The Public Library of the District of Columbia

Board of Library Trustees Meeting

Minutes
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
The regular meeting of the Board of Library Trustees was held at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, March
25, 2015 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street NW, Gregory McCarthy,
President, presiding.
Present: Gregory McCarthy, President, Donald Richardson, Brenda Richardson, Valerie Mallett,
Faith Gibson Hubbard, Karma Cottman, Vincent Morris, Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive
Director and Secretary-Treasurer. Not in attendance: Neil Albert, Vice President.
Guests at the Board Table: Susan Haight, President, Federation of Friends.
The meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m.
Roll Call
Mr. McCarthy requested roll call. Quorum was reached.
Adoption of the Agenda
The motion to adopt the agenda was approved.
Introduction of Attendees
Attendees stated their names and association.
Approval of Minutes
The motion to approve the minutes of the January 28, 2015 Board Meeting was approved.
Public Comments
Mr. Gregory McCarthy stated the practice of the Board of Library Trustees to entertain public
comments. He explained that people who signed their names to the sign-in sheet would have
three minutes to address the Board. There were no public comments.
Presidents Report
Mr. McCarthy noted the Council would soon announce the FY16 operating and capital budgets.
He said on April 15 at 8:30 a.m. he plans to meet with the Federation of Friends to discuss
advocacy and strategy then invited the Board of Library Trustees to join him. He turned the
Boards attention to the agenda and noted there would be two discussion topics, first the
Naming Policy, then a discussion about the Strategic Planning Guiding Principles. Lastly, he
stated that the new format of Board meetings would be reserved for discussions on policy and
strategy. Committee meetings would go more in depth into statistics and reports.

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Executive Directors Report

Mr. McCarthy introduced Mr. Richard Reyes-Gavilan, DC Public Library Executive Director, to
deliver his Executive Directors report. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan introduced Judi Greenberg as the new
Director of Strategic Planning. He announced that the Mayor will convey her FY16 budget to the
Council on April 2 but sources have cited a $190 million dollar budget shortfall for FY16. He
noted the Education Committee is sponsoring legislation that will support the Books from Birth
Act. If passed, the legislation would make DCPL largely responsible for the initiative. On March
19, Mr. Reyes-Gavilan testified before Council in support of the Books legislation and requested
that outside funding be provided for DCPL to effectively support the initiative. He then thanked
Ms. Susan Haight and members of the Federation of Friends for advocating at the Books from
Birth hearing and their ongoing support and testimony at hearings.
Next, Mr. Reyes-Gavilan highlighted some of the exciting news coverage the library garnered
recently. He then turned attention to the exhibition by Brian Selznik on display in the Great
Hall, and announced that DCPL will be hosting Selznik as the annual May Hill Arbuthnot
lecturer. Mr. Vince Morris asked that staff engage schools from around the city about the
exhibit and encourage broad participation for all DC students.
Then, Mr. Reyes-Gavilan announced the opening of two new spaces called The Labs @ DCPL,
which consist of a state of the art Fabrication Lab and an A/V Studio Lab. The Labs will support
the creative economy and workforce development while serving as an example of the spaces
that will be available once the modernized MLK Library reopens. Lastly, he noted he would
attend the State of the District Address by Mayor Bowser.
Finally, Mr. McCarthy added that he attended Morehouse College Glee Clubs annual concert,
which celebrated 40 years of performances at the MLK Library. He said the performance was
excellent, and in 2016 the Board should plan to attend the event. He also elaborated on the
Books from Birth Act, noting there are additional human resources needed to support the
initiative and bolster the STAR program.
Finance Committee Report
Mr. McCarthy introduced Mr. Don Richardson to present the Finance Committee report. Mr.
Richardson stated that the budget is on track; the local and gross obligations are $22.6 million
and $22.1 million respectively. The next Finance Committee meeting will focus on
reprogramming funds and that update will be shared at the May board meeting.
Facilities Committee Report
In the absence of Mr. Neil Albert, Facilities Committee Chair, Mr. Reyes-Gavilan led a discussion
on the Library Naming Policy. He explained that the policy creates a foundation for DCPL to
secure naming rights for new spaces and programs and the policy does not affect the naming of
buildings. He then opened up the floor to discussion regarding the policy.

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First, Mr. Morris expressed support for the policy. He said that on a recent visit to West Palm
Beach Public Library he noticed the library also named shelving, which offered an opportunity
to generate donations. Next, Mr. Richardson suggested further discussion on how to account
for the funds so they are not added into the librarys general fund. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan clarified
that all funds will be accepted through the DCPL Foundation whose sole mission is to support
the library. Then, Mr. McCarthy asked if donations made for naming are subject to tax benefits
for donors. Mr. Richardson responded that if the donation is made through the Foundation
there are tax benefits. Mr. Jonathan Butler added that there is a special purpose revenue fund
that can be used for donations; the Finance Committee will need to determine how to receive
the funds.
Additionally, Mr. McCarthy suggested an amendment that programs and spaces named after
corporations or individuals should flow up to the Board. Then, Ms. Richardson clarified that the
policy doesnt prevent naming after community members or naming of library branches. Ms.
Karma Cottman then asked about the standards and process in place for name removal as well
as the standard levels of donation and their implications. Mr. Reyes-Gavilan stated that the
language in the policy is intentionally vague and a committee would be organized to outline a
process for use of the policy. This committee would make recommendations and final decisions
would rest with the Board.
Mr. McCarthy motioned to adopt the Library Naming Policy and asked Mr. Reyes-Gavilan to
incorporate the Board recommendations into the final policy. The Board voted all in favor. The
policy was approved.
Mr. McCarthy then asked Mr. Reyes-Gavilan to discuss the Facilities Committee report. Mr.
Reyes-Gavilan gave a brief report on the ongoing capital projects. First, Mr. Reyes-Gavilan
stated that the Cleveland Park Library architect team of Gilbane and Perkins Eastman was
selected. Second, DCPL is working with the Department of General Services to identify interim
space for the MLK Library. Third, Woodridge Library is coming out of the ground and on
schedule for January 2016. There is also a live webcam where people can follow the Woodridge
Library construction progress. Then, he discussed the condition of the Georgetown Library to
date following a water main break that caused more than $165,000 in repairs. The first floor
and lower levels had been open for a week, the second floor should open in the coming weeks,
and finally the Peabody Room, which sustained the most damage, is scheduled to open in April.
Next, at Capitol View Library, all predesign and due diligence was complete and a common
needs assessment is scheduled for later in the year.
Ms. Richardson inquired about the flagpole at Capitol View. Mr. Bonvechio responded that the
temperature has to be consistently above 32 degrees before repairs can be made. Mr.
Bonvechio offered to send photos of the flagpole to the Board when the work is completed.

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Performance Oversight Committee Report

Mr. McCarthy introduced Ms. Mallett, Performance Oversight Committee Chair, to give an
introduction on the discussion about the strategic planning guiding principles. Ms. Mallett
noted that the guiding principles being discussed are still in draft format. Additional Board and
staff input will be considered before the principles are finalized. Ms. Mallett introduced Ms.
Judi Greenberg who gave a presentation on the DCPL strategic planning process including Board
participation, an overview, the development process and the Guiding Principles.
Ms. Greenberg then opened the Guiding Principles up to discussion by the Board. Mr. Morris
commented that none of the principles referenced books and asked that the word books be
added into the love of reading principle. Under the lifelong learning principle he asked that
language be added to reflect that the library is a place that stimulates, sparks questions and
encourages a thirst for information. Ms. Richardson asked about the quantity and location of
community engagement meetings. Ms. Greenberg responded that it has not been decided at
this point. Mr. McCarthy commented on the filling needs principle and noted that the idea of
strategic owning of bigger issues should be worked into the principles somehow.
Library Foundation Report
Mr. Reyes-Gavilan delivered the DCPL Foundation report on behalf of Ms. Linnea Hegarty,
Executive Director, DC Public Library Foundation. He noted that there is a $150,000 grant to
restore the murals at Mount Pleasant Library painted by Disney artist Aurelius Battaglia. He also
noted the Foundations support of the Arbuthnot Lecture. Finally, there would be a District of
Change discussion focused on transportation happening in the beginning of May.
Federation of Friends Report
Ms. Susan Haight, President of the Federation of Friends, gave her report on Friends activities
since the last Board of Library Trustees meeting. She noted that the group has been very active
in advocacy. They held a budget workshop for the Federation of Friends prior to their testimony
to the oversight committee on March 10. She stated that from April 2 until the budget
submission the Friends would be meeting with individual Council Members. Lastly, she noted
that Friends groups have been reactivated at Benning, Anacostia and Bellevue Libraries and
there are now 22 out of 24 friends groups throughout the library system.
New Business
Finally, Mr. Morris encouraged DCPL to explore Meerkat, free live streaming software, which
could be used to stream board meetings, strategic planning efforts or other events to the
public.
There being no more new business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:19 p.m.

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