Russell Library Board of Trustees

Governance Committee of the Russell Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting, December 2, 2020, 5:00 PM (Online meeting via Webex) Minutes Present: ​Brandie Doyle (Assistant Director for Administrative Services), Gregory Harris, Jennifer Hadley (recorder), Bryan Skowera (chair), Alison Williams Absent: ​Thomas Russell IV 1. Call to Order: Chair Bryan Skowera called the meeting to order at 5:15 pm. 2. Agenda amendments Bryan moved to amend Agenda from approval of July minutes to approval of October minutes. Greg seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Bryan moved to add to new business a vote on the meeting calendar. Greg seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Approval of Minutes from October 7, 2020 Meeting Jennifer moved and Greg seconded to approve the minutes of the October 7, 2020 Governance Committee meeting. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Public Comment No comment. 4. Old Business a. Board Orientation Materials - Library history is complete. - Revised ACLB Handbook has been uploaded to the folder. Note: It is recommended that Board members sign up for the ACLB mailing list. - Dear Incoming Trustee -- Brandie will ask MB&A to revise and Brandie can help revise. - Trustee agreement of responsibilities -- accepted to add to Orientation packet - to be signed annually. - Trustee Action Items - some parts are required, some aspirational. Intended to provide a timeframe for actions on an annual basis. Add advocacy for Russell Library and State Library initiatives. Bryan will organize by time frame. Begin with one time items, then quarterly items, etc. Greg noted an idea from Chuck V. Loring -- that each trustee should have a portfolio, i.e., competencies -- a list of that person’s strengths and what they will do for Russell Library that corresponds to their interests. Also asked whether trustees might be asked to go to other local meetings to support initiatives.  - BIll of Rights has been added to folder - FOI has been added. - Update library leadership info. Bryan will organize the Orientation folder to group superseded documents in a subfolder (archive.) b. Personnel Policy Brandie has completed the first round of edits to customize to Russell Library. Ramona will review. Brandie will have revisions available for the next meeting. 5. New Business a. Collection Development/Material Selection Policy Discussed selection criteria for this policy based on review of other libraries’ policies. Trying to make the policy more flexible and inclusive. Also must address removing items from the collection. Move towards general policies that apply to all collections, i.e., away from separate policies for each collection. Many books cross genres and age ranges. Discussed popularity, representation and curation and how the diversification of the collection could help make the library more welcoming. Will require a financial commitment. Use reviewed lists of books from/about diverse groups. Brandie will prepare a draft for the next meeting. Committee members can email Brandie ideas for additions/subtractions. Cc the group and refrain from commenting until the next meeting. b. Meeting Schedule Greg moved and Jennifer seconded a motion to approve the Meeting Schedule for 2021-22. The motion was approved unanimously. 7. Additional Public Comment - no public comment. 8. Meeting Adjournment -- Greg moved and Alison seconded to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:26. Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Hadley