Director Briefing - November 18, 2024

2024 System Satisfaction Survey

Thank you to those who have already responded. For those who haven't yet, here's my note from last week:

The OWWL Library System's 2022-2026 Plan of Service was developed with member library input and was approved by the New York State Division of Library Development in September 2021, and reapproved with edits in October 2023.

Please help us evaluate our progress toward the goals outlined in the Plan of Service by completing this questionnaire, which should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

If the survey does not appear for you above, access the 2024 System Satisfaction Survey by clicking here.

Please note: A report including your responses will be generated and posted on the OWWL Library System website starting January 2025 per Commissioner's Regulation.

System and Member Library Relationship Policy Update

At last Wednesday's Board Meeting, the System Board of Trustees approved a new clause to the System and Member Library Relationship Policy, which clarifies the boundaries between the OWWL Library System and its member libraries:

The System operates as an independent entity from all Member Libraries. Under no circumstances may a Member Library or any external organization use OWWL Library System information for business purposes, including but not limited to contacting vendors, obtaining pricing, establishing vendor relationships, or generating contracts, agreements, or other binding obligations. Any information or actions resulting from such unauthorized use shall be discarded and considered invalid without legal effect.

This policy was put in place following three recent instances where member libraries used OWWL Library System business information to obtain pricing, negotiate contracts, and carry out local business activities. While these actions may have been well-intentioned, they underscore the need to maintain a clear separation between the library system and individual member libraries. This is a reminder that the OWWL Library System operates as an independent organization, and member libraries are not permitted to use its internal information for any purpose outside the scope of the System's operations.

If you require vendor information, need assistance with a business transaction, or seek any other System-related information, please reach out to me or Kelly directly. For inquiries related specifically to the Central Library, please contact Frank, who will then coordinate with us at the System.

To ensure compliance with this policy, please remember that any unauthorized use of OWWL Library System information will result in the immediate discarding of that information, and it will be considered void.

For a full list of System Policies, visit: https://owwl.org/system/policies/

Board Member Contacting Other Libraries

Recently, there has been an increase in Board Members reaching out to Directors at other libraries with inquiries. This has, unfortunately, placed several Directors in difficult positions with their colleagues. Please know that you are under no obligation to respond to questions from Trustees of other libraries. If you feel confident in addressing the differences between libraries and are comfortable doing so, you're welcome to engage; however, you are not required to. Some Board Members have been notably persistent in their requests, and I want to ensure no one feels pressured or uncomfortable. You are more than welcome to decline to answer their questions and direct any Trustee inquiries to me or let them know to contact me directly.

RRLC Grant Opportunities

There are two more grant opportunities this fall through RRLC, both with December 9 application deadlines. As with the previous grants, if you send a request and your application to Ron or Piety two weeks before the application deadline, we would be happy to review it and offer suggestions.

RRLC Special Project Grant

Applications are now open for RRLC's Special Project Grant! Applications are due December 9th. RRLC offers special project grants to members who want to undertake a project that will help their organization fulfill its mission; projects with a potential impact on the larger RRLC community are given first priority. The Special Project Grant is for small projects of no more than $5,000.

RRLC will award grants based on the available funding and the project’s potential impact on the institution and the larger community.

Eligibility and application details are available on the Special Project Grant page.

RRLC Capacity Building Grant

RRLC believes in our members, and we want to help you build capacity in order to better fulfill your mission. The Capacity Building Grant supports projects that take action to help increase your library’s capacity by developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes, and resources for your organization to survive, adapt, grow, and thrive in this fast-changing world.

RRLC will award grants of up to $10,000 based on the available funding and the project's potential impact on your organization, which in turn, impacts the larger community.

Eligibility and application details are available on the Capacity Building Grant page.

OverDrive has Ended Support for Legacy Desktop App and Website MP3 Downloads

OverDrive has officially done away with their legacy desktop app and no longer support the website MP3 format. See this help page for more details. Hopefully, this hasn't affected you or your patrons at all, but if it does, this should answer any questions that may come up.

As a reminder, users can still listen to audiobooks using the following options:

• Stream on a computer using the “Listen now in browser” format on your OverDrive website.
• Stream on a computer using libbyapp.com.
• Download for offline listening using Libby on a supported Android, iOS, or Amazon Fire device.

This Week in OSC Audits

Audit	Key Findings	Takeaways for Libraries
Avon Central School District - Financial Management	The Board and District officials did not effectively manage fund balance and reserves. The Board-approved budgets overestimated appropriations by an average of approximately $1.7 million per year which made it appear the District needed to appropriate $300,000 of fund balance each year and increase real property taxes to close budget gaps. However, the District incurred operating surpluses in all five years we reviewed, totaling $8.2 million. Appropriating fund balance that is not needed is, in effect, a reservation of fund balance that is not provided for by statute and circumvents the statutory limit. Six reserves totaling over $5 million had high balances that were not needed or used. For example, the District’s reserve for unemployment expenditures will cover annual expenditures for 344 years and the debt reserve in the debt service fund had $866,000 in unidentified money that should be returned to the general fund. The District lacked written multiyear financial and capital plans. This inhibited effective financial management and justification for the levels of accumulated fund balance and reserves.	Make sure you board understands the budget, asks for appropriate amounts of money, and handles reserves in a legal manner.
Lyme Central School District - Financial Management	The Board and District officials did not properly manage the District’s fund balance. As a result, they levied more taxes than needed to fund operations and were not transparent with taxpayers. The Board and District officials: Overestimated budgetary appropriations by an annual average of $918,000 (12 percent) from 2020-21 through 2022-23. Appropriated fund balance to close projected budget gaps totaling $1.6 million for the 2020- 21 through 2022-23 fiscal years; however, the District only needed to use approximately $23,000 of appropriated fund balance to cover operating costs during the period. Reported fiscal year-end surplus fund balance during the same period ranging from 16 to 19 percent of the upcoming year’s budget, which was $1.0 million to $1.4 million over the 4 percent statutory limit. Did not have written multiyear financial and capital plans to provide a framework for developing the annual budgets and addressing future operating and capital needs.	Another audit emphasizing the importance of only levying required funds for library operations. If your board needs help understanding their budget I'd be happy to help.
Wantagh Union Free School District - Financial Application User Access Controls	The Board and District officials did not establish adequate controls over user accounts for the financial application to help prevent inappropriate access and use. We determined that the Board and District officials do not have reasonable assurance that they would be able to prevent or detect inappropriate changes to financial data, improper transactions or the misappropriation of funds in the financial application because they did not: Develop and adopt policies and procedures related to financial application user accounts and permissions and the review of audit trail reports. Limit user account permissions in the financial application to access needed to perform assigned job duties Perform an independent review of transactions in the audit trail reports for the system administrator account of the financial application.	Access to accounts may be audited. You want to make sure access is only given to those who need it for appropriate checks and balances.