Jacksonville Public Library Board met March 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
The regular meeting of the Jacksonville Public Library Board of Directors was held March 12, 2018 in the library’s conference room. Present were President Mary Fergurson, Noel Beard, Craig Albers, Katie Weeks, Forrest Keaton, Elizabeth Kennedy, Kevin Eckhoff, Library Director Chris Ashmore and Adult Services Librarian Hillary Peppers. Absent were Ted Roth and Robert Underbrink.
President Fergurson called the meeting to order at 4:32 pm.
It was moved by Eckhoff and seconded by Weeks that the minutes of the February board meeting be accepted as submitted. Motion carried.
It was moved by Beard and seconded by Albers that all financial reports for March be approved and that all properly approved bills for March in the amount of $56,223.98 be paid out of general funds as funds are available. Motion carried.
Fergurson reported the balance from the latest Endowment Report.
Director’s Report-
Compared to January, February passed by in a hurry. That being said, much was accomplished at the Jacksonville Public Library. Hillary and I worked closely with MacMurray College social work intern Darin Michael. We met with him weekly as well as helping him as questions arose and signing off on each of his interactions. At this point, Darin has had 37 consultations at the midpoint in his time at the library.
I met with MacMurray Social Work Field Director Jodi Pupillo on February 13 to review how Darin was doing. Both sides were very pleased with his performance. I also found out that the library would likely get a junior practicum student for 200 hours during the fall semester and then another senior practicum student for 400 hours next spring.
After finding out that Sam’s Mowing could no longer perform our landscape maintenance, I took bids from other landscape businesses in February. I will make a decision sometime in March. Several computer upgrades were made, including new hardware for our microfilm PC, a new hard drive for Cindy’s computer and a new laptop.
Sarah and I discussed a plan for acquiring WIFI hotspots for library checkout. This will basically allow patrons to check out the Internet and bring it home with them for no cost. The hotspots should be available early this spring after they arrive and circulation details are finalized. Cors Electric installed most of the new lighting that we were able to purchase through the Ameren lighting incentive program. A few of the bulbs still need to arrive.
On February 19, I appeared on WLDS to discuss upcoming library programs and services with Gary Scott. We always get a good response from patrons after a radio appearance. Diane and I attended a Lions club meeting held at the library on February 20 to talk with them about how the library provides services for the visually impaired and how we have spent their donation money over the years. The group was quite impressed with the library and its collection. After the meeting, I took the group’s suggestion and installed screen reader software on one of our public computers. Other meetings keeping me busy in February included weekly Conversation Group meetings; a Book Club meeting where the group discussed The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead; a teleconference concerning our Freegal music download and streaming service; and a Friends of the library board meeting.
Other tasks keeping me busy during February included rewriting the Friends of the Library Bylaws for them; program planning; collection development; and Facebook and website maintenance. I also stayed active in the community with Sunrise Rotary meetings, program planning for the Morgan County Historical Society, Jacksonville Main Street meetings and volunteering at the Bar-2-Bar golf outing on February 17 and the Chili Cook Off at the county fairgrounds on February 25.
Adult Services-
Hillary began weeding the magazines in February, removing back issues and reorganizing to accommodate the upcoming 2018 publications. It was a busy and successful month for adult programing. She and Library Clerk Bridget Dean oversaw a crowd-pleasing craft program, the local history program presented by MacMurray College’s Dr. Joe Squillace had a wonderful turnout and the Resume Writing Workshop was a hit with job seekers looking for guidance on how to craft their resumes.
Hillary and Chris worked closely with social work intern Darin Michael and she provided advice on marketing the upcoming programs he has scheduled. She also maintained the library’s website, advised dozens of patrons on internet tasks, many pertaining to the download of tax materials and had a technology appointment to assist a patron with a newly acquired device. Hillary contributed to the weekly Shelf Life newspaper column, created the March newsletter and worked to promote library programs and services through print and social media.
Interlibrary Loan/Holds-
In February, there were 920 items borrowed from other libraries; 709 items lent to other libraries; and 420 reciprocal circulations.
Circulation Services-
Circulation staff continued to provide excellent customer service to every patron that entered the library. February was a short, but steadily busy month. Sarah investigated a variety of different options for a collection of circulating Wi-Fi hotspots. She researched different companies, possible discounts and a variety of devices. She also consulted listservs to determine what other libraries were using and what they found to work well for their organizations. Sarah also updated the Book Pak on the library’s website to reflect our new book additions.
Sarah created two weed lists: one was for adult fiction with authors who have last names that start with the letters J-L and one was for large print nonfiction. Weed lists help staff determine what books are being checked out and which ones are no longer of interest to our patrons. By weeding at regular intervals, the library’s collection ends up looking fresh and tidy. Sarah also worked on deleting expired users who have not used their library cards in over two years. She withdrew a number of items that had been damaged beyond repair. She also pulled books from the ‘new’ shelf that were no longer new and changed their locations in the catalog manually. Last but not least, Sarah wrote blog posts as time permitted.
Extension Services-
February was a short month, but packed with lots of activities. Homebound patrons stayed healthy, which was a big improvement over January. For added variety, MacMurray College intern Darin Michael accompanied Diane as she traveled to the Senior Center, Knollwood Book Club, a couple of home deliveries, and even substituted for Lloyd at Heritage Health. Darin was able to speak with several of our homebound patrons and experience how the outreach deliveries make an impact in our community.
Diane represented the library at the Morgan County Professionals for Senior Wellness meeting at Heritage Health on February 1, and picked up information on dealing with patrons who experience an epileptic seizure at the Morgan/Scott/Greene County Planning Committee meeting at Passavant Hospital on February 8.
"Washington, Lincoln, and Groundhog Day" was the discussion topic for the Knollwood Book Club on February 9 and the Jacksonville Area Senior Center Book Club on February 27. Weeding in the non-fiction section got off to a slow but steady start.and the new books are coming in fast.
Youth Services-
The new series of S.T.EA.M. programs moved forward with great attendance and participation. All of the items listed on the grant from the Jacksonville Children's Foundation have been purchased and arrived. Story Time continues its regular pace, and as the weather has improved, Cindy saw some families return, which was fun. Cindy met with Mary Lou Lael and Don Pigg to plan this year's Garden Club schedule. They will be working with Westfair Kiddie Kollege again. Garden Club is open to anyone to attend, but Cindy likes to partner with at least one daycare so there is some continuity from week to week. Garden Club begins on May 2 and goes until August 15.
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 he signed a contract with Green Works Inc. to take care of the library’s landscaping from March through October. They came highly recommended and asked for a fair price of $750/month.
Ashmore reported that he spoke with Jamie Cosgriff of Graham and Hyde Architects Inc. in Springfield about doing a new facilities assessment report for the library. Jamie will get back to Ashmore in late spring or early summer about this project.
Finance-
None
Personnel-
Ashmore reported that the library’s new personnel policy was handed out to each employee. Per Beard’s suggestion, a receipt stating that he or she has received, read and understood the personnel policy will be signed and collected from each employee.
Public Relations-
Ashmore reported that he was working with Professor Emily Adams of Illinois College to bring Colson Whitehead, author of last year’s Pulitzer Prize Winning The Underground
Railroad, to Jacksonville for an appearance at both the public library and at Illinois College.
Friends Of The Library:
Ashmore reported on the Friends of the Library February Board Meeting. The Friends made changes to their bylaws, moved the Author of the Year contest to the fall and are planning a major book sale in May.
RAILS/RSA:
None
Old Business:
None
New Business:
Ashmore reminded the board that the April board meeting would be held on Thursday April 12 at 4:30 pm.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 pm. on a motion by Beard, seconded by Eckhoff.
https://www.jaxpl.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Minutes%20of%20March%20Board%20Meeting(2).pdf
Alerts Sign-up