Urbana Free Library Board Meeting

The Urbana Free Library Board of Trustees Minutes of a Regular Meeting Held on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 Present: Geoff Bant, Bill Brown, Mary Ellen Farrell, Anna Merritt, Mark Netter, Beth Scheid, Chris Scherer, and Jane Williams Absent: Anh Ha Ho Staff present: Becky Brown, Dawn Cassady, Celeste Choate, Lora Fegley, Lynn Harmon, Mary Towner, Anke Voss, and Kathy Wicks Also present: Jason Liggett The Urbana Free Library Board of Trustees met in the Lewis Auditorium of The Urbana Free Library on November 11, 2014. The meeting was called to order by the president, Chris Scherer, at 7:00 p.m. It was moved by Anna Merritt, seconded by Mark Netter, and passed unanimously to accept the consent agenda as presented. PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS Public comment None. Presentations Celeste Choate explained the tax levy process and where the City is in this process to the Board to give them background information to help with decisions about potential salary increases. She proposed four possible ways to fund the retro and current FY salary increases: 1) find the funds in this year’s budget; 2) request an increase in the property tax levy; 3) sell the Webber property; and 4) use the fund balance. Although the Board definitely wants to provide staff with salary increases, they were cautious about wanting to make sure that the increases can be funded and sustained. It was the consensus of the Board that one time income, such as selling the Webber property, would not be a good way to fund the on-going expenses. The Board asked Celeste to explore the possibility of getting an increase in the library’s portion of the tax levy. The City will propose a tax levy on November 24, and the City Council will vote on it in December. Once the Board has some definite numbers, they are willing to move forward with salary increases, if feasible. Board of Trustees of The Urbana Free Library – Minutes for the meeting of November 11, 2014 – Page 2 ITEMS FOR ACTION OR DISCUSSION Building and Grounds No report. Technology No report. Finance The Finance Committees report was covered by Celeste’s presentation. Policy It was moved by Beth Scheid, seconded by Jane Williams, and passed unanimously to approve the Miscellaneous Polices as presented. It was moved by Mark Netter, seconded by Mary Ellen Farrell, and passed unanimously to approve the General Benefits Policy as presented. Geoff Bant asked about the reference to employees being in a single job. Celeste explained that some employees hold more than one hourly position. Celeste asked the Board to add one more non-substantive change to the Vacation & Leave Policy which would allow staff to take holiday time during the two week pay period in which the holiday falls rather than only during the week of the holiday. It was moved by Anna Merritt, seconded by Mark Netter, and passed unanimously to approve the Vacation & Leave Policy as presented with the one change in wording. Education and Training No report. REPORTS OF LIAISON OFFICERS Friends of the Library The Friends will not have the November book sale due to a lower volume of books. In the past, the Friends held only two book sales rather than three, and there is some discussion of going back to that practice. The Urbana Free Library Foundation The Foundation is preparing the fall fund raising letter. Illinois Heartland Library System No report. Board of Trustees of The Urbana Free Library – Minutes for the meeting of November 11, 2014 – Page 3 REPORTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Executive Director Celeste invited the Board to attend a talk that she and Joel Spencer are giving at the University of Illinois on the Teen Open Lab. Geoff Bant commented that he was appreciative of the Board of Trustees orientation handout with various web sites listed. Anna Merritt asked if it would be possible to have another orientation session, now that she has served on the Board long enough to know what questions to ask. Bill Brown and Mark Netter also expressed an interest in a second Board orientation session. Mary Ellen Farrell told Board members about sessions offered to trustees by American Library Association, which will being holding their mid-winter conference in Chicago this year. Associate Director Kathy Wicks reported that the Folks & Root Festival was very successful. Patrons and performers both commented on enjoying the day. Anna Merritt asked whether Kathy had heard anything from the per capita grant. Kathy explained the library usually gets information in February or March. Anna also asked about the Financial Education Literacy webinar that Kathy attended. Kathy said that the webinar gave some ideas for the library to explore in the future. The library has done Money Smart weeks in the past, and may pursue something similar in the future. Anna commented that maybe the library could partner with other groups that already have resources in place. Beth Scheid asked Kathy about the scope of Library Live and Learn construction grants. Kathy plans to watch a webinar pertaining to the grants and speak with the person who serves the library’s HVAC system. Once she gathers the information, she will be applying for one of the grants. Adult Services Chris Scherer complimented the librarians on programming, mentioning the program right before the Board meeting with author Phil Klay reading and signing his book Redeployment. Beth Scheid asked Mary Towner if the Uni High tour of the Teen Lab was students or faculty. Mary explained it was a faculty person with a potential donor. Anna Merritt asked about a phrase in Keran Harrington’s report referring to bib overlay issues. Mary explained that there are sometimes issues with libraries sharing a database and entering more than one bib cataloging record for the same item. Board of Trustees of The Urbana Free Library – Minutes for the meeting of November 11, 2014 – Page 4 Children’s Service Lora Fegley reported that the Children’s Department was the focus department for the month of November for the 140th celebration. Archives Anke Voss reported that she had a visit with Jim Pilon, who ran the Pilon Studio with his father. The studio donated 4000 negatives to the Archives collection. Circulation Services Dawn Cassady reported that there will be a Polaris upgrade on December 4, which will result in the system being down most of the day. An email has been sent out to patrons who have used their cards lately asking them to make sure they have their card with them if they come in on that day. Dawn is working on circulation statistics and hopes to have them compiled by the next Board meeting. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Celeste showed the Board the new statistics sheet format and asked them to examine it and see if it reports the things they want to know. She also is continuing to look at ways to report the financial information more efficiently, using part of the new audit as a template. NEW BUSINESS None. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Beth Scheid and seconded by Anna Merritt to adjourn at 8:15 p.m. Becky Brown Recording Secretary Supplementary information and department reports are available in the Board packet of November 11, 2014.