Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met March 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

President Dave Stejkowski called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Bourbonnais Public Library District at 7 p.m. on March 19, 2018.

Trustees present: Dave Stejkowski, Mary Kay Blankestyn, Deborah Hendrick, Laurie Hofman, Judith Smead, Ellen Stringer, and Laura Contreras (who arrived at 7:05).

Also present: Library Director Kelly McCully

President’s Report: Stejkowski noted there was a quorum present.

Secretary’s Report: The Board reviewed the minutes from the regular Board Meeting held February 26, 2018, and the minutes of the Executive Session held at the end of the February 26 meeting. Smead made a motion to accept all of the minutes as presented. Hofman seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

Financial Report: Stringer reviewed the transactions and asked for any questions. There were none. Stringer made a motion to pay the bills as presented. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Stejkowski, Blankestyn, Contreras, Hendrick, Hofman, Smead and Stringer voted yes. Stringer reported the balance sheet is tracking well.

Director’s Report:

Director McCully reported that new badges and polo shirts should be arriving soon.

Marketing: Library Reference Assistant, Katelyn Moore, will be taking on the additional role of Marketing Assistant for the library. This position came about as a result of the library focus groups held in November. Katey’s current projects include the creation of marketing materials for the 2018 Summer Reading Adventure, condensed library branding, and an overhaul of the current newsletter to a digital format.

Building Maintenance: Replacement doors have been ordered for both of the public restrooms. The library will be working with Commercial Glazing, the same company that does the glass doors. An estimate of $1,798 that includes the cost of materials and the installation was received.

Teen Volunteers: Director McCully praised the teen volunteers that are used throughout the year for special projects at the library. The current lobby display was designed and created by two of the teen volunteers.

Book Fair: The Library held a book fair at Barnes and Noble on March 17, 2018. Over $1,000 was made and will be used to purchase materials for the Summer Reading program. Anyone wanting to still participate in the book fair can do so online through Barnes and Noble.

Statistics: Director McCully reviewed statistics for February noting that there was a decrease in Attendance at Programs and in eBooks/Audio Circulation but, with February being a shorter month, the statistics are understandable. The area of new card holders always does well and she hopes to focus on keeping those new card holders coming in to the library.

Vacation: Director McCully will be on vacation April 19-23.

Committee Reports:

Personnel: None.

Finance: None.

Policy Committee: Set the date of Tuesday, April 3, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. to discuss Full-Time Personnel Policy 02-04 Retirement.

Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: Set date of April 16, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. (before regular meeting of the Board) to discuss goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan.

Unfinished Business: None.

New Business:

2018 Community Garden Project: The Library will once again partner with the Bourbonnais Elementary School District in the Community Garden Project. Planting day for the garden will be Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to noon at the BESD-owned land to the west of the library. Anyone interested in volunteering for planting day can contact McCully. Volunteers will receive breakfast, lunch, and a t-shirt.

Participants can purchase a straw bale and three plants for $5 or for $7 purchase straw bale, three plants, and a trellis. The University of Illinois Extension will hold a workshop on Straw Bale Gardening on Monday, April 2, 2018, at 4 p.m. at the Library. Like last year, the Library will supply water for the garden and has purchased two additional water barrels. McCully noted that the typical water bill during the summer is $200-$250 and last year was never over $250 even with the Community Garden Project.

Electricity Services: Director McCully noted that rates are going up and she has been in contact with Northern Illinois Municipal Electric (NIMEC) President, David Hoover. His recommendation would be for the Library to transfer back to ComEd when the contract matures in May. The current ComED rate is 7.2 cents but is expected to jump to 7.6 cents in June for the following 12 months. Hoover reports that all the bids they had received were in excess of 8 cents so ComEd will be our lowest alternative for the next 12 months. The Library will pay ComEd directly. McCully expressed appreciation for President Hoover’s advice and will keep NIMEC in mind for the future.

Review Chapter 8 “Public Services and Reference, and Reader’s Advisory Services” Serving Our Public 3.0: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries 2014: Director McCully explained to new Board members the reason for this review. The Per Capita Grant requires that the Board review a designated chapter of this book each fiscal year. McCully read through the Reference Services Standards and the Library is doing very well. One area to improve upon would be the service to patrons speaking different languages. Trustee Contreras mentioned that it might be a good idea for the Library to send out programming information in Spanish. McCully has had conversations with the school district about a possible partnership with the ESL program to get ideas for core collections.

The Reader’s Advisory Standards were then read. The Library is doing well. There was a discussion about instant messaging. McCully will check with the web designer to see how that might work for the Library.

Public comment: None.

Adjournment: Stringer made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Stejkowski seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

http://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-3-19-18.pdf