Indiana Library Federation

Board of Directors Meeting

Thursday, May 15, 2014, 2:00 p.m.

Indianapolis, IN

Attendance:Susan Akers, Marcia Au, Heather McNabb, Susie Highley, Gigi Shook, Kevin Petsche, Robin Crumrin, Kelly Ehinger, Wendy Knapp, LeeAnn Biggs, Jim Cline, Beverly Gard, Ruth Szpunar, Kathy Burnette

Phone:Karen Evans, Amy Harshbarger, Terry Rheinheimer

Absent: Laurel Setser, Renee Wozniak Anderson

President Marcia Au called the meeting to order at 2:23 pm.

Approval of Agenda:On a motion by Susie Highley with a second by Kelly Ehinger, the agenda was approved with no additions.

Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Beverly Gard with a second by Kelly Ehinger the minutes of March 2014 were approved as corrected. (all in favor). “Voices for Libraries” was corrected to “United for Libraries.”

Correspondence: Susan Akers reported thank you letters written by library directors were accumulated for the trip to Washington, D.C. and were hand-delivered to Senators Coats and Donnelly as well as to all congressional district members.

ILF Office Reports

  • Treasurer’s Report - Amy Harshbarger reviewed the Statement of Activity with budget comparison which is a new format. The ILF is doing very well financially. The board liked the new format showing how conference activity is broken down, among other updates. As to Cash and Investments, Harshbarger noted that the grand total dropped from $743,481 to $713,184 and this is attributed to moving funds from the Huntington Bank checking account into an interest bearing account. The Treasurer’s Report was approved on a motion from Beverly Gard and a second from Jim Cline. (all in favor)
  • Director’s Report- Susan Akers reported that our personal membership is the highest it has been in almost a decade. Akers gave an update on what’s happening with the insurance account, our roll out of a new library dues structure, and webinars.
  • Personal membership has increased due in part to those who joined ILF in order to receive a lower registration to attend PLA.
  • Akers drafted a letter to library directors detailing the new library membership dues including an estimate of their library’s dues for 2015.
  • The attorneys helped draft a letter to institutional members that were involved in the 1998 insurance program. The members must provide proof of paying Anthem in order to receive a prorated refund.
  • The staff is working on annual conference. Attendance registration will decrease this year due to lower hotel costs and free parking.
  • We will reach out to new library directors and to new members promoting the early bird rate for conference and to encourage continued membership.
  • ILF is looking into providing the most popular archived webinars at a reduced rate for members. The archived webinars would be available to non-members at a higher viewing fee.

Discussion Items

  • Nominating Committee Update- Robin Crumrin noted the ballot is coming together and they’ve received several nominations. The nominations will be finalized in late June and will be brought to the board for approval in July.
  • New Member Fee Proposal - Susan Akers proposed a $10 fee reduction to new members to attend the ILF Annual Conference. This proposed discount will affect the budget by about $1,000. The discussion centered around whether members already receive a fair discount. She stated that the idea is to encourage more new members to attend annual conference. The question was asked, “Will this $10 really make a difference in conference attendance?” President Au proposed that we give a discount to first-time conference-goers instead of first-time members. McNabb proposed target marketing to new members to highlight what discounts they are already receiving.
  • Update on Washington, DC Trip- President Au stated we will discuss this item with the ALA councilor’s report later in the meeting.

Action Items

  • Approval of 2015 Budget - Amy Harshbarger and Kevin Petsche led a discussion on the new budget. The budget was presented at -$696. The discussion from the board centered around having a balanced budget instead of a deficit budget. It was noted that ILF is not required to have a balanced budget coupled with the deficit being miniscule, and it should be approved. Others noted that since the deficit is only $696, we should reduce annual conference expenses by the corresponding amount. There was also a discussion on AISLE not receiving funds for activities for 2015. Even though their budget request was late, Akers noted that while we are in transition with the new library dues structure for 2015, AISLE should tap into their healthy investment account instead of relying on new money. It was determined that we should consult the bylaws as to how to handle requests after the deadline. There was a question about YHBA showing a negative; there was a question asking how a contribution to a program is booked (It is booked as revenue). The budget was amended to show a balanced budget.The amended budget was approved after a motion by Kevin Petsche with a second by Ruth Szpunar. (all in favor)
  • Legislated Committee Co-Chair Approval- Lissa Krull was approved as co-chair to the Legislative Committee on a motion from President Marcia Au and a second by Jim Cline. (all in favor)

Association Reports

  • IPLA- Kelly Ehinger reported IPLA didn’t have a meeting in April. A meeting is scheduled for May 28.
  • AISLE- Susie Highley reported there will be an EdCamp Indy meeting on June 13 at Pike High School. The Read-Aloud Committee meet to choose selections every other year. AISLE will be working on getting stickers to distribute at EdCamp. They will be broadening this program to include hospitals.
  • IALA- Karen Evers reported IALA met and have found three people to serve on the committee. They also offer webinars through ACRL. There will be a session at Purdue, September 16 called Putting The User First: You’re Doing it Wrong.
  • ILTA - LeeAnn Biggs noted the task force met May 15 to discuss restructuring. They will also meet again June 3 to discuss the new direction and review bylaws. If the board would like to offer input, please contact Kelly Ehinger, Jim Cline, Beverly Gard, Marcia Au, or LeeAnn Biggs.

ALA Councilor’s Report

  • Terry Rheinheimer reported on the trip to Washington, DC that Marcia Au, Robin Crumrin, Tisa Davis, Nancy Valentine (Gary, Ind.trustee) and Terry Rheinheimer made recently. They had an appointment in each district legislator’s office and delivered packets with information on LSTA grants and other issues including Net Neutrality. Most of the legislators were sympathetic and the trip was deemed successful. Marcia Au followed up with emails and received three responses. Gigi Shook invited a legislator to her school building.

Ex-Officio Member Report - Indiana State Library

  • Wendy Knapp reported there is a Civil War exhibit on display until August 29. The exhibit, Hardship and Hope, commemorates the sesquicentennial. The INSPIRE advisory council meets May 21. Libraries have not been considered major players with e-rate and with a reform on the horizon the Indiana State Library would like to change that. The library coalition is pushing for 1 GB in every school library. As to the new state librarian, there are six or seven in the first round [phone interviews].

ILHB Report

  • Wendy Knapp included the IHLB report in the ex-officio report preceding.

Discussion Items

  • Old Business - none.
  • New Business - Beverly Gard suggested we have a master calendar of all committee meetings.

Announcements

  • The next meeting is Thursday, July 17 at 2pm in the ILF Office Park, 941 E. 86th St, Building 911, Suite 40, lower level.
  • Future meetings are scheduled for September 18 and December 2.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:51pm.

Submitted by Kathy M. Burnette, Secretary