MINUTES
June 14, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
East Lansing Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting
Library Large Meeting Room
950 Abbot Road
The East Lansing Public Library occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg Three Fires confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi peoples land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.
1. Call to Order 4:32 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Trustees present were: Polly Synk, Amy Zaagman, Pamela Smith, Ameenah Asante and Diane Goddeeris. Also, in attendance were Councilmember George Brookover, Friends Secretary Liesel Carlson, Director Kristin Shelley, Head of Customer Experiences/Assistant Director Brice Bush, and Executive Assistant to the Director Shori Teeple. There were fourteen attendees from the public.
3. Opening
3.1 Approval of Current Meeting Agenda
Asante moved
Zaagman seconded
All in favor
3.2 Approval of May 17, 2023 Meeting Minutes
Goddeeris moved
Zaagman seconded
Goddeeris moved to amend Item 9C bullet one to read: Overviews provided for review/updates of policies, input received via email from staff, input from board members, and final vetting with City Attorney will need to be done.
Synk seconded
All in favor
4. Communications
4.1 None
5. Audience
5.1 Public Comment - limited to five minutes per person
- Twelve attendees shared public comment.
6. Reports
6.1 City Council Liaison Report
- No report
6.2 Friends of the East Lansing Public Library Report
Carlson Reported:
- Annual meeting will be June 26 at 4:00pm
- Friends will acknowledge new volunteers and outgoing President Maureen McCabe-Power's years of service.
7. Committee Reports
7.1 Update from subcommittee - January 11 events
- Members Asante and Synk continuing to assemble input from staff and others.
- Survey questions are being finalized and will be forthcoming.
8. Old Business
8.1 Subcommittee report - policies -- Action
- Members Goddeeris and Zaagman met recently for 1.5 hours with library staff to review and discuss proposed changes to policies.
- Over 50 written suggestions and comments were received from staff.
- Trustees reviewed highlights of proposed policy changes. Alternative language was proposed and discussed to strengthen and clarify some policies.
- Agreement was reached for Zaagman to assemble all input from staff and discussions from trustees during this meeting to produce updated policies for review and approval at the July meeting.
8.2 Strategic Plan consultants
- Three written proposals were reviewed as relayed to Trustees in May. Discussion followed.
- While two proposals (Library IQ and Woodlands) included valuable perspectives for strategic planning purposes, there was agreement that Michigan Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) would provide the most comprehensive services for facilitating the library's next strategic plan.
- MCLS is local to the Lansing area and will provide a more personable approach to conduct staff and community focus groups, an open board retreat and other activities led by facilitators who are all librarians.
- MCLS proposal will be forwarded to the City Attorney for review. If additional information is requested, references will be checked.
- Proposal will then go to City Council for final approval.
9. New Business
9.1 Nomination of Officers for FY2024 -- Action
Amy Zaagman, President
Pam Smith, Vice President
Ameenah Asante, Secretary
Goddeeris moved
Synk seconded
All in favor
10. Library Reports
10.1 Financial Report
- Fund balance report
Shelley Reported: - Printed financial and fund balance reports were shared.
10.2 Director's Report
- A written report was shared.
10.3 President's Report
- Trustee Goddeeris was presented with a resolution to acknowledge her dedicated years of service on the library board.
11. Adjournment
Synk adjourned the meeting at 6:34 p.m.
Board of Trustees
Polly Synk, President
Amy Zaagman, Vice President
Pamela Smith, Secretary
Ameenah Asante
Diane Goddeeris
City Council Liaison
George Brookover
Staff Liaison
Kristin Shelley
