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Ottawa Public Library Board Meeting

Minutes 33

Tuesday, 12 April 2022

5:01 p.m.

Electronic Participation

 

 

Notes:             1.         The Ottawa Public Library Board members participated virtually.

 

Chair Luloff welcomed members and attendees to the Ottawa Public Library Board meeting and delivered the Indigenous land acknowledgement statement and proceeded with roll call by voice in random order. Note: The Board discussed Item 4 as the first held item of business.

Present:

Chair:  Matthew Luloff

Vice-Chair: Kathy Fisher

Trustees:  Riley Brockington, Mary-Rose Brown, Allan Higdon, Rawlson King, Harvey A. Slack

Regrets:

Trustee Steven Begg

 

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No Declarations of Interest were filed.

 

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

 

Minutes 31 – Tuesday, 8 March 2022

 

 

Confidential Minutes 8 – Tuesday, 8 March 2022

 

 

Minutes 32 – Thursday, 24 March 2022

 

 

Confidential Minutes 9 – Thursday, 24 March 2022

 

 

 

CONFIRMED

 

 

CHAIR’S VERBAL UPDATE

April is National Poetry Month

The Chair provided a prose format for National Poetry Month as follows:

“Now for an update that’s really quite cool, National Poetry Month brings together schools, publishers, booksellers, library organizations, and libraries; and it’s really obvious that this is a month certainly worthy of elation, so check out our website for staff recommendations. And if you don’t mind me being so bold, my favourite poem is about being out in the cold. It’s by Robert Frost and holds so much meaning. Stopping by woods on a snowy evening. But he’s not Canadian, and we sure have a lot, like Atwood and Billings and Lubrin and Scott. National Petry Month is an excellent time to take out several books that rhyme and ones that don’t, because there are lots of different kinds of poetry. Like haiku and the sonnet, the limerick and free verse. But I’ll stop now before this gets worse, but one last thought before we move on, get to the library while National Poetry Month is on!”

April Programs at OPL

The Chair said OPL will be inviting families to join a StoryWalk across the city at various branches when it launches on April 14. OPL has partnered with local author and illustrator Timm Holmes to create a unique and original “Choose Your Own Adventure” StoryWalk. The StoryWalk is a fun-filled activity that allows families to sing, talk, write, read, and play together. Customers can also check out our Pieced Together StoryWalk website and YouTube series to experience the StoryWalk online.

Branch Renovations

The Chair indicated that several of the branches will be undergoing renovations this spring. Throughout the months of April and May, the gardens at the Osgoode branch will be beautified, courtesy of the Osgoode Village Garden Club members and Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and community volunteers. The new plants have been donated by the Richmond Nursery. The Chair thanked everyone involved in the beautification. The Chair also mentioned that the North Gloucester branch will be receiving new shelving and carpet. The project is expected to start in May, and details surrounding modified services will be released later in April.

One eRead Canada 2022

The Chair indicated that in April, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC) launched One eRead 2022 with The Break by Katherena Vermette, for a month-long bilingual cross-country digital book club. It is a program that highlights how important it is that libraries provide Canadian digital content. He noted that OPL’s Cantook Station, CloudLibrary, Hoopla, and Overdrive platforms are featuring unlimited access to Katherena’s gritty and compelling novel set in Winnipeg’s Metis community. OPL is especially excited to be involved with two flagship events, hosting Shelagh Rogers’ English interview with the author on April 20, followed by Marie-Louise Arsenault’s French interview with Mélissa Verreault, translator of the book, on April 21. The Chair invited everyone to  join OPL for stimulating conversation about the book, and recommended following OPL on Facebook and Twitter and visiting the OPL website for more details.

MOTION OPL 20220412/1

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive the Chair’s verbal update for information.

 

 

RECEIVED

 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT

Volunteer Recognition

National Volunteer Week is celebrated April 24-30, 2022. The CEO said that volunteers have always been important for OPL’s success and thanked the 108 volunteers who contributed more than 700 volunteer hours in 2021! She said that OPL looks forward to being able to celebrate volunteers in-person again in the near future. She also thanked the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA) which provides funding for numerous wonderful initiatives at OPL through their sale of used books. The CEO indicated that she also has the privilege of thanking the Board Trustees, for all the time that they contribute to the Library: attending events, visiting branches, participating on Ad hoc Committees, and most importantly, guiding the direction of the organization. She notes that Trustees are both caring and passionate stewards of the library system.

Provincial Election

The provincial election will be held in June. The CEO noted that, as has been done in the past, the Ontario Library Association and the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries have developed an Elections Toolkit with resources to support public libraries with their advocacy efforts. The toolkit includes resources for engaging with candidates or campaign staff through letters, social media, and meetings. In the coming weeks, staff will use the Toolkit to draft letters for local candidates, advocating for library services. The CEO indicated that support for local stakeholders, decision-makers, and leaders is essential to ensuring that libraries in Ontario get the support they need.

Ādisōke Update

The CEO remarked that, in the past few weeks, there has been a lot of movement at the Ādisōke construction site. The project reached a noteworthy milestone with the installation of the tower crane, which is easy to notice when someone passes by the site. She indicated that this is an important achievement, since it marks the start of significant construction lift-work to begin. Work is continuing on the building foundation, and formwork has begun. For additional details on the construction work, the CEO encouraged everyone to visit Ādisōke.ca.

Student Placements at OPL

The CEO indicated that OPL is proud to be hosting nine Library Technician student placements this spring. These placements are a key recruitment strategy for OPL, as more than 30% of the unionized positions in the organization require a minimum of a Library Technician diploma. She thanked the OPL teams that are hosting these students and Algonquin and Mohawk colleges for partnering with OPL.

Recognition – Brenda Gorton

The CEO was pleased to acknowledge the upcoming retirement of one of OPL’s key business partners, Brenda Gorton. Ms. Gorton has been the City of Ottawa Financial Services Account Manager assigned to OPL for more than two decades, almost since amalgamation. Over the years, Brenda has been a trusted advisor to OPL in all financial matters, providing guidance and clarity on both the financial governance side, as well as the detailed accounting side. She has seen the organization through interesting financial environments, kept OPL on the straight and narrow, and helped to streamline  accounting both on the operational and capital sides. The CEO said, more than anything, Brenda has been a friend to OPL, and supportive of our mission. While Brenda will be missed around the office, the CEO noted that she is deserving of moving into retirement, and the rest and relaxation (or new-found hobbies) that this will bring. The CEO congratulated Brenda and thanked her for all her hard work and guidance, and wished her all the best in retirement.

MOTION OPL 20220412/2

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive the CEO’s report for information.

 

 

RECEIVED

 

PRESENTATIONS

 

1.

OTTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMUNICATIONS - PRESENTATION

 

Catherine Seaman, Division Manager, Customer Experience introduced Rachael Duplisea, Manager, Communications and thanked the Board for the opportunity to provide an overview of OPL’s Communications team. Ms. Duplisea provided a brief presentation on the work the team provides behind the scenes. (Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer). Ms. Duplisea spoke about their mandate, who the key audiences are, the role of the department, when communications expertise is required, and decribed the how and where of communications and planning. Ms. Duplisea provided images of examples of recent designs, webcards and campaigns developed by the Communications team.

Chair Luloff thanked the small but mighty Communications team for all their work and proactive approach, as well as bilingual content.

Vice-Chair Fisher thanked staff for providing a very informative presentation. She gave a shoutout to the team for always providing timely and well-prepared notes to trustees, in advance of various speaking opportunities.

Trustee King echoed Vice-Chair Fisher’s comments. He praised staff for all their work on the website and social media content, and for the quality of the Annual Report.

Trustee Brockington asked staff to elaborate on the rebranding project and whether there will be an opportunity for public engagement. Ms. Seaman noted that the Request for Proposal (RFP) is currently being developped to engage the services of an agency, which will develop an approach to the branding strategy. She noted that more information about this would  be coming back to the Board in the fall.

Further to a question from Trustee Brockington on how staff maximize their time, and whether this works provides them with the opportunity to share information with patrons at the branches, Ms. Seaman noted that there are digital slides containing pertinent information for customers in the branches, which are updated daily. As well, there is a shared staff blog/intranet to ensure that frontline staff are well informed and can share information with customers. Finally, she noted  the CEO’s monthly email to staff, which inclues important updates.

Trustee Slack thanked the team and commented that he is looking forward to the rebranding project.

There being no further questions, the presentation was RECEIVED as presented.

MOTION OPL 20220412/3

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this presentation for information.

 

 

RECEIVED

 

2.

OPL COVID-19 RECOVERY PLAN - UPDATE

 

Ms. McDonald and Ms. Seaman provided a verbal presentation regarding an update on the Library’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan. (Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer). Ms. McDonald spoke to the increasing COVID-19 rates in the community and estimated that the latest wave has impacted employee absences by about 5-10%. She said that through the work with the COVID-19 Ad hoc Committee in early 2022, a long-range plan was designed to be flexible, one that would help staff move toward a gradual return of hours of operations while decreasing the likelihood of having to close branches on an inconsistent basis, which helped mitigate some of the risk experienced most recently. Ms. Seaman reiterated the recent provincial changes and impacts to OPL. With the elimination of physical distancing, OPL was able to return to regular capacity and bring seating back, increase the amount of time customers have to use computers and chromebooks; and reopen meeting rooms, as they were no longer required for furniture storage and staff use. She spoke about plans to expand some services in April and mentioned that once staffing levels increase, the resumption of all regular bookmobile stops and regular hours for branches and InfoService will be considered. Ms. Seaman said that the Ad hoc Committee will continue to be consulted on an as-needed basis, and that staff will provide COVID-19 updates to the Board on an as-needed basis as well.

There being no further questions, the presentation was RECEIVED as presented.

MOTION OPL 20220412/4

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this presentation for information.

 

 

RECEIVED


 

 

REPORTS

 

3.

AMENDMENT TO ELECTION-RELATED RESOURCES POLICY

 

OPLB-2022-0403

 

MOTION OPL 20220412/5

That the Ottawa Public Library Board approve the amendments to the Election-Related Resources Policy as further described in this report.

 

 

CARRIED

 

4.

COMMEMORATIVE NAMING – DANIEL POLIQUIN PROGRAM ROOM – RIDEAU BRANCH

 

OPLB-2022-0404

 

The Board heard from the following delegation (Note: the delegation spoke in French):

Madeleine Stratford, nominator, spoke about the reasons for the nominating her husband, Daniel Poliquin, for the commemorative naming proposal for the Program Room at the Rideau branch. Daniel Poliquin is an award-winning novelist, writer and literary translator. She remarked that he put French Ontario, in particular Ottawa, on the map. She provided background information about Mr. Poliquin, as well as facts about his current and past work. Ms. Stratford thanked the Board for considering the nomination.

Chair Luloff thanked the delegation for speaking to the nomination and looked forward to the commemorative naming event later in the year.

There being no further comments or questions, the report was CARRIED as presented.

MOTION OPL 20220412/6

That the Ottawa Public Library Board approve the proposal to name the room within the Rideau branch the “Daniel Poliquin Program Room”.

 

 

CARRIED

 

5.

2021 ANNUAL REPORT ON OTTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY RELATED FRAUD CLAIMS

 

OPLB-2022-0405

 

MOTION OPL 20220412/7

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this report for information.

 

 

RECEIVED

 

6.

OTTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY 2021 ANNUAL REPORT

 

OPLB-2022-0406

 

MOTION OPL 20220412/8

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this report for information.

 

 

RECEIVED

 

7.

SEMI-ANNUAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS – JULY TO DECEMBER 2021

 

OPLB-2022-0407

 

Trustee Higdon had a question regarding the retention and growth of library cardholders. Anna Basile, Division Manager, Corporate Services said that while the total number of new memberships created did not reach pre-pandemic levels, the result is promising, as there was an initial decline during the recovery period due to COVID-19. She hopes to see a slow but steady increase in the next few periods.

There being no further comments or questions, the report was RECEIVED as presented.

MOTION OPL 20220412/9

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this report for information.

 

 

RECEIVED

 

TRUSTEES REPORTS

 

8.

ONTARIO LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (OLA) SUPER CONFERENCE

(VICE-CHAIR KATHY FISHER)

 

MOTION OPL 20220412/10

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive this verbal report for information.

 

 

RECEIVED

 

OTHER BUSINESS

Trustee Brockington asked staff to provide a brief update on the Facilities Master Plan, including opportunities for public engagement regarding the Decision Matrix. Ms. Basile said that she anticipated a report to the Board in June following Board approval of the Service Delivery Framework in May. She confirmed that public engagement is expected to start sometime soon thereafter.


 

 

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION OPL 20220412/11

Be It Resolved that the Ottawa Public Library Board meeting be adjourned at 5:50 p.m.

 

Original signed by                                                  Original signed by

Matthew Luloff                                                        Danielle McDonald, CEO

__________________________                           __________________________

Chair                                                                           Recording Secretary