Russell Library Board of Trustees

Governance Committee of the Russell Library Board of Trustees Regular Meeting, April 7, 2021, 5:00 PM (Online meeting via Webex) Minutes Present: Brandie Doyle (Assistant Director for Administrative Services), Jennifer Hadley (recorder), Gregory Harris, Bryan Skowera (chair), Alison Williams Absent: Thomas Russell IV 1. Call to Order: Chair Bryan Skowera called the meeting to order at 5:07 pm. As agreed at the previous meeting, Alison led the meeting to demonstrate the inclusive frameworks she uses. She shared typical guidelines for her meetings, including making sure everyone has an opportunity to speak, making space for others, but also speaking up. All opinions are valid and should be respected. Listen openly. Challenge ideas not people. Speak from one’s own personal experiences, using I statements. Provide evidence for anything you claim as fact. Alison will send her powerpoint to everyone. 2. Approval of Minutes from March 3, 2021 Governance Committee Meeting Bryan moved and Greg seconded the motion to approve the minutes. Three approved (Alison, Bryan, and Jennifer), and Greg abstained. 3. Public Comment No public present. 4. Old Business a. Personal Policy - Work from home policy - Priority is public service, which requires physical presence in building. Positions have varying degrees of flexibility in this regard so administration will be trying to find a fair balance. Do not anticipate needing an MOU with the union on this issue. Bryan moved to approve the as written remote work policy. Alison seconded. The motion was approved unanimously. i. Exit interviews - Brandie has been in touch with the city HR director, who has provided standard forms. Russell Library is likely to adopt them for voluntary separations. Will have separate procedures for staff who are terminated or laid off. Brandie would like to offer an option for staff to provide written feedback vs. in-person interview. Alison may have a sample form to share. b. Potential Engagement for Anti-Racist Policy Review - The RL Equity and Inclusion team has started the process of drafting an anti-racism statement, as well as working through the report Awake to Work to Work (https://equityinthecenter.org/aww/). Brandie should be able to present the draft statement possibly by the May Governance Committee meeting, but definitely by the June meeting. Looking to engage the Middletown Racial Justice Coalition to review the draft when the new fiscal year begins. c. Meeting Guidelines i. Standardized Agendas - Standardizing agendas across committee meetings was discussed at the last board meeting. Greg shared ideas about public comments and agendas. Doesn’t seem to be a problem, but could have time limits for each speaker for initial comments or total limit for public comments before the meeting, and then resume comments after the rest of the agenda has been addressed. Typical format for an agenda is to have reports for committees right after the approval of the minutes. If the report has a recommendation for an action, the motion for vote would then be held during new or old business so that all reports can be completed first. Bryan mentioned that motions from committees do not need a second because they have already been voted on in the committee. It would be good to have items to be voted on clearly stated in the agenda so that the public is informed. Brandie pointed out that the Bylaws Article 4 Section 6 outline an agenda similar to what Greg suggested. Bryan will draft a proposal to be formally adopted at the next Governance Committee meeting. Jennifer said that in the past committees have shared written reports before the board meeting. Bryan and Alison liked this idea. Chairs could give an executive summary during the board meeting. Bryan and Greg discussed whether draft minutes are considered to be the formal minutes. FOIA isn’t concerned with whether minutes have been approved. Bare minimum is to include votes on motions. We give ourselves the opportunity to approve and amend minutes. Bryan will follow up by looking further into FOIA legal requirements. 5. New Business a. Collection Development/Material Selection Policy Last month, the committee approved the revised policy. Subsequently, Jennifer Billingsley, Director of Youth and Family Learning, made suggestions for changes in 7.6 Item 1 i.e., using CREW weeding manual (with link). 7.8 Item 2 includes adding the librarian with the collection impacted by any objection to review the objection with the library director. Bryan moved to approve the revisions. Jennifer seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Brandie thanked Jennifer Billingsley, who attended the meeting, for her suggested wording. 6. Discussion of Items to be Placed on Next Agenda Bryan will work on a sample agenda which incorporates anything he finds about FOIA requirements. We will also discuss sample recommendations to Board to improve meeting guidelines - including reiterating the opening statements Alison demonstrated at this meeting each time. We might also consider whether rotating meeting facilitators across committees would help get more voices involved. The chair could serve as parliamentarian, ie., keep track of what rules need to be observed 7. Additional Public Comment - no public in attendance. 8. Meeting Adjournment -- Greg moved and Bryan seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:04. Respectfully submitted, Jennifer Hadley