Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Minutes

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) met on Wednesday, November 30, 2005, at 6:50 p.m., in the Conference Room of the Canyon of the Eagles, Burnet, Texas.


Commissioners Present: Sandra J. Pickett
Sharon T. Carr
Diana Rae Hester Cox
Martha Doty Freeman
Cruz G. Hernandez
Sandra Holland

Commissioner Absent: Chris Brisack

Staff Present: Peggy D. Rudd, director and librarian
Edward Seidenberg, assistant state librarian
Manuel Alvarez, director, Information Resources Technologies
Beverley Shirley, director, Library Resource Sharing
Michael Heskett, director, State and Local Records Management
Ava Smith, director, Talking Book Program
Deborah Littrell, director, Library Development
Donna Osborne, director, Administrative Services
Chris LaPlante, director, Archives and Information Services
Erica McKewen, public information officer
Tracy Kuhn, executive assistant

A quorum being present, Chairman Pickett convened the meeting at 6:50 p.m.

1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

Chairman Pickett welcomed commissioners and agency staff and noted the presence of newly appointed Commissioner Sharon Carr.

2. REVIEW OF CONSENT AGENDA: NON-SUBSTANTIVE CORRECTIONS IN OTHER AGENDA ITEMS SUCH AS SPELLING, NUMBERING, PUNCTUATION, GRAMMATICAL, OR OTHER REVISIONS.

Non-substantive corrections to other agenda items were noted.

3. PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

4. APPOINTMENTS OF COMMISSION OFFICERS, LIAISON AND AUDIT COMMITTEE.

Chairman Pickett appointed Sandra Holland chairman of the Audit Committee, replacing Commissioner Elizabeth Sanders whose term expired. Commissioner Diana Rae Hester Cox was appointed vice-chairman of the Audit Committee. Membership of the Audit Committee includes Commissioners Holland, Cox and Hernandez.

5. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR AND LIBRARIAN.

Peggy Rudd gave a short report to the commission regarding the orientation of Commissioner Carr and the geographic systems meetings that she and Deborah Littrell had conducted during the first quarter.

6. REVIEW AND APPROVE ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS GREATER THAN $500.

The Library Development Division received $119,175 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Nov. 9, 2005. This is to reimburse the agency for the administrative costs it incurred managing the Public Access Computer Hardware Upgrade Grant (PAC/HUG) from the Foundation.

The agency received a $20,000 grant from the Summerlee Foundation on behalf of the Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB). The grant will be used to provide 26 training workshops throughout Texas on basic archival preservation training.

The State and Local Records Management Division received three checks from Cingular/AT&T Wireless Services: $769.31 on Sept. 20, 2005; $787.92 on Oct. 3, 2005; and $806.18 on Nov. 16, 2005. These are donations to the agency relating to their cellular phone tower on agency property.

Commissioner Cox moved to accept all gifts; Commissioner Carr seconded. Motion passed.

7. REVIEW AND APPROVE CONTRACTS GREATER THAN $100,000.

Beverley Shirley reviewed a contract renewal for a database subscription with the American Chemical Society (ACS), which offers electronic journals through the TexSelect program. The Library Resource Sharing Division negotiates pricing for libraries that would like to offer these resources to their users and can offer these databases at a fraction of the amount it would cost individual libraries.

Commissioner Hernandez moved to approve; Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

8. DISCUSSION OF PLANS TO RENOVATE AND MODERNIZE THE LORENZO DE ZAVALA STATE ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY BUILDING.

Peggy Rudd informed the commission that the team reviewing architectural firms had selected Bailey Architects of Houston because of their current and past experience on library projects, particularly working with a library that has to remain open to the public during renovation. Once the Texas Building and Procurement Commission approves the selection, the architects will begin an investigative process that will involve examining and inspecting the building very closely and interviewing staff. Ms. Rudd invited the commission to participate in this process. Ed Seidenberg informed the commission that the architects will want to meet with them in early 2006.

9. REVIEW AND CONFIRM TEXAS RESPONDS GRANTS.

Deborah Littrell asked the commission to affirm emergency grants awarded in response to libraries’ needs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The commission had previously approved the grant rules in an emergency teleconference on Sept. 12, 2005 and reconfirmed them at the regular Sept. 12, 2005 commission meeting.

The Commission received eight applications for grants and awarded a total of $180,448 to the following libraries: Austin Public Library, Cooke County Library, Houston Public Library, Mares Memorial Library, Nacogdoches Public Library, Round Rock Public Library and Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library.

Commissioner Hernandez moved to approve all Texas Responds grants; Commissioner Cox seconded. Motion passed.

10. REVIEW AND CONFIRM TEXAS READS GRANTS.

Deborah Littrell reported that the agency awarded a total of $35,546 to 15 of the 22 applications received from libraries for fiscal year 2006 Texas Reads grants. This is the second year of funding, generated by the sale of Texas Reads specialty license plates.

Commissioner Carr moved to approve; Commissioner Freeman seconded. Motion passed.

11. DISCUSSION OF GRANT APPLICATION FROM THE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS AND RECORDS COMMISSION.

State Archivist Chris LaPlante and State and Local Records Management Director Michael Heskett informed the Commission of a recent grant of $25,000 awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission for damage assessment to historically valuable records in counties affected by Hurricane Rita. Agency staff will conduct a brief survey questionnaire by mail of governmental and cultural institutions in southeast Texas to determine the extent of damage to vital, permanent and historical records in their custody. Following the assessment, staff will make on-site visits to certain institutions to gather additional information as needed.

Also, a conference will be held in May 2006 that will focus on lessons learned from Hurricane Rita in the areas of disaster preparedness and response in the area of historically valuable records management.

12. REVIEW OF QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 1 TAC 202 COMPLIANCE.

Manuel Alvarez informed the commission of the progress that the agency’s Business Continuity Planning group has made toward compliance with TAC 202. Only four of the original 17 recommendations remain to be implemented.

13. REVIEW AND APPROVE THE REQUEST TO EXCEED THE CAPITAL BUDGET.

Beverley Shirley informed the commission that the Institute of Museum and Library Services has approved a $240,249 grant to the agency in its capacity as lead agency for the Texas Heritage Digitization Initiative (THDI). In order to fulfill the requirements of this federal grant, the agency must spend in excess of $25,000 on items related to the project. Because the grant opportunity arose after the budget process was complete, there was no opportunity to plan for and request these expenditures through that process.

Commissioner Hernandez moved to approve the request to exceed the capital budget; Commissioner Carr seconded the motion. Motion passed.

14. REVIEW OF TIMELINE OF AGENCY ACTIVITIES FOR 2006-2007.

Ed Seidenberg reviewed upcoming meetings and activities of the commission and agency staff. Meetings have been set for Monday, Feb. 13, 2006, in Austin and Wednesday, April 26, 2006, at the Texas Library Association annual conference in Houston. The Sunset Advisory Commission will begin review of the agency in March, and he advised waiting to schedule additional meetings.

Mr. Seidenberg presented a timeline of major agency activities forecasted for 2006 to 2008.

With no further business, Chairman Pickett adjourned the meeting at 8:42 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Peggy D. Rudd
Director and Librarian

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