Board Minutes

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
March 20, 2007

The regular meeting of the Des Plaines Public Library Board of Trustees was held in the second floor conference room on Tuesday, March 20, 2007. President Noreen Lake called the meeting to order at 7:08p.m.

ROLL CALL.

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

Also Present: Sandra Norlin, Martha Sloan, Leslie Steiner, Hector Marino, Carol Kidd, Gary Valente.

CONSIDERATION OF THE AGENDA.

Sandra Norlin asked that VIII. New Business. G. Progress Report on Roof and Ceiling Repair be discussed after Consideration of the Agenda.

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

PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

None

CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE – Alderman Carla Brookman.

Alderman Brookman was present, but did not give a report.

CONSENT AGENDA

Noreen Lake asked that A. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting – February 20, 2007, be removed from the consent agenda.

MOTION by Eldon Burk, seconded by George Magerl, to accept the Consent Agenda, as modified. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.
[The following items were removed from the Consent Agenda.]

Noreen Lake asked that the minutes from the meetings in September, October, November, December, 2006 and January, February 2007 be amended to correct the misspelling of Maria Bahamon’s name under Roll Call.

MOTION by Rhys Read, seconded by George Magerl, to approve the minutes for September, October, November, December 2006 and January, February 2007, as modified. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

CONSENT AGENDA

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

1. Over the Counter Receipts $ 11,829.43
2. Petty Cash Expenditures $ 9.20
3. Budget Expenditures for February $ 408,851.28
4. Expenditures Year to Date $ 975,602.05
5. Revenue for February $ 18,890.09
6. Revenue Year to Date $ 98,668.18

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

February 05, 2007 $ 19,763.31
February 20, 2007 $ 118,417.25
Total $ 138,180.56

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

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

February 15, 2007 $ 120,683.35
March 01, 2007 $ 117,989.28
Total $ 238,672.63

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 patron information since my last report.

PERSONNEL

New employees for February/March 2007 are: Xuan Zhao, Part-time Page in Circulation Services and Michael Chiovari, Part-Time Technology Page in Computer Services.

Resignations/Separations: James Struck, Part-Time Circulation Clerk.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Our regular All-Staff Meeting was held on Tuesday, March 13. The topics covered during this meeting were Word of Mouth or Buzz Marketing and Coaching for Commitment. This is a required meeting for all staff, held three times a year from 8 AM to 10AM. We serve a light breakfast, make announcements, welcome new staff, and recognize the accomplishments of teams and individuals.

We are planning our spring retreat for Department Heads on May 16. We will all attend a day-long seminar at the North Suburban Library System headquarters on Decision-Making.

PATRON SERVICES

We experienced a decrease in nearly all direct patron service areas over a year ago in February. I surmise that the extremely cold weather contributed to this loss. Two areas of increase were Youth and Adult Reference and Readers Advisory and meeting room attendance.

This is the second month of our concerted efforts to encourage the use of the self-check machines by offering assistance to all patrons. In February we once again saw an increase in circulation through our self-check. This month the percent of items self-checked was 43%.

The portion of our circulation that were print materials was 52% overall; 68% of youth services materials and 43% of adult materials checked out were print. It is worth noting that although audio and visual materials make up just 15% of our collection, they account for 48% of the items checked out.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Since my last report I have attended the second meeting on Coaching for Commitment led by Mary Jane Kepner (2/21); met with Todd Wessell, editor and publisher of the Des Plaines Journal and Topics to discuss partnerships, sponsorships, and a special insert celebrating the library’s centennial(3/2); attended the Des Plaines Police Department’s St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser; two meetings of city staff, Leopardo construction personnel, and a representative from the Firestone company to discuss the repair and possible replacement of the roof and damaged ceiling(3/5 and 3/7); the Advisory Committee of the Library Cable Television Division of the Library Production Studio(3/6); the Chamber of Commerce Board of Director’s Meeting (3/8); the Oakton Community College’s Cultural Sampling (3/8); the CCS Executive Committee meeting(3/14); the Library Production Studio Executive Committee meeting (3/16); and the North Suburban Library System Annual Awards Banquet (3/16).

NEW BUSINESS

Gary Valente, Head of Building and Security Services, gave a brief report on the roof leaks, which have been ongoing since 2003. Gary reported that representatives from the City of Des Plaines and the Library met with a field representative from Firestone, the manufacturer of the roofing materials, and the Firestone representative made an offer to the City of Des Plaines to provide free materials to replace a portion of the roof, if the City would pay for the labor costs. Gary Valente reported that the library is owned by the City of Des Plaines and their representatives will make the decision on what offer they will accept. After the repairs or replacement of the roof is complete, the ceiling will have to be repaired. Gary explained that the sculpture, Skyword, will either be taken down or tied off before repairs can be made. Repairs will be made after regular library hours.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The Board will change the time for their July 17, 2007 meeting to 4:00 p.m.

MOTION by Rhys Read, seconded by Jerry Mahony, to change the time for the July 17, 2007 Board of Trustees meeting to 4:00 p.m. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

The Board discussed ideas for their column for the next issue of the library newsletter, Foreword. President Lake will write the article on what each Board member is currently reading.

NEW BUSINESS

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by William Grice, to approve payment to Cooperative Computer Services in the amount of $5,158.67, which is in the best interest of the library and is a budgeted expense. ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Bahamon, Burk, Ellicson, Grice, Lake, Magerl, Mahony, Read, Tejcek. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

MOTION by Rhys Read, seconded by George Magerl, to approve the Illinois Public Library Annual Report, as modified. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Elaine Tejcek will attend the April 2 City Council meeting, Mary Ellicson the April 16 meeting and Jerry Mahony the May 7 meeting and Maria Bahamon the May 21 meeting.

Attendance at “Defending Access with Confidence” being held at NSLS on May 10, 2007 will be added to the April agenda.

Mary Ellicson, Chair of the Planning Committee, reported that the Committee met and discussed plans for writing a new Strategic Plan for 2008 – 2010. The Committee’s recommendation is to hold an all-day retreat in September on either September 8 or September 15. The Board will decide on a date at their April meeting.

Sandra Norlin asked for Board approval to declare the following list of equipment surplus property. Hector Marino stated that the equipment is no longer in use and is not needed for replacement parts or emergency backup.

Printers

Make/Model Serial Number Status
HP Color LaserJet 4500
w/Parts & Toner JPCD01664 Working
NEC Superscript 1800 B1GN600580E Not Working
NEC Superscript 1800 B1GN600505B Not Working
Other Equipment
Make-Model Serial Number Status
ACT A317 Printer Controller N/A Not working
Citizen iDP3550 Receipt Printer 190338 Not working
Sony DVD Player – NS70H N/A Not working
Keyboards (2)

Computers

Make-Model Serial Number Status
Dell Ispiron Laptop VXNZJ Not working
Texas Instruments Extensa
Laptop 4514155 Not working
AST Ascentia 950N Laptop 445DPD718378 Not Working
Compaq Presario 4640 6810BQR4G538 Not Working
Liberty System N/A Not Working
Liberty System N/A Not Working
Unknown Brand 24248 Not Working
Compaq Deskpro 6945CJN4N261 Not Working
Dell Optiplex GXL GVNJB Not Working
Dell Optiplex GXL 9KWNV Not Working
Apple PowerMac G3 XA8081F5BBW Not Working

MOTION by George Magerl, seconded by William Grice, to declare the above mentioned equipment surplus and obsolete property and to dispose of the equipment according to library policy. VOTE: AYES: None. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

The Board will change the time for their April 17, 2007 meeting to 4:00 p.m.

MOTION by William Grice, seconded by George Magerl, to change the time for the April 17, 2007 Board of Trustees meeting to 4:00 p.m. VOTE: AYES: Bahamon, Burk, Ellicson, Grice, Lake, Magerl, Mahony, Tejcek. NAYS: Read. MOTION CARRIED.

Jerry Mahony stated that he will not attend the April Board meeting, because he will be out of town.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sandra Norlin reported that the library will celebrate National Library Workers Day on April 17 and cake and coffee will be served to staff to thank them for their service. The staff will be invited to attend the early Board meeting, where they will be acknowledged by the Board for their work in the library.

Elaine Tejcek, Eldon Burk and Sandra Norlin will attend National Library Legislative Day in Washington, DC from April 30 – May 2, 2007.

President Lake reported that the Illinois Library Association is recommending that libraries oppose House Bill 1727, Mandatory Internet Filters on All Public and School Library Computers. President Lake asked the Board if they were interested in writing a letter stating that the Des Plaines Public Library Board of Trustees is not interested in changing the law for internet filtering.

MOTION by Jerry Mahony, seconded by George Magerl, to ask Library Director Sandra Norlin to write a letter to Representatives Nekritz, Mulligan, Garrett and Kotowski stating that the Board of Trustees of the Des Plaines Public Library opposes House Bill 1727, Mandatory Internet Filters on All Public and School Library Computers. VOTE: AYES: All. NAYS: None. MOTION CARRIED.

CORRESPONDENCE

Sandra Norlin reported that donation letters will be sent to local restaurants, grocery stores and bakeries asking for food donations for Do the Dewey.

OTHER

The Board discussed the Volunteer Emergency Contact form and will not make any changes to the form.

Eldon Burk stated that he attended the NSLS Membership Awards Banquet on Friday, March 16, 2007 with Board members and staff and is proud to be involved with the North Suburban Library System. Eldon also stated that it was a rewarding experience even if the Des Plaines Public Library did not receive an award.

Sandra Norlin reported that the Teen Advisory Board was the winner of an author visit to the library sponsored by Baker & Taylor Books.

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

Meeting adjourned at 8:18p.m.

Minutes prepared by Carol Kidd