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LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
Monday, June 20, 2022
Central Library Workshop (or view online via Zoom)
7:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
Vice-President Julie Wroblewski Bosshart called the meeting to order at 7:01 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Julie Wroblewski Bosshart, Vice-President/Secretary; Theresa Seyring, Treasurer; Anita Forte-Scott, Emily Gilbert, Amy Mueller, Carole Pye
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Jillian Bernas, President
STUDENT ADVISORY TRUSTEES PRESENT
Araha Uday, Ameenah Zawahir
STUDENT ADVISORY TRUSTEES ABSENT
None
OTHERS PRESENT
Jennifer Hunt, Annie Miskewitch, Jason Santos, Joanne Schultz, Bobbi Sloan, Magan Szwarek, Lori Teipel, Beth Valenziano
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Patron Bobbi Sloan commented on the hours the Library is open and thanked Executive Director Miskewitch for fixing the sidewalk.
BOARD COMMENTS
Trustee Pye wished everyone a happy Juneteenth. She enjoyed the Plant Swap event. Trustee Pye also mentioned her appreciation of the Library featuring local history items, noting this is an important service area for all libraries, and shared that the Library is joining the local historical society and Township in another historical bus tour of the Township. Trustee Pye also appreciated seeing Schaumburg Library and its staff represented in the ILA Reporter.
Trustee Mueller noted recent reports of efforts at censorship around the country and concerns specific to challenges to materials and programs. She notes the Library’s responsibility to support the Library Bill of Rights and believes all are welcome and have the freedom to read.
Trustee Gilbert wished everyone a happy Pride Month. She commended the Youth staff for their Pride display for children. Trustee Gilbert attended the Rainbow Celebration program and felt it was age-appropriate and appreciated seeing so many community families join together for the event. Additionally, her daughter completed the 1,001 Books Before Kindergarten program and attended the graduation event. Trustee Gilbert enjoys the new Library of Things page on the website and suggested a way to sort kids’ materials by age group. She also checked out a hotspot from the Library for a road trip and found it very helpful.
Trustee Forte-Scott agreed with Trustee Gilbert’s and Trustee Mueller’s statements regarding inclusion and making materials on all topics available for all at the Library. She has been making good use of the Library’s online research databases ,Mergent Intellect, and finds it very helpful and of immense value. Trustee Forte-Scott promoted the Library’s hotspots to her coworkers who are working remotely due to high gas prices.
Treasurer Seyring also agreed with sentiments from other Trustees regarding intellectual freedom and censorship. She attended the STEAM Fest and enjoyed seeing the Library busy with so many families, all working together and very engaged in a variety of activities. Trustee Seyring appreciated the professionalism and collaboration among staff at the event. She was excited to spot the Library van out in the community this week.
Vice-President Wroblewski Bosshart shared a Sun-Times article titled “Book Bullies” and voiced her support of the diverse materials available at the Library, and of the staff selecting those items. She’s very impressed with how exciting and interactive the Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab™ exhibit has proven to be. Vice-President Wroblewski Bosshart also enjoyed attending an online cooking program offered by the Library. She reminded Trustees that if the Board all receive an email, please be sure Executive Director Miskewitch is notified and the Board President will reply on behalf of the whole Board; Trustees should not reply individually.
Trustee Forte-Scott suggested the President send a draft of the response before replying to the email, to be sure all agree with the response. Vice-President Wroblewski Bosshart said she will share this feedback with President Bernas.
RAILS - Ms. Gilbert
None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Trustee Pye moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded that:
The May 16, 2022 Regular Board Minutes be approved.
Discussion included correction of Board Comments and typos.
The motion passed unanimously.
Trustee Mueller moved and Trustee Forte-Scott seconded that:
The May 23, 2022 Budget Committee Minutes be approved.
There was no discussion.
The motion passed unanimously.
Trustee Gilbert moved and Trustee Mueller seconded that:
The May 24, 2022 Budget Committee Minutes be approved.
There was no discussion.
The motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer Seyring moved and Trustee Mueller seconded that:
The May 25, 2022 Budget Committee Minutes be approved.
There was no discussion.
The motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF BILLS
Trustee Gilbert moved and Trustee Mueller seconded that:
The Library Board approve the May 2022 Bill List.
There was no discussion.
Roll Call Vote:
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Forte-Scott Yes
Ms. Gilbert Yes
Mrs. Mueller Yes
Mrs. Pye Yes
Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Treasurer Seyring reviewed the balances of the various Library funds, explaining the changes over the past month. She noted revenues for the month were primarily due to replacement tax receipts. Treasurer Seyring reviewed expenses compared to the amounts budgeted, as well as comparing them to the previous fiscal year. She noted that fluctuations in the investment portfolio are expected at this time given current market activity.
Treasurer Seyring and Finance Director Valenziano answered questions about end-of-year fund transfers and property taxes.
ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
The Student Advisory Trustee report and farewell will be before the President’s Report.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Student Advisory Trustee Report
Trustees gave a farewell to SAT Araha and wished her well in college. Trustees and Executive Director Miskewitch thanked the SATs for their work in communicating with the area high schools and students. Araha thanked Trustees for the opportunity to serve as an SAT.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
None
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director Miskewitch shared a video about Board self-evaluations. She noted there will be an opportunity for discussion later in the meeting and said she can follow up after the meeting with more resources for Board development.
Executive Director Miskewitch asked Trustees to send her any questions they have for the Ancel Glink lawyers, who will be in attendance at the July meeting.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Deputy Director Hunt reminded Trustees of the Hoffman Estates 4th of July parade and asked Trustees to let her know if they will be marching. She shared that staff were energized by the STEAM Fest with nearly 600 people in the Library for the event.
Ms. Hunt noted the Library celebrated Juneteenth on June 19 with an event presented along with several community partners. She commended the Person in Charge group and Safety Committee for keeping patrons safe during recent inclement weather events.
Ms. Hunt shared that the Library now has 32 laptop kits available for checkout, thanks in part to grant funding from the Illinois State Librarian. Next month, she hopes to share a report from the Urban Libraries Council’s Business Value Calculator that estimates the dollar value that Library resources provide to the community.
Trustees shared comments and compliments about the street-view style photos of the Library and look forward to seeing it, the Library of Things, free meals at the Hanover Park Branch, the StoryWalk™ at Spring Valley, the scavenger hunt in Town Square and the Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab™ exhibit.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
IT – Jason Santos
IT Director Jason Santos highlighted recently completed projects of note, such as the Pick-Up Locker installations at both branch locations, an additional WiFi access point in the parking lot and much more. He also shared statistics from the last year, such as usage of self-check stations, usage of Simple Scan stations and more. Mr. Santos reviewed the IT team and its responsibilities as well as upcoming projects in the new fiscal year
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Nominating Committee – Election of Officers
Trustee Pye shared the slate of officers from the nominating committee: Jillian Bernas, President; Julie Wroblewski Bosshart, Vice-President/Secretary; Theresa Seyring, Treasurer.
Trustee Mueller moved and Trustee Pye seconded that the Board approve the slate of officers presented by the Nominating Committee.
Roll Call Vote:
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Forte-Scott Yes
Ms. Gilbert Yes
Mrs. Mueller Yes
Mrs. Pye Yes
Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion of Board Self-Evaluation Process
Executive Director Miskewitch introduced the template for a Board self-evaluation mentioned in the video the Trustees watched earlier in the meeting. She asked Trustees to share any feedback on the template and noted she’ll bring this process forward with the Board in future months.
Discussion included a modification to responses to questions, to allow more options than just yes or no; which questions would be for the Board to answer as a whole and which Trustees would answer individually; frequency of the Board self-evaluation; and Board self-evaluation examples from other libraries.
Review of the Proposed FY2022-2023 Operating Budget
Executive Director Miskewitch and Finance Director Valenziano gave a brief overview of the proposed FY2022-2023 operating budget included in Trustees’ packet.
Discussion included the process to approve the budget and transfer of funds to the special reserve fund.
Approval of Resolution No: 2021-2022-3
Trustee Mueller moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded that the Board approve Resolution No: 2021-2022-3.
There was no discussion.
Roll Call Vote:
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Forte-Scott Yes
Ms. Gilbert Yes
Mrs. Mueller Yes
Mrs. Pye Yes
Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Approval of Waiver of Bid for renewal of sole source database package from EBSCO in the amount of $37,553.00.
Trustee Forte-Scott moved and Treasurer Seyring seconded that the Board approve the Waiver of Bid for renewal of sole source database package from EBSCO in the amount of $37,553.00.
Discussion included which subscriptions are included in the package.
Roll Call Vote:
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Forte-Scott Yes
Ms. Gilbert Yes
Mrs. Mueller Yes
Mrs. Pye Yes
Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Approval of Waiver of Bid for renewal of sole source database package from NewsBank in the amount of $46,654.00.
Trustee Mueller moved and Trustee Gilbert seconded that the Board approve the Waiver of Bid for renewal of sole source database package from Newsbank in the amount of $46,654.00.
Discussion included the value of the package for the community.
Roll Call Vote:
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Forte-Scott Yes
Ms. Gilbert Yes
Mrs. Mueller Yes
Mrs. Pye Yes
Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Review and approval of Trustee Bylaws (annual, with recommended update)
Trustee Pye moved and Trustee Mueller seconded that the Board approve the updated Trustee Bylaws.
Discussion included the updates made to the Bylaws in accordance with a new Illinois law.
Roll Call Vote:
Mrs. Seyring Yes
Ms. Forte-Scott Yes
Ms. Gilbert Yes
Mrs. Mueller Yes
Mrs. Pye Yes
Mrs. Wroblewski Bosshart Yes
The motion passed unanimously.
Review of Resource Selection and Reconsideration of a Library Resource policies, and Reconsideration of Library Material form
Executive Director Miskewitch asked Trustees to review the Resource Selection policy, Reconsideration of a Library Resource policy and Reconsideration of Library Material form, as
presented in their packet. She shared the staff’s process to review these policies and form and asked Trustees to send her any questions and feedback.
Discussion included clarification of the versions of the policies, frequency of reconsideration requests and the reconsideration process and noted this is part of our annual review of policies
ADJOURNMENT
Treasurer Seyring moved and Trustee Mueller seconded the meeting adjourn at 8:56 P.M.
The motion passed unanimously.