THE DUPAGE LIBRARY SYSTEM
MEETING OF THE BOARD
July 17, 2003

 

 

  1. ROLL CALL OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    The regular meeting of the DLS board, held at the Bensenville Community Public Library, 200 South Church Road, Bensenville, Illinois, was called to order at 7:05 p.m. Pres. Kepka asked Sec. Whitehead to call the roll. The following board members were present to establish a quorum: Don Brant, Karen Hannah, Laurie Kagann, Robert Kepka, Jackie Plourde, John Slusser, Marguerite Treest, and Joyce Whitehead. Board members with an excused absence were Tanya Berley, Marti Guarin, and Stephen Fulton.

    DLS staff members attending were Shirley May Byrnes, Claudia Sheets, Jane Plass, Pam Kramer, Denise Zielinski, and Phylis Wagner. Also present was Neil Kelley, Illinois State Library consultant, and Jill Rodriguez, Director of the Bensenville Public Library.

  2. PUBLIC COMMENT

    Jill Rodriguez, Director of the Bensenville Public Library, welcomed everyone to the library. The meeting room is part of a unique cooperation effort with Bensenville School District 2. It is a shared facility. During the summer months, the library has planned “Thursdays in the Garden” for the past two years. The staff chooses different topics to focus on. This evening, the program was about edible fiction, so the Readers’ Advisors chose recipes from different books and staff volunteered to prepare homemade treats that connect to books.

  3. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

    Pres. Kepka added Appointment of a Replacement Board Member under New Business.

    Dir. Hannah moved, and V.P. Plourde seconded, that:

    THE AGENDA BE ADOPTED WITH THE ADDITION. Agenda adopted.

    Motion carried unanimously.

  4. APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 19, 2003 MEETING MINUTES

    V.P. Plourde moved, and Dir. Hannah seconded, that:

    THE JUNE BOARD MEETING MINUTES BE APPROVED June minutes approved.

    Motion carried unanimously.

  5. FINANCIAL REPORT FOR JULY 2003

    Treas. Treest thanked Claudia for the nice job she did in clarifying what the checks cover in the Summary of Bills Paid report.

    Treas. Treest moved and V.P. Plourde seconded that:

    THE PAYMENT OF THE JULY 2003 BILLS IN THE AMOUNT OF $117,555.53 BE APPROVED. July bills approved for payment

    Motion carried unanimously.

    Because there will not be a meeting in August, Treas. Treest moved and V.P. Plourde seconded that:

    THE AUGUST BILLS BE PAID SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION AT THE SEPTEMBER MEETING.

    		 August bills to be paid.

    Motion carried unanimously.

  6. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

    State Budget: After the Governor completed his line item vetoes and signed the budget bill, Secretary of State White found his operational lines cut by 15%.

    Greg McCormick, Deputy Director of Finance at the State Library, prepared a grant forecast to ISLAC on June 11. A copy of this forecast was in the handouts. This sheet shows that the GRF portion of systems would be cut $2,043,000. There is likely to be 2% of the GRF funds held in reserve in addition to the reduction. The administrative fee has not yet been applied to any of the Live & Learn funds, and it is anticipated that it will be the full 8%. The State Library still does not know what is happening to their department since the Governor did specific line item vetoes. They do know that the book budget has been cut by 79%, but they do not know the impact on staff yet. A resolution is expected next week.

    DLS Budget: The DLS FY04 grant amount is still unknown, but Greg said that the $185,949 reduction mentioned in May is in the ballpark. A payment for FY03 is in process and should be received by July 25. The last payment will be received after funds have been deposited to the Live & Learn account.

    Impact of Budget Reductions: The Public Policy Committee (PPC) has asked ILSDO to gather stories on the impact of state budget reductions in FY03 and FY04 to local library services. Exec. Dir. Byrnes put together a brief description of some of the stories and sent them to ILSDO. A copy was included in the handouts.

    CIPA: DLS received an opinion from Roger Ritzman on the Supreme Court ruling on CIPA. On July 3, Memo No. 03-158 was sent out to DLS Announce and trustees to let the members know about the ruling and what it may mean for public libraries that accept federal funds. A copy of the memo was in the handouts.

    Library Advocacy Now! DLS and the North Suburban Library System (NSLS) are cooperating on a series of advocacy programs in late July and early August.

    Each system is holding two sessions, and both systems have cooperated on getting speakers, writing the role-play, developing handouts, etc. The two sessions in DLS are listed below. Exec. Dir. Byrnes encouraged everyone to attend one of these sessions.

    The library advocates participating in the role play are Halle Mikyska, Director, Kane County Law Library, Matt Suddarth, Director, Winfield Public Library, and Jim Szyplik, trustee, Helen Plum Library, Lombard.

    DLS Scholarship: The Library Education Fund Committee will meet Friday, July 25 to select the first winner of the DLS Scholarship. DLS received 12 applications for the grant of $250.

    ILL: Jane has sent a memo to DLS members about phasing out DLS ILL services. She has spoken with the director of the two libraries who use the service most. ILL workshops have been held this summer and more will be offered this fall to train staff in doing ILL.

    Nonresident Card Law: ISL has scheduled their annual hearings on Public Law 92-166. The one in our area will be held at the Suburban Library System on August 28 starting at 10 am.

    School Libraries Resolution: At the recent ALA conference, the ALA Council passed a resolution on the importance of school libraries and the need for professional librarians at the schools. After it has been adapted to Illinois, systems will be asked to pass the resolution. Although DLS has experienced some reductions in staff and materials budgets for school libraries, there have not been any school libraries closed. That is not the case in many areas of the state, including Springfield, where they are closing school libraries.

    ALA Conference: The July issue of DLS News features stories of some of the programs written by various DLS members who attended the ALA conference in Toronto.

    DLS Cataloging Assistance Pilot Project: The final report on this project was sent to the Board members, and Jane Plass answered questions about it.

  7. COMMUNICATION

    1. Report of the President

      During the past several days, Pres. Kepka and Exec. Dir. Byrnes learned that three current DLS Board members have resigned for various reasons. They are Don Brant, Bensenville Public Library, Marti Guarin, Aurora Public Library, and Tanya Berley, Winfield Public Library. Options for replacing them will be discussed later in the meeting.

      Pres. Kepka mentioned that the Addison Public Library needed an authoritative person to answer legal questions put forth by their Board members. They were fortunate to have Attorney Phillip Lenzini present at their last Board meeting. He was very impressed with Mr. Lenzini and mentioned that, if anyone has the opportunity to hear him speak, it is well worth the time.

    2. Report from the Illinois State Library - Neil Kelley

      • State Budget: The Secretary and Governor are in discussions, and the amount the Governor cut from the Secretary’s budget is $46,000,000. Secretary White has asked all his department heads to work on reductions and offer their recommendations, so he can make some decisions soon on this situation. He is committed to not cutting staff and wants to maintain as many programs as possible. The bottom line is there will be less money in the Secretary’s budget than originally intended. Possibly in the next week or so, firm, factual information will be known, and it will be passed along when available.
      • Payments: ISL will not write checks for payments until the money is in the bank. Reimbursement for expenses submitted by state employees at this time is between 90 and 120 days.
      • Grants: ISL is continuing to receive grant applications, and the staff is talking on the phone regularly to help people develop and submit their applications. They are currently busy with the public library area and per capita grants because the deadline is soon. ISL does not have any information on any reductions for the public library or school library area and per capita grants.
      • ELI: There have been some interesting challenges with the Every Library in Illinois (ELI) database, and they are working through those.
      • Nonresident Card Law: As mentioned earlier, ISL is having a series of three hearings on August 26, 27, and 28 on Public Law 92-166. Mike Ragen, Joe Natale and Neil Kelley will be at the SLS hearing on August 28. If you have comments, please submit them to ISL in written form.

      3.  

    3. Legislative Report

      Until a definitive ruling about CIPA is published, libraries do not know what the impact will be on Illinois Century Network (ICN). Libraries that are part of the ICN may be required to install filters. There were discussions on possible lawsuits connected with requests by adults to turn off the filtering when it isn’t done in a timely manner. There is the possibility that public libraries may decide not to provide Internet service at all. Unfortunately, the people who can least afford to lose this access are the ones who will suffer.

    4. Correspondence - Available upon request.

  8. REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEES - None

  9. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

    1. Durrant Report

      The Durrant report is a facility review of the DLS building and was requested by the Board about a year ago as a plan for the future. This report suggests repairs for completion within 1 year, 1-5 years, and 6-10 years. Claudia Sheets called the Board’s attention to some suggested repairs, which she felt were important safety issues. Pres. Kepka felt the electrical problems that must be repaired within 1 year were Maintenance repairs and not Capital Expenditures and should be taken care of right away. The Operations Committee should prioritize the items in the columns titled 1-5 years and 6-10 years. After discussion, it was decided to accept the report and have the Geneva Fire Department do another walk through.

      V.P. Plourde moved, and Sec. Whitehead seconded, that:

      DLS APPROPRIATE UP TO $60,000 OF THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUNDS TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING IN THE “MUST REPAIR WITHIN 1 YEAR” AND THE “ADA ITEM” COLUMNS OF THE DURRANT REPORT.

      		 Building repairs approved.

      Motion carried unanimously.

      Pres. Kepka suggested the Operations Committee meet to discuss the Durrant report before the September meeting. V.P. Plourde requested that the Planning Committee meet with the Operations Committee. After the Board meeting, a joint committee meeting was scheduled for Thursday, August 28 at 6 p.m.

  10. NEW BUSINESS

    1. Continuing Education Fee for Non-DLS Library Staff & Trustees

      Pam Kramer reported that, during the past year, there have not been a large number of non-system members attending our programs. Attendance at the programs is much better than it has been for the past two years. DLS does not need to charge for their programs yet. We have decided to initiate a stronger cancellation policy. Future programs will include a minimum number of attendees who must be registered by a certain date, or the program will be cancelled. There is a fee when lunch is served.

      Dir. Hannah moved, and Sec. Whitehead seconded, that:

      FOR THE COMING YEAR DLS NOT CHARGE FOR ANYONE WHO WISHES TO ATTEND DLS PROGRAMS.

      		 No charge for ce programs.

      Motion carried unanimously.

    2. Board Member Resignations

      As mentioned earlier, Pres. Kepka and Exec. Dir. Byrnes heard from Tanya Berley, Marti Guarin, and Don Brant, who have resigned from their local boards and can no longer serve on the DLS Board. The Board discussed the options for filling these seats. It was decided that, since the revised bylaws are in effect, and there is only one meeting between now and the annual meeting, the Board will not fill these positions. V.P. Plourde asked the staff to develop the process for the revised elections.

  11. ADJOURNMENT

    At 8:55 p.m., Treas. Treest moved and V.P. Plourde seconded that the meeting be adjourned. Motion carried unanimously.

     

Respectfully submitted.

 

_____________________________

Joyce Whitehead, Secretary

          Minutes approved as read

   x     Minutes approved as amended

 

_______________________________

Robert J. Kepka, President