Barbara Murphy, AADL board member, writes:
The Friends have taken our concerns seriously, and addressed their problems vigorously:
this from the AADL Board minutes of Sept 18:
Eric Owen, Interim President Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library (FAADL)
"Good evening, my name is Eric Owen; I am serving as the interim president of the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library. I want to begin by apologizing to our Friends members and volunteers, the Library staff, the Library Director, the Library Board, and the Ann Arbor community. Due to our recent failure to properly acknowledge receipt of a bequest donation, and the subsequent discovery that the state of Michigan had ceased to recognize our organization's status as a domestic nonprofit since 2003 due to lack of filing proper paperwork, we were asked to postpone our popular Bookshop Preview Night and suspend any book sales on Library premises until we have fulfilled a number of recommendations.
I would like to take this opportunity to provide an update on the actions of the Friends Board to address the concerns of the Library Board in the hopes of returning our Bookshop and book sales operations to business as usual.
1. Since our Friends Board meeting one week ago, we have obtained the assistance of a lawyer, Alan Price, of the firm Hooper Hathaway, who is correcting our organizational and administrative procedures at no cost to the Friends.
2. The accounting firm Deloitte has been contacted on our behalf and they have agreed to provide us with assistance in financial matters, subject to the Friends Board approval.
3. We have begun to reorganize our internal organizational and financial records.
4. We have secured a new website (http://www.hvcn.org/info/faadl) and I will have handouts if you would like to look at these later. And we have a new mailing address- P.O. Box 7350, Ann Arbor, 48107 - we are still working with Library personnel to get a new phone line up and running.
It is the intention of the Friends to hold our Membership Preview Night and reopen the Friends Bookshop downtown to normal operations as soon as possible. Book donations continue to be taken at the Downtown branch and our volunteers are continuing to work hard in preparation for the reopening. We are working diligently to address the oversights and mistakes that have been made and have led to the current situation. I am confident that we will be able to regain the trust of the Library and renew the spirit of the friendship which we have cultivated over the past fifty plus years of our existence. Thank you for the opportunity. There will be extras of the handouts for anybody who would like to pick them up, with our new mailing address and URL."
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And at the same meeting:
07-039 XV. VOTE FOR MANDATORY MEETING WITH FAADL BOARD
Trustee Murphy, supported by Trustee Cahill, moved the following: There will be a very early meeting between the President of the FAADL and their legal counsel, treasurer,financial advisors and members of the board along with our board president, executive director, financial advisor and legal counsel and at that meeting both groups share understanding of what is expected of each other and clarify expectations and make it very clear what we consider to be satisfactory and what the timeline is to achieve those expectations. No more than a couple of weeks later, a second meeting will be held with the same people to report progress towards those expectations. The AADL Board President, after discussing with counsel, can call a special meeting of the board, or bring it to the next meeting of the board, depending on the timing, and we will try to make this all happen expeditiously.
The purpose of this first meeting is to determine who is doing what and why. Upon completion of their work, the FAADL will call the second meeting, depending on when they are ready to do so.
AYES: Cahill, Greene, Head, Leary, Murphy, Barney Newman, Surovell
NAYS: None
Motion passed 7-0.
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Hi, Ed -- I'm co-authoring a book about popular culture & libraries (drawing in part from my multi-authored blog www.popgoesthelibrary.com) and would like to ask you some questions about library advocacy. I can't find your e-mail address anywhere here -- would you drop me a line? sophie DOT brookover AT gmail DOT com is the addy. Thanks!
Posted by: Sophie Brookover | 02 November 2006 at 10:31 AM