Director Briefing - August 14, 2023

OWWL Library System Board Meeting Follow-Up

The OWWL Library System Board of Trustees met on August 9, 2023. Here are a few highlights:

• Updated the System Policy Manual
  • Assigned Reserves Policy.pdf
  • Records Retention Policy.pdf
  • Selection and Reconsideration of Materials Policy.pdf
• Passed a Resolution Against Book Bans.pdf
• Approved the Book Challenge Committee Report for This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
  • Doc 2308-10 Book Challenge Committee Meeting - June 29, 2023.pdf
• Approved updates to the 2022-2026 Plan of Service
  • Doc 2308-17 Updates to Plan of Service 2022-2026.pdf
• Approved a Trustee Education Training Session for a Member Library
• Approved an Insurance Services RFP (I'm happy to send this if you need to go out to bid for something)

You can view the meeting minutes by clicking here for a recap of the motions.

Language in Meeting Minutes

A fun fact I learned during an Open Meeting Law presentation last week was that the language in your meeting minutes needs to indicate how each trustee voted on every motion. At the System, our minutes used to read, "and the motion carried." Now, we have, "and the motion was unanimously approved." This is to show that all Trustees voted in favor of the motion. If someone votes "no" or "abstains" from a vote, those must also be indicated in the minutes with the person's name, along with how everyone else voted.

Interestingly enough, this isn't in the text from Open Meetings Law. It actually comes from the Freedom Of Information Law (FOIL). The law reads, "...each agency shall maintain…(a) a record of the final vote of each member in every agency proceeding in which the member votes..." I suppose this could be interpreted to allow for creating a second record, but it's best to include how people vote in your meeting minutes since those are public records anyway.

WNYLRC Ask A Lawyer New Web Address

The WNYLRC Aks A Lawyer service has had a website change. The new URL to access the service is https://wnylrc.org/services/askservices/raqs .

NYLA Voice - August 2023

NYLA has released its August edition of the NYLA Voice. If you scroll down to the article titled, Good Things, Small Packages you can read out very own Suzanne Macaulay's article. Here's an excerpt:

Summer Reading, simultaneously the most exciting and most exhausting time of year for many public libraries, will be winding down soon. But is it ever really over? Summer Reading is like a continuous wave pattern, alternating Very Busy Season with Not As Busy Season. Because of this infinite cycle, we never quite close out Summer Reading like other projects. We enjoy the late-August respite before diving into Library Card Sign-Up Month, Banned Books Week, Teen Tober, The Great Give Back, and Halloween. We don’t take the time to reflect on Summer Reading, on what worked, what did not work, and why.

Closeout helps evaluate schedules, budgets, and activities against the project’s successes and oversights. It develops better organization, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills and is a step that should not be skipped even for Summer Reading. Before you declare July’s Balloon Bubble Petting Zoo Candy Extravaganza a “complete disaster!” that you will “never do again!” (which, from the title, seems fair), I encourage library staff to evaluate the ups and downs of Summer Reading and extract some valuable lessons learned. Then apply these insights to not only future Summer Reading planning (I got eyes on you, Adventure Begins at Your Library) but also to other services, events, and programs. Read more...

Recent OSC Audit Rundown

These are all items that could impact libraries if they were audited too.

• Town of Ticonderoga – Capital Project Management (2023M-38) - I haven't seen one like this before. A good reminder that Library Boards should be involved in capital projects and making sure projects are closed appropriately.
• Town of White Creek – Disbursements and Annual Financial Reports (2023M-41) - Keep financial oversight with internal controls at the top of your list! Review everything and file your annual documents on time.
• Brocton Central School District – Financial Management (2023M-44) - Reserve fund policies, justification, and board motions are critical when managing reserve funds.
• Clarendon Fire Company – Financial Activities (2023M-50) - Make sure your Treasurer knows what they're doing, and you have documents for all fiscal transactions.
• Brocton Central School District – Claims Audit (2023M-15) - Brocton got hit twice! Be sure that all claims are audited, and there is enough supporting documentation.
• Morris Central School District – Fund Balance Management (2023M-47) - When libraries think about their reserves, they should typically keep them under their total annual operating budget. Make sure you have a realistic budget and have reasonable reserve levels.
• Village of Canaseraga – Claims Audit (2023M-48) - All claims need to be reviewed and approved by your board prior to payment (with a few minor exceptions).

Trustee Workshop on Patron Privacy and Access Policies

Due to some technical difficulties, I haven't been able to upload the recording from last week's Trustee Workshop. For now, you are welcome to view the slides using the link below.

2023.08.07 Trustee Workshop Patron Privacy and Access Policies.pdf

I will work on the recording or attempt to rerecord it soon.

Upcoming Trustee Workshops

We have three more scheduled Trustee Workshops for the year. Tomorrow evening's discussion will be on Strategic Planning.

Workshop	Date	Time	Link
State Aid for Library Construction Info Session	✓ January 31, 2023	4:00 PM	Recording
Roles and Responsibilities for New Trustees	✓ February 6, 2023	5:00 PM	Recording
Trustee Handbook Book Club: Open Meetings Law with Kirsten O’Neill, Committee on Open Government	✓ February 21, 2023	5:00 PM	Recording
Key Laws & Regulations for Libraries	✓ March 9, 2023	5:00 PM	Recording
Trustee Handbook Book Club: The Board-Director Relationship	✓ April 18, 2023	5:00 PM	Recording
Q&A with Ron at Wadsworth Library in Geneseo (Resource Page)	✓ April 27, 2023	6:00 PM	Recording
Q&A with Ron at Newark Public Library (Resource Page)	✓ June 8, 2023	4:30 PM	No Recording
Trustee Handbook Book Club: Financial Planning & Budgeting	✓ June 20, 2023	5:00 PM	Recording
Q&A with Ron at Stevens Memorial Library in Attica, NY (Resource Page)	✓ July 10, 2023	6:00 PM	No Recording
Budgeting Q&A with Ron and Kelly (Resource Page)	✓ July 17, 2023	5:00 PM	Recording
Patron Privacy and Access Policies (Hybrid)	✓ August 7, 2023	5:00 PM	No Recording
Trustee Handbook Book Club: Strategic Planning	August 15, 2023	5:00 PM	Registration
Trustee Handbook Book Club: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Access & Justice	October 17, 2023	5:00 PM	Registration
Trustee Handbook Book Club: Financing & Managing Construction Projects	December 19, 2023	5:00 PM	Registration