November 9 2022 Board Meeting Minutes

Prince Rupert Public Library

Library Board Meeting



November 9, 2022


Present: Carolina de Ryk, Brendan Turner, Dale White, Kate Lyon, Chris Armstrong, Kathleen Larkin


Regrets: Stephanie Lysyk (SL)


This was an informal meeting with three topics for discussion:

• Board/Staff winter social event
• Succession plan for electing a new Board Chair and Vice Chair following Chelsea Keays’ move to Lund
• Next steps with the Strategic Plan

Winter Social event:

• Board members expressed their wish to spend social time with the staff, to get to know them and to catch up on library activities after the disconnect caused by the pandemic
• Kathleen described the kind of events held in the past
• Chris expressed the view that the event should be paid for by the Library. Kate concurred.
• Possible dates are Sundays, December 4 and 11
• Kathleen will contact suggested venues for availability and prices; Legion, Pavillion and Highliner and report back to the Board

Succession Plan for electing a new Chair and Vice Chair:

• Under the terms of the Library Act, members of the Board must be residents of the Library’s service area. Chelsea is now living in Lund, so is ineligible, and she would also like to step down
• Of those present, Dale and Chris will be ending their service on the Board shortly, and will not be considered for either open position. Carolina, Kate and Brendan discussed serving but did not progress to nominations. It was decided that in line with the Library Act, in the absence of the Board Chair and Vice Chair, at each meeting those present will elect one member to be Acting Chair for that meeting. Elections to fill the vacant positions will take place after the appointment of new members.
• Carolina expressed her understanding that a new City rep will be determined at the November 21 City Council meeting.
• It was observed that a small Board is more efficient, but it does affect diversity
• Shortcomings of the process for appointing new Board members was discussed, with the observation that staggered calls for new members, as is currently the case, is inefficient and inconvenient for moving forward with Board business.
• Improving the recruitment process is a Board priority as is education for Board members regarding roles and responsibilities. Brendan will bring this up at the next NWLF meeting, requesting information on how to arrange training and costs.

Motion by Carolina, seconded by Kate that The Board invite Rosa Miller to join the next Board meeting to explain the recruitment and appointment process. Carried.

Moving ahead with the Strategic Plan:

• The Board would like to move ahead with the Strategic Plan. One of the delays in passing the plan is the final wording of the territorial acknowledgement. After discussing the possibility of passing the plan with the acknowledgement pending, it was decided that finalizing the language was essential.

Motion by Brendan, seconded by Carolina that a committee of Dale and Kate will finalize the wording of the territorial acknowledgement to be presented at the next Board meeting. Carried.

• It was suggested that a Strategic Planning Committee be formed to keep the Plan current and in mind at Board meetings and in decision-making. Questions such as, How long is the lifetime of the Plan, and Should it be reviewed each year, would be addressed.
• Committees could be formed that will reflect what the Board wants to accomplish with regard to the Strategic Plan.
• The Board would like the staff to be involved, and it was suggested that Board members could meet with individual staff members to gain a better understanding of their roles in the library.

Motion by Carolina to adjourn the meeting. 8:10pm