Texas State Library and Archives Commission
June 3, 2013

Minutes

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission met on Monday, June 3, 2013, at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, 1201 Brazos Street, Austin, Texas.

1. Approve minutes of April 24, 2013 Audit Committee and Commission Meetings.

Commissioner Pickett moved to approve minutes of the April 24, 2013, Audit Committee Meeting. Commissioner Carr seconded. Motion passed. Commissioner Carr moved to approve the minutes of the April 24, 2013, Commission Meeting. Commissioner McAfee seconded. Motion passed. Commissioner Holt abstained from voting as he was absent at these meetings.

2. Introductions. Edward Seidenberg introduced the agency’s new Human Resources Manager, Alma Craig.

3. Public comment.Gloria Meraz thanked the commission and agency staff for their efforts and support of the agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request during the 83^rdLegislative session. She invited all to attend the Texas Library Association Annual Assembly in July and particularly to attend the keynote address by Texas State Rep. Larry Gonzales. Commissioner Freeman and Chairman Waters thanked Ms. Meraz and the Texas Library Association for their support of all agency budget requests. Commissioner Carr commended the association for motivating librarians to appear before legislative committees.

4. General announcements. Edward Seidenberg introduced Pamela Rodriguez and Bonnie Cope, the agency’s Employees of the Quarter for the second quarter of FY2013.

5. Conflict of interest disclosures. There were no disclosures.
    
6. Announcement of committee appointments and committee charges.

Chairman Waters announced that Commissioner Holt would serve as chair of an ad hoc committee to focus on safety and security issues at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty. Commissioners Freeman and Pickett and Chairman Waters will also serve. Because of these additional duties, Commissioner Holt steps down from the Audit Committee and is replaced by Commissioner Givens.

7. Review of consent agenda: non-substantive corrections in other agenda items such as spelling, numbering, punctuation, grammar, or other revisions. A non-substantive correction noted.
    
8. Consideration of commemorative resolutions.

Resolutions commemorating the service of Marilyn Martin, retired Grants and Accounting Manager, and Kathy Blackburn, retired Reader’s Services Consultant in the Talking Book Program, were presented to the commission for consideration. Neither was able to be present. Donna Osborne shared details of Ms. Martin’s work history as did Ava Smith regarding Ms. Blackburn. Commissioner Carr moved to approve the resolutions. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

9. Review and approve Audit Committee recommendations regarding:

1. Internal Audit of the TAC 202 Compliance.
2. Internal Audit of the Vendor Contracting Process.
3. Internal Audit of Travel Expenditures FY 2012.
4. Selection of an Internal Audit Firm.

Commissioner McAfee, chair of the Audit Committee, reported that the Audit Committee recommended acceptance of the Internal Audit of TAC 202 Compliance. No seconded required. Motion passed.The committee also recommended approval of the Internal Audit of the Vendor Contracting Process. No second required. Motion passed.

Commissioner McAfee informed the commission that the Internal Audit of Travel Expenditures FY 2012 would be presented to the commission at a later date.

Commissioner McAfee informed the commission that the Audit Committee selection process for internal audit firm yielded two finalists who made excellent presentations to the committee. He thanked both firms for their responses, their preparedness for their presentations and their time. After scoring and discussion, the committee recommended the selection of Garza & Gonzales as the agency’s internal audit firm to the full commission. No second required. Motion passed.

10. Report of Legislative Committee. Review of the status of appropriations and funding by the Texas Legislature and the federal government for SFY 2014 and 2015.

Commissioner Carr thanked the commission’s Legislative Committee which consists of herself, Commissioner Freeman and Commissioner Pickett, for the time and work spent in support of the agency’s Legislative Appropriations Request during the 83^rdLegislature. She also thanked Chairman Waters for his dedication and time he spent on these efforts.

Commissioner Pickett commended the commission for working together and thanked Joe Thrash for the suggestion to form a Legislative Committee which in addition to beginning efforts early made a difference. She said she was very grateful for all the friends in the legislature who supported the agency. Commissioner Carr thanked and commended agency staff for their support of the commission.

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

Ava Smith presented two gifts for commission approval:

• A gift of $1,000 from Mrs. Ruth PettyJohn of Yorktown.

• A gift of $500 from Mrs. Eunice Halbert of Wichita Falls.

Commissioner Carr moved to approve the gifts to the Talking Book Program. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

Jelain Chubb presented a donation for the Archives and Information Services Division for commission approval:

A gift of $8,600 from Dr. Glenn Sample Ely to provide enhanced preservation of access to the records of Texas’ Civil War and Reconstruction Era Governors. The gift will fund a part-time archives student to reprocess and re-house the collections, update the existing finding aids to make them compliant with the latest archival description standards and purchase the necessary supplies. The project is expected to take six months.

Commissioner Carr moved to accept the gift. Commissioner Freeman seconded the motion. Motion passed. Chairman Waters thanked Dr. Ely for his gift and introduced him to the commission. Dr. Ely said he hopes his gift will encourage others to adopt documents and/or collections in the State Archives.

Chairman Waters recessed the meeting for lunch at 12:10 p.m. and called the meeting back to order at 12:39 p.m.

At this point in the meeting, Chairman Waters turned the meeting over to Edward Seidenberg to make a special presentation to Texas Department of Public Safety officials. Earlier in the year, DPS staff planned and executed the security for the exhibit of the William Barret Travis “Victory or Death” letter at the Alamo including the document’s transportation to and from San Antonio. Mr. Seidenberg introduced Commodore Jose P. Ortiz III, Capt. Jim Jordan and Raul Vargas and presented them with a resolution passed by the commission at the April 24, 2013, commission meeting, to commemorate and thank them for their successful handling of the security detail for the letter. Capt. Jordan thanked the commission and noted that DPS was assisted by the San Antonio Police Department and the Alamo Rangers.

Chairman Waters recessed the meeting at 12:43 p.m. and called the meeting back to order at 12:55 p.m.

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

Deborah Littrell requested approval of a contract not to exceed $116,567 with Amigos Library Services for the FY2014 TExpress Courier Service which was competitively bid. The contract which provides expedited pick-up and delivery of interlibrary loan and other library materials at participating libraries has four, one-year, renewal options with the contract period ending in FY2018. Commissioner Carr moved to approve the contract. Commissioner Pickett seconded. Motion passed.

Deborah Littrell requested approval of TexSelect online database contract renewals with Teton Data, R.R. Bowker, Ovid Technologies, Encyclopaedia Britannica, EBSCO and RAND for online subscription databases that are provided to Texas libraries through the TexShare consortium. No TSLAC funds are expended for TexSelect resources as TexShare member libraries use their own funds to subscribe to TexSelect resources. Because the agency negotiates with vendors at a statewide level, the agency is able to provide the databases at a larger discount than would be available to individual libraries. Commissioner Carr moved to approve the contracts. Commissioner McAfee seconded. Motion passed.

13. Report of the Director and Librarian.

Edward Seidenberg provided a written report of agency activities and initiatives and responded to questions regarding the report.

14. Review of Maintenance of Effort waiver plans.

Because the agency failed to meet Maintenance of Effort requirements of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services by 67.2% which will jeopardize federal funding for the agency for FY2015, the agency will request a waiver from this requirement. Deborah Littrell presented the agency’s draft request for a waiver to the commission and requested input. Commissioner Freeman offered suggestions on wording and formatting.

15. Authorization to adopt rule review of Chapter 8 (TexShare Library Consortium)

Deborah Littrell informed the commission that rules pertaining to the TexShare Library Consortium have been reviewed. No comments were received during the comment period and requested approval to publish notice of completion of the Rule Review of Chapter 8 in the Texas Register. Commissioner Carr moved to approve the adoption. Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

16. Report on the State and Local Records Management Division.

Craig Kelso presented a report on the Records Management Assistance Unit’s special training programs to assist state agencies and local governments in establishing and implementing records and information management programs. Training includes face-to-face training, webinars and self-paced courses. Commissioners and staff offered suggestions for possibly interesting more county government officials in taking the training.

17. Report on the Archives & Information Services Division.

Jelain Chubb and Sarah Norris provided information on spectrophotometer readings of the William Barret Travis “Victory or Death” letter and responded to questions about the report. Jelain Chubb presented the Preservation Site Survey for the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center prepared by Thomas F. R. Clareson, senior consultant for Digital and Preservation Services of LYRASIS.

18. Report on agency financial information.

Donna Osborne provided a report on agency expenditures and answered questions regarding the report.

19. Discussion of the status of the recruitment of a Director-Librarian.

Chairman Waters asked if there were any questions regarding the status of the recruitment of a Director-Librarian and there being none, announced that the commission would receive an update on this topic in Executive Session and called the commission into Executive Session as authorized by Texas Government Code §551.071, and §551.074, regarding consultations with attorney and personnel matters, respectively. The time was 2:15 p.m.

20. Executive session, as authorized by Texas Government Code §551.071, and §551.074, regarding consultations with attorney and personnel matters, respectively.

At 2:31 p.m., the commission came out of executive session and because there was no further business before the commission, Chairman Waters adjourned the meeting.

 

Submitted by,

 

Edward Seidenberg
Interim Director and Librarian