BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
May 15, 2007

The regular meeting of the Des Plaines Public Library Board of Trustees was held in the second floor conference room on Tuesday, May 15, 2007. President Noreen Lake called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.

ROLL CALL.

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

Members Absent: Maria Bahamon, Mary Ellicson.

Also Present: Sandra Norlin, Martha Sloan, Leslie Steiner, Hector Marino, Carol Kidd, John Burke, Sue D’Hondt, Veronica Schwartz, Andrew Bohan, Caroline Bohan.

CONSIDERATION OF THE AGENDA.

Noreen Lake asked that I. Subject Matter for Foreword Column and J. Trustee Training and Certification Program be added to the agenda under IX. New Business.

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

RECOGNITION OF TEEN ADVISORY BOARD SUPER STAR VOLUNTEER AWARD WINNERS – Veronica Schwartz.

The Board congratulated Veronica Schwartz, Head of Youth Services, and Teen Advisory Board (TAB) volunteers, Andrew and Caroline Bohan, for being winners of a Super Star Volunteer Award from the City of Des Plaines.

PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

John Burke, former Board member and Board President, stated that it was just ten years ago that the library board met and decided to send a delegation to talk to Mayor Paul Jung asking that the library be the anchor for the new downtown redevelopment. John asked the Board to continue doing good work for the citizens of Des Plaines and the library.

CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE – Alderman Carla Brookman.

Alderman Brookman did not give a report.

CONSENT AGENDA

Noreen Lake asked that A. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting – April 16, 2007 be removed from the agenda.

MOTION by Eldon Burk, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to accept the Consent Agenda, as modified. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

CONSENT AGENDA

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

MOTION by Eldon Burk, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to approve, subject to audit, expenditures authorized by the Library Director and Board Representatives for library Warrant Registers as follows:

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

MOTION by Eldon Burk, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to approve, subject to audit, expenditures for salaries made by the Library Director as follows:

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

LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT

May 15, 2007

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

PERSONNEL

New Employees for April/May: Steven Giese, Reference Librarian, Crystal Kelham, Page.

Resignations/Separations: Xuan Zhao, Page.

I received notice of two retirements: Martha Sloan, June 30, 2007 and Leslie Steiner, July 24, 2007.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

On April 18 I attended, with Department Heads and Supervisors, the third meeting of the training grant “Coaching for Commitment.” Through this grant we are developing our skills of coaching and counseling our employees toward higher levels of performance and commitment to the goals of our organization. Mary Jane Kepner is facilitating this training.

On May 9, Gail Johnson of Face2Face Communications will return to meet with the Department Heads as a six month followup to our November team building retreat. We will review our group agreements and our individual goals.

On May 10, we will hold our annual Staff In-service Day. The theme is “Be the Best You” and will include a keynote speaker on this topic, lunch, and afternoon activities that emphasize personal health and wellness. The Friends of the Library will be presenting a cake in appreciation of the how helpful the staff is to the Friends.

PATRON SERVICES

We continue to experience decreases in direct patron services, including attendance, circulation (except DVDs), and patron assistance (except some reference services). We will continue to monitor this activity to discern a trend, if there is one, and incorporate this information into our planning for future services. One of these trends is the increasing percentage of audio-visual materials that make up our total circulation. In April, 66% of Youth Services materials checked out were print and 43% of Adult materials were print. We are beginning to evaluate our materials budget for 2008 with this trend in mind.

Patrons used SelfCheck to circulate 48% of the total items checked out from the main library. Our library is participating in a “Buzz Marketing” grant through NSLS and has selected our SelfCheck as a service to promote. Thus far, the results have exceeded our goal.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

I chaired the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Scholarship Committee meeting at which we selected four high school seniors to receive college scholarships. (4/20) Do The Dewey, our annual fundraiser, planning took much of my time the week of 4/16, leading up to the event on 4/21. On 4/23 I attended the meeting of the NSLS Board of Directors at the University Center in Grayslake. On 4/24 I chaired the CCS Database Management TaskForce and attended the Friends of the Library Roundtable meeting. On 4/26 I attended the Library Production Studio Executive Committee meeting and the City of Des Plaines Superstar Awards banquet (at which our Teen Advisory Board won the award for teen volunteers!). On 4/27 the library hosted a reception with entertainment to honor the library’s volunteers.

April 30 through May 2, along with Trustees Eldon Burk and Elaine Tejcek and Coordinator of Computer and Technical Services Hector Marino, I attended the annual Library Legislative Day in Washington, DC. We were able to learn about the national issues affecting libraries, from internet filtering to the LSTA budget, that we would like the congress to address. We were able to meet with representatives of Peter Roskam, Jan Schakowsky, Dick Durbin, and Barack Obama. Peter Roskam left a committee meeting to meet us in the hallway to discuss a variety of issues. Barack Obama’s General Counsel spoke at the Illinois delegation’s dinner on May 1.

On 5/8 I attended a CCS Governing Board Forum on Uniformity and Autonomy, on 4/9 the CCS Executive Committee meeting (my term on this body ends June 30), and on 5/10, the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting before the annual staff in-service day.

[The following items were removed from the Consent Agenda.]

Noreen Lake asked that the minutes from the April 16, 2007 be modified as follows:

Noreen Lake asked for Board participation at “Defending Access with Confidence” at North Suburban Library Systems on May 19 10, 2007 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Board members who are interested in attending will contact Carol Kidd.

President Lake asked Board members if they wanted Sandra Norlin to prepare a resolution that states that the Board of Trustees of the Des Plaines Public Library opposes federally state mandated internet filtering. The Board consensus was to “wait and see” what lawmakers propose in the Illinois House of Representatives.

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by Rhys Read, to amend the April 16, 2007 meeting minutes. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

NEW BUSINESS

Sandra Norlin reported that she received a request from the Special Events Commission to hold a portion of the City of Des Plaines New Year’s Eve celebration at the library.

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to approve the request by the Special Events Commission to hold a portion of the City of Des Plaines New Year’s Eve celebration at the library with the exception of allowing access to the lobby for telephone calls. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

George Magerl will attend the June 4 City Council meeting, Jerry Mahony the June 18 meeting and Rhys Read the July 2 meeting and Eldon Burk the July 16 meeting.

President Noreen Lake asked for volunteers to serve on the nominating committee. George Magerl, Jerry Mahony and William Grice will serve on the Committee.

Library Director Sandra Norlin reported that the 2007 library fundraiser “Do the Dewey” was successful in raising funds for the library’s donation account and asked if the Board would support fundraising activities in the future including hosting “Do the Dewey” in 2008. Board members asked Sandra Norlin questions on how the fundraiser was organized and who worked planning and implementing the event and the board consensus was to continue to have staff work on planning and hosting “Do the Dewey” and to discuss how the board could participate.

MOTION by Jerry Mahony, seconded by Elaine Tejcek, to continue to have Des Plaines Public Library staff work on the fundraiser “Do the Dewey” and to continue the fundraiser in 2008. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Rhys Read suggested that the fundraising aspect of the “Dewey” be discussed at a Finance Committee meeting and that it be added to a Finance Committee agenda after budget meetings conclude for 2008.

Noreen Lake will attend the City of Des Plaines Memorial Day service being held at Lake Park and will present a fresh flower wreath donated by the library. President Lake asked the Board to attend.

The Board discussed House Bill 1727, Mandating Internet Filtering in Libraries, which was passed by the House of Representatives on May 2, 2007. The Board discussed how and if the library would comply if the bill passed. Noreen Lake explained that if the bill passes and the library does not comply, the library would not be eligible to apply for the state’s Per Capita Grant, which is approximately $70,000.

Rhys Read reported that the Planning Committee met and discussed the current Strategic Plan and how the goals had been met. The Committee also discussed hiring a facilitator to direct the Board in writing a new Strategic Plan. The Committee recommendation is to direct Sandra Norlin to begin the process of arranging for a facilitator for the Board retreat on September 15, 2007 and to present this information to the Board at their June 19, 2007 meeting.

Motion by Committee, to direct Library Director Sandra Norlin to begin the process to arrange for a facilitator for the Board retreat on September 15, 2007 and to present this information to the Board at their June 19, 2007 meeting. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

MOTION by William Grice, seconded by George Magerl, to approve payment to Reference USA in the amount of $11,890.00, which is in the best interest of the Des Plaines Public Library and a budgeted expenses. ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: NAYS: MOTION CARRIED.

Leslie Steiner stated that the Board’s column “Splinters from the Board” is due by July 1. Noreen Lake will contact previous Board presidents and ask them to be a part of the Board’s column by writing about an experience they had while serving on the board as president.

President Lake announced that North Suburban Library System offers Trustee Training classes with certification awards issued upon completion.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

George Magerl and Noreen Lake attended “Defending Access with Confidence” at North Suburban Library System and gave an overview of the class.

EldonBurk, Elaine Tejcek, Sandra Norlin and Hector Marino attended National Library Legislative Day in Washington, DC on May 1 and 2. Eldon Burk stated that it was a great experience and encouraged other Board members to attend.

CORRESPONDENCE

President Lake announced that Mary Ellicson will resign her position as Trustee effective June 30, 2007.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

MOTION by Rhys Read, seconded by William Grice, to enter into an Executive Session at 8:20 p.m. to discuss Compensation, Discipline or Performance of a Specific Employee. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

William Grice left the meeting at 8:30 p.m.

The regular session reconvened at 8:50 and was called to order by President Noreen Lake.

EXECUTIVE SESSION ACTION

Motion by Rhys Read, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to approve the recommendation made in Executive Session pertaining to Compensation and Performance for the Library Director. ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to eliminate the salary range for the position of Library Director and to state that the salary for the Director will be set by the Board. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

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

Meeting adjourned at 8:57 p.m.

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