07/28/15 Minutes

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF THE ZION-BENTON PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT
July 28, 2015

President St. Cyr called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.

ROLL CALL
Trustees: Wendy Driver [present]; Jacqueline Holmes [present]; Beverly Mull [present]; Amy Onan [present]; Dale Ridder [present]; and Matthew St. Cyr [present].

Absent: Mary E. Martin.

Staff: Carol Dolin; Tara Caldara; Elsie Martinez; Sarah Washkoviak; Patricia Jones; and Robyn Cain. Visitors: Elizabeth Spannraft; Gale Sargent; and Beverly Brooks.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

COMMENTS BY VISITORS
Mrs. Dolin invited Ms. Cain and Mrs. Jones to present a proposal with pictures and drawings for an outdoor nature play area and sensory garden. This is intended to be a children’s play area which encourages independent play rather than adult directed activity. Ms. Spannraft, resident of Winthrop Harbor, stated she is a member of the daytime Next Page book club, which only meets at restaurants. She requested that the library continue to offer book clubs that meet at the library and not only at restaurants or bars. Ms. Sargent, a resident of Zion, said she had come to observe the meeting. Ms. Brooks, a resident of Winthrop Harbor and member of the Next Page Book Club, is very happy with the current book clubs and Ms. Martinez help and guidance. She feels book clubs provide outreach and connect citizens and she requested that they continue with a limited number of participants.

AGENDA
The agenda was presented.
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to adopt the agenda as presented. Second: Mrs. Mull. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Mull; Onan; Ridder; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

MINUTES
The minutes of the 06/23/15 regular meeting were presented.
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to approve the minutes of the 06/23/15 regular meeting as presented. Second: Mr. Ridder Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Mull; Onan; Ridder; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

TREASURERS AND INVESTMENT REPORTS
The Treasurer’s and Investment reports were presented.

BILLS
A corrected list of bills for June/July 2015 was presented for approval.
Motion: Mrs. Mull moved to approve payment of wire transfers and checks #39890-39979, in the amount of $359,348.56. Second: Mrs. Driver. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Mull; Onan; Ridder; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

REPORTS
Strategic Planning Task Force: Ms. Driver reported on the talk tables she and other trustees had staffed in the community during June and July. They reached 70 people in three 2-hour sessions at Ace Hardware and Piggly Wiggly. Many people learn about services offered by the library while taking the survey and she found many opportunities to advocate for the library as they discussed things like computers, Wi-Fi, and downloadable materials. Trustees will have additional opportunities to talk to the public in August. Results of the survey will be compiled in September and next steps in Strategic planning will follow.

After School Program is on hiatus for the summer.

LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Mrs. Dolin presented the statistical, narrative, event photos, and incident reports for June 2015. Summer Reading is going like gangbusters. We ended the year with a slight increase in overall circulation. Movies and devices showed dramatic increases while books and other media use declined. The community has read and recorded nearly 1,000,000 minutes. Several people in each category – adults, teens, and children – have reached the 5,000 minute goal and are eligible to receive the “big” prizes of tickets to sporting events, performances, fairs, and gift cards. The Book of YA performance was a big hit and Dawn Abron reports that it was probably the best programs she has ever facilitated. Students took charge of every facet of the production and did a wonderful job. Other items of note include the trip to Chicago to see the Broadway in Chicago production of On Your Feet and activities in The Hive, which was open for its first full month in June. Ms. Mull asked about staff changes and open positions. Staffing changes in July did not require staff to apply for the new positions. Ms. Dolin placed them after assessing skills and desires for proposed positions, including those in the new Electronic Services Department. Consideration was given to the kinds of activities employees had taken on in addition to those in their regular job descriptions. Several open positions are currently posted. Ms. Mull asked if a previous staff member could have kept his position. That position no longer exists. Several positions are being developed in the Electronic Services Department and will be posted shortly. One of those will be very similar to the position that was previously posted but not filled in the Adult Services Department. Mr. St. Cyr reiterated that Adult Services staff had received direction, coaching, support, and encouragement to adapt to meet changing needs well before the department reorganization occurred. There was an incident in June, which was misreported as a shooter. The police responded with appropriate force to what ended up being a false alarm. All staff will receive active shooter training at the end of August.

Communications:

• A letter and analysis from the library’s attorney, Roger Ritzman regarding Resolution 15/16-R-1: Approving Zion Power Station Agreement
• Express Your Opinion requesting a designated smoking area away from the front of the building.
• Express Your Opinion requesting the piano be returned to the lobby
• Express Your Opinion thanking the library for offering Mango Languages
• Email complimenting Gabe on his general helpfulness and diligence in keeping the library neat, tidy, and safe.
• Email exchange between a patron and the library director regarding opening the library on Fridays.
• ZB University: Project Next Generation Grant Final Report 2014-2015.
• Peer Compliment for Sara and Ben regarding the AT&T Site Readiness Project
• Peer Compliment for Kaya Wilson for helping with the June American Girl Program
• Peer Compliment for Robyn and Sara T for helping with the Drop-in Make Your Own Instrument Craft, which had much greater than expected participation
• Thank you letter and certificate from SWALCO for the Shoe Round-up
• Letter regarding the ZBTHS 60th class reunion

Accentuate the Positive: See Director’s Report.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Resolution 15/16-R-1: Approving Zion Power Station Agreement
Mr. St. Cyr, Ms. Mull, and Mrs. Caldara attended a taxing bodies meeting in June. While some in the community prefer to view the former ComEd property from the perspective of lakeshore development, the assessed value does not reflect that, and arguably cannot due to the existence of the nuclear waste. The agreement seems to be a reasonable compromise.
Motion: Mr. Ridder moved to adopt Resolution 15/16-R-1: Approving Zion Power Station Agreement. Second: Mr. St. Cyr Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Mull; Onan; Ridder; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS

Ordinance 15/16-O-1: Ordinance Determining to Levy an Additional Tax of 0.02% for the 2015-2016 Fiscal Year.
Ordinance 15/16-O-1 was presented.
Motion: Mr. Ridder moved to adopt Ordinance 15/16-O-1: Ordinance Determining to Levy an Additional Tax of 0.02% for the 2015-2016 Fiscal Year as presented. Second: Mrs. Driver. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Mull; Onan; Ridder; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

Ordinance 15/16-O-2: Tentative Combined Budget and Appropriation Ordinance for the Zion-Benton Public Library District for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2015 and Ending June 30, 2016.
Ordinance 15/16-O-2 was presented.
Mrs. Driver noted the years in Section 3 should read 2015-2016 instead of 2014-2015.
Motion: Mr. Ridder moved to adopt Ordinance 15/16-O-2: Tentative Combined Budget and Appropriation Ordinance for the Zion-Benton Public Library District for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2015 and Ending June 30, 2016 as corrected. Second: Mrs. Driver. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Mull; Onan; Ridder; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

Per Capita Grant Requirements: Mrs. Caldara and Mrs. Dolin reviewed the requirements for the 2015-16 Per Capita Grant.
1) Chapter 5 (Technology) in Serving our Public 2.0: Overall review of the chapter and checklist, noting that the library currently meets or at least partially meets all standards. Notable items that we will focus on in the coming year are ADA compliance, especially on the website; upgrading public computers and devices; improving connectivity, which is in the process of being expanded; and offering more technology classes for the public through the new Electronic Services Department. We will receive less funding from e-Rate, because support for telephony is declining and support for internet access requires filtering on all public and staff computers. 2) Discuss Educational Programs and Training Opportunities for Patrons: In addition to regular funding devoted to educational programs and training opportunities, the library received three grants last year to support special programs for teens, adults, and families. Activities related to the grants were carried out by staff in various departments with support from administrative staff as time allowed. We are in the process of reorganizing to have dedicated staff for outreach, literacy, and programming and a new Electronic Resources department which will focus on offering educational programming and technology training. We hope that by this time next year, we will have used input gathered from our community survey to develope a more robust program of services in this area. 3) Assess Library Technology – EDGE Assessment Review and Update: Review of the 2013 EDGE Assessment and a current Assessment performed by Ms. Caldara showed that progress has been made in meeting the Benchmarks. Some of the language is outdated or highly specific and the library does not and will not conform to the benchmarks as written, however several of the benchmarks are being met in different ways as technology has evolved. Examples include using free or low cost web based apps and cell phones for photo editing instead of Photoshop or GIMP or blog based website development instead of Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup. 4) Identify and describe how library funds are used to support educational programs and training opportunities for patrons (See number 2). 5) Discuss and provide examples of how the library has expanded or improved resource sharing for its patrons. The library belongs to CCS, which recently updated software to make electronic resources more visible to patrons. We also joined the grant funded program eRead Illinois, which makes electronic materials purchased by RAILS available to libraries across the northern Illinois region. Staff regularly attend meetings and participate on task forces to promote interlibrary loan and other resource sharing initiatives.

EXECUTIVE SESSION
None.

ADJOURNMENT
Motion: Mrs. Driver moved to adjourn the meeting. Second: Mrs. Mull. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Holmes; Mull; Onan; Ridder; and St. Cyr. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

Approved: August 25, 2015

Signed: /s/ Matthew St. Cyr, President
Attest: /s/ Mary E. Martin, Secretary

Recorded by: Carol Dolin/Tara Caldara