A few of the most helpful benefits of the membership are: 

• Short Takes for Trustees, a series of 10 short videos (8-10 minutes each) that can be shown during Trustee meetings to stimulate discussion about the important role that Trustees play in the governance of their libraries. 
• Trustee Academy, a series of online courses to help Trustees become exceptionally proficient in their roles on behalf of their libraries. 
• Practical guides, toolkits, sample policies, tips sheets, and more, on topics from director evaluation to insurance. 
• Access to current and archived webinars sponsored by UFL on a variety of topics. 

• Discussion Forums to share and connect with trustees across the country.

 

To access UFL visit www.ala.org/united 

Click on the STATEWIDE ACCESS-FIND YOUR STATE blue bar

Scroll down to MICHIGAN

REGISTER to use the resources 

For future access simply login to your account under MICHIGAN 

 This service is provided to you at no charge and is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Library of Michigan. 

• ASK your attorney to review new procedures and policies to make sure they conform with the new OMA amendments. 
• READ the Statute!  As board members you should already be familiar with the OMA. The virtual attendance/meeting requirements (MCL 15.263, MCL 15.263a are a significant change to prior understanding of what was permitted. (The changes are NOT YET reflected in the Open Meetings Handbook published by the Attorney General’s office).   
  • The Law Firm of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith released a summary of these changes for libraries. 
  • Michigan Township Association has information on the new amendments and notice requirements under new law  

• REVIEW relevant policies and procedures! The amendments require different noticing and in-meeting procedures than in-person meetings. Amend your current practices to reflect the new requirements. For example, after December 31, 2020, members can no longer attend meetings remotely UNLESS they: 
  • Are on military duty,
  • Have a medical condition that prohibits them from attending in-person,
  • Are located in an area under a public health or emergency order that prohibits them from attending. 

In other words, if members habitually attend remotely because they are out of town, they will no longer be able to do that after December 31, 2020.  

• CHOOSE your virtual meeting program carefully! Many online meeting options provide a free version. However, the free versions will usually NOT be suitable for public meetings consistent with the OMA. Ensure your chosen service: 
  • Accommodates enough members and participants to satisfy the OMA requirement that no person wishing to attend would be prevented from attending. If your free version permits only 50 or less, that may be an issue. 
  • Provides appropriate meeting-time options. Free versions often limit the meeting time to less  than an hour, which realistically is not enough for most public meetings. 
  • Provides options for anonymous participation. Participants can’t be required to identify themselves to the organizer of the meeting in order to participate (per the OMA). 
  • Provides telephone and online participation options. This permits constituents with no or  limited Internet the option of attending. It is not absolutely required, but if you are a library in an area with sparce or uneven Internet service, having a call-in option is likely a must-have. 
  • Has options for accommodations for hearing-impaired and sight-impaired participants. Most common products will have information on their website or in their user assistance materials that discuss assistive technology and accommodation. If not, call them to find out what is possible. Are transcripts available, captioning? Is their product optimized for compatibility with screen readers? 

• PRACTICE ahead of time to familiarize members with program controls - how to share screens, how to raise hands virtually, how to mute yourself and others, how to troubleshoot problems, how to operate the chat feature (if available). 
• DISCUSS virtual protocol with members. Members should be on camera. Camera shouldn’t be pointed at the ceiling or the wall, or their back. They shouldn’t eat while meeting (or mute microphone if they do), they should be engaged and not watching TV or on their phones, etc. CHECK BACKGROUNDS! 
• KNOW how to handle a “Zoom Bombing” or similar interference. Many common meeting  platforms have information on their sites that discuss security features and options that can be put in place to deter and minimize the possibility of a “bombing.” Zoom has helpful information on a user blog. 
• PLAN AHEAD – Prepare the announcements that need to be made in accordance with the new OMA amendments, and place them on a slide or document page that could be shared with participants while verbal announcements are made. This ensures important information is received by participants and provides additional accommodations to hearing impaired participants. 
• ENLIST technical assistance to aid participants during the meeting with technical problems. 

• PREPARE a list of rules for members of the public participating (behavior rules such as  remaining muted except during public comment, rules for public comment, if they have to sign up for public comment, how much time, etc.). Make it clear what the ramifications are if rules are not followed (such as being kicked off meeting, etc.). DISPLAY these rules at the beginning of the meeting and before public comment. 
• REMEMBER, the most important thing in a virtual meeting is making sure every board member can HEAR one other AND members of the attending public can HEAR everything being said. Members should be reminded to speak clearly, state their name before commenting, or make a motion (or the secretary or president should repeat (Mr. Smith has motioned X, is there a second? Or, Mr. S has motioned for X, and Ms. Y has seconded). ROLE CALL VOTING should be employed or every vote so that it is very clear which member voted for which item. 
• WATCH OUT for members and/or participants talking over each other. ASK people to repeat anything that may not be clear. 
• UPLOAD all documents displayed at the meeting to the board meeting page on the library website. Anything that would have been provided at an “in-person” meeting should be posted to the website. OMA amendments REQUIRE that an agenda is posted (if there is an agenda). 
• ANNOUNCE at the start of a meeting if the meeting is being recorded.