[UCIMC-Tech] Steering Minutes, 3/5/2009

[Stephen Fonzo]

*IMC STEERING MEETING, 3/5/2009
Hosted by Shows Group

Present:
*Ed Hawkes - Shows; meeting facilitator
Martel Miller
Brian Dolinar
Chris Evans - Building Manager
Joy Davis - Finance; Bookkeeper
Tom Garza - WRFU
Carly Nix
Rachel Hess - Artists
Nicole Pion - VISTA
Stephen Fonzo - VISTA; Production; note-taker
Chris Ritzo - Librarians
Bill Mullins - Books to Prisoners (B2P)
Jason Keist - Program Development Intern
Bob Illyes - Print
Larry Keller


*Agenda:
*IMC Staffing (original proposal as sent for the Shows Group facilitator to
present at the meeting is quoted in full at the end of the minutes).
SUMMARY: a) Ensure that volunteer members of the IMC can be present in the
main space to greet visitors, answer questions, recruit new members, and
watch the building during prime hours. b) Create a structure (staff
trainers, coordinators, sign up form online) that enables individuals to
easily volunteer to staff the building.

*Discussion:
*1.) Ed Hawkes introduced the Staff proposal, with clarification from Joy
Davis, Stephen Fonzo, Jason Keist and Nicole Pion, the members who drafted
the proposal.

2.) Bob Illyes expressed that making staffing a requirement of membership is
punitive, and that this has created tension in the past.  He agreed that
staffing is needed, however, and expressed interest in helping to coordinate
it.

3.) Bob noted that staffing is somewhat dependent on upgrades to the Library
portion of the main space.  Chris Ritzo confirmed that the Librarians are
already currently updating the space by reorganizing shelves and books,
creating a digital catalog, and making plans to add more desks, a table, and
at least 2 new computer workstations.  Librarians are having bi-monthly
workdays on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month.  Stephen Fonzo noted
that the front foyer (where there are fliers near the office doors) is a key
area where there can be a desk and computer next to the black merchandise
tables, for use by staff, and agreed with Bob that the table in the Library
would also be useful for staff and library visitors.
*
*4.) Brian Dolinar mentioned that he was staff coordinator in the old IMC
space, and that in addition to it being a smaller, more manageable place,
there were incentives created at the time that helped encourage members to
staff:

Kid's Hour - developed by Ken Urban, this was a time when there were
activities for children, and there would be a group of adult members present

Regular coordination and staff training - orientation to the IMC and how to
greet visitors, give tours, answer questions, recruit membership, etc.

Nicole Pion and Joy Davis: informed group that they are working on the
membership manual.

Jason Keist: suggested that each working group notify its members and
mailing lists about the need for staff and the availability of training.

Bob asked what the prime hours are for visitors, confirming that prime hours
are pretty much all day during Monday to Saturday (10am to 8pm, depending on
when working groups meet); obvious exceptions are Shows/events (which
require staff, anyway), meetings, and some public workshops.

Chris Evans and Chris Ritzo: Following Jason's suggestion, added that each
working group, along with the building manager, should draft a list of
manageable tasks that need to de done and which can be done by staff and
visitors (under guidance by staff).

Joy emphasized the need for staff and posed the question: Does the IMC want
to be open (with listed open hours) and staffed, or locked?

Jason answered that it sets a bad precedent for the building to be closed to
the community during prime hours.

Nicole reiterated from the original proposal that project staff (bookkeeper,
VISTAs, interns) are not the same as building staff and that their work
(grants, training, development, outreach, media production, facility
improvements) is impeded by acting as surrogate building staff - and that if
the building is to be open for more hours than it is currently, we need
actual volunteer staff in the main space/library.

5.) Bob reiterated that this will depend on improvements to the space by the
Librarians group, and assured Chris R. that the Librarians have a certain
degree of independence in changing the Library space.

The group as a whole discussed the basic items needed for there to be
effective staff in the main space:
- large table
- desk(s)
- computer workstation(s)
- phone (needs to be locked away when staff are not present so that
loiterers do not use the phone)
- training/orientation
- sign up system (online calendar form)

Stephen reiterated that these efforts should not be placed solely on the
Librarians group, but that others who are interested should assist or
contribute.  Tech is already helping, and plans are already underway to add
more desk space and securable computers.  Other working groups (Shows, RFU,
and Production) are planning weekend workdays, as well, at which all are
welcome to help.  Nicole, Chris R., and Stephen recently had a workday for
UIUC student volunteers that involved projects to assist Librarians, RFU,
and B2P).  These workdays are great ways to staff, orient and welcome new
members.

6.) Bill Mullins suggested that we create an online sign-up form/staff
calendar on the main IMC web site, modeled after B2P's volunteer sign-up
calendar (http://www.books2prisoners.org/google_calendar.php).  This would
avoid the problem of a physical log being kept or managed by one person,
getting lost, etc. and will be available on the public computers in the IMC
library (and really, any computer with Internet).  Stephen volunteered to
plan and implement this with help from Jay Schubert and Josh King.

7.) Brian and Chris R. raised the issue of whether or not staff need to be
members.  It was consensed that while staff should be members, IF an already
active IMC member is present to supervise (i.e. volunteer workdays) and
train, then volunteers do not have to be members - after all, we want new
people, and not everyone joins immediately or has plans to join, but they
still contribute.  All formally recognized, scheduled staff will be trained
members.  Brian offered to train, as did others.  Consensus that members
would be contacted by their working groups with requests to staff, be
trained as staff, and if, desired, to train.

8.) Several asked whether or not this was a proposal for a separate working
group (called "Staff") or a general call to encourage all existing groups to
staff (lowercase "s").  Stephen explained the proposal in greater detail,
adding that it had only been sent to Shows.  The plan, as proposed, was not
to create a separate working group, on the basis that all groups have a
vested interest in welcoming and increasing new membership, knowing what
other groups are doing, and being stewards of the building.  Voices in
support of not creating a separate group offered additional reasons: a) it
would create another meeting, likely to have poor attendance because there
are so many other meetings and people are already committed to specific
projects; b) there is already a mailing list if we need one; and c) the
online sign-up portal (ala B2P) will make for simple self-managed
scheduling.  The mailing list will be low-traffic as it will only contain
messages about training staff, member manual info, and requests from the
online sign-up module.

9.) All agreed that spokespersons from each working group need to pitch the
need for staff to their members.  The pitch should focus on the necessity of
more traffic from local citizens, more income from events and donations, and
more membership to sustain the existence of the IMC during a critical
economic bind.

10.) Conversation moved to doors being left unlocked.  Specific areas of
concern are the basement (Elm St and Cherry Alley), the stairwell door to
the basement, and the glass door to WRFU and the private offices on the
first floor.  Finance representatives reminded everyone that re-keying had
already been approved several months ago, along with key contract that
requires working group representatives to sign off that a member does in
fact need a key - and that the timeline is now Spring Break.  Working groups
agreed that they will remind their membership to not leave doors unlocked,
and that a keylist or keystaff (modeled after B2P) might be appropriate for
all groups.  It was concluded that not all members need keys, because the
building is often open during the time of their activities.  Staff, however,
will need to be trained, sign key contracts, and have access in order to
make the building open.

11.) Books To Prisoners announced their upcoming Book Sale - April 3,4, and
5.

12.) Stephen announced multiple volunteer workday opportunities:

Saturday, March 21 - RFU: Tech maintenance and cleaning; music collection
and Automation management; training; and Finance/Outreach planning session
Sunday, March 22 @ 2:30pm - Shows: painting; equipment repair and inventory;
cleaning; training
Every 2nd and 4th Saturday - Librarians: help organize and catalog
collections while improving the working/meeting/staffing area of the first
floor.



*Original Staffing Proposal (sent 3/4/09):*
Shows Group,

I hope by now you have received most working group's monthly steering
updates.  If not, let me know and I will remind them.

Now that Steering does not include lengthy updates, we are able to include
more general discussion, project and vision planning, and IMC-wide
business.  There is one agenda item that has been brainstormed by several
individuals within the Finance and Community Connections groups, as well as
the VISTAs - to re-implement Staffing at the IMC.  We propose that the IMC
as a whole begin developing a plan to have volunteer Staff who can be
present, greet visitors, answer questions, and make the building open and
available at various hours throughout the week.

I capitalize Staff because it used to be a working group, but it need not
take on that identical form to be effective.  It doesn't seem to me that it
is necessary that it be a formal group with meetings, but instead that IMC
members (no matter their working group) be encouraged to volunteer some
period of time (1 hr/week; 4 hr/month) when they can be present in the 1st
Floor/Library area, working on their own things but also greeting guests and
watching the space.  We can talk as a group about to what extent this should
be a requirement of membership.  All working groups should to be involved to
some degree.

Based on my observations, Staff as a group has not existed in any active
form since I began volunteering at the IMC in August 2007.  I believe that
due to its absence, there has been an expectation, spoken or unspoken, that
some project-oriented volunteers (like the VISTAs or Bookkeeper) are a
substitute for the Staff group.  It is important for all at the IMC to
understand that while Nicole, Jason, Joy and I are volunteer staff
(lowercase "s"), we were brought to the IMC for specific purposes and tasks
- such as grant writing, bookkeeping, program and outreach development,
training, documentation, and long-term facility improvements - that do not
inherently include the roles previously fulfilled by the old IMC Staff
group.  We want to make it clear that we are not trying to avoid helping
others at the IMC, but that we would like a structure in place that
encourages others to also help around here.  Think of this way - if we were
not here, there would not be a dedicated and organized grants, program, and
media development effort, but there would still need to be Staff.


-- 
Stephen Fonzo
Media Training Advisor
AmeriCorps CTC VISTA
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/imc-tech/attachments/20090306/2e9a81be/attachment.html