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November 13, 2013
Minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Skokie Public Library held
in the Skokie Public Library Board Room, Wednesday, November 13,2013.
CALL TO ORDER
Diana Hunter, Vice President/President Emerita, called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m.
Members present: Diana Hunter, Vice President/President Emerita; Karen Parrilli,
Secretary; Susan Greer; Jonathan H. Maks, MD; Mark Prosperi; Zelda Rich; and Carolyn
A. Anthony, Director.
Staff present: Richard Kong, Deputy Director.
Guest present: Paula Singer, Consultant.
Visitors present: Dr. Irwin Rich, 9360 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, IL; Carol Arkin, 9911
Kedvale, Skokie, IL 60076.
Mrs. Hunter read John Graham's letter of resignation.
With the approval ofthe Board, the regular order ofbusiness was moved so consultant
Paula Singer could discuss the staff realignment.
STAFF REALIGNMENT
Richard Kong, new Deputy Director, and Mrs. Anthony have been working this fall along
with our consultant in organizational development Paula Singer on a realignment of staff
to better meet our service objectives and increase the Library's impact in the community.
A meeting was convened of the Design Team, made up of Department Heads and
Coordinators for one and a half days September 17-18. The Team considered questions
such as:
•
What is the work that needs to be done now?
•
What is the organizational structure we need to make it happen?
•
How will we set priorities?
•
What are the jobs that support the work?
•
What skills are needed?
Considering the Library's recent Strategic Plan with our vision, mission, values, goals
and areas of strategic focus, the Team was divided into small groups to work on an
organizational design to maximize the effectiveness of staff and the Library's impact in
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the community. Each team had the opportunity to 'sell' their idea to the other teams and
everyone had the chance to ask questions and point out potential problems.
From the suggestions, Richard Kong, Beth Dostert, and Mrs. Anthony developed a
proposed structure and managers for each of the areas. This new group met October 24 at
a meeting where a brief description of each unit was provided. The proposed new
managers were tasked with fleshing out their department's mission, function and roles, as
well as suggesting the positions and number of persons needed to perform the unit's
work. Reports were turned in November 5 and the group met November 7 to present their
proposals orally to each other. Although many discussions were held among various
managers in preparing these proposals, there were still inevitable areas of ambiguity and
overlap regarding some specific responsibilities. These were noted and will be worked
out. Nevertheless, the process confirmed that the proposed new structure could work
while enabling staff to work more effectively. Mrs. Anthony distributed the proposed
organizational structure in overview.
Meanwhile, Richard Kong is heading up an Implementation Committee which is working
on an implementation schedule and dealing with logistical issues such as office and space
concerns as well as documenting identified training needs and addressing
communication. In brief, the plan is to begin implementation in January. Between now
and then, much needs to be done in terms of identifying staff who may move to new
departments. While some units such as Bookmobile service and Popular Services will be
largely unchanged, other units will see significant change. It is anticipated that some new
positions such as Program Assistant will be opened internally to give staff an opportunity
to apply. Of course, position descriptions will need to be written and grades assigned to
the new and changed positions.
The managers group meeting yesterday identified only three or four jobs for which they
thought the requisite skills were not already found in-house. These included: a PC
support staff person for the LAN office who can handle Apple products as well as
Microsoft. Currently, there is one PC support person for 290 computers in the building. A
second position for which there is broad support among the staff is a graphic artist. This
person would perform design work for a number of publications, posters, audio-visual
products and the website. We would like permission to increase the FTE by three or four
with the promise that we will look to fill positions from within wherever possible and to
utilize occurring vacancies as an opportunity to reexamine staffmg and possibly reassign
positions.
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Ms. Singer presented a Powerpoint presentation on the overview of the organizational
structure; an overview of the change; the members of the new management team; the
impact on staff; the new structure diagram consisting of learning/access/community;
doing the right work; costs involved -- including four new positions; the positive
outcomes; the next steps for the implementation plan; and the implementation team
members.
Lengthy discussion followed. The Board would like to receive a report monthly as to
where we are in the process, costs for the four new positions including position
descriptions and pay grades, etc. Mrs. Anthony will prepare this for the January Board
meeting. As documents are developed, the Board would like to see them.
The Board agreed by consensus with the concept that was presented and the direction the
realignment is headed.
The Board returned to the regular order ofbusiness.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 9,
2013
Dr. Maks made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Parrilli, to approve the minutes of the regular
meeting of October 9, 20 13, subject to additions and/or corrections. There being no
corrections, the minutes were approved and placed on file.
'
CONSENT AGENDA (Financial Statement; Circulation Report; Library Use Statistics;
Report(s) from Department Head(s); Gifts; Personnel)
Mr. Prosperi made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Rich:
MOTION:
THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
APPROVE THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT, SUBJECT TO AUDIT,
AND THAT THE FOLLOWING CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS BE
PLACED ON FILE:
1. CIRCULATION REPORT
2. LIBRARY USE STATISTICS
3. REPORT(S) FROM DEPARTMENT HEAD(S)
4. GIFTS: $50. FROM GRETCHEN M. WENING IN MEMORY OF
HELEN NECAISE FOR YOUTH SERVICES; $50. FROM
RICHARD BASOFIN IN HONOR OF CAROLYN ANTHONY'S
ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY OF PUBLIC LIBRARY
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ASSOCIATION; $100. FROM BRIAN MCGUIRE IN MEMORY OF
WILLIAM KATZ
5. PERSONNEL: RETIREMENTS: BARBARA A. KOZLOWSKI,
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC SERVICES, EFFECTIVE
NOVEMBER 8, 2013; CHERYL SACHNOFF, PART-TIME
REFERENCE LIBRARIAN, ADULT SERVICES DEPARTMENT,
EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 31, 2013; HIRE: MARIE WIDNER,
FULL-TIME ACCOUNTS PAYABLE & PURCHASING CLERK,
ADMINISTRATION, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 23, 2013;
PROMOTIONS: SHAUNA MASURA, FROM PART-TIME
COMPUTER LAB ASSISTANT, YOUTH SERVICES, TO FULLTIME YOUNG ADULT LIBRARIAN, ADULT SERVICES
DEPARTMENT, EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 2, 2013; MATTHEW
MACKELLAR, FROM FULL-TIME SENIOR CIRCULATION
CLERK/BOOKMOBILE ASSISTANT, CIRCULATION AND
ADULT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, TO FULL-TIME ASSISTANT
BOOKMOBILELIBRARIAN, EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 4, 2013.
The motion passed unanimously.
BALANCE SHEET FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDING 10/31/13
The Balance Sheet for the Six Months Ending 10/31/13 was noted.
YEAR-TO-DATE BUDGETARY STATUS
The Year-to-Date Budgetary Status was noted.
BILLS
A motion was made by Mrs. Rich, seconded by Dr. Maks:
MOTION:
THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
APPROVE THE BILLS, SUBJECT TO AUDIT.
The roll call vote for approval was unanimous.
APPROVAL OF AUDIT- 2012-2013 FISCAL YEAR
Mrs. Anthony distributed the Library's audit report for FY 2013 as prepared by Sikich.
This is the last year that the Library's audit will be conducted as a component audit of the
Village. According to GASB Statement No. 61 (see Management Letter), the Library is
to conduct its own audit beginning with the current Fiscal Year 2014. We can expect
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greater expense as the Village currently charges the Library only $3,000. for the audit.
We will need to anticipate that expense in planning the budget for FY 2015. We can also
anticipate that additional staff time will be involved in selecting an auditor and
completing audit requirements.
The Management Letter prepared by Sikich cites a discrepancy of $12,864.19 in
calculation of accrued vacation liability as of April30, 2013. This resulted from an error
in picking up the appropriate rates for calculation of the accrued liability and it was
corrected. This was the only significant fmding by the auditors.
Irene Tam, Administrative Assistant for Accounting, and Mrs. Anthony encountered no
difficulties in working with Sikich on the audit. The audit report shows the Skokie Public
Library to be in a net position of $20,463,892. as of April30, 2013, with a change of
$1,048,113. from the previous year. Mrs. Anthony did not prepare a Management Report
which is intended to show management's understanding of the financial condition as
Irene and Mrs. Anthony prepare financial reports throughout the year that show their
ongoing careful monitoring and analysis of the Library's fiscal position.
Mrs. Anthony requested the Board's acceptance of the audit.
Mrs. Hunter suggested contacting the Village Finance Director for assistance in selecting
an auditor.
A motion was made by Mrs. Rich, seconded by Mr. Prosperi:
MOTION:
THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
ACCEPT THE AUDIT AND MANAGEMENT LETTER AS
PRESENTED BY SIKICH LLP, CERTIFIED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTANTS & BUSINESS ADVISORS.
The roll call vote for approval was unanimous.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
USAGE----Circulation in October was down 4% overall with declines of 5% and 3% in
Adult and Youth book circulation respectively. Use of digital formats approximates the
difference in adult book circulation from last October to October 2013. Reference
questions were about the same as last year while computer use increased nearly 9%. The
Gate Count was down nearly 15%. Self-check, encouraged in the last month, climbed
35%. There were 41,422 unique visitors to the Library website in October and 12,433
consultations of the Library catalog from outside ofthe Library.
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ILA CONFERENCE----Mrs. Anthony attended the ILA Conference at Navy Pier for one
day to moderate a panel organized by the State Library on the topic of national digital
programs such as the Edge Initiative and the Impact Survey. The program had an
engaged audience with everyone welcoming the support of the Gates Foundation for
some of these p~ograms and noting the broad cooperation among OCLC, ULC, PLA and
other such organizations in bringing these programs to their constituencies.
VOCERA----Several staff and Mrs. Anthony met with a vendor representative regarding
the Vocera product which is a hands-free digital communication tool used widely in
hospitals and other service venues. This would enable staff to summon help when needed
at a service desk without having to staff for a "just in case" scenario. It could help
provide better service by enabling one staff member to alert another that a patron was
being sent to the Readers Advisory Desk, for example, in need of help with downloading
an eBook. We hope to bring a proposal to the Board at a future meeting.
PLA BOARD----Mrs. Anthony attended a Friday-Saturday meeting of the PLA Board in
Chicago as well as a joint meeting with representatives from the other ALA divisions
regarding strengthening ALA. ALA has had some fmancial difficulties in recent years,
but finished this past year at the end of September in the black.
HARWOOD INSTITUTE----Richard Kong, Susan Carlton and Mrs. Anthony attended a
three-day workshop called the "Public Innovator's Lab" sponsored by the Harwood
Institute in cooperation with ALA. The focus of the Harwood Institute is on turning
outward to the community, and building on strengths, asking people about their
aspirations for the community rather than looking at gaps and needs. Mrs. Anthony
believes it will be a useful tooL
I LOVE MY LIBRARIAN----By virtue of her role as PLA President, Mrs. Anthony was
a judge this year for the New York Times "I Love My Librarian" competition. This
involved reading numerous nominations, including some for academic and school
librarians as well as those from public libraries. Reading the plaudits made her feel
wonderful about the good work that is done in libraries that truly does transform lives.
Mrs. Anthony has been invited to New York for the award ceremony December 17.
APPROVAL OF RENEWAL OF INSURANCE COVERAGES
Mrs. Anthony distributed a proposal prepared by Boyle, Flagg & Seaman for renewal of
the Library's insurance coverages effective January 1, 2014. Directors and Officers
coverage is not quoted yet as they always wait for the audit before providing a rate.
�7
The property values in the recent appraisal were up 3-4% and the increase in the property
insurance quote is 4% so that is reasonable. The entire Business Package policy is up
4.6% from last year. We continue to have a $10,000,000. umbrella and the increase for
that was up only 1.4%. Tom English continues to recommend that we stay with Travelers
as it is a good company and continuity of coverage is an asset if increases are reasonable.
The Workers Compensation quote shows an increase of more than 10% primarily due to
an increase in the number of drivers for the Bookmobile. This quote is based on the
payroll for classes of employees including drivers, maintenance and clerical employees.
The Illinois Public Risk Fund in recent years has offered a rebate of some of the premium
for purchase of safety-related materials as proposed in an application. This year, we will
be eligible for $2,935.
Action on renewal of the insurance coverages is not needed until December.
Brief discussion followed. The Board tabled the vote until the December Board meeting.
APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT POLICY
A copy of the Skokie Public Library Investment Policy for the Board's review was
distributed. A question has arisen regarding Section VIII of the Board's Investment
Policy on collateralization, specifically regarding the Board's willingness to expand the
acceptable forms of collateral.
For some years now, Skokie Public Library has been dealing with Cole Taylor Bank for
our bill-paying account. We typically transfer funds into the account from the Illinois
Money Market Fund shortly before checks are issued. Not infrequently in recent months
we have exceeded the $250,000. threshold for FDIC coverage in this account. At the end
of October for example, the balance in the Library's Cole Taylor account was $332,635.
Because this is an active account, such balances are not maintained for any length of
time, but the auditors raised the subject with management.
Cole Taylor proposes making our account a Cole Taylor Public Funds Now account,
collateralized with a Letter of Credit issued by the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) for
funds over the $250,000. FDIC Insurance limit. The FHLB was chartered by Congress in
1932 and is under the supervision of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Such a Letter
of Credit is not presently a type of collateral authorized by the Board. Would this type of
collateral be approved by the Board? If so, the Board will need to approve a change to the
acceptable Collateralization in Section VIII of the Board's Investment Policy.
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Discussion followed. The Board asked Mrs. Anthony to discuss the Letter of Credit with
another banker to ascertain how safe it is. Mrs. Parrilli discovered FHLB has been in
business since 1932 and has 7,600 member owners.
This item was tabled until the December Board meeting.
APPROVAL OF POLICY RE BOARD MEMBER USE OF ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS
Mrs. Anthony distributed a proposed policy for Board Member Use of Electronic
Communications that our Counsel from Robbins, Schwartz, Nicholas, Lifton & Taylor
has recommended.
Mrs. Anthony also distributed the correspondence from attorney Heidi Katz regarding
this matter as it helps to show what difficulties may arise regarding the Open Meetings
Act and the Illinois Freedom of Information Act in the absence of such a policy.
Since the Board last month approved moving to an electronic Board packet on Librarysupplied tablet computers, it seems that adoption of a policy regarding electronic
communications by Board members is appropriate at this time. A Library email account
for each Board member will be provided.
Mrs. Anthony recommends adoption ofthe policy as suggested by the Library's Counsel.
Discussion followed.
A motion was made by Mrs. Parrilli, seconded by Mr. Prosperi:
MOTION:
THAT THE SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
APPROVE THE BOARD MEMBER USE OF ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS POLICY WITH ONE REVISION: REMOVING
THE LAST BULLET POINT WHICH READS 'INDIVIDUAL
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY THE COMMUNITY
MEMBERS, SUBJECT TO THE OTHER LIMITATIONS IN THIS
POLICY (COPY ATTACHED).
The roll call vote was approved unanimously.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Board members had questions at the October Board meeting about unusually high
program expense for September and about the attendance for various programs and
program types.
�Board Member Use of Electronic Communications
For purposes of this policy, the term "electronic communications" includes, without
limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, instant messaging, texting, and any form of
social networking.
Electronic communications to, by and among members of the Board of Trustees, in their
capacity as board members, shall not be used for the purpose of discussing Skokie Public
Library business. Electronic communications by and among board members relating to
library matters shall be conducted exclusively on their library email accounts (not on
. personal electronic devices), and shall be limited to (1) disseminating information, and
(2) messages not involving deliberation, debate or decision making. Board member
electronic communications may contain:
•
Agenda item suggestions,
•
Reminders regarding meeting times, dates, and places,
•
Board meeting agendas or information concerning agenda items.
Adopted November 13,2013 by the
Skokie Public Library Board of Trustees
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The September programming expenses in the list of bills appeared to be unusually high,
because almost half of the checks cut in September were for programs scheduled in
October and even early November. This was done in anticipation of Elizabeth Ress's
(Accounts Payable) retirement at the end of September, followed almost immediately by
Irene Tam's non-changeable, non-refundable vacation trip. It is also common that
supplies for recurring programs are ordered only once or twice a year to save both money
and staff time; thus, the list of bills for a particular month never matches exactly the
programs that occurred during that month.
In looking at program expenses generally, staff are always conscious of getting the most
"bang for the buck" and in balancing spending based on the types of programs that can be
accomplished by staff leading or teaching a program and which require skills or
equipment staff do not possess. We also choose to invest in areas of strategic focus, such
as STEM programming, for which a Math Club is currently in the incubation stages, and
is growing quicldy.
For last fiscal year, our overall program expenses per attendee were very close to $1 per
person, which represents an amazing bargain if we look at all of the educational and
enriching experiences we were able to provide. When we are paying someone to. lead a
program for which registration is required, staffkeep close track of registration, and if the
expected attendance is not large enough to justify the expense, the program is cancelled
before the presenter would need to be paid.
In addition to looking at expenses, it is important to keep in mind desired or optimal
attendance levels. Our program attendance in general is very close to optimal attendance,
and many programs are full and have waiting lists, an aspect that is not reflected in the
attendance reports. Waiting lists were so prevalent for youth programs over the summer
that numerous programs had to be repeated to accommodate some of the demand.
Optimal attendance in almost all cases does not mean a room that is filled to capacity,
and many programs are intended to be small so personal attention can be provided. For
classes in the Digital Media Lab, 4 is the optimal number of participants. In the Computer
Classroom, the optimal number is usually 8-10. Discussion-based programs don't work
well with more than 16-20 people, in most cases. Having an audience larger than 160-170
in the Petty Auditorium makes people cranky because they have to crawl over people to
get to open seats or they can't fmd seats together. New types of programs sometimes
require a period of patient waiting, during which attendance may be lower than ideal. An
example would be LitLounge, which took more than a year to "take off," but thank
goodness we didn't pull the plug too soon because it is now extremely successful and
�10
bordering on too large. As we restructure our book discussions starting in January and as
we introduce new types of programming involving various forms of experiential learning,
we can expect that some may fill right away but others may not.
The Board thanked Mrs. Anthony for the program information.
REACHING ACROSS ILLINOIS LIBRARY SYSTEM (RAILS)
Mrs. Parrilli reported on the highlights from the October 25, 2013, RAILS Board of
Directors meeting held at the East Peoria Service Center. (The recording to this meeting
was not available. The information was taken from staff reports to the Board).
Treasurer's Report: Jim Kregor reported that as of September 30,2013, the cash on hand
and investment balance was approximately $17,000,000, which would fund just over 21
months of operations or until July 2015. On October 7, 2013, RAILS received the first
payment ofthe FY2014 APC grant in the amount of$1,157,230.
Executive Director's Report: Negotiations have been finalized for the sale of the East
Peoria Service Center, along with the leasing of part of the facility for office and delivery
space.
Negotiations are under way with Continental Transportation Solutions (CTS) to begin
outsourcing delivery services at the Burr Ridge Service Center starting January 2, 2014.
Ms. Brennan asked for Board approval to upgrade Mr. Kregor's title from Comptroller to
Director of Finance because he has taken on additional responsibilities and projects as
well as the expansion of his department.
Illinois State Library Report: Included in the Board packet was an 18-page response to
questions and· concerns submitted by ISL in regard to RAILS FY 2014 System Area and
Per Capita Grant Application. The grant application was approved by ISL.
Next Meeting: Friday, November 22,2013
Mrs. Parrilli stated that RAILS has hired an eBook trainer/coordinator who will travel the
state training and giving presentations on the eillinois Read Program. Skokie Public
Library is not eligible to participate in this program.
ELECTION OF OFFICER
Mrs. Hunter nominated Mr. Prosperi for President. The nomination was seconded by Dr.
Maks. Mrs. Rich nominated Mrs. Greer. Mr. Prosperi seconded the nomination. Mrs.
Greer thanked Mrs. Rich for nominating her and asked her nomination be removed.
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The Board elected Mr. Prosperi as President by acclamation.
COMMENTS FROM TRUSTEES
Regarding the Circulation Report, the Board paid tribute to Phil Carlsen, former
Bookmobile Librarian.
Susan Greer left the meeting at 9:22 p.m.
COMMENTS FROM VISITORS
Ms. Arkin had no comments.
ADJOURNMENT
At 9:24p.m. a motion was made by Mr. Prosperi, seconded by Mrs. Parrilli to adjourn
the regular meeting. T~~m~tt<J- passed unanimously.
~f-t/;t/vk~~.
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I
Karen Parrilli, Secretary
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Minutes, Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Creator
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Skokie Public Library. Board of Trustees
Contributor
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Parrilli, Karen (Secretary)
Description
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Includes Staff Realignment, approval of audit 2012-2013 fiscal year, attachment: Board Member Use of Electronic Communications
Date
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11/13/2013
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PDF
12 p.
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Public Libraries -- Illinois -- Skokie
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LBM20131113.pdf
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Skokie Public Library, Skokie, IL
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eng
2000s (2000-2009)
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2010s
library board meetings
reorganization