Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met Dec. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President David Stejkowski called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Bourbonnais Public Library District at 7:00 p.m. on December 19, 2022.

Trustees present: Mary Kay Blankestyn, Deborah Hendrick, Laurie Hofman, Judith Smead, Ellen Stringer, and David Stejkowski.

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 Building & Grounds Committee Meeting, the Truth in Taxation Hearing, and the regular Board Meeting all held November 21, 2022. Smead made a motion to accept all the minutes as presented. Hofman seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

Correspondence & Communications and Public Comment (action items only): A letter was received from Brian Zabel & Associates, PC informing the Board that the firm has decided to no longer serve government auditing clients. They expressed appreciation for the many years of the library’s patronage. Also, a letter was received inviting Library Director McCully to attend the annual meeting of the Joint Review Board for the Bourbonnais Industrial Park Conservation Area.

Financial Report: Stringer reviewed the transactions and asked for any questions. Stejkowski made a motion to pay the monthly bills as presented. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Smead, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. The balance sheet is tracking at 37.3% and will be submitted to the auditor.

Director’s Report: Deadlines: Dec. 27, Last day to file Audit Report and Annual Financial Report with Comptroller and County Clerk (Complete). Dec. 27, Last day to file a copy of the Levy Ordinance with the County Clerk (Complete). Dec. 31, Last day for the second half year review of the minutes of all closed sessions.

Marketing: The Library has 2,838 Facebook followers, 1,010 Instagram followers, and 1,171 followers on TikTok.

Look for Favorite Reads of 2022 from BPL Staff: Using graphics and recorded book talks, the library’s social media platforms will highlight some of the staff’s favorite books from 2022.

Library stories are the best stories: In November BPL featured a story about Brielle and Charlie, two sweet best friends that met during Storytime. If library patrons have a library story, they are asked to share it with BPL. Library love stories will be featured in February, including Library Director McCully’s very own library love story.

Building & Grounds: The Carlile Group started measuring for bid specifications on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. This is one of the initial steps in the compilation of specifications for the public bid process for the floor covering project. The Carlile Group’s full project proposal, including a projected timeline, are included in the Board packet.

Aunt Flow products are now part of the Library: The Library has partnered with Aunt Flow to offer free menstrual products for library patrons in restrooms throughout the Library. Founded in 2016, Aunt Flow is a certified WBENC women-owned company based in Columbus, Ohio. At 18 years old, founder and CEO, Claire Coder, dedicated her life to developing a solution to ensure businesses and schools could sustainably provide free quality menstrual products in bathrooms. McCully included their website for Board members to find out more about the company.

Circulation & New Patrons: McCully included a chart that compares local circulation statistics. Bourbonnais Public Library continues to have the highest total circulation numbers in Kankakee County up 14% from 2021.

Capira Mobile App Statistics:

Holds Placed: 334

Catalog Searches: 1,179

View My Record: 1,284

Scan My Card: 197

Technology: Heritage Technology Solutions (HTS) installed the new 4K projector in the White Oak Room on Monday, November 28. This has resolved the ongoing connectivity issues. The Library has resumed taking reservations, including use of A/V equipment, in BPL conference rooms.

Tech Pro Logic has collected estimates to replace ten staff PCs. The PCs that are up for replacement are 6-7 years old. PCs that are replaced will be offered for sale or recycled, depending upon their condition.

Collections: BPL’s Kindle Collection got a refresh. The Library has five Kindle devices with preloaded titles available for check out. The Adult Services Team will update titles on these devices every six months. The collections include Popular Titles, Romance, Nonfiction, Mystery/Thriller, and our new Holiday Kindle collection.

Volunteers: The Library welcomed a new, permanent volunteer to the BPL Team in November. Imani, a local high school student, joins the Library through a workforce program sponsored by Kankakee County’s Youth for Christ Organization that connects teens with organizations to give them valuable work experience and professional development opportunities. Imani has been particularly helpful giving assistance with Youth Services programs and the Teen Library Club.

The Teen Department offered volunteer hours to local teens to complete their course requirements. Twice a year, the Teen Department has a select number of openings for BBCHS Civics students looking to complete their required volunteer service hours. This fall, five teens helped with organizing and cleaning projects throughout the Library. This opportunity will be offered again in the spring.

Winter Reading Challenge: The online Winter Reading Challenge will run December through January. Participants will use the BeanStack app to log reading and submit digital tickets for raffles to win some great prizes.

Grant Information: McCully has applied for an additional FEMA Public Assistance Grant. The purpose of this grant is to reimburse expenses for emergency protective measures regarding COVID-19. McCully applied for reimbursements of the library’s cleaning expenses from July-December 2022 totaling $11,856.

Upcoming Closures: The Library will be closed Friday, December 16, Saturday, December 24, Monday, December 26, Saturday, December 31, and Monday, January 2.

Committee Reports:

Personnel: None.

Finance: None.

Policy: None.

Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: None.

Unfinished Business:

Discuss Flooring Project: McCully led a discussion of the proposal from The Carlile Group for the library’s flooring project. The proposal included a project overview, project phasing, and information on the 20% retainer in the amount of $2,400.00 paid upon the acceptance of the proposal on November 28, 2022.

New Business:

Review & Approve Staff PC Proposal: McCully reviewed proposals from Paragon Micro Inc. and Dell Technologies for the purchase of new staff computers. McCully recommended accepting the proposal from Paragon Micro Inc. Their bid was lower for the exact same computers with a 3 year warranty. Stringer made a motion to authorize the purchase of 10 PCs from Paragon Micro Inc. for $13,099.90. Smead seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Hendrick, Hofman, Smead, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes.

Review & Discuss Serving Our Public 4.0 Standards for Illinois Public Libraries Summary & Checklist: McCully led a discussion using the checklist provided at the end of each chapter.

Review Minutes of Closed Sessions: McCully shared that there were no closed session minutes to review.

Executive Session:

A motion was made by Blankestyn to move into Executive Session at 7:34 p.m. Hofman seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

Blankestyn moved that the Board return to regular session at 7:48 p.m. Hendrick seconded the motion and it passed with all ayes.

Stejkowski made a motion to authorize the executive director to confer with and retain new legal counsel and furthermore to authorize the executive director to terminate the current legal counsel. Blankestyn seconded the motion and it passed with all ayes.

Public Comment: None.

Adjournment: Hofman made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:51 p.m. Smead seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes.

https://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-12-19-2022.pdf