Quincy Reporter

Townships of the Quincy Area Public Library District Board met October 11. 

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

The Townships of the Quincy Area Public Library District Board of Trustees met at the Quincy Public Library on Thursday, October 11, 2018, with Charlie Jones presiding. The meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m. Trustees Present: Fred Witte, Janice Riley, Ron Upper, and Jennifer Harvey. Trustees Absent: Malinda Vogel. Others Present: Ann Behrens, Bobbi Mock, Katie Kraushaar, Kim Akers, Bill McCleery – TQ Attorney, and Christa Johnson.

I. Oath of Office

President Charlie Jones administered the Oath of Office to new Board Member Christa Johnson. Ms. Johnson will serve the remainder of Susan East’s term.

II. Approval of Agenda

Ron Upper moved to move the Audit Report to the beginning of the meeting and to approve the agenda as revised. Janice Riley seconded and the motion carried.

III. Approval of Minutes

Janice Riley moved that the minutes from the regular meeting held on September 27, 2018, be approved as presented. Jennifer Harvey seconded and the motion carried.

IV. Public Comments

There were no public in attendance.

V. Recognition of Correspondence and Guests

No correspondence was presented to the Board.

VI. District Reports

A. Circulation & Event Statistics Report: Bobbi Mock reported that the downward trend in circulation numbers continues, but library card registration was up in September mainly because of the new e-cards for Quincy Senior High School students. She noted that the day the cards were distributed at school, several students came into the Library with their parents to sign up for full access cards. More e-cards will be distributed next at Quincy Junior High School followed by the public elementary schools. Use of ADML, E-Read IL, Hoopla, and Flipster continues to rise while use of the databases fluctuates. Katie Kraushaar stated that with the distribution of the e-cards, she hopes that use of the databases will increase. In-house computer use continues to show decreases, which is due to patrons bringing in their own smart devices rather than using library computers. Daily average visitors to the Library in September were 439 with a daily high of 736 on September 13 for the Big Read Kickoff. In response to a request from the September TQ Board meeting, three graphs showing a six-year comparison of circulation by patron type and patron registration statistics was distributed to the Board. Ms. Mock reported that the Library saw a significant drop in circulation numbers from FY15/16 to FY16/17 when the Library discontinued deposit collections to area libraries and changed the school delivery system. Patron registrations dropped in FY15/16 when the Library began purging expired and unused cards from the system in anticipation of the migration. After the migration in FY16/17, the Library began promoting library card signups resulting in a gradual increase in registrations. A third graph showing TQ patron registrations was also handed out.

The Library stopped distinguishing between TQ and QPL cardholders after the migration resulting in a lack of data for FY16/17 and FY17/18. As of October 1, 2018, the graph shows a loss of nearly 2,000 TQ patrons. Ms. Mock speculated that this was possibly because of increased property annexations into the City. Fred Witte also stated that some of this loss could also be attributed to the purge of unused cards. Charlie Jones suggested that the Board look into promoting library card signup in the TQ service areas.

B. Library Report: Bobbi Mock reported that Kemner completed work on the outside of the building and a leaky window has been replaced. Mac’s Electric is still working on the ongoing foundation water problem, but needs to wait until a heavy rain from the west or southwest occurs so they can see exactly where the rain is coming in. Children were excited that puppet shows resumed in September, and the Library saw increased attendance over September of 2017. The Big Read kicked off on September 13, and all of the programs during the monthlong event have been well-attended. Teens assisted with the Big Read Kickoff as well as visiting schools with Library staff to promote library activities, TAB, and library card signup. The new 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program will kick off on October 15; the Library expects this to be a very successful five-year endeavor. The TEDx Quincy event was held at the Library on October 8 with a steady audience listening to the speakers throughout the day. Bill Waters, Anna Luparell, and Deborah Riddell presented sessions at Quincy Conference on library services and promoted the new student e-cards. The Library completed the weekly strategic planning sessions as part of a Tracy Family Foundation Grant and will be hosting a compression session on November 2, 2018, to gather the information generated at these meetings and develop prioritized goals. Janice Riley will be representing the TQ Board at this meeting.

VII. TQ Committee Reports

A. Finance: Ron Upper reported that as of September 30, 2018, the Homebank checking account had a balance of $412,492.87. Mr. Upper presented two checks for approval: the fourth contractual payment in the amount of $27,139.40 and a payment to Schmiedeskamp, etal in the amount of $949.03. There being no further discussion, Fred Witte moved to approve the two payments for a total of $28,088.43. Janice Riley seconded and the motion carried. Mr. Upper then presented the Levy Ordinance for approval. The Ordinance needs to be published 30 days prior to the public hearing held at the November 15 TQ meeting. There being no further discussion, Ron Upper moved to approve the publication of the Levy Ordinance as presented. Fred Witte seconded and the motion carried.

B. Policy and Services: Policy and Services did not meet.

C. Public Relations/Advocacy: Jennifer Harvey reported that Public Relations/Advocacy did not meet.

D. Friends of the Library: Katie Kraushaar reported that the Friends held their annual fall book sale on October 4, 5, and 6, 2018, where they realized nearly $3,000 in profit.

VIII. QPL Committee Reports

A. Finance: Ron Upper reported that the QPL Finance Committee did not meet.

B. Policy: Janice Riley reported that the QPL Policy Committee did not meet.

C. Personnel: Malinda Vogel was absent. The QPL Personnel Committee met several times in September to discuss the hiring of an Executive Director. Ann Behrens announced that the Board offered the position to Kathleen Helsabeck, former Director of Education at Vatterott College. Ms. Helsabeck will start her duties on October 15, 2018.

D. Building & Grounds: Charlie Jones reported that the QPL Building and Grounds Committee met on Tuesday, October 9, 2018, but he was not able to attend that meeting. Katie Kraushaar reported that the committee compared HVAC maintenance agreements from Keck Heating & Air Conditioning and Peters Heating & Air Conditioning. They recommended accepting the agreement from Keck, which the full QPL Board approved at their meeting.

IX. Unfinished Business

A. Discussion of April 2, 2019, Election. Kim Akers reported that Christa Johnson was given her election packet so that she can run to fill the unexpired term of Susan East. Katie Kraushaar stated that she contacted Phyllis Robertson to see if she was still interested in serving on the TQ Board, but has not heard from her yet.

X. New Business

A. Audit Report – Wade Stables. Anita Failor and Courtney Janssen of Wade Stables presented the FY17/18 Audit Report. They stated that the audit was materially correct, and they saw no issues with the financial reports. They noted that the fund balance at the end of the year was $452,824 with the revenues ending the year at $6,576 over budget and expenditures ending the year at $51,329 over budget. There being no further discussion, Janice Riley moved to approve the Audit Report as presented. Jennifer Harvey seconded and the motion carried. Ms. Failor and Ms. Janssen were thanked for their presentation.

B. Christmas Request. The 2018 Christmas Committee presented a letter to the TQ Board requesting a donation of $800 to help fund the annual Staff and Board Christmas party to be held on Thursday, December 6, 2018, at the Library. There being no further discussion, Ron Upper moved to approve the donation of $800 as requested. Janice Riley seconded and the motion carried.

C. Ann Behrens stated that the Community Foundation of the Quincy Area is promoting a free workshop presented by Forefront on recruiting and retaining effective trustees on Thursday, October 18, 2018. She encouraged Board Members to consider attending this workshop. Kim Akers will send an email to the Board with the details.

There being no further discussion, Ron Upper moved to adjourn the meeting. Jennifer Harvey seconded and the meeting adjourned at 6:14 p.m.

http://quincylibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/October-2018-Minutes.pdf