Jacksonville Public Library Board of Trustees met January 8.
Here is the minutes as provided by the board:
The regular meeting of the Jacksonville Public Library Board of Directors was held
January 8, 2018 in the library’s conference room. Present were President Mary
Fergurson, Noel Beard, Craig Albers, Katie Weeks, Kevin Eckhoff, Robert Underbrink,
Library Director Chris Ashmore and Adult Services Librarian Hillary Peppers. Absent
were Forrest Keaton, Elizabeth Kennedy and Ted Roth.
President Fergurson called the meeting to order at 4:35 PM.
It was moved by Eckhoff and seconded by Albers that the minutes of the December
board meeting be accepted as submitted. Motion carried.
It was moved by Eckhoff and seconded by Underbrink that all financial reports for
January be approved and that all properly approved bills for January in the amount of
$46,268.59 be paid out of general funds as funds are available. Motion carried.
Fergurson reported the balance from the latest Endowment Report.
Director’s Report
As is usual, the month of December had a different feel to it than other months in the
year. With the holiday season approaching, patron traffic was a bit slower than usual
months and many staff members took unused vacation time before the year ended.
The staff was overwhelmed with baked goods and other treats, courtesy of so many of
our happy patrons. I will need to double up on my diet after all the treats that have been
floating around the library. Continuing with the holiday theme, Amber and I hosted the
staff Christmas party on Friday December 15. Almost everyone was able to make it and
a good time was had by all.
worked on a lot of planning for 2018 and beyond. A three-year strategic plan covering
2018-2020 will be reviewed at the January board meeting. I also spent time on 2017
staff performance reviews and 2017 year-end reports. I did not hear from attorney Amy
Jackson about our revised personnel policy, but I am confident in the changes we made
to payroll beginning in 2018. All employees, including hourly employees, will be paid
twice per month, with payment being made within 13 days of the end of each pay
period. This will require paychecks written at the end of a month to be approved after
the fact at the next monthly board meeting. Also, certain salaried employees who are
considered non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act will be asked to keep a time
sheet of hours worked, while continuing to be paid a salary.
Hillary and I attended Darin Michael’s final fall semester presentation on placing a social
work student at the Jacksonville Public Library. During the fall, Darin completed an
organizational assessment of the library, a community assessment of Jacksonville and
a final strategic plan for how a Social Work student will complete his or her practicum at
the Jacksonville Public Library. Darin did a good job with the presentation and we look
forward to him starting his practicum at the library on January 16.
In the area of building and grounds, the bottom floor of the new edition was painted in
early December and looks very nice. Because of a broken chime, a new door counter
was purchased and installed for the west side entrance. I also begin making plans with
Cors Electric for purchasing energy efficiency lighting for the library, which is now
eligible for a rebate through Ameren’s energy efficiency program. Starting in August,
Ameren took over this program from the State of Illinois and the process has been
streamlined greatly.
In December, I attended several meetings, both work and community related, and
participated in volunteer activities. The library Book Club did not meet in December, but
the Poetry Group did get together. I also attended conversation group meetings, rotary
meetings, and a Main Street board meeting. Volunteer activities included ringing bells
for the Salvation Army and preparing and serving sack lunches through the Jacksonville
Congregational Church program. Other tasks keeping me busy during December
included website and Facebook maintenance, collection development and maintaining
the day-to-day operations of the library.
Adult Services
Hillary maintained the library website and Twitter accounts with regular updates to
promote the library’s programs and services. She and Library Clerk Bridget Dean held a
holiday craft program, which went extremely well and resulted in requests for similar
programs in the future. She worked on investigating and scheduling programs for 2018
and secured several promising presenters, including local author and MacMurray
professor Dr. Joe Squillace, who recently published a book on the history of the Poor
Farm in Morgan County. She also continued to weed the adult fiction section in order to
accommodate new books.
Hillary created and distributed the library’s newsletter both physically and electronically
to a variety of media and social service outlets. Following the success of the enewsletter,
she plans to begin targeted email campaigns to patrons who express
interest in specific programs and topics. The remainder of Hillary’s time was spent
working with Chris to identify goals for the strategic plan, how to achieve 2018 goals,
and fielding requests regarding genealogy and library services.
Circulation Services
Circulation staff continued to provide excellent customer service to every patron that
entered the library. December was a little on the slow side at the adult circulation desk
due to the holidays, but this is to be expected. Circulation staff withdrew close to 70
books as part of an ongoing project to ensure that the library is collecting items that are
relevant to our community. Sarah also ran a weeding report for Hillary that details
pertinent information about the books in our fiction section.
Sarah finished her last Windows 10 computer class in December. The four-session
class explained the differences between Windows 7 and 10 so that attendees would
have a better understanding of all the new uses of the operating system. Approximately
20 people attended the classes and in the end, each person felt like they had gained
new skills in Windows 10. In addition, Sarah had one technology session this month
with a patron who needed help with Microsoft Word and building a resume.
Finally, circulation staff started a project to change the way the library’s “new” books are
marked. There used to be a tab on the inside cover of the book, which didn’t make it
obvious to patrons that an item was “new.” Now, the library will be putting “new” stickers
on the spines of our recently added books to denote the fact that an item is “new.” It will
also simplify the check-in process for staff members and make it easier for items to be
shelved in the regular section when they are no longer considered “new.”
Extension Services
Homebound patrons enjoyed receiving candy, Christmas cards and 2018 calendars in
addition to their book deliveries during the month of December. Many thanks to Mary Lou
Lael and Betty Ford for supplying a large number of colorful calendars (Sierra Club, Easter
Seals, veterans' groups, etc.) to distribute to folks who aren't on quite so many charity
mailing lists.
The Book Club at Knollwood met on December 8 to learn about Christmas traditions and
trivia, including the origins of favorite holiday carols. The Jacksonville Senior Center
group didn't meet in December due to scheduling conflicts.
Diane represented the library at the December 7 Morgan County Professionals for Senior
Wellness brunch at Knollwood, and the Morgan/Scott/Greene County Planning
Committee meeting on December 14 at Passavant.
Diane also attended the retirement party for Larry Werries on December 13 at the
Jacksonville Center for Independent Living offices. Larry served as an important resource
on vision and disability issues.
Youth Services
Cindy had a bit of snafu with Santa cancelling a week before the children’s Christmas
party, but she was able to get another Santa to come and was very grateful. All of the
kids had a fun time at the Christmas party on Saturday December 16. Cindy appeared
on WLDS radio to advertise Youth Services’ new S.T.E.A.M. programs. She also got a
jump-start on the new programs by holding a program called Hot Wheels Speedometry
on December 27. The kids used Hot Wheels cars to learn about ramps, used different
surfaces to create a better racecourse and learned what effect collisions have on cars.
Some kids worked on figuring a way to make cars safer, while others worked on figuring
a way to make the collision have a bigger impact on the cars. This program was a fun
way to wrap up a great year on a very cold day.
Technical Services
Lauren continued to excel in her role as cataloger. With Linda’s cataloging assistance
and Heidi’s and Kim’s efficient processing of materials, things ran very smoothly in
Technical Services.
Committee Reports
Automation/Technology
None
Building and Grounds
Ashmore reported that the library, with help from Cors Electric, applied for the Ameren
Energy Efficiency lighting rebate. The library was able to get over $17,000 worth of
lights for $500, labor included. The new lighting will also save energy costs in the long
run.
Finance
Ashmore reported that the 2017 year-end General Fund surplus was $60,087.14.
Albers made a motion to move this amount from the General Fund to the Special
Reserve Fund, seconded by Beard. Motion carried. The transfer will take place after
the check is signed at the February board meeting.
Personnel
None
Public Relations
None
Friends of the Library
None
Rails/RSA
None
Old Business
None
New Business
Ashmore reviewed with the board a strategic plan for 2018-2020. Suggestions were
made from some board members. This plan is a working document and can change
over time.
Albers made a motion, seconded by Eckhoff, to make the closed session minutes from
the January 9, 2017 library board meeting available for public inspection. Motion
carried.
At 5:33 PM, the board voted to move into closed session for the purpose of discussing
personnel matters upon a motion made by Underbrink, seconded by Eckhoff.
The board returned to open session at 5:50 PM.
On a motion by Underbrink, seconded by Weeks, the board unanimously voted to
increase the director’s salary to $66,955.00, retroactive to January 1, 2018. This
increase represents a three percent raise over the 2017 salary, reflecting solid
leadership and organization skills, and improvements in key management areas.
There being no further business, the regular meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m. on a
motion by Eckhoff, seconded by Underbrink.
https://www.jaxpl.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Minutes%20of%20January%20Board%20Meeting(2).pdf
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