Present:

Chair:  Tim Tierney

Vice-Chair: Kathy Fisher (Pro tem)

Trustees:  Steven Begg, Allan Higdon, Pamela Sweet,
Marianne Wilkinson

Regrets:

Vice-Chair André Bergeron, Trustee Catherine McKenney

Absent:

Scott Moffatt

DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No Declarations of Interest were filed.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Minutes 39 - Tuesday, 4 September 2018

Confidential Minutes 10 – Tuesday, 4 September 2018

CONFIRMED

In Vice-Chair Bergeron’s absence, the Board appointed a Vice-Chair pro tem.

MOTION OPL 20181009/1

Moved by Trustee Sweet:

WHEREAS any point of order or procedure for which rules have not been provided in the Board’s Procedure By-law, shall be decided by the Chair in accordance, as far as is reasonably practicable, with the rules of procedure contained in Robert’s Rules of Order;

WHEREAS the latest Robert’s Rule of Order Newly Revised (11^th Edition) from 2011) indicates that a Vice-Chair (whether permanent or temporary) “should be chosen principally for the ability to preside given if the presiding officer must leave his/her seat”;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Ottawa Public Library Board appoint Trustee Kathy Fisher as Vice-Chair pro tem to serve for Vice-Chair Bergeron in his absence for this meeting.

CARRIED

CHAIR’S VERBAL UPDATE

Rosemount branch Revitalization – Open House

OPL initiated a collection of public input for the Rosemount branch Revitalization. The first was a preliminary online bilingual survey that received 700 responses. Secondly, a well attended Open House on October 3, facilitated by OPL and the architect (+VG), which included presentation boards of the project objectives, existing conditions, revitalization priorities by library area, and conceptual blocking diagrams.  Community members were invited to provide feedback on the presented materials, which is available on the OPL website with opportunity for further input until November 2.  Chair Tierney thanked Vice-Chair Bergeron for attending the Open House.

Teen Author Fest

Teen Author Fest will be happening on October 27 at Sunnyside branch and Southminster United Church. It is an opportunity for book lovers of all ages to participate in discussions with great authors of the Youth Adult (YA) genre and to connect with other YA fans and readers.

MOTION OPL 20181009/2

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

RECEIVED

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT

Ottawa-Gatineau Emergency Situation

In September, Ottawa experienced sustained power outages due to tornadoes that impacted OPL operations. The CEO said that Corporate Duty Officers and Service Duty Officers at OPL provide for on-call assistance in responding to security or emergency situations. She mentioned that OPL operated with reduced branches on Saturday, that 50 percent of the branches normally open on Sundays were able to open, and that Monday saw a few branches remain closed. The CEO said OPL extended customer holds and waived fees due to the closures. She thanked OPL’s Emergency Management team who were called upon to work: Ann Archer, Anna Basile, Sara Beaudry, Nadine Bernard, Cathy Bourgoin, Catherine Bragg, Jennifer Calhoun, Monique Désormeaux, Rachael Duplisea, Jane Koutras, Karen Paquette, Matthew Pritz, Catherine Seaman, Adine Szalai, Yvonne van Lith, and Alex Yarrow.

October is Library Month

October Library Month is celebrated across Canada and it gives OPL an opportunity to show appreciation to customers in memorable ways, as well as to highlight all that the OPL has to offer. All month, OPL will give away Golden Tickets à la Willy Wonka that can be redeemed for a beautiful, locally handmade book bag. In addition, OPL will have a special customer appreciation event on October 25 handing out golden tickets but the locations will remain a surprise. It has been an exciting first week for all customers, and social media is buzzing.

TD Summer Reading Program 2018

OPL ran a very successful Summer Reading program with more than 23,500 participants who read a total of 314,293 books. She thanked staff who have had a organized and delivered this program, and to all the young readers in their accomplishment.

MOTION OPL 20181003/3

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

RECEIVED

PRESENTATIONS

1.

PRESENTATION – URBAN LIBRARY COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICA (ULC) – TOP INNOVATION AWARD – OTTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY

Danielle McDonald, CEO made introductory remarks indicating that OPL created a new eBook platform, a first in Canada, to give customers rapid access to the most sought-after eBook titles.  She expressed pride in being named a Top Innovator by the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) for the Express eBooks service.  OPL won in the category of “Collections that demonstrate the value and impact of public library service,” and was selected from 220 submissions in 10 categories.  The CEO said customers benefit from service consistency and the knowledge that this platform is making more efficient use of their tax dollars.

Chair Tierney gave special thanks to Matt Abbott, Ann Archer, Monique Brûlé, Laura Cordukes, Amy Hoffmann, Joan Keith, Rachel McLean, and Chris Simmons saying the award would not have been possible without their passion and dedication, which shows how adaptable OPL is in an ever-changing environment. Chair Tierney was pleased OPL was recognized for the achievement at the most recent session at City of Ottawa Council.

The ULC award and the City of Ottawa Council achievement frame were displayed. (Held on file with the Chief Executive Officer)

2.

PRESENTATION – ORDER OF FRIENDSHIP RECIPIENT – HELEN TWEDDLE (POSTHUMOUS)

Chair Tierney invited Trustee Sweet and CEO, Danielle McDonald to the podium. He said the Order of Friendship is a special honour bestowed upon a recipient once every two years to recognize exceptional volunteer contributions made to the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) by individuals, groups, or institutions. Chair Tierney recognized the members of the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA), including Vlad Uher, President; Chantal Cloutier, Past President; and, Brenda Rosenberg, Treasurer.

Trustee Sweet detailed Mrs. Tweddle’s outstanding commitment to the OPL and described the efforts she made as a volunteer via her work with FOPLA.

Chair Tierney presented the 2018 OPL Board Order of Friendship to Sue Garda (daughter) and Allen Tweddle (husband), in honour of their late mother, wife, Mrs. Helen Tweddle. 

Ms. Garda and Mr. Tweddle were very grateful for the nomination and commented that Ms. Tweedle would have been very proud to receive the award. They thanked the Chair, the CEO, and also the Board.

The Chair advised that refreshments would be available in the Billings Room following the adjournment of the meeting.

REPORT

3.

SEMI-ANNUAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT – JANUARY TO JUNE 2018

OPLB-2018-1003

In response to a question from Vice-Chair Fisher (pro tem) regarding an automated process for holds notification and the option to cancel, Ms. Désormeaux said customers are notified by phone or email that a hold has arrived for them. Holds are held for customers for seven business days. On day four, customers are reminded that they have holds waiting for them. She mentioned that customers can suspend or cancel their holds by signing into their account or by calling InfoService prior to the hold expiring. The impact to customers is $1.00 for restocking on expired holds with a maximum $50 fine.

MOTION OPL 20181009/4

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

RECEIVED

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION OPL 20181009/5

Be It Resolved that the Ottawa Public Library Board meeting be adjourned at 5:29 p.m.