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LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
Monday, June 19, 2023
Central Library Workshop (or view online via Zoom)
7:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
President Seyring called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Theresa Seyring, President; Carole Pye, Vice President/Secretary; Emily Gilbert, Treasurer; Jillian Bernas; Anita Forte-Scott
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Trustee Caporale and Trustee Mueller
STUDENT ADVISORY TRUSTEES PRESENT
The Student Advisory Trustees are on summer vacation.
OTHERS PRESENT
Julie Doren, Dave Hardt, Peter Hegel, Annie Miskewitch, Paul Piraino, Jason Santos, Molly Scheibler, Bobbi Sloan, Sarah Strzalka, Beth Valenziano
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Public comments were heard.
BOARD COMMENTS
Trustee Pye wished everyone a happy Juneteenth/Freedom Day. She attended the Town Square celebration. The Library booth did a great job, offering fun buttons and colored tiles for students making a quilt. There were amazing musical performances by District 54 students. She thanked Library staff for their patience with the second-floor renovation. Trustee Pye met with patrons of all ages at Coffee with the Trustees where they handed out bookmarks to kids and coffee to adults. She highlighted the ILA Reporter article about an iLead Trustee Training Portal in development and the article link Building a Better Board shared in the Executive Director’s Report. Trustee Pye feels more knowledgeable and educated after completing five HR trainings.
Trustee Gilbert wished everyone a good evening and a happy Juneteenth and Pride month. She expressed that June is an annual celebration of the vibrancy and resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community. She thanked Library staff for their work in highlighting and celebrating queer voices. Trustee Gilbert expressed that queer books and materials in libraries remain under attack from a small but highly vocal group of people who seek to erase and stigmatize queerness. Trustee Gilbert said that these books can be literally lifesaving for youth who may feel stuck in households or communities where they have to hide who they are. She stated that they need to see themselves represented in literature and know that others understand what they are going through. She expressed that the queer community needs our support in June and every other month to fight discrimination. She thanked everyone at the Library who works to maintain a collection that is representative of everyone in our community. She went to the well-attended Northwest Pride Fest at the Trickster Cultural Center and noted the Library had a booth there to make buttons. She was honored to be in attendance at the signing of bill HB2789 amending the Illinois Library Act, and that it was great to hear various Illinois lawmakers and library leaders speak on the importance of this bill. Trustee Gilbert stated that it feels good to live in a state that fights back on partisan and doctrinal book banning.
Trustee Bernas commented on the shared parking at the Library and recognized that there is a lot going on at Town Square. She is excited for the Library to be a part of the activity. Trustee Bernas said that she was the beneficiary of checking out a hotspot and a tripod for a work project. She reiterated how important these instruments are at the Library and providing them to our community. Trustee Bernas will be attending the ALA Conference on Saturday. She looks forward to a whole day of learning and requested session suggestions. Trustee Bernas asked Fellow Trustees to approve her virtual attendance at the July Board meeting due to a work responsibility.
Trustee Forte stated she has been waiting on hold for the very popular hotspots and notes their importance for our community. She requested the Board consider starting board meetings at 6:00 p.m. instead of 7:00 p.m., to allow the Board to conduct public business prior to the regular Library closure at 9:00 p.m. This will allow library staff to leave at a reasonable time.
RAILS - Ms. Gilbert
None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Trustee Bernas moved and Trustee Pye seconded to approve the following Board and Committee minutes:
Library Art Committee Minutes on May 3, 2023; Library Board Meeting Minutes on May 15, 2023; Library Disciplinary Committee Minutes on May 25, 2023; Library Special Board Meeting Minutes on June 5, 2023; Library Budget Committee Minutes on June 5, 2023; Library Decennial Committee Minutes on June 6, 2023; Library Budget Committee Minutes on June 6, 2023; and the Library Budget Committee Minutes on June 8, 2023; Library Art Committee Minutes on June 12, 2023.
The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion included consistency issues in punctuation.
APPROVAL OF BILLS
Trustee Pye moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded that:
The Library Board approve the May 2023 Bill List.
Roll Call Vote:
Trustee Pye Yes
Trustee Gilbert Yes
Trustee Bernas Yes
Trustee Forte Yes
Trustee Seyring Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Trustee Gilbert reviewed the financial reports, making note of balances in the various funds. On the balance sheet, the General Fund decreased by approximately $980K due to expenses exceeding revenues. She also highlighted a few line items and discussed why they are above or below budget at this time, and gave an update on the status of various Library investments.
PRESENTATION FROM MESIROW FINANCIAL
Paul Hegel of Mesirow Financial gave an overview of the Library’s investment portfolio and answered Trustee questions.
ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
There will not be an Executive Session.
STUDENT ADVISORY TRUSTEE REPORT
None
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Trustee Seyring will be attending the ALA Conference. She met several patrons at the Northwest Pride Fest and encouraged them to communicate any programming suggestions. As she starts the new year as Board President, she will work hard to honor her role. Her door is always open and encouraged everyone to contact her with any concerns.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director Miskewitch highlighted items in her report, such as the Illinois Secretary of State’s inclusion of $5 million for statewide access to online resources. Under this proposal, selected resources will be available without charge to everyone in the state. She congratulated Director of Marketing Hollis Sienkiewicz for receiving the PR Xchange award for the Library’s Summer Challenge 2022 Promo Video. The current summer video was played for the Trustees. Digital Services Director Sarah Strzalka demonstrated the features of the Library’s Language Line. Executive Director Miskewitch thanked the Trustees for their work during the budget process.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Deputy Director Molly Scheibler thanked Library staff and Trustees for being welcoming and that she is happy to be here. She will be presenting at the upcoming ALA Conference.
DEPARTMENT REPORT
IT- Jason Santos
IT Director Jason Santos highlighted recently completed projects of note, such as transitioning current blade servers and back-up infrastructure to Dell VxRail and IDPA solution. The IT department also implemented multi-factor authorization infrastructure to meet insurance requirements. He shared statistics from last year, including helpdesk tickets and Zoom program attendance outside of the United States. He confirmed that international Zoom attendance does not impact Library patrons’ ability to attend programming. Director Santos identified the IT team and its responsibilities as well as upcoming projects in the new fiscal year. In response to Trustee Bernas’ question about the impact of losing long-term IT employees to retirement, Executive Director Miskewitch confirmed that she and Director Santos have discussed succession planning. Director Santos thanked the Board for their continued support.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
SAT Committee
Trustee Seyring stated they are in the process of accepting resumes and will reach out to applicants soon.
Art Committee
Trustee Seyring noted the meeting notes and that the Committee will be scheduling another meeting to discuss next steps on the donor wall and any other art procurements. Recommendations will be brought to the Board.
Budget Committee
Trustee Seyring thanked Trustees for the great work at the Budget Meetings.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Review of 2023/2024 Budget Summary Analysis
Executive Director Miskewitch requested Trustees review and discuss the 2023/2024 Budget Summary Analysis that has been prepared based on conversations at the recent budget meetings. The tentative budget will be based on this analysis and presented at the next Board Meeting.
Approval of Resolution No. 2023-2023-2 for transferring funds from the General Fund to the Special Reserve Fund
Trustee Gilbert moved and Trustee Pye seconded that the Board approve Resolution No. 2023-2024-2 to transfer $8 million dollars from the General Fund to the Special Reserve Fund.
Roll Call Vote:
Trustee Pye Yes
Trustee Gilbert Yes
Trustee Bernas Yes
Trustee Forte Yes
Trustee Seyring Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Approval of Waiver of Bid for renewal of the annual contract for NewsBank database package for the term of 7/1/2023-6/30/2024 at a cost of $48,054.00
Trustee Forte moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded that the Board approve Waiver of Bid and renewal of annual contract to NewsBank in the amount of $48,054.00.
Roll Call Vote:
Trustee Pye Yes
Trustee Gilbert Yes
Trustee Bernas Yes
Trustee Forte Yes
Trustee Seyring Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Approval of Payment to Library Furniture International in the amount of $110,435.62
Trustee Forte moved and Trustee Bernas seconded that the Board approve payment to Library Furniture International in the amount of $110,435.62.
Roll Call Vote:
Trustee Pye Yes
Trustee Gilbert Yes
Trustee Bernas Yes
Trustee Forte Yes
Trustee Seyring Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion included the percentage of approval of expenditure for Library Furniture International.
Approval of Payment to Tyler Technologies in the amount of $30,418.07
Trustee Pye moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded that the Board approve payment to Tyler Technologies in the amount of $30,418.07.
Roll Call Vote:
Trustee Pye Yes
Trustee Gilbert Yes
Trustee Bernas Yes
Trustee Forte Yes
Trustee Seyring Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion included clarification of the annual subscription cost of the software used in Finance and HR Departments.
Approval of Payment to Featherstone, Inc. in the amount of $54,627.20
Trustee Bernas moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded that the Board approve payment to Featherstone, Inc. in the amount of $54,627.20.
Roll Call Vote:
Trustee Pye Yes
Trustee Gilbert Yes
Trustee Bernas Yes
Trustee Forte Yes
Trustee Seyring Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion included the presentation of the monthly draw statements.
Approval of Payment to BIP66, LLC/22 Tones in the amount of $39,349.80
Trustee Gilbert moved and Trustee Pye seconded that the Board approve payment to BIP66/22 Tones in the amount of $39,349.80.
Roll Call Vote:
Trustee Pye Yes
Trustee Gilbert Yes
Trustee Bernas Yes
Trustee Forte Yes
Trustee Seyring Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion included clarification of the language Waiver of Lien vs. Invoice. Executive Director Miskewitch will follow up before the August Board meeting.
Review of Trustee Bylaws (Annual)
The Board of Library Trustees reviewed the Trustee Bylaws.
OTHER
None
ADJOURNMENT
Trustee Bernas moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded the meeting adjourn at 8:32 P.M.
The motion passed unanimously by voice vote.