Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, June 17, 2014

Agenda

Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 9 a.m.

Harold Washington Library Center
400 S. State Street
Multi-Purpose Room, Lower Level
  1. Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting on May 20, 2014 (action required)
  2. Schedule of Requisitions and Contracts (action required)
  3. Fine Policy Change Recommendation (action required)
  4. CPL Capital Project and Facilities Reports (info. only)
  5. CPL 3 Year Strategy (info only)
  6. Commissioner’s Report (info only)
    • Guests: Elizabeth McChesney, Director of Children and Young Adult Services and Jeremy Dunn, Director of Teen Services
  7. Chicago Public Library Foundation Report
  8. Other Business
  9. Questions and comments from the audience

Next Board meeting:

Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 9 a.m.

Carter G. Woodson Regional Library
9525 S. Halsted Street

Open Session Minutes

Board Members in Attendance

Physically Present

  • Linda Johnson Rice
  • Christopher P. Valenti
  • Barbara Bowman
  • Jodi Block

Absent

  • Lynn Lockwood
  • Josephine Gomez
  • Chaka Patterson
  • Cristina Benitez
  • Denise Gardner

Approval of Minutes

Tabled until September 16, 2014 Board of Directors meeting.

Schedule of Requisitions and Contracts

Tabled until September 16, 2014 Board of Directors meeting.

Fine Policy Change Recommendation

Tabled until September 16, 2014 Board of Directors meeting.

CPL Capital Project and Facilities Reports

Greta Bever, Assistant Commissioner of Central Library Services, provided the capital projects report and highlighted new activity on the following locations:

Projects under Construction

  • Albany Park - Roof in progress, face brick complete, window framing and glazing near completion. Interior framing installation in progress. Mechanical equipment delivered and installed gas, electric, and water service to the building complete. Projected Substantial Completion: June 2014

Projects in Design

  • Chinatown - National submittals and fabrication underway, site mobilization pending IGA approval with IEPA, application intake sessions (Job Fairs) Community Meeting scheduled for May 7 and June 13, 2014, Groundbreaking ceremony held May 13.

Projects in Planning

  • Whitney Young – pending project scope and budget confirmation
  • Galewood-Mont Clare – location closed May 10 - June 8 for renovation and to redecorate interior to focus on Early Learning and Play; will reopen on June 9 for kickoff of Summer Learning Challenge; New hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, Noon-8 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Closed Saturdays anf Sundays

Facility Improvements & Maintenance

  • Façade replacements underway for Woodson Regional, Austin and Legler libraries
  • Estimates and recommendations received for HVAC system replacements at Austin, Douglass and Pullman branches
  • Fire Alarm Systems - on site reviews and reports for Blackstone, Hall, Chicago Bee, Hegewisch, South Shore have been completed
  • At Sulzer, EXP is analyzing existing conditions of the building envelope – destructive testing of the walls is scheduled for this week. Upon completion, the rehab/upgrade strategy will be determined.
  • Design for all packages is complete for HWLC - JOC contractor is pricing the fire alarm, generator and cooling tower packages. Roof replacement package is being bid thru City roofing vendors.
  • Automated Materials Handling System is on schedule for projected completion in fall 2014

CPL 3 Year Strategy

Commissioner’s Report

Commissioner Bannon gave the Commissioner’s Report and announced the following:

    • CPL’s Strategic Plan will be presented at next month’s Board meeting, the key priorities of the Plan are to offer: Access for All, Nurture Learning, Support Economic advancement, Strengthen communities and serve patrons effectively.
    • Under leadership of Michelle Frisque, CPL has created the Department of Technology, Content and Innovation, which will merge library technology, collections and acquisitions into one unit.
    • The 20th annual All Staff Institute Day (ASID) took place on May 7, 2014; six sessions were offered that included an unconference, Get Wild about the Summer Learning Challenge, Program/Service effectiveness, Human Centered Design and Customer Service, Surviving the public and Serving Up Excellence at the Customer Service Café.
    • CPL will host an IMLS event on STEM Learning at HWLC on June 5, 2014. The focus of the meeting is to understand and better support STEM learning in libraries.
    • CPL was selected as a recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service; President Rice, Vice President Valenti and Commissioner Bannon accepted the award on behalf of the Library in Washington D.C. on May 8, 2014
    • CPL received a $150,000 grant from Motorola Mobility to extend the Maker Lab project through summer 2015.
    • Google donated 500 Finch Robots to CPL to support computer science education for ages 8-adults. The Finch Robot press event was held on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at the Northtown Branch.
    • Board members were given a report of the online resources that have been renewed between Jan-May 2014. CPL did not purchase or license any new content during this time.

Chicago Public Library Foundation Report

Rhona Frazin, CEO of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, presented the Foundation report.

Other Business

None

Questions and Comments from the Audience

The Board addressed comments from the audience regarding consideration for a new branch to replace the Independence Branch library; a request to consider adding solar to library locations, and a request to offer new programs semi-annually or annually regarding mental health awareness.

Next Board Meeting

The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 at 9 a.m. at the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, 9525 S. Halsted Street.

Commissioner’s Report – June 2014

Guest: Elizabeth McChesney, Director of Children and Young Adult Services and Jeremy Dunn, Director of Learning

eCard

Earlier this month, CPL launched the eCard which allows patrons access to off-site services (i.e. databases and eBooks) without having to visit the Library. To receive an eCard, patrons complete a short application on the CPL website and are then issued an eCard number that displays on the screen and a confirmation email that also includes the eCard number. eCards expire after 3 years and are renewable online. However, in order to check-out material from Library, the patron must visit a Library location and “upgrade” their eCard to receive a physical Library card with full borrowing privileges.

Services available to eCard holders include:

      • eBook and related content from OverDrive, OneClickDigital, Zinio and Hoopla
      • databases and subscription sites such as Brainfuse, Morningstar, Mango, and the Chicago Tribune Historical Archive
      • placing holds in the catalog

Services not available to eCard holders, requiring them to convert their eCard to a card with full borrowing privileges before using, include:

      • checking out physical materials
      • making a reservation for a public computer

Better Worlds Book Contract

Better World Books (BWB) is a global bookstore that harnesses the power of capitalism to bring literacy and opportunity to people around the world. With each book that they sell, funding is generated to support worldwide literacy programs. Core to their mission is their close partnerships with libraries.

As a result of the contract with the City of Chicago, BWB will market and sell Chicago Public Library’s surplus materials on over 50 on and offline marketplaces.  20% of the net proceeds from the sale of surplus materials will be paid to the Library on a monthly basis.  Net proceeds include the items selling price less marketplace commission and discounts.  For any item that sells for over $500, 50% of net proceeds are repaid to the Chicago Public Library.   For the first year it is budgeted that the BWB contract will net the City a profit of $50K.

Announcements

  • The Chicago Public Library will be closed on Fri, July 4 in recognition of Independence Day.
  • CPL would like to present Ruth Lednicer, CPL’s Director of a Marketing & Communications, with the Gold Library Card. Ruth is leaving CPL at the end of June to relocate to Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband. After 11 years at Chicago Public Library, Ruth has been a constant voice promoting all the Library has to offer. Under Ruth, CPL was an early adopter of social media and showed how these new tools can increase patron engagement and library use. Ruth has championed countless marketing, communications, and outreach initiatives for the CPL resulting in national and international visibly for the library.  Please join me in congratulating Ruth on this exciting new beginning!
  • Patrick Molloy, Director of Government and Public Affairs, will assume responsibility for day to day operations for Marketing and Public Administration while we recruit Ruth’s replacement.

Chicago Public Library Foundation Report to the Board of the Chicago Public Library

June 17, 2014

The Chicago Public Library Foundation is pleased to report on the success of our resource development activity on behalf of the Library. On April 4, the Junior Board of the Foundation had its inaugural event in the Winter Garden. Night in the Stacks drew a sold out crowd of more than 350 young professionals.  Thanks to sponsors BMO Harris Bank, Sidley & Austin, the Chicago Tribune and Printers Row Journal and U.S. Equities Realty, the event raised Gross revenue including in-kind gifts of $110,000 and net cash revenue of $43,000—which the Junior Board has designated in support of the Summer Learning Challenge.

This year’s Carl Sandburg Literary Awards, scheduled for October 22, will be co-chaired by Mark Furlong, CEO of BMO Harris Bank and Foundation Director Carlette McMullan of William Blair. Cash, in-kind donations and pledges to date total in excess of $700,000—more than $250,000 ahead of where we were at this time last year. In addition to our honorees Doris Kearns Goodwin, Larry McMurtry and Veronica Roth, we will once again be joined by hosts Scott Simon of NPR and Bill Kurtis. We also have a great line-up of authors at every table including Saturday Night Live’s Julia Sweeney, bestselling novelists Philip Caputo and Eric Charles May and former 21st Century winners Christine Sneed, Eula Biss, Elizabeth Crane and Jeffery Renard Allen. It’s sure to be a great evening, so we hope you will all be with us once again this year.

Recent grant highlights include:

  • $150,000 from Motorola Mobility to extend Maker Labs for an additional year
  • Polk Bros. Foundation has pledged $100,000 to continue support of CyberNavigators
  • $50,000 from Bank of America and $40,000 from Peoples Gas for Out of School Learning Challenges
  • Grants of more than $40,000 for the Summer Learning Challenge have come from Cubs Care and Macy’s
  • Brinson Foundation, Comcast, ComEd and the Elizabeth Morse Foundation have all made $25,000 grants to the Summer Learning Challenge, and additional gifts have come from Field Foundation of Illinois and RPM Advertising.
  • $70,000 from Target in sponsorship of this November’s Bookamania
  • Cindy Pritzker’s 90th birthday fund- will be funding development of a prototype, interactive, play-focused early learning space at the new Albany Park Branch library opening later this summer.
  • A number of requests for funding of workforce development initiatives at the Library are currently pending with Boeing, Walmart and JP Morgan Chase.

Our thanks go to many members of the Library staff for their expertise which contributed mightily to these successful fundraising efforts.

Finally our Board was delighted to elect Library Director Jodi Block to a three-year term as an ex officio member of the Foundation Board, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel has agreed to serve as Honorary Chair of the Foundation Board.