expensive, offered by Blue Care Network and Priority Health, are based on health incentives. Some of the concerns raised by unions related to these plans, which were considered as intrusive. [These types of insurance plans reward certain health behaviors – not smoking, for example, or following treatment regimes for chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes.]

Parker noted that more than half of AADL’s full-time staff with benefits already choose from these plans and are satisfied. The health incentive plans aren’t mandatory and there are other options, she said, so the library felt the selection was reasonable and fair.

The lack of a renegotiated agreement with AADL’s bargaining units had an impact on the district’s finances in the last fiscal year. The library administration had anticipated reaching an agreement with the unions earlier than it did, and had budgeted for lower employee benefit expenses during fiscal 2010-2011 – $1.5 million, compared to $1.678 million approved for the previous year’s budget.

However, health care costs were higher for the fiscal 2010-2011 year than budgeted, requiring that the board authorize the transfer of $60,000 from the salaries and benefits line item into the employee benefits line item at the end of the fiscal year. The board took that action, along with other year-end budget adjustments, at its June 20, 2011 meeting.

Employee benefits for 2011-2012 are budgeted at $1.51 million out of an overall $12.034 million budget.

In response to a question from The Chronicle, Parker indicated that labor issues have no connection to the recent decision to explore the future of the downtown library building on South Fifth Avenue. [See Chronicle coverage: "Library to Restart Downtown Facility Review"]

Parker said she appreciated the hard work of all involved on both sides of the negotiations. The agreements were signed by Parker, board chair Margaret Leary, AADL associate directors Ken Nieman and Eli Neiburger, and human resources manager DeAnn Doll. The Ann Arbor District Librarians Association agreement was signed by co-presidents Lucy Roehrig and Betsy Baier, Ann Arbor Education Association executive director Paul Morrison, and bargaining committee representative Beth Anderson. The Ann Arbor District Library Staff Associates agreement was signed by co-presidents Graham Lewis and Glen Modell, bargaining committee representative Robin Madigan, and Morrison of the AAEA.

Present: Nancy Kaplan, Margaret Leary, Barbara Murphy, Jan Barney Newman, Prue Rosenthal, Ed Surovell. Also AADL director Josie Parker.

Absent: Rebecca Head

Next meeting: Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the library’s fourth floor meeting room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

The Chronicle relies in part on regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor District Library board. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

The Ann Arbor District Library's four-story downtown building, located on the northeast corner of Fifth and William. The crane on the left is part of the construction of the underground parking structure to the north of the library. (Photos by the writer.)

A transfer of $45,000 from the library’s fund balance to the administration’s consulting budget will be used to start the process for determining the future of the AADL’s downtown location, director Josie Parker told the board. In late 2008, economic conditions had prompted the board to call off plans to construct a new downtown building – a process that had been well underway. It’s time to start that discussion again, Parker said.

The downtown library is adjacent to several other projects that will impact its future, including the large underground parking structure – and whatever is eventually chosen to be built on top of it – being constructed immediately to the north of the library.

In other business, the board approved a one-year lease extension of the office space that houses the Ann Arbor News archives. The library took possession of the archives in January 2010. AADL is digitizing and posting the archives online, as part of the library’s Old News project.

The board also was briefed about an audit for its 2010-2011 fiscal year, which ended June 30. The auditor – Dave Fisher of the accounting firm Rehmann – described it as a clean audit. He suggested that the board consider implementing a fund balance policy in response to a new reporting standard issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The board’s finance committee plans to take on that issue.

In her director’s report, Parker noted that AADL had again received the Library Journal’s five-star rating. It’s the highest rating awarded to libraries, and AADL was the only library in Michigan to achieve five stars.

Later in the meeting, Eli Neiburger – AADL’s associate director of IT and product development – gave a presentation about the library’s popular summer game, which this year had added an online component and achieved an unprecedented level of participation. He noted that although the game is AADL’s version of the traditional summer reading program, the word “reading” isn’t used to promote it. Feedback from previous years indicated that reading seems too much like homework, and discourages participation. ”Take the word reading out of the game, and people will read a lot more,” he said.

Restarting Review of Downtown Building

On the agenda was a resolution to transfer $45,000 out of AADL’s fund balance and into the administration’s consulting budget.

AADL director Josie Parker told the board that she’d asked the finance committee to introduce the resolution. She noted that in late 2006, the library had started exploring options for the future of the downtown building on South Fifth Avenue. They had convened focus groups, and hired architects to develop possible plans for the site.

In late 2008, the board voted to suspend that process, because of the economic crisis, Parker said. [See Chronicle coverage: "Citing Economy, Board Halts Library Project." The issue has been addressed at subsequent AADL board meetings as well: "New Downtown Library? If, When and Where," and "Board Renews Library Building Discussion"]

It’s now been three years, Parker said, and her administration is recommending that they pick up the discussion again. That effort would include looking at the process for determining how to provide public library services at the downtown location into the future. They’ll need to have some studies done in order to start up that conversation again, both internally and externally, she said. While much of the previous work is still relevant, enough time has passed so that fresh information is needed.

By way of background, the downtown library site, at the northeast corner of William and South Fifth, is in an area that’s undergoing transformation in several ways. Directly to the north, a large city-owned underground parking structure is being built, and is expected to be open next year. No decision has been made about what, if anything, will be built on top of that site, but that decision would have a direct impact on the library.

Across Fifth Avenue, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will be rebuilding its Blake Transit Center, the hub for AATA’s bus routes. Adjacent to BTC, the city-owned surface parking lot at the northwest corner of Fifth and William is one of the sites being analyzed by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority for possible redevelopment.

At AADL’s Nov. 22 board meeting, Jan Barney Newman asked Parker if the library will be entertaining bids for this consulting work. That’s not required, Parker said. Depending on the work that she and her staff determine is necessary, they’ll likely ask specific firms to make proposals.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the transfer of $45,000 to the administration’s consulting budget.

Extension of Lease for Archives

Added to the agenda at the start of Tuesday’s meeting was a resolution to renew the lease with Green Road Associates for one year, beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The annual rate of $38,000 is unchanged from the library’s current lease at that location, according to AADL director Josie Parker.

The location at Plymouth Park – an office park owned by First Martin Corp. off of Green Road, north of Plymouth Road – houses the Ann Arbor News archives. The library took possession of the archives in January 2010, a few months after the newspaper’s owners shut down the business. The library’s two-year lease at that site is coming to a close, Parker said.

She noted that a provision in the lease allows either party to end it with six months’ notice. Those terms are acceptable to the library, Parker said, giving them plenty of time to find other space and move, if necessary. Other tenants in the building include companies that are growing and that might need the space to expand, she said. “No one can not want a business in Ann Arbor to expand and grow,” Parker added, in explaining why AADL was willing to accommodate that possibility.

Parker did not cite any specific companies during her remarks. Firms that are located at Plymouth Park include NanoBio Corp. and Unival Inc., among others For more information about AADL’s newspaper digitization project, see Chronicle coverage: “Ann Arbor Library Set to Publish ‘Old News.’”

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to extend the lease for the Green Road facility.

Financial Report, Audit

Ken Nieman, AADL associate director of finance, HR and operations, gave a brief financial update to the board. The library ended October with an unrestricted cash balance of $14.7 million, he reported. The four line items that are currently over budget – purchased services, communications, software licenses and postage – are all expected to come back in line later during the fiscal year.

Nieman highlighted one item in the report’s listing of assets – $6.8 million in short-term certificates of deposit (CDs). He noted that these are invested through a program managed by the Bank of Ann Arbor, which invests the money in a variety of other financial institutions at $250,000 per institution. That amount – $250,o00 – is the limit that’s insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), Nieman explained. It’s a strategy to protect the library’s assets, he said. He told the board that he also intends to lower the amount kept in savings, currently at $2.8 million.

Dave Fisher of the accounting firm Rehmann gave the AADL board an overview of their audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011.

Later in the meeting, Dave Fisher of the accounting firm Rehmann gave a report on the audit that the firm conducted on financial statements for AADL’s 2010-11 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2011. He noted that he and Sherry Brubaker of Rehmann’s Ann Arbor office had met with the AADL board’s finance committee on Oct. 31 and gone over the audit in more detail.

The audit gives a clean opinion of AADL’s financial statements, Fisher said. The audit also looked at AADL’s internal controls for systems like payroll and cash receipts.

Out of the library’s $7.5 million fund balance, $7.2 million of that is unassigned. If you divide that amount by AADL’s $12 million in annual expenditures, you’ll see that the $7.2 million equates to about 60% of expenditures – representing about 7 months of operating expenses, he said. “That is very good,” he said.

Total expenditures for the year were $12.034 million, with revenues of $12.249 million. That left a surplus of $214,746 for the year. Property tax revenues of $11.163 million accounted for about 91% of total revenues for the year, Fisher noted.

Fisher pointed out that three line items relating to personnel – salaries and wages ($5.669 million), employee benefits ($1.545 million) and employment taxes ($426,729) – account for 63.9% of total expenditures. That’s in the same range as other libraries audited by Rehmann, he said.

The library wasn’t required to make any adjusting entries, Fisher said, and its books are in good shape.

Fisher highlighted two additional issues for the board. As he had during his November 2010 audit report, Fisher noted that it’s important for the library to continue to monitor its compliance with IRS rules related to independent contractors, and to obtain W-9 forms when required. In the past, the IRS left nonprofits and government entities alone, he said, but the agency has started to audit and levy significant penalties in this area.

He also suggested that the board consider implementing a fund balance policy. This is in response to a new reporting standard issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) – Statement No. 54. The new standard makes significant changes to the reporting of fund balances and to the financial statement classification of funds. Fisher said he’d discussed this issue with the board’s finance committee, and had sent Nieman some samples of possible policies the board could adopt.

There were no questions from board members regarding the audit. Earlier in the meeting, during her report from the finance committee, Nancy Kaplan had said the committee will be taking up the issue of developing a fund balance policy. She praised Nieman, thanking him for excellent management of the library’s investments and for controlling AADL’s exposure to risk.

Jan Barney Newman said that after working with Rehmann for several years, the library staff could anticipate what the auditors would require and she hoped that made the library easier to audit. Board president Margaret Leary expressed pleasure and pride to Nieman and Parker for the outcome of the library’s audit.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to accept the audit report for fiscal 2010-11.

Director’s Report

Josie Parker, AADL’s director, reported that the library has received the Library Journal’s five-star rating again this year. Based on 2009 data, the Library Journal 2011 America’s Star Libraries recognized 262 public libraries this year out of 7,513 that were reviewed. It’s the fourth time that AADL has received five stars, the highest possible rating. In its category – libraries with budgets between $10 million to $29.99 million – AADL ranked fourth out of 10 libraries, and was the only Michigan library to achieve five stars.

AADL director Josie Parker

Parker said she wanted to recognize two other Michigan libraries that were ranked: Kent District Library in Comstock, and Benzie Shores District Library in Frankfort. Both received a three-star rating. Last year, Kent had also been rated at five stars, but they had decided to leave a co-op program and their circulation dropped. It was a wise financial decision for them, she said, but because of the data used to evaluate libraries in this rating system, it hurt them in the ratings.

This system looks at how a library is used, not what it spends money on, Parker noted. It’s also important to understand how policies impact the way that people use the library, and how data is recorded. AADL has a high circulation per capita – 58.9, the highest by far of any other five-star library (the next highest is 32.3). But AADL’s public Internet terminal use per capita, at 1.7, is tied with another library as the lowest in that category.

Parker explained that many other libraries require users to log off every hour. If no one else is waiting to use the terminal, that person can log back on again. But each time, it counts in the library’s statistics as another user. In contrast, at AADL someone can stay on the computer as long as they want, if no one else is in line to use it. So even though in each instance one person is using the computer for the same amount of time, it would result in different statistics, depending on the policy.

Parker also noted that she had attended the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library meeting earlier this month. FAADL has received its fourth consecutive audit without any concerns or the need to make modifications, “which was a great moment for them,” she said.

Parker said she wanted to publicly acknowledge FAADL’s hard work, and noted that Sally Allen has served as treasurer for that entire four-year period and has done a magnificent job. Allen is now stepping down from that role, Parker said.

By way of background, FAADL operates a bookstore in the lower level of the downtown library, and gives proceeds to the library. In 2006, the shop was temporarily closed when it was discovered that the group had lost its nonprofit status in 2003 and hadn’t been audited in several years. According to an Ann Arbor News report at the time, there was no indication that the 53-year-old organization had misspent money or mismanaged its finances.

Play @AADL

At the board’s June 2011 meeting, Eli Neiburger – AADL’s associate director of IT and product development – had given a brief presentation on the library’s new online component of its standard summer reading program, which the library has set up as a game. On Nov. 22, Neiburger gave an update on the outcome of the summer game, noting one key to its success: Reading is never mentioned in the program’s description.

AADL director Josie Parker introduced Neiburger’s talk by saying that the summer game is an indication of how library service will change in the future, and why space for a 21st century library is imperative in this community. She said it would start a conversation with people in the community who might ask “Why have a library?”

Neiburger told the board that the summer game had an unprecedented level of participation, and a huge growth in adult participation. You could play by texting, in paper format, or online, he noted, and there was a great deal of overlap in modes of participation. Just over 1,000 people played online only, while nearly 7,000 people registered for the print version of the game. But there was an overlap of nearly 4,200 people who played both in print and online. Neiburger said he suspects that reflects how patrons use the library, too – although the amount of overlap would be even greater.

Screenshot of Play.AADL.org (Image links to AADL's Play website)

The game provided a variety of ways to earn points by completing tasks like checking out a book or other item (10 points), tagging an item in the AADL catalog (10 points), downloading music (10 points per track), writing reviews (200 points), or posting a comment (50 points). Between 200-500 points were awarded each time you attended an AADL event, where a code was announced that allowed you to redeem the points. Codes were also tied to locations within library branches, or to finding answers by searching the AADL website.

One point was awarded per page or per minute spent with media – either an item from the library, or from another source. You also got 100 points for completing a book or other item. Neiburger noted that nearly 8 million points were recorded in this category for books.

A total of 11,217,459 media points were awarded during the summer game, including almost 9 million points related to print. That shows this community still loves to read print in a big way, he said.

Points were also awarded when people earned badges for finding codes based on certain clues. Some clues pointed to information on AADL’s website. Others, like the AA Streets Sweeper series, combined online information with real-world sites – in this case, partnering with the Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibit Program. For example, to earn the AA Streets Sweeper #3 badge, players followed this clue: ”Courthouse Square holds a lot of history! See if you can find the panel with the codes on it and learn something along the way. Visit the glass panel on the street and the online version to find both codes!”

Some students reported that searching for information to get the AA Streets Sweeper badges brought them to downtown Ann Arbor for the first time ever, Neiburger said.

In total, 155 different badges were available to earn, and 32,201 badges were awarded – about half of them to adults.

The points could be exchanged for items at the AADL summer game shop, like T-shirts, caps or totebags.

Neiburger also noted that the library took the word “reading” out of the game. The feedback they’d received in previous years was that reading seemed too much like homework. By making it open-ended, with an unlimited amount of points for a variety of tasks – all involving literacy skills – it became more popular. “Take the word reading out of the game, and people will read a lot more,” he said.

Throughout the game, the AADL posted a leaderboard showing point rankings for the top players. Neiburger said that one of the leaders in the top 20 for the entire game was a six-year-old boy. It’s a way for kids to see success in a way that’s not always possible in school, where recognition is more often given for athletic ability in sports.

In terms of logistics for operating the game, the only thing that was harder about this summer compared to previous years, Neiburger said, was order fulfillment of prizes that were redeemed with points. To handle that, once a week teen volunteers came to the library and filled orders, getting 200 points for each order they filled. Prizes could be picked up at any branch – the process mirrored the service of reserving a book online and picking it up at the branch most convenient for the patron. Many people hadn’t used this service before, Neiburger said, so picking up their prizes introduced them to it.

Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development.

The library filled about 2,700 orders during the summer game, and awarded 4,685 prizes – just for the online portion of the game.

The game also significantly increased site traffic to AADL’s website, as measured by page views – up 124% in July compared to last year, and up 139% in August. And even though the traffic has slowed since the game ended, it was still 49% higher in September compared to 2010.

As the game came to a close in August, Neiburger said the staff started hearing something they hadn’t heard before – people didn’t want it to end. So there are now two games that are ongoing: (1) Points-O-Matic Click-a-Tron, where people can earn points for selecting the best reviews of items in AADL’s catalog, indicating whether a review is helpful, or tagging a photo; and  (2) Treasure Quest, a complex game that involves following clues to find keys that unlock “gates” hidden online.

Over 200,000 points have been awarded in these two games so far, Nieburger noted, even though the library hasn’t said anything about awarding prizes for these points.

In response to a board member’s question about whether other library systems are doing this kind of thing, Neiburger said he’s not aware of anything quite like AADL’s game. The software was written by AADL staff using open source code that’s available to any library “that has the chops for it,” he said. Parker added that AADL can’t provide the staff support to other libraries, but if other libraries have the expertise on staff, they can replicate the program using AADL’s code.

Several board members congratulated Neiburger and AADL staff for the work. Jan Barney Newman, who founded an educational game company called Aristoplay, said the point of games she designed was to learn, which is the point of the AADL’s games too. She said she hadn’t been a player this year, but planned to do it next summer.

Closed Session Scheduled

At the end of the meeting, the board intended to vote on setting a closed session for its Dec. 15 meeting for the purpose of discussing labor negotiations and the written opinion of its legal counsel.

Before the vote, however, AADL director Josie Parker noted that because a vote to discuss the opinion of legal counsel required a two-thirds majority of board members – and because only four of the board’s seven members were present – they could not authorize that purpose for going into a closed session, under the state’s Open Meetings Act. The vote for labor negotiations required only a simple majority.

Outcome: The board unanimously voted to set a closed session on Dec. 15 for the purpose of discussing labor negotiations.

Present: Rebecca Head, Nancy Kaplan, Margaret Leary, Jan Barney Newman. Also AADL director Josie Parker.

Absent: Barbara Murphy, Prue Rosenthal, Ed Surovell.

Next meeting: Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the library’s fourth floor meeting room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date] Update: At a special meeting held on Dec. 8, the AADL board cancelled its Dec. 15 meeting. The board’s next meeting is on Monday, Jan. 16, 2012.

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Old bound copies of The Ann Arbor News from the early 1900s. The archives are stored in a climate-controlled office complex on Green Road.

Andrew MacLaren – one of the librarians who’s been working on the project since the library took possession of the archives in January 2010– gave board members a brief preview of what AADL is unveiling at a reception on Friday. Called “Old News,” the online archives will initially feature items selected for digitization primarily by library staff, with a focus on the 1960s and ’70s, but with other eras included as well.

The hope is that future additions to the collection will be driven in large part by queries from the public. As librarians respond to research requests – people seeking newspaper articles or photos about specific events, institutions, or individuals – AADL staff will digitize their findings to be posted online for anyone to access.

The launch will also include special features from the collection that the library staff felt would draw more interest, including hundreds of articles and photos related to John Norman Collins, a serial killer whose killings in the late 1960s drew national attention. Other features include the history of West Park, and the 1968 Huron River floods.

Podcasts will be posted of interviews with former Ann Arbor News staff – including long-time crime reporter Bill Treml and photographer Jack Stubbs. AADL staff is also interviewing owners of “heritage” Ann Arbor businesses. Initial podcasts include conversations with David Vogel of Vogel’s Lock & Safe, and Charles Schlanderer Jr. and Charles Schlanderer Sr. of Schlanderer & Sons Jewelry. Additional podcasts will be added to the collection over time.

Though the cornerstone of this collection is from the 174-year-old Ann Arbor News – which its owners, New York-based Advance Publications, shut down in mid-2009 – another 97,000 articles from local 19th century newspapers will be part of the initial launch, too.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, AADL director Josie Parker praised the librarians who’ve been the primary staff working on this project – MacLaren, Amy Cantu, Debbie Gallagher, and Jackie Sasaki – and thanked board members as well for their support. It was the board’s decision in 2009 to move ahead with the project that made the resulting work possible, she said. The library does not own the originals or hold the copyright to the material, but the library did not need to pay for the archives. AADL still incurs costs related to the project, including staff time, insurance, and leasing of the Green Road offices where the archives are located. That location is not open to the public.

A reception for the launch is planned for Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. in the downtown library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. The event will feature a talk on the digitization of newspapers by Frank Boles, director of the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University.

The News on “Old News”

In 2009, the AADL struck a deal with Herald Publishing Co. – a unit of Advance Publications – to take possession of most of The Ann Arbor News archives, including photographs and photo negatives (except for those related to University of Michigan football and basketball), clipping files and bound copies. The deal gives the library the right to digitize these materials, excluding the bound copies. The company retains ownership of the originals. AADL has the rights to control the use of the digitized content, but doesn’t have the right to sell the digitized work.

The bound volumes can be used by the library, but not digitized. That’s because the company owns microfilm copies of those volumes and plans to digitize the full newspapers. There are also copyright issues related to non-News content, like wire service articles and ads. However, library staff say the bound volumes are valuable as a research tool – for example, to figure out which of the photographs in the collection were actually published.

The digitization process is being handled by staff of the AADL’s information technology and production department, led by associate director Eli Neiburger. Each of the four librarians involved in the digitization devote half of their time to the project, working out of a windowless, climate-controlled office on Green Road – a set of rooms that formerly housed computer servers.

At that facility, one large room is filled with filing cabinets crammed with clips – about 90,000 envelopes categorized by names and 72,000 envelopes by subjects. Binders and boxes of photographs and negatives make up a large portion of the collection. Many of the photographs have never been published – a photographer might have taken and developed dozens of shots from any given assignment, but only one or two would likely be printed in the newspaper.

Andrew MacLaren with shelved, bound copies of The Ann Arbor News archives, located at a Green Road office complex.

A separate room contains tall shelves on which the bound, full-issue copies of The Ann Arbor News and other local newspapers are laid flat and stacked to avoid warping. The older issues have begun to deteriorate – the newsprint is yellowed and crumbling around the edges – and some copies are missing. [For decades, the archives had been stored in a basement at The Ann Arbor News building on Huron & Division, and though the room was locked, security was casual.]

The archives also include older newspapers that AADL has acquired separately from The Ann Arbor News. That includes issues of the Ann Arbor Courier from 1880-1881 and 1883-1888; the Ann Arbor Argus from 1888-1889 and 1891-1898; and the Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat from 1898-1899. These issues have been digitized and will be part of the initial “Old News” launch. The library has previously digitized the full run of the Signal of Liberty – from 1841-1848 – and the first four months of the paper it became in 1848, Michigan Liberty Press.

At Tuesday’s meeting, MacLaren told the board that the first few months of work involved simply trying to figure out and organize what they had received. Over the years, different filing systems had been used by the newspaper’s librarians, duplicate files were kept under different names, clippings were misfiled, and in general there had not been a consistent approach to organizing the collection. Part of the work by AADL staff was to create an index for all of the envelopes, files, binders, boxes and other material – much of the contents haven’t yet been explored.

There were discoveries along the way, as AADL staff went through the collection. Most dramatically, they found a silent film – a farce – made by the Ann Arbor News advertising staff in 1936 called “Back Page.” That film has been digitized and is posted on the AADL website, with an original score written and performed by the organist Steven Ball. It was shown for the first time this summer at the Michigan Theater, with a live performance by Ball. [See Chronicle coverage: "Milestone: The Past Speaks in a Silent Film"]

The staff used several approaches to help organize the collection and select initial content to digitize, MacLaren said. For guidance regarding the earliest newspapers, they relied on the seminal book “A History of the Newspapers of Ann Arbor 1829-1920,” by Louis W. Doll, published in 1959 by Wayne State University Press. That book has also been digitized and will be included in the “Old News” collection, he said.

In prioritizing the content to digitize, librarians who worked on the project selected topics they thought would be of historical value or of most interest to the public, based in part on research requests. There was also broader staff input – AADL employees could vote on which photos to digitize through a process that Neiburger calls the “Photomic Selecterizer” – a staff-only mode of the library’s online Points-O-Matic Click-O-Tron game.

In response to a question from board president Margaret Leary, MacLaren estimated that far less than 1% of the Ann Arbor News collection has been digitized at the point. The initial set going online – 18,000 articles and 3,000 photos – is a “drop in the bucket,” he said. For example, when the collection was delivered, the News estimated there were 900,000 photo negatives, which MacLaren now believes to be an estimate that’s extremely low.

“We’re not racing against time,” he said. “We’re racing against how much we have.” New material will be digitized each week and posted into the “Old News” collection. The public will be able to make research requests – emailing oldnews@aadl.org – which will help prioritize the content.

At Monday’s board meeting, Prue Rosenthal asked whether there is grant funding available to help pay for the digitization work. AADL director Josie Parker said they tried to apply for a grant but weren’t qualified – the grant specified that the digitization should be done from microfilm, not from original source material. Most grants also aren’t geared toward this type of unique situation, in which a newspaper has turned over its entire archives to a library. The staff will keep looking for grant opportunities, Parker added. Now that they have something to show, she said, there might be funding available for additional work related to the collection.

Leary said the project is a spectacular example of AADL seizing an opportunity that’s unusual for public libraries. It has tremendous current and future value to the whole community. She also praised staff for its work in adding this responsibility without outside funding and without reducing other services. It’s a credit to the staff and to Parker and her managers, Leary said.

The presentation concluded with the board giving MacLaren a round of applause.

Shelves of bound copies of The Ann Arbor News, stored in climate-controlled offices that are leased by the Ann Arbor District Library.

Bound copies of The Ann Arbor News. The stack in the lower right corner represents the final years, when the newspaper editions were considerably smaller than in previous years. The 174-year-old newspaper was closed by its owners in 2009.

Boxes of photo negatives from The Ann Arbor News.

A layout page from an Ann Arbor News special publication commemorating the newspaper's 150th anniversary in 1985. Several of these pages are posted on walls in the entryway to the offices that AADL is leasing to store the News archives. Many of the pages – like this one, with an ad from Jacobson's – feature companies that are no longer in business, like the News itself. (Links to larger image)

Present: Rebecca Head, Nancy Kaplan, Margaret Leary, Barbara Murphy, Jan Barney Newman, Prue Rosenthal. Also AADL director Josie Parker.

Absent: Ed Surovell.

Next meeting: Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the library’s fourth floor meeting room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

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Ann Arbor District Library trustees Ed Surovell and Rebecca Head. (Photo by the writer.)

Josie Parker briefed the board during her director’s report, saying she wanted trustees to be aware of the issue and of its potential impact on the library’s finances. Legislation has been introduced, but it’s not yet clear whether lawmakers will decided to eliminate the tax completely or simply reduce it. Also unclear is what – if any – options would be available to taxing authorities to replace that lost revenue. Parker noted that when Pfizer closed its Ann Arbor operation several years ago, the library also took a hit. Pfizer had been the city’s largest taxpayer.

Parker’s report also included news about a lawsuit brought by Herrick District Library against the Library of Michigan. The state library has decided not to appeal an August court of appeals decision, which ruled in favor of Herrick’s position. Herrick had challenged new rules that would have changed how public libraries qualify for state aid. The changes were seen as a threat to local control, by taking away certain decision-making authority from local libraries. AADL was the only individual library in the state to file an amicus curiae brief in support of Herrick.

There was no board discussion about a potential response to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’s excess tax capture decision. At issue is the interpretation of a city ordinance about tax increment finance (TIF) capture in the DDA’s downtown district. In July, the DDA board passed a resolution stating its opinion that the city’s ordinance does not require the DDA to return any money to taxing authorities in its TIF district – despite the fact that the DDA had already returned excess TIF revenue earlier this year.

The AADL is a taxing authority in the DDA’s TIF district and has been consulting with its legal counsel over the implications of that decision, as well as a possible response. Queried by The Chronicle after Monday’s meeting, Parker said the AADL has made no decision yet on the issue. [For background and analysis of the excess tax capture, see Chronicle columns: “Taxing Math Needs Another Look” and “TIF Capture is a Varsity Sport.”]

Director’s Report

AADL director Josie Parker told the board that it’s important to understand the implications of the possible elimination of the state’s personal property tax, which is being discussed by Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration and state legislators. The business tax is levied on non-permanent items like computers, industrial equipment and furniture. It contrasts with the state’s real property tax, which is levied on land and buildings.

The library has a dedicated millage, and would be among the taxing authorities affected by any reduction or elimination of the tax. The AADL is authorized to levy up to 1.92 mills. Its current budget includes a levy of 1.55 mills, unchanged from the previous year.

If the tax were eliminated, the library would lose an estimated $637,000 in revenue, Parker said.

It’s possible that the tax could be phased out over a period of several years, or that other revenue sources would be proposed by the state to replace it. But with an estimated $1.2 billion in tax revenue loss statewide, Parker said it’s slowly dawning on communities that if the personal property tax is eliminated, it would likely mean a loss of services too – ranging from police and fire services, to libraries. That’s especially true for municipalities and other taxing entities where the personal property tax makes up a large share of their total revenues, Parker said – in some cases, as much as 50%. Some libraries in the state have told the Michigan Library Association that they’d have to close completely, she said.

Earlier this month, David Zin, chief economist for the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency, issued a memo summarizing an analysis of the legislation – Senate Bill 34 and Senate Bill 142. He writes: “Individual local units’ reliance on personal property taxes varies significantly, with smaller and more rural local units generally less reliant on personal property taxes than more developed urban areas.” [.pdf of Zin's memo]

It’s a complicated issue, Parker said, but one that the board needs to be aware of.

At Monday’s meeting, trustee Ed Surovell acknowledged that there are problems with the tax, though he indicated it is not onerous. He said his accountant complains that the depreciation schedules are difficult – requiring, for example, that computers be depreciated over 10 years, which is far longer than the computer’s life cycle. His business, Edward Surovell Realtors, pays about $16,000 to $18,000 in personal property taxes, he said. Large manufacturers like GM, with factories in which the equipment is far more valuable than the buildings, would pay significantly more.

As a private citizen, Surovell said, he’s concerned about how the tax might be replaced. However, he said he didn’t think legislators will repeal it because they’re not smart enough to figure out how to replace it. If you don’t want to tax businesses, he added, you’ll have to tax citizens. “I don’t think the current legislature will want to do that.”

Parker reported that lobbyists are being told that taxes would have to be raised locally, to replace the state personal property tax. This might be done by raising the current caps on the amount that local taxing authorities can levy. Parker said there seems to be no real recognition that the communities hit hardest will have the least ability to impose higher taxes on residents.

Parker said there are voices in Lansing that are clearly comfortable with saying that no matter how much pain it causes, these steps are necessary to achieve their goals. In Ann Arbor, those opinions aren’t often heard, she said, but it’s important to know what people in other parts of the state – including legislators – are saying.

Barbara Murphy wondered what the intent was behind repealing the tax. Rebecca Head said the rationale being used is that the personal property tax is not conducive to job growth. Surovell expressed skepticism: “That’s a great statement because it’s not arguable – it’s not grounded on anything.”

Several groups have mobilized on the issue. The Michigan Library Association (MLA) has joined a raft of other organizations in the Replace Don’t Erase Personal Property Tax Coalition. Other groups in the coalition include the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Association of School Administrators, Michigan Association of School Boards, Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and the Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union.

Parker is chair of the MLA’s legislative committee, which has made the issue its top priority, according to a statement on the association’s website.

On Sept. 20, the day after AADL’s board meeting, Governmental Consultant Services Inc. – the Lansing firm led by Kirk Profit that serves as a lobbyist for the MLA and other entities, including the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County – issued a legislative briefing that addressed this issue. The document, authored by GCSI staff Erik Hingst and Nell Kuhnmuench, was sent to the MLA’s legislative committee. From that briefing:

As we have discussed, Senator Mike Nofs (R-Battle Creek) introduced Senate Bill 34 back in January that would eliminate the collection of Personal Property Taxes (PPT) in Michigan. Now that the Legislature has returned from the summer recess, the conversation regarding the outright repeal or phase out of PPT is beginning to escalate.

Clearly, the estimated $1 billion in projected revenue losses to local units of government would have a catastrophic impact on their operations and the state. While it would appear that the Administration is leaning toward replacing a portion of local revenues, an outright alternative dollar for dollar funding stream does not seem to be a priority for those advising the Governor.

The Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association and direct local units of government (through their respective Mayors and their elected and appointed officers) continue to call for a complete, constitutional replacement of any and all revenue. To date, neither the Senate nor the House has had any meaningful committee hearings on the issue. However, the likelihood of the legislature approving a replacement to be placed on the ballot would in our estimation be remote at this time.

The more likely scenario will be for the legislature to embrace the utilization of increased revenue the state estimates receiving from the replacement of the Michigan Business Tax with the new Corporate Income Tax and the elimination of a number of credits (advance manufacturing and the battery credits) that resulted from the adoption of the new corporate tax. The legislature could also establish a form of a local option for PPT through the expansion of local millage caps.

Regardless of the final product, the library community will have to be engaged in the conversation throughout the process. While the Association’s participation in the press conference calling for the replacement of revenue was an important first step, educating the members of the Senate and the House on the impact changes in this specific revenue stream will have on libraries will be critical! It will also be important for lawmakers to understand that District Libraries (and their specific, direct millages) will be in particular jeopardy.

We have begun our efforts on behalf of the Association with direct communication with Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley (the point person from the Administration on the issue) and his staff. Specifically, we have asked that they not forget District Libraries in particular when they draft their definition of “local units of government” so that they are equally eligible with other local units of government for whatever replacement revenue stream may be utilized.

We cannot stress enough the importance of the entire library community reaching out to their respective Senate and House members to emphasize the importance of replacing PPT revenue with a meaningful, reliable alternative!

Director’s Report: Herrick Lawsuit

Parker’s report also included news about a lawsuit brought by Herrick District Library against the Library of Michigan. The state librarian announced at a recent Library of Michigan board meeting that the state library won’t appeal a Court of Appeals decision, which was handed down in August and ruled in favor of Herrick. Rather than being appealed to the state Supreme Court, the lawsuit has ended, Parker said, and that’s good news. [.pdf of appeals court opinion]

By way of background, in 2008 the Library of Michigan announced new rules that would have changed how public libraries qualify for state aid. In 2009, Herrick District Library in Holland filed a lawsuit against the state library, challenging those new rules. Herrick argued that the state library has no authority to set these rules, and is taking away local control from district libraries.

From previous Chronicle coverage:

The lawsuit focused on rules requiring that a public library provide the same level of service to all areas it serves.

Libraries have the authority to contract with areas outside of its millage boundaries to provide varying levels of service. A contracting municipality, for example, could receive limited library services for its residents, and pay an amount lower than what’s levied by the library millage within the library district’s boundary. The new rules prohibit this approach – and if a library continued to provide contracted services at a lower level, it would not qualify for state aid.

Herrick’s lawsuit argues that the Library of Michigan and the state’s History, Arts and Library Department – which previously housed the state library but which has since been dissolved – lack statutory authority to set rules for determining how state aid is distributed to public libraries. The suit also argues that neither the state constitution nor the statutes that govern public libraries require that libraries deliver the same level of service to contracting jurisdictions. Finally, the lawsuit contends that because the new rules are vague and overly broad, they are unconstitutional.

At its December 2010 meeting, the AADL board voted to file an amicus curiae – or “friend of the court” – brief in support of the Herrick library’s position. Parker has provided previous updates on this lawsuit, including the board’s meetings in March 2011 and April 2011.

At Monday’s meeting, Parker noted that while four library cooperatives filed briefs in support of Herrick’s position, AADL was the only individual library to do so. She said she was proud that the board had stepped up and understood the issues. It’s clearly an historical decision with broad implications for other government agencies as well, she said.

Now, state aid will be distributed to libraries in compliance with the court of appeals ruling. More information about that method is expected to be communicated to libraries in October, Parker said.

Because of uncertainty associated with the status of state aid, AADL’s budgets for the past few years – including the budget for the current fiscal year, which the board approved in May – have not included any anticipated revenues from state aid. The library’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. [.pdf of 2011-12 budget] However, the library has continued to receive some state aid. In fiscal 2010-11, the library recorded $$67,562 in state aid, including $45,180 earmarked for the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled, which AADL operates. That’s down from a total of $71,634 in FY 2009-10.

Finance Report

Ken Nieman – AADL’s associate director of finance, human resources and operations – gave a brief financial update during the meeting. Through the end of August, the library has received $7,060,073 in tax revenues, or about 63% of what’s budgeted for the fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.

The library’s unrestricted cash balance stands at $12,755,062.

Nieman noted that four line items are over budget: employee costs, purchased services, communications and postage. Those expenses are expected to come back in line with budgeted amounts by the end of the fiscal year. [.pdf of full finance report]

There were no comments or questions from board members about the report.

Board Meeting Date Change

The library board typically meets on the third Monday of each month. On the agenda for the Sept. 19 meeting was a resolution changing the meeting dates for October and November. In each case, the meetings were moved to the next day – Tuesday, Oct. 18 and Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Board members didn’t provide a reason for the change during the meeting. In a follow-up email to The Chronicle, board president Margaret Leary clarified that scheduling issues drove the decision – she would have been unable to attend the meetings on their regular dates, and asked that the meetings be shifted.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to change the meeting dates in October and November.

Present: Rebecca Head, Nancy Kaplan, Margaret Leary, Barbara Murphy, Jan Barney Newman, Prue Rosenthal, Ed Surovell. Also AADL director Josie Parker.

Next meeting: Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the library’s fourth floor meeting room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

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Mary Hathaway spoke to the Ann Arbor District Library board about efforts to create a public gathering place atop the underground parking structure adjacent to the downtown library. (Photo by the writer.)

The commentary focused on what’s now being called the “Library Green” – an effort to create a public park atop the underground parking structure that’s being built on South Fifth Avenue, adjacent to the downtown library building. Advocates for the park conveyed that they’ve taken to heart the concerns of the library, and hope to partner with AADL to develop an area that benefits the public and helps the library to thrive.

The board began its meeting with a closed session, in part for the purpose of getting advice from AADL’s legal counsel. In her written report to the board, AADL director Josie Parker noted that the library is considering the legal and financial implications of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’s decision regarding “excess” taxes captured in the DDA’s tax increment finance (TIF) district.

Board members did not discuss this issue, but voted to schedule another closed session at their Sept. 19 meeting again to hear advice from legal counsel.

Public Commentary

It’s rare that people address the AADL board during public commentary time, but on Monday night four people attended in support of a public park – now dubbed “Library Green” – atop the city-owned Library Lot, adjacent to the downtown library. Three of them addressed the board. Alan Haber, who has frequently been the point person for this effort, attended the meeting but did not speak during public commentary.

Will Hathaway said he was representing a group of people who’ve been talking for several months about how to create a park on the land next to the downtown library, where an underground parking structure is currently being built – the parking structure is set to be completed in early 2012. He thanked AADL director Josie Parker for meeting with him and his mother, Mary Hathaway, about the project, and noted that AADL board member Ed Surovell had also met with them and had been very generous with his time. Hathaway said they’d come away from those meetings with a better understanding of the issues and challenges that the library faces, and he wanted to convey to the board how those conversations had a big impact on his group.

The group has been giving a lot of thought on how to address the library’s concerns, and how development of the Library Lot could have a synergy with the downtown library branch, Hathaway said. The group has also met with other people who have experience with downtown developments, he said. They’ve worked up sketches for possible development of a public park, taking to heart the aspirations and hopes of the library. Everyone in the group cares about the library and wants it to thrive at the center of Ann Arbor, he said, and that’s what he wanted to convey to the board.

Mary Hathaway said she agreed with her son’s statement, and that the group hoped to be partners with the library. Among other things, the group viewed part of their mission as addressing some of the problems that were found at another nearby public park, she said. [Hathaway did not identify the park by name, but was likely referring to Liberty Plaza at the southwest corner of Liberty and Division. It is often a hangout for panhandlers, and aside from certain events – like the Sonic Lunch concert series – the park is not widely used by the general public.]

Odile Hugenot Haber told the board that the group is now referring to the project as “Library Green” in hopes of attracting more support. [Previously, it has been called the "community commons."] Their vision is of a park with a playground, fountains, a theater and a “beautiful room” to hold events like weddings and community functions, Haber said. The more activities that take place there, the more diverse mix of people it will draw, she noted. Haber also addressed what she called a great fear that many people had of the homeless. Before coming to Ann Arbor she lived in Berkeley, California, she said, and helped start a movement called “Homeless, Not Helpless.” Many homeless people have skills, she noted, and we need to look at them not as bums, but as people who are down and out, yet who can still contribute to society. Haber urged the library to participate in developing the vision for a public commons.

Board members did not respond to public commentary during the meeting.

Director’s Report

Josie Parker had provided a written report to the board prior to Monday’s meeting. Included in it – but not discussed at the board meeting – was a note that the library is considering the legal and financial implications of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’s decision regarding “excess” taxes captured in the DDA’s tax increment finance (TIF) district. The AADL board began its meeting with a closed session to discuss the opinion of its legal counsel, as well as for labor negotiations.

Although the board did not discuss the issue during the public portion of its meeting, board members scheduled another closed session at its Sept. 19 meeting that includes getting the opinion of legal counsel.

At issue is the interpretation of a city ordinance about TIF capture in the DDA’s downtown district, and a decision by the DDA board made at a special meeting held on July 27, 2011. At that meeting, the DDA board passed a resolution stating its view that the city’s ordinance did not require the DDA to return money to taxing authorities in its TIF district – which the DDA had already returned earlier this year. The language of the resolution was somewhat vague, stating that “no redistribution to relevant taxing authorities is required.” The AADL is a taxing authority in the DDA’s TIF district.

Parker had attended the July 27 special meeting, and afterwards told The Chronicle that the library would be working with its legal counsel, Hooper Hathaway, in preparing a response to the DDA’s decision. AADL board member Nancy Kaplan also attended the DDA’s July 27 meeting. Then-president of Washtenaw Community College, Larry Whitworth, told The Chronicle after the DDA’s July 27 meeting that WCC was disturbed by the DDA’s decision and that the college – as one of the taxing authorities in the TIF district – would also be responding to the DDA. And in a phone interview with The Chronicle on Tuesday morning, Aug. 16, county administrator Verna McDaniel said the county’s legal counsel is also reviewing the DDA’s decision.

By way of additional background, earlier this year – at a May 20, 2011 DDA board meeting– board members had voted to accept a method of excess TIF calculation that amounted to roughly $473,000 of excess TIF capture since 2004, to be divided among taxing authorities that have a portion of their tax revenues captured in the DDA TIF district: Washtenaw County, Washtenaw Community College, and the Ann Arbor District Library. The library’s share was about $75,000. The calculation also called for $711,767 to be returned to the city of Ann Arbor, but the Ann Arbor city council waived that repayment.

The Chronicle has published two op-ed pieces on the subject, arguing that the method the DDA used to calculate the excess TIF was not accurate: “Taxing Math Needs Another Look” and “TIF Capture is a Varsity Sport.”

Director’s Report: Other Items

Parker’s written report also noted that Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Beta Sprint review panel. The DPLA’s steering committee is working to form a national digital public library – Parker participated in a working group for the effort earlier this year. The Beta Sprint project is looking for ideas and prototypes to show how the DPLA could index and provide access to a range of content. Based on the review panel’s recommendations, the DPLA steering committee – which includes Paul Courant, dean of libraries for the University of Michigan – will ask the creators of those ideas and prototypes to make presentations at a public meeting on Oct. 21, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

The director’s report also mentioned that Parker was asked write a blog post for the TechSoup for Libraries website. The post – titled “Utopian Benchmarks Are Not the Goal” – reflected on her experience as the representative for public library directors in the Public Access Technology Benchmarks Initiative, a consortium of 13 organizations working on a project funded by the U.S. Libraries Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In addition to her written report, Parker mentioned three other items at Monday’s meeting. A project that Parker had first described at the board’s Dec. 20, 2010 meeting – a six-part public series of lectures, documentary film screenings and other events titled “From Bluegrass to Broadway: A Film History of America’s Popular Music” – has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Neiburger and Tim Grimes, AADL’s community relations and marketing manager, are advisors on the project, which is spearheaded by the Tribeca Film Institute.

Parker noted that this is the second NEH project to which library staff are connected – Grimes is also helping develop an NEH-funded project titled “Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Worlds.” That effort will identify books and other resources that will ultimately be distributed to at least 1,000 public libraries nationwide, designed to spur discussion and programming about the Muslim culture. As a result of Grimes’ participation, AADL is one of six libraries chosen to serve as focus groups for the project. The focus groups will help gauge reaction to the books and themes proposed for the project. To be part of two NEH projects ”for a library our size, it’s pretty remarkable,” Parker said.

Parker also reported that she had attended a reception last week for the new Ann Arbor Public Schools superintendent, Patricia Green. She described Green as enthusiastic about being here – Parker said she looks forward to getting to know Green.

Finally, Parker gave the board an update on a decision the library staff made in 2004. Prior to that time, AADL contracted with a local collection agency to collect on accounts of unreturned materials and overdue fines. Once an account is turned over to a traditional collection agency, it’s all about the money, Parker said, and that wasn’t satisfactory to the library, which was interested in recovering its materials. So in 2004 AADL began contracting with the library division of Unique Management Services. [According to its website, the firm has trademarked a "Gentle Nudge" process to recover materials and fines.]

Parker said she just received a report from the firm for the period of February 2004 through July 2011. During that time, the return on investment for the library has been $7.12 for every dollar the library has paid the company. She said AADL will continue that service.

Responding to a question from board member Jan Barney Newman, Parker said that between 2004 and July 2011, the library submitted 10,233 accounts for collection. During that time, about $600,000 in cash was recovered, and about $122,000 in materials. She noted that collection is more difficult in a college town, with a more transient population. Parker also said it was important to put these numbers in the context of the library’s entire circulation – about 9 million items each year. Most people who use the library return their materials and pay their fines, she said.

Financial Report

Ken Nieman, AADL’s associate director of finance, HR and operations, gave a brief financial update to the board, referring to a written report provided in the board packet. [.pdf of finance report] He described the month of July as fairly typical, ending with a fund balance of $7.9 million and an unrestricted cash balance of $6.7 million. He noted that three items are currently over budget – employment costs, purchased services and communications – but are expected to fall back in line by the end of the fiscal year. The library’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.

Board members had no questions about the financial report.

December Meeting Date

The board voted on two items during its Aug. 15 meeting: (1) setting a closed session for its Sept. 19 meeting to discuss the opinion of legal counsel and for labor negotiations; and (2) changing its December meeting date from Monday, Dec. 19 to Thursday, Dec. 15. Both votes were unanimous, without discussion.

Present: Rebecca Head, Nancy Kaplan, Jan Barney Newman, Prue Rosenthal, Ed Surovell. Also AADL director Josie Parker.

Absent: Margaret Leary, Barbara Murphy

Next meeting: Monday, Sept. 19, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the library’s fourth floor meeting room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

The Chronicle relies in part on regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor District Library board. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

At issue is the interpretation of a city ordinance about TIF capture in the DDA’s downtown district, and a decision by the DDA board made at a special meeting held on July 27, 2011. At that meeting, the DDA board passed a resolution stating its view that the city’s ordinance did not require the DDA to return money to taxing authorities in its TIF district – which the DDA had already returned earlier this year. The language of the resolution was somewhat vague, stating that “no redistribution to relevant taxing authorities is required.” The AADL is a taxing authority in the DDA’s TIF district.

Parker had attended the July 27 special meeting, and afterwards told The Chronicle that the library would be working with its legal counsel, Hooper Hathaway, in preparing a response to the DDA’s decision. AADL board member Nancy Kaplan also attended the DDA’s July 27 meeting. Then-president of Washtenaw Community College, Larry Whitworth, told The Chronicle after the DDA’s July 27 meeting that WCC was disturbed by the DDA’s decision and that the college – as one of the taxing authorities in the TIF district – would also be responding to the DDA.

By way of additional background, earlier this year – at a May 20, 2011 DDA board meeting – board members had voted to accept a method of excess TIF calculation that amounted to roughly $473,000 of excess TIF capture since 2004, to be divided among taxing authorities that have a portion of their tax revenues captured in the DDA TIF district: Washtenaw County, Washtenaw Community College, and the Ann Arbor District Library. The library’s share was about $75,000. The calculation also called for $711,767 to be returned to the city of Ann Arbor, but the Ann Arbor city council waived that repayment.

The Chronicle has published two op-ed pieces on the subject, arguing that the method the DDA used to calculate the excess TIF was not accurate: “Taxing Math Needs Another Look” and “TIF Capture is a Varsity Sport.”

This brief was immediately after adjournment of the Ann Arbor District Library board, which meets in the downtown AADL building at 343 S. Fifth Ave. A more detailed report will follow: [link]