Board of Trustees

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE RESOURCES COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE PARK RIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY HELD SEPTEMBER 13, 2007 AT 7:33 P.M. IN THE THIRD FLOOR MEETING ROOM OF THE LIBRARY ROLL CALL: PRESENT: John Benka, Chair; Arthur Davis, Patricia Lofthouse, Richard Van Metre, Library Board; Janet Van De Carr, Library Director; Linda Egebrecht, Michael Vollmer, Tom Weiland, Library Staff. ABSENT:None. Approval of Committee Minutes Mrs. Lofthouse made a MOTION: To approve the minutes for the Resources Committee Meeting held August 16, 2007. Mr. Van Metre SECONDED the motion. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Library Card Sign Up Month Mrs. Van De Carr reported that seventeen businesses are participating throughout town. Displays are posted in the Library. The Library will have a prize drawing of a gift basket in conjunction with incentives being offered by the participating businesses. Elementary schools (public and private) are being visited by Library staff during September. Response has been encouraging as children continue to sign up for library cards. Illinois Per Capita Grant Application Mrs. Van De Carr reported that the Illinois Per Capita Grant Application is due in Springfield by October 15. The Grant is funded at about $1.15 per capita; therefore, the Library is expecting approximately $43,000. The three objectives the Library staff has presented for use of the grant monies are: To further publicize Library programs, services and collections, the need for which was indicated in our annual user survey. We will continue to implement the recommendations of our 2005 Marketing Plan. To maintain a level of “Established” for our book collection according to “Serving Our Public: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries” and to achieve a level of “Established” for our audiovisual collections. To expand our digital collection and continue to offer innovative new collections to our users. Mr. Davis made a MOTION: To approve the Illinois Per Capita Grant Application for FY2008 Mr. Van Metre SECONDED the motion. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Replacement Firewall Mrs. Van De Carr reviewed the issue of the replacement firewall; the purchase of such replacement was to take place within 3 to 4 years. The present firewall is no longer satisfactory. It is 4 years old and has been negatively affected by power outages. Mr. Vollmer, Access Services Manager, has recommended purchasing a new firewall from CDWG. Mr. Vollmer stated he has used this company's firewall product in previous years and stated that it is a very secure and strong vehicle. (See attached memo of September 5, 2007 for details.) The cost of the Cisco firewall is more than $5,000; Mrs. Van De Carr purchased it at a cost of $981.99 over the $5,000 ceiling. According to policy, the Board needs to approve Mrs. Van De Carr's decision at the next regular meeting since the purchase was in excess of $5,000. Mr. Van Metre made a MOTION: To approve Mrs. Van De Carr's emergency purchase of the Cisco ASA Appliance at a cost of $5,981.99, which exceeds the $5,000 approval limit for purchases of repairs and equipment. Mr. Davis SECONDED the motion. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Data Transmission Upgrade Because of the tremendous volume of Internet web-based use of computers; great demand is being placed on existing band width causing significant decrease in speed. Thus, the Library is moving toward not being able to support Internet use with reasonable/ acceptable speed due to the demands placed on the Library's equipment. As a result, Library staff is recommending the purchase of a data transmission upgrade. After considerable discussion, the Committee requested that this item be tabled until Mr. Vollmer and staff research what other comparable libraries are doing with regard to providing wider band width; why they are; what they have now; what they are changing to; what the costs are and deliver a revised report to the Committee. Adjournment: 8:30 p.m.