Board Meeting Minutes

OLNEY PUBLIC LIBRARY

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

October 12, 202

    • Call to Order – Roll Call
      The monthly meeting of the Olney Public Library Board of Trustees was called to order by President Julia Eichhorst, October 12, 2021 at 5:29pm.
      Present – Board members present included Julia Eichhorst, Julie Hill, Chelsea Rude, Crystal Trout, David Abell, Brandan Michels
      Absent – Beverly Loomis and Michelle Simpson
      Others Present – Brittany Bass, Library Director, Lisa Boehl, Bookkeeper
    • Recognition of Visitors and Public Comments–N/A
    • Secretary’s Report and Approval of Previous Minutes
      The minutes of the August 10 and September 14 meetings were reviewed. Chelsea Rude made a motion to approve the minutes. Julie Hill seconded the motion. Measure carried.
    • Treasurer’s Report & Approval of Bills Payable
      The August and September 2021, treasurer’s reports were reviewed. Brandan Michels made a motion to approve the reports. David Abell seconded the motion. Measure carried. The August and September bills payable were presented. Crystal Trout made a motion to approve the bills payable. Chelsea Rude seconded the motion. Measure carried.
    • Committee Reports
      Finance Committee – No report
      Personnel Committee – Staff evaluations have been completed. Personnel committee will meet tonight to review the evaluations with the director.
      Policy/Bylaws Committee – Policies need to have their annual review. Two new policies which will be discussed at this meeting will need to be updated. Beverly Loomis will call the committee meeting.
      Building/Grounds Committee – No report
      Public Relations/Marketing Committee – No Report
      Technology Committee – No report
      Planning Committee – Long range plan was sent to the board members before the August. meeting for review.
    • Librarian’s Report – Brittany presented a thorough written report to the board of directors.
    • Correspondence/Communication/Public Relations
      The Trustees received a resignation letter from Michelle Simpson. The board thanks Michelle for her service to the library. Replacement trustees were discussed and recommendations will be sent to the mayor.The library has received a letter from Trustbank indicating that a memorial gift was left to the library from the estate of the RoseEllen I Hahn trust.

      At the recommendation of Brittany and after discussion, Crystal Trout made a motion to open the budget and add the trust income of $17942.97 to memorials and approve expenses to the budget as follows: $7942.97 to Restricted General fund, $3200 to Digital Services, $1500 to Advertising, $2300 to Books, $2000 to Miscellaneous Expense and $1000 to Miscellaneous Programming. Chelsea Rude seconded the motion. Measure carried.

    • Old Business – N/A.
    • New Business
      Credit/Debit Card Option – Brittany advised the trustees that she continues to have patrons who wish to pay fees via credit card. It was decided that patrons could pay fees via the OPL website on our paypal account with their credit card, and that the service charge for the transaction would be added to the fees due by the patron. This policy will need to be included in the “fees” section of our policy manual. Brittany will modify the website to indicate the paypal account is for donations and fees.Library Staff Evaluations Summary – Brittany reported that staff evaluations have been completed and all went well. She will review them in more detail after the meeting with the personnel committee.

      Cards for Kids Act/Veterans – IL has now passed legislation that “all student aged children” who meet USDA poverty guidelines and all disabled veterans with over 70% disability will receive free access to IL public libraries regardless of their geographic location within a county. Brittany reported that the librarians are still trying to figure out how to administer this law. The numbers that will affect our library will be smaller than most libraries as we already offer free library service to all school aged children attending public or private schools. The state of IL will not reimburse local libraries for the loss of “out of city” revenue/ fees. This new policy will also need to be written into OPL’s policy manual.

      Libby– Brittany has requested to offer a new digital service called “Libby” which will be paid for the first two years by the gift from the Hahn trust.

      Public Sign Usage – Brittany has received requests from organizations to post announcements on the library’s digital sign. The trustees recommended we not begin this practice as it could become a difficult one to manage

    • Executive Session – N/A
    • Adjournment – Julie Hill made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Brandan Michels seconded the motion. Measure carried. Meeting was adjourned at 6:33 pm.

Minutes submitted by Crystal Trout