June 17, 2021

MINUTES

Thursday, June 17, 2021
*The Board did not meet at a physical location. As part of the response to the threat of COVID-19, Governor David Ige issued a Twenty-First Supplementary Proclamation dated June 7, 2021, suspending Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 92, Public Agency Meetings and Records, to the extent necessary to enable boards as defined in Section 92-2, to conduct meetings without any board members or members of the public physically present in the same location, among other things.

ALSO PRESENT:
Stacey Aldrich, State Librarian
Alison Kunishige, Executive Director
Kenyon Tam, Board Analyst
Regina Pascua, Executive Secretary
Lady Garrett, Secretary

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for public testimony on this agenda item. No one provided oral testimony at this time.

Committee Chairperson Takeno asked Committee members to review the minutes of the Committee’s May 20, 2021 meeting.

Committee Vice Chairperson Kaimana Barcarse moved to approve the Committee’s meeting minutes of May 20, 2021. Committee Member Kenneth Uemura seconded.

Committee Chairperson Takeno asked if there were any objections to the motion. No Committee member raised objections, and the motion carried through unanimous consent from all members present (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to approve the Human Resources Committee meeting minutes of May 20, 2021 (Barcarse/Uemura). The motion carried through unanimous consent from all members present.

III. Recommendation for Action

Committee Chairperson Takeno reviewed the procedure for discussing the end-of-year evaluation for Stacey Aldrich, State Librarian. He stated that the Committee would go through the evaluation in the following order: discussing and taking action to establish a rating for each standard, an overall standard rating, a rating for each State Librarian Priority, an overall State Librarian Priority rating, and an overall rating for the State Librarian. Committee Chairperson Takeno also explained that the discussion of each standard and priority would start with a motion to provide an “effective” rating and then the Committee would designate a Committee member to make the motion and one to second. Committee Chairperson Takeno noted that he would not call on the Committee members each time a motion would need to be made, but would instead state that per the previous agreement, the designated Committee members moved and seconded a motion for an “effective” rating. He explained that this is to start the discussion from a neutral standpoint and streamline the discussion process.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that he would like to designate Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse and Committee Member Kili Namau‘u to make the motions and second the motions. Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse agreed to make the motion to start the discussion for each rating, and Committee Member Namau‘u agreed to second the motion.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that Committee members could discuss the rating after the motion for an “effective” rating was on the floor. He explained that if a Committee member wanted to propose a rating other than “effective,” the Committee member would make a motion to amend the main motion, and the Committee members could then discuss that rating.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that he would call on State Librarian Aldrich to see if she has any comments once the Committee finished its discussion on the main motion and any amendments. He explained that after establishing ratings for all the standards and State Librarian Priorities, the Committee could review the ratings and discuss whether it wanted to change any of them. Committee Chairperson Takeno noted that the minutes of the Committee meeting and the subsequent Board meeting at which the Committee would make its recommendations would serve as the official record of the State Librarian’s evaluation.

Committee Member Payne stated that the written presentation provided by Aldrich reflects an incredible amount of work and it reflects her and her staff’s leadership to make sure the libraries was supported the community. She noted that she is impressed with Aldrich’s leadership and the Hawaii State Public Library System’s (“HSPLS”) organizational culture throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse expressed appreciation of Aldrich’s high level of communication with the Board throughout the year. He also stated that community members have shared with him their appreciation for public libraries, which reflects Aldrich’s leadership.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the secondary motion to amend the main motion. The secondary motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the amended main motion. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” on Standard 1 (Visionary Leadership and Organizational Culture) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that per the previous agreement, Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse moved and Committee Member Namau‘u seconded a motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on Standard 2 (Operations, Resource, and Personnel Management) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation.
Aldrich expressed appreciation for HSPLS staff and executive team and noted that the public library system could not have continued operations without their perseverance and dedication. She stated that HSPLS staff has been working to keep libraries open with fewer staff while adjusting to changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Committee Member Bruce Voss moved to amend the main motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” on Standard 2 (Operations, Resource, and Personnel Management) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. Committee Member Payne seconded.

Committee Member Voss noted that given the limited personnel and resources, Aldrich and her team have done an extraordinary job of keeping the libraries operating and making resources available for everyone in the community.

Committee Member Payne highlighted the additional funding Aldrich brought in during a challenging time when the state was not able to provide the usual amounts of state funding to support public libraries. She stated that this is an example of a leader doing extraordinary work during extraordinary times and Aldrich deserves the Board’s acknowledgement through her evaluation.

Committee Member Uemura expressed agreement with the comments shared by other members of the committee regarding Aldrich’s rating. He explained that in the past he would rate the sub-standards and then add those together to come up with a total rating. He stated that he is supportive of a highly effective rating; however, for sub-standards 2.2, 2.4, and 2.6 his rating was “effective” and noted that due to the nature of these sub-standards it is hard to get a highly effective rating.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the secondary motion to amend the main motion. The secondary motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” on Standard 2 (Operations, Resource, and Personnel Management) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on Standard 3 (Board Governance and Policy) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation (Barcarse/ Namau‘u). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse moved to amend the main motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” on Standard 4 (Communication and Community Relations) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. Committee Member Uemura seconded.

Committee Vice Chairperson stated that Aldrich’s communication to the Board has been highly effective, especially in areas that need improvement or when there may be a delay. Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse expressed appreciation for Aldrich’s honest and open communication and expressed his interest in finding better ways for the Board to work with her.

Committee Member Uemura echoed his support for the highly effective rating and stated that Aldrich is an effective communicator. He stated that the messages provided by Aldrich are clear, concise, and easy to understand.

Committee Member Fallin expressed support for the highly effective rating because HSPLS staff worked with other government agencies during this difficult year to develop partnerships and provide support. She stated that some examples in subsection 4.2 show how community relations support not only the community, but other government agencies as well.

Aldrich stated that this is an important area for HSPLS because libraries are community hubs that connect people. She stated that they work with government agencies to see how libraries can best support efforts. Aldrich stated that libraries have written letters of support for grants for other organizations to create mobile outreach services and HSPLS looks for ways to connect to the community. She noted that she is proud of HSPLS staff across the state and everyone who continues to reach out and connect with the community.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the secondary motion to amend the main motion. The secondary motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” on Standard 4 (Communication and Community Relations) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that per the previous agreement, Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse moved and Committee Member Namau‘u seconded a motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on Standard 5 (Ethical Leadership) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation.

Aldrich stated that the libraries are dedicated to increasing community access. She also stated that she practices self-awareness and reflection every day, but that she always feels like she can do better and continue to grow.

Committee Member Lynn Fallin asked for insights from Aldrich on sub-standard 5.3, relating to accessibility, particularly for hard to reach populations.

Aldrich stated that it is difficult to get to hard to reach populations and HSPLS is looking at a variety of options, like increasing mobile access for those who do not have easy access to a public library branch. She stated that one area HSPLS is working on is the NorthStar digital literacy testing tool, which patrons can use to assess their digital skills and identify areas to work on. Aldrich stated that NorthStar is easy to navigate, but at this time it is only available in English. She also stated that in communities where English is not the first language of many households, libraries are working to find solutions. Aldrich noted that many patrons of the Waipahu Public Library are from the Philippines and are not fluent in English, so the branch manager is working to create a digital literacy tag list in their primary language.

Aldrich expressed concern for students with connectivity challenges and is looking to partner with the Department to make sure students have access to resources they need to conduct research or to have a place for students to study. She explained that more needs to be done to market the Library for the Blind and Print Disabled to those in the community who cannot read standard print due to a visual disability, who are unable to hold a book, or those with dyslexia. Aldrich noted that this is a free resource. She stated that HSPLS needs to do more marketing and outreach, engage in more intentional with partnerships, and building aware of community needs.

Committee Member Payne moved to amend the main motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” on Standard 5 (Ethical Leadership) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. Committee Member Namau‘u seconded.

Committee Member Payne stated that when looking at ethics and ethical leadership Aldrich goes beyond effective in her efforts by successfully implementing the Aloha Response cohort, for which she received national recognition. She also stated that when she visits libraries there is a sense of aloha and that Aldrich has led this effort at a time when peoples’ nerves are strained. Committee Member Payne stated that libraries have helped to alleviate some of that stress and have engaged in ongoing efforts to reach populations that are not generally served.

Committee Member Namauʻu stated that Aldrich is humble and that Aldrich recognizes everyone in the community who has helped, an example of she meets the requirements of sub-standard 5.2. She noted that Aldrich recognizes personnel by name, legislators, and community partners and always shares her appreciation for their support.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the secondary motion to amend the main motion. The secondary motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” on Standard 5 (Ethical Leadership) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse moved to amend the main motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” overall on the professional standards for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. Committee Member Uemura seconded.

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” overall on the professional standards for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that per the previous agreement, Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse moved and Committee Member Namau‘u seconded a motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on State Librarian Priority 1 (implement new statewide service philosophy for consistent service) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation.

Aldrich stated that she is still working on State Librarian Priority 1 and any organization that provides a service to the community needs some joint way to think about how to serve the community; the service philosophy is built and designed to do this. She expressed appreciation for Danielle Todd who created the training and who did a great job incorporating all of the things that are important to consider when helping people. Aldrich stated that although this is an area that still needs work, the organization has thought intentionally about how to serve each other and our communities.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the motion. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on State Librarian Priority 1 (implement new statewide service philosophy for consistent service) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation (Barcarse/ Namau‘u). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that per the previous agreement, Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse moved and Committee Member Namau‘u seconded a motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on State Librarian Priority 2 (develop a cohesive strategy for virtual collections) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation.

Aldrich stated that collections is the onion that she keeps peeling and expressed gratitude to Christine Weiss who, although new, has an evolving role in evolving collections from what it used to be. She explained that the focus for collections is now on getting a better handle on how to manage the eBooks collection, a large collection that spiked in usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aldrich stated that across the state, branches are meeting to discuss what they plan on ordering and what people are using as a tool towards becoming more effective. She stated that she had a hard time giving herself a rating because she does feels that the rating should be something between marginal and effective because this priority is in-between the two ratings and moving towards progress.

Committee Member Payne stated that this priority will be ongoing for the life of libraries and stated that she believes the rating is effective because Aldrich is continuing to do this work and expressed appreciation for the progress Aldrich has made.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the motion. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on State Librarian Priority 2 (develop a cohesive strategy for virtual collections) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation (Barcarse/ Namau‘u). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Chairperson Takeno stated that per the previous agreement, Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse moved and Committee Member Namau‘u seconded a motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on State Librarian Priority 3 (innovate services and management of resources around the new normal) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation.

Aldrich stated that the artificial intelligence project is almost complete and should be working by fall. She explained that this project is a people counter that determines how many people are in a building at one time by using sensors. Aldrich stated that this data will be used to create a dashboard so HSPLS staff can see how people are using space in the libraries. Aldrich expressed disappointment that the project was not up and running sooner because there were challenges with technology and because each library entrance is different. She also stated that she believes that this priority should be rated between marginal and effective because she has not completed the project.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the motion. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” on State Librarian Priority 3 (innovate services and management of resources around the new normal) for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation (Barcarse/ Namau‘u). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for a roll call vote on the motion. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye (Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse, Committee Members Fallin, Namauʻu, Payne, Uemura, and Voss).

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “effective” overall on the State Librarian Priorities for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation (Barcarse/Namau‘u). The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

Committee Member Payne moved to amend the main motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” overall for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. Committee Vice Chairperson Barcarse seconded.

ACTION: Motion to rate Aldrich as “highly effective” overall for her 2020-2021 end-of-year evaluation. The motion carried unanimously with all members present voting aye.

IV. Late Public Testimony on Board Agenda Items

Committee Chairperson Takeno called for public testimony from any individuals who did not have an opportunity to testify on earlier agenda items.

Susan Pcola-Davis, member of the public, expressed support of the Board giving Aldrich highly effective ratings. She stated that Aldrich provided consistent updates even if the Board did not reach out and asked that that the Board amend its rating for standard three to a highly effective rating.

Committee members received written testimony before the meeting. The following is a listing of the people who submitted written testimony before the meeting.

Name	Organization	Agenda Item
Kelly Eden		III. A. Committee Action on recommendation concerning State Librarian’s evaluation for 2020-2021 Fiscal Year: end-of-year evaluation
Susan Pcola-Davis		III. A. Committee Action on recommendation concerning State Librarian’s evaluation for 2020-2021 Fiscal Year: end-of-year evaluation

Committee Chairperson Takeno expressed appreciation for Aldrich and her humble leadership, use of technology and resources to drive the libraries forward. He encouraged Aldrich to continue to make the Board proud going forward.

V. Adjournment