Oakville Public Library Board

MINUTES

Meeting #:
Date:
Time:
-
Location:
Council Chamber
Board Members Present:
  • Councillor Knoll, Chair
  • Councillor Haslett-Theall
  • Meredith Burke
  • Andrew Cashman
  • Savanna Chiblow
  • Pankaj Sardana
  • Bill Smith
  • D. Stancovici, Manager of Financial Planning and Policy
Regrets:
  • Steven Bright
  • Susan Fanelli
Staff Present:
  • C. Bell, Commissioner of Community Services
  • T. Wong, CEO of Oakville Public Library
  • J. Moncada, Director of Innovation and Integration
  • B. Wiersma, Senior Financial and Policy Analyst
  • J. Warren, Council and Committee Services

A meeting of the Oakville Public Library Board was held on Thursday, October 27, 2022 in the Council Chamber of the Oakville Municipal Building, 1225 Trafalgar Road, commencing at 7:00 p.m.


As noted above.

No declarations of pecuniary interest were declared.

  • Moved byCouncillor Haslett-Theall
    Seconded byBill Smith

    That the minutes of the regular meeting of the Oakville Public Library Board dated September 22, 2022, be approved, as amended, to include Meredith Burke as being in attendance.

    CARRIED
  • Moved byAndrew Cashman
    Seconded byCouncillor Haslett-Theall

    That the OPL Board Key Agenda Items report be received for information.

    CARRIED

Responding to questions staff advised that the lost time incident in September was due to a bee sting.

  • Moved byAndrew Cashman
    Seconded bySavanna Chiblow

    That the Health and Safety report be received for information.

    CARRIED

Responding to questions from the Board staff noted the following:

  • Staff will look into how frequently staff are terminated prior to their six-month probation is complete.
  • Staff do complete exit interviews, and this is regularly reviewed.
  • OPL currently has 4-5 vacancies, and 3-4 more in process.
  • Staff advised there is currently high turnover due to staff getting promoted within the organization.
  • Moved byCouncillor Haslett-Theall
    Seconded byMeredith Burke

    That the Employee Retention and Turnover Metrics report be received for information.

    CARRIED

There are no confidential consent items.

Responding to a question from the Board staff advised there have been no complaints related to this policy.

  • Moved byCouncillor Haslett-Theall
    Seconded byAndrew Cashman

    That the HR-007 Occupational Health, Safety and Workplace Violence Policy be received for information and comment.

    CARRIED

Responding to questions from the Board the following was noted:

  • Models from other public libraries were reviewed, none were exactly the same and most don't have service level agreements in place.  Several library systems run their IT support completely in house.
  • Ottawa has a similar model without a service level agreement.
  • For the two positions, OPL is looking for people with a specific skill set, most people have focus in technology or library services, it is rare to have both.
  • The two FTE's are not included in the existing operating budget and have been submitted to the town as a business case.
  • Staff is currently working with ITS regarding who would be responsible for what in terms of technical support.
  • ITS manages the server and network for OPL.ca.
  • Over the past years OPL has added so much technology that ITS can no longer support everything.
  • Moved byAndrew Cashman
    Seconded byBill Smith

    That the Information Technology Solutions Service Level Agreement update report be received for information.

    CARRIED

Tara Wong, CEO OPL, presented the 2023 Operating Budget.  Discussion with the Board ensued, and the following was noted:

  • The staffing model is analyzed every budget year.
  • Staff are working on a report for the Board regarding a collections analysis, including a 5-year plan. Report is targeted to come to the Board in Q1 of 2023.
  • OPL is struggling with digital collections and print is not as stable as it was. Inflation and lower grade paper are posing challenges when acquiring collections.
  • Staff advised that adding multi-lingual books challenging due to cost and availability.
  • The Board suggested a campaign focused on fundraising for collections.
  • The Board requested that staff add up the technology investment in the creation zone and compare it to the investment in collections.
  • The 2023 target for room booking revenue is based off of 2022 usage. Room booking is not as popular since the pandemic with many groups/ people staying with online.
  • When someone pays for a lost book it does not classify as revenue. The money goes back to rebuy the book.
  • 2023 targets based on actuals from this year.
  • Printer revenue is down due to constant technical issues with the printers.  The company that fixes them often takes a lengthy amount of time to complete repairs.  The Board would like a summary of what the printers cost and what the downtime is when they are broken.
  • Moved byBill Smith
    Seconded byAndrew Cashman

    That the draft 2023 OPL Operating Budget be received for feedback.

    CARRIED

Tara Wong, CEO OPL, presented the 2023 Capital Budget.  Discussion with the Board ensued, and the following was noted:

  • The office area for the executive management team wasn't initially designated as offices, and due to lack of functionality staff are requesting a redesign.
  • The 10-year forecast is based on current year dollars and can fluctuate year to year.
  • The Board suggested an office could be found for the OPL CEO in Town Hall.
  • Sixteen Mile (permanent) collection will take time to order and build.
  • Trafalgar North branch is part of the 10-year master plan.
  • There will be extensive public consultation for upcoming new branches (as part of the Parks, Recreation and Library Facilities Master Plan).
  • Regarding the scheduling software staff noted that scheduling takes a significant amount of time. Bringing in a consultant would help to identify needs and then build a request for proposal on a better software management system.  Other libraries use different software, and many use the same as their municipality.
  • Moved byBill Smith
    Seconded byAndrew Cashman

    That the 2023 OPL draft Capital Budget be received for feedback.

    CARRIED
  • Moved byCouncillor Haslett-Theall
    Seconded bySavanna Chiblow

    That the Debwewin Project - Declaration of Truth and Allyship report be received and the Declaration of Truth and Allyship be endorsed.

    CARRIED

The Board requested that the parking arrangements at North Operations/ Sixteen Mile branch be reviewed.  Staff advised that they have been discussing a stop sign option.

  • Moved byCouncillor Haslett-Theall
    Seconded bySavanna Chiblow

    That CEO Update report be received for information.

    CARRIED
  • RECESS

    The Board recessed from 8:26 p.m. - 8:38 p.m.

CLOSED SESSION

  • Moved byAndrew Cashman
    Seconded byMeredith Burke

    That the Oakville Public Library Board resolve into a closed meeting session for the purpose of dealing with personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees in relation to Item 7.1 - Personal Matter About an Identifiable Individual.

    CARRIED
  • The Board resolved into closed session at 8:38 p.m.

    The Board resolved back into open session at 8:42 p.m.

  • Moved bySavanna Chiblow
    Seconded byAndrew Cashman

    That the verbal update from the CEO be received. 

    CARRIED

There was no new business. 

Thursday, November 24, 2022
Oakville Municipal Building
Council Chamber - 7:00 p.m.

  • Moved byBill Smith
    Seconded byMeredith Burke

    That this meeting be adjourned.

    CARRIED
  • The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.