McLean County Times

Golden Prairie Public Library District Board of Trustees met Oct. 16.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

I. Call to Order

President Anderson called the regular meeting to order at 5:00 pm.

II. Roll Call

Trustees Present: Ruth Novosad, Stephen Peterson, Jim Russell, Patti Salch, Kathy Vroman, Stephanie Walden, Ary Anderson

Others Present: Nan Goerlitz, Jeanne Hamilton, Kathy Jeakins

Absent: none

III. Introductions

There were no introductions.

IV. Public Comments

There were no public comments.

V. President’s Report

Ary, along with Kathy Vroman and Jeanne Hamilton, met with Leadership McLean County to begin work on the marketing project.

VI. Approval of Minutes

A. September 18, 2024 Regular Meeting

The minutes were approved as presented.

VII. Staff Reports

A. Director’s Report: Jeanne shared that the Illinois Library Association is hosting in-person legislative meet ups in December. Any interested Trustees should let her know by the November meeting. She also passed around an annual report from Hoopla on the Library’s usage statistics. Finally, she shared that the Library recently launched StackMap, which provides a link to map to each specific material's location in the Library in the online catalog.

Turning to the Leadership McLean County meeting, Jeanne indicated the group seemed excited about the project. The group has asked for confirmation that the goal is to come up with a detailed marketing plan with a digital component letting GPPLD constituents know about BPL services and implement an effective tracking mechanism to document efficacy. Their plan consists of creating a survey and creating a marketing plan around the results including an implementation guide. There was discussion about how to obtain mailing addresses for the residents.

B. Outreach Report: Meredith is a new bookmobile driver, having obtained her CDL classification. Jeanne mentioned that WZND did a story about BookTok, book-related content on TikTok, including an interview with one of BPL’s bookmobile drivers. Following up on a discussion from the last meeting, postcards were mailed to the residents on the Ellsworth bookmobile route in late August/early September, and there has been an increase in attendance. Colleen told Jeanne that Ellsworth, Arrowsmith, and Shirley are usually safe from elimination because they are crucial service points to these areas.

C. Financial Report: Kathy Jeakins stated that the reports are in the packet.

VIII. Unfinished Business

A. Approve Bylaw Revisions

PATTI SALCH MOVED, AND STEPHANIE WALDEN SECONDED TO APPROVE THE BYLAW REVISIONS AS PRESENTED.

THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

IX. New Business

A. Approve Tax Levy Ordinance

RUTH NOVOSAD MOVED, AND STEPHANIE WALDEN SECONDED TO APPROVE ORDINANCE NO. 24-02 ORDINANCE LEVYING AND ASSESSING TAX FOR GOLDEN PRAIRIE PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT OF MCLEAN COUNTY STATE OF ILLINOIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING THE 1ST DAY OF JULY 2024 AND ENDING THE 30TH DAY OF JUNE 2025.

YAYS: RUTH NOVOSAD, STEPHEN PETERSON, JIM RUSSELL, PATTI SALCH, KATHY VROMAN, STEPHANIE WALDEN, ARY ANDERSON

NAYS: NONE

THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

B. Acceptance of FY24 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

RUTH NOVOSAD MOVED, AND PATTI SALCH SECONDED TO ACCEPT THE FY24 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT.

YAYS: RUTH NOVOSAD, STEPHEN PETERSON, JIM RUSSELL, PATTI SALCH, KATHY VROMAN, STEPHANIE WALDEN, ARY ANDERSON

NAYS: NONE

THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

C. Discussion of Per Capita Grant Requirements – Part 1: Jeanne Hamilton reviewed portions of Serving Our Public 4.0: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries.

X. Comments from Board Trustees

Ruth Novosad reported on presentations she attended during the ILA Conference. She commented that after each presentation, she felt proud that GPPLD and BPL are doing very well with services. She also shared that if there is a digital component to the new marketing plan, a social media policy is probably needed. Jim Russell highlighted some of his takeaways from the ILA Conference, including one from a session on legal considerations on social media. His main point from this session was not to intermingle government activities with personal on your personal Facebook page. Another session he attended was Building Bridges and Breaking Boundaries: the Library As a Resource for Non-Users. It turned out to be more focused on children’s issues, but he did feel it reinforced GPPLD’s focus on looking at data to help make decisions. The last session he attended had to do with strategic planning, which also reinforced the time spent recently updating the plan.

XI. Reminder

A. Next Board Meeting is November 20, 2024

XII. Adjournment

Ary Anderson adjourned the meeting at 6:04 pm.

https://www.bloomingtonlibrary.org/sites/default/files/content/minutes/October%2016%202024%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf