ODL Board Minutes and Agendas

June 29, 2001

10:30 a.m.
South Conference Room
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Oklahoma City

Minutes of Meeting

Chairman Clyde Petete called the meeting to order and asked for roll call.

Board Members present: James Carter, Jesse Harris, Judi Knapp, Clyde Petete, Sherry Roberts, and Susan McVey, ex officio.

Board Members absent: Benny Briggs, Doyle Kinney

Guests present: Bob Clark, Dan Connally, Karen Currie, Lauren Donaldson, Susan Gilley, Mary Hardin, Vicki Mohr, Mrs. Petete, Tatenn Ra, Donna Skvarla, Vicki Sullivan, Louisa Voden, Desiree Webber, Bill Young.

Mr. Petete asked for approval of minutes. Jesse Harris moved, and Judi Knapp seconded that minutes be approved as presented. Votes were as follows: Benny Briggs, absent; James Carter, yes; Jesse Harris, yes, Doyle Kinney, absent; Judi Knapp, yes; Clyde Petete, yes; Sherry Roberts, yes. The motion was approved.

Susan presented the Director's Report. She shared pictures from Syble Robertson’s retirement party, and said that past board member Camilla Means had attended to read the board’s resolution to Syble. Susan introduced new ODL staff members Tatenn Ra, Administrative Assistant, Publications Clearinghouse; and Lauren Donaldson, Librarian, Publications Clearinghouse. She also introduced Louisa Voden, who has been promoted to Head of the Legislative Reference Division at the Cartwright Law Library.

Susan said she and other staff members had attended the recent American Library Association conference in San Francisco. More than 26,500 librarians from across the country attended the meeting.

Mr. Petete said the board packet was very nice and asked if libraries would like to receive it. James Carter asked if minutes were available to the public. Susan said the ODL board packet could be distributed to the System Headquarters. She said board minutes and the director’s report are being put on the web after the board approves them. Mr. Petete said he had asked ODL to investigate compiling the Board minutes from the beginning to present in a bound document to provide a historical viewpoint of the agency. Susan had asked Vicki Sullivan to do a preliminary search in archives. Vicki said approximately six to seven Hollinger boxes had been found with state library minutes, ranging from the 1930's to mid 1990's, including about 90 pages in a ledger book.

Bob Clark made a presentation on the Oklahoma Endowment for Literacy and Reading proposal. He said Appendices F-H of the report would be reissued to correct mistakes that were contained in the database.
Bob said the endowment would be an important policy decision for the board. Requesting IRS exempt status was a rather technical process. The OELR would be a legally established entity with its own board. Betty Boyd, former legislator, has agreed to be on the board and is very enthusiastic. She is a big proponent and supporter of literacy. He said he is attempting to balance the board with representatives from the Oklahoma City and Tulsa area, and with representation from other areas of the state if possible. Bob recommended recruitment begin for the Library Development Officer, so it could be filled by the end of October, at which time the OELR Board would be functioning and have bylaws in place. The position for a development officer was approved in 1998 by the Legislature and is in place in ODL's five-year
plan. It would be a full-time position recruited from candidates with a special degree and/or extensive experience in fundraising. Bob projects that within three years, the endowment should approach $2.5 million in funds with $250,000 available for grants. The amount would vary according to stock market performance. Bob suggested the salary for the development officer should be from $55,000 to $75,000 based on experience. With endowment maturity, the salary could be shifted from ODL to the endowment.

Bob said establishing foundations is not unusual for state agencies. The Historical Society and OETA have foundations. While in the ODL Director's position, Bob was asked many times by legislators "What are you doing to raise private funds?" The advantage of an endowment would be to enhance ODL's appropriations with matching funds.

Bob reported that Susan was now doing the workload of three positions: Director, Deputy Director, and Director of Library Technology. It would be advantageous for the agency to find a person for fundraising as soon as possible, so that Susan does not have to devote too much time to this endeavor as well. Bob said that the Endowment Board would need a liaison from the ODL Board.

Judi Knapp asked what process would be used in funding such a position. Mr. Petete asked if ODL had a position that could be used for the development officer. Susan said the Legislature gives the agency a definite number of employee positions, most in the classified sector. Traditionally, there have been three positions in the agency that are unclassified: Director, Deputy Director and Executive Secretary. Two years ago, ODL traded a classified merit slot for an unclassified position for the development officer. The salary would be funded through use of ODL's general appropriation.

Jesse Harris asked if there were any models in other states. Bob said there were foundations in place in California, Hawaii, and Ohio. The Oklahoma endowment would be a separate entity from ODL, but ODL could share the salary for a while. The Department would be investing for the future, but this would be a policy decision.

Mr. Harris said he foresees great returns and thinks private sector help is a good idea. He asked how the agency would define success of the endowment.

Bob said he believed if the OELR could grant $50,000 by the organization’s second year, the endowment would be well on its way. $50,000 would be reasonable expectation. Oklahoma City and Tulsa have community foundations that, for a minimal charge, will keep track of the endowment’s funds. Money would be raised through the public, private foundations, grant writing, visits, and phone calls.

Mr. Petete said he realized Susan's plate was full, and asked if there was a game plan or any recommendations. Susan said Bob could be part-time for the next several months and would help recruit and work with a new development officer. Bob would be able to help identify a pool of candidates and then Susan could interview and hire someone. Bob suggested a salary of $55,000 to $75,000. He said there were several professional philanthropists in the state.

Mr. Harris asked how a $55,000 to $75,000 salary for the development officer would impact the ODL budget. Susan replied ODL would need to set priorities to fund the position. Bob said the rule of thumb for a one to two million dollar foundation is a salary average of $65,000. A two to five million-dollar foundation would pay $75,000 to a director. He said ODL probably would not be able to recruit from out of state for a $55,000 salary.

Mr. Harris suggested that the agency might choose someone from Oklahoma, who had connections with state resources. He said it is essential to look at private dollars to take us to the next level for libraries in Oklahoma. Mr. Carter urged the board not to restrict themselves salary-wise for the position.

Clyde Petete asked if any board member would like to work on this project as the liaison. Bob said the first OELR Board meeting could be held without ODL representation. Once the board was organized, there could be an ODL Board representative.

Ms. Knapp made a motion to accept the recommendations of Bob Clark regarding the Oklahoma Endowment for Literacy and Reading. Mr. Carter seconded the motion. Votes were as follows: Benny Briggs, absent; James Carter, yes; Jesse Harris, yes, Doyle Kinney, absent; Judi Knapp, yes; Clyde Petete, yes; Sherry Roberts, yes. The motion was approved.

Mr. Carter made the motion to adjourn the open meeting in order to convene in Executive Session to consider the ODL Director's salary. Sherry Roberts seconded the motion. Votes were as follows: Benny Briggs, absent; James Carter, yes; Jesse Harris, yes, Doyle Kinney, absent; Judi Knapp, yes; Clyde Petete, yes; Sherry Roberts, yes. The motion was approved and all guests left the room. The executive session began at 11:10 a.m.

At 11:55 a.m. guests were invited back into the room. Mr. Harris made the motion to reconvene in open session. Ms. Knapp seconded the motion. Votes were as follows: Benny Briggs, absent; James Carter, yes; Jesse Harris, yes, Doyle Kinney, absent; Judi Knapp, yes; Clyde Petete, yes; Sherry Roberts, yes. The motion was approved.

Mr. Carter made the motion to raise the Director's salary to cap at $72,000 effective July 1, 2001. Ms. Knapp seconded the motion. Votes were as follows: Benny Briggs, absent; James Carter, yes; Jesse Harris, yes, Doyle Kinney, absent; Judi Knapp, yes; Clyde Petete, yes; Sherry Roberts, yes. The motion was approved.

Mr. Petete asked about the proposal to change the ODL Board meeting schedule. Susan said the board needed to meet in October to vote to fund federal Library Services and Technology Act projects, so the November board meeting could be eliminated. A board meeting is needed in December to adopt the State Aid distribution formula.

Mr. Petete asked ODL’s Attorney General Liaison Dan Connally about filing an amended meeting schedule. Mr. Connally said a new schedule must be filed with the Secretary of State's Office. The proposed change would add a meeting on October 26, 2001 (to be held at the Ardmore Public Library), eliminate the November 30, 2001 meeting, and add a December 21, 2001 meeting (to be held at ODL).

A motion was made to change the meeting schedule by Mr. Harris. Ms. Knapp seconded the motion. Votes were as follows: Benny Briggs, absent; James Carter, yes; Jesse Harris, yes, Doyle Kinney, absent; Judi Knapp, yes; Clyde Petete, yes; Sherry Roberts, yes. The motion was approved.

Mr. Petete appointed the Nominating Committee to select the new chairman and vice-chairman of the ODL Board of Directors. Doyle Kinney will chair the Nominating Committee, and James Carter and Jesse Harris will serve on the committee. They will report back to the board at the next meeting.

Mr. Petete asked for any further comments from the board. Ms. Knapp and Ms. Roberts shared their experiences during the Senate confirmation process.

Mr. Harris received his copy of the Almanac and commented on how handy it is, and what a time-saver it is.

Ms. McVey asked if board members would be interested in having a presentation on the new statewide databases after the board adjourned. Several indicated they would like to stay. The Gale Group/InfoTrac has now been replaced by EBSCO for provision of full-text journal articles. The databases include resources for all levels (high school, junior high, medical, elementary) with such databases as Kid's Edition, FirstSearch, and WorldCat (with 36 million entries by subject/title).

Mr. Petete asked if any legislative databases are available. Susan gave the URL, www.lsb.state.ok.us (which provides bill text, author of bill, tracking and status).

Ms. Knapp made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Ms. Roberts seconded the motion. Votes were as follows: Benny Briggs, absent; James Carter, yes; Jesse Harris, yes, Doyle Kinney, absent; Judi Knapp, yes; Clyde Petete, yes; Sherry Roberts, yes. The motion was approved and the meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

EBSCO databases were demonstrated after the ODL Board adjourned.

The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

Susan McVey, ex officio

ODL Director's Report for This Meeting

Return to Previous Page

Go to ODL Board Minutes List

Copyright  -  All Rights Reserved
Oklahoma Department of Libraries