Minutes

Bryan-Bennett Library Board of Trustees Meeting

September 20, 2022, 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room

Call to Order and Roll Call of Trustees: Board President Jane Gaston called the September 20, 2022, regularly scheduled meeting of the Bryan-Bennett Library Board of Trustees to order at 6:40 p.m. Trustees present were: Jennifer Dice, Ed Dolbeare, Jane Gaston, Gary Hahn, Lynn Larimer, Joyce Raver and Gayla Wilkerson. Trustee Jack McGuire was absent. Library Director Kim Keller was present.

Public Comment: There was no public comment.

Secretary’s Report

A typo was found on page 3 of the proposed August 16, 2022, Board Minutes. Under “Unfinished Business,” a sentence stated that a motion was made to “except” a proposal from Booher Tin Shop should have read that the motion was made to “accept” the Booher proposal.

 Trustee Dolbeare made a motion to accept the August 16, 2022, Board Meeting Minutes, with the typo corrected. Trustee Hahn seconded. All trustees present voted “yes.” Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report

Payment of September 2022 Bills

Trustee Wilkerson moved to approve the September 2022 Bills, which totaled $16,686.21. Trustee Hahn seconded. Roll call vote: all present voted “yes.” The motion carried.

Asset Report for September 2022/Statement of Financial Position

and Memorial Fund and Donations Report

Board members reviewed the Statement of Financial Position Quickbooks Report, which contained much of the same information as the Board’s traditional the Asset Report. Board members also looked at the Memorial Fund and Donations Report.

Trustee Raver moved to accept the Asset and Memorial/Donation Reports. Trustee Dice seconded. Roll call vote: all trustees present voted “yes.” Motion carried.

Board members reviewed the Financial Report for September 2022. President Gaston pointed out error in tabulation on the last page. The September Financial Report was tabled. A corrected report will be brought back to the Board in October.

Committee Reports

There were no reports from the Finance, Policy, and Personnel Committees.

 Under the Building and Grounds Report, Trustee Hahn updated the Board on progress with the roof project. Trustee Hahn said that Board President Jane Gaston and City Manager Rex Barbee would be signing the coversheet on the project plan and documents. Mr. Hahn announced a pre-bid meeting was scheduled September 17 and a bid opening would be October 6.

New Business

Chromebook Lending Policy

Board members reviewed a policy for lending Chromebooks to patrons. In August, the Library received 4 Chromebooks through a grant from Western Illinois University and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. A motion was made by Trustee Dolbeare to approve the Chromebook Lending Policy. Second by Trustee Raver. Roll call vote: all present voted “yes.” Motion carried.

Unfinished Business

Approval of revised Library Employment Application
Board members reviewed an update to the present employment application that would bring the application into compliance with more modern standards regarding criminal background queries. Discussion about the updated application was tabled, after President Gaston questioned if a statement soliciting consent for a background check should be removed. Trustees pointed out that the background check can be authorized after a candidate has been hired. Board members also suggested adding a phrase that clarified background checks would only be done if a candidate was hired. Trustees requested that the City Attorney review the proposed changes.

Vacancy on Library Board

Board President Gaston reported that a candidate, who the Board proposed for appointment to an open seat, did not meet the residency requirement for Board service.

Per Capita Grant Application Requirements

The Board reviewed the following chapters of Serving Our Public 4.0:

• Chapter 1: Core Standards for Public Libraries.
• Chapter 2: Governance and Administration. This included a look at the Library’s Mission Statement; Long Range Plan/Strategic Plan; Appendix A -- Useful Illinois Statutes; Appendix B -- Records to be Retained and Disposed; Appendix C -- Topics for Inclusion in Board Bylaws; Appendix D -- Topics Recommended for New Trustee Orientation.
• Chapter 3: Personnel. Along with this chapter, they looked at: Appendix E --Recommended Staffing Levels.
• Chapter 8: System Member Responsibilities and Resource Sharing.

Director’s Report

Director Keller reported the following to the Board:

• The First Distribution of property tax has been received.
• On September 6, the Salem City Council approved the .02 tax for maintenance, repair and alterations at the Library.
• Following up President Gaston’s request in August, staff found three books that could be distributed to children at a Santa event in December. Purchasing the books would cost $710 - $750. The Board agreed to proceed with buying the books and funding the acquisition with unencumbered Memorial Fund money.
• Staff are involved in a massive operation to improve catalog tags on the Accelerated Reader materials in the Bryan-Bennett collection. This will make it easier for patrons to find the books.
• Longtime library patron Jenness McConnaghhay is conducting an essay writing class every other Thursday morning. About 12 youths are participating in the class, which is open to all middle and high school age young people.
• Bryan-Bennett Library will be participating the Library Crawl that starts October 1. Over 120 libraries in the Heartland System are participating in the program.
• Staff have been questioned if patrons have to show Bryan-Bennett Library cards when checking out a book. A consensus of the Board felt that if a patron could produce another form of formal identification (for example, driver’s license) or could confirm other identifiable account information, a book could be checked out without presenting a Bryan-Bennett card.
• Program Director Karen Shanafelt’s update on fall/winter programming was presented.
• The Board was informed that an employee has had a sudden medical issue, causing several absences

Board Members’ Reports

President Gaston asked Director Keller to nudge the businesses working on items needed for the dedication of the May Davenport Room.

 President Gaston handed out assignments for the Library Board Committees. Trustees were assigned to the following committees:

Personnel: Chairperson Joyce Raver, Jack McGuire, Ed Dolbeare.

Finance: Chairperson Gayla Wilkerson, Ed Dolbeare, Lynn Larimer.

Building and Grounds: Chairperson Gary Hahn, Jack McGuire, Joyce Raver.

Policy: Chairperson Lynn Larimer, Jennifer Dice, Gayla Wilkerson.

Adjournment

Motion by Trustee Hahn, with second by Trustee Larimer, to adjourn the meeting. All trustees present approve. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by,

Lynn Larimer