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March 10, 2021
Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Skokie Public Library held virtually via
Zoom, Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
CALL TO ORDER
Mark Prosperi, President, called the meeting to order at 6:34 pm.
Members present: Mark Prosperi, President; Eugene Griffin, Vice President; Mira Barbir;
Michelle Mallari; Magnolia Rivera-Pulex; Noreen Winningham; and Richard Kong, Director
Member absent: Shabnam Mahmood, Secretary
Staff present: Laura McGrath, Deputy Director; Blythe Trilling, Finance Manager; Monica
Chavez, Administrative Assistant to the Director
Observers present: Jarrett Dapier; Amy Koester; Veena Villivalam; Jimmy Gonzalez-Vicker;
Amanda; Rachael; Rory Fanning; Allyson; David Grossman; Ly Nguyen; Scott Harrod; Megan
Rosol; Nancy Kim Phillips; Pam Levitt; Tiffany Breyne
Guests present: Andrew Berman
COMMENTS FROM OBSERVERS
Rory Fanning, a Skokie resident, made a comment asking the library to support the
unionization of the library workers.
David Grossman, a Skokie resident, also made a comment in support of the unionization of the
library staff.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND CLOSED MEETINGS OF
FEBRUARY 10, 2021
Ms. Barbir made a motion, seconded by Mr. Griffin to approve the minutes of the regular meeting
of February 10, 2021. A roll call vote was taken and the minutes were approved unanimously
and placed on file. The vote was 6 ayes and 0 nays.
Ms. Rivera-Pulex made a motion, seconded by Ms. Mallari to approve the minutes of the closed
session of February 10, 2021. A roll call vote was taken and the minutes were approved
unanimously and placed on file. The vote was 6 ayes and 0 nays.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT (Written report provided by Mr. Kong to the Board prior to the
meeting)
�COVID-19 Reopening Update
We are approaching the one-year mark since the library’s emergency closure last March. Our region
(10) moved out of Tier 1 mitigations last month and into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan. Our
current service model is going well, and many patrons are expressing appreciation for being able to
browse for books and more in the library. People are also picking up print jobs, tax forms, and some
program supply kits near the west entrance. We are seeing more people coming in to use computers on
the second floor as well. As more people in the community receive vaccinations and COVID-related
metrics continue to trend in a more positive direction, we will examine when it makes sense to expand
services in a safe way. For now, though, there are still limitations on the total number of patrons allowed
at any given time as well as time restrictions for visits. When the renovation of the youth area and the
east side of the first floor are completed, and safety measures (e.g., desk shields, stanchions, hand
sanitizer) are set up, we will open the youth collections to the public for in-person browsing. Program
rooms such as the Petty, MR Room, Activity Room, BOOMbox, and Storytime Room, will all remain
closed until we determine it is safe to begin in-person programs. Library staff continue to assist with
calls made to the Village’s COVID hotline, and we are also supporting AARP volunteers to provide tax
filing assistance to the community.
Renovation Update
We are nearing the end of our major renovation project, with Phase 3 of the renovation on the east side
of the first floor scheduled for completion at the end of the month. Most of the ceiling and flooring has
been completed, and we are waiting for some custom millwork for staff service points and other areas.
We are also working with local artist Jay Ryan, who designed the wrap for the bookmobile in 2016, on
some artwork for the domed ceiling and possibly the walls of the new Storytime Room. Andrew
Berman Architect (ABA) visited for several days to examine progress throughout the building, and
expressed great satisfaction with what they saw. They will work closely with Shales McNutt
Construction (SMC) and the library to close out the punchlist for the project over the next month or so.
Over the next few weeks, we will see shelving installed, collections moved in from storage and
temporary locations, and furniture delivered. Staff will need a significant amount of time to prepare the
collections areas in the youth area for public use. This will be complicated by social distancing
requirements, so there will likely be a need to close the library for in-person browsing in parts of or all
of the first floor near the beginning of April. We would still try to make holds pickup and computer use
available to patrons. We are still projected to complete the renovation on budget, with the allowances
and contingency budget in a good position with one month left in the project, but we will likely have
some late adjustments needed for the shelving and lighting on the first floor. Closeout documents will
be shared by SMC after the project is completed, and I will ask ABA and SMC to provide a final
presentation to the Board as we close out the project.
Financial Outlook for FY 2020-2021
Note: An update will be provided each month through FY 2021
We are still on track to meet our significantly overall reduced (10%) spending target this fiscal year,
though we may be slightly overspent on the reduced salary line (still underspent when looking at the
actual budget for the fiscal year). Also, as reported earlier, a few other lines, such as the printing and
�publicity line and the capital line, will be overspent when looking at the unofficial reduced budget.
Overall, we expect to end the fiscal year well within our approved operating budget.
Board Officer Elections
In 1988, the Board changed the length of officer terms to two years instead of one, and officer elections
have been held in even numbered years since then. Our attorneys recently recommend that we have
officer elections within 60 days after an April consolidated election, which take place in odd numbered
years. Here are two options for the Board to consider:
1. Keep our existing officers’ terms in place expiring in May 2022, when the Board can hold an
election for one-year terms (i.e., 2022-2023). This would mean the Board would then have
another officer election in 2023 after the April consolidated election, getting back to two-year
terms (i.e., 2023-2025). This would put us on the odd numbered year schedule to align with the
April consolidated election cycle.
2. Hold an officer election this May, essentially cutting short the two-year terms (i.e., 2020-2022)
currently held by our three officers. This would allow the Board to keep the two-year election
cycle moving forward but switch to an odd numbered year schedule to align with the April
consolidated election cycle.
ILA Library Trustee Forum
The Illinois Library Association (ILA) Trustee Forum is planning a series of webinars this spring.
Topics will include, “One Year On – Where is Your Library and How Can You Prepare for a PostCOVID World,” “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: What Library Trustees Need to Know,” and “Boot
Camp for Trustees.” The dates are March 13, April 17, and May 15. More details and registration
information will be shared on the ILA website soon. Please let me know if you are interested in the
library registering you for these webinars.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) Update
During the December Board meeting, the Board asked me to have further discussions internally about
our EDI efforts and report back in three months. Due to other pressing matters related to managing our
overall COVID-19 response, wrapping up Phase 3 of our renovation project, and addressing other
urgent issues, I have not had enough time to fully assess our EDI efforts and prepare a revised
recommendation in regards to what aspects of our work may require assistance from a consultant. I will
work with staff and community members to identify how we can pursue EDI in alignment with the
library’s vision and mission. I welcome Board input, and will incorporate any comments and feedback
into another update hopefully in the summer after the renovation project is wrapped up.
Discussion of Director’s Report
Mr. Berman commented on the recent visit by ABA to the library. He said it was a productive visit.
The project remains on schedule. ABA will be back at the library again on two more occasions to
close out the punchlist and on an as-needed basis thereafter. Things are going well, the team remains
focused. He expressed a desire to be able to walk around the library together once the project is
completed in the not too distant future.
�Mr. Prosperi suggested that the Board make a decision regarding Board officer elections at the April
meeting. Mr. Kong will add it to the agenda.
APPROVAL OF CONSTRUCTION PAY APPLICATION #15
The Board reviewed Construction Pay Application #15 and change orders #145r1, 207, 208r1, 209,
210, and 212. None were in amounts requiring Board approval.
Ms. Rivera-Pulex asked a clarifying question about a balance on line 9 of the pay application.
Mr. Kong confirmed that that is the balance remaining for the rest of the project, and that the
change orders are a part of that. Mr. Prosperi explained that a portion of that balance is a
retainage that will not be paid out to contractors until the completion of the project.
A motion was made by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Ms. Barbir:
MOTION:
THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF
TRUSTEES APPROVE CONSTRUCTION PAY APPLICATION
#15, SUBJECT TO AUDIT.
A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. There were 6 ayes and 0 nays.
Mr. Berman left the meeting at 6:53 pm.
BILLS
Mr. Griffin asked a question about an item listed as Skokie Cares account. Mr. Griffin was
asking because in the bills, the money coming in was not shown, only the outgoing payments.
Mr. Kong and Ms. Trilling explained that because Skokie Cares is not its own financial entity,
the library is functioning as a pass-through account taking in tuition and paying out facilitators.
Ms. Barbir asked about a payment to Mittera Group. Mr. Kong explained that it is a regular
payment for printing and mailing of the library newsletter every two months. Ms. Rivera-Pulex
asked how many are printed and mailed. Mr. Kong explained that it goes out to every Skokie
household.
Mr. Prosperi asked about a payment to the New York Times. Mr. Kong explained that it is a
research database to get access to the online version of the newspaper. Mr. Prosperi asked if it
includes access to the archives. Mr. Kong said he would look into it.
Ms. Rivera-Pulex asked what population in the community uses the financial database Mergent
Inc. Mr. Kong said that a significant number of patrons who invest or who are curious about
business data and information use those databases. She asked if it was an annual subscription.
Mr. Kong said that it is.
�Dr. Winningham asked about several entries related to Fifth Third Bank. Mr. Kong explained
that those are charges being made on a Fifth Third credit card. The pages at the end of the bills
list out each of the charges on the card.
A motion was made by Ms. Barbir, seconded by Dr. Winningham:
MOTION:
THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF
TRUSTEES APPROVE THE BILLS, SUBJECT TO AUDIT.
The roll call vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. There were 6 ayes and 0 nays.
CONSENT AGENDA (Financial Statements; Reports; Gifts; Personnel)
Ms. Rivera-Pulex asked a question about the amount on the financial statement under
miscellaneous income. Ms. Trilling explained that it was an insurance reimbursement for the
renovation pipe repair.
Mr. Prosperi asked when the library would receive the spring tax payments. Mr. Kong stated
that the library has already received about $4.2 million so far. Taxes are due to be paid by
residents on May 1. Mr. Prosperi asked how long after May 1 the library will have an idea of
what total amount is anticipated to be received. Mr. Kong stated that hopefully the bulk of it will
come before May 1. Mr. Prosperi asked when the library will have an idea of how much of a
reduction in tax collection the library will incur this year. Mr. Kong stated that the library should
have a good idea of what the full collection will be in May.
Mr. Griffin made a motion, seconded by Ms. Mallari:
MOTION: THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
APPROVE THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, SUBJECT TO
AUDIT, AND THAT THE FOLLOWING CONSENT AGENDA
ITEMS BE PLACED ON FILE:
1.
REPORTS;
2.
GIFTS: $20 FROM RAMER RAFI IN APPRECIATION FOR THE
LIBRARY’S SERVICES;
3.
PERSONNEL: PROMOTIONS JOEL HERNANDEZ, FULL-TIME
ACCESS SERVICES ASSISTANT, ACCESS SERVICES
DEPARTMENT, EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 15, 2021; VINCENT
KAO, FULL-TIME ACCESS SERVICES ASSISTANT, ACCESS
SERVICES DEPARTMENT, EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 15, 2021;
IQRA YOUSAF, FULL-TIME IT SPECIALIST, INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, EFFECTIVE MARCH 8, 2021:
DEPARTURE: FRANNIE MILLER, PART-TIME EXPERIENTIAL
LEARNING SPECIALIST, LEARNING EXPERIENCES
DEPARTMENT, EFFECTIVE MARCH 5, 2021.
A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. There were 6 ayes and 0 nays.
�APPROVAL OF RENEWAL OF COLLECTIONHQ
The library’s three-year subscription to CollectionHQ is up for renewal; we would like to renew for
another three years effective May 2021.
CollectionHQ is an online software tool that assists our staff in collection management and
evaluation, most notably using usage statistics to focus weeding projects and to help identify
overstocked and understocked areas. It also has modules for scheduling reports and staff tasks,
determining budget allocation, identifying well-worn titles that may need replacement, and
highlighting collection trends. The tool is simple to use and organizes information in a useful
manner, helping our staff work with greater efficiency and effectiveness in maintaining our
extremely large collection. We provide checkout data to CollectionHQ through a bi-monthly file
download listing each item in the collection and aggregate circulation information; no patron data is
shared with the company.
The library paid $13,000 per year in its previous CollectionHQ contract. In acknowledgement that
the tool could not be used as effectively during our emergency closure and while the library was
closed to patron browsing in this past summer, the company has offered the library a three-year
renewal contract at a discount of $9,999 per year. CollectionHQ also partners with Better World
Books, the organization we use to divert many withdrawn books and DVDs. Because proceeds of the
sale of the library’s weeded materials through Better World Books can be applied to our
CollectionHQ account, the actual yearly invoice for the product will be lower than the quoted
amount. (For example, in 2020 we received a $2,000 credit for our CollectionHQ invoice from Better
World Books sales.)
Mr. Kong recommended that the Board approve a three-year renewal of CollectionHQ for a total cost
of $29,997.
Dr. Winningham asked if the library’s attorneys had reviewed the membership terms and
conditions. Mr. Kong said that the he always reviews the library’s contracts and he believes that
this specific contract was reviewed by the attorneys three years ago. Much of the language is
boilerplate used by many vendors with which the library has subscriptions.
A motion was made by Ms. Barbir, seconded by Ms. Rivera-Pulex:
MOTION:
THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF
TRUSTEES APPROVE A THREE-YEAR RENEWAL OF
COLLECTIONHQ FOR A TOTAL COST OF $29,997.
The roll call vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. There were 6 ayes and 0 nays.
PROJECTED FY 2021-2022 BUDGET
�In January, Mr. Kong presented the Board with a first look at the projected operating budget for FY
2021-2022. No changes were made to the projected budget in the second look presented last month,
but there is a slight change in the projected budget this month due to a $10,000 decrease in projected
interest revenue. This is reflected in a reduction of the projected capital line. A slightly revised
projected budget for FY 2021-2022 was provided to the Board, including estimates for anticipated
revenues and expenditures.
In addition, upon Board request, Mr. Kong provided two other versions of the projected budget, each
with a 1% reduction ($123,000) shown in the total operating budget. One version shows the 1%
reduction taken from the capital line and no other lines adjusted. The other version shows the 1%
reduction taken from various budget lines, including programming, materials processing, physical
content, reception and meetings, library supplies, maintenance of equipment, maintenance of
buildings and grounds, janitorial supplies, furniture and equipment, and capital.
Though we are only factoring in a possible $300,000 utilization of the Reserve Fund for FY 20212022, this may change if we determine that a large roofing project is needed sooner than planned
(i.e., FY 2022-2023). We recently discovered some leaking issues on the east side of the second floor
and the youth courtyard/BOOMbox area. Mr. Kong hopes to determine by April’s Board meeting
whether the library will need to take on the roofing project next fiscal year. If that is the case, the
library will need to increase the utilization of the Reserve Fund significantly.
Mr. Kong will ask the Board to approve the final version of the recommended operating budget in
April.
Ms. Barbir asked if Mr. Kong has a sense at this time how much a roof replacement project would
cost. Mr. Kong explained that because of the tiered roofs, the projections are that the upper roof
would cost about $750,000 and the lower would cost about $960,000 for a total of $1.8 million. Mr.
Prosperi asked where that money would come from. Mr. Kong said that it would have to come from
the Reserve Fund. Mr. Prosperi asked if it would affect the budget. Mr. Kong explained that the only
way it would affect is that when money is used from the Reserve Fund, it should be noted that the
money is being appropriated from the Reserve Fund. If something were to come up during the year
the Board can always take action at that time to pull money from the Reserve Fund, but if there is
something that is known ahead of time, it is preferable to have it included in the operating budget that
is approved in April.
Ms. Mallari asked what the cost for the recent roof repairs was. Mr. Kong explained that the library
has not been billed yet as the roofers were out today.
Ms. Barbir asked about the difference in the capital lines in the working budget and the 1% reduced
version of the budget. Ms. Trilling explained that the calculation for the reduced budget is a 1%
reduction in the total operating budget, subtracted from the capital line in the first alternate version.
Mr. Griffin asked a clarifying question about the way expenditures are broken out in the two
iterations of the operating budget. Mr. Kong asked the trustees if they would prefer that the insurance
and HSA lines be broken out in the projected expenditures sheet so that all personnel costs are
�grouped together. The Board expressed that they would like this change.
PER CAPITA GRANT REQUIREMENTS
The application for the Per Capita Grant from the Illinois State Library is due on March 15, 2021.
Requirements for FY 2021 include the review of Serving Our Public 4.0: Standards for Illinois
Public Libraries. Public libraries must show that they will either meet or show progress toward
meeting the Illinois library standards as most recently adopted by the Illinois Library Association (75
ILCS 10/8.1). The library director and Board of Trustees for each public library are required to
review the standards, which have already been made available to the Board. Library staff and Mr.
Kong have carefully reviewed and discussed the standards. The following is a summary of how the
library either meets or has plans to make progress on the standards.
Chapter 1: Core Standards
The library meets all Core Standards. In regards to Appendix C (Topics Recommended for Inclusion
in Board Bylaws), there are some details that can be added to the existing Board Bylaws. Mr. Kong
will work on a revision of the Board Bylaws and present to the Board for consideration during an
upcoming meeting.
Chapter 2: Governance and Administration
The library meets all components of the Governance and Administration checklist, with the
exception of having a written succession plan in place to fill anticipated needs for library leadership
and other key personnel. The library will create a written succession plan and share it with the Board
by the end of the calendar year.
Chapter 3: Personnel
The library meets all components of the Personnel checklist.
Chapter 4: Access
The library meets all components of the Access checklist.
Chapter 5: Building Infrastructure and Maintenance
The library meets all components of the Building Infrastructure and Maintenance checklists.
Chapter 6: Safety
The library meets all components of the Safety checklist, but some steps (e.g., updating floor plans
with new locations of emergency equipment such as fire extinguishers) will need to be taken after the
library’s current major renovation is fully completed.
Chapter 7: Collection Management
The library meets all components of the Collection Management checklist.
Chapter 8: System Member Responsibilities and Resource Sharing
�The library meets all components of the System Member Responsibilities and Resource Sharing
checklist.
Chapter 9: Public Services: Reference and Reader’s Advisory Services
The library meets all components of the Public Services checklist.
Chapter 10: Programming
The library meets all components of the Programming checklist.
Chapter 11: Youth/Young Adult Services
The library meets all components of the Youth/Young Adult Services checklist.
Chapter 12: Technology
The library meets all components of the Technology checklist, with the exception of providing a link
to the CARLI academic library catalog (I-Share) since the library is not affiliated with CARLI and
interlibrary loan (ILL) requests from academic libraries are handled through our own ILL system.
Chapter 13: Marketing, Promotion and Collaboration
The library meets all components of the Marketing, Promotion and Collaboration checklist.
In addition to the review of these aforementioned standards, the library is required to file an Illinois
Public Library Annual Report (IPLAR) each year. Our current report, submitted in June 2020, is on
file with the Illinois State Library.
The Board noted the Per Capita Grant requirements.
REACHING ACROSS ILLINOIS LIBRARY SYSTEM (RAILS)
RAILS Board of Directors Meeting Summary
Feb 26, 2021
The following are highlights from the February 26, 2021, RAILS Board of Directors meeting,
supporting documents, and recorded video conference via Zoom.
RAILS Financial Report - Jim Kregor
● Mr. Kregor reported RAILS was in a good position financially.
● $16.4 million cash balance in general fund, which would fund nearly 17.7 months of
operations.
● $5,000,000 grant payment received in October 2020.
● $1,125,370 revenues above budget due to these payments. Remaining payments would total
nearly $8.4 million of the fiscal 21 grant.
● Investment Income continues $83,706 below budget.
● Expenditures of $734,420 through January, below budget.
�● Special Revenue Funds have concluded two programs recently 1.) Census 2020 2.) L2
replacement which was budgeted at $35K. At the moment the ebook project is currently
active having been granted federal funds in the amount of $125,000; will be used to purchase
special content for e-read programs.
● Fraudulent checks update: $33,171 was reimbursed for one check. Investigation shows the
checks were stolen at the post office.
Advocacy Committee – Jenna Nemec-Loise
● Committee met on February 11, 2021 to discuss future ILA meetings.
● Collaboration between high school and academic libraries to help transition students from
high school to college.
● Potential partnerships opportunities between schools and academic libraries; collaboration
has been difficult due to pandemic.
● Committee is trying to find common ground with partners- e-resources among library types;
need more school data to see how to help.
Consortia Committee -- Did not meet
EDI (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee -- Diane Hollister
● Committee meeting held February 18, 2020.
● EDI consultant, Lindsey Ryan Biz, facilitated a number of training opportunities, including a
toolkit to help staff and members. Discussed timeline for training.
● Potential sub-committees:
○ Staff Training, Leadership, Advocacy
○ Recruitment, Hiring, Retention
○ Collection and Cataloguing
○ Programs and Outreach
○ Building Web Design and Accessibility
○ Patron-Focused Policies
● RAILS can support four sub-committees at this time. Following a poll these top three subcommittees were chosen
* Staff Training, Leadership, Advocacy
* Recruitment, Hiring, Advocacy
* Programs and Outreach
● Each sub-committee will draft a charge to determine leader(s).
Universal Service Committee -- Sue Busenbark, Deirdre Brennan
● Committee met February 5, 2021.
�● The committee is charged to recognize the importance of extending service to the
approximately one million underserved residents of Illinois.
● Deirdre explained the benefits of the Pulse Page on RAILS website.
● Mary Witt gave Talking Points to taxpayers about why giving free library cards to students is
a good idea and to justify providing additional library services to non-residents.
● Greg McCormick gave legislative updates about Cards for Kids-no fees for library cards to
non-residents K-12 students who fall at or below US Dept of AG income eligibility
guidelines.
* E-resources card which allows non-residents to access to digital content that the
closest library can provide at no cost and the disabled veterans standard homestead
exemption where non-residents fee shall not apply to veterans with service-connected
disability.
● Deirdre talked about how community colleges might serve as “public” libraries to
underserved non-residents. Academic licensing determines accessibility.
RAILS Monthly Report -- Deirdre Brennan
● Quarantine changes to 24 hours. Urban Library Council survey about quarantine hours,
shows all libraries are struggling with this.
● Pulse Page is on the website.
● Networking meetings are continuous and have great support from legislators.
● Great proposals for “My Library Is...” grant.
EDI Activities -- Joe Filapek, Monica Harris
● Rails Climate Team - ten volunteer staff members, role of group is to work with Biz and give
insight into the culture of RAILS.
● First Phase: Recognize four core relationships○ RAILS-to-members
○ RAILS-to-one another
○ RAILS-to-partner organizations
○ RAILS-to-board
Looking at what is working and what is not.
Toolkit-prepared with Biz which looks at four core relationships, gives foundational
Information. Asking questions such as: “How does RAILS board reflect diversity of
membership?”
Provide training to all RAILS staff.
�● EDI Board Committee-diversity in roles as well as individuals
● EDI Initiatives found on Pulse Page
State Library -- Greg McCormick
●
●
●
●
Updates: Governor’s budget address included the level funding for library funding.
Sent reminders to public libraries for funding applications.
Funding will be released absent of any statutory language change.
April 15 deadline for Public Library Construction Grant applications. Moving forward with
those who applied earlier and were accepted: e.g., Galesburg Library. *Galesburg Library
had a fire and has been located in a temporary facility since the 1960s.
● System funding early next week.
● Federal funding for RAILS over $1.9 million, shall be in the state's clearing account and paid
out in the next fourteen days.
New Business -- Dan Bolstrom
● Deferred expenditures in FY20-21 Budget
● Possible cuts depending on pandemic on big expenditures and will be reassessed.
○ New laptops are needed for $125K
○ New vehicle
○ Staff raises- wishes to match Heartland’s raise for their staff at 3%.
○ Paul Mills motioned to go forward with staff raises, new vehicles. Seconded by
Becky
○ The Executive Director is not included in this.
○ The entire board wholeheartedly agreed to staff raises
○ Diedre requested to have the raises retroactive from July 2020.
○ Jim Gregor said finances allowed this.
○ Paul Mills amended his motion to reflect retroactive raise. Seconded by Becky.
○ Animated unanimous vote by board
8.2 - Statewide Databases -- Deirdre Brennan
● ILA decided not to ask for money.
● Statewide database purchase, new funding, decided by a committee of statewide libraries,
offered to residents, libraries who can’t afford databases.
● We are one of two states in the nation who does not do this.
● E.g. Ohio spent $7 million and saved libraries $57 million/year.
● Board agreed to purchase as it would show commitment of RAILS to this and its importance
to member libraries.
● Unanimously approved by the board.
�OSHA Complaint
● On Feb. 8, 2021 RAILS received a complaint from OSHA from East Peoria Library.
● On Feb. 12, 2021 RAILS sent response addressing:
○ Frequency of bins
○ Timeline of training provided for COVID-19 compliance.
Unfinished Business
● Board Engagement Survey- need fifteen responses. Suggestion made to offer to public
libraries for their boards.
● Board Election & Nomination Committee- Bylaws are vague and need to be reassessed.
○ Board is actively seeking diverse individuals for board seats.
○ Diversity in individuals and job titles.
Delivery RFP
● Status of report in progress
Board Development
● Academic Library- Trends & Challenges
○ Diversity of academic libraries
○ Focusing on accessibility
Next meeting: Friday, March 26, 2021, at 1 pm via Zoom.
Agenda Items:
●
●
●
●
Legislation
RAILS plan for extending service for all
Report of Universal Services Committee
Bylaws
Respectfully submitted,
Shabnam Mahmood
CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO 5ILCS 120/2(c)2 OF THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT
Deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees.
�A motion was made by Mr. Griffin and seconded by Dr. Winningham to enter into closed session
pursuant to section 2(c)2 of the Open Meetings Act. The roll call vote was taken and the motion
passed unanimously. There were 6 ayes and 0 nays.
The Board entered into closed session at 7:25 pm.
The Board resumed open session at 8:25 pm.
COMMENTS FROM TRUSTEES
There were no comments from the trustees.
ADJOURNMENT
At 8:27 pm a motion was made by Mr. Griffin seconded by Ms. Rivera-Pulex to adjourn the
regular meeting. A roll call vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously.
Shabnam Mahmood, Board Secretary
�
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Minutes, Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Skokie Public Library. Board of Trustees
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Mahmood, Shabnam (Secretary); Chavez, Monica
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2021-03-10
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Subject
The topic of the resource
Public Libraries -- Illinois -- Skokie
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
LBM20210310.pdf
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Skokie Public Library, Skokie, IL
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
2020s (2020-2029)
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Serial publication, paper document
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
14 pages
2000s
2020s
Board Officer Elections
CollectionHQ
COVID-19
Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
library board meetings
RAILS
Renovation 2020