Board Capsules
June 18, 2002
The regular meeting of the Des Plaines Public Library Board of
Trustees was held in the second floor conference room on Tuesday,
June 18, 2002. President John Ciborowski called the meeting to
order at 7:00 PM.
Members Present: Inara Brubaker, Eldon Burk, John Burke,
Susan Burrows, John Ciborowski, William Grice, Noreen Lake, Rhys
Read, Ellen Yearwood.
Also Present: Administrator Sandra Norlin, Carol Kidd,
Martha Sloan, Hector Marino, Mayor Anthony Arredia, George Bo˘ldirev,
Vince Powers, Wayne Serbin.
MAYOR ANTHONY ARREDIA - WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
Mayor Arredia spoke to the Board about preparations for a
memorial observance on September 11, 2002. The mayor stated that
the ceremony would commemorate the victims and families of 911 and
community groups, ministries and guest speakers would participate.
Mayor Arredia stated that the City of Des Plaines will make a
statement about patriotism with the ceremony, which will be held
on library plaza and asked Library Administrator, Sandra Norlin,
to be involved with the planning.
Mayor Arredia advised the Board that he has received several
requests from Des Plaines residents to be appointed to the library
board. The mayor asked President Ciborowski if he and two or three
board members would meet with him to interview prospective board
members. Mayor Arredia explained that he would be reviewing not
only the library board commissions, but other commissions within
the City of Des Plaines. Mayor Arredia asked current board members
to consider whether they would like to continue serving on the
board and welcomed their suggestions for future appointments.
Eldon Burk thanked the mayor for the opportunity to be involved
with future appointments to the Board.
President Ciborowski stated that it was good that there were so
many qualified people wanting to be on the board.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Vince Powers stated that the cyclone fence that was installed
between library plaza and the train tracks is unsightly and
suggested that the Friends of the Library and the Keep Des Plaines
Beautiful Commission join forces to solicit donations so that a
wrought iron fence could be installed. President Ciborowski
thanked Mr. Powers for his suggestion.
George Bo'ldirev stated that he was representing 10 patrons who
frequent the library between 9:00 AM and 12:00 noon daily. He
stated that these patrons are concerned with the noise level,
which prevents them from doing research on the computers. Mr.
Bo'ldirev stated that conversations in the library are too loud
and asked whether the library had a policy regarding noise levels.
President Ciborowski replied that conversations cannot disturb
other patrons. William Grice asked Mr. Bo'ldirev if a complaint
was made to library staff and Mr. Bo'ldirev responded no.
President Ciborowski suggested that Mr. Bo'ldirev submit his
complaint in writing and the Management Committee would address
these issues at their next meeting. Mr. Bo'ldirev was given the
form "Citizen's Opinion Concerning Specific Library Policies,
Rules, or Procedures."
Mr. Bo'ldirev stated that cell phone usage at the library was
disturbing patrons and library staff did not approach patrons
using the phones.
Mr. Bo'ldirev stated that he was concerned that young children
were being allowed to use computers on the fourth floor and were
accessing pornographic sites. Mr. Bo'ldirev voiced concern that
children were not prevented from using the computers by either
their parents or the library staff. President Ciborowski responded
that patrons should report these activities to the librarian at
the desk.
President Ciborowski stated that all computers in the Youth
Services Department on the second floor are filtered and that the
library's filtering policy is reviewed on a regular basis. Susan
Burrows stated that the librarians monitor patrons when they are
made aware of a situation that is making another patron
uncomfortable. Ellen Yearwood stated that the library's policy on
noise level is written as incident specific and that the library
staff will intervene when patrons notify them.
The Board will refer these issues to the Management Committee
and William Grice suggested that the meeting notice state that
Public Comments Are Welcome. William Grice also asked that when a
written report is received from Mr. Bo'ldirev it should be
directed to the Management Committee for discussion.
Sandra Norlin stated that library staff treats all patrons with
complaints with the utmost respect.
CONSENT AGENDA
William Grice asked that VI-A Approval of the Minutes of the
Regular Board Meeting - May 21, 2002 be removed from the Consent
Agenda. Noreen Lake asked that VI-C.2 Warrant Register - May 20,
2002 - $53,286.08 be removed from the Consent Agenda. Rhys Read
asked that VI-D.3 Management Committee Report be removed from the
Consent Agenda.
William Grice asked that the minutes of the May 21, 2002 be
changed to state that he was absent from the Board meeting on May
21, 2002 because he was at the same event as Alderman Argus.
Noreen Lake asked about the library expense of $500.00 to the
Illinois State Police and Sandra Norlin responded this is for the
background checks the library does on new employees and
volunteers.
Rhys Read asked for a discussion on the recommendation by the
Management Committee to curtail videotaping Board meetings to
twice a year. Rhys Read asked that videotaping the meetings four
times a year be continued until feedback from residents can be
compiled. William Grice stated that he has not had any feedback
from residents on the videotaping and would rather have active
involvement at the Board meetings from residents. William Grice
also stated that this is a budget issue and Susan Burrows stated
that this was a cost effective measure. Rhys Read asked that the
tapings be continued for another year. Eldon Burk suggested that a
survey be done after two years of taping and that the library
market the taped meetings more aggressively. Hector Marino stated
that Josh Pfluger has requested a tentative schedule for future
tapings.
MOTION by Committee, to videotape two library board meetings in
the next 12 months, one in September when the budget is being
discussed and the other date to be determined and to ask Library
Administrator, Sandra Norlin, to ask Leslie Steiner, Head of
Public Information, to encourage public attendance at the Board
meetings by promoting the Board meetings with additional publicity
and to determine at a later date allocation of the $600 savings.
Vote: Ayes: Grice, Yearwood, Lake. Nays: Brubaker, Burk, Burke,
Burrows, Read. MOTION FAILED.
Following monthly reports to be reviewed and placed on file for
audit:
1. Over the Counter Receipts $ 8,309.17
2. Petty Cash Expenditures $ 12.47
3. Budget Expenditures for May $ 421,256.91
4. Expenditures Year to Date $ 1,624,400.00
5. Revenue for May $ 7,718.48
6. Revenue Year to Date $ 2,114,085.17
MOTION by Eldon Burk, seconded by Susan Burrows, to approve,
subject to audit, expenditures authorized by the Library
Administrator and Board Representatives for library Warrant
Registers as follows:
May 06, 2002 $ 49,978.92
May 20, 2002 $ 53,286.08
Total $ 103,265.00
ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Brubaker, Burk, Burke, Burrows,
Ciborowski, Grice, Lake, Read, Yearwood. NAYS: None. MOTION
CARRIED.
MOTION by Eldon Burk, seconded by Susan Burrows, to approve,
subject to audit, expenditures for salaries made by the Library
Administrator as follows:
May 02, 2002 $ 90,014.63
May 16, 2002 $ 89,813.18
May 30, 2002 $ 89,859.17
Total $ 269,686.98
ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Brubaker, Burk, Burke, Burrows,
Ciborowski, Grice, Lake, Read, Yearwood. NAYS: None. MOTION
CARRIED.
ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
New employees in June are Jenna Murski, Part-time Assistant
Clerk, Circulation Services; Jessica Galang, James Swakow, and
Manuel Casas, Temporary Peer Mentors for the Project Next
Generation Grant.
Resignations: Julianne Dennison, Temporary Grant Coordinator
and Annette Ter Antonians, Part-time Assistant Clerk in
Circulation Services.
Several staff members have attended classes and workshops
through the North Suburban Library System, including Supervisory
Training and Computer Applications. Hector Marino attended the
Mexican Library Association annual conference in Monterrey as an
invited guest speaker. Holly Sorensen, Hector Marino, and Heidi
Krueger are attending the ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta, June
13-18.
The final report of the Residents and Retailers Grant contains
many suggestions for improving our programming by increasing the
number of programs we already provide. Another request was for
increasing the number of newsletters to at least six per year. The
comments about the library's service were overwhelmingly positive.
The respondents praised the library staff for their skills,
helpfulness and hospitality. Several of the merchants in the
neighborhood offered to give programs and to support activities.
In short, the respondents liked our services and want more.
The increase in circulation continues. We have checked out
11.13% more items this year than by this time in 2001, with this
month's circulation 16.57% higher than last May's. Use of
Self-check represents 20% of our total circulation. We have
increased our cardholders over last year by nearly 3,000 (69% of
population), and we are sustaining a 12% increased in attendance,
year to date. Please note the high increases in Reference and
Readers' Advisory Services and in computer use in both Adult and
Youth Departments. Our holdings have increased by 5,366 items
since February.
Since my last report I have represented the library at the
following events: the Chamber/City Advisory Breakfast, the CCS
Governing Board, the Library Cable Network Executive Committee,
the Taste of Des Plaines, and the Northwest Suburban Unity Dinner.
I attended a class on Microsoft Word 2000. I met with coordinators
of District 207 summer employment program, concerning placement of
their students at the library this summer.
OLD BUSINESS
Martha Sloan, Coordinator of Public Information, presented a
final report on the "Residents and Retailer: Fulfilling Our
Dreams" grant. Martha reported that a survey was distributed
to downtown condominium residents as part of the grant project and
residents responded positively to the new library. Martha also
reported that downtown businesses were surveyed and results were
again positive. Results of the survey were distributed to Board
members.
Hector Marino, Coordinator of Computer and Technical Services
gave an update on the foreign language collection that is now
being cataloged. Hector is chairing a committee that will work
with schools, create questionnaires and compile demographic data
to discern the needs of the community. Hector also stated that
focus groups will be formed to discuss the needs of patrons using
the foreign language collection.
Susan Burrows asked how the staff would determine if a book met
the library's criteria if the staff member was not fluent in the
language. Hector Marino responded that some vendors send reviews
in English and that librarians are able to translate some of the
materials. Hector also stated that library patrons fluent in
foreign languages are asked to review some of the material
Martha Sloan reported that library staff had discussed adding
one hour to the Sunday schedule. The cost for staffing for one
additional hour would be $38,962 for the year. The addition of
part-time librarians could be needed to accommodate the extra hour
on Sunday. The staff concurred that eliminating an hour in the
current library schedule would be disruptive to our patrons. The
matter will be referred to the Management Committee and Finance
Committee for further discussion.
NEW BUSINESS
Sandra Norlin reported that bids for the Janitorial Contract
for the Des Plaines Public Library and Mobile Library were opened
on June 17, 2002 and that Crystal Maintenance, the library's
current janitorial service submitted a bid in the amount of
$3,300/month. Sandra explained that the library currently pays
Crystal Maintenance $3,390/month and this is for less janitorial
work and does not include the mobile library. Gary Valente, Head
of Building and Security Services checked references provided by
the several of the janitorial services who submitted bids and
recommends Crystal Maintenance.
MOTION by William Grice, seconded by Noreen Lake, to accept the
bid from Crystal Maintenance in the amount of $3,300/month for
three years, which is in the best interest of the Des Plaines
Public Library. ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: Brubaker, Burk, Burke,
Burrows, Ciborowski, Grice, Lake, Read, Yearwood. Nays: None.
MOTION CARRIED.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eldon Burk reported that Michael Hayden and Kristina Lucas from
Thinking Lightly were at the library and approved the lighting of
the atrium sculpture.
CORRESPONDENCE
Sandra Norlin distributed a thank you letter received from the
Special Events Commission thanking the library for participation
in the Taste of Des Plaines.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE - Eldon Burk.
Eldon Burk reported that the Committee nominates John
Ciborowski as President, John Burke as Vice-President and Carol
Kidd as Secretary for a twelve-month term, beginning with the July
Board Meeting.
MOTION by Rhys Read, seconded by Ellen Yearwood, to enter into
an Executive Session at 9:04 PM to discuss Purchase or Lease of
Real Property. Vote: Ayes: All. Nays: None. MOTION CARRIED.
The regular session reconvened at 9:20 PM and was called to
order by President Ciborowski.
MOTION by Susan Burrows, seconded by Ellen Yearwood, to adjourn
the regular meeting. Vote: Ayes: All. Nays: None. MOTION CARRIED.
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