BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
January 16, 2007

The regular meeting of the Des Plaines Public Library Board of Trustees was held in the second floor conference room on Tuesday, January 16, 2007. President Noreen Lake called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Roll call indicated the following board members were present: Mary Bahamon, Eldon Burk, Mary Ellicson, William Grice, Noreen Lake, George Magerl, Jerry Mahony, Rhys Read, Elaine Tejcek.

Also Present: Sandra Norlin, Martha Sloan, Hector Marino, Leslie Steiner, Margaret Scholl, Wally Meyer, Carol Kidd, Bree Pusey.

CONSIDERATION OF THE AGENDA

MOTION by Eldon Burk, seconded by William Grice, to accept the agenda, as written. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

Wally Meyer, President of the Friends of the Library, thanked the Board for approving the purchase and installation of a keypad lock for the Friends book storage room. Wally stated that the Friends volunteers like the keypad and said that it works well. Wally also stated that he has suggestions on rewording the first paragraph of the “Guidelines for Use of Library Facilities and Personnel by Friends of the Library” and will give his written suggestions to Carol Kidd to be presented at the next Management Committee meeting.

CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE – Alderman Carla Brookman

Alderman Brookman was in attendance at the City Council meeting.

CONSENT AGENDA

Rhys Read asked that A. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting – December 20, 2006 be removed from the Consent Agenda.

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by Elaine Tejcek, to accept the Consent Agenda, as modified. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Following monthly reports to be reviewed and placed on file for audit:

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by Elaine Tejcek, to approve, subject to audit, expenditures authorized by the Library Director and Board Representatives for library Warrant Registers as follows:

ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Bahamon, Burk, Ellicson, Grice, Lake, Magerl, Mahony, Read, Tejcek. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by Elaine Tejcek, to approve, subject to audit, expenditures for salaries made by the Library Director as follows:

ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Bahamon, Burk, Ellicson, Grice, Lake, Magerl, Mahony, Read, Tejcek. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Please note: I have received no official requests for confidential information since my last report.

PERSONNEL

New employees for December/January: Kevin Luke, Page, Circulation Services and Joel Sawyer, Readers’ Services Assistant.

Resignations/Separations: Rudolfo Espinoza, Technology Page and Leif Rasmussen, IT Assistant, Computer Services; Elyssa Salinas, Ancy Thomas, Pages, Circulations Services; and David Schousboe, Circulation Clerk.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

All Department Heads, except Leslie Steiner who was on vacation, attended a program on buzz marketing at NSLS on January 10. This program is part of a series of programs on word of mouth or “buzz” marketing presented by NSLS through a grant program.

Coaching training will begin for all supervisors on January 29. Mary Jane Kepner will assist us in developing this program, thanks to one of the LSTA grants we received in October.

I have awarded tuition grants to the following employees for the Spring semester: Laura Adler, Adriana Avalos, Carol Kidd, Kathy Kyrouac, and Gwen LaCosse.

The following staff members received Employee Bonus Awards for the 4th quarter of 2006: David Ayala, Carolyn Cronin, and Phyllis Johnson.

PATRON SERVICES

Circulation for 2006 topped circulation for 2005 by 2.66%, once again going over 1 million. Of the total circulation for the year, circulation of childrens’ materials accounted for 29% of the circulation from the main library and 50% of the Mobile Library circulation. Print materials make up 85% of our total collection and 52% of the circulation. That means that our AV collection, which is 15% of our total collection accounts for 48% of the items circulated in the past year.
Circulation staff encouraged and assisted the public in the use of the self-check machines, increasing the total uses of self-check in December to 35% of all items checked out of the main library.

Attendance at the library increased by 11%. We increased our number of cardholders by 560, up to 63% of the population.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

I attended a SLURP (area library directors’ group) luncheon on 12/22; a Library Cable Network Division meeting on 1/9; a program on Buzz (Word-of-Mouth) marketing at NSLS, a CCS Executive Committee meeting, and a meeting of the Oakton Literacy Council on 1/10; a Chamber of Commerce Board meeting and a female library directors’ luncheon on 1/11; and a Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Committee meeting on 1/12.

I will be on vacation from January 17 through January 19, returning for the Centennial Reception on Saturday, January 20.

Rhys Read asked that the December 19, 2006 minutes be amended to read “Alma Read was elected President of the Des Plaines Hispanic Council.”

MOTION by Rhys Read, seconded by George Magerl, to approve the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting – December 19, 2006, as modified. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Sandra Norlin reported that a brokerage account was opened at the First Midwest Bank to be used for donations and that to draw funds from the account two signatures will be required.

NEW BUSINESS

MOTION by William Grice, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to have Board meetings recorded for television broadcasts for the months of April, July and October in 2007 and January in 2008. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Sandra Norlin reported that the cost to record a Board meeting may increase to $400.00 when the library’s current contract expires with Library Production Studios, formerly known as Library Cable Network at the end of June 2007. The current cost to record a Board meeting is $300.00 and this is a reduced rate because the Des Plaines Public Library is a member of Library Production Studios.

Mary Ellicson will attend the February 5 City Council meeting, Maria Bahamon the March 5 meeting and Rhys Read the March 19 meeting. The 2nd City Council meeting in February is on Tuesday, February 20, 2007, the same date as the Library Board meeting.

Sandra Norlin reported that she did not recommend a surcharge for motor fuel for the Mobile Library at this time. The Board consensus was not to add a surcharge for motor fuel to the agreement with the Village of Rosemont for the Mobile Library. William Grice asked that a letter be sent to the Village of Rosemont stating that there would not be an increase due to fuel costs.

MOTION by William Grice, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to ask President Lake and a guest to attend the Chamber of Commerce annual dinner and installation of officers on February 9, 2007 and to ask Library Director Sandra Norlin and a guest to attend the dinner and that the library pay for the tickets. ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Bahamon, Burk, Ellicson, Grice, Lake, Magerl, Mahony, Read, Tejcek. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Sandra Norlin reminded the Board that National Library Legislative Day is being held in Washington, DC on May 1 and 2, 2007 and that a room has been reserved for a board member/s who would like to attend the conference. President Lake encouraged Board attendance and stated that Board members who attend the NSLS Legislative Breakfast on February 19, 2007 will have the opportunity to enter into a drawing for a $500.00 scholarship to be used for attendance at National Library Legislative Day.

The next Management Committee meeting will be held on February 6, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. to discuss a policy for library volunteers and to review “Guidelines for Use of Library Facilities and Personnel by Friends of the Library.”

Sandra Norlin reported that she and Gary Valente, Head of Building and Security Systems, met with City staff on January 11, 2007 to discuss a leak in the library’s roof that began in 2003. It was decided that the City Manager will work with library and city staff to try and resolve this ongoing problem. Matt Dusckett, Head of Public Works, suggested that a professional building consultant be hired to assess the library building and mechanical systems and use the assessment as a template for an annual report. Matt Dusckett will contact a professional building consultant. Sandra Norlin stated she will inform the Board of the library’s costs for these services and ask for their approval at an upcoming board meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

President Lake stated that Library Director Sandra Norlin has been nominated for Staff Member of the Year. The awards banquet will be at the North Suburban Library System on March 16, 2007 and President Lake asked Board members to contact Carol Kidd if they were interested in attending.

Sandra Norlin reported that the library would host a Centennial Celebration kick-off party on Saturday, January 20, 2007 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the library.

Sandra Norlin distributed informational sheets to the Board members with health and dental costs for library employees for 2006 and 2007. This information was requested by Rhys Read at the December 19, 2006 Board meeting.

OTHER

Sandra Norlin reported that the company who services the library’s elevators has not been responding to calls for repair from Gary Valente, Head of Building & Security Services or from his staff. Sandra reported that library elevators were inspected on 12/11/06 and that some violations were found by the inspector. Daily phone calls to the elevator company resulted in some repairs being made to the elevators, but not all repairs were made to satisfy the inspector. Gary Valente recommends cancelling the current contract and entering into an agreement with Great Lakes Elevator Company. The cost for service from the current company is $300.00 per month and the cost quoted by Great Lakes is $450.00 per month. Sandra Norlin also reported that the current elevator company had not invoiced the library for services since April 2005. Sandra explained to the Board that she does not have the authority to sign another contract because the cost exceeds $5,000.00, but referenced the library’s policy on library expenditures which states “Emergency purchases of goods or services $5,000 and above that must be effected to protect the health and welfare of library personnel and patrons as well as library property may be made with the concurrence of two members of the Finance Committee.” Rhys Read, Jerry Mahony and Elaine Tejcek concurred with the recommendation presented by Sandra Norlin to cancel the current elevator repair contract and enter into an agreement with Great Lakes Elevator Company and to ask the City Attorney to review the proposed contract with Great Lakes Elevator Company.

MOTION by Rhys Read, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to adjourn the regular meeting. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Meeting adjourned at 4:58 p.m.

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