Library Commission Minutes

February 16 , 2006

Location: Library Commission Room, Denver Central Library, Level 7

Members Present: Kevin O’Connor, Julie Rodriguez, Lois Ann Rovira, Edward Schenck, K.C. Veio, Sid Wilson.

Excused: Fofi Mendez, Karen Rokala.

Staff: Rick Ashton, Robert Bowles, Diane Christman, Peggy Combs, Elizabeth Elder, Jennifer Hoffman, Susan Kotarba, Jim Kroll, Letty Icolari, Cori Jackamore, Celeste Jackson, Michelle Jeske, Evi Klett, Elaine Langeberg, Kristen Laughlin, Diane Lapierre, Christopher Lovejoy, Rachelle Naishtut, Jim Pinamont, Kate Polesovsky, Jo Sarling, Sherry Spitsnaugle, Derek Wolfgram.

Guests: Mary Smith, Denver Public Library Friends Foundation; Steve Hildmann, Josephine Zamora, Martin Deschner, community members.

1. Call to Order
   President K.C. Veio called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.
   
   
2. Approval of Minutes – All minutes were approved as written.
   • The Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of December 15, 2005.
   • The Minutes of the Special Meeting of January 6, 2006.
   • The Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting of January 19, 2006.
     
     
3. Public Comment Period
   The staff and guests present introduced themselves. A few community members expressed their concerns/interests in Library matters. Written responses to these comments are attached.
   
   
4. Report of the President and Members
   • K.C. Veio reported on the progress of Dubberly Garcia Associates’ City Librarian search.
   • Diane Christman reported on the February 16 Library Commission Development Committee meeting.
   • K.C. Veio will contact Cole Finegan, City Attorney, and Erik Dyce, Theaters and Arenas, Director of Marketing, to discuss opportunities that might exist for the Library in a sponsor-broker relationship with Proxy Partners. Proxy Partners already has a contract in place with other city agencies.
   • The Evil Companions Literary Award honoring Pam Houston will take place on Thursday, April 6 from 6-9 p.m.
   • The Rare and Not-So-Rare Book and Art Auction will take place on Friday, April 28 from 6-9 p.m.
   • K.C. and Kristina Veio have agreed to serve as chairs of the 2006 Booklover’s Ball.
   • Sid Wilson reported on the January 20, 2006 Staff Council meeting.
   • Julie Rodriguez reported on the progress of the Latino awards to be held on Saturday, March 11 at Woodbury Branch Library at 10 a.m.
     


5. Report of the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation
   Mary Smith reported that AMB Investment Management Inc. has been chosen as the new investment management advisor for the Library’s endowment funds. The history of the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation will be on display in a case in Schlessman Hall at the Central Library in May.
   
   
6. Monthly Financial Report through December 31, 2005
   Robert Bowles answered questions about the new format of the report. He then presented this report.



7. Endowment Matters (Held over from January 19, 2006)
   • Rick Ashton reiterated his report on 2005 expenditures.
   • Upon motion by Edward Schenck, seconded by Lois Ann Rovira, the proposal to the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation for 2006 distribution of endowment funds was unanimously approved.


8. Preliminary Plan for Implementation of the Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Community Conversation
• Rick Ashton highlighted some aspects of the plan.
• Commission members agreed to a special work session to be held on Friday, March 17, 2006 from 12-4 p.m. for a thorough discussion of the document.



9. Approval of Report and Recommendations of the Task Force on Deaccession Policy
   Lois Ann Rovira reported on the February 9 meeting of the Task Force on Deaccession Policy. Jim Kroll presented background and displayed pieces from the Ross-Barrett Aeronautical Collection. The Commission members suggested that the Library secure proposals from various agents and auction houses before undertaking the sale of any out-of-scope items. Upon motion by Sid Wilson, seconded by Edward Schenck, the Deaccession Policy was unanimously approved.
   
   
10. Report of the City Librarian and Staff - Rick Ashton reported the following:
• The Denver Post ran a front page article on February 16 announcing that the Denver Public Library will be the first library in the United States to offer downloadable movies and videos.
• Phil Panum, Collection Specialist in the Western History/Genealogy Department, received the Nell I. Scott Employee of the Year award.
• Friends of the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library held a fundraiser for the Blair-Caldwell on February 9. Well-known African American Denverites took DNA tests in an endeavor to trace their roots.
  
  
11. Approval of Resolution of Appreciation for Rick Ashton
    Upon motion by Lois Ann Rovira, seconded by Edward Schenck, the Resolution of Appreciation for Rick Ashton was unanimously approved. K.C. Veio read the Resolution into the record.
    
    
12. K.C. Veio adjourned the meeting at 5:10 p.m.
    Respectfully submitted, Lois Ann Rovira, Secretary

March 7, 2006

Mr. Steve Hildmann

Dear Mr. Hildmann:

At the Denver Public Library Commission meeting on February 16, 2006, you addressed the Commission with several comments. This letter is the Library’s response to your comments.

1. Concerning the Library’s budget, you stated the following:
   a. The Library has misrepresented the facts concerning its 2006 budget and that City and County of Denver Budget Office staff have informed you that the Library’s 2006 budget is in excess of $32,000,000.
   b. The Library’s budget difficulties are due to the reorganization of staff and experimentation with new service styles.
   Response:
   a. This statement is not accurate. The Library has properly represented the facts about its budget, as detailed in the letter written to you by Rick J. Ashton on February 7, 2006. The Denver Public Library’s General Fund budget for 2006 is $28,498,600.
   b. This statement is not accurate. The Library’s budget difficulties are due to the inadequate levels of revenue available to the City and County of Denver.
   
   
2. With regard to the Deaccession Policy matter scheduled for Library Commission consideration at a later point in the meeting, you stated that some books have already been removed from public use, and the Library Commission should be careful to prevent these from being sold.
   Response:
   This statement is incorrect. The Denver Public Library has extensive policies, procedures, and practices in place regarding the removal of items from its collections and the handling of items that have been removed. The policy addition under consideration by the Library Commission on February 16 applies exclusively to potentially valuable items in special collections, whose removal and sale would sharpen the scope of the Library’s collections and secure additional financial resources for the collection.



3. With regard to the work of The Advisory Committee for the Community Conversation on the Library’s Future you stated that members of the committee had told you that there was a discrepancy between what the committee members believed they were recruited to do and what the Library actually asked them to do. You stated that this discrepancy involved the Library’s testing of the service styles model in the Community Conversation.
   Response:
   We regret any confusion that any Advisory Committee member may have experienced. We note, however, that the Library was consistent in its communications and relationships with the members of the Advisory Committee throughout the process. In its initial recruitment message, the Library stated:
   
   

   "the [advisory]committee will help our consulting team, Civic Results and the Neighborhood Resource Center, shape a series of seven public Open Houses to be held throughout Denver in July."
   -From letter sent to Advisory Committee Members in May, 2005.
   
   The roles and tasks presented to the Advisory Committee, at the first meeting, were to:

   1. Understand and support the future vision
   2. Provide advice on Open House presentation, format and content
   3. Promote and assist at Open Houses
   4. Serve as a conduit of information
   5. Give advice and recommendations to the Library
   
   
   On November 17, 2005, Landri Taylor, co-chair of the Advisory Committee, presented the committee’s findings to the Library Commission stating in part:
   
   The Advisory Committee for the Community Conversation on the Library’s Future was actively involved in the gathering of input from the community and in communicating the input to the Library through their report. The Advisory Committee met twice after the July Community Open Houses to discuss the input from the community and to formulate recommendations for the report. All Advisory Committee members received draft copies of the report via email in late September and provided feedback. The final version of the report was mailed to the Advisory Committee in early November. No Advisory Committee members communicated any disagreement with, or lack of support for the recommendations outlined in the report to Library staff or Civic Results during the review of the report.
   
   The Library Commission at the December 15, 2005 meeting affirmed in concept the report and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Community Conversation on the Library’s Future.

March 6, 2006

Mr. Martin Deschner

Dear Mr. Deschner:

Thank you for your comments at the Library Commission meeting on February 16, 2006 about our Public Computer Equal Access system. As you mentioned, over the past year since we installed the system, it has helped to improve access to our computer resources for our customers.

When we first set up the system, we made decisions about the length of time and number of sessions each customer would have each day. The software gives us many options, yet also has limitations. We decided to let each customer have one 2-hour session and an unlimited number of 20-minute sessions each day. We felt that this was a way to allow customers the most computer time, while also allowing all to have access to the computers. We recognized that occasionally customers would not be able to use their entire 2-hr session and would not be able to have a second 2-hour session. However, the unlimited number of 20-minute session, we decided, would help to solve this problem.

The software vendor is constantly updating the software to fix problems we encounter and give it more flexibility. As we review new possibilities, we will keep your comments and those of other customers in mind so that our system can work as well as possible for our customers needs. Feedback from customers such as yourself is important to us as we strive to be the best Library for you.

Resolution of Appreciation for City Librarian Rick J. Ashton

The Denver Public Library Commission wishes to recognize our colleague and friend Rick J. Ashton who is retiring as Denver’s City Librarian.

For the past two decades, Rick has provided enthusiasm, leadership and vision in his role as City Librarian.

During Rick’s tenure, the Denver Public Library has grown from a small but respected institution to one of the leading public libraries in the United States.

The Denver Public Library has enjoyed many highlights under Rick’s leadership including:

• Guiding the implementation of the state-of-the-art electronic card catalogue, known as CARL in 1985.
• Delivering a successful campaign and Bond Election in 1990, which resulted in the new Denver Central Library, an architectural monument designed by Michael Graves, AND 19 new and or renovated branch libraries.
• Ushering in a new era by providing our customers’ access to the World Wide Web, when the new Denver Central Library opened in 1995.
• Welcoming the world’s spotlight when he and the Library graciously hosted the 1997 Denver Summit of the Eight world economic conference.
• Guiding and motivating staff to a successful opening of the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in 2003. Blair-Caldwell is a heritage-rich venue, and unique to the Rocky Mountain region.
• Inspiring the staff of the Denver Public Library to be their best. In 2001, 2002 and 2003, the Library was named the Number One public library in the country.

Rick has always exhibited diplomacy and determination in representing the Denver Public Library to the community and beyond.

We thank Rick Ashton for his service to the people of Denver and recognize him for a job well done.

We extend our warmest wishes to Rick and his family and we bid him Godspeed.

Unanimously approved by the Denver Public Library Commission
February 16, 2006