[Eg-oversight-board] Proposed amendment to EOB meeting minutes

Wed May 11 11:56:57 EDT 2016

Terran,

If memory serves, the meeting was held during the middle of the day
with a short, specific agenda based on agreement by the board.  I
believe this was all discussed publicly, and there were several good
reasons for the scheduling.  I think it was wedged into a lunch hour
because that was all that was left to the board by the program
committee. The IRC logs should be useful in explaining all of that,
but IIRC it came down to, "late meetings are painful, and long
meetings with open-ended agendas are likewise."  It was, to a degree,
an experiment and I'm sure we'll improve on it next year.

It's interesting that you assert as fact that the minutes are
perfectly accurate, because I don't believe that is true, though not
for the reason raised by Ruth. Please note that until the minutes are
accepted by the board at the next meeting they are not recognized as
fact, either.  Setting aside the fact that Tanya has said her words
did not reflect her thoughts, the original line in question, as typed
by Chris, does not match my recollection in terms of accuracy.  I'll
be raising the issue at the next meeting, where it can actually be
acted upon, but since you are asserting otherwise now I'll let
everyone know what my concern is, so it can be considered before hand.

Here is my issue with accuracy in the words of the record: I recall
Tanya using the phrase "giving direction" with regard to "a vendor"
but I don't recall her using the phrase "point of contact."  That
difference between my recollection and the minutes as recorded by the
secretary is concerning because the latter implies more specificity
than the former.  In other words, what Chris typed implies Tanya was
talking specifically about an official conference contact, but what I
recall her actually saying implies no such thing, only that she was
receiving direction.  Her clarification to several people suggests
Chris' typing implies more meaning that was actually provided by
Tanya, but the intent is materially beside the point of whether the
words typed match the words spoken.  I don't believe they do.  They
are, quite obviously, not a direct transcription of what Tanya said,
which means they were interpreted by Chris before being recorded.

I recorded this thought privately and shared it with another person
approximately an hour after the minutes were posted, so I'm not
working from far-removed memory here -- I noticed it immediately and
noted it.  Since you have objected to amending the minutes in any way
I feel I should bring up my concerns about the veracity of the record
as it stands.

To be clear, I am certain my complaint here is simply about a matter
of transcription error and not intentional misrepresentation.  Chris,
like all of us, is only human and we all make mistakes.  The
straightforward process available to use to correct the minutes allows
us to accept that fact.

Thanks,

--
Mike Rylander
 | President
 | Equinox Software, Inc. / Open Your Library
 | phone:  1-877-OPEN-ILS (673-6457)
 | email:  miker at esilibrary.com
 | web:  http://www.esilibrary.com

On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 11:10 AM, Terran McCanna
<tmccanna at georgialibraries.org> wrote:
> I attended the meeting last year and it was significantly longer and
> scheduled at the end of the day so that all topics could be addressed
> without rushing. I do not recall how long the meeting was the year before in
> Boston, but I do not recall it being rushed either. I am unclear as to why
> this year's meeting was only scheduled for 45 minutes during a lunch break.
> Since this is the only time that the entire board (or most of it) meets in
> person per year, I feel that it's the most important meeting of the year. In
> the future, I feel that sufficient time should be scheduled to allow all
> issues to be fully addressed, to allow any non-Board members to speak /
> introduce 'other business' if it is not on the agenda, and to allow new
> board members (like myself) a smoother introduction to roles,
> responsibilities, and meeting process.
>
> I also feel that for future annual meetings, the conference host(s) should
> automatically be offered a place on the agenda. It is the best opportunity
> we have to discuss what worked and what didn't so that we can give the
> following year's host/planning committee the support they need to put on a
> successful conference, and to avoid running into the same issues.
>
> Considering both of these things, as well as the fact that the meeting notes
> recorded by the secretary do accurately reflect what was said during the
> meeting, and my firm belief that it is unethical to change the notes to
> reflect post-meeting side conversations that were not public and did not
> involve the entire Board, I have a counterproposal:
>
> I propose that the meeting notes remain as is, but that we also invite Tanya
> to attend the next EOB meeting and give her the opportunity to fully discuss
> the problems she encountered leading up to the conference and what we can do
> better in the lead up to future conferences. If she is unavailable, or if
> she is not comfortable communicating within the constraints of the IRC
> environment, then I propose that she be asked to submit a written statement
> expanding on what she said at the last meeting so that it can go on record
> in an open and transparent manner.
>
>
>
> Terran McCanna
> PINES Program Manager
> Georgia Public Library Service
> 1800 Century Place, Suite 150
> Atlanta, GA 30345
> 404-235-7138
> tmccanna at georgialibraries.org
>
>
> On Mon, May 2, 2016 at 9:02 AM, Grace Dunbar <gdunbar at esilibrary.com> wrote:
>>
>> I think a few things factored into this need for a correction to the
>> minutes.
>>
>> We had a very full agenda for that meeting which was only 45 minutes as
>> opposed to our normal 60 minutes.  Tanya approached me just before the
>> meeting started to request a slot on the agenda.  I initially declined due
>> to the late request and full agenda but she was politely insistent and
>> requested "two minutes", so I added her to the agenda.  When she spoke, I
>> recognized that her agenda item should be given fuller attention/discussion
>> by the Board but I didn't want to sacrifice everything else on the agenda to
>> get into those particulars.  There is the compounding factor that getting
>> into a discussion about perceived conflicts of interest and issues the
>> conference committee had this year has the potential for embarrassing or
>> damaging the local committee, as well as other vendors and organizations.
>>
>> Tanya sought me out immediately after the meeting to clarify her comments
>> and I found out later that she did the same with others.  Since she felt the
>> need to clarify her words I suggested that we propose a correction and Ruth
>> worked with Tanya to revise the wording.  In a pressure situation our words
>> sometimes come out wrong, especially when we're trying to reflect on complex
>> issues in a compressed time frame.  In my opinion, giving Tanya the
>> opportunity to clarify her own words is not only acceptable, but necessary.
>>
>> -Grace
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Apr 30, 2016 at 7:08 PM, Ruth Frasur
>> <director at hagerstownlibrary.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Agree to all the points made.  I think we'll have a good discussion at
>>> the next meeting and come to a decision that's wise, amenable, and
>>> reflective of the spirit of our community.  Thanks all.
>>>
>>> On Sat, Apr 30, 2016 at 1:20 PM, Amy Terlaga <terlaga at biblio.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I agree with Terran.  The original wording matches up with my memory of
>>>> the meeting.  I'm sympathetic to Tanya's situation - she meant to put it
>>>> better than she did.  So a clarification to what was said would make sense
>>>> to me.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, Ruth, for bringing this to the Board's attention.
>>>>
>>>> +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
>>>> Amy Terlaga
>>>> Director of Member Services
>>>> Bibliomation
>>>> 24 Wooster Avenue
>>>> Waterbury, CT 06708
>>>> terlaga at biblio.org
>>>> 203-577-4070 x101
>>>>
>>>> On Apr 29, 2016, at 5:43 PM, Terran McCanna
>>>> <tmccanna at georgialibraries.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Since these conversations took place outside of the meeting, they should
>>>> not alter the official meeting record. I am particularly concerned by the
>>>> change in wording regarding the conflict of interest issue, since the new
>>>> wording puts a very different slant on the problem than the original did,
>>>> and on what I witnessed Tanya say during that meeting.
>>>>
>>>> I would be willing to consider an addendum to the record only if it is
>>>> approved by Tanya, but I am opposed to any change of the original wording.
>>>>
>>>> Terran McCanna
>>>> PINES Program Manager
>>>> Georgia Public Library Service
>>>> 1800 Century Place, Suite 150
>>>> Atlanta, GA 30345
>>>> 404-235-7138
>>>> tmccanna at georgialibraries.org
>>>>
>>>> On Apr 29, 2016 1:27 PM, "Ruth Frasur" <director at hagerstownlibrary.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Dear EOB members,
>>>>>
>>>>> During the EOB meeting at the 2016 Evergreen International Conference,
>>>>> Tanya Prokrym expressed concerns related to the conference planning
>>>>> experience.  Following that meeting, Tanya clarified her comments in
>>>>> conversations (via face to face interactions and/or email) with Grace
>>>>> Dunbar, Yamil Suarez, Amy Terlaga, and myself.
>>>>>
>>>>> Based on her clarification and with her input, I proposed that the
>>>>> minutes from the EOB meeting be amended as follows.
>>>>>
>>>>> Current language
>>>>>
>>>>> Issues for 2016's conference / Tanya
>>>>>
>>>>> Emails that created extra stress
>>>>> Need to look at relationship between EOB, SFC, and Conference committee
>>>>> Not provided with a clear set of expectations about who had authority
>>>>> to do what
>>>>> Didn’t know the right questions to ask
>>>>> Sponsorships
>>>>> Conflict of interest to have a point of contact be a vendor
>>>>>
>>>>> Proposed Amended Language
>>>>>
>>>>> Issues for 2016's conference/Tanya
>>>>>
>>>>> Email threads that were contradictory or confusing which created stress
>>>>> Should examine the conference structure and clarify the roles/authority
>>>>> of the EOB, SFC, Conference Committee, and Host Committee to manage
>>>>> expectations and clarify procedures
>>>>> External pressure from some vendors and other organizations was levied
>>>>> against the local  conference committee claiming conflict of interest due to
>>>>> the host committee's vendor relationship
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Ruth Frasur
>>>>> Director of the Historic(ally Awesome) Hagerstown - Jefferson Township
>>>>> Library
>>>>> 10 W. College Street in Hagerstown, Indiana (47346)
>>>>> p (765) 489-5632; f (765) 489-5808
>>>>>
>>>>> Our Kickin' Website,  Our Rockin' Facebook Page,  and The Nettle Creek
>>>>> Players
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> eg-oversight-board mailing list
>>>>> eg-oversight-board at list.evergreen-ils.org
>>>>>
>>>>> http://list.evergreen-ils.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/eg-oversight-board
>>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Ruth Frasur
>>> Director of the Historic(ally Awesome) Hagerstown - Jefferson Township
>>> Library
>>> 10 W. College Street in Hagerstown, Indiana (47346)
>>> p (765) 489-5632; f (765) 489-5808
>>>
>>> Our Kickin' Website,  Our Rockin' Facebook Page,  and The Nettle Creek
>>> Players
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> eg-oversight-board mailing list
>>> eg-oversight-board at list.evergreen-ils.org
>>> http://list.evergreen-ils.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/eg-oversight-board
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Grace Dunbar, Vice President
>> Equinox - Open Your Library
>> gdunbar at esilibrary.com
>> 1-877-OPEN-ILS  |  www.esilibrary.com
>>
>>
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