Russell Library Board of Trustees

Governance Committee of the Russell Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting, July 1, 2020, 5:00 PM (Online meeting via Webex) Minutes Present: ​Brandie Doyle (Assistant Director for Administrative Services), Shanay Fulton, Jennifer Hadley (recorder), Bryan Skowera (chair) Absent: ​Thomas Russell IV, Alison Williams 1. Call to Order: Chair Bryan Skowera called the meeting to order at 5:06 pm. 2. Approval of Minutes from June Meeting ● Shanay moved and Jennifer seconded to approve the minutes of the June 3, 2020 Governance Committee meeting. Ths motion passed unanimously. ● Bryan moved and Jennifer seconded to approve the minutes of the June 22, 2020 special meeting of the Governance Committee meeting. Ths motion passed unanimously. 3. Old Business a. Sample Policies - Brandie will review these further for the next meeting. b. Board Orientation Materials Action items ● Board History - Brandie will delegate an update of this history. ● ACLB - Bryan will look into this organization and its handbook as a resource for Board members. ● MB&A Dear Incoming Trustee letter - Shanay will tailor the contents of this letter to reflect Russell and Middletown. ● Individual Trustee Report Card / Agreement of Responsibilities -- revise to give specific action items and timeline -- Bryan and Jennifer will edit. ● FOIA -- Bryan will get an overview of FOIA and recorded workshops from the state. ● Board Basics -- could be merged into the responsibilities. ● ACLB Trustee Handbook -- revised edition available from the ACLB website ● Additional materials -- Brandie will add the ALA Library Bill of Rights -- Library leadership contact information and individual job descriptions (Brandie) -- Can review other checklists for further information -- Job description for Board -- Application for Trustees (?) -- to gather information and to give prospective members an idea of what is expected. Work on Agreement first, then work backwards to create application.  -- Board evaluation -- Discuss at a future board meeting ● Invite new Board members to review new documents and give comments. c. Personnel Policy Approach Unclear what role the Board should play. One option -- adopt city’s personnel policy, then revise bylaws to strike this from Board’s responsibility. In the short term, if there is an emergency personnel policy needed, the governance committee will review it and then bring it to the Board. Before the next Company meeting we can decide if we want to seek a bylaws change. Brandie will share the link to city’s personnel policy with the committee for our review. (It’s also available from the city’s web site.) She wants to review it herself to see if anything conflicts with the library’s union contract. HIstorically the library’s policies have been a little more progressive than the city’s. 4. New Business - none 5. Discussion of Items to Be Placed on Next Agenda ● Board evaluation form ● Progress on orientation documents 6. Meeting Adjournment -- Jennifer moved and Shanay seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 5:57. Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Hadley