Texas State Library and Archives Commission
June 5, 2012

Minutes

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission met on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, in the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, Austin, Texas.

Chairman Waters called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m., welcomed everyone and introduced Commissioner Givens and Commissioner Carr. He noted that Governor Rick Perry appointed Commissioner Givens to the commission to replace Sally Reynolds whose term expired, and re-appointed Commissioner Carr to the commission on May 9, 2012. Chairman Waters also introduced Joe Thrash and Donna Osborne.

Chairman Waters asked Peggy Rudd to introduce the Employees of the Quarter present at the meeting. Peggy Rudd introduced Darlene Mott and Sergio Velasco, both employees in the Archives and Information Services Division, who were selected as Employees of the Quarter for the second quarter of FY2012.

Chairman Waters presented Commissioner Pickett with a commemorative resolution approved at the April 17, 2012, commission meeting and thanked her for her service to the people of Texas in her 10 years as commission chairman. There was an extended standing ovation in recognition of Commissioner Pickett. Chairman Waters presented a commemorative resolution to Bruce Wilson who retired from agency service May 31, 2012, and thanked him for his service. Commissioner Carr moved to approve the resolution. Commissioner Holt seconded. Motion passed.

Chairman Waters told the commission that he had the honor of joining Peggy Rudd and Ava Smith in Washington D.C. to receive a special award and asked Peggy Rudd to report on this event to the commission.

11.  Report on the Talking Book Program’s selection as the Library of the Year by the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Peggy Rudd said the agency’s Talking Book Program received the Library of the Year award for 2011 from the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. on June 1, 2012. Chairman Waters said the award is a significant honor to the agency. No action required.

At this point in the agenda, Chairman Waters took up agenda item 9.

9. Presentation of grant award by the Texas Historical Foundation.

Ted Lusher presented a grant of $5,000 to the agency to assist with the preservation of early Texas Supreme Court case files dating from 1840 through 1870. Commissioner Carr moved to accept the grant. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

1. Approve minutes of April 17, 2012, meetings of the Audit Committee and the Commission.

Commissioner Carr moved to approve the minutes of the April 17, 2012, Audit Committee meeting. Commissioner Holt seconded. Motion passed. Commissioner Carr moved to approve the minutes of the April 17, 2012, commission meeting. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

2. Introductions. No other introductions at this time.

3. Public Comment

Gloria Meraz told the commission that the library community is interested in moving forward with an aggressive plan to regain funding for library services in the state and thanked the commission and staff for working with the Texas Library Association on the agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request.

Tracey Mendoza told the commission that bringing school libraries into the TexShare databases is supported by the TexShare Advisory Board but she would like to see a plan on how such a large group will be brought in.

Pat Tuohy updated the commission on Central Texas Library System activities and how the loss of state funding for library systems has compelled CTLS to broaden its service area to include services for all libraries funded by member fees and private funding which CTLS is currently seeking.

4. General announcements and discussion of future meeting dates and locations.

Chairman Waters confirmed that there will be a special commission meeting on July 11, 2012, to discuss the agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request, a regular commission meeting on August 2, 2012, and a regular meeting in Fort Worth on October 2, 2012. Future commission dates will be determined by an online poll.

5. Conflict of Interest Disclosure. There were no disclosures at this time.

6. Review of consent agenda: non-substantive corrections in other agenda items such as spelling, numbering, punctuation, grammar, or other revisions.  One was noted.

7. Consideration of commemorative resolutions.

Chairman Waters asked for approval of a commemorative resolution honoring Sally Reynolds of Rockport who served on the commission until May 2012. Commissioner Carr moved to approve. Commissioner Pickett seconded. Motion passed.

At this point in the meeting, Chairman Waters took up Agenda Item 10.

10. Review and approve acceptance of grants and gifts greater than $500.

Peggy Rudd informed the commission that the agency received a gift of $500.00 on May 9, 2012, from the Fleur De Lis Chapter of the Huguenot Society of Texas, located in Austin, Texas. This donation was designated for the purchase of books regarding the Huguenots for inclusion in the Archives and Information Services Division’s genealogy collection. Commissioner Carr moved to accept the gift. Commissioner Holt seconded. Motion passed.

12. Review and approve contracts greater than $100,000.

Deborah Littrell requested approval of TexSelect Online database contract renewals with Teton Data, R.R. Bowker, Ovid Technologies, Encyclopedia Britannica and Rand Texas Statistics. These contracts are negotiated on a statewide basis by the agency for Texas libraries which pay for the databases; no state funds are expended for these databases that are provided through the TexShare consortium. The total amount of each contract will be determined by the number of libraries subscribing. Commissioner Carr moved to approve. Commissioner Givens seconded. Motion passed.

At this point in the meeting, Chairman Waters took up Agenda Item 8.

8. Presentation by the Honorable Jerry Patterson.

The Honorable Jerry Patterson informed the commission that the General Land Office is now the agency responsible for the Alamo and suggested that for the 177^th anniversary of the siege of the Alamo, that the letter written by William Barret Travis at the Alamo in 1836 be returned to the Alamo for display for 13 Days of Glory in 2013. He assured the commission that the General Land Office would do whatever is necessary from a security and environmental perspective to safeguard the document. He said he believes corporate donors could be found to fund a special display case if necessary.

After questions from the commission, Chairman Waters thanked Commissioner Patterson for appearing before the commission and indicated that the commission would give full consideration to the request.

Chairman Waters recessed the meeting for lunch at 11:30 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 12:15 p.m.

13. Report of the Audit Committee meeting.

Commissioner Holt informed the commission that the Audit Committee had met and recommended approval of the agency’s fraud prevention program, the Follow- up Internal Audit of State Auditor’s Office Audit Report of Records Center Services issued July 2010, the Internal Audit of the Records Management Assistance Unit of the State & Local Records Management Division, and the Internal Audit of TAC 202 Compliance. No second required. Motion passed.

14. Report of the Director and Librarian.

Peggy Rudd provided a written report and answered questions regarding the report. She announced that Cesar Garza would join the agency as Communications Officer in July. Commissioner Freeman asked why the FTE count for the State and Local Records Management Division was less in 2012 than it was in budget documents presented to the commission in July 2011. Director Rudd said she could provide the information at the next commission meeting in July. No action required.

15. Status report on the Local Government Records Storage Task Force.

Peggy Rudd and Craig Kelso reported to the commission that the Local Government Records Storage Task Force convened on April 16, 2012, and made progress developing administrative rules authorized by Government Code 441.025 and Local Government Code 203.048 (having to do with records storage rules for local governments.) As a result of the meeting, the Texas Association of Counties invited Peggy Rudd and Craig Kelso to speak on the storage rules and the task force’s work at the association’s annual conference, August, 30, 2012.  The task force will meet again on July 10, 2012 to continue its work. No action required.

16. Discuss and approve the FY 2013 fee schedules related to records storage and imaging services.

Craig Kelso presented the FY2013 fee schedules related to records storage and imaging services at the State Records Center noting that the fees are based on the recommendation of the Government Efficiency and Effectiveness Report (GEER) issued in January 2011 that stated that the agency did not have an adequate cost recovery schedule and was not collecting sufficient revenue to recover the program’s full cost, including agency indirect expenses.

Commissioner Carr moved to approve the fee schedules. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

17. Authorization to adopt amendments to 13 TAC 7.125, regarding local government records retention schedule GR (Records Common to Local Governments).

Craig Kelso requested authorization to adopt amendments to 13 TAC 7.125, regarding local government records retention schedule GR (Records Common to Local Governments) noting that the amendment is to revise records series GR1000-26 (Correspondence, Internal Memoranda, and Subject Files) to extend the retention period for GR1000-26a to four years and to extend the retention period for GR1000-26b to two years. Commissioner Carr moved to approve. Commissioner Holt seconded. Motion passed.

18. Authorization to adopt amendments to 13 TAC 6.10, regarding the Texas State Records Retention Schedule (4^th Edition).

Craig Kelso requested authorization to adopt amendments to 13 TAC 6.10, regarding the Texas State Records Retention Schedule (4^th Edition) noting that the amendment is to revise records series 1.1.007 (Correspondence – Administrative) and 1.1.008 (Correspondence-General) to extend the retention period for 1.1.007 to four years and to extend the retention period for 1.1.008 to two years. Commissioner Carr moved to approve. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

19. Authorization to adopt rule review of Chapter 1 (Library Development).

Deborah Littrell requested authorization to adopt rule review of Chapter 1 Library Development. Commissioner Pickett moved to approve the re-adoption of Chapter 1. Commissioner Carr seconded. Motion passed.

20. Authorization to adopt rule review of Chapter 4 (School Library Programs).

Deborah Littrell requested authorization to adopt rule review of Chapter 4 (School Library Programs). Commissioner Carr moved to approve re-adoption of Chapter 4. Commissioner Holt seconded. Motion passed.

21. Discuss and approve the Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan for Texas FY2013-2017.

Deborah Littrell requested approval of the agency’s Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan for Texas FY2013-2017 which governs the use of LSTA funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Commissioner Pickett moved to approve the plan. Commissioner Carr seconded. Motion passed.

22. Discuss issues related to the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, including visit by commission members.

Chairman Waters told the commission that he and Commissioner Freeman visited the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty in May, were treated graciously by staff and Commissioner Pickett as they toured the Center and other historical buildings owned by the agency in Liberty to view firsthand the safety and security issues found by the State Office of Risk Management in a December 2011 report. Chairman Waters commended staff for their work on responding to the safety issues identified by SORM and for their continuing work on these issues. The commission reviewed the SORM report and noted the deficiencies listed and that a number of them had been resolved.

Jelain Chubb said agency staff continue to obtain estimates to address all the deficiencies and are working toward a total cost estimate to include in an Exceptional Item Request for the agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request for the next legislative session. No action taken.

23. Discuss and approve the Agency Strategic Plan for 2013-2017.

Peggy Rudd asked commissioners to approve the Agency Strategic Plan revised with commissioner input. Commissioners suggested additional changes and edits. Commissioner Holt moved to approve as corrected. Commissioner Carr seconded. Motion passed.

24. Discuss preparation of the Legislative Appropriations Request for 2014-2015.

Peggy Rudd informed the commission that instructions for the Legislative Appropriations Request for FY2014 and 2015 were received by the agency staff one day prior to the commission meeting. Agencies are instructed to use their current budgets as their base budget and to prepare supplement budgets that include a 10 percent cut in five percent increments and that agencies are allowed to ask for Exceptional Item Requests. She presented the commission with four exceptional item requests and requested commissioners’ direction and input. After discussion, Director Rudd told the commission that staff would continue work on the exceptional items and work closely with the Texas Library Association and the TexShare Advisory Board.

Chairman Waters said the commission will devote its July 11, 2012, meeting to a more in-depth discussion of the LAR. No action taken.

25. Executive session, as authorized by TEX. GOV’T. CODE § 551.071 and 551.074, regarding consultations with attorney and personnel matters, respectively.

At 3:36 p.m., Chairman Waters, as authorized by Government Code 551.071 and 551.074 called the commission into executive session regarding consultations with attorney and personnel matters, respectively.

The commission returned to open session at 4:29 p.m. Chairman Waters adjourned the meeting at 4:30 p.m.

 

Submitted by,

 

Peggy D. Rudd

Director and Librarian