Document 6.1
REACHING ACROSS ILLINOIS LIBRARY SYSTEM BOARD MEETING
Friday, February 24, 2017│1:00 PM
Burr Ridge Service Center| 125 Tower Drive
Burr Ridge, IL 60527
DRAFT MINUTES
1.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Dave Barry, President of the RAILS Board called the meeting to order on Friday, February 24,
2017 at 1:00 p.m. at the RAILS Burr Ridge Service Center and welcomed all attendees.
2.
ROLL CALL OF RAILS BOARD MEMBERS
Burr Ridge: Dave Barry, Kate Hall, Mary Jo Matousek, Paul Mills, Kathy Parker, Scott Pointon
Quincy Public Library: Judy Crocker
East Peoria: Sue Busenbark, Laura Turner, Dane Ward
Telephone: Dee Runnels, Lori Wilcox, Michelle Simmons, Harriett Zipfel
3.
RECOGNITION OF GUESTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Burr Ridge: Emily Fister, Jane Plass, Mark Hatch, Mary Witt, Debbie Baaske, Rose Chenoweth,
Louise Svehla, Joe Filapek, Anne Slaughter, Jim Kregor, Ryan Hebel, Dee Brennan, Wesley Smith,
Nikki Zimmerman
Illinois State Library: Greg McCormick, Patricia Boze, Tom Huber
Coal Valley: Carolyn Coulter
4.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
5.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
Ms. Hall moved for the adoption of the agenda, Ms. Parker seconded and the motion was
unanimously approved.
6.
APPROVAL OF RAILS BOARD MINUTES, FINANCIAL REPORTS AND EXPENDITURES
6.1 RAILS Board Minutes of January 27, 2017 Regular Meeting
Ms. Hall moved for the approval of minutes of the January 27, 2017 RAILS board meeting as
amended. Mr. Pointon seconded and the motion was approved.
6.2 RAILS Financial Report
Mr. Kregor reviewed the financial report for January 2017. The unassigned cash amount of
$10.6 million would fund 11 months of operations with the assigned amounts of $6.4 million
funding an additional six months of operations. Mr. Kregor will propose reassignment of some
funds for the year-end. No additional Area Per Capita Grant revenues were received and those
revenues are $1,527,803 below budget. Year to date total expenditures are $503,910 below
budget due to lower expenditures in all funds.
Mr. Mills moved for the approval of January 2017 financial report. Ms. Hall seconded and the
motion was unanimously approved.
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6.3 Approval of Expenditures
Mr. Kregor noted that the expenditures were higher this month due to several one-time annual
payments including the LIRA premium, workers compensation insurance premium and the
quarterly payment for SWAN.
Ms. Hall moved and Ms. Matousek seconded that the check voucher/register for January 2017
in the amount of $1,348,082.93 be approved.
A roll call was taken:
Ayes: Dave Barry, Sue Busenbark, Judy Crocker, Kate Hall, Mary Jo Matousek, Paul Mills, Kathy
Parker, Scott Pointon, Dee Runnels, Michelle Simmons, Laura Turner, Dane Ward, Lori Wilcox.
Harriett Zipfel
Nays: none
The motion carried.
7.
REPORTS
7.1 Report from the RAILS President
Mr. Barry had no report
7.2 Rails Board Committee Reports-Committee Chairs
7.2.1 Consortia Committee
Mr. Mills said the Consortia Committee met on January 30, 2017. Ms. Plass reported that
the RFP for resource sharing overlay software was released on January 30 and proposals are
due March 3. A conference call for vendor questions was held on February 7 with four
vendors participating. The overlay committee will bring a recommendation to the July 17
Consortia Committee meeting.
7.2.2 Delivery Committee
Ms. Parker reported that the Committee has not met since December but RAILS has issued
an RFP for consultants to analyze statewide delivery service.
7.2.3 Executive Committee
Mr. Barry said he would give the report from the February 20th Executive Committee
meeting under the “Unfinished Business” portion of the meeting.
7.2.4 Policy Committee
The Committee has not met.
7.2.5 System Membership Standards Committee
Ms. Parker reported that the System Membership Standards Committee has not met. The
Committee is waiting for feedback from the State Library with comments or questions on
the standards.
7.3 RAILS Reports
7.3.1 Executive Director Report
Ms. Brennan reported that her report included an article on the FCC decision to stop
companies from supplying federally subsidized internet to the poor. She commented that
access to the internet is very important to span the digital divide. Ms. Hall suggested that
RAILS take a position on this issue. Ms. Brennan said that ILA is tackling it and RAILS is part
of that stance. Ms. Hall also commented that she would like a tour included in the visit to
Cherry Valley Library at the May board meeting.
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7.3.2 RAILS Service and Operations Report
Ms. Brennan reported that a notice for the hiring of a construction manager for Burr Ridge
renovations was published in the Daily Herald newspaper and letters of intent are due today at
3 pm. Final proposals are due on Friday, March 17 and the bid opening will be held on March
20. Ms. Hall commended the timely and applicable “Librarians vs. Fake News” CE program
sponsored by RAILS. Ms. Brennan said fake news is the topic of an upcoming podcast. She
reported that the Digital Public Library of America Fest (DPLA) will be held in Chicago April 21-22.
7.4 Illinois State Library Report
Mr. McCormick reported School Library Per Capita Grant award letters have been sent and
payments are being processed. He said the recipients of the FY17 Live & Learn Construction
Grants will be announced soon. The State Library is watching the progress of Senate Bill 6,
which will determine the funding for capital projects to public libraries. A possible property tax
freeze is under discussion by the General Assembly. Mr. McCormick said staff are working on
changes to the RAILS System Area and Per Capita grant application and should have to RAILS
shortly for a June submission.
8.
NEW BUSINESS
8.1 Nominating Committee for Board Election
Mr. Barry said that he and Ms. Brennan are in the process of forming a nominating
committee. Betsy Adamowski, Jay Kasten and Jane Lenser have agreed to serve. There are
five seats up for election this year: three public library trustee seats, which include Dave
Barry, Dee Runnels and Kathy Parker; one school library seat currently held by Mary Jo
Matousek, and one academic library seat, represented by Dane Ward. Unfortunately,
Kathy Parker and Mary Jo Matousek are not eligible to run again at this time. Having served
two full terms.
9.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
9.1 FY 2018 Budget
Ms. Brennan reported that staff is developing a list of projects for next year that we will discuss
at the March board meeting. Ms. Hall suggested we review and possibly revise our strategic
plan as it may involve projects that we cannot complete due to budget restraints. We need to
create realistic goals so that we do not set ourselves up for failure.
9.2 Recommendation to discontinue ITBOC Services on August 31, 2017
Ms. Plass reported that at the January meeting, she and Ms. Chenoweth recommended that
RAILS fund the Illinois Talking Book & Braille Outreach Center for an additional two months
through August 31, 2017 and cease funding after that date. She said the additional two months
of funding is to provide a smooth transition of services from RAILS to the Illinois State Library
Talking Book & Braille Service.
Mr. Mills moved and Ms. Wilcox seconded to approve the staff recommendation to discontinue
funding ITBOC Services on August 31, 2017.
A roll call was taken:
Ayes: Dave Barry, Sue Busenbark, Judy Crocker, Kate Hall, Mary Jo Matousek, Paul Mills, Kathy
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Parker, Scott Pointon, Dee Runnels, Michelle Simmons, Laura Turner, Dane Ward, Lori Wilcox.
Harriett Zipfel
Nays: none
The motion carried.
9.3 Recommendation of Executive Committee to fill Board Vacancy
The Executive Committee met on Monday and reviewed the resumes and statements of interest
supplied by the three candidates. All three candidates seem very qualified. The committee has
decided to conduct short interviews before making a recommendation to the full board at the
March board meeting. The committee also wanted to make sure the candidates knew that this
vacancy is fulfilling a term that expires in July 2018. As our bylaws allow a maximum of two
consecutive terms, they would only be eligible for one more term. A recommendation will be
made at the March meeting.
10. BOARD DEVELOPMENT –
Library Patron Privacy
Ms. Slaughter, Ms. Carolyn Coulter, Mr. Smith presented material regarding library patron
policy. Topics included privacy and the role of staff, internet privacy, and privacy related to
consortial catalogs.
11. RAILS BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
Ms. Hall reminded everyone that she and Mr. Barry have nominated Ms. Brennan to be an
Illinois Library Luminary to honor all the contributions she has made to Illinois Libraries. She said
that all board members should have received a letter explaining the process and asking for a
donation in Ms. Brennan’s name.
12. AGENDA BUILDING FOR THE NEXT RAILS BOARD MEETING
The next board meeting will be held on Friday, March 24 at Burr Ridge. Agenda items will
include Executive Committee recommendation of the new trustee and budget updates and a
tour of Burr Ridge with Laura Turner. The April 28 board meeting will be held at East Peoria and
will include dinner with attendees the night before and a networking event before the Board
meeting.
13. ADJOURN
A motion to adjourn was made at 2:01 p.m.
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