Texas State Library and Archives Commission
June 5, 2017

Minutes

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission met on Monday, June 5, 2017, at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, 1201 Brazos Street, Austin, Texas.

1. Welcome, introductions, and general announcement.
   
   Chairman Waters called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Alice McAfee introduced Dyan Lofton, Thurgood Marshall Law School student clerking with the Office of the Attorney General for the summer. Mark Smith introduced Daniel Shallue, one of the agency’s Employees of the Quarter for the FY17 Second Quarter.
    
2. Consideration of commemorative resolutions.
   
   Vice Chair Carr read a commemorative resolution in honor of Patricia Smith who will be retiring from the Texas Library Association. Ms. Smith thanked the commission for its support throughout the 47 years she has worked for libraries including 16 years at the agency. Chairman Waters read a commemorative resolution honoring Wm. Scott McAfee who served on the commission from March 2008 to February 2017. Mr. McAfee thanked the commission and said serving on the commission was a privilege and one of the most rewarding experiences of his personal and professional career. He apologized for his resignation from the commission but explained that he feared his job duties might present a conflict of interest and wanted to avoid any such potential conflicts. Both Ms. Smith and Mr. McAfee received a standing ovation from the commission, staff, and guests.
    
3.  Approve minutes of April 19, 2017 Commission Meeting.
   
   Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the minutes of the April 19, 2017 Commission meeting. Commissioner Wong seconded. Motion passed.
    
4.  Public Comment. There was no public comment.
    
5.  Conflict of interest disclosures.  No conflicts of interest were disclosed.
    
6.  Review of consent agenda: non-substantive corrections in other agenda items such as spelling, numbering, punctuation, grammar, or other revisions. No corrections reviewed.
   
   At this point in the meeting Chairman Waters took up agenda item 8.
    
8. Review and approve contracts greater than $100,000, and contract renewals and amendments.
   
   Deborah Littrell requested approval to renew contracts for WebJunction and Skillsoft online resources at a cost of $15,000 each with the contract period from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the renewal. Commissioner Holt seconded. Commissioners Wong and Givens asked for more specific information on usage statistics for these and for future contract renewals. Chairman Waters called for a vote with the understanding that staff will provide additional information on these products to the Commission. Motion passed.
   
   Ms. Littrell requested approval to renew TexSelect contracts with EBSCO’s product Flipster, which provides libraries with digital magazine and scholarly/trade subscriptions, and Teton Data’s product Stat!Ref, an electronic, full-text medical library. The EBSCO contract period is from August 15, 2017 through August 14, 2018 while the Teton Data contract is from August 1, 2017 through July 31, 2018. The agency negotiates the contract for TexShare member libraries which use their own funds to subscribe to TexSelect resources. No TSLAC funds are expended for TexSelect resources. Commissioners expressed concerns about usage statistics with EBSCO products noting that the issue was discussed extensively at the April 19, 2017 meeting. Mark Smith said it is a complicated issue that staff are aggressively working to remedy. Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the contracts. Commissioner Wong seconded. Motion passed.
   
   Ms. Littrell requested renewal of a TexShare core product, Pronunciator, an online language learning resource, in the amount of $595,000 with the contract period from August 15, 2017 through August 14, 2018. Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the contract. Commissioner Givens seconded. Motion passed.
   
   Ms. Littrell requested approval to renew a contract with Counting Opinions (SQUIRE) Ltd for the annual Public Library Data Collection Online Tool in the amount of $30,750 for a contract period from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2018. Commissioner Givens moved to approve the contract. Vice Chair Carr seconded. Motion passed.
   
   Ms. Littrell requested approval to renew a contract for $80,000 with the Urban Libraries Council for the Edge Initiative, a toolkit for public libraries to evaluate their technology services. Contract period is July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. Ms. Littrell said that about 300 libraries are using the resources with very positive results. Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the contract. Commissioner Holt seconded. Commissioner Givens and Vice Chair Carr asked for more information and data that would help them assess the value of the product. Commissioners Wong and Carr suggested that libraries be required to report on their use. Motion passed.
   
   Ms. Littrell requested approval to renew a contract with Middle Country Public Library for the Family Place Libraries program not to exceed $144,000 for a term from September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2018. Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the contract renewal. Commissioner Givens seconded. Motion passed.
   
   Craig Kelso requested approval to contract with the Texas Facilities Commission to upgrade the security cameras and alarm system at the State Records Center at a cost not to exceed $125,400. Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the contract. Commissioner Givens seconded. Motion passed.
   
   Donna Osborne requested approval to renew a contract with Index Data LLC for a 12 month service agreement in the amount of $8,000 for TexShare menu service. Commissioner Givens moved to approve the renewal. Vice Chair Carr seconded. Motion passed.
   
   Donna Osborne requested approval to renew a contract for $9,200 with Open Text, software maintenance for the Talking Book Program’s system. Commissioner Holt moved to approve the renewal. Vice Chair Carr seconded. Motion passed.
    
7. Report on TSLAC partnership with Texas Workforce Commission.
   
   Deborah Littrell introduced Jennifer Peters and Anson Green who reported on the successful partnership between TSLAC and the Texas Workforce Commission to connect public libraries and local Adult Education and Literacy programs and literacy providers across the state to help individuals with education and workforce development. Mr. Green said the 15-month project developed tools, particularly an adult literacy toolkit for librarians, and other resources, facilitated training and technical assistance to libraries to develop or expand engagement with local Adult Education and Literacy providers. No action required.
   
   Chairman Waters called a break at 10:15 a.m. and resumed the meeting at 10:25 a.m.
    
9. Report on current status and future plans for renovation and repair work at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center.
   
   Jelain Chubb provided an update and answered questions on the current status for work at the Sam Houston Center in Liberty including plans for museum and lobby renovations, historic building repairs, plans for the Mary Conley boiler, asbestos abatement, and HVAC system repairs and replacement. No action required.
    
10. Demonstration of online information resources.
    
    Russlene Waukechon demonstrated TexShare online resources and answered questions about the products. No action required.
     
11. Report on status of Sunset Review.
    
    Gloria Meraz updated the commission on the agency’s 2019 Sunset Review Process, provided a draft Self Evaluation Report, and asked for commission discussion and input.
    
    At 11:45 a.m. Chairman Waters recessed the meeting for lunch and called the meeting back to order at 12:15 p.m. at which time he took up agenda item 16 and called the commission into Executive Session.
     
16. Executive Session under the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551.
    
    The commission went into Executive Session at 12:15 p.m. pursuant to Texas Government Code, §551.071(1)(A), for consultation with legal counsel to discuss pending or contemplated administrative actions and pending or contemplated litigations including the Ambonare contract.
    
    Chairman Waters called the commission back into open session at 1:23 p.m. and announced that no action was taken in the closed session. He returned to Agenda Item 11 Report on Status of Sunset Review.
    
    Gloria Meraz walked the commission through the draft Self Evaluation Report which will be finalized and submitted to the Sunset Advisory Commission in September. Commissioners provided input and Commissioner Holt recommended isolating agency duties and roles that are unique. Mark Smith said a near final version will be submitted to the commission for review at the August 7, 2017 meeting. No action required.
     
12. Report on 85th Legislative Session.
    
    Mark Smith reported on the status of agency appropriations for the next biennium by the 85th Legislature and provided a list of individual bills that impact agency operations and responded to questions from commissioners. He said TSLAC’s final budget stands at $30,227,139 and a total budget of $66,010,905 that includes federal and other funds. He noted that the budget conference committee opted to fund one of the agency’s five exceptional item requests of $1 million to support broadband development in Texas public libraries. The agency also received authorization to add three FTEs, adding two Government Information Analysts and the Coordinator for the Texas Center for the Book. He thanked the commission for their participation and support during the legislative process and also for the agency’s partner organizations’ support. Commissioner Wong commended the staff on their work during the session. No action required.
     
13. Report of the Director and Librarian.
    
    Mark Smith provided a written report of agency activities and initiatives including an update on federal funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services which accounts for 30 percent of the agency’s budget. Although Congress restored federal funds for FFY2017, President Trump’s budget for FFY2018 recommends near elimination of IMLS which would significantly impact the agency. He also reported on the implementation of the Centralized Accounting and Payroll Processing System (CAPPS), a major project involving a number of agency staff that has had a large impact on the agency and made more difficult because of the governor’s hiring freeze which has left several key positions unfilled.
     
14. Review and approve LSTA 5-year plan.
    
    Deborah Littrell requested approval of the agency’s Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan for Texas FY2018-2022 which governs the use of LSTA funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Vice Chair Carr moved to approve the plan. Commissioner Wong seconded. Motion passed.
     
15. Report on agency financial information.
    
    Donna Osborne provided a written report on agency finances and responded to commissioners’ questions. No action required.
    
    There being no further business to come before the commission, Chairman Waters adjourned the meeting at 2:20 p.m.