Sandra asked for Board attendance at the Illinois Library
Annual Conference being held at Navy Pier from September 24 - 28.
Sandra explained that a program for library trustees will be
presented on Saturday, September 28 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Interested Board members should register by notifying Carol Kidd
by July 1 to take advantage of a discount.
Noreen Lake asked that the minutes of the Building and Grounds
be changed to the following:
3. Brick Removal/Replacement -
Committee discussed the advisability of moving and/or turning
around bricks under the lights. The committee members walked out
to the Plaza to view the bricks, after which they agreed that
Eldon Burk, Susan Burrows and Noreen Lake would meet with the
brick installer before bricks are removed and replaced in the
Plaza to clarify some questions and to indicate where they would
like to have the new bricks placed.
New employees for March/April are Joe Mullarkey and Elizabeth
Steffensen, part-time Librarians in Adult Services.
Departing employees are Bobby Palmero and Justin Ashcroft.
The staff has been engaged in a job-shadowing project, under
the grant for staff development. Each employee is required to
"shadow" in another department for at least two hours.
The assignment for shadowing is to gain understanding of the inner
workings and activities of another department and to increase
understanding of how each job is related to others in the library.
The grant is being administered by Martha Sloan, who is working
with Consultant Mary Jane Kepner. They have formed a committee to
plan events leading up to and including the Staff In-Service Day
on May 9. The grant will also cover most of the expenses for the
In-Service, with the exception of food, which is covered in the
library's operating budget.
While the increase in circulation for the month of March is not
as high as we have been experiencing, it is important to note that
the increase from March 2000 to March 2001 was 14%. Patron
attendance remains high and is increasing.
Julianne Dennison, Grant Coordinator for the Residents and
Retailers Grant has collected information from surveys and has
conducted focus groups to obtain suggestions for services to the
growing residential and business population in the library's new
neighborhood. She will present a preliminary report at the April
Board Meeting.
I represented the Des Plaines Public Library on a panel on
"Best Practices" in library services to multilingual
populations at the Illinois State Library System Directors and
Advisory Committee meeting in Springfield on March 21. I attend
the UI Extension Advisory Committee meeting on March 22, the
Chamber City Advisory Breakfast on March 26. I met with the Mayor
and Chloe Golden (Mayor for a Day) and her father on March 26. I
attended the meeting of the Board Building and Grounds and
Planning Committees on March 26, and a CCS Governing Board Meeting
on March 27. On March 28 I met with the librarian of De Paul
University's branch campuses to discusses cooperative activities
and taped three segments, along with Holly Sorensen, Roberta
Johnson, and Sarah Long, of the "Check-in @ Your Library
" series on Library Cable Network. One of the segments may be
picked up by ALA to use in their ongoing @Your Library campaign. I
attended a Public Library Administrators Forum on March 29. The
topics for discussion were using statistics to present a library
budget to elected officials and the use of library meeting rooms
by controversial speakers. I participated in the shadowing program
for our staff development project on April 4 and attended a
Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours at the Maine Center for
Mental Health. I will attend, with John Burke, a workshop on the
new PLA Planning Process on April 11 and a Customer Service
workshop at Oakton Community College on April 16.
I have been working with Douglas and Maxine Hubbard and staff
members Carol Kidd, Gary Valente, Veronica Schwartz, Gail Bradley,
Leslie Steiner, and Chris Posinger to plan the Dedication Ceremony
and reception for the Poet Tree Corner. Martha Sloan is working
with the Hubbards and ASI signage to prepare the signage
recognizing their gift.
The fire extinguishers have been installed in all floors of the
parking garage near the elevators. They are housed in locked
cabinets, which are alarmed. Thanks to the Public Works and Fire
Departments for their quick response to our requests.
We are continuing to work with CCS and NSLS to recapture
statistics of library use during the transition to new computer
systems. We believe we will be able to access this information,
but perhaps not for another three to four months.
Two staff committees are working on pending issues: Martha
Sloan is chairing a staff committee to gather information and to
make recommendations regarding additional hours for public
service. Hector Marino is chairing a committee to plan procedures
for collecting, processing, and circulating materials in foreign
languages.
Our Volunteer Recognition Tea has been rescheduled for
Wednesday, May 15 from 3:00 to 4:30. All volunteers will receive
an invitation and a letter of appreciation from the Board and
Staff during National Volunteer Week.
