Director Briefing - April 14, 2025

Clarification on Posting Meeting Minutes on Library Website

Open Meetings Law requires that board meeting minutes must be posted within two weeks and retained in perpetuity. Beyond that, there isn't definite guidance on how many years or how best to post the minutes on your library's website .

The approach I take is to post all minutes from the current year, consolidate the previous year's minutes into one PDF, and add a note that says to contact the director for minutes prior to the last date on the site. Feel free to adopt this practice if it makes sense for your library to do so. See the example from the System website below.

I use six years of history, so at the end of 2025, I'll merge all minutes from 2025 into one PDF and drop 2019.

This is not guidance from the Committee on Open Government. I take this approach to keep the System website from becoming overly cumbersome with links and documents.

Patron Information on Invoices for Items

Responding to a few questions that came in regarding how much patron information to include on invoices for lost and damaged items, Dan offered the below explanation:

We're pretty big fans of the principle of data minimization and so is the ALA . In general, this means that only the minimal amount of PII necessary to complete a particular task or process should be collected, stored, or used.

I think that the minimum amount of patron PII that needs to be used for invoices between libraries is no data at all, while the minimum amount of patron PII that needs to be used to communicate with patrons about lost items is what we have on the printed bills right now.

The big difference between PII on invoices and printed bills is necessity:

• Invoices sent to libraries do not need to have patron PII since other non-PII information, such as the item barcode (or the item's URL in the case of deleted items), can be used for processing the invoice. Furthermore, because some libraries may require board approval to process payments, the invoices could end up being viewed by board members -- who are not authorized to access patron PII -- or maybe even others who have access to board meeting materials.

• The printed bills that we produce definitely need to include patron information (so they can be mailed!) and most likely need to include item information, too. I have heard from a couple of our friends in other consortia who have tried generating overdue notices (both print and email) without item information and have had mixed success, so I'd argue that item information is, unfortunately, probably necessary.

The direct URL for items was added to the Payments Between Libraries report starting in December 2024, which allows Authorized Users (library staff) to access deleted items and view recent circ information. If your library was including patron information on invoices between libraries, you may use the direct URL to an item or its barcode instead.

Let me know if you have any questions on this.

State Aid for Library Construction Intent to Apply due by May 30, 2025

Click here to access and complete the Intent to Apply form to indicate your library's intent in pursuing FY 2026 State Aid for Library Construction.

The information submitted will be used by the OWWL Library System's Construction Aid Committee to determine eligibility and the level of funding for your library. Libraries are required to complete this Intent to Apply form before they start working on the full State Aid for Library Construction Application. Libraries who do not submit an accurate Intent to Apply by the deadline will be ineligible for a State Aid for Library Construction this cycle.

To complete this form, you will need:

• A brief description of the project
• An approximate timeline of the project

Once you complete this form, you must then email a contractor quote or quotes for the project to programs @ owwl.org.

The deadline to submit your Intent to Apply is May 30, 2025.

For more information, including a timeline and general overview of the process including eligible projects, visit: https://docs.owwl.org/Community/Construction

May 2025 Evergreen Requests

Do you anticipate having an Evergreen data request or another significant Evergreen project, such as major circulation policy updates, in the next 6-8 weeks? Please submit any requests as early as possible. Turnaround times may be longer than usual next month. Additionally, with several staff members attending the Evergreen International Online Conference in mid-May, early notice will help us ensure that your needs are met in a timely manner.

IMLS Update from ALA

ALA has joined forces with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the largest union representing museum and library workers, in a lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration’s gutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

The legal actions were filed on behalf of ALA and AFSCME by Democracy Forward and co-counsel Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP, asking the court to immediately block the dismantling of IMLS as directed by a President Trump executive order on March 14 .

Since IMLS was created and funded by Congress in 1996, the agency has had bipartisan support, having been reauthorized under the Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations. IMLS is bound by laws requiring that the agency conduct certain activities to support libraries and report on important issues to Congress. The complaint argues that cutting IMLS staff and cancelling grant contracts will violate the law by eliminating programs Congress has funded and directed IMLS to undertake.

Libraries play an important role in our democracy, from preserving history to providing access to government information, advancing literacy and civic engagement, and offering access to a variety of perspectives. These values are worth defending. We will not allow extremists to threaten our democracy by eliminating programs at IMLS and harming the children and communities who rely on libraries and the services they provide.

Wondering what you can do to help? Check out our toolkit at ALA.org/showup . You’ll find out how to:

• Call or email members of Congress.
• Find social media templates to share the info.
• Share your library story to remind funders why libraries are important.
• Arrange a congressional tour of your library.
• Schedule an in-district meeting with your Congressmember.

Thank you for all you do for your communities. Now is the time to take action and mobilize your communities to show up for our libraries! Learn more here.

This lawsuit is in addition to the one filed April 4, 2025 by twenty-one state attorneys general, including New York's AG Letitia James.

Budget Kit Info 2025

The information we need to complete the 2025 Budget Kit is due to Kelly by Wednesday, April 30. The budget kit is produced annually to assist in your library's planning by offering comparisons between libraries on financials, local tax support, holdings & circulation, personnel, and more.

Ontario County Library Survey 2025.pdf

Wayne County Library Survey 2025.pdf

Wyoming Library Survey 2025.pdf

Livingston County Library Survey 2025.pdf