Library Board of Trustees

MEETING MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY Held in the Mary Riley Styles Public Library 120 N. Virginia Avenue Falls Church, VA 22046 May 17,2017 1. CALL TO ORDER Board Chairman Brad Gemand called the meeting to order at 7:00p.m. The following Board members attended the meeting: Brad Gemand Chet DeLong Ed Rose Stephanie Oppenheimer Terry Zawacki Don Camp Jeff Peterson Youth Representative: Tika Wallace LV A Public Library Consultant Kim Armentrout, City Manager Wyatt Shields, Councilwoman Karen Oliver, Library Director Mary McMahon, and Senior Administrative Assistant, Claudia Gutierrez, were also present. The Library Director introduced Ms. Kim Armentrout, who is a Public Library Consultant from the Library of Virginia in Richmond. She has degrees from Syracuse University and Virginia Tech. She was a NATO librarian and was stationed in Norway for a while. She worked for 11 years as the Library Director at the Powhatan County Library in Virginia. She has been working with the Library of Virginia for 8 years. Ms. Armentrout attended this meeting to help provide guidance for the Library Board on how to proceed with the search committee for the new library Director. The current Director is retiring on August, 01, 2017. 2. RECEIPT OF PETITIONS No petitions. 3. APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 19, 2017 MEETING MINUTES Mr. DeLong asked about the letter that Ms. McMahon sent to the Library of Virginia explaining the reason for the spending reduction of $45,000 in the library budget during the previous fiscal year. The Director explained that the FY16 spending was less because in FY15 the Library paid $45,000 for a special report that was not repeated in FY16, hence the apparent shortage. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the April 19, 2017 meeting minutes. 4. LIBRARY FOUNDATION REPORT Mr. Camp informed the Board that the additional request to the Foundation from the Library Director for $5,680 was approved by the Foundation Board. These funds will be used to buy children's eBooks, and the Summer Reading Program (SRP) prizes, which are 6 Kindle HD Fires and 8 gift cards from One More Page at $25 each. Mr. Rose added that it will be the last scheduled contribution for the library. The Director thanked Mr. Camp and Mr. Rose for the donation on behalf of the patrons and the library staff who run the Summer Reading Program. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT No report. 6. STUDENT LIAISON REPORT No report. The new student representative, Tika Wallace, attended the Board meeting for the first time. 7. MS. KIM ARMENTROUT, LIBRARY OF VIRGINIA CONSULTANT AND MR. WYATT SHIELDS, CITY MANAGER • RECRUITMENT OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR POSITION • COMPOSITION OF THE INTERVIEW PANEL • TIMELINE FOR THE PROCESS Ms. Amentrout informed the Board that when requested she works with Library Boards around the state to help them with the hiring process for a Library Director. She distributed handouts to the Board on selecting and hiring a new Library Director. She informed the Board that they need to focus on putting together the search committee since the position has already been advertised. When creating the committee, the following things should be kept in mind: !.consider people who can dedicate their time to this process, and 2. can consistently attend all the meetings. The committee can include trustees, library staff, representatives from the Library Foundation, and community members from the Chamber of Commerce or the school system or others. It is important to look for members who widely represent the community so that the community is brought into the search process. It is up to the Board where they want to advertise the position. She encouraged a national search because currently Virginia has so many library systems looking for new directors. Ms. Armentrout said that the usual method in this hiring process is that the search committee does most ofthe work, and then takes its recommendations to the full library Board. Another method is that the full Board gets involved before the final recommendations are made. From the State Aid perspective, a Library Director must have a Masters in Library Science. Beyond that, the Board can establish the qualifications needed depending on what they are looking for in a Director. Many Boards link the qualifications needed to the library's strategic plan and the goals that will need to be accomplished over the new few years. The compensation package has already been determined by the City and needs to be attractive due to the large number of vacancies occurring in the state. Mr. Shields said that there is room for negotiation, and the City has listed a range for the position in the recruitment notice. Ms. Oliver asked ifthere is a recommendation for an effective size of a search committee. Ms. Armentrout said that a committee is usually between 5 to 9 members. Ms. Armentrout asked the Board and Mr. Shields when the applications come in, who will be receiving and reviewing them. Mr. Shields then explained the recruitment process that he usually follows for a Department Director. First, there is a recruitment notice that has gone out, and it states that the priority review will be given for applications received by June 51h. People who apply after June 51h are still eligible. The applications go to the Human Resources department, which sorts them, and the applications are then given to Mr. Shields. The applicants are ranked and usually 6 to 12 applications are selected for a phone interview. Each interview is a half an hour. This brief interview is for an information exchange and is helpful in determining whether the candidate goes on to a more in depth interview with the committee. After the phone interview, 3 to 5 candidates are selected for the in-person interview. These are longer 2 interviews with many more questions. Mr. Shields asked the Board for feedback on who they would like on the interview committee. He volunteered himself, and he said that the HR Director will be part of it, too. He mentioned that the current Library Director is willing to be part of the committee as well. There was a discussion on whether Ms. McMahon should be on the committee or not. Ms. Armentrout said that she understands that there might be internal candidates, so having the current Director on the search committee could cause a sense of discomfort with some of the answers the applicants might give, and it might not be as an open a dialog if the current Director is on the committee. There were also comments about how almost 18 years of expertise and knowledge of the library and the community would definitely be very valuable in the hiring process. Mr. Gernand said that Ms. Rose Dawson, who is the Library Director from the Alexandria Public Library, is also interested in being part of the committee. It is important to have a professional from outside the City to help in the process. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved the Library Director to participate in the search committee at least until the second round. Ms. Armentrout said that when the final stage of the process comes, the search committee usually does a full presentation ofthe top candidates to the Board and library staff. The committee can share their rankings of the candidates, but the presentation can be structured the way the Board wants it to be. There can be questions, staff addressing issues or listening to the candidate's vision, and background etc. This way they can evaluate the candidates' communication skills in addition to their answers. There was a discussion about whether there should be one or two final candidates at the final stage. Ms. Armentrout said that a typical scenario for library Boards is when they get to this part of the process there are two or three candidates. Ms. Armentrout said that the entire Board should meet the top two or three finalists, provide a library tour for each candidate conducted by library staff while another candidate is doing a presentation to the Board. This would enable staff to meet each candidate informally and also allows the Board to see a candidate's presentation skills. The Board can assess each candidate's personality and later on can hear the library staffs' perspectives on each candidate. This also enables the candidates who may live in other states not to have to travel as often. The Board also can satisfy their concerns in a shorter time frame. Ms. Zawacki suggested that the Board and staff could meet with the candidates in an informal setting, such as having lunch or something similar to interact more with them and get different perspectives. Ms. Armentrout added that with a formal presentation each candidate can rehearse beforehand, but that in an informal meeting the candidate must be spontaneous. The Board agreed that there should be at least 2 final candidates and have a closed meeting to vote on the recommendation to the City Manager. Mr. Camp said that there is a possibility that they will only get one final candidate due to many Directors retiring in Virginia. The Board discussed who should be part of the search committee. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved Mr. Brad Gernand and Ms. Terry Zawacki to represent the Board on the Library Director's search committee. The Board asked who will be an outside representative for the committee. Mr. Gernand said that it will be Ms. Rose Dawson, who is the Director of the Alexandria Public Library, which is a city library. Ms. Dawson has been the Director there for 9 years and is also active in the American Library Assignation (ALA) and the Virginia Library Association (VLA). 3  Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously approved Alexandria Library Director Rose Dawson to be part of the search committee. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Library Board unanimously agreed that the previous question be revisited and the flexibility be provided to the search committee to choose some librarian from the outside. Upon a motion duly made and seconded the previous motion was amended by the Library Board to request the current Director Mary McMahon's recommendation to choose a sixth member from among library Directors in Northern Virginia. There was a discussion about whether the public should be involved in this process--not as part of the search committee, but by meeting the candidates in a small group. Councilwoman Oliver reminded the Board about the climate of participation that the City has. It was noted that decisions about Department Director' s hiring are only made by the City Manager, and there should be no public input in it. Ms Zawacki said that the public can come to the Board meetings and presentations to hear how the process has been developing and meet the candidates. Mr. Gemand suggested asking VPIS to select one public member as they are an organization who specializes in cultural and historical affairs in the City. Ms. Oliver said that the Board is involved in aPR effort and cannot lose sight of that fact. Ms. Oppenheimer said that there was public input for the School Superintendent's hiring, and the questions they asked had different perspectives than those from the School Board and teachers. She said it was beneficial for the committee who made the Superintendent' s selection. Ms. Oppenheimer also said that questions from the public were vetted beforehand, and the candidates did not know who asked the questions. There was a discussion about the point in the process when the Library Board would make decisions on which candidate it would recommend to the City Manager. They said that the search committee should meet in a closed session with the Board to discuss their decision. Then after those talks have concluded, the Board should make a decision either approving or disapproving the decision. Then, in an open Library Board meeting, they would make their recommendation to the City Manager. If the Board wants, in that same meeting they can vote for the candidate in public. Ms. Armentrout informed the Board that once the committee has met, they should discuss what to do if there are delays in the hiring process. The process could take a few months or last longer than that. They need to have a plan for who will they will have in place as an Interim Director and whether the Interim Director can continue in that position if needed for a long term, or hire a library consultant as an interim solution. The committee has to talk about major challenges that the library faces and ask questions that show how each candidate would address those challenges. The committee should also keep those challenges in mind when looking at the backgrounds and experience of each of the candidates and how they might contribute to solving those challenges. Ms. Armentrout gave the Board some information on the hiring process which included a matrix that helps them be consistent throughout the process. She also said that all of the committee members should be present for each interview- this is an important key. They also need to decide which applications received from Human Resources will be interviewed. Mr. Shields said the applicants should include a cover letter, a resume, and also a City application. All candidates must complete all reference checks, a criminal background check, a drug test, and a search by Child Protective Services successfully before they are formally hired. Ms. Armentrout also said that the committee needs to consider if they are willing to pay either airline expenses or moving expenses if the hired candidate is from out of State. Mr. Shields said that the City has policies regarding these questions, and the committee must also keep in mind the scheduling needs for candidates from outside Virginia. Mr. Shields said that after the in-person interviews, HR will do 4 the background checks. He prefers to do the reference checks himself, but he can work it out with the committee if they want to have a role in that step. Ms. Armentrout said that in the handouts she included some sample regular interview questions which include some aspirational questions as well. She also said that in the final interview stage some libraries hold a reception for the top two candidates, and it can be a good opportunity for the public and staff to come in and meet them and talk with them. Ms. Armentrout also talked about the follow up once they have selected a candidate that has been approved by the Board and recommended to the City Manager. Some libraries make the mistake of letting it get drawn out, waiting for the candidate to make up their mind and the process is held up which is not good. She always recommends having a definite time line in the formal offer letter, saying something like: In a few days we need an answer or we will move on in our process. This situation happens more than you can imagine especially now that there are so many vacancies around the state. Ms. Oppenheimer asked what the number of Director vacancies is, and Ms. Armentrout said that 22% of the library directors in the state are in flux, either having just arrived or are leaving (21 Directors out of the 91 library systems). She said that the committee has to play on the strengths ofMRSPL as much as possible. Ms. Armentrout urged the committee to decide ahead of time how they will handle the situation if a candidate is not found in the first round of interviews. Are they going with the next candidate down the list, or they will start the whole process again? Mr. Rose said that some of those decisions will have to be made at the time depending on the candidate pool. Ms. Armentrout said that once they have a Director in place, and after being introduced in the community, the Board needs to sit down with the new Director and create a set of goals for the first probationary year. Both the City and the Board need to be clear about what they expect from the new Library Director, and Ms. Armentrout strongly encourages the Board to tie it to the library strategic plan. Ms. McMahon added that Mr. Shields is the supervisor of the Library Director. Mr. Shields said that the new Director will have a 6 month evaluation and then an annual evaluation before being taken off probationary status. He said that for the new hire it will be good if both the City Manager and the Board talk about what should be accomplished the first year so everyone is on the same page and also to keep the communication going during the probationary period. Mr. Peterson asked the Director for a template about a performance standard as guidance to the Board on what the new Director should focus on in the first six months. Ms. Armentrout said that the strategic plan is meant to be a joint document so the new Director should provide their feedback about the goals as well. Ms. McMahon suggested that the Board can give the candidate their vision about the library and what they think should be accomplished in general terms in the work plan. She also said that the library staff is working on a Five Year Plan with specific goals for the next year. Ms. Oppenheimer asked ifthere is no Director until October, what is the interim Director plan? Mr. Shields said that the library has excellent staff and one of them will be likely fill the interim position. With the current proposed schedule, if all goes as planned, there should be an offer to a candidate by late July and there might only be an interim for a month or two. The Board and the Director thanked Mr. Shields for being at the meeting. He said that he is looking forward to working with Mr. Gemand and Ms. Zawacki on the committee. Mr. Gemand also thanked Ms. Armentrout for her guidance in this process. 8. LIBRARY REPORT AND ANNOUNCEMENTS • The Director informed the Board that the library's Rolling Readers Precision Book Truck Drill team will be marching in the Memorial Day Parade. • The Library Assistant I for a permanent partime position at Circulation has been hired, and it was a promotion from within. Also the temporary Library Assistant I in Circulation has been hired. We now have a 10 hour Page position open. 5  • Jim Wise, the City Purchasing Agent, is writing a letter to Innovative Interfaces Inc., the vendor of the current integrated library system (ILS), informing them that the library will not be renewing its contract with them. Next week the City will notify Biblionix that the library will be migrating to their system. It will be very busy times for the library with this new migration. • The Internet speed upgrade to 500MB (up and down) for the library has been started. Verizon will work on it tomorrow morning before the library opens to the public, and if work remains, will finish the work the next Wednesday when the library is closed to the public. There were be an additional expense for this upgrade, but there is also a huge increase in the speed which will benefit the staff and public Internet use. Wi-Fi, whose service is provided by RCN, will not be included in this upgraded speed. • The carpet will be cleaned and the linoleum floors will be waxed on Sunday, May 28 1h when the library will be closed due to the Memorial holiday. Since the library is also closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29 1\ there will be an extra day for the carpet to dry before reopening. • The Director informed the Board that she is on the committee that will be looking for the new custodial services vendor for the City. The library has its own custodian Monday through Friday, but is included in this contract because outside custodial services are used on weekends and to cover the regular custodian's vacation time. • The 2017 User Survey just wrapped up and the results will be given to the Board at the next meeting. • The equipment that provides the revolving slide show, time, and temperature on the TV at the Circulation desk is not working again. Staff has created a temporary fix while the server is being repaired. • The library received an Excellence in Community Partnership award from the Falls Church City Public Schools system. The Director and a staff member attended a reception at Mary Henderson Middle School and accepted the award. • The employee City picnic will be on Friday, June 161h. The library will close at noon and will reopen next day with regular operating hours. • The Director reminded the Board about the volunteer reception on Monday night at 6:30p.m. at Cherry Hill Park. If they plan to attend, they should RSVP to the City Clerk. 9. BUSINESS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. 10. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~~C-](L~ Library Director Approved: 6  Copies: Board of Trustees, City Manager, Library Reference Desk, Staff Bulletin Board, City Clerk, Library Web Page rrhe City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit ofthe Americans with Disabilities !Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5032, [ITY 711. 7  MARY RILEY STYLES PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING May 17,2017 SIGN-IN SHEET NAME ADDRESS EMAIL k\ W\ At"IM.LA\r-o) L~ ~ r-tw-...; a~ \ ) ~ ~ 1\.\ a.. f"'Ck lk'\tn. e...r ......&.A.~) J~ro L' C\. tJ 51/Jd C FC-- 1 u ..-- ~ h\ K ~u0-ifuu Q 6 \Y\ 'r\~ ~-U~W- 2--:f~ \J Clhoo:. r.M'I I Page 1