TRANSITION TIME

The clock has begun ticking on the life span of Rolling Prairie Library System.  You may have read Bev’s messages on the RPLS website.  On Tuesday May 17^th, the board of trustees voted to reduce RPLS business hours to Tuesdays through Fridays – a four-day work week – beginning July 1, 2010 -  in order to stretch our budget and maintain services to our member libraries for as long as possible.  The State of Illinois has not delivered the system’s full funding for the current fiscal year and there is no promise of future funding, only hope.

The other Illinois library systems are facing similar or worse fates, with some laying off much of the  staff and closing the doors.  The two services that remain among Illinois systems, at the request of the Illinois State Library, are delivery and the shared online catalogs.  RPLS will be operating with a revised delivery schedule.  Ask the library director about the new schedule and how it is affecting patron services. Library systems are looking at merging and new models of service.  The board of directors at RPLS are actively involved in this planning process as they are required to be by law. Discussions are taking place with a group of nearby regional library systems – Lewis & Clark, Shawnee, Lincoln Trail.  But RPLS is keeping an eye on developments in other parts of the state as well. Stay tuned to our website and to your email for additional news.  Documents for the discussions among the Southern Systems are being posted here.

  An exciting new service and shared collection. Participating libraries are:  Mt. Zion Public Library District, Decatur Public Library, Chatham Public Library District, Sherman Public Library District, Rochester Public Library District, Lincoln Public Library District, Helen Matthes Library in Effingham, Shelbyville Public Library, Mason City Public Library District, and Vespasian Warner Public Library District in Clinton. What is unique about the LibraryOnTheGo?  Patrons can never lose the book or drop it in a mud puddle.  The materials are never overdue because they are programmed to “evaporate” on their due date.  A digital component to your library’s collection is cost effective.  Plus, library staff is brought to the cutting edge through training on how to locate, checkout and download titles to patron portable devices, like laptops, iPhones, iPads, MP3 players, Nooks, etc. There are now over 300 titles in this shared collection – from classics to thrillers to comics to music and movies.  Patrons downloaded 236 titles in the first two weeks of operation.  See for yourself at LibraryOnTheGo.  There is also a tab to get there from our online catalog’s search screen.

  What’s in Your Library Closet?  It could be the COMP TIME skeleton.  Some libraries have discovered that library staff members and directors are tracking hours worked beyond the hours required in their job descriptions.  In a few cases, the hours have been accumulating for years.  In May, each library director received an email outlining the difference between the practices in the library, the policy approved by the board, and the law.  Sadly, if all three of these don’t line up in your library, then that skeleton could give you a very big and very expensive headache.  Here’s what you can do to avoid this situation in your library. Library boards would be advised to CLEARLY state the position of the library on these issues.  As the governing body of your library, the library board can be held liable for agreements made with employees that are not in compliance with the law.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, all employee positions are classified as either Exempt or Non-Exempt from overtime pay. Positions classified as exempt must meet certain criteria.  Learn the difference between the two types of positions but realize that overtime pay and compensatory time are also two different animals and that exempt employees may legally work out an agreement for compensatory time.  Adjust your personnel policies. Make certain your library board members read and understand the Fair Labor Standards Act.   Additional positive steps you can take to safeguard the library’s resources:

1. Make a clear, formal, and board-approved statement on both comp time and overtime policy.

2. Make certain ALL library employees understand that practices contrary to the policy are unacceptable.

3. Listen to your library director and library employees.  Find out what circumstances may be leading to extra time spent at the library and find a reasonable remedy – one that doesn’t negatively impact the quality of services offered to library patrons.  

  Reminder!! In order to be in compliance with the law and as monitored by the IL State Attorney General, the library must appoint both a FOIA and an OMA officer (Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act).  Changes in appointments require new training.

 

The FY2011 Requirement for the Per Capita Grant reads: The library board and staff must work together to support “Going Green” at the library.  Develop and submit a plan that will make the library more environmentally friendly as envisioned by the Green Governments Illinois Act [20 ILCS 3954].

Mary Downing of the Illinois State Library indicated the goal of the grant requirement was to move libraries in the direction of “green thinking”.  Regardless of the complexity of your library’s plan, your goal should be efforts to make obvious changes that the community will also notice.  Mary mentioned that a program about the environment or gardening, landscaping the library grounds with native plants, recycling bins, or energy reduction all qualify – either alone or in combination. Several ideas for green thinking can be found here.

Your library meets the intended goal if the grant application shows:

1) A plan of one or more efforts

2) An explanation of how it is different from current practice

3) If it could be measured (i.e. changing thermostat temps and tracking electric bills)

4) How you can make your library’s efforts visible to the community

  Dates to Note

Wednesday, September 15, 9:30 am-12:00 Spruced Up with Spare Change

Not all library renovations have to be big ticket items. Little things can make a big difference. Get ideas about things you can do to change the look of your library without breaking the bank. Designer Tracy Utzmyers will show you simple ideas that you can take back to your library and use. Need some problems solved? Send pictures to Rachel rachelm@rpls.ws  by Sept. 1st  Please register in L2 for this event.

Wednesday, September 15, 1:00-3:00 pm   Buildings and Birthdays with Fred Schlipf

Drippy ceiling?  Entry way shabby?  Front steps crumbling? Do you know when or how to plan a remodeling  project or an addition, or when to just start over with a new library building? Perhaps your  library needs to make better use of the space inside your library?  Dr. Fred Schlipf, Building Consultant and Instructor of the Library Buildings course at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will answer all your building questions. A limited number of 30-minute, one-on-one sessions with Dr. Schlipf are available after the event, so sign up before they are gone! Contact Angela for an appointment. Please register in L2 for this event.

  The Future of Your Library   In the March issue of the Trustee Times there was a blurb about Friends of the Library groups.  RPLS libraries have a broad spectrum of Friend’s Group – ranging from none to very active.  If you would like to know more about starting or reviving or energizing a Friends of the Library Group, please contact Louise W. Greene at 217.429.2586.

The Complete Library Trustee Handbook  New in 2010!

Trustee Times is a Quarterly Newsletter produced by
Rolling Prairie Library System
345 W. Eldorado Street, Decatur, IL 62522
Director: Beverly Obert, Editor: Louise Greene, Assisted by: Angela Thompson