River Forest Public Library
Board of Library Trustees
Minutes of Regular Meeting
September 19, 2006


Call to Order
President Mark Coe called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.

Roll Call
Present were Director Dawn Bussey and Trustees Mark Coe, Lenny Soffer, Elizabeth Fischer, Joan Cusack and Diane Daly. Trustees Molly Ryan and Margaret Horstman were excused.

Audience to Visitors, Trustee and Staff Comments
	Trustee Diane Daly shared a letter from patron Walter Cheely praising Mrs. Bussey for her help on a research project. 
	Nancy Kerr, the Head of the Children’s Department, gave a presentation about collection development, the components of the children’s collection and the criteria for choosing materials. Mrs. Kerr described how decisions are made to purchase materials. She told about how the Children’s Department helps with assignments through the “assignment alert forms” which teachers prepare and also about “missing reports”. This year a base line of the number of books in the collection is being created so that next year the library will be able to track missing items. The department has already done its second round of weeding, and also has added a parenting section to the collection. 

Consent Agenda
	Mr. Soffer moved that the Board approve the minutes of the regular August meeting, the Warrant List of Bills Payable for August 16, 2006-September19, 2006 which included checks #6458-6558 (#s 6514 and 6539 were voided) and the payroll and benefits list for a grand total of $51,342.26, and the August Treasurer’s Report.  Mrs. Cusack seconded. Roll call vote was taken. Voting aye were Mr. Coe, Mrs. Fischer, Mrs. Cusack, Mr. Soffer and Mrs. Daly. The motion carried unanimously.
	A hand-decorated child’s chair was donated to the Children’s Department by April and Bob Rinder. Mrs. Daly moved that the donation be accepted. Mr. Soffer seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

Communications
A. Announcements: 
Mrs. Bussey distributed information about the following three items:
	~There will be a Legacy Partners Fall Seminar “Motivating the Donor to Act” presented by the Community Bank of Oak Park and River Forest on October 5.
	~The ILA Conference being held at Navy Pier will have seminars focused on Trustees on October 4th, 5th and 6th.
	~Mrs. Bussey shared a communication regarding library law about how new election law changes affect tax referendums.

Mrs. Bussey also announced the following to the Board:
	~For the first time, the MLS will be giving awards.  Mrs. Bussey has nominated Village President Frank Paris for his role in helping to obtain funding for capital improvements for the library.
	~Mrs. Bussey received a thank you note for donating used book carts to a library in southern Illinois.
	~The library will receive $2000 from the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation for next year’s ASK Program.

B. Patron Suggestions:
Patron Suggestions #215-219 and their responses were reviewed.

Director’s Report
A. Statistical Report:
	There was an overall increase of 8.38% for the month of August 2006 as compared to August 2005 and an overall increase for the past year which now includes the three week loan period.  Adult statistics are up overall 6.83%, children’s are up 9.88% and teen totals are up 16.04%. The number of card holders is up 2.51%. Mrs. Bussey stated that the collection is at the size it should be. There are still questions regarding the size of the AV collection.
 B. Written Report:
 	Board members reviewed the written report.
C. Departmental Reports:
	 Board members reviewed the departmental reports.

Old Business
A. Capital Improvements:
	1. Self-Checkout:  The plan is for the self checkout machine to be installed on Thursday, September 21.
	2. People Counter: The people counter has been installed.
	3. Landscaping: Mrs. Bussey is in the process of getting three quotes for the landscaping. Mrs. Fischer suggested that we wait to make final decisions about landscaping. She proposed that Jeff and Frances Kraft, the landscape designers, participate in the upcoming discussions about the use of library space with the architects before finalizing their design. 
	4. Architect/Engineer Services Contract: The contract will be discussed at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Wednesday, September 27.

New Business
A. Per Capita Grant Application: 
	Mrs. Fischer moved that the Board agree to apply for the Per Capita Grant. Mrs. Cusack seconded. A vote was taken: there were all ayes and no nays: the motion carried unanimously. President Mark Coe and Secretary Diane Daly signed the application.
B. Collection Development Policy and Reconsideration of Materials Policy:
	Board members reviewed and discussed the new “River Forest Public Library Collection Development Plan”. There will be further discussion and consideration of the plan.  A question was raised about the print vs. electronic reference collection in terms of cost, efficiency and usage.
	Discussion about the “Statement of Concern about Library Resources” has been tabled until the October meeting.
C. 2007 In-Service Dates:
	Mrs. Bussey proposed the following dates for staff in-services which will mean that the library will be closed on the following dates: January 5, 2007, April 6, 2007, August 10, 2007 and November 2, 2007. The January date may change as there is a potential for a combined in-service with other local libraries. Mrs. Daly moved to approve the in-service dates. Mrs. Fischer seconded. A vote was taken: there were all ayes and no nays.
D. Revise Loan Rule #53:
	Loan Rule #53 states that the River Forest Library charges 5 cents a day for overdue children’s materials loaned for 21 days. After discussion, Mr. Coe moved that the Board revise Loan Rule #53 and raise the children’s fine from 5 to 10 cents per day. Mrs. Daly seconded. A vote was taken. There were four ayes and one nay: the motion carried.
 E. Committee of the Whole Agenda
	The Committee of the Whole will meet on Wednesday, September 26 at 7 p.m. Items on the agenda are: 
	1. The Architect/Engineer Services Contract
	2. Personnel Issues: Salaries and Benefits
	3. Finance Issues: Budget Preparation Timeline

There was no call for executive session.

Adjournment
At 8:55 p.m. Mrs. Fischer moved for adjournment. Mr. Soffer seconded.

Respectfully submitted, 
Diane Daly, Secretary