City of Yorkville Public Library Policy Committee met Aug. 23.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Policy Committee meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairperson Keri Pesola, roll was called and a quorum was established.
Roll Call Committee Members: Keri Pesola-yes, Theron Garcia-yes, Tara Schumacher-yes
Others Present:
Library Director Shelley Augustine, Mike Krempski, Briggs Krempski
Recognition of Visitors: Ms. Pesola recognized the visitors
Public Comment:
Mr. Krempski gave each of the committee members a handout regarding selection of materials for the library. He said materials should be selected by a governing body and follow the Constitution, however, they cannot violate the inalienable rights of people. He said the handout had a flow chart and a few excerpts from the Constitution along with Q & A. He also spoke about an agenda item, the Public Comment policy. He said many Boards are violating the rights of citizens with their policies. He appreciates the Board, what they do and the personal time involved, but when something is being done unconstitutionally it is his job to remind the Board of the law and due process. He said the main objective of the government is to protect and preserve rights and the law of God. He cited several Articles and Sections from the Constitution. People are allowed to freely speak, have the right to speak at the local meetings and are to be free from interruptions. He stated that local policies cannot be made if they infringe upon guaranteed rights and if they supersede the Illinois or U.S. Constitution. He said he has the authority to give the Board instruction per the Illinois Constitution. Mr. Krempski said when addressing policies such as public speaking, the Board has no right to restrict it. He said the Board had taken oaths, signed them and they are on file at the County Clerk.
New Business:
Director Augustine said there are four policies to be addressed at this meeting, which will be taken to the Board of Trustees for a vote.
Draft Reference Services Policy
The Library has not had a policy for this before. It is taken from ILA with guidelines from ALA. Ms. Augustine noted that under the Forms of Inquiry and Response, the library has no incoming fax. Ms. Schumacher asked if this would include scanned material that someone might send—it would include that.
Review/Draft Updates to Public Comment Policy
This was sent to the Attorney for review. Ms. Augustine provided the previous and updated policy and areas highlighted in yellow are proposed changes. The Attorney stated the Board could limit Public Comment to 15 minutes for this size of a library, but Ms. Augustine believes it should be kept to 3 minutes per person or 5 minutes for one person if they represent a group. This is based on the number of speakers at the last meeting. The time limit can also be at the discretion of the Board President. Some punctuation changes were noted by Ms. Schumacher.
Review/Draft Updates to YPL Statements Policies
Director Augustine said this includes the Mission Statement, Value Statement, Vision Statement, Bill of Rights, Freedom to Read, Freedom to View, Code of Ethics Statement and Yorkville Public Library Trustee Ethics Statement. The Mission/Value/Vision Statements will not be revised until the Strategic Plan is compiled. The Code of Ethics for Trustees is new and combines the Trustee Ethics Statement and Code of Ethics Statement into this new policy. Ms. Schumacher asked if the Board can give input on these policies. No changes can be made since laws were passed enacting them. She asked what the purpose of reviewing the policies is, since Board members cannot change them. It is just for review by the Board each year. Ms. Augustine said the old Code of Ethics did not contain a statement which addresses dignity, rights and inclusion which is included in the new version. This revised policy came from ALA and United Board Libraries.
Review/Draft Updates to Board Bylaws Policies
The bylaws were last updated in 2018. The language highlighted in yellow is what the Director would like to add and language in red is to be determined. The State Statute says that a vacancy occurs when a Trustee declines to serve or is unable or absent for 12 months. The Director removed the portion referring to fines incurred by Trustees, removed language about electronic participation since a new policy is effective and removed references to the Community Relations committee since it no longer exists. Ms. Schumacher noted punctuation revisions.
These revised policies will be presented to the Board of Trustees at the next Board meeting. Ms. Augustine will also be including a policy regarding bomb threats, due to some suburban libraries receiving threats recently. She will also consult other libraries about their policies concerning this.
Executive Session: None needed
New Business cont. None
Adjournment:
There was no other business and the meeting was adjourned at 6:34pm.
https://www.yorkville.il.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5323
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