Ottawa Public Library Board Meeting

Minutes 4

Tuesday, 14 May 2019

5:02 p.m.

Champlain Room, Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West

Present:

Chair:  Tim Tierney

Vice-Chair: Allan Higdon (Pro tem)

Trustees:  Steven Begg, Riley Brockington, Mary-Rose Brown, Matthew Luloff, Carol Anne Meehan, Harvey A. Slack

Regrets:

Vice-Chair Kathy Fisher

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No Declarations of Interest were filed.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Minutes 3 - Tuesday, 9 April 2019

Trustee Brockington asked that the words “has not yet been conducted in his ward” be added in the first sentence of the first paragraph on page 7.

CARRIED, as amended

In Vice-Chair Fisher absence, the Board appointed a Vice-Chair pro tem.

MOTION OPL 20190514/1

Moved by Trustee Begg:

WHEREAS Vice-Chair Fisher has advised her absence for the May meeting and a Vice-Chair is required to be appointed in the interim;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Ottawa Public Library Board appoint Trustee Allan Higdon as Vice-Chair pro tem for this meeting.

CARRIED

CHAIR’S VERBAL UPDATE

Chair Tierney indicated that the Board will be approving the Strategic Plan at its meeting in June. The agenda will be released in advance of normal timelines.

Inspire555

Chair Tierney mentioned that all public engagement and meetings taking place within the City were postponed due to the State of Emergency related to flooding in Ottawa. He said this impacted the Public Engagement sessions for Inspire555 on May 1 and 4. Chair Tierney announced that the workshops have been rescheduled to June 1 and 3, with those originally registered to attend having first chance to register for the new dates. He indicated that the public engagement online will begin May 21 and will close June 5. The public feedback from these workshops will be incorporated into the design plan. He invited all Canadians to visit Inspire555.ca to provide online input.

MOTION OPL 20190514/2

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

RECEIVED

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT

May is Asian Heritage Month

The CEO indicated that throughout May, the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) offered programs and events, with free admission to celebrate Asian Heritage Month. People of all ages discovered the legacy and diverse cultures through educational and cultural programs, such as Chanoyu (‘tea and hot water’), a fascinating tea ritual still practiced in Japan and throughout the world today, and learned how to make their own kombucha at home. The CEO mentioned that customers can join OPL for an intimate conversation between author Denise Chong and emerging writer Jamie Liew at the Main branch on May 23 at 7:00 pm. Certain programs require online registration, more information can be found on the website.

Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA) – April Mammoth Sales

The CEO congratulated FOPLA for breaking the $5,000 threshold at the April Mammoth Sale. The advertising and publicity that was received in early April following the large donation of 12,000 vinyl records helped FOPLA reach record-breaking results. She appreciated Board members tweeting out FOPLA events and news. She encouraged everyone to visit the ‘Friends’ website for the next Mammoth Sale date.

OPL’s Safety Commercial vehicle operators’ registration (CVOR) Rating

The CEO announced that OPL maintained a positive Overall Safety Rating, for the commercial vehicle operators license required for bookmobiles and materials delivery fleet. For the past three years, OPL has had no violations, infractions, major collisions or convictions by the drivers. The Ministry of Transportation’s CVOR system monitors commercial carrier safety to improve road safety for all road users. The CEO congratulated staff and all OPL drivers for this exemplary achievement.

Recent flooding situation and OPL impacts

The CEO indicated that the City entered into a State of Emergency at the end of April with regard to the flooding situation that has impacted homes along the Ottawa River. The Constance Bay branch, co-located in the Community Centre serves as a community support resource. She said OPL waived fees and extended holds for those negatively impacted by the floods.

MOTION OPL 20190514/3

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

RECEIVED

PRESENTATION

1.

CONTENT SERVICES - PRESENTATION

Ann Archer, Program Manager, Content Services provided a presentation on the story of a Library book and how a book becomes part of the Library collection. (Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer.) Ms. Archer walked through the steps it takes to get a book ready for OPL customers, from the publisher, to OPL selection, through to ordering, cataloguing, linking, processing, and off to the branches. Monique Brûlé, Division Manager was available to respond to questions.

Trustee Slack commented that the example used in the presentation, Bruce and Vicki Heyman’s book “The Art of Diplomacy”, had a print run of 35,000 and asked what the print run was for a Canadian bestseller. Ms. Archer confirmed that Canadian bestsellers have a print run of 5,000.

Trustee Begg was concerned about the challenges the library has with purchasing multilingual materials. Ms. Archer said the Library continues to have challenges with purchasing multilingual collections. She mentioned that the quality of this material is constantly under review. The Library provides the collection via eContent where possible, for example via PressReader for newspaper and magazine content.

In response to a question from Trustee Brockington regarding how the library prioritizes a request from the public for the library to add a specific book to its collection, Ms. Archer said staff prioritize based on many factors; who is the publisher, what is the past record of the book, if the book is self-published, etc.

MOTION OPL 20190514/4

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

RECEIVED

REPORTS

2.

DIGITAL CONTENT ADVOCACY - UPDATE

OPLB-2019-0502

Trustee Brockington urged staff to elaborate on the benefits of digital content within the Council recommendations and proposed text for the letter to the Federal Members of Parliament in pages six and seven be strengthened. Ms. Brûlé advised that staff can amend and add to both as requested.

There being no further questions, the item was CARRIED as presented with a direction to staff.

MOTION OPL 20190514/5

That the Ottawa Public Library Board approve that the Chair of the Board seek Ottawa City Council’s approval of a motion, as presented in document 1, in support of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council’s sustained advocacy efforts.

CARRIED

Direction to staff:

That staff strengthen the recommendations to Ottawa City Council and the proposed letter to Federal Members of Parliament to better reflect the importance of digital content to library customers.

3.

2018 POLICY COMPLIANCE AND DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY ANNUAL REPORTING

OPLB-2019-0503

MOTION OPL 20190514/6

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

RECEIVED

4.

2019 FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL STATUS REPORT

OPLB-2019-0504

MOTION OPL 20190514/7

That the Ottawa Public Library Board receive the 2019 first quarter financial reports.

RECEIVED

INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY DISTRIBUTED

A.

PARAMETERS FOR USING DEVELOPMENT CHARGES (DCs)

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION OPL 20190514/8

Be It Resolved that the Ottawa Public Library Board meeting be adjourned at 5:30 p.m.