THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, DC

MEETING, BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES

MINUTES
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007
The regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees was held at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday,
November 28, 2007, at the Watha T. Daniel Interim Library, 945 Rhode Island Ave, NW, John
W. Hill, Jr., President, presiding.
PRESENT: John W. Hill, Jr., President, Bonnie Cohen, Vice President, Richard H. Levy, James
Lewis, Guitele Nicoleau, Myrna Y. Peralta, Brenda Richardson, Donald F. Richardson, Ginnie
Cooper, Chief Librarian and Secretary-Treasurer
ABSENT: None
GUESTS AT THE BOARD TABLE: Anna Velazco, Director, DCPL Foundation and Richard
Huffine, President, Federation of Friends of the Library.
The meeting was called to order at: 6:01 p.m.
MINUTES APPROVAL
A motion was made to approve the minutes; it was adopted.

“EASY OUT”INCENTIVE RESOLUTION

A motion to approve the resolution of Board support for an “Easy Out” incentive for employees
eligible to retire was made by Donald Richardson and seconded by James Lewis. A clarifying
amendment to change the phrasing “…a bonus to those employees eligible to retire” to “… a
bonus to those employees choosing to exercise their right to retire” was made by Myrna Peralta
and the motion with amended language was approved.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Mr. Hill said he was pleased that Watha T. Daniel Interim Library is open noting that it is well
used by the community. He noted that the hopes and dreams meeting held at Watha T. Daniel
was one of the most successful meetings that have taken place. Eric Riley, the senior librarian at
Watha T. Daniel told the Board that the computers are always in use and the children’s programs
held have received positive feedback. The library will start outreach to schools and will be in
contact with their local Friends groups.

Mr. Hill said the idea has been raised of relocating some of the main library’s services moving to
the old Carnegie Library site. However, there is no imminent plan for DCPL to move services
from the central library to the Carnegie Library, Mr. Hill said. It is important to the community
and City Council for neighborhood libraries to be a priority right now, knowing that we have a
central library in need of change also. Mr. Hill noted that there are contractors looking at the
central library functions already.

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Board of Library Trustees Meeting
January 23, 2008
CHIEF LIBRARIAN’S REPORT
The FY 07 Oversight Hearing for the District of Columbia Public Library was held on
Wednesday, November 27th. John Hill, President of the Board of Library Trustees and Ginnie
Cooper, Chief Librarian, testified on behalf of the library.

FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

One of the main goals for the Committee has been to ensure that all allocated money is spent
effectively. To date, the money the library has received has been spent wisely and there is less
than 6% of the FY 07 funding left. The budget for FY08 is loaded but is awaiting the sign off
from Congress.

The library is functioning effectively and for FY09, the library will be attending a CapStat
review, which is an oversight meeting focused on the budget. In December the FY08 budget will
be reviewed and in January/February, the proposed FY09 budget will be reviewed.

The Committee recommends a full-time CFO for the Library because of the funding for Capital
Projects. A full-time CFO would also support the reports needed by the Board of Trustees in
addition to the oversight needed for the funds the library generates.

FACILITIES COMMITTEE REPORT

The Committee is focused on getting the new permanent libraries open. The Benning site is
completely cleared and the Tenley site is also demolished. The Watha T. Daniel site is next on
the list to be demolished and will be followed by the Anacostia Library site.

The restroom renovation projects have been awarded and renovation of Francis Gregory is also
on its way to being completed. Design work has started for the Mount Pleasant library and will
also begin for Petworth and Northeast libraries soon. An architect has been selected for the
restoration of the Georgetown library.

The community design meetings are going well. The goal is to construct libraries for the next 50
years that are flexible and will adapt to increasing technology. The community meetings explore
the 18 possible roles that libraries have and every community chose the functions most important
for their library.

STATISTICS REPORT
The library’s circulation has increased by 22% in FY07. Increasing programming at DCPL will
be a key focal point this year. Staff will be developing programming ideas and will also look at
other libraries for best practices that could be adopted at DCPL.

FOUNDATION REPORT
Anna Velazco, Director of the DCPL Foundation, reported that the partnership with Whole
Foods Market that offered the library 5% of its sales on specific days generated $25,000. The
funds will be used to purchase area rugs, bright signage and reader’s chairs for the Children’s
Area at the Interim Library locations.

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Board of Library Trustees Meeting
January 23, 2008
The rock concert held to benefit the DCPL system totaled $4,000 and the artists from the concert
created a CD that has produced an additional $3,000 in funds. The musical event held in
Georgetown had over 200 people in attendance and raised $4,500 in funds for the restoration of
the Georgetown library. Events producing funding for the restoration of the Georgetown library
have raised $100,000 to date.

FEDERATION OF FRIENDS REPORT

Richard Huffine reported that the Federation of Friends held their elections for 2008 and he has
been elected to serve another two year term as the President. The Federation will be focusing on
how it can become more active in the new library facilities.

PROCUREMENT UPDATE
The first procurement review was for Baker and Taylor, contract for Library materials. Once the
Library Board of Trustees Contracts Review Committee has approved the procurement, it will be
appraised by the City Council. Six additional procurement reviews will be done in the next
fiscal year. The Contracts Review Committee will get a list of the procurement amounts and the
schedule for the reviews.

All future contracts will be based on competitive bidding and all optional renewals will come
before the contract review committee.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mr. Walter Moody, DCPL Regional Engineer commented on his work for the library during the
past 20 years.

A question was raised about the closing of branch libraries on Sundays between December and
February. Ms. Cooper explained that union rules preclude Management from assigning Sundays
as a regular workday. Employees working on Sundays must do so voluntarily. The libraries that
are open on Sundays are those that have high usage and are easily accessible by Metro. All
libraries will open again on Sunday, February 3rd.

Questions were also raised about the Central Library relocating some services to other sites. Mr.
Hill explained that the Board of Library Trustees will work with Ginnie Cooper to determine
what type of expansion will most benefit the library based on the needs and programs that the
library is undertaking.

Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Document #5
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
January 23, 2008