ZB Library

04/28/15 Minutes

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

President Andersson called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m.

ROLL CALL
Present: George Andersson; Wendy Driver; Mary E. Martin; Beverly Mull; Stephanie Smith; and Matthew St. Cyr. Absent: None. Staff Present: Carol Dolin, Tara Caldara, Elsie Martinez, and Sarah Washkoviak. Visitors present: Dale Ridder, Trustee Elect.

AGENDA
Mr. Andersson presented the agenda.
Motion: Mrs. Smith moved to adopt the agenda as presented. Second: Mr. Andersson. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Martin; Mull; Smith; St. Cyr; and Andersson. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

COMMENTS BY VISITORS
Mr. Ridder said he is happy to be returning to the Board as a Trustee in the 2-year term. He served previously from 1987-1993.

MINUTES
The minutes of the 03/24/15 regular meeting were presented. Motion: Mrs. Mull moved to adopt the minutes of the 03/24/15 regular meeting as presented. Second: Mr. St. Cyr. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Martin; Mull; Smith; St. Cyr; and Andersson. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

TREASURERS AND INVESTMENT REPORTS
The Treasurer’s and Investment report for March 2015 was presented. Ms. Caldara has been trying for months to get the AT&T service and billing straightened out. Mrs. Dolin reported that we finally got a response from the company and learned that our representative left without executing the contract we had signed. AT&T will refund our overpayment after executing a new agreement. Ms. Caldara has also been working with Google to set up our non-profit account for the new Chromebooks. She submitted the Friends EIN number because Google requires non-profit partners to be listed in the IRS database as a 501c3 organization. Mrs. Dolin and Ms. Caldara will continue to pursue these situations until they are resolved.

Mrs. Mull asked about the Per Capita Grant. Mrs. Dolin reported that it had been received on 4/7/15, along with Personal Property Replacement Tax income. Mrs. Mull asked about the negative balance in the Insurance Fund – Equity. Ms. Caldara explained that a transfer to the Insurance Fund will be made at the end of the fiscal year.

BILLS
The list of bills for April-May 2015 was presented for approval. Motion: Mrs. Smith moved to approve payment of wire transfers and checks #39668-39754, in the amount of $201,227.10. Second: Mrs. Martin. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Martin; Mull; Smith; St. Cyr; and Andersson. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

REPORTS
Mrs. Mull reported that the After School Program is doing well. They will visit the Museum of Science and Industry on June 6 for their annual field trip.

Mrs. Driver reported nothing new for the Strategic Planning Task Force. Ms. Caldara will incorporate corrections to the survey and send it to trustees and staff one more time before releasing it for the public. There are links encouraging people to take the survey in the May-June newsletter, on the website and social media, and a press release will also go to the newspapers.

LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Mrs. Dolin presented the statistical, narrative and incident reports for March 2015 and noted that movie checkouts continue to be strong with a 12.3% increase over the same period last year. Children seem especially excited to be able to check out movies for free. We have not seen a noticeable change in loss rate. Audiobooks in physical format continue to decline, but are nearly offset by an increase in downloadable audiobooks. We continue to struggle with the room booking software, but things seem to be slowly improving. We had a very nice turnout for the Candidate Forums and the ZBTHS Art Walk.

Mrs. Driver asked about the new Spaces and Sign Up software and noted that the calendar days were difficult to see in the month view. Ms. Caldara explained that we were offered limited custom choices with the calendar display and that it displayed differently depending on the monitor settings, browser, etc.

COMMUNICATIONS
The following communications were presented:

  • An Employee Compliment to all staff from Janet Eppers.
  • An Employee Compliment to Elsie M. from W.K. Hout.
  • A thank you note to Sarah W. from Garnet Miller.
  • A thank you note to Sarah W. from Sandra for the 4-H Robotics program.
  • A thank you note from the Lake County Tax Aide for the use of the facility.
  • A thank you note for the donation to the library from Nann Blaine Hilyard in memory of Audrey B. Orawiec.
  • A Peer Compliment for Carol B. for donating Velcro activities for the children.
  • A Peer Compliment for Bob, Daryn, Jeanne A. and Elsie for donating food to the Author After Hours event.
  • The ZB Run Squad eNews featuring the READing Run on 4/11/15.
  • A thank you note from the Village of Beach Park to Ms. Caldara for a donation of rubber bracelets to the Annual Egg Hunt.
  • An invitation to the Coalition for Healthy Communities 20th Anniversary Celebration.
  • A Camping with Scaredy Squirrel program report.

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE
The bookmark contest to promote the summer reading club, Read to the Rhythm, drew excellent entries. The winning entry, submitted by Pela, will be professional printed and distributed to promote summer reading.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no unfinished business.

NEW BUSINESS
Trustees were invited to walk in the Memorial Day parade in Winthrop Harbor. Mrs. Dolin will be out of town. Ms. Caldara and other staff will participate. The library will promote summer reading and have candy to distribute. Several trustees expressed interest in participating.

Mr. Andersson recognized the vacancy to the trustee position formerly filled by Yadira Guzman and asked if anybody had expressed interest in filling the position. Mr. St. Cyr said he was very interested in continuing with the Board, but had not gotten his paperwork in on time to participate in the election.
Motion: Mrs. Smith moved to appoint Matt. St. Cyr to fill the vacancy on the Board left open by Yadira Guzman’s resignation. Second: Mrs. Driver. Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Martin; Mull; Smith; and Andersson. Nay: None. Abstain: St. Cyr. Motion carried.

Mr. Andersson and Mrs. Smith were presented with plaques to commemorate their service to the library and light refreshments were served.

ADJOURNMENT
Motion: Mr. St. Cyr moved to adjourn the meeting. Second: Mrs. Mull Roll Call: Aye: Driver; Martin; Mull; Smith; St. Cyr; and Andersson. Nay: None. Abstain: None. Motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m.

Approved: May 26, 2015

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

Recorded by: Carol Dolin/Tara Caldara

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