Library Board of Trustees

The Woodstock Public Library Board of Trustees met on Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Robert Laurie called the meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Robert Laurie (President), Christy Johanson (Vice President), Mary Beth Urbin (Secretary), Mary Ann Lenzen, Gayle Hoch, Sarah Parisi (Arrived at 8:30 p.m.), Susan Gullotto, and Mary Sugden. OTHERS PRESENT: Paul Christensen (Deputy City Manager), Nick Weber (Library Director), and Tiara Thayer (Library Assistant II). ABSENT: Gabbi Ordóñez. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and Vote on approving the Regular Minutes from the November 2024 regular meeting as presented. Susan Gullotto moved to approve the minutes of the December 2024 regular meeting as presented, Mary Sugden seconded, and the motion passed with unanimous ayes. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS: None. COMMUNICATIONS: None. LIBRARY EXPENDITURES Discussion and Vote on the December 2024 Building Fund and Operating Fund Expenditures. Robert Laurie moved to approve the December 2024 combined Warrant of operating and building expenditures, as presented, Christy Johanson seconded, and the motion carried with unanimous ayes. LIBRARIAN’S REPORT Nick Weber presented the librarian’s report, a copy of which is attached. NEW BUSINESS • Discussion and possible Vote on changing the board meeting times o Mary Beth Urbin moved to change the regular meeting start time to 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd Thursday of each month, Gayle Hoch seconded and the motion carried with unanimous ayes. • Discussion and Vote on Animals in the Library Policy o This policy was updated to reflect current practices. The updated policy now extends beyond service animals and permits well-behaved, domesticated animals to be present in the library. o In the event of any legal issues, the City will cover and resolve them on the library’s behalf. o The updated policy refers to animals as domestic, but this will be changed to domesticated.  o Christy Johanson moved to accept the corrected Animals in the Library Policy, Robert Laurie seconded and the motion carried with unanimous ayes. • Review of Standards for Illinois Libraries o The Board Orientation program will be completed by Nick by the end of the fiscal year. o A succession plan is on the to do list. o A thorough employee orientation procedure is in progress. Some of the department heads have completed orientations for their departments. o Some signage is temporary and does not meet current standards, but the signage audit will be completed and signs will be up to date during next fiscal year. o Inventory of all facility systems is being worked on. o A complete safety checklist and floor plan markings needs to be developed. o The library’s collections are evaluated annually. o The library will continue to offer educational opportunities to all staff. o There are efforts to improve and evaluate feedback regarding Youth Services. o The library is updating its website to ensure it is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. o The library is currently staffed adequately, but not a lot of slack is available. o The library meets the standards for hours of operation. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Building Update o Front Door ▪ The front door was repaired, and a maintenance schedule is being drafted in an effort to prevent any recurring issues. o Landscaping/Bayton Space Update ▪ Blue Stem Landscaping company will attend the January 2025 trustee meeting to provide a presentation. ▪ The board reviewed plans for putting both the landscaping and Bayton space together. o Pneumatic System ▪ The pneumatic system is all in place, except for the controls. The controls are anticipated to be completed next week. • Staffing Update o The library staffing levels are currently in good shape. o There were 11 interviews today for the vacant Library Assistant 1 position. Of the 11 interviews conducted, there were seven strong candidates. The candidate most suited to the position will receive an employment offer and should start by the end of January. • FoWL Update o The Friends’ will be discussing their upcoming plans for 2025 at their annual meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. • Strategic Planning Update o The staff reviewed the library’s strategic plan at their 1st Friday meeting and noted the library’s progress and achievements. o Further discussion on this topic will continue at the January 2025 trustee board meeting. ADJOURNMENT Gayle Hoch moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:59 p.m., Mary Ann Lenzen seconded, and the motion passed with unanimous ayes. All meetings of the Library Board are open to the public. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they are fully accessible, and if any further accommodations are needed, please contact the Library Director 48 hours prior to the meeting.  Woodstock Public Library Administrative & Staff Reports – December 2024 DIRECTOR’S REPORT December is always a strange month, with multiple holidays impacting when we are open and how well we can staff the building. This year was particularly challenging as the Tuesday/Wednesday nature of Christmas Eve/Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day, but we were able to work through it. Budget planning also begins in December, with the preliminary numbers being developed for staffing. This December was slightly less busy than last, with fewer people coming into the building, and fewer physical materials being checked out—though our digital usage continues to increase. Although there are some holiday programs, December tends to be a quiet month for the library in programming terms. A lot of staff were off, and our patrons tend to be traveling or otherwise engaged for much of the month. That said, the D200 school district winter art show is a December favorite every year, we had a full run of storytimes, and hosted another Free Guitars for Future Stars concert this month. New this year, we held a Christmas Movie Trivia & Bingo session, and also a virtual presentation through Illinois Libraries Present of the stage production of Little Women: The Musical. Staffing was a struggle in December, as it often is, with staff using up vacation time and wanting to maximize their “away time” around the holidays, but having a nearly full staff helped and we made it through. A finalist for the Library Assistant I position was selected and the job offer was accepted, so she should be starting in mid-January, which will be great. In bittersweet news, Lisa Rossi-Moser, one of our Librarians, accepted a new role at Huntley Library as the Head of Programming—a great career move for her, but a sad farewell for us. The trial run for our new way of scheduling our part-time staff and weekends continues, with good results so far. Things continue to move forward with the landscaping project, with a revised drawing from Bluestem Ecological submitted and the presentation for the board under preparation. The design has a lot of promise both aesthetically and as a teaching opportunity. The Bayton Outdoor Event Space is being rolled into the landscape project as the two efforts overlap in many areas and keeping them separate would be difficult. The library is exploring options for repairing/replacing the beat-up asphalt in both the public and the staff parking lots. CIRCULATION & BUILDING USE December 2024 Circulation was up in December compared to 2023, driven by digital downloads. In- person use of the building was down by 7.7% compared to last year. We had 19,725 items, both physical and digital, checked-out, compared to 18,575 in 2023, a 6.2% increase. 9,710 people came to the library in December, compared to 10,515 in 2023. FINANCIALS Spending out of the new fiscal budget is passed the half-way point, and things continue to track well. The budget includes raises for all staff, ranging from 3-5%, with most of the other budget lines holding steady, or getting small increases. Planning for the new budget is underway. MEETING/ORGANIZATION SUMMARIES City Meetings/City News The City Council meetings in December were mostly routine, though the council did review the most recent community survey results. The library was once again the most well-reviewed city service, and second only to the city’s parks for overall usage. The council does not meet on the first Tuesday of January. YOUTH SERVICES Things are rolling along in the Children’s Department, with planning already under way for the summer. This year’s summer reading program theme is Color Our World, so the team is brainstorming lots of art and STEM related programs. The next round of storytimes is on the horizon, and Heather will be doing her first Groundhog Day storytime at the end of the month. CALENDAR (https://woodstock.librarycalendar.com/) Upcoming Events & Dates of Import: • Mondays, 5:30-6:00 pm: Cuentos en Espanol/Spanish-Language Storytime • Tuesdays, 10:15-11:00 am: Babies and Books Storytime • Wednesdays, 10:15-11:00 am: Toddler Storytime • Fridays, 10:15-11:00 am: Preschool Storytime • Fridays, 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Technology Assistance Appointments • Friday, Jan. 10: Library opening at noon for staff training • Saturday, Jan. 18, 11:00am-12:00 pm: Rescue Readers @ HAHS • Saturday, Jan. 25, 2:00-4:00pm: Woodstock on the Screen • Tuesday, Jan. 28, 7:00-8:00 pm: Friends of Woodstock Library Annual Meeting • Thursday, Jan. 30, 5:00-6:00 pm: Groundhog Day storytime @ Stage Left • Friday, Jan. 31, 2:00-4:00pm: Groundhog Day Movie Archive Open House • Saturday, Feb. 1 and 8, 9:00am-1:00pm: AARP Tax Preparation Appointments • Tuesday, Feb. 4 and 11, 9:00am-4:30pm: AARP Tax Preparation Appointments • Friday, Feb. 7: Library opening at 1:00 after all-city staff meeting