McLean County Times

Carlock Public Library District Board met Oct. 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President, Beth Moore, called the meeting to order at 6:47 pm. Board members present were David Garrison, Mike Miller, Lacey Fritsch, Kevin Moore, Nick Birky, and Laura Stephenson. No members were absent. Library Director Christie Lau was in attendance. There were no visitors. The meeting was recorded. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Public Hearing for Truth in Taxation: At the time the meeting began, no visitors were present for the public hearing. The board waited 17 minutes before beginning the regular meeting.

Correspondence:

● There was one piece of correspondence from the Woodford County Assessments Office regarding the EAV.

Approval of Minutes

● Regular Board Meeting September 2023: approved as read

Reports

● Library Director: Overall circulation numbers continue to increase (both from last year and from the last quarter). There were 46 new cards issued this quarter. There were a number of programs offered in the first quarter that did very well. The library & the elementary school are going to partner a little more closely during this school year. November 16 is a family reading day that will be promoted by both the school & the library. Homeschool hangouts have been very popular.

● President: No report

● Secretary: No report

● Finance Committee: No report

● Policy Committee: No report

Financial Reports:

● Financial Statements September 2023: The payment of $36,000 was paid to the bank towards the beginning of September. Money was received twice from McLean County and once from Woodford County from tax distributions. On October 10, the library received a corrected financial statement from the end of June 2023. The gifts fund was incorrect and has been corrected. Additionally, there was an error in the liability insurance fund that has been corrected. There was a final correction on the committed funds. McLean County should be sending another tax distribution in May. The issues in the financial reports were caught by the library director prior to the financial report being published in the Quill.

Old Business:

● Tax Levy Ordinance - 2023: This is the final ordinance of the year. It has been written in the new format as recommended. There were no public comments during the Truth in Taxation Public Hearing. Lacey made a motion to approve the ordinance. Nick seconded the motion. The vote was 6-1 with Mike being the nay vote. The motion carried.

New Business:

● Materials Selection/Collection Development Policy: There are a few updates to this policy including the number of hours the library is open per week. Additionally, a Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement are listed as being part of this policy. This is important with upcoming legislation. There was a discussion regarding how the library determines if a book is suitable for purchase by the library. The criteria in the policy along with the propositions in the Freedom to Read Statement are intended to cover the practices used in determining which books to purchase. Discussion also focused on who should determine suitability - the board of the library director. It was discussed that the board sets the criteria, but then entrusts the library director to make the decisions regarding specific books. Christie indicated that the goal is always to purchase materials that will actually circulate instead of just staying on the shelves. The library staff also listens to the patrons in terms of what they are interested in reading. For example, the patrons of this library do not tend to read biographies, so few are purchased. Currently, Christie is going through the collection to determine which books are circulating and which are not to determine which are still relevant and accurate today. Beth made a motion to accept the policy as written. Dave seconded the motion. Vote was 6-1 with Mike voting nay. Motion passed.

● Heating & Cooling Solution for original library building: Dave reached out to Hermes just to get an initial quote so that the library board would have a starting place for discussion about a heating/cooling system for the old bank portion of the building. The recommendation is to have a separate system for the vault since the doorways and basic structure of the building prevent air floor. In the summer on a hot day, there can be a temperature difference of 15-20 degrees between the newer portion of the library and the old bank building. Humidity is also a concern. Mike questioned if it would be cheaper to add ductwork to the old bank section and get a larger unit that would cover the old bank section as well as the middle section. Dave will bring some additional paperwork next month about these types of systems for discussion.

Upcoming meetings:

● Next regular meeting: November 21, 2023 at 6:30pm.

Lacey made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dave seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:39pm.

https://www.carlocklibrary.com/files/2d2781599/10_17_23+Meeting+Minutes.pdf