<div dir="ltr">I've debated weighing in as a past board member not because I have nothing to say but because I have enough to say that I fear it would be diverging into too many related but tangential points. However, I want to respond to Andrea's comments because I agree with them very strongly and perhaps to add just a little.<div><br></div><div>I don't think it's necessary but I will say that everything I'm about to say is as myself, not as an employee of ESI. I've been a community member for eight years. I've been part of a vendor for a few months. One of the first things said to me when I started discussing coming to work here was that my involvement in the community was as a community member, not an employee of ESI. I had no obligation to carry an ESI flag in my community discussions or volunteer work I did. The only thing they asked of me was that if my position might differ from ESI's for some reason that I make it clear I was speaking for myself. Since vendor roles are being discussed I will make it clear I am speaking for myself. <br><div><br></div><div>I'm not unique in that I've been a customer in the Evergreen community and now a vendor. I am probably part of a small group though. And I can firmly say that conflicts are interest are possible as both customers and vendors. Trying to create a viable EOB or conference committee that has no potential conflicts of interest would be a challenge of no small proportion. Nor would it be productive to cut ourselves off of some of our most knowledgeable, engaged and long standing community members. I know that this has not been proposed but I fear that it is a potential subtext that some may read into it. A customer of a vendor is just as open to conflicts of interest in promoting the interests of their vendors who they can see as partners in their well being or acting in the interest of their own organization when they are acting in a community neutral role.</div><div><br></div><div>I do have the greatest sympathies for the challenges of the conference organizers. It's a difficult position and they are having things thrown at them constantly. I do think we need to learn lessons from this and appreciate Tanya bringing things forward so that we can formalize things in such a way to make it easier for future local organizers working with the conference committee. Perhaps more of the work needs to be done in a more transparent manner to the larger. I've not worked on one of the organizing groups and I'm sure that would create additional work and challenges, especially when time is of the essence, but I think it's something to consider. Certainly, organizers should not have to feel like they are caught between conflicting interests as I infer Tanya felt here. This is my inference so if I misconstrued that please correct me Tanya. And conflicting interests can take many shapes and not necessarily those of vendors. </div><div><br></div><div>That brings me to the last point I wanted to echo from Andrea's email. </div><div><br></div><div>"Grace was not, in this case, acting as a vendor or in the interest of her employer -- she was acting as a duly elected EOB member and and duly appointed Conference Liaison. I don't think that this rises to a conflict of interest under the Rules of Governance; rather, it was an attempt to ensure that all vendors were held to the same set of expectations."</div><div><br></div><div>I'm a bit upset that this even had to be said. I'm not upset at Andrea. I'm glad she chimed in as it mirrors my feelings. I have had many reasons to talk to Grace about community matters over the years. I know that in her role with ESI she staunchly defends ESI and promotes it. She is proud of the company. I also know that she polices herself to make sure that when she is acting as a community member that she does not represent ESI's interests. I would take great exception to anyone who suggests she has acted improperly in her role on the EOB or in the conference organizing. I could say more, a lot more, but I would probably be beating the same drum repeatedly and I have a conference call to jump onto. </div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, May 18, 2016 at 10:07 AM, Andrea Buntz Neiman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:aneiman@kent.lib.md.us" target="_blank">aneiman@kent.lib.md.us</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p>All,</p>
<p>At its heart I think that this is a communication breakdown. For
many years we have been casual about things that perhaps should
have been more strictly controlled, but we have been a small and
mostly friendly community and we were able to get away with this.</p>
<p>The points about communication are well-taken and I am hopeful
that they will be addressed. Obviously there are things that need
to be more formally written down and communicated and I trust that
the current Board will do their best towards getting this in hand.</p>
<p>I respect the fact that Tanya has made her concerns known out of
a desire to improve the project and the conference, and hopefully
the EOB uses them to improve communication and coordination at
future events.</p>
<p>That said, I strongly object to the assertion that a member of
the EOB who is a vendor cannot act as the Conference Liaison. We
have several current and former Board members who would fall under
the designation "vendor", and to restrict activities or roles of
duly-elected Board members because of their employer seems to me
to be a dangerous precedent. There have been multiple
vendor-employees on the Board over the years and they have all
served faithfully and honorably in the best interests of the
project and the community. <br>
</p>
<p>I understand that there is a long history in the library world of
"vendor" being something of a dirty word, but we have a bit of a
different dynamic here in the Evergreen community.</p>
<p>All EOB members are *openly elected by the community* and
entrusted with the ultimate financial responsibility and viability
of the project. If the community has elected an EOB member, that
EOB member should be trusted to execute her/his responsibilities
in whichever form they take. Grace was not, in this case, acting
as a vendor or in the interest of her employer -- she was acting
as a duly elected EOB member and and duly appointed Conference
Liaison. I don't think that this rises to a conflict of interest
under the Rules of Governance; rather, it was an attempt to ensure
that all vendors were held to the same set of expectations.<br>
</p>
<p>Should the Board feel that the conduct of one of its own is so
egregious that removal is merited (let me be crystal clear that I
think this has definitely NOT occurred here), there is of course a
procedure for that. Failing that, the Board should be free to
determine its own representatives to committees, SFC, etc. as
outlined in the Rules of Governance.<br>
</p>
<p>I have every confidence that the communications issues will be
resolved and we can all move forward in a spirit of cooperation.
I am of course no longer on the EOB but I'm happy to help in any
way that is needed.</p>
<p>A.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<pre cols="72">Andrea Buntz Neiman, MLS
Librarian II, Public Services
Kent County Public Library
408 High Street
Chestertown, MD 21620
<a href="tel:410-778-3636%20x2115" value="+14107783636" target="_blank">410-778-3636 x2115</a>
<a href="http://www.kentcountylibrary.org" target="_blank">www.kentcountylibrary.org</a></pre><div><div>
<div>On 5/18/2016 9:01 AM, Grace Dunbar
wrote:<br>
</div>
</div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>
<div dir="ltr">Hi Terran,<br>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, May 17, 2016 at 5:47 PM,
Terran McCanna <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tmccanna@georgialibraries.org" target="_blank"></a><a href="mailto:tmccanna@georgialibraries.org" target="_blank">tmccanna@georgialibraries.org</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>
<div>For the benefit of the record, I would like to
add two things to this message that I feel were
obfuscated:<span><br>
<br>
>>a.<span>
</span>On <span><span>February 17</span></span>,
I was notified by the Board
Secretary, Chris Sharp, that Tanya had been
going to him privately to resolve
issues for the conference and to deal with the
SFC, excluding the conference
committee altogether.<<<br>
<br>
</span></div>
Chris Sharp was the designated liaison to the SFC at
the time. The role of SFC liaison is to facilitate
communication between the SFC and other parties that
have to work with the SFC. <br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>That's actually not true. The stated role of the
Representative to the Conservancy is to "instruct the
conservancy on the project's behalf". The role is for
that person to communicate to the SFC <i>as directed by
the EOB.</i></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div><span><br>
>>b.<span>
</span>If the issues discussed between Tanya,
Chris,
and the SFC included the PINES sponsorship issues
or anything regarding the
Emerald Data sponsorships, I would point out that
there is a potential conflict
of interest in that involvement since GPLS is
Chris’ employer and Emerald Data is
their vendor.<<<br>
<br>
</span></div>
Grace neglected to mention that GPLS also has a
current contract with Equinox. Equinox is as much
"our" vendor as Emerald is. <br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I think you're missing the point. If the conference
host felt it was a conflict of interest for me to be
involved in sponsorship issues simply because I work for a
competing vendor, I fail to see how it is NOT also a
conflict of interest for someone else on the EOB to be
asked to handle matters when they have a relationship with
that very vendor. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Grace</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset></fieldset>
<br>
</div></div><span><pre>_______________________________________________
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">--------------------------------------------------------------<div>Rogan R. Hamby, Data and Project Analyst</div><div>Equinox - Open Your Library</div><div><a href="mailto:rogan@esilibrary.com" target="_blank">rogan@esilibrary.com</a></div><div>1-877-OPEN-ILS | <a href="http://www.esilibrary.com" target="_blank">www.esilibrary.com</a></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div>
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