Carbondale Reporter

Anne West Lindsey Library District Board met May 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

The monthly meeting of the Anne West Lindsey District Library of May 27, 2025 was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by President Heather Abell Castlebery and a quorum was established. In attendance were Heather Abell Castlebery, Betsy McKinney, Sharon Wunderle, Paula Buritsch, and Elaine Miskell. The library director, Mary Stoner and financial secretary, Jennifer Sigler attended as well.

New board members, Betsy McKinney and Sharon Wunderle took the oath of office.

A motion to approve the agenda was made by Elaine Miskell and seconded by Betsy McKinney. The motion carried.

Minutes from the April 22, 2025 meeting were read and approved with a motion from Paula Buritsch and seconded by Sharon Wunderle. The motion carried.

Under Communications, Mary Stoner distributed for viewing a Thank You note from Carterville High School Publication Staff and one from Rhonda Grieve, former board member.

Mr. Kazda, patron and avid reader, sent a copy of an article on libraries to Director Stoner and was shared with the board.

In the Library Director’s Report, Mary Stoner reported the following:

(1) Since the Teen Librarian, Trinity, left April 30th numbers have gone from 50 plus, to 9. The decrease from not having a librarian on staff.

(2) The new library program, Patron Point is working well. Mary is working on getting local businesses To give $100 to have their logo at the end of the emails we send to patrons. Welcome emails go to patrons when they get their library card.

(3) Emily and Nicole attended the Carterville Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting on May 7th and were able to share information on the Summer Reading Program.

(4) Asked for quote from Magic Carpet Cleaning to strip and wax front foyer.

(5) Worked with landscaper on projects. The butterfly garden was redone. Photo of Butterfly garden was shared with the board.

(6) It was discovered that both outside water spickets were not working and there was water running toward the building. We will get a quote for repairs.

(7) Upcoming events, Summer Reading Kick-Off is June 2nd.

(8) May Programming total is 1167.

Along with the Director’s report, Mary Stoner presented reports from the librarians for the month of May 2025. During the month of May, library staff processed 330 items. 10 new library cards were issued. The total number of Anne West Lindsey District Library cardholders is 6520. Polaris reports 3478 unexpired cards. The staff estimate is around 4533. Petty cash on hand is $60.00. The Directors and Librarians’ reports were accepted with a motion from Elaine Miskell and seconded by Betsy McKinney.

The Financial Secretary’s Report was presented by financial secretary Jennifer Sigler. She reported on the library’s assets, profit and loss, and operating budget vs. actual, July 2024 through April 2025; deposit detail and check detail for the month of April 2025. A motion was made by Elaine Miskell and seconded by Sharon Wunderle to accept this financial report per audit. The motion carried.

Library Board of Trustees Business Financial Secretary’s Request was made by Jennifer Sigler to move $100,000 from the tax account at 1st Mid Bank to the payroll account at the Bank of Herrin. A motion was made by Sharon Wunderle and seconded by Betsy McKinney. The motion carried.

Board Action on Library Director’s requests. Heather Abell Castlebery was presented with a plaque in honor of her service as President of the AWL Board. Her name was also added to the plaque that is kept at the library.

New Business:

Bank Letters: Letters from Bank of Herrin, 1st Mid Bank, Banterra Bank, and First Southern Bank were presented to add new board members to bank accounts and remove the former members.

Trustee Training and Comments: the IL Dept of Labor handout for members. Betsy and Sharon were advised about the training for the Open Meetings Act.

Elaine Miskell made a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel issues. Sharon Wunderle seconded the motion. The motion carried. Sharon Wunderle made a motion to go into open session. Betsy McKinney seconded the motion. The motion carried. Elaine Miskell made a motion to increase Mary Stoner’s salary by 62 cents per hour. Betsy McKinney seconded the motion and it carried.

Committees were chosen for the 25/26 fiscal year.

Finance: Elaine Miskell and Nancy Schmidt

Personnel: Betsy McKinney and Paula Buritsch

Policy: Nancy Schmidt and Elaine Miskell

Building and Grounds: Sharon Wunderle and Bill Slider

By-Laws Review: Sharon Wunderle and Elaine Miskell

Strategic Planning: Paula Buritsch and Bill Slider

Energy (new): Betsy McKinney and Paula Buritsch

The next Anne West Lindsey District Library Board Meeting will be held on June 24, 2025 at 6:30pm.

A motion to adjourn was made by Elaine Miskell and seconded by Betsy McKinney at 7:57 pm.

https://awlindsey.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/May-27-2025-AWLDL-BOT-meeting-minutes.pdf