Board of Trustees River Forest Public Library River Forest, Illinois Minutes Regular Board Meeting January 15th, 2007 7:30PM Call to Order & Roll Call President Mark Coe called the regular meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Secretary Fischer called the roll. Present were Trustees Coe, Cusack, Horstman, Fischer, Halloran, O’Connor, and Beck. Also present were Interim Directors Dee Brennan and Sarah Hampson and staff members Ellen Cutter & Blaire Ranucci. Audience to Visitors, Trustee and Staff Comments Ellen Cutter thanked the Board for the holiday party. Trustee Fischer informed the Board that she attended the presentation by Michael Stephens during the staff inservice. The new Director, Sophia Anastos, attended the inservice as well. Trustee Fischer indicated that there was a lot of energy between the speaker, Anastos and the staff. Trustee Coe asked what Michael Stephens advised the staff in terms of technology. Trustee Fischer told the Board that he had not advised specific things, but said not to jump into technology. Interim Director Hampson told the Board that presentation focused on Library 2.0, which creates an interactive web for you and your users. Consent Agenda Trustee Coe requested a motion to approve the January Consent Agenda which included the December Treasurer’s Report and the Warrant and Benefit List for the period of December 11, 2007 through January 11, 2008. Also included were the minutes of the regular Board meeting on December 18, 2007. Trustee Halloran indicated that she had not been in attendance at the December 18th meeting. It was determined that all references to Trustee Halloran were actually about Trustee Beck. Questions were posed about the warrant list. The reimbursement for Trustee Fischer was for a purchase of plants for former Trustee Diane Daly. The payment for the book discussion is larger than usual due to receiving no payment for many months. In the future, an invoice will be submitted to trigger payment. The Park District received payment from the library for shoveling services. Trustee Coe contacted John Hagensick about the meeting about the parking issue. An invitation was sent to us but we did not receive it. Trustee Cusack moved that the Board accept the Consent Agenda. Trustee Fischer seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and all trustees voted “aye.” The minutes were approved as amended. Communications A. Announcements Interim Director Hampson explained to the Board about the smell in the library. The smell was first detected about a week and a half ago. Nicor was called and determined that it was not gas. The smell went away and came back. The maintenance staff from Oak Park Public Library came to investigate. They poured bleach down the drains, went on the roof and looked in the ducts. The hypothesis is that a small rodent went into the ducts. Trustee Fischer indicated that the Board welcomes Sophia Anastos, the new Director who will begin on February 25. Interim Director Hampson thanked the Board for the holiday party. Staff enjoyed being about to interact in a different setting. Trustee Beck thanked the Board, staff and Ellen Cutter for the Brownie sleep-under, when a Brownie troop visited the library after hours and spent time and read stories upstairs by the fireplace with staff member Cutter. B. Patron Suggestions Interim Director Hampson encountered a suggestion about some of the limitations that have been placed on storytime. Staff cannot remember turning away patrons unless they have arrived late and their entrance would disrupt storytime. Interim Director Hampson thanked the patron for raising this issue. One problem that is faced in the library is that children are often brought in by their caregivers and the children may not have a card. Registration has not worked in the past and people have been turned away when space was available. The library wants to promote being open and flexible to all visitors. Director’s Report Interim Director Hampson indicated that December was very quiet. She is excited about Blaire Ranucci’s work in Teen Services. Michael Stephens pointed out that gaming is really popular with teens. The library is looking forward to exploring gaming. Trustee Coe pointed out that statistics were down overall. Teen and DVD circulation is up. Interim Director Brennan pointed out that book ordering is behind and budget has been cut. There is no need to be concerned with the statistics during this time. Interim Director Hampson said that statistics should be looked at over a twelve month period. Old Business There was no old business. New Business A. Approve 2008 Board Meeting Calendar Trustee O’Connor pointed out that the proposed meetings said they would start at 7:15 PM. This was an error. Meetings will continue to start at 7:30 PM. Meeting dates were cross checked against holidays. None were in conflict. Trustee Horstman moved that the Board approve the 2008 Board Meeting calendar. Trustee Halloran seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and all trustees voted “aye.” B. Discussion of Health Insurance Interim Director Brennan asked the Board of Trustees how the health insurance policies were structured. The library has a different policy about employees and their spouses and children than the Village. Trustee Horstman remembered a discussion about how separating from the Village would save money. Interim Director Brennan pointed out that the library doesn’t belong to LIMRiCC through the library system which helps with health insurance rates. The way that it is set up now is punitive to the employee. The Village pays 85 percent for vision and health care and dental for the employee and family. The library pays 75 percent for the employee. Employees have to pay 100 percent for anyone else. Trustee Coe pointed out that the administration of our benefits doesn’t appear to be right. Interim Director Brennan said that there are no records for the insurance. The Village was unable to give us the information we needed because we have different policies and rules than the village but we are still housed there. Information needs to be collected so that we can make an informed decision. C. New Director Orientation Trustee Coe wants the Board to construct a plan for how to train and orient the new Director to the library. Trustees will work to construct ideas for orientation. Interim Director Brennan pointed out that Oak Park Library did not have a formal orientation program in place. Trustee O’Connor will collect orientation ideas from the Board. At 8:57 PM Trustee Beck moved to go into Executive Session. Trustee O’Connor seconded. The motion carried unanimously.