Quincy Reporter

Quincy Public Library Board met July 10.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

The regular meeting of the Quincy Public Library Board of Trustees was called to order at 6:02 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, 2018, with Lynn Niewohner presiding. Trustees present: Pam Rein, Kathy Citro, Angela Ketteman, Dwain Preston, Christopher Pratt, and Beth Young. Trustees absent: Tom Ernst and Judy Crocker. Others present: Michael Hall – TAB Representative, Malinda Vogel – TQ Liaison, Nancy Dolan, Kim Akers, Bobbi Mock, and Katie Kraushaar.

I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

Angela Ketteman moved to approve the agenda as presented. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Christopher Pratt moved to approve the minutes from the June 12, 2018, meeting as presented. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried. Christopher Pratt then moved to approve the minutes from the special QPL Board meeting on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, as presented. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried.

III. PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS

President Lynn Niewohner welcomed everyone to the meeting.

IV. RECOGNITION OF CORRESPONDENCE

Eleven comments were received from the public comment box. A note from Susan Johnson of the Alzheimer’s Association was received thanking the Library for allowing them to use the meeting room for a workshop. A note from Carol Krigbaum was received thanking Val Stark for delivering library materials to her as part of the homebound delivery service. A letter from Greg McCormick, Illinois State Library Deputy Director, was received informing the Library that the ISL has updated the interactive Library Service Areas Map. Nancy Dolan noted that this map is very informative and has proven quite useful.

V. PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no comments from the public in attendance.

VI. LIBRARY REPORTS:

A. Financial ReportBAngela Ketteman

Angela Ketteman reported that the balance in the Homebank Operating Fund as of June 30, 2018, was $405,734.44. Total assets were $405,824.44. Total liabilities were $42,706.16. There being no further discussion, Pam Rein moved to accept the reports as presented. Kathy Citro seconded and the motion carried.

B. Circulation and Event Statistics Report

Nancy Dolan reported that both children and adult material circulation figures are up, and overall material circulation figures have increased from June of 2017. Patrons used the self-checkout kiosks for 50% of their checkouts in June. Adult and young adult new card registrations were up significantly for the month, which is being attributed to the summer reading program. Use of E-Read Illinois, Hoopla, and Flipster continues to increase while use of ADML has leveled out. Database usage continues to decrease; Ms. Dolan stated it’s hard to get patrons to use databases instead of Google. Use of the document station increased; staff are encouraging patrons to scan and email documents for free rather than faxing the information at a cost. The average daily visitor count for June was 573, which is down from last fiscal year. Program attendance is also down including attendance at the Summer Reading Kickoff on June 2.

C. Library Report—Nancy Dolan

Nancy Dolan reported two of the HVAC units broke down the end of June. Ryan Keck has estimated it will cost $2,665 for parts only (no labor) to repair just one of the units. He has not provided an estimate to repair the second unit yet. Ms. Dolan reported that because the Library is short one maintenance person, Katie Kraushaar has been closing the building quite a few evenings. However, James Tedeschi has been hired to fill the Custodian position and will begin his duties on July 11, 2018. She also reported that Brittany Griffin has been hired for the position of Adult Programmer and started her duties on July 9, 2018. Beth Young noted the purchase of the “New Philadelphia” book written by Gerald McWorter, a descendant of Free Frank McWorter, and Kate Williams- McWorter. Ms. Kraushaar stated that the Library has asked Mr. McWorter to speak about Free Frank McWorther and the New Phildelphia project, but no date has been set.

Michael Hall reported that teens have been enjoying the Monday Movies and the special teen summer reading events such as the Library Great Race on June 15. Teens had to race around the building, visiting different “countries” and completing different tasks at each stop, before racing to their final destination. Teens will have an opportunity to experience a Hawaiian Luau on July 20. Mr. Hall also reported that teens are reading the book “The Giver” by Lois Lowry for the July teen book club. He noted that this book is required reading for most schools, so he expects a high turnout for the discussion. Beth Young noted that the book is part of a trilogy and suggested the teen book club might enjoy reading the entire series.

VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS:

A. Audit B Angela Ketteman: Angela Ketteman presented the Expenditure Approval List for the month ending June 30, 2018, in the amount of $42,435.45. She noted an invoice to Simon & Schuster for $7,941.98 to purchase books for the Big Read. There being no further discussion, Kathy Citro moved to approve the Expenditure Approval List in the amount of $42,435.45 as presented. Christopher Pratt seconded and the motion carried.

B. Finance B Angela Ketteman: Angela Ketteman reported that the Finance Committee did not meet. Nancy Dolan presented revisions to the FY18/19 budget. She stated that she revised the income to reflect an additional $16,454.30 in PPRT so far this year and two Per Capita Grant payments from TQ. TQ received the Per Capita Grant payment for FY17 in FY18, and she expects the FY18 payment to be received in this fiscal year. On the expense side, Ms. Dolan increased the salary/wages line to reflect the salary for the recently hired Adult Programmer and increased the staff recruitment line as it is already overspent. She also increased the water utility budget line to offset the expected increase in water usage costs. Ms. Dolan stated she also has another revision to personnel costs, but will inform the Board about that in Executive Session. There being no further discussion, Christopher Pratt moved to approve the revisions to the FY18/19 budget as presented. Dwain Preston seconded and the motion carried.

C. Building & Grounds – Kathy Citro: Kathy Citro reported that the Building and Grounds Committee did not meet.

D. Personnel - Judy Crocker: Judy Crocker was absent. The Personnel Committee did not meet.

E. Policy – Lynn Niewohner: Lynn Niewohner reported that the Policy Committee did not meet. Nancy Dolan stated that she revised several policies and asked Ms. Niewohner if a meeting was necessary. Ms. Niewohner asked her to bring the policies to the Board meeting for approval, but noted a meeting may still be necessary. Christopher Pratt moved that the Board approve the revisions to the Policy for the Issuance of Library Cards as presented. Ms. Dolan stated that she is eliminating the restrictions on the number of items borrowed in the first 30 days of a new card. Beth Young seconded the motion. A vote was called and the motion carried. Ms. Dolan stated that the Library would like to increase the number of items a temporary resident may check out from one print item to three print items. She noted that the word “print” was crossed out in error on the proposed policy. Ms. Young asked that the revised sentence be changed to “.as determined by the expected period of residency.” There being no further discussion, Pam Rein moved to approve the revisions to the Temporary Residents Policy as revised. Angela Ketteman seconded and the motion carried. Ms. Dolan asked that two statements be added to the prohibited actions portion of the Rules and Regulations for Conduct Policy. The Board agreed to the statement about eating and drinking in the Illinois Room and around the computers, but stated that the phrase “messy food and drink” in the second statement was too broad. It was agreed to simply eliminate that phrase and change the prohibited action to “bringing in and consuming meals.” There being no further discussion, Pam Rein moved to approve the Rules and Regulations for Conduct in the Quincy Public Library as revised. Angela Ketteman seconded and the motion carried. As discussed at the June Board meeting, Ms. Dolan presented the revised Solicitation/Selling in the Library Policy, but noted that she would still like to see a fund- raising policy written. Ms. Young asked that the second paragraph be revised to read, “The United Way Fund campaign which is conducted in-house by the library staff (including a United Way basket raffle for staff and public) is allowed.” She also asked that the third paragraph be revised to read, “The Friends of the Library may operate a used book store and host an occasional book sale to benefit the Library.” There being no further discussion, Christopher Pratt moved to approve the revisions to the Solicitation/Selling in the Library Policy as revised. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried. Ms. Dolan reported that the Library had several young people wanting to volunteer this summer, but staff felt they were too young to volunteer without supervision. Therefore, Ms. Dolan asked that a statement requiring the minimum age for volunteers be at least 14 years old be added to the Volunteer Policy. There being no further discussion, Angela Ketteman moved that the Board approve the revisions to the Volunteer Policy as presented. Beth Young seconded and the motion carried. As reported at the June meeting, the Library has acquired a piano. Ms. Dolan drafted a policy outlining the guidelines and costs for use of the piano. There being no further discussion, Angela Ketteman moved to approve the draft Policy for the Use of the Library-Owned Piano as presented. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried. Ms. Dolan reported that the Library is partnering with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra as part of the Big Read. The Symphony has asked if they could sell season tickets at the Big Read Kickoff. Ms. Dolan revised the Co-Sponsored Program Policy to allow the selling of items by non-profit partners. Beth Young asked that the word “related” be deleted from the sentence. There being no further discussion, Christopher Pratt moved to approve the Co-Sponsored Program Policy as revised. Kathy Citro seconded and the motion carried. To match the Co-Sponsored Program Policy, Ms. Dolan also revised the Programming Policy with the same sentence. There being no further discussion, Christopher Pratt moved to approve the Programming Policy as revised. Angela Ketteman seconded and the motion carried. Ms. Dolan then stated that Judy Crocker told her that during the staff interviews about what they would like to see in a new director, the topic of personal cell phone usage while on duty came up. Ms. Young stated that staff were concerned that the issue of taking and making personal phone calls during working hours was not being equitably addressed among all staff. Therefore, Ms. Dolan revised Section 6.09 of the Employee Handbook to clarify when and where to take and make personal phone calls during working hours. There being no further discussion, Christopher Pratt moved to approve the revisions to Section 6.09 of the Employee Handbook as presented. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried.

F. Ad Hoc – Advocacy. Christopher Pratt reported that the Ad Hoc Advocacy Committee did not meet.

VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A. Review of Executive Session Minutes. Nancy Dolan stated that the Board approved the destruction of the audio recordings of the closed session minutes from 2004 and older at the June meeting. Upon reviewing the Open Meetings Act, Ms. Dolan noticed that the audio recordings can only be destroyed if they are older than 18 months, there are written minutes of the meetings, and if the written minutes from those meetings are approved by the Board. At the June meeting, the Board did not approve the specific minutes from those meetings. Ms. Dolan checked all of the recordings of the closed meetings in question to see which had minutes and made a list of those with minutes and those without. That list was included in the Board packet. There being no further discussion, Christopher Pratt moved that the Board approve the written minutes from the closed sessions listed as having minutes. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried. Christopher Pratt then moved to destroy the related audio recordings from those same closed sessions. Pam Rein seconded and the motion carried.

B. Christopher Pratt asked if Bobbi Mock had received any response from the teacher who posted negative comments about the school delivery system on Facebook. Nancy Dolan and Mr. Pratt sent a letter to the patron and School Superintendent Roy Webb expressing their dismay with her negative comments and explaining their position on the subject. Ms. Mock stated she received an email from the patron further denying her responsibility in returning library materials, to which the Library did reply. No further contact has been made. It was noted that Mr. Webb did call Ms. Dolan to discuss the issue and offered to pay the fine personally to resolve the problem.

IX. NEW BUSINESS

A. Committee Appointments. Lynn Niewohner requested that the following Board Members serve on the following committees:

Personnel: Judy Crocker, Chair

Pam Rein

Beth Young

Angela Ketteman

Building & Grounds: Kathy Citro, Chair

Dwain Preston

Pam Rein

Beth Young

Finance: Angela Ketteman, Chair

Christopher Pratt

Judy Crocker

Pam Rein

Policy: Dwain Preston, Chair

Kathy Citro

Christopher Pratt

Ad Hoc Advocacy: Christopher Pratt

Beth Young

Malinda Vogel – TQ

B. Nancy Dolan stated that the Library has applied for a Listen for Good Grant to help the Library encourage and improve responses to patron feedback. She also reported that the Tracy Family Foundation is offering area non-profits an opportunity to participate in a series of strategic planning workshops at a reduced cost. These workshops are

scheduled for September 7, 14, and 28, 2018, from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. plus a half-day individual session with each participating organization. The reduced cost to the Library would be $227 and up to three people may attend. Ms. Dolan will email the Board with detailed information about this opportunity. She also noted that the Library received a $4,500 Back to Books Grant from the Illinois State Library, which is providing funds to purchase additional copies of popular children’s books and increase the selection of materials for school delivery.

C. Nancy Dolan reported that as a result of the Janus decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, fair share members of the union are no longer required to pay dues. Ms. Dolan received a request to bargain letter from Union Representative Kevin Broemmer asking that the Union meet with the Library’s negotiating committee to discuss this decision. Ms. Dolan stated that she is unsure what the Union wants to talk about, but speculated that they may ask for concessions or possibly a monetary compensation from the Library for the loss of the fair share dues. She noted that there are three staff members who are fair share members of the Union. Christopher Pratt offered to contact Mr. Broemmer to discuss the issue.

D. Beth Young reported that the Adams County Historical Society and the Tri-States Civil War Roundtable are erecting a monument in Clat Adams Park on July 11, 2018, to celebrate the Ulysses S. Grant connection to the area.

X. PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no comments from the public in attendance.

Christopher Pratt moved to adjourn into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing an appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees. Angela Ketteman seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. QPL Board members and Nancy Dolan were invited to remain. Ms. Dolan was then excused from the Executive Session after a short period. At that time, Jeff VanCamp was invited into the Executive Session. Beth Young moved to adjourn from closed session at 8:45 p.m. Kathy Citro seconded and the regular session meeting reconvened.

There being no further discussion, Christopher Pratt moved to adjourn the regular session at 8:46 p.m. Dwain Preston seconded and the motion carried.

http://quincylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/July-2018-minutes.pdf