River Forest Public Library
Board of Trustees
Minutes of Regular Meeting
September 14, 2005

Call to Order
President Molly Ryan called the regular meeting of the Board to order at 7:16 p.m.  Present were Ms. Ryan, Mr. Coe, Mr. Soffer, Mrs. Fischer, Director Mrs. Bussey and Mrs. Daly. Mrs. Cusack was absent and Ms. Horstman was unable to arrive until 8:30 p.m. 

Audience to Visitors, Trustee and Staff Comments
There were no visitors or trustee comments. Ellen Cutter of the Children’s Department introduced Robert Reeves, the new Children’s Services Assistant. Nancy Kerr, Head of Children’s Services gave a presentation which included a power point/slide presentation created by Ellen Cutter. Ms. Kerr told the Board that the Children’s Department has been weeding, evaluating and filling in holes in the collection. New story times have been added as well as many new programs.

Consent Agenda
The Board reviewed the minutes of the August 23, 2005 regular meeting. There were two amendments: 1. The Village Board is currently considering whether to propose Home Rule to the voters in lieu of whether to adopt Home Rule. 2. An addition – Mrs. Bussey suggested that the library web site contain information about Home Rule. Trustees reviewed the Warrant List of Bills Payable for the period of August 23, 2005 to September 14, 2005 including checks #5522-5583 and the payroll and benefits list. The grand total of all expenditures was $51,514.91. Trustees reviewed the August Treasurer’s Report. Mr. Soffer moved that the Board approve the August Consent Agenda with the minutes as amended. Mrs. Daly seconded. Roll call vote was taken. Voting aye were Ms. Ryan, Mr. Coe, Mr. Soffer, Mrs. Fischer and Mrs. Daly. The motion carried unanimously.

Communications
The following were Mrs. Bussey’s communications to the Board: 
-A copy of the letter she sent thanking Harriet Hausman for the donation of her “Reflections” books to the library
-A letter stating that the Library received a $4000 grant from the State of Illinois to expand its audio/visual collections
-A communication from the National Endowment for the Humanities which has awarded a “We the People” Bookshelf to the Children’s Department
-An article by Janet Petsche and Gerard Dempsey of Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins entitled New Developments in Library Law
-The schedule for the Library In-Service Day which was held on Friday, August 12
-A copy of the Taste of the Library Scavenger Hunt
-A copy of the article, Hip Lit for Hip Chicks, by Rebecca Vnuk, Head of Adult Services, which was published in the July 2005 issue of the Library Journal

Five Patron Suggestions were recorded during the month of July 2005 (#s 108-112).

Director’s Report
A. Statistical Report- Trustees noted that non-fiction is circulating more, PC usage is up, DVD usage is up, and video usage is down.
B. Written Report- Mrs. Bussey presented the July Director’s report, noting especially the success of the Taste of the Library.  President Ryan thanked the Friends of the Library for their generous donations to the Taste of the Library.  
C. Departmental Reports- Board members reviewed the reports and expressed their gratitude to the department heads for these informative reports.   Mrs. Bussey will be inviting one department head to come to each monthly Board meeting to give a report.  This will occur at the beginning of each meeting.
D. Announcement- Mrs. Bussey announced that beginning in September, Computer Catalog Training classes will be held once a month, with both daytime and evening sessions.  These classes will be well advertised.

Old Business
A. Book Loan Period Change- Mrs. Bussey reported that the change of the length of the loan period has been well received.
B. Latchkey Lab Update- Mrs. Bussey will work with the staff to create a proposal of what a new after school program would look like, what it will be called, and cost estimates of such a program.  She will report to the Board at the September meeting.
 
New Business
A. Telephone Consultant Proposals- Mrs. Bussey contacted seven telephone consultants.  She was able to get three proposals.  Mrs. Bussey’s recommendation was that the Board adopt the proposal of the KJWW Engineering Consultants.  After much discussion however, the Board concluded that the use of Applied Telecom Technologies would be more cost effective.  Board members recommended that Howard Gadorus of Applied Telecom be hired to do the RFP. It was further recommended that an Ad Hoc Committee be formed to then evaluate bids for the new phone system. Mr. Soffer volunteered to chair this committee. Mrs. Bussey, Mrs. Fischer and Mr. Coe will serve as committee members.  Mr. Coe moved that the Board adopt the proposal of Applied Telecom Technologies as amended in the discussion.  Mrs. Cusack seconded.  A roll call vote was taken.  Voting aye were Trustees Soffer, Ryan, Coe, Horstman, Cusack, Fischer and Daly.  There were no nays: the motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Coe needed to leave the meeting at 9:15 p.m. due to a prior commitment.  There was still a quorum.

B. Roof Survey Proposal- Mrs. Fischer stated that she reviewed the roof survey, and did not see a proposed solution to the problem with the skylight.  Mrs. Bussey said that she would like to schedule a meeting of the Capital Improvements Committee before the next regular Board meeting.  She will invite Jim Pavlecic of Base Ten, the architectural firm which performed the roof survey to discuss the survey, the roof proposal and the skylight issues and possible solutions.  The Capital Improvements Committee scheduled a meeting for Saturday, September 10 from 9-11 a.m.  Ms. Ryan encouraged all Board members to attend.

C. Emergency Response Information- Mrs. Bussey researched the emergency response information by contacting local police, the Library’s insurance company and the Library attorneys.  Based on this research, she presented a proposal to put a new emergency response policy in place.  Mrs. Cusack moved that the Board replace the current emergency response policy with the proposed new policy.  Mrs. Fischer seconded.  A vote was taken: all ayes, no nays, the motion carried unanimously.

D. and E. Proposals to Edit Existing Code of Conduct and Unattended Children Policies- Ms. Ryan suggested that the Policy Committee meet before the next regular Board meeting to review these proposals and come to the next Board meeting with the committee’s recommendations. Mrs. Daly will schedule this meeting. 

F. Trustee Fact File- Board members discussed Chapters 10 through 14 of the Trustee Fact File.  Ms. Ryan suggested that the Policy Committee meet in December or January to develop a Public Relations Policy.

Executive Session
At 9:35 p.m. Mrs. Cusack moved that the Board go to executive session.  Mr. Soffer seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment
At 10:12 p.m. Ms. Horstman moved that the meeting be adjourned.  Mrs. Daly seconded.  A vote was taken and the motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,
Diane Daly, Secretary