One of the “yarn bombed” trees in front of the Pittsfield branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, where the board held its July 15, 2013 meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

Fifteen people spoke during public commentary, a much higher than usual number. About half of the speakers, including several children, were there to earn points in AADL’s summer game, and spoke about their appreciation for the library and for the game in particular. Codes, which can be used to collect points in the game, were given to anyone who showed up to the meeting or spoke at public commentary. Later in the meeting board members received a briefing on the game from Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development, who talked about its role in encouraging kids to read and write during the summer months.

The board also was briefed on the recent Kids Read Comics convention, as well as new collections of non-traditional items – like home tools and microscopes.

In his financial report to the board, Ken Nieman, AADL’s associate director of finance, noted that library ended the year about $43,000 under budget for tax revenue. That amount includes $37,000 from tax refunds that AADL had to make to the county and various municipalities throughout the year, following decisions made by local tax tribunals. AADL had expected to make $75,000 of such refunds, but refunds totaled about $112,000 for the fiscal year, which ended June 30.

AADL director Josie Parker highlighted several staff accomplishments during her report to trustees, including news that an anonymous donor has given his classic video game collection to the library. The collection – which will be used for AADL events, but won’t be in circulation – includes cartridges and discs from the 1980s and ’90s, and a few game consoles.

Parker’s own achievement was highlighted by trustee Margaret Leary during the meeting: inclusion in a new collection of essays titled “Library 2020: Today’s Leading Visionaries Describe Tomorrow’s Library.”

During public commentary, Bob Rorke – a consultant working for the Protect Our Libraries political action committee – raised questions about AADL’s decision earlier this year to hire Allerton-Hill Consulting. Referencing excerpts from emails that Protect Our Libraries obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Rorke argued that the consulting contract is not a generic communications audit or project – but rather it’s political. He indicated that Allerton-Hill provides political advocacy for the passing of public financing issues, and asked the board to review this contract and determine whether it’s legal under Michigan law.

Public commentary also included thanks from Robb Wolfe, executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, for AADL’s ongoing support. Other topics raised by speakers touched on the condition of the downtown library, appreciation for events hosted by the library, and a report from the recent American Library Association conference.

The meeting also included a tribute to Karl Pohrt, who died earlier this month. Trustee Ed Surovell, an avid book collector, noted that many people knew Pohrt as the founder and owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop in downtown Ann Arbor. “But he was so much more than that,” Surovell said.

Tribute to Karl Pohrt

At the beginning of the meeting, board members amended their agenda to include an item paying tribute to Karl Pohrt, owner of the former Shaman Drum Bookshop who died on July 10, 2013 after being diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer in October 2012.

With his recent death, Ann Arbor lost a very valuable and valued member of the community, trustee Ed Surovell said. Many people know him as the founder and owner of Shaman Drum, he noted. “But he was so much more than that.”

A plaque on South University honoring Karl Pohrt, whose business – Shaman Drum Bookshop – was located around the corner on South State.

Pohrt was an enormous supporter of childhood literacy and community activities, hosting authors to speak at his bookstore, Surovell said. He was also a major supporter of downtown Ann Arbor, especially the State Street area where his shop was located. There was an enormous outpouring at a July 14 memorial service, Surovell reported, with people representing many generations and aspects of the community.

Margaret Leary, visibly emotional, said that she, Prue Rosenthal and Josie Parker had encountered Pohrt at AADL’s Traverwood branch following last month’s board meeting there. It was likely one of his last outings, she said, and although he was clearly ill, “he was very happy to be in the library, and we were very happy to see him.”

Rosenthal recalled working with Pohrt on the Ann Arbor Book Festival, saying he had been a huge proponent of that. She thanked Surovell for suggesting that the board honor Pohrt through a resolution.

Parker described Pohrt’s work on different projects with parallel missions, like the book festival and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads program. He had a gift for working with people, providing the “air” between these projects to prevent them from colliding. He was very quiet and self-effacing, she said, but at the same time “if he needed to, he pushed it – he wasn’t shy about that.”

Surovell noted that this is the only time in the board’s history that they have passed a resolution honoring an individual. The resolution, which Surovell composed extemporaneously at the board table, stated that the board “acknowledged the passing of one of the community’s great citizens. He was such an enormous part of what we, as a library, put forward and of what we all aspire to. We regret deeply his passing. We wish his family well, and hope that his work continues far into the future, and we celebrate all that he added to the community.”

Outcome: The board unanimously passed a resolution honoring Karl Pohrt.

Summer Game

AADL’s summer reading program, which is cast in the form of a game, was the focus of much public commentary, as well as a briefing by Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development. The game can be played in print or online, with points awarded for completing certain tasks, like reading a book, writing a review, or attending AADL events. Those points can be redeemed for prizes at the AADL “game shop.”

Summer Game: Public Commentary

Cheryl Orosz introduced herself and her daughter Samantha, describing the two of them as “avid summer game players.” They were attending to get the game points, she said, and to tell the board that they appreciate the opportunity it affords for community building and learning. Everyone in her family plays, she noted. Her husband attended the Townie Street Party that night to collect points, and her other daughter is at another program at AADL’s Malletts Creek branch. Her family has also created badges for other players to earn. It’s a great way to enhance search skills, she noted. “There are real life skills being developed,” Orosz concluded.

A sign with the code for collecting AADL summer game points for anyone who attended the July 15 board meeting at the Pittsfield branch. People who spoke during public commentary could get additional points.

Yingchen Jin said she likes the library a lot “since I don’t have many chapter books of my own, and I love reading.” She likes going to libraries close to her home, and participating in the summer game. She is trying her best to get as many points as she can.

Lydia Valtadoros told the board that she’s 11 years old and attends Slauson Middle School. She liked searching through the library’s catalog to find the codes so that she can earn points. Her 13-year-old brother, Philip Valtadoros, also goes to Slauson. He told the board that he loves the library and the summer game is his favorite program. “It’s like a big incentive for me to read over the summer.” He also likes the online game. He thanked the library for everything it offers.

Manish Venumuddula also liked the online summer game, saying “it’s fun to play the badges.” But it’s weird that some people have already gotten 100,000-point prizes, he said, and he didn’t think that was really possible. “I don’t know how people do it – it’s really hard to get points.”

His brother, Ashish Venumuddula, loved the Pittsfield library because it’s convenient for people who live nearby. He can walk or bike, and it’s very pleasant. He said he didn’t have a complaint about the Pittsfield branch, but he did have a complaint about the downtown library. The kids section there needs more non-fiction books, he said. “Other than that, I love the libraries.”

Elaine Cash expressed her thanks to the staff and board, saying that she and her children enjoy playing the summer games. As the mother of two kids, she’s always looking for activities in a kid-friendly environment, and there are always events going on at the library. “They’re free and always interesting,” she said, and she wanted to thank the board for that.

Summer Reading Game: Update

Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development, gave an update on the summer reading game – called Play@AADL – as well as on the Kids Reads Comics convention hosted at AADL in June.

The summer game still includes the classic paper game for elementary and middle school kids, he said. Kids read 10 books, getting stickers after finishing the third book and the eighth book. After they finish all 10 books, they get a real book to keep – courtesy of the Friends of the AADL, and the Scott & Marcy Westerman Fund. They also then get a “badge” and 1,000 points for the online game. The library has teen and adult paper games, too. As of that afternoon, 2,490 people had printed the teen game, and 3,684 had printed the adult game, Neiburger reported.

AADL director Josie Parker’s catfish. Players of the summer game can get points by going to her office and finding the code in the catfish’s mouth. Parker brought the catfish to the July 15 board meeting.

For the online version, players are four weeks into the 11-week game. About 2,800 online players have scored a total of over 20 million points so far. Out of that 20 million, 7 million points have been spent, he said. Points can then be redeemed at the “game shop” for T-shirts, caps, messenger bags and other items.

Points are earned in many ways, including reading, watching media, attending AADL events, volunteering at the library, commenting on an AADL blog post, and more. One way to earn points is by writing reviews, Neiburger said. So it’s not just a summer reading game, it’s a summer writing game too – and none of it is assigned. Kids are choosing to do these things, which is much more powerful, he said. “They’re seeing that writing is a way that you can see value on the Internet – that’s one of the primary things we wanted to help people learn as they play the game.”

There are over 450 game codes available, like those posted on the door to the room for the board meeting that night and at the public speaker’s podium. You can earn 76 different badges, each requiring different actions to complete. As an example, one series of badges is called “Airlines of Inquiry,” featuring now defunct airlines. One badge in the series is called The Line – named after the French airline “la Ligne.” That airline eventually became Aéropostale, “which teenagers are familiar with for a very different reason,” Neiburger joked. [It's the name of a popular clothing store.] It was also the airline that Antoine de Saint-Exupéry worked for as a pilot before he wrote “The Little Prince.” He was inspired to write the book during one of his flights for this airline. There are these kinds of tie-ins to children’s literature all across the game, Neiburger said.

There’s also the “Josie’s Catfish” badge that you get by going to the office of AADL director Josie Parker and finding the code in a stuffed catfish toy that she keeps there. She brought the catfish to the board’s July 15 meeting.

Neiburger also described the Kids Read Comics convention, which AADL hosted for the second year in June. As an all-ages comics convention, it’s unique because most comics conventions are expressly not for kids, he said. In contrast, Kids Reads Comics “is not just for kids, but there’s nothing that isn’t appropriate for kids, and that’s a very, very powerful opportunity.” It was produced by local cartoonist and teaching artist Jerzy Drozd; Dan Merritt, owner of Green Brain Comics in Dearborn; and comic book writer Dan Mishkin, whose work includes the DC Comics characters Amethyst and Princess of Gemworld.

This was the convention’s fifth year, and second year hosted by AADL. Over 900 people attended in the course of the two-day event, with 50 artists set up at tables. Typically artists must pay for their exhibit tables, but AADL doesn’t charge artists or attendees. Because there was no charge, Neiburger said, the event included artists at different points in their careers – including new artists, as well as New York Times bestselling comics authors like Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman. Ben Hatke, creator of Zita the Spacegirl, came with his 11-year-old daughter Angelica Hatke, who gave a talk together. Events included sessions on how to make comics, how comics are valuable for literacy, and “quick draws,” which Neiburger described as “improv for cartoonists.”

There was also an awards show, with awards like “Best Hair in Comics” and “Special Awards in Featuring Delicious-Looking Food.” Over 540 people cast ballots, with a ceremony in the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown library. “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way,” he said, “but it was probably the coolest thing that’s every happened in the boardroom.” [The room is where AADL's monthly board meetings are typically held.]

AADL will host the conference again next year, Neiburger reported, although a date hasn’t yet been set. It’s wonderful to see kids reading comics that really push them beyond their literacy levels, he said, because it gives them context they can use to understand the words that might be beyond their reading level.

Josie Parker noted that the Kids Read Comics convention was the AADL’s contribution to the Ann Arbor Book Festival, which didn’t have a separate children’s program this year.

New Collections

Celeste Choate – AADL associate director of services, collections and access – gave an update on the library’s collections of unusual, non-print items. She had given a similar briefing at the board’s Jan. 16, 2012 meeting.

Celeste Choate, standing, talks with Sheila Rice (left) and Lyn Davidge (right) before the start of the July 15, 2013 meeting of the Ann Arbor District Library board at the Pittsfield branch. Choate is AADL’s associate director of services, collections and access.

Choate began by reviewing some of the history of this type of collection, noting that the Ladies Library Association has for many years donated funds to the AADL to buy art books. Currently, there are about 1,500 such books in the collection. The books were so popular that AADL was inspired to start an art print collection, which includes work by local artists. It’s on the third floor of the downtown library, as well as displayed on the library walls. The catalog of prints is online, so that it’s easily searchable.

Given the popularity of the art print collection, over the years the library staff has looked for other non-traditional items to circulate. The collections are listed in “Unusual Stuff to Borrow” on AADL’s website. Choate’s presentation highlighted the newest categories: kids “book clubs to go,” home tools, science tools, and Up for Grabs.

The library has offered adult “book clubs to go” for several years, Choate said, and they’ve now done it for kids too. Each “to go” bag includes 10-12 books, a DVD if the book has been made into a movie, as well as possible discussion questions. It allows parents, teachers and kids to create a book club easily, she said, and enjoy the community experience of talking about books.

The collection of home tools launched in June, Choate reported, and includes a thermal leak detector, an 8-outlet wireless energy meter, and indoor air quality meter. These are items that might be too expensive for most people to buy for a one-time use.

In the science tools collection, the library has added microscopes to its collection of telescopes. The items have been selected for their ease of use, Choate said, and include a stereo microscope and portable digital microscope.

The Up for Grabs category is an attempt to make AADL’s collections more accessible, Choate told the board. A few of the more popular items can be set aside to be available for walk-in patrons only, to give them immediate access. Items in the Up for Grabs category can only be checked out for a week, however. The same items that are in the regular collection and that can be reserved are available for a two-week checkout period. The Up for Grabs items that are offered can vary, giving the staff flexibility in this category. “We’re trying this out to see how this model works,” she said.

Different libraries across the county offer different collections, Choate said, based on their communities. Some libraries have Halloween costumes that can be checked out, for example, or puppets or specialized baking pans. In response to a query from Barbara Murphy, Choate said AADL staff don’t think baking pans would circulate well in this community. AADL director Josie Parker added that there’s another issue – public health standards.

Before adding a collection, the AADL staff thinks about how it would fit within this community, Choate explained, and whether the collection can be sustained.

Choate said the next non-print collection, launching soon, will relate to dinosaurs.

Financial Report

Ken Nieman, AADL’s associate director of finance, HR and operations, gave the monthly financial report. Because the library’s fiscal year ends on June 30, he noted that invoices for the year are still trickling in and the numbers might change slightly from the information in the current report. He told the board that auditors will be doing the audit in September. [.pdf of financial report]

The library has an unrestricted cash balance of $8.019 million, and has received almost 100% of its tax revenue, totaling $11.2 million. The AADL fund balance is $8.2 million.

Three items are over budget for the year ending June 30, he noted: utilities, communications and software. The board made some budget adjustments at its June 17, 2013 meeting based on estimates that turned out to be too low. Nieman said the board will be asked to make additional adjustments to the previous year’s budget at its August meeting for these three line items.

The library ended the year about $43,000 under budget for tax revenue, Nieman reported. About $6,000 of that is from tax revenue that the library hasn’t yet received. The remaining $37,000 is from tax refunds that AADL has made to the county and various municipalities throughout the year, following decisions made by local tax tribunals. AADL had budgeted for $75,000 for those refunds, but that line item is coming in at $112,000 for the year.

There was no discussion among board members about this financial report.

Director’s Report

Josie Parker began her report by noting that the Tribeca Film Institute director has again asked AADL to partner on a project, this time focusing on immigration. The library had previously worked with Tribeca on the national “America’s Music” project. Tim Grimes, AADL’s community relations and marketing manager, and Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development, will serve on an advisory group representing public libraries. Parker said she was proud that they had been asked to participate a second time.

From left: AADL trustee Barbara Murphy and library director Josie Parker.

Parker also reported that for years during the week of art fairs, the library has set things up so that no checked-out items are due during that time period – so if you can’t make it to the downtown library because of traffic or a lack of parking, you don’t have to worry about whether the items you checked out are overdue. In addition, any requested item can be picked up at any of the branches, so it’s not necessary to come to the downtown library on South Fifth Avenue, in the heart of the art fairs. The hold period is extended so that items will stay on reserve until after the art fairs are over.

In other news, the library has received two “family favorite” awards from the Ann Arbor Family magazine, Parker reported. The library was voted as having the best “free” activities and the best story hour.

The library also received a certificate of appreciation from the Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative (MPRI), for AADL workshops given to people re-entering the workforce after prison. Parker cited Ira Lax and Beth Manuel of the AADL staff as being instrumental in that partnership.

Parker told the board about a couple of gifts the library recently received. Elaine Wilson donated a painting she’d made of construction at West Delhi bridge over the Huron River near her home in Dexter. Wilson thought kids would like it, Parker reported, so the painting will eventually be displayed at the Pittsfield branch.

Another gift was made by a donor who wants to remain anonymous. He donated his “classic” video game collection, with the understanding that it won’t be available for library check-out. Parker called it a significant collection.

Responding to a follow-up query from The Chronicle, Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and product development, wrote:

These are mostly cartridges and discs from the ’80s and ’90s, and a few game consoles. They will not be available for checkout. We’ve added this collection to our kit of event equipment and it will be used for our ongoing retro gaming events, open play, and classic game tournaments. Some examples include an extensive collection of Atari VCS (2600) cartridges and controllers, Nintendo and Super Nintendo cartridges, near-complete runs of the Sega Dreamcast and Panasonic / Matsushita 3DO game libraries, and a Nintendo Virtual Boy with all 14 known Virtual Boy games.

This stuff is fun to try and will make for many fun library events yet to come; young gamers get a kick out of our old school ways and it’s also a powerful dose of nostalgia for older players. If it turns out that there’s anything rare in the collection (we’re still going through it), we have the ability to transfer items to the University of Michigan Computer and Video Game Archive or other similar archival/museum collections if those would be better homes for some of the items.

Finally, some work has been done at the downtown library over the past couple of months, Parker said. On the second floor on the former reference side, a few years ago the library installed a “laptop bar” where computer users can plug directly into the library’s Ethernet connection. It’s been very well used, Parker said, so some empty vertical file cabinets were removed and that laptop bar has been expanded with eight new seats. About 10-12 people can now be accommodated there, she said, depending on how close people want to sit next to each other.

After Parker’s report, trustee Margaret Leary highlighted one of Parker’s own recent accomplishments. Joe Janes, a leading educator who formerly taught at the University of Michigan, recently edited a book titled “Library 2020: Today’s Leading Visionaries Describe Tomorrow’s Library.” It’s a collection of 24 commentaries on different subjects about the future of libraries. Parker wrote an essay that’s included in the section on leadership and vision. Leary recommended the book to anyone who’s interested in the future of libraries, and read aloud the first sentence from Parker’s essay: “The library in 2020 will offer a culture of generosity supported by fiscal oversight that reflects rigorous controls and realistic projections.” Leary indicated that this is a philosophy that Parker uses to guide the library now as well.

In response to a query from Barbara Murphy, Parker said the book will be available at AADL but it hasn’t arrived yet. It’s published in print and as an e-book. Parker also noted that the book includes an essay by Peter Morville, who lives in Ann Arbor. His essay is about inspirational architecture, which references public libraries. She noted that in talks he gives on this same subject, his slides include images of AADL’s Traverwood branch.

Committee Reports

The board has six committees: communications, budget and finance, facilities, policy, director’s evaluation and executive. Two of those – communications and facilities – were created as special committees at the board’s Jan. 21, 2013 meeting. On July 15, board members reported that none of the committees had met since the last board meeting, and there were no updates.

Communications & Commentary

The board meetings have two opportunities for public commentary – at the beginning and end of each meeting – as well as time for various communications from the board. In addition to commentary reported above, here are some highlights.

Communications & Commentary: Allerton-Hill Consulting

Bob Rorke continued a topic that he’s spoken about at previous meetings: AADL’s $28,000 contract with Allerton-Hill Consulting.

By way of background, the contract had been announced by Nancy Kaplan, chair of the board’s communications committee, at the board’s March 18, 2013 meeting. It fell under the threshold amount for contracts requiring board approval. The Protect Our Libraries political action committee subsequently filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the contract, and posted those documents online at the Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository. Rorke is working as a consultant for Protect Our Libraries. [.pdf of Rorke's written statement, which was read at the AADL board's July 15, 2013 meeting]

From left: Bob Rorke, Doug Jewett and Kathy Griswold, who videotaped the July 15 meeting.

From emails sent and received by board members and AADL director Josie Parker, Rorke traced the origins of the contract to a suggestion from University of Michigan assistant professor Luke Shaefer, who emailed Parker in mid-December of 2012 about Joel Gagne, owner of Allerton-Hill. Shaefer wrote: “My colleague and friend, Joel Gagne, runs a consulting firm that helps public entities communicate more effectively with the public, particularly around tax levies. His firm has a track record of working on campaigns that have resulted in hundreds of millions of additional dollars in public investments.”

Rorke read aloud excerpts from additional email exchanges between Parker and trustee Margaret Leary, who was board president at the time, which indicated that at least some of the conversations with Allerton-Hill were linked to the failed bond proposal. From an email sent to Leary by Parker: “The consultant from Allerton Hill was very blunt about our chances of success anytime in the next couple of years: not possible. I’m hearing that from everyone who wants to talk to me, and I’m listening. It is humbling, but not hopeless.” [Leary also serves on the board's communications committee, along with Kaplan and Ed Surovell. It had been created as a special committee at the board’s Jan. 21, 2013 meeting.]

During the July 15 public commentary, Lou Glorie followed Rorke and read a portion of his written statement, describing references provided by Allerton-Hill to the AADL, which had been included in a January 2013 email. The four references provided by Allerton-Hill were previous clients – including three school systems – that had used the consulting firm on bonding or other voter-related campaigns.

During public commentary time at the end of the meeting, Rorke continued his remarks. He said the hiring of Allerton-Hill was born out of the November 2012 defeat of AADL’s bond proposal to fund a new downtown library, and the initial interest in the consulting firm was for political purposes. The references from clients are all political, he noted.

Rorke argued that the Allerton-Hill consulting contract is not a generic communications audit or project – but is instead a political project. Allerton-Hill provides political advocacy for the passing of public financing issues. He asked the board to review this contract and determine whether it is legal under Michigan law.

In response to Rorke’s final public commentary, Barbara Murphy noted that the guidelines for public commentary indicate that no speaker can address the board more than once on the same topic during the same meeting. She felt that this rule should be followed in the future.

The board’s guidelines for public commentary are:

1. Persons who wish to address the Library Board may reserve time on any regular or special meeting agenda by calling 327-8311 by 5:00 p.m. of the weekday preceding the meeting. Persons who have not reserved time in advance may speak after those who have reserved time.

2. Maximum time for individual speakers will not exceed three minutes.

3. One speaker may yield his/her time to another if both have signed up and both are in attendance at the meeting.

4. No person may speak more than once on the same subject during a single meeting.

5. Citizens’ Comments at special meetings or study sessions will occur at the end of the meeting. Maximum time for individual speakers will not exceed three minutes.

6. Trustees, Director, and Administrators will not answer questions during Citizens’ Comments. The speaker may request a response in writing. Trustees may, with the permission of the Board President, ask a question of a speaker. No dialog will occur.

7. Individuals addressing the Board should take into consideration rules of common courtesy.

Communications & Commentary: Downtown Library

Don Salberg said he was a long-time resident of northeast Ann Arbor. In November 2012, when the library’s bond referendum was put before voters, he noted, one of the issues that the library board raised was the need to do maintenance and upgrades to the downtown building, particularly to the electrical system so that there would be adequate power outlets for people to power their devices. The board had also indicated that there may be some ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliance problems with the elevators, and that the boiler and cooling units might need to be replaced, he said.

It was understood that these issues would be deferred, if there was a possibility that a new library might be built. However, the bond proposal was defeated. So eight months later, he said, he was urging the library to do the necessary maintenance and upgrades to meet the building’s needs that were identified before the vote. He said he is unaware whether any of these projects have been started. He hoped that requests for proposals (RFPs) had been put out to electricians. His understanding now is that the ADA issue might not be a serious problem, and that perhaps the HVAC system doesn’t need to be replaced. If money isn’t available through the operating funds, Salberg suggested using the library’s reserves.

Communications & Commentary: Ann Arbor Summer Festival

Robb Wolfe, executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, reported that the previous week concluded the festival’s 30th season – a comment that drew applause from the board and others attending the meeting. He thanked the library for its support of the 2013 season, and for the library’s participation. Hundreds of families enjoyed AADL’s Kids Rock concert series at Top of the Park, he said. Hundreds more visited the Kids Zone tent, where library staff and volunteers hosted interactive, hands-on activities with children and their parents. And the Superhero digital art exhibition involved hundreds of kids, projecting images onto Burton Tower.

These projects, along with other workshops held at the downtown library, were admission-free, he noted. “They would not be possible without the library’s generous support.” Wolfe said he thinks of the Summer Festival as a big adventure that allows this community to come together and experience the arts and the world around them. “In many ways, I see that same sense of adventure in the work that the library does,” he said.

Communications & Commentary: Library Events

Anna Onna Solomon, who lives in the Eberwhite neighborhood, recalled that she’d spoken to the board in the past as a new mom, thanking them for all that the library does for new families. She’s the program director for a local autism services agency, and part of its mission is to educate communities throughout Michigan. She and others often give free talks at the library, and one of their goals is to give similar free talks around the state at public libraries in other communities. However, she said, to their shock and surprise they learned that not a lot of communities offer the kind of talks that AADL offers. “I just took it for granted, until I started looking around the state.” She thanked the library for offering that unique service. Solomon also noted that she started playing the summer game, and has enrolled her son as well.

AADL trustees Ed Surovell and Prue Rosenthal.

Donald Harrison commented on a recent event at the library – a screening of the film “Room 237″ about Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” It was a fascinating, fantastic movie, he said. The event, which also featured one of the people interviewed in the film, had a great turnout, he noted. The room filled to capacity, so some people might say that the space was adequate. “But it was one of the most uncomfortable screenings I’ve been to in recent memory.” Harrison said he had to sit sideways, with his neck turned at an angle.

So when talking about capacity, the discussion should include not just the number of seats, Harrison said, but also the quality of the venue. He said he’d think twice about going to a film if there were more than 30-40 people there, because the sight-lines are terrible. The AADL programming is great, but the focus also needs to be on the quality of the experience, he said. “And the summer game is awesome,” Harrison concluded.

Communications & Commentary: American Library Association

Lyn Davidge began by showing the board her badge from the recent annual conference of the American Library Association, held in Chicago. When she worked as a librarian at the University of Michigan, it was a fun custom in her department for people who went to conferences or on vacation to bring back trinkets for other staff members. Since she retired, she’s a very frequent user of AADL, “so you have become, more than ever, my staff here,” she said. Davidge described herself as an AADL board constituent, a taxpayer, and a member of the electorate that put the board in office. So it seemed appropriate to bring back some “goodies” from ALA, she said.

Davidge encouraged board members to attend an ALA conference, if they haven’t done so recently. It’s a great way to experience the big picture and learn about the complex issues facing libraries, she said, and gain insights for possible collaborations among different types of libraries. She stressed that she’s not advocating for an expensive junket for all the board at taxpayer expense. But she hoped that her “goodie packet” would get them thinking about going independently. The packet included a red tag that said “Trustee,” which was distributed at the conference. She also provided information about two ALA divisions: (1) the Public Library Association, and (2) United for Libraries, the division for trustees.

Code Coda

AADL summer game players can earn 500 points for reading this report. The code is the last word in the “New Collections” section of this article.

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

Next meeting: Monday, Aug. 19, 2013 at 7 p.m. at the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [Check Chronicle event listing to confirm date]

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From left: Ann Arbor District Library trustee Jan Barney Newman and AADL director Josie Parker. (Photos by the writer.)

The $112,150 contract with Merit Network, a nonprofit based in Ann Arbor, would put the Pittsfield branch on par with high-speed connections throughout the rest of the AADL system. The branch had been described to the board as a “bandwidth backwater,” with about 2% of the Internet connectivity speed compared to other AADL locations. The project will be paid for with money from the library’s fund balance.

In other action, the board approved final budget adjustments for the fiscal year ending June 30 – a routine procedure.

In her director’s report, Josie Parker highlighted the launch of the library’s popular summer reading game, and announced that Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads is soliciting suggestions for its 2014 selection – a work of fiction. The theme is “A Very Good Read.”

During public commentary, Doug Jewett focused his remarks on the Michigan Open Meetings Act, especially as it relates to committee meetings. Bob Rorke discussed the results of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Protect Our Libraries political action committee, related to the AADL’s hiring of Allerton-Hill Consulting. Reading through the 634 pages of material the library had produced in response to the FOIA request had raised some concerns for Rorke, including questions about whether the library was using public monies for political purposes.

Pittsfield Fiber-Optic Project

In its main action item, the board was asked to approve a $112,150 contract with Merit Network to build and maintain a connection from AADL’s Pittsfield branch to Merit’s existing high-speed network. Merit, a nonprofit based in Ann Arbor, has focused on serving the state’s educational market since the 1960s.

The board had been briefed at its May 6, 2013 meeting by Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and production. He had described that location at 2359 Oak Valley Drive as a “bandwidth backwater,” with about 2% of the Internet connectivity speed compared to other AADL locations.

Merit currently provides AADL’s main connection to the Internet. The Pittsfield branch is outside of the city of Ann Arbor’s I-Net (Institutional Fiber Network) and currently uses much slower T1 and cable TV connections. Merit had proposed building a new fiber run from the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) on Wagner Road over to Pittsfield.

The resolution proposed on June 17 included a transfer of $120,000 from the library’s fund balance to its communications line item in the FY 2013-14 budget. The board had passed its FY 2013-14 budget on May 6, for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2013. The arrangement with Merit is expected to include ongoing annual costs of $2,625.

Pittsfield Fiber-Optic Project: Board Discussion

Margaret Leary began the discussion by saying she’d read a comment online from someone who said he uses the Pittsfield branch and had never experienced any problem with the Internet service there.

AADL trustees Ed Surovell and Prue Rosenthal, who serves as president of the board.

Leary recalled that Neiburger had been “quite convincing” in explaining the need for this upgrade. [He did not attend the June 17 meeting.] She speculated that not all users would likely have a problem all the time. “We’re just trying to make it so good so that nobody – no matter how heavy their use or how big the file that they’re downloading – will ever have a problem,” Leary said.

AADL director Josie Parker confirmed that not everyone would experience problems, but many people do. That branch simply doesn’t have the capacity, she said. It depends on the time of day and other factors, she added, saying it’s “much, much slower than the rest of the system.” Barbara Murphy made an analogy to a pipe – “there’s only so much you can run through it.”

Ed Surovell wondered whether the library could fund this project from the surplus remaining at the end of the current fiscal year, rather than from the fund balance. Parker clarified that the contract will be paid in the next fiscal year, not the current one. The current fiscal year ends on June 30, 2013.

Parker also explained that the difference between the $120,000 fund transfer and the $112,150 contract will be used to pay for “make ready” costs, such as digging up the existing line and getting it ready for the new connection.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the contract with Merit Network.

FY 2012-13 Budget Adjustment

The board was asked to approve minor year-end adjustments to the budget for fiscal year 2012-13, which ends June 30. This is a standard action at the end of the fiscal year.

The adjustments entailed making the following transfers:

• $18,000 from capital outlays to the supplies line item.
• $15,000 from capital outlays to the utilities line item.
• $12,000 from repairs & maintenance to the communications line item.
• $4,000 from repairs & maintenance to the line item for other operating expenditures.
• $10,000 from the fund balance/restricted funds to the programming line item.

There was minimal discussion. Nancy Kaplan, chair of the board’s budget and finance committee, pointed out that this is a typical practice at the end of each year. She said she had checked with Ken Nieman, AADL’s associate director of finance, who had explained to her that because the library has a line-item budget, these transfers need to be made in order to comply with state law. It’s for the fiscal year that’s concluding on June 30, not the coming year, she said.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the FY 2012-13 year-end budget adjustments.

Financial Reports

AADL director Josie Parker presented the financial reports for April and May, in the absence of Ken Nieman, AADL’s associate director of finance, HR and operations. [.pdf of April 2013 financial statement] [.pdf of May 2013 financial statement]

Parker focused her brief presentation on the most current financial statements, for the period ending May 31. As of May 31, 2013 the library’s unrestricted cash balance was $8.775 million, down from $9.91 million at the end of April. The fund balance stood at $8.363 million as of May 31. The library had received 98.5% of its budgeted tax revenues for the year, or $11.038 million. At the end of May, there was an operating surplus of $417,846.

Committee Reports

The board has six committees: communications, budget and finance, facilities, policy, director’s evaluation and executive. Two of those – communications and facilities – were created as special committees at the board’s Jan. 21, 2013 meeting.

Most of the committees had not met since the last board meeting, and there was nothing to report.

The one exception was the policy committee. Barbara Murphy noted that the policy committee had met earlier this month and talked about the role of the committee in relation to the library and policy management. The library staff is reviewing AADL’s policy manual, she said, looking for anything that needs updating. The staff will bring that to the policy committee later this year, Murphy said.

Director’s Report

AADL director Josie Parker began by noting that the library’s summer reading program kicked off. This year, the theme is dogs. The program is cast in the form of a game, with points awarded for reading/listening to books, watching movies, posting reviews on the library’s website, and other activities. She encouraged board members to play, and asked others at the meeting if any of them were on the leader board – about half the people in the room raised their hands.

Some of the badges that can be earned by playing the Ann Arbor District Library summer reading game.

From the audience, Donald Harrison asked if a game code would be given for people who attended the board meeting. [Points are awarded for attending an AADL event – including board meetings. At the event, a code is announced that allows you to redeem the points.] Parker laughed, and said the staff could create a code for the meeting. It was announced before adjournment.

For additional background on AADL’s summer game, see Chronicle coverage: “AADL Gets Its Game On.”

Parker also reported on AADL’s new short story contest for grades 3-5, which recently concluded. There were 99 entries from a wide range of schools, including the Michigan Islamic Academy, several Ann Arbor Public Schools elementary schools, Ann Arbor Learning Community, Honey Creek Community School, Heritage School in Saline, Ann Arbor Christian, and home-schooled students. An awards ceremony in early June featured Shutta Crum, a local author and former AADL librarian.

Trustee Barbara Murphy asked if the board could see some of the stories that were submitted. “They’re so young. I’d love to know what kind of stories they write,” she said. Parker quipped: “Short ones – very short ones.”

Parker also recognized Terry Soave, AADL’s manager of outreach and neighborhood services, for her work setting up an online repository for documents that can be used by all libraries for the blind and physically handicapped nationally. Parker read aloud a resolution from the Northern Conference of Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, specifically commending the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled, which is managed by the AADL. Parker noted that the AADL has been responsible for the WLBPD for less than five years. Soave has led the effort and should be congratulated publicly, Parker said. The board gave Soave a round of applause.

Finally, Parker noted that Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads has changed its focus a bit and is going to select a work of fiction for 2014. The previous selections have been non-fiction. The theme for 2014 is “A Very Good Read.” Parker encouraged anyone who has a suggestion to submit it to the AAYR selection committee.

Communications & Commentary

The board meetings have two opportunities for public commentary – at the beginning and end of each meeting – as well as time for various communications from the board. Here are some highlights.

Communications & Commentary: Public Commentary

Doug Jewett addressed the board about the Michigan Open Meetings Act. He read from material that had been prepared by Ellen Richardson, a former law library specialist for the Library of Michigan. The materials were directed specifically for the trustees of local library boards, he said. Jewett read excerpts from a document dated July 1999:

Most library boards are well versed in meeting these basic requirements. Trustees know what constitutes a quorum, how to allow for public comment, and how and when to post notice of regular and special meetings. Questions usually arise about some of the finer points of the act. What about closed sessions? What about committee meetings?

Closed sessions are allowed only for the limited purposes stated in Section 8 of the act. Library trustees who have served on boards in the private sector are often surprised at how limiting the exceptions are, especially in regard to personnel issues. Unless the person subject to an evaluation, a disciplinary action, or complaints, asks for a closed session, such matters must be handled in a public meeting. It often takes a great deal of discipline and tact to address these issues in a respectful yet effective way under the glare of public scrutiny. The act also outlines the procedures that must be followed before the board may go into closed session. This is not an easy area of the law. Trustees should make it a practice to consult legal counsel before a closed session is held.

Do committee meetings need to follow the requirements of the Open Meetings Act? It has long been established that library board committees and subcommittees which include a quorum of library board members must comply with the act. What if there is less than a quorum of board members on the committee? Board committees, such as a budget committee, are usually charged with a specific duty and delegated the authority to carry out that duty. Deliberations and decisions are made in the committee meetings which will lead toward the final decision-making by the full board. Recent Michigan Supreme Court decisions indicate that it is probably wise to make sure that all such committee meetings are open to the public.

Trustee Jan Barney Newman asked Jewett if Richardson’s advice applied to all committee meetings, or just the budget committee. He replied that he didn’t think it was Richardson’s intent to single out only budget committee meetings, but he couldn’t speak for her beyond what she had written. [By way of background, the AADL board's committees consist of less than a quorum of board members, and are not open to the public. In the past board members have defended that approach, saying that no decisions are made during those meetings, just recommendations that are brought to the full board.]

Members of the public at the June 17, 2013 Ann Arbor District library board meeting. From left: Donald Harrison, Shoshana Hurand, Lyn Davidge and Irene Dernberger.

Bob Rorke talked about the AADL’s decision to hire Allerton-Hill Consulting, which had been announced at the board’s March 18, 2013 meeting. The firm had been hired to conduct a communications audit for $28,000. A few weeks ago, Rorke said, the Protect Our Libraries political action committee had filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the contract. After reading through the 634 pages – which he said he did twice – Rorke was somewhat concerned and had several questions. [Documents related to the FOIA response are posted online at the Ann Arbor Area Government Document Repository.]

Rorke referred to the first two objectives listed in the Allerton-Hill proposal. The first objective is to provide high-quality research on voter attitudes on the library. Rorke noted that the reference is to voter attitudes, not patron attitudes. The second objective is to offer high-quality long-term messaging so that the AADL is successful in its public initiatives. He assumed that public initiatives referred to ballot proposals and possibly bond proposals. “Clearly, Allerton-Hill is a political consultant doing political work for a political campaign,” Rorke said – that’s their business. It raises a concern about using public monies for these purposes, he said, and whether it’s legal under Michigan law.

Rorke referred to his experience as a former Ann Arbor Public Schools board member, saying that they had well-defined constraints on spending for political purposes. They were limited to talking about facts, and not doing anything in terms of advocacy. “So my question tonight is where do we stand on this particular contract,” he said. Rorke also wondered if the contract was awarded through a competitive bid, and in particular whether any Michigan firms had been considered. [Allerton-Hill is based Columbus, Ohio.]

The board did not respond to Rorke’s questions during the meeting.

Lyn Davidge told board members that it’s an excellent idea to hold the meetings in various AADL branches, at least for the summer months. However, she hoped that in the future there were be microphones for the board members to use – it had been very difficult to hear what they were saying, “and I have passable hearing,” she said. She had never been to the Traverwood branch, Davidge said, but she’d attended other types of meetings at other branches and microphones were used. It would be helpful to use them, she said.

Don Salberg welcomed the board to his neighborhood, saying that he lived about three blocks from the Traverwood branch and thought it was nice that they were using the facility for their board meeting. Now that the bond referendum for a new downtown library had been defeated, he felt it was time to pay attention to maintenance and upgrades that had been considered for the existing downtown library prior to the November 2012 referendum. Specifically, he suggested increasing power outlets, citing the trend of patrons who are bringing laptop computers and smartphones that need to be charged. The library should also consider upgrades to the heating and cooling systems, as well as the lighting. All of these upgrades would likely cost less than 1% of the library’s reserve fund, he said, and should therefore be affordable.

Communications & Commentary: Board Communications

Board president Prue Rosenthal responded to public commentary that Don Salberg had given at the board’s May 6, 2013 meeting. She cited Salberg’s statement that when Luckenbach|Ziegelman Architects was hired by the library several years ago to develop schematics for a new downtown building, the architects had stated that very few people were coming to the library to do research because they were primarily using the Internet to do that work.

Rosenthal said she went back and reviewed the information that Luckenbach|Ziegelman Architects had provided to AADL, “and I found nothing that said anything like that.” She read from the architects’ proposal: “The incredible wealth of information available on the Internet and its World Wide Web, the speed and accuracy of search like Google, have made the Internet the platform of preference for reference materials.” It goes on to discuss the patrons who can or can not access that information, she said. Rosenthal stated that she wanted to set the record straight.

Near the end of the meeting, Nancy Kaplan, who chairs the board’s communications committee, wondered what members of the public felt about the board’s decision to hold its meeting at Traverwood. She noted that the board intends to hold meetings at other branches, and it would be nice to have some feedback. The July 15 meeting will be at the Pittsfield branch. Margaret Leary suggested that people could give their feedback via the AADL’s website.

Jan Barney Newman encouraged others to check out the digital library services at University of Michigan. [She was referring to the Digital Media Commons at the Duderstadt Center on north campus.] The experience is exhilarating, she said, “and it’s an extension of what libraries can offer.” She said Rob Pettigrew had led a tour, which included a 3-D computer lab, sound lab and video lab.

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, July 15, 2013 at 7 p.m. at the Pittsfield branch, 2359 Oak Valley Dr. [Check Chronicle event listing to 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. Check out 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!

Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and production, talks with AADL board president Prue Rosenthal in the small room off of the fourth-floor boardroom. The former closet is used as a studio for podcasting. (Photos by the writer.)

Nancy Kaplan, chair of the board’s new communications committee, announced that AADL will hire Allerton-Hill Consulting to do a communications audit and plan for the library, to be completed this year. The decision was made in consultation with AADL director Josie Parker, Kaplan said. It didn’t require a board vote because the amount of the contract is the maximum for not triggering board approval: $28,000. Contracts for purchases over that amount must be authorized by the board.

Board president Prue Rosental, in supporting the decision, noted that during the campaign to pass a bond for a new downtown library – which voters rejected on Nov. 6, 2012 – library advocates learned that “people in the community didn’t know what we do and how well we do it.”

Some of those “what we do” activities were highlighted during two presentations at the meeting: (1) an overview of AADL podcasts produced by staff and patrons; and (2) a report from Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and production, about his recent trip to Germany as a guest of the U.S. State Department and Zukunftswerkstatt (“Future Workshop”), visiting libraries in several cities. The head of the Zukunftswerkstatt was interested in using AADL’s efforts as a model to get German libraries more involved with younger communities, using gaming and other activities. As a result of the partnership with AADL, a dozen libraries in Germany have started running events through the GT System, which AADL staff developed. A league tournament is being held, and three winners will come to Ann Arbor for the May 19 German-American Gaming League Championships, held at the AADL.

Communications was also a topic during public commentary. Libby Hunter, a member of the Protect Our Libraries political action committee, urged the board to be more open and transparent, asking them to allow the public to attend committee meetings, to videotape their meetings for broadcast on Community Television Network, and to explain their use of closed sessions in relation to the Michigan Open Meetings Act. And Don Salberg asked for more information related to the condition of the downtown library, and for details on the board’s rationale for wanting a larger building on that same site.

Also during public commentary, Stewart Gordon spoke briefly about an effort to put a skating rink on the city-owned Library Lane site, adjacent to the downtown library on South Fifth Avenue. He hoped the topic could be put on the board’s agenda at some point.

The one resolution that was on the board’s agenda was unanimously approved: A one-year contract extension with Pace Mechanical Services for $83,865. The contract, which will run through June 30, 2014, covers HVAC equipment and maintenance.

The board also talked briefly about its budget preparations for fiscal 2013-14, which begins July 1. The budget and finance committee will bring a draft budget to the board’s April 15 meeting, with a vote on the budget scheduled for May 20. For the current fiscal year, the AADL has a budget of about $12 million, with a millage rate set at 1.55 mills.

Public Commentary

Three people spoke during public commentary at the start of the March 18 board meeting.

Stewart Gordon told the board that he works for the University of Michigan Center for South Asian Studies, but as an avocation, he’s interested in the idea of putting a skating rink on the Library Lane site. It’s an idea that’s been kicking around, he said, and there’s been a great deal of excitement and interest in it. He gave board members a handout that showed details of the plan, and said he hoped the project could be put on the board’s agenda at some point for discussion. [The following day – on March 19, 2013 – Gordon and Alan Haber made a more formal presentation on the same topic to the Ann Arbor park advisory commission. (.pdf of skating rink handout)]

Don Salberg started by saying he’s a retired physician who has lived in northeast Ann Arbor for 38 years. He said he’s a great proponent of the current library. He posed three questions. First, he said, at the Oct. 9, 2012 candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters, board member Margaret Leary stated there had been a detailed review of the downtown library four years ago, and another review in the spring of 2012. He wondered if there were documents available related to those reviews that aren’t currently on the library’s website. If so, he’d like to examine those documents.

Secondly, Salberg said he suspected that the library building would have periodic safety inspections, with certificates of inspection or perhaps a report. He asked to see the most recent report on such an inspection. Finally, he understood that the board had thought it was too expensive to pay for architectural designs of a new library, given that they weren’t sure if the library bond would pass. But there must be a reason why the board decided that AADL needed a 160,000-square-foot new building, rather than duplicating the current, 110,000-square-foot building or constructing an even larger building – perhaps 200,000 square feet.

He said he knew that there were features the board wanted in a new library, like a 400-seat auditorium. He had checked other 400-seat auditoriums in Ann Arbor and said he found that those spaces ranged from 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. If you subtract 10,000 square feet from the additional 50,000 square feet that would be in the larger proposed library, “that still leaves 40,000 square feet unaccounted for.” He assumed they would want a kitchen and perhaps a dining facility: What would be the capacity of that? He assumed the rest of the extra space would be offices and meeting rooms, and he wanted to know their vision in terms of size and capacity, and why they figured that a library needs these spaces.

Libby Hunter told commissioners that she has lived on the west side of Ann Arbor for about 10 years, and is a member of the Protect Our Libraries political action committee. Members of that committee have concluded that the AADL board’s committee meetings should be open to the public, she said. PAC members have made calls to other communities, she said, and found out that library board subcommittee meetings are open to the public in Grosse Pointe, Birmingham, East Lansing and Grand Rapids. The only other place they checked was Kalamazoo, which she said has a lot of subcommittees and the board there is looking into the legalities of having some of those meetings public. “We’re wondering how all of you feel about that,” Hunter said.

Kathy Griswold of the Protect Our Libraries political action committee attended the March 18 meeting of the Ann Arbor District Library board.

Hunter also said the community and library would benefit from public viewing of all of the library meetings on Community Television Network (CTN), “especially since the space is set up for it.” She wondered how the board felt about that.

By way of background, at its May 16, 2011 meeting, AADL board member Nancy Kaplan brought forward a resolution to videotape board meetings. It was defeated on a 2-4 vote, with support only from Kaplan and Barbara Murphy – trustee Ed Surovell was absent. No trustees spoke publicly during the meeting about their reasons for voting against it. The board had heard feedback from staff on the issue at its April 25, 2011 meeting, indicating that the logistics would be difficult for AADL staff to manage. CTN records and televises several other meetings that are held in the same boardroom as the library board meetings – on the fourth floor of the downtown AADL building. Those other public bodies include the Ann Arbor Public Schools board and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board.

Hunter also asked the board to consider holding its monthly meeting on a different week of the month, when it wouldn’t conflict with Ann Arbor city council meetings. [The city council meets on the first and third Mondays of each month. The AADL board usually meets on the third Monday of the month.]

Finally, Hunter questioned the board’s practice of holding closed sessions each month. She wondered how they reconciled that with the Michigan Open Meetings Act.

By way of background, at most of its meetings, the board votes to call a closed session for the start of the next month’s meeting, citing the specific reason for the closed session. For example, on March 18, 2013 the board voted to call a closed session for its April 15 meeting, starting at 6 p.m., for the purpose of discussing the director’s evaluation. When closed sessions are held, the meetings reconvene into open session at 7 p.m.

However, even though closed sessions are scheduled each month, the board doesn’t always hold those sessions. When the closed sessions aren’t needed, board members still generally meet informally for dinner in a room adjacent to the boardroom, and convene the regular meeting at 7 p.m.

Since January 2012, the reasons cited for closed sessions – as stated in the board minutes – are:

• January 2012: No closed session
• February 2012: Opinion of legal counsel
• March 2012: Opinion of legal counsel
• April 2012: Opinion of legal counsel, discussion of director’s evaluation
• May 2012: Opinion of legal counsel, discussion of director’s evaluation
• June 2012: No closed session
• July 2012: No closed session
• August 2012: No closed session
• September 2012: Opinion of legal counsel, discussion of real estate
• October 2012: No closed session
• November 2012: Discussion of real estate
• December 2012: Meeting cancelled
• January 2013: No closed session
• February 2013: Opinion of legal counsel, discussion of real estate
• March 2013: No closed session

In a follow-up phone interview with The Chronicle, AADL director Josie Parker noted that because the library does not have in-house counsel, there are often matters that require the opinion of AADL’s outside legal counsel. In addition to having written communication from counsel at the closed session, she said that most of the time an attorney is present at the board’s closed sessions when the session is for the purpose of discussing the opinion of legal counsel. AADL’s primary legal counsel is the law firm Dykema, with addition consultation from attorneys at Hooper Hathaway.

The closed sessions are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., with the regular meeting set to reconvene at 7 p.m. When the closed sessions are adjourned, Parker said, the doors to the room are opened and anyone can come in. Board members sometimes stay and have informal conversations – as dinner is provided – or sometimes they’ll go and check out library materials before reconvening in open session at 7 p.m., she said.

At their March 18 meeting, board members gave no direct response to Hunter’s commentary. But at various points throughout their discussion on other items, some trustees made a point of highlighting ways in which they believe the board and library staff are already acting in an open and transparent way.

Financial Report

The AADL’s monthly financial report is typically presented by Ken Nieman, AADL’s associate director of finance, HR and operations. He did not attend the March 18 meeting, so highlights of the written financial report were given by AADL director Josie Parker. [.pdf of financial report]

As of Feb. 28, 2013 the library had received 97.4% of its budgeted tax revenues for the year, or $10.919 million. The library’s unrestricted cash balance was $11.58 million as of Feb. 28, with a fund balance of $8.268 million. Four line items are currently over budget: utilities, communications, software, and a line item for “other operating expenses.” All are expected to come back in line with budgeted amounts by the end of the fiscal year, on June 30. The month of February also included a $40,000 donation from the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library (FAADL), a nonprofit that operates a used bookstore in the lower level of AADL’s downtown branch at 343 S. Fifth Ave. Proceeds of the store are donated to the library.

Typically, the board has no comments or questions on these monthly financial reports. There were no questions this month, but two board members made comments. Rebecca Head said she appreciated the staff’s openness and transparency regarding the budget. She noted that the board has the opportunity to ask questions, and she applauded Parker and the staff for their approach. Head reported that she serves on another board that’s not so transparent.

Margaret Leary highlighted the vendor check register that’s provided each month in the board packet. It’s required for every public entity, but not every organization provides it, she said. It’s a way that anyone – members of the public as well as the board – can see every penny that the library is spending, and who is getting paid, she said.

Parker said she appreciated the “rollforward” report that’s provided each month for both monthly and year-to-date results. The library is not allowed to invest in risky ways, she noted. Parker also highlighted a $15,000 donation made 11 years ago by Scott and Marcy Westerman. Today, the fund stands at about $43,000 – from additional donations as well as investment returns. The library intends to use part of it this year for the first time in a substantial way, she said, to help fund AADL’s summer game.

Prue Rosenthal wanted to make sure that Scott Westerman was informed about that, saying she knew he’d like to be involved. Parker indicated that she had talked to him about the use of that fund.

Committee Reports

The board has six committees: communications, budget and finance, facilities, policy, director’s evaluation and executive. Two of those – communications and facilities – were created as special committees at the board’s Jan. 21, 2013 meeting. Here are highlights from the committee reports made during the March 18 meeting.

Committee Reports: Budget & Finance

Nancy Kaplan reported that the budget and finance committee met on March 7 and is working with staff on the budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2013. Their goal is to ensure that operating revenues cover expenses, she said. The committee will meet again on April 3, and bring a draft budget for review at the board’s April 15 meeting. The board is expected to vote on the budget at its meeting on May 20.

AADL director Josie Parker noted that the process for developing the budget has not changed. It comes up through the department managers and is reviewed by the associate directors. The AADL does not have “hard” revenue estimates from Washtenaw County, she said, but they look at the county’s projections to estimate property tax revenues. [The county delivers its equalization report in April. That report includes a calculation of taxable value for all jurisdictions in the county, which determines tax revenues for those entities that rely on taxpayer funding, including cities and townships, public schools, libraries and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, among others.]

For the current fiscal year, the AADL has a budget of about $12 million, with a millage rate set at 1.55 mills.

Committee Reports: Communications

Kaplan also reported out from the communications committee, which met on March 6. She noted that the committee’s task is to develop a communications audit and plan, and she read a section from the AADL’s strategic plan, which states this goal: “Develop high-level internal and external communications that get the message out, to all, about what we do and how we do it.”

Tim Grimes, AADL’s community relations and marketing manager, talks with AADL board member Nancy Kaplan, who chairs the board’s communications committee.

The committee – Kaplan, Ed Surovell and Margaret Leary – wants a plan that will guide the library for a long time, she said. That’s why they agreed to look at what the library currently does, to see if it reflects the needs and values of the community. A communications audit and plan will allow the library staff and board to self-reflect, she said, and with the help of communications experts, to bring new ideas to effectively inform and engage the library community.

Kaplan reported that the library is hiring Allerton-Hill Consulting to do the communications audit and plan, to be completed this year.

Rebecca Head noted that because Ann Arbor is “challenged” in terms of its communication outlets – because the city doesn’t have a wide-circulation daily print newspaper – it’s important for the library to push to be even more transparent. She said the library’s website is very transparent and provides a lot of information, but it requires that people go to it. Head indicated that now it’s time for the library to really push out that information.

Prue Rosenthal asked Kaplan to clarify that the decision to hire Allerton-Hill was an administrative decision made by the committee. Rosenthal noted that during the campaign to pass a bond for a new downtown library – which voters rejected on Nov. 6, 2012 – library advocates learned that “people in the community didn’t know what we do and how well we do it.” She supported the committee’s decision.

Kaplan replied that it wasn’t a decision that required a board vote. It was made in consultation with AADL director Josie Parker, she said.

Head noted that the library already has a huge membership and usage, but there are still a lot of people who aren’t aware of the library’s services. That’s why it’s important to push out the information, she said, so that everyone can take advantage of what the library offers. Rosenthal added that many people use the library for specific reasons, but don’t realize that there are many other services and events.

Responding to a query from The Chronicle after the meeting, Kaplan said the amount budgeted for this project is $28,000. That’s the maximum amount that can be allocated without board approval.

From the AADL’s purchasing policy:

Determine uniform guidelines for solicitation of bids and quotations for goods and/or services as follows:

a. If the cost of required materials, equipment, goods, supplies, or services to be obtained does not exceed twenty-seven thousand dollars ($27,000) (to be increased each year by the C.P.I. using 2006 as the base year), the Business Services Office Purchasing Agent may make the acquisition on the open market in a manner consistent with sound purchasing procedure. In such cases, informal quotes should be used to determine competitiveness, quality, and availability. Bids within the price limitations need not be recommended to the District Library Board but must be approved by the Associate Director for Finance and Administrative Services. Purchase of materials, equipment, goods, supplies or services shall not be made without the execution of the proper requisition form, with the exception of petty cash funds.

Committee Reports: Facilities

Margaret Leary, chair of the facilities committee, told the board that committee members met on Feb. 20 with AADL director Josie Parker and Ken Nieman, AADL’s associate director of finance, HR and operations. In advance of that meeting, the committee had asked Parker and Nieman for reports on the condition of all the AADL buildings, not just the downtown library. The committee wanted to find out what might lie ahead in terms of maintenance for the downtown building as well as for AADL’s four branches. She said the committee was happy to learn that while there’s no guarantee, the buildings have been regularly maintained and there’s nothing likely to happen that would require major maintenance. There’s always uncertainty, she noted – an elevator might fail, or something might happen to a roof – but the committee was confident that the library’s fund balance could cover anything that might happen. As of Feb. 28, the AADL’s fund balance was $8.268 million.

Committee Reports: Director’s Evaluation, Executive

Prue Rosenthal reported that the director’s evaluation committee is wrapping up its work, and will report to the board during a closed session at its April 15 meeting. The board will meet in closed session without AADL director Josie Parker, she said, but then will invite Parker to discuss the evaluation later in the same closed session.

Parker noted that in order for the review to take place during a closed session, the person being reviewed must request it. She said she had made that request.

The executive committee did not meet during the month, Rosenthal reported.

Committee Reports: Policy

Barbara Murphy reported that the policy committee hasn’t met, but plans a meeting in April after the next board meeting. They plan to do a methodical review of library policies, she said, since that hasn’t been done for about 10 years. She indicated that no urgent action is required.

HVAC Contract Extension

On the March 18 agenda was a resolution to approve a one-year contract extension with Pace Mechanical Services for $83,865. The contract, which would run through June 30, 2014, covers HVAC equipment and maintenance.

At its Jan. 26, 2009 meeting, the board had approved a three-year contract with Pace for $235,000.

Margaret Leary asked for more information about the contract extension, noting that it’s for a fairly large amount of money. Nancy Kaplan said that during the budget and finance committee meeting, associate director Ken Nieman had reported that Pace was giving AADL a 5% discount on the contract. Nieman has indicated that he was satisfied with the work that Pace has done, Kaplan said.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved a one-year contract extension with Pace Mechanical Services.

Director’s Report

In her monthly director’s report, Josie Parker highlighted several items. She thanked the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library (FAADL) for their donation of $250 from the Gene Wilson Fund, which supports the purchase of materials in AADL’s conservation department.

A March 6, 2013 article in USA Today – “Libraries offer weird things to draw new borrowers” – included an interview with Celeste Choate, AADL’s associate director of services, collections and access. Parker thanked Choate for doing the interview, saying that it can be unnerving to talk to a national reporter. Parker had been interviewed for another article on the same topic that ran in the Wall Street Journal in December of 2012. In that report, the AADL was mentioned “but not by name,” Parker said.

Parker told the board that in those articles, the reporters are “reaching to make a point that is erroneous.” Their point is that libraries are trying to make themselves relevant by circulating unusual things, she said. But libraries began so that unusual, expensive items [books] could be circulated to people who couldn’t afford to own them, she observed.

From the USA Today article:

Choate, of the Ann Arbor library, said seed libraries and skeletons aren’t necessarily a sign that libraries are trying to stay relevant — it’s in the very nature of libraries to change. Many of the items we now take for granted — paperback books, pulp fiction and children’s books, for instance — were novelties, or worse, when libraries first introduced them. “Back in the day,” she said, “having fiction was scandalous.”

Over the years, libraries have adapted to community tastes and needs. “It’s an ongoing process, and it should be an ongoing process, because public libraries are funded by public tax dollars,” Choate said.

Parker said it’s wonderful that books are ubiquitous and much less expensive today, but it isn’t new for libraries to provide these kinds of services. She also noted that after the article was published, Choate began receiving inquiries from other libraries nationwide, asking about AADL’s different non-book collections. [For additional background on these collections, see Chronicle coverage of a presentation at the Jan. 16, 2012 AADL board meeting: "Mammoth Molars, Other Realia at the AADL."]

Parker also highlighted AADL’s participation in the national project called “America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway.” It’s a partnership of the Tribeca Film Institute in collaboration with the American Library Association, Tribeca Flashpoint, and the Society for American Music, as well as several local partners – FAADL, University Musical Society, the Kerrytown Concert House and others. The free eight-week series includes documentary films, discussions and performances, and she encouraged board members to attend, noting that it’s being offered because of the work of Tim Grimes and other library staff, as well as support from the community.

Parker reported that she’s received an invitation from the Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes to attend an all-day workshop that brings together institutions and government to help ensure that all people are respected and safe in this state. “This is what the public library does, and stands for,” she said. “It’s the one place where everyone can be, and we’ve done that historically for a very long time.” It was impressive that library directors are included in this discussion, she said, along with city managers, police chiefs and school superintendents.

Finally, Parker noted that home schooled students who want to participate in the National Geographic Bee must have a “proctoring institution.” Public libraries can serve that role, she said, and AADL is doing that for Andrew G. Himebaugh. He’ll be participating at the state level competition for grades 4-8 held on April 5 at Western Michigan University. “We’re rooting for him,” she said.

Director’s Report: Board Response

Following up on Parker’s report, Margaret Leary – librarian emerita of the University of Michigan Law School – said it was important to remember how public libraries originated.

AADL board members Ed Surovell and Margaret Leary.

The first libraries in America were lending libraries that you had to pay to join. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Andrew Carnegie used some of his fortune to facilitate the building of public libraries around the country. That’s why there are so many libraries that to this day are called Carnegie libraries, she said.

Carnegie required that each town pay a portion of the construction costs, and that the town commit to supporting the library. Leary said that’s part of the origin story behind what’s now called the Ann Arbor District Library. She highlighted the book “Free to All” by Abigail A. Van Slyck, which describes Carnegie’s efforts. Public libraries are an important component of American democracy because libraries are a place for people to get an education beyond what they get at the public schools.

Prue Rosenthal noted that the Ladies Library, which was founded in 1866, is also an important part of AADL’s history and started as a private library.

Leary clarified with Parker that some of this history is on the AADL website. Parker said she’s talked with Grace Shackman about bringing the library’s history up to date. She recalled that the city of Ann Arbor had declined Carnegie’s grant, but the Ladies Library Association later struck a partnership with the Ann Arbor Public Schools and eventually received the grant.

In a 1991 Ann Arbor Observer article, Shackman describes the Carnegie library’s genesis:

In 1902, Anna Botsford Bach, then president of the Ladies Library Association, suggested applying for a Carnegie grant to build a city library. The city’s application was supported by the school board, the city council, and the Ladies Library Association. But after Carnegie granted $20,000 for the project in 1903, the applicants could not agree among themselves on a site. (The school board wanted the new library to be near the high school so the students could continue using it. The Ladies Library Association thought an entirely separate location would better serve the general public.) The deadlock was resolved only after the application was resubmitted in 1904 without the participation of the Ladies Library Association. This time, the city and school board were awarded $30,000.

AADL Podcasts

The board received a presentation on AADL podcasts from Tim Grimes, the library’s community relations and marketing manager, and Eli Neiburger, associate director of IT and production. AADL director Josie Parker introduced the presentation by saying that podcasting has become a significant service of the library, in terms of capturing history and events.

Grimes described podcasts as basically audio and video programs that are delivered over the Internet. They tend to be informal conversations and interviews, and are an excellent venue for recording history – especially local history, he said. Local teens were the first to push for this service, Grimes said. AADL’s first podcast in 2007 was of a gaming tournament, hosted by a high school gamer and an AADL youth librarian. It was “answered” by a homemade podcast from long-time AADL gamers known as the Savage Brothers. The AADL staff then experimented with podcasts called “The Rundown,” which provided news about events for teens.

Grimes described a wide range of other podcasts in the following years, including interviews with community groups like FestiFools, the Ann Arbor Film Festival and the Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibits project. Local artists Mr. B, Madcat Ruth, JT Abernathy & Stan Baker were interviewed, as were national speakers who came to town: Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard, actor David Alan Grier, and journalist Helen Thomas, among others.

Some of the more popular podcasts are oral histories about the Ann Arbor farmers market. With 1,292 downloads, it was among the top downloaded podcasts in 2012, Grimes reported. Others in the top 6 are: musician Mr. B (1,653 downloads); The Story Collider, described as “a project that aims to get people telling stories about science in their everyday lives” (1,397 downloads); Ben Franklin (1,270); Jim Toy & Jackie Simpson (1,226 downloads); and Donald Harrison, former executive director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival (1,167 downloads).

Some of the local history podcasts include interviews with former Washtenaw County sheriff Doug Harvey; George Pomey, a member of 1964-65 UM basketball team; “heritage business” podcasts with Charles Schlanderer Sr. and Charles Schlanderer Jr., and many others. These are included as part of AADL’s Old News collection.

Grimes also reported that AADL is facilitating podcasts that are done by library patrons. Those include “Comics Are Great,” “TinkerHub” by All Hands Active, and the soon-to-be-released “Talking ‘bout my Generation.” Several others are in development, Grimes said.

AADL Podcasts: Board Discussion

Nancy Kaplan asked whether the AADL staff provides instructions in how to do podcasts, and how long it takes. AADL offers periodic workshops on the topic, Tim Grimes said. Eli Neiburger that the actual podcast might take only a couple of hours to produce, but it can take a much longer time to develop a show. “It moves at the speed [the podcasters] want it to move,” he said.

In 2012, the AADL released about 35 podcasts. Most of those roughly 20 programs were in the “Comics Are Great!” series. Sometimes there are clusters of podcasts on a particular subject, like Argus Cameras or the Free John Sinclair project, Grimes said.

Margaret Leary asked if there were any constraints or limitations on how many the library can do, or what kind they can do.  There’s finite capacity, Neiburger said, but right now the volume isn’t high – so the number of podcasts depends on opportunities that emerge. AADL plays the role of a producer, he said, by “merging the talent with what’s actually possible.”

Grimes added that it helps to have a “dedicated closet” – a reference to the small space off of the fourth-floor boardroom that’s been converted into a podcast studio. It means there’s no set-up time, because the equipment is already in place.

Leary asked if there’s anywhere else in town where podcasts can be produced for free. Neiburger mentioned the studios at Community Television Network, and Grimes noted that some people do podcasts from their homes.

Prue Rosenthal wondered if AADL staff approve the content for the podcasts. Not generally, Neiburger replied. But because the podcasts are usually done in collaboration, “there’s certainly discussion about it.” AADL director Josie Parker added that in general, the library has found that it’s not necessary to have a lot of rules about this kind of thing, because people tend to respect the library’s public space. She likened it to the comments left on AADL’s website –  saying there are very few that have to be removed. “It’s a wonderful commentary about how people behave in a public space – in this public space.”

Leary noted that the podcasts – like AADL’s Old News site – are an example of the library producing content, not just buying it.

AADL & The Zukunfstwerkstatt

Eli Neiburger, AADL’s associate director of IT and production, gave a report on his recent trip to Germany as a guest of the U.S. State Department and Zukunftswerkstatt (“Future Workshop”), visiting libraries in several cities. The trip was outgrowth of a partnership that began in 2005 when AADL director Josie Parker had been invited by the State Department to travel to Europe and talk about AADL’s lending model.

The Zukunftswerkstatt is a nonprofit focused on working with libraries to do training and develop partnerships that would otherwise be difficult within the German library system. The head of the Zukunftswerkstatt, Christoph Deeg, had been interesting in using AADL’s efforts as a pattern to get German libraries more involved with younger communities, using gaming and other activities. German libraries have a long history, which created a very different kind of culture compared to libraries in the U.S. For example, all libraries in Germany charge an annual fee for library cards.

The AADL has developed a gaming system called GT System, which the library uses to run its own tournaments. AADL staff also made a version of the system that any library can use. About 500 libraries worldwide use the GT system, Neiburger said. The Zukunftswerkstatt wanted to develop a German version, so that users of German libraries could start having gaming events with each other. “It really gets kids excited about their town and their community, and to see their libraries as the place where they gain access to the rest of the world,” he said. Gaming events hosted by the library are a way for kids to see that they aren’t just playing against “some random person,” Neiburger added. “This is me representing my town.”

The Zukunftswerkstatt got funding from U.S. State Department to sponser a German-American gaming league, and to pay for Neiburger’s recent trip to Germany to talk about gaming at some of the libraries across Germany. He visited Berlin, where he also was invited to speak with the U.S. embassy’s social media team. They were interested in hearing about AADL’s experiences, and transferring that to better engage with the population in Germany. He also gave a talk at a video game museum in Berlin. Other cities on his trip included Wolfsburg – the home of Volkswagen – as well as Munich, Cologne, Karlsruhe and Tübingen, Ann Arbor’s sister city.

Since the partnership with AADL, 12 German libraries in 12 of the 16 German states have started running events through the GT System. A league tournament is being held, with 15 finalists traveling to Wolfsburg in mid-April for the German gaming finals. Three winners from that event will becoming to Ann Arbor for the May 19 German-American Gaming League Championships, held at the AADL.

Neiburger said the AADL is hoping to engage the local German-American community, as well as international students and faculty living here. The partnership will continue to the International Gaming Day in November, he said.

Rebecca Head told Neiburger how impressed she was about this effort. Technology can be isolating, but it can also result in a smaller world and community, she said, and the gaming tournament is an example of that.

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

Absent: Jan Barney Newman.

Next meeting: Monday, April 15, 2013 at 7 p.m. in the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [Check Chronicle event listing to confirm date]

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