Carbondale Reporter

Carbondale Public Library Board of Trustees met March 13.

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

Call to order.

Called to order at 4:32 p.m.

Roll call.

Introductions, audience and visitors. Visitors are asked to introduce themselves at this time and present any issues they wish to discuss. Visitors wishing to address specific agenda items will be granted two to five minutes at the discretion of the President, not to exceed a total of twenty minutes. The Library Board may cut short any comments that are irrelevant, repetitious, or disruptive. (Id. at 1425-26).

Present.

Barbara Levine, President (1)

Susan Tulis, Vice President (3)

Joyce Hayes, Secretary (1)

Julian Pei, Treasurer (2)

Philip Brown

Don Prosser (2)

Absent.

Roland Person (3)

Harriet Simon (3)

The number following the Trustee’s name indicates the number of absences this fiscal year. One seat is currently vacant.

Staff present.

Diana Brawley Sussman, Library Director; Gwen Hall Grosshenrich, Finance Manager

Visitors present.

One visitor.

President’s report.

None.

Secretary’s report.

1. Approval of the February 13, 2019 minutes. Philip Brown made a motion to approve the minutes with two minor corrections. Susan Tulis seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

Correspondence and communications.

None.

Financial report.

1. Approval of bills payable up to and including bills due March 15, 2019 to April 15, 2019. We are renewing databases, such as Gale and Junior Library Guild, and reaching the end of fiscal year spending.  Julian Pei made a MOTION to pay bills. Susan Tulis seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

2. Acceptance of the financial report for January 2020. We have received all but about $3,400 of the property tax levy. As directed by the Board we have opened a checking account at First Southern Bank and are in the process of transferring from First Mid-Illinois Bank to First Southern. Don Prosser moved to accept the financial report. Julian Pei seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

Librarian’s report.

1. Building and grounds maintenance. The board noted that the bathroom doors are looking shabby. The Director will see what the Maintenance Manager can do to improve them.

2. Community Cares. The Director and Social Work Interns are meeting with the Newman Center and Carbondale Township to learn more about emergency resources to determine how to fill service gaps and streamline the vetting process for those requests.

3. Property for sale beside the library. The property has been listed at a price that is beyond the library’s means.

4. Other. The Director is working with a committee of area librarians to develop continuing education opportunities for region-wide library staff. The Carbondale Public Library staff will attend the Reaching Forward South conference for their annual staff day, as this affordable conference, designed for front-line library staff, will take place in Carbondale on May 17. The Director is serving on the Illinois State Library’s Literacy Grant Review Committee. We submitted a Live & Learn Construction Grant for roof repair and construction of a glassed-in youth room. That grant committee will meet on March 14th to score applications. The Illinois Secretary of State will then approve or deny funding of scored applications.

The board was asked whether it would be okay for an employee to plug in an electric car during work shifts. They agreed by consensus to allow this.

Committee reports.

None.

Unfinished business.

1. Investment policy. Philip Brown moved to accept the investment of public funds policy as amended. Joyce Hayes seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

New business.

Other.

1. Patron conduct. On 3/9/19 a patron (SG) was banned for repeatedly verbally assaulting a librarian. This person has been at the center of a lot of disruptive group behavior, and he has been pursued in the library by the police a few times in the past month for fighting (though not on library property). Philip Brown moved to ban SG until and unless further notice. Don Prosser seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

Adjournment.

Adjourned at 5:25 p.m.

Next Board Meetings for 2019 (all in Public Library meeting room, 4:30 p.m., second Wednesday of each month): April 10, May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9, November 13, December 11

http://carbondalepubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/March-2019.pdf