September Board Meeting Highlights

Chair Oliver Delaney, Oklahoma City, opened the September 20, 2013, Amigos Board of Directors Meeting in Dallas with the introductions of newly-appointed Directors. Ruben Aragon, Director, Thomas C. Donnelly Library, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM; and Elizabeth MacDonald, Dean of University Library Services, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO, each will serve a one-year appointment to replace Directors who recently resigned as they relocated to non-member libraries.

Directors allocated funding from the Amigos reserve to expand the Amigos Library Support Service (ALSS). Through this service, staff members of Amigos member libraries may obtain advice and brief consultations on all aspects of library operations. The service is free of charge for members. Topics include library management, operations, buildings, services, outreach, technology planning, e-books, library standards, new trends, and more. Advice, referral, and resources will be provided by phone and e-mail. Directors also received a status report on the E-book Distribution Platform Pilot Project, another new member service that is under development.

Directors received the auditor's report on activities from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 (FY2012/13). The auditor reported no abnormalities were encountered during the audit and commended Amigos' accounting staff for the audit preparations. Delaney reported on the New Directors Orientation held the previous day. He followed this report with the announcement of appointments to the Board's Budget and Finance Committee for FY2013/14. Treasurer Polly McCord, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, will serve as Chair. Steve Potter, Mid-Continent Public Library System, Independence, MO, and Craig Stephenson, Ponca City, OK, will serve as members. Each Director then read and signed a Conflict of Interest Statement as is required at the beginning of each new Board year.

Directors reviewed and approved the minutes of the May 14, 2013, May 15, 2013, and August 8, 2013 Board of Directors meetings and the May 15, 2013 Member Business Meeting. As is the custom at the first Board meeting of a new fiscal year, Directors shared information about the library environments in their states. This information will be distributed to Amigos managers.

Amigos President and Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Juergens provided various reports to update Directors on the operations of the organization.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled for November 22, 2013.