Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais Public Library District Board of Trustees met Nov. 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Presentation of FY2022-23 Audit by Brandt & Associates (via Zoom): Rescheduled for Monday, December 18, 2023.

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 November 20, 2023.

Trustees present: Mary Kay Blankestyn, Kate Burgess, Deborah Hendrick, Laurie Hofman, Ellen Stringer, and David Stejkowski. Trustee Jessica Prentkowski was absent.

Also present: Library Director Kelly McCully.

President’s Report: Stejkowski noted there was a quorum present and shared that he had a wonderful time at the Beatles Celebration. He thanked the library staff for their creative work on this event.

Secretary’s Report: The Board reviewed the minutes from the regular Board Meeting held October 16, 2023. Blankestyn made a motion to accept all the minutes as presented. Burgess seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes. Trustee Stejkowski abstained because he was not in attendance at the October 16, 2023, meeting. Trustee Prentkowski was absent.

Correspondence & Communications and Public Comment (action items only): None.

Financial Report: Stringer reviewed the transactions and asked for any questions. Stringer made a motion to pay the monthly bills as presented. Stejkowski seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Prentkowski was absent. The balance sheet is tracking at 31% and will be submitted to the auditor.

Director’s Report: Deadlines: November 18, Last day to adopt and publish resolution to levy additional .02 percent tax (Completed 6/26/23). December 5, Last day to adopt the FY2024-25 Levy Ordinance. December 27, Last day to file Audit Report and Annual Financial Report with IL State Comptroller and Kankakee County Clerk (Auditor completes this). December 28, Last day for secretary to file a certified copy of Levy Ordinance with Kankakee County Clerk. December 31, Last day for the second half-year review of all closed session minutes.

Marketing: The Library has 3,170 Facebook followers, 1,097 Instagram followers, and 1,585 followers on TikTok.

Building & Grounds: On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, Commercial Glazing completed repairs on the outer set of automatic sliding doors. Roller wheels at the base of the door needed to be replaced from routine use.

Liberty Fire Equipment performed its annual inspection of the library’s fire extinguishers. Two extinguishers were taken away for testing.

Holohan Heating and Sheetmetal will return on Thursday, November 9, to replace failed contactors in the HVAC system. The repair is estimated at $337.

Allers Aluminum performed repair and reinforcement to gutters at the front of the building to alleviate some of the freezing/leaking issues. Gutters were repaired in the rear of the building due to vandalism.

Three LTS Security exterior cameras were ordered from Midwest Integrated Solutions to add additional surveillance at the back of the building. This project is estimated at $4,395.

The new furniture for the Periodicals Area is here. McCully invited the Board to stop by to enjoy this refreshed space and included pictures of the area.

Community Partnership: Thank you to the Kankakee Museum who generously offered to lend BPL some local art. Ten pieces are hanging throughout the Library in the Study Room, Cardinal Room, and the wall by the Marketing & Outreach Office. BPL looks forward to continuing this partnership that was facilitated by the library’s Marketing Coordinator, Amanda Belcher.

On October 20, 2023, Children’s Services Supervisor, Rory Parilac, and Liberty Intermediate Librarian, Marissa Anderson, announced the 12 books on this year’s Battle of the Books list. Local high school football heroes were asked to help with the launch.

Liberty Intermediate students have until early January to read seven books off the list and to be assigned to a Battle team.

Children’s Services welcomed a field trip for 60 BESD#53 first graders. The students were welcomed by the library’s mascot, Browser! (AKA Circulation Service Supervisor, Eric Linnell)

Technology: True Tech continues to work on BPL’s server migration and to prepare for the deployment of the new staff PCs.

All card catalogs have been updated from the previous software, Encore, to the new browsing software, Vega. Patrons can access Vega from the public card catalogs and all catalog search links on the BPL website.

A Day In the Life: A Beatles’ Celebration: BPL held the A Day in the Life: Celebration on Saturday, November 4, 2023. It was a day filled with tributes to the Fab Four, live musical performances, a showcase of Beatles memorabilia, and a presentation about Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club. The staff-wide initiative was led by Adults Services Supervisor, Becca Maree, and Children’s Services Supervisor, Rory Parilac.

Continuing Education: McCully and members of the Supervisory Team attended the ILA Annual Conference in Springfield, Illinois, from October 24-26, 2023. McCully attended sessions on collection development, programming, strategic planning, financial strategies, receiving feedback, decision-making, and censorship. On the last day of the conference, McCully presented as part of a panel in a session entitled, Cultivate Belonging: How We Moved EDI Initiatives from Training to Action.

McCully enjoyed the opportunity to bring some of BPL’s Supervisory Team to the conference. Youth Services Supervisor, Rory Parilac, shined as the host of the ILA Trivia Night. She has already been asked to return to lead the event in 2024! McCully and the Team had the opportunity to meet and capture an excellent photo with Secretary of State, Alexi Giannoulias, that was featured on the ILSOS social media platforms. McCully is so proud of the BPL team and the work done here at the Library. It is a privilege to be able to share BPL’s experiences and expertise with other library professionals.

Patron Services: To celebrate Banned Books Week in October, the Adult Services Department held the Banned Books: There’s Nothing Scarier online reading challenge. Forty-two readers participated, logging 13,291 hours of reading.

McCully included a chart giving the following mobile app stats: Hold Placed-409, Catalog Searches-1355, View My Records-1505, and Scan My Card-268.

A chart was also included that compares local circulation statistics. Bourbonnais Public Library continues to have the highest circulation numbers in Kankakee County with 7,644 items circulated (up 1% from 2022).

Committee Reports:

Finance: Meeting was held November 20, 2023, at 6:30 p.m.

Personnel: None.

Policy: None.

Building and Grounds: None.

Long Range Planning: None.

Unfinished Business: None.

New Business:

Approve Ordinance 23-05 Levy Ordinance FY2024-2025: This year’s levy requests 4.99%. Stringer made a motion to approve Levy Ordinance FY2024-2025. Hendrick seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Prentkowski was absent.

Approve 2023 Staff Service Awards: There is $3,925 available for Staff Service Awards. McCully reviewed how the funds would be distributed. Stejkowski made a motion to approve the Staff Service Awards. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Prentkowski was absent.

Discuss & Approve Strategic Planning Proposals: McCully reviewed proposals from Athena Advisory Inc. and Fast Forward Libraries LLC for the library’s strategic planning process. After considerable discussion of both proposals, Hofman made a motion to accept the proposal from Athena Advisory, Inc. Burgess seconded the motion.

Blankestyn, Burgess, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Hendrick abstained because of a conflict of interest. Trustee Prentkowski was absent.

Discuss Security Improvements: McCully shared that there had been considerable damage to library property at the back of the building this summer due to vandalism. She shared a proposal from Midwest Integrated Solutions for three LTS exterior security cameras to be installed at the back of the Library for a cost of $4,395. Stringer made a motion to accept the proposal from Midwest Integrated Solution for the purchase of three LTS exterior security cameras. Blankestyn seconded the motion. Blankestyn, Burgess, Hendrick, Hofman, Stringer, and Stejkowski voted yes. Trustee Prentkowski was absent.

Public Comment: None.

Adjournment: Hendrick made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:43 p.m. Blankestyn seconded the motion and it passed with a vote of all ayes. Trustee Prentkowski was absent.

https://bourbonnaislibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Minutes-11-20-2023.pdf