Sangamon Sun

Sherman Public Library Board of Trustees met October 18. 

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

The regular monthly meeting of the Sherman Public Library Board convened at 5:00 p.m. Present were Library Director Rachel Kocis and Board members Julie Horton, Gale Kilbury, John Barrett, Brian Manci, and Elizabeth Heubner.

Secretary’s Report: It was moved by Julie Horton and seconded by Gale Kilbury to approve the minutes from the September 20, 2017 regular meeting. The motion was approved. The Board Secretary will schedule a time with Rachel to review all Closed Session minutes from the past six months.

Treasurers/Financial Report: Brain Manci made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and to pay the bills. Gale Kilbury seconded the motion, and the motion carried by a unanimous voice vote. Liz Heubner made a motion to pay the mortgage payment from the Special Reserves account. Julie Horton seconded the motion and a unanimous voice vote in favor was taken. Rachel will be preparing the 2017 receipts and disbursements. Our accountant will check and verify and our Board Treasurer will sign.

Librarian’s Report: The total patron count in month of September was 2.205. 2,289 items were circulated 2,867 times at our library, up 691 checkouts from last year, a 32% increase. Resident borrowing totaled 252 patrons and 2.867 checkouts. Non-Resident borrowing amounted to 72 borrowers and 492 checkouts. Reciprocal borrowing included 10 borrowers and 99 checkouts. Cloud Library checkouts included 136 e-books, 11 Cloud Library e-audio. Overdrive had 150 e-book checkouts and 17 e-audiobook checkouts.

September YTD Borrowing/Lending totals were as follows: 607 SHARE Borrowed, 627 SHARE Loaned, 9 WorldShare Borrowed YTD, 19 WorldShare Loaned YTD.

Library Events and Issues: The Levy and Budget Appropriation were filed at Circuit Clerk’s Office on 10/2/17. Rachel picked up a 4” tree for the library’s Festival of Trees entry on October 4th. Library employees and volunteers are working on decorating a Polar Express-themed tree during down time. Super set up day for the Festival of Trees is November 4th at the Orr Building from 11-1 p.m. The Office of the Comptroller sent updated statutes for Local Government Audit reporting. Our accountant is aware of the updated information. This year Jeremy will file the AFR with the Comptroller and County Clerk by December 20th 2017. All Floor Pro Care will steam clean the carpets, clean the upholstery on chairs, steam clean the rug, and surface clean the tiles in the hallway on Saturday October 21st at 2:00 p.m. the Friends of Sherman Library Book Sale was held at Seaney’s on September 8th 3-7 p.m. and September 9th 9-3 and earned $1,277.25 this year. The leftover books were donated to the Salvation Army. FOSL will hold a drawing for a $15 Barnes and Noble gift certificate for adults who participated in the summer suggest a book incentive as part of their 10-year anniversary. The Director is working with FOSL president to draft new bylaws. The “Golden Ticket” program to celebrate Roald Dahl’s birthday in September was successful, with 19 tickets found in movies or books by patrons. Kids really like looking for things that are hidden in the library. Both Robot Fun program and Fire Safety program were well attended by children and parents in September. The Library will work with the Fire Department to collaborate again next year. Active Shooter training for staff will be scheduled before January to meet Per Capita Safety requirement this year. Friday December 15th will be the staff Holiday Party. Thank you to trustees John Barrett and Gale Kilbury for volunteering at Sherman Fest on September 23rd. Sangamon County 4-H lent a canopy for the event. The Library set up a table with information about library services, registration cards for library sign-up, a make a bookmark station for kids. Rachel met with new Lincoln Library director on October 6th. He is interested in reaching out to neighboring libraries. The library was open on Columbus Day and was busy all day.

Rachel also gave a report from the ILA Conference. Next year’s Summer Reading theme is “Reading Takes You Everywhere”! Rachel attended the iREAD showcase and came away with a lot of programming ideas. She also purchased discounted summer reading themed shirts for all staff for $5.00 a shirt. The one page Strategic Plan is popular amongst all sizes of libraries with a 2-3 year strategic plan rather than 5-year plan. This can be done without a consultant, but it is important to engage the community. Effingham Public Library went door to door with a community survey. Another big library trend is circulating non-traditional material. The buzzword is “library of things.” Next year the ILA conference will be held in Peoria. The last day is always “Trustee Day” with lots of good sessions for Library Trustees. Our director attended the following sessions: Strategic Planning That Doesn’t (Time) Suck, Putting the M in STEAM (Seriously, math is the best part), Demystifying the Levy - Making the Numbers Add Up, iREAD Showcase Presentations, Very Small Libraries - Here Is How We Do It All, Comfortable Being Uncomfortable in the Library: Civic Engagement through Programming, Real Tiny Progress: How To Start Training Your Staff To Be A Little Bit More Culturally Competent, Now What?! How to Market Your Library When the Rules Have Changed, and Exploring the “Library of Things.”

Library Programs and Meetings: The September children’s programs included Robot Fun! On 9/27, Fire Safety Program on 9/28 and Story Times on 9/11, 9/12, 9/18, 9/19, 9/25, and 9/26. The Children’s program attendance for September was 371.September adult programs included Quilters on 9/7, Lost Gourd Society on 9/14, Jazz Night on 9/15, Third Thursday Reading Group on 9/21, Voter Registration on 9/26, and Passport Program on 9/30. Adult program attendance for September was 318.Teen programming in September included Jazz Night on 9/15 with an attendance 15.Groups meeting at the library in September included Quilters, Flaggland Park Home Owner’s Association, Lost Gourd Society, Mother’s Group, Sangamon County 4H, and Daisies. The total meeting room use was 72. Library Outreach for September included All His Children Outreach on 9/13, FOSL Book Sale on 9/8 & 9/9, Elementary School Outreach on 9/29, and the Sherman Fall Festival on 9/23. The Total monthly outreach for September was 440. Upcoming Programs include the following: Story- times on Mondays (10/23, 10/30,11/6 , 11/13) and Tuesdays (10/ 24, 10/ 31, 11/7 , 11/14, 11/21, and 11/28); 3rd Thursday Reading Series on 10/19, Friends of Sherman Library Meeting on 10/24 at 6:30 PM; Ins and Outs of Medicare on 11/20 at 11 AM and 5:30 PM; Family Reading Night on 11/16 at 6:00 PM; Game day on 11/9 featuring Bloxels; and Voter Registration Night on 12/5 from 5-7 PM.

Library Training/Workshops: The F.F.F.F.A Performers Showcase and Meeting will be held on 11/7 from 9 AM-4 PM at the Forsyth Public Library.

New Business: Julie Horton made a motion to hire Embury Designs to prepare renovation/improvement plans for the library. Brian Manci seconded the motion, and it was passed by a unanimous voice vote.

The Board reviewed the current FOIA Policy. Liz Heubner made a motion to approve the updated FOIA policy. Gale Kilbury seconded the motion, and the motion carried.

The Board reviewed the current Purchasing Policy. Julie Horton made a motion to approve the updated Purchasing Policy. Gale Kilbury seconded the motion, and the motion carried.

The Board reviewed the current Banking and Personnel Policies. The Board discussed wording for vacation and sick time. Rachel will make the suggested changes so that the Personnel Policy can be voted upon at the next meeting. Rachel presented the Board with updated job descriptions for all positions. The Board will review these before a vote next meeting.

The Board discussed our Mission Statement and we will continue to review after further consideration.

The Board discussed Mobile Hotspot Lending. The Board directed Rachel to create a policy for lender use of these devices to be reviewed at the November meeting.

John Barrett made a motion to purchase 10 Playaway Launchpads for the library. Brian Manci seconded the motion, and a unanimous voice vote was noted.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned via a motion by Julie Horton at 6:14 p.m. Liz Heubner seconded the motion.

http://www.shermanlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Board-Minutes-October-18-2017.pdf