Carbondale Reporter

Herrin City Library Board of Trustees met Jan. 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Present: Jones, Priest, Guebert, Maloney, McKeown, Watson, Hickman, Sarver

Also Present: Library Director Susan Mullen

Absent: Frost

The meeting was called to order at 6:29 PM by President Jones.

Visitor(s): None

Correspondence: None

Secretary’s Report: Guebert moved to approve the minutes from December 2024 with typo corrections. Watson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report:

Bills to be Paid: McKeown moved to approve the payment of $2,365.17 for expenses incurred from December 17 – December 31, 2024, and $2,003.82 for expenses incurred from January 1 – January 14, 2025. Priest seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

City Budget Report: Last month’s report shows that 71.6% of the budget has been spent, with 66.6% of the fiscal year completed, leaving a checking account balance of $242,836.60. Guebert moved to approve the report. Sarver seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Financial Balance Statement: Priest moved to approve the Library balance report from the previous month. Maloney seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Librarian’s Report:

December 2024 had a 10% increase in circulation compared to December 2023. A total of 306 unique Borrowers Cards were used. Patrons placed a total of 449 Hold Requests. A total of 416 Hold Requests were filled (borrowed.) We loaned 405 titles to other libraries and borrowed 727 titles from the other Heartland SHARE Libraries. We registered a total of 10 new borrowers, bringing us to 5,781 registered borrowers. A total of 43 new titles were added to the collection, making a total of 42,459 volumes in the collection. The Library Director attended the IHLS Director’s Chat on December 5 & 19. A Christmas Murder was presented again by Lisa Carnaghi on December 19th. Lisa also decorated the magazine area with local Christmas history and set up a Letters to Santa station. Local artist Janice Hill-Griffith has an exhibit in the magazine area through the end of March. The Lawyer in the Library program continues. HCL hosted a City of Herrin Animal Control Angel Tree which collected a huge amount of donations for the shelter. The children’s librarian position has been filled with a part time librarian, and a part time position has been filled as well. We are still seeking applicants for a Full-Time Assistant Director/Cataloger. We have received a memorial donation of $5,000 to support Libby for the next fiscal year. We need to review the PerCapita Grant and submit it by January 30, 2025. Susan also completed the Annual Library Certification process for HCL on January 7th, 2025.

Children’s Librarian’s Report: One story hour hosted in December: Christmas Story Hour on December 19, 2024 (6 children, 5 adults). We read three books, made yarn-wrapped tree ornaments, and played holiday games.

Committee Reports:

Friends Liaison (Maloney): The Friends approved to pay the $345.79 from Susan’s Wishlist via email. Next meeting is February 3rd.

History Room (Hickman, McKeown): Report submitted by Lisa Carnaghi. Researched ten patron requests and assisted walk-in patrons. An encore Christmas Murder presentation was given December 19th. The 125th anniversary calendars sales have slowed down as expected, but there are not many remaining. The “In Bloody Williamson” presentation has been posted to YouTube. A ViewScan 4 microfilm digitizer/reader has been ordered. The exhibit for Janice Hill Griffith’s artwork is displayed and will be up through March.

Building and Grounds (Priest, Jones): none

Community Enrichment (Guebert & Sarver & Watson): none

Library Development and Technology (Watson): none

Special Gifts Committee (Frost): none

Old Business:

Tech Grant: Website update

Two companies have been contacted. They’ve confirmed receipt of the inquiry but have not gotten back to us yet.

Personnel update

Children’s Librarian duties have been covered. The full time position of Assistant Director is still open.

Any other Old Business

New Business:

PerCapita Grant review & Annual Certification

Reworded a bullet point on Chapter 3, fixed minor typos

Watson made a motion to approve the Annual Certification. Guebert seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Verify addresses for upcoming SEI

Approve moving funds back to savings

60k moved from checking to savings

Maloney made a motion to move the funds. Watson seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment: Maloney moved to adjourn at 7:08 PM.

Next Meeting Date: February 11, 2025, at 6:30pm

https://herrincitylibrary.org/about-us/board-of-trustees/meeting-minutes/january-2025/?doing_wp_cron=1737358715.2317299842834472656250