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LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
Monday, June 17, 2019
Central Library Conference Room
7:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Gerald Bromley, President; Jillian Bernas, Vice-President/Secretary; Theresa Seyring, Treasurer; David Jonen
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Anita Forte-Scott; Hannah Hyman; Julie Wroblewski Bosshart
STUDENT TRUSTEES PRESENT
Alisa Gandhi, Matthew Williams
OTHERS PRESENT
Pinky Gandhi, Emily Gilbert, Justine Gilbert, Monica Harris, Joe Marcantonio, Annie Miskewitch, Anthony Navarrete, Jason Santos, Lori Teipel, Beth Valenziano, Araha Vday, Machonne Williams
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
BOARD COMMENTS
Trustee Jonen visited the library to use the slide converter and was happy to see the new computer table at the Hanover Park branch.
Treasurer Seyring had no comments.
Vice President Bernas had her first meeting for the Township of Schaumburg’s historical bus tour. It went well and she is excited for another successful partnership.
President Bromley thanked everyone for his approval to Board President and is happy to serve in this role for the Library.
RAILS - Ms. Hyman
No RAILS update
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Vice President Bernas moved and Trustee Jonen seconded that:
The May 20, 2019 Regular Board Minutes be approved.
Discussion included typos and a clarification of Ms. Bernas’ salutation.
The motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF BILLS
Trustee Jonen moved and Treasurer Seyring seconded that:
The Library Board approved the May 2019 Bill List.
Discussion included explanation of a large toner purchase amount.
Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Jonen Yes
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Bernas Yes
Mr. Bromley Yes
ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO AGENDA
There will be no Executive Session and the Student Advisory Trustee report will be moved up in the agenda as well as a thank you and farewell to the student trustees.
STUDENT ADVISORY REPORTS
Alisa Gandhi and Matthew Williams thanked the Library for the experience of being a student advisory trustees and reviewed their accomplishments through the year. They enjoyed working with District 211 on social media outreach, as well as interacting with their peers through presentations about the Library. Outreach connected to The Big Read was also a big accomplishment for Ms. Gandhi and Mr. Williams.
President Bromley thanked the pair and mentioned they excelled in the position. He also commented on the great organization and structure they brought to the role. Treasurer Seyring mentioned how impressed she and Trustee Forte-Scott were with their work and thanked them for their tenures.
Executive Director Harris commented on how well the pair worked together in their roles and noted the extra effort they put in with weekly meetings to coordinate as demonstrated in their presentations.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Bromley acknowledged outgoing President Anita Forte-Scott’s excellent work with the community and on the board during her time as president. He also thanked Treasurer Seyring for her hard work. While board president, Mr. Bromley hopes to create a collaborative experience to collectively help the community.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director Harris confirmed the book presentation from the Consulate of India will be on Tuesday, June 25 in the Workshop at Central at 9:30 a.m. Ms. Harris reviewed the statistics with the mention of the forthcoming hiring of a Data Librarian, who can work on a larger, five year review of statistics.
Ms. Harris mentioned the Library’s upcoming participation in the Hoffman Estates Fourth of July Parade, Ms. Miskewitch’s honor at being chosen to participate at the American Library Association (ALA) Library Leadership Institute, and her excitement at winning and accepting the 2019 ALA PR Xchange Award when she attends the ALA annual conference in Washington D.C. this month.
Executive Director Harris clarified a statistic difference in programming from last year, with this being our newest program coordinator’s first full month of programs being offered to the public.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Deputy Director Miskewitch noted improvements to the new Central Library second floor chair backings, as well as the start of installation on the new book drop on the north side of the parking lot. Recently the summer lunches program started at Hanover Park. Additionally, last week the Hoffman Estates branch became a lunch distribution site for District 211 staff to offer lunches twice a week after the district’s normal facility became unavailable.
Ms. Miskewitch mentioned that when new computer desk was installed at the Hanover Park location, two more computers were then added to the space for increased access. The Digital Services department recently launched the new van reservation system for more accountability and transparency for use, and IT updated the Central Library’s second floor Wi-Fi.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
IT Department – Jason Santos
IT Director Jason Santos mentioned his team of four is responsible for maintenance and support of all technology, gathering project information and researching all options for purchasing. A recent update they oversaw at the Library was the change to public service scan machines, which is an easier way to send faxes and scan copies of documents and has been an extremely successful service to the public.
Mr. Santos’s department generally receives 900 connections to our public Wi-Fi a day, along with over 700 help desk tickets and support phone calls per month. Mr. Santos’s team implemented wireless printing, iPad installation for meeting room calendars, and credit card readers at print stations. Upcoming projects for his department include replacing some Library laptops, as well as hiring two more staff members for the department.
IT Director Santos discussed long term upgrade plans for technology in the library, creating a retirement plan for servers, the possible change to laptops for all Library computers, and the addition of kiosks to checkout electronic items. Executive Director Harris mentioned community usage of the Library’s technology has changed. It is now more independent usage of the Library’s Wi-Fi through personal devices, instead of dependence on the Library’s computers, and the IT department has continually worked to keep up. Ms. Harris also discussed the possible creation of a makerspace, and the other new technology knowledge that the IT Department may offer as we continue to look at future needs and trends.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
None
TREASURER’S REPORT
Treasurer Seyring reviewed the general fund balance with a decrease due to net expenses over revenue. The Building and Equipment fund had a small decrease after furniture purchases. Total revenues are tracking above budget and property taxes receipts have exceeded our budget for the year to date. Investment income is continuing to outperform the Library’s budget due to interest rate hikes throughout the year.
Wages and budget expenses is below budget due to vacant positions and will be deferred to the next fiscal year, along with budget software purchases. Investments are performing well now due to interest rate hikes, but could slow. Cash flows are projected to increase based on investment maturities.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Approval of Electronic Participation Policy
Vice-President Bernas moved and Trustee Jonen seconded the approval of the Electronic Participation Policy.
Discussion included the reasons a board member can attend electronically according to Illinois Open Meetings law.
Roll call vote:
Mr. Jonen Yes
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Bernas Yes
Mr. Bromley Yes
Request for the Use of the Combined Rasmussen Room by Thamizh Schools USA
Trustee Jonen moved and Vice-President Bernas seconded the approval of the use of both Rasmussen Rooms for Thamizh Schools USA.
Discussion included previous approval for this group and past experiences with their usage of the room.
The motion passed unanimously.
Review of the Proposed FY2019-20 Operating Budget
Full approval of FY2019-20 Operating Budget will take place at the July meeting.
Approval of Transfer of $3,200,000 from Operating Budget Fund Balance to Building Reserve Fund
Treasurer Seyring moved and Trustee Jonen seconded that the Board approve the transfer of $3,200,000 from the Operating Budget Fund Balance to the Building Reserve Fund.
Roll call vote:
Mr. Jonen Yes
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Bernas Yes
Mr. Bromley Yes
Waiver of Bid for Sole Source/Proprietary Online Research Databases for NewsBank in the amount of $45,295.00
Trustee Jonen moved and Treasurer Seyring seconded that the Board approve the waiver of bid to sole source/proprietary online research databases for NewsBank in the amount of $45,295.00.
Discussion included the necessity of the database for genealogy research. The option of a larger group cooperative purchase through RAILS was questioned, but wasn’t available for this vendor. Vice President Bernas asked if the Library has compared usage statistics for databases with other libraries and Executive Director Harris expressed interest in exploring that if data is available.
Roll call vote:
Mr. Jonen Yes
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Bernas Yes
Mr. Bromley Yes
Approval of Professional Development Expenses of $1,650.00 for American Library Association Leadership Development Institute in August 2019
Vice President Bernas moved and Trustee Jonen seconded that the Board approve the professional development expenses for American Library Association Leadership Development Institute in the amount of $1,650.00.
Discussion included explanation of this conference being an all-inclusive price.
Roll call vote:
Mr. Jonen Yes
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Bernas Yes
Mr. Bromley Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT
Vice President Bernas moved and Trustee Jonen seconded that:
The Library Board adjourn regular session at 8:17 P.M.
The motion passed unanimously.