RAILS Board Orientation July 2019 Library System History Pre-1965 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

RAILS Board Orientation

July 2019

Library System History

• Pre-1965 – Library cooperation in Illinois virtually nonexistent
• August 17, 1965 – Illinois Library System Act became law

(Illinois Compiled Statutes, 75 ILCS 10). Illinois first state to do this.

• By July 1967 – 18 public library systems
• 1983 – System Act recognized multitype library systems
• By 1990 – all systems multitype except Chicago Public
• 1992-2004 – Various mergers brought number of multitype

systems to nine

Library System Act enacted to: Encourage the improvement of free public libraries and to encourage cooperation among all types of libraries in promoting the sharing of library resources.

Recent System History

• July 2011 – Reaching Across Illinois System

(RAILS) forms from merger of five systems

• July 2011 – Illinois Heartland Library System

(IHLS) forms from merger of four systems

• Currently, two multitype systems and one public

library system (Chicago Public Library System) in Illinois

Illinois Library Systems, 2019

RAILS Members

Library Type Main Agencies Buildings/Branches Academic 118 166 Public 412 488 School 555 3,117 Special 184 194 Total 1,269 3,965

RAILS Members

9% 32% 44% 15% Academic Public School Special

RAILS Governance

Governed by 15-member board, elected by membership or appointed to fill vacancies between elections

• 8 seats – public library trustees
• 1 seat – academic library employee
• 1 seat – school library employee
• 1 seat – special library employee
• 4 at-large seats – trustees or employees from any

library type

RAILS Board Member Job Description

General Duties

• 11 board meetings per year
• At least one committee
• Monitor RAILS finances
• Establish/approve policies
• Hire/evaluate Executive

Director

• Ambassadors for RAILS

Requirements

• Open Meetings Act training
• File annual Statement of

Economic Interest

• File annual Conflict of Interest

form

• Stay familiar with system laws
• Attend orientation

RAILS Board Committees

Advocacy Committee

• Educate board members about

issues affecting RAILS and libraries that may require advocacy efforts Consortia Committee

• Recommend ways to

improve/increase consortial services

• 2 RAILS Board members and reps

from shared catalog consortia Executive Committee

• Board President, Vice-President,

Secretary, and Treasurer Policy Committee

• Makes recommendations to RAILS

Board re: all RAILS policies

• 5 RAILS Board members

(President and Executive Director serve as ex officio members)

RAILS Board Committees

Resource Sharing Committee

• Investigate and recommend ways to improve/increase resource sharing
• 2 RAILS Board members and 7 representatives from different types of RAILS

libraries Universal Service Committee

• Work on issues related to approximately 1 million unserved residents in

Illinois

RAILS Staff

90 RAILS employees as of July 1, 2019 75 full-time, 15 part-time

• 47 delivery staff
• 34 administrative staff
• 9 RSA staff

RAILS Service Centers

Burr Ridge Service Center

• Administrative headquarters
• 34 administrative staff

RAILS Service Centers

Bolingbrook Service Center

• Rental property
• 19 delivery staff
• 6 PrairieCat staff (independent

employees as of July 1, 2018)

RAILS Service Centers

Coal Valley Service Center

• 6 delivery staff
• 6 PrairieCat staff (independent

employees)

RAILS Service Centers

East Peoria Service Center

• Rental property
• 15 delivery staff
• 9 RSA staff

RAILS Service Centers

Rockford Service Center

• Rental property
• 6 delivery staff

System Funding

• Funded by annual grant from

Illinois State Library through Secretary of State’s office

• Funds appropriated by Illinois

General Assembly or granted under federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)

• No membership fee to belong

to RAILS

System Funding

• RAILS submits annual area and per capita grant application

(approved by RAILS Board) to Illinois State Library as specified in Administrative Code Rules (23 ILAC 3035.100)

• Application includes operational plan for coming year and budget
• Everything is based on RAILS strategic plan

Overview of RAILS Finances/Budget Process

• Intergovernmental entity
• Approximately $26 million net assets
• $12 million revenues

Financial Overview

Area and Per Capita Grant (state grant) accounts for nearly $10 million or over 80% of RAILS funding Federal LSTA funds account for over $1.9 million of this amount (20%)

Financial Statements

• Statement of Net Assets (Balance Sheet)
• Statements of Revenues & Expenditures

Financial Statements

Items include:

• Cash & cash equivalents
• Accounts receivable
• Prepaid expenses
• Deferred revenues
• Fund balances

Monthly Financial Reports

Major Revenue Categories:

• State Grants
• Fees for Services and Materials
• Reimbursements
• Investment Income
• Other Revenue

Monthly Financial Reports

• Personnel accounts for 46% of General Fund expenditures in

FY 2020

• Contractual services account for 26% of General Fund

expenditures

Budget Process

• Prepare annual budget as part of Area and Per Capita

grant application

• Due to Illinois State Library June 1
• Present draft of next year’s operational plan to board

in April

• Present budget to board in May with detailed narrative
• Use zero-based budgeting – develop budget from

ground up

RAILS 2018-2022 Strategic Plan

• Developed with extensive input from RAILS member

libraries of all types

• Approved by RAILS Board: September 28, 2018
• All RAILS programs/services flow from strategic

plan

Strategic Plan Goal One: Promote, support, and expand resource sharing to

• ptimize use of tax dollars and other funding and help

libraries share resources to the fullest extent possible

Leading/Working with Consortia & Standalones

• Mix of financial support and in-kind

services to LLSAPs

• Grants to increase membership in

LLSAPs

• Training/consulting for consortia and

standalone libraries

RAILS supports 6 shared catalog consortia (LLSAPs):

• CCS
• Pinnacle
• PrairieCat
• Rock River Library

Consortium

• RSA-NFP
• SWAN

• Available to all library types, whether using

standalone or shared catalogs

• Search multiple Illinois library catalogs at one

time

• Patrons from participating libraries can place

requests and pick up items at their local library

As of July 10, 2019:

• 1 academic library participant
• 27 public library participants
• 4 school library participants
• 5 libraries in implementation

process

Expanding Access to E-Resources

• Very reasonable pricing
• 43,436 e-resources for adults & children
• 31,451 e-books
• 11,985 e-audiobooks

Library Type Number of Libraries Population Served/FTE

Academic 20 43,345 Public 233 3,449,628 School 143 (mix of buildings and

districts)

265,935 Special 7 68,638

RAILS/BiblioBoard Partnership

• Everyone in Illinois has access to thousands of

e-resources at no cost to them

• No holds or limits on simultaneous use

= no waiting for titles, EVER!

BiblioBoard resources include:

• Popup Picks – current collections
• Recovering the Classics – public domain classics/modern

covers

• OERs (open educational resources)
• Core Collection – primary source content, teaching guides
• Much more!

• RAILS partnership
• Makes different e-book collections available to patrons

in one place

• Available to standalone libraries and consortia

• Online cultural pass program for Illinois public library cardholders
• Available 24/7 via computer, tablet, or smartphone
• Currently 117 libraries participate
• 19 statewide attractions – new offerings added on regular basis

Digital Public Library of America

• All-digital library
• Makes riches of America’s libraries, archives, and

museums freely available to the world

• RAILS provides ongoing support for DPLA and Illinois

Digital Heritage Hub

Delivery Service

• 8.9 million items delivered to RAILS libraries in FY 2019
• RAILS delivery vans (40 vehicles)
• Outsourcing
• U.S. Postal Service
• 764,831 total items delivered to 131 academic locations via

Illinois Library Delivery Service (ILDS). RAILS delivered 537,347 items.

Providing Greater Purchasing Power

RAILS Discounts/Group Purchases

• Available for all types of libraries
• Complete list available at railslibraries.info/deals

Building Collaborative Relationships

RAILS Member Meetups

• Networking meetings held at member libraries across RAILS area
• RAILS Board welcome to attend!

Multitype Networking Opportunities

• Opportunities for staff from academic, school, and special libraries

to share best practices and discuss common challenges

• RAILS Board welcome to attend!

Building Collaborative Relationships

RAILS Mailing Lists

• 4 type of library lists (academic, public, school, and special)
• 23 lists for different jobs/topics
• 18 regional lists
• Host AISLE (Association of Illinois School Library Educators) list

RAILS Networking Group Support

• Networking group directory
• Host mailing lists
• Provide meeting space
• Promote networking events
• Help form groups

Strategic Plan Goal Two: Work with libraries of all types to tell the library story

• MyLibraryIs.org website – highly interactive
• Continuing education
• My Library Is grants (formerly partnership grants)
• Ensure support for school libraries
• Shareable videos

• Dreams Take Flight at the Library

video

• English and Spanish versions
• Libraries share via websites and

social media

• New video coming in fall 2019

Strategic Plan Goal Three: Help libraries be the best they can be

Ensuring Ongoing Library Staff Development

• RAILS offers CE in person and via

videoconference, live streaming, and webinar

• Recordings available in CE Archives
• n website
• Grants available to fund member CE events (focusing on

telling the library story)

Developing Library Leaders

Directors University

• Develops future library

leaders

• RAILS plays leadership role
• For new public library directors
• RAILS plays leadership role

Trustee Training

RAILS/United for Libraries partnership brings training to all Illinois libraries at no charge

• Short Takes for Trustees
• Trustee Academy

Available on RAILS website at railslibraries.info/services/trustee

Trustee Training

In-person training events:

• Saturday, August 10

River Forest Public Library

• Saturday, October 19

Bloomington Public Library

• Led by Nancy Sylvester,

nationally-recognized trainer

• For new and current trustees

who would like a review of board essentials and parliamentary procedure

RAILS Consulting Services

FOIA/OMA Hotline

Free legal assistance with basic Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act question

HR Source

Discounted membership/ training program

Helping Libraries Provide the Best Service

System Membership Standards & Certification

• Existing standards are very minimal
• Worked with committee to draft standards for all types of

libraries

• Gathered extensive member feedback
• Working with Illinois State Library on statewide standards

Strategic Plan Goal Four: Prepare libraries for the future

Helping Libraries Respond to Change

Providing Leadership on Current Issues

• New Illinois Minimum Wage
• Library Safety-Related Issues
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Census 2020
• Social Problems

Making Libraries Aware of Current Trends

Sparks Podcast

• Features interviews with

members and other library leaders

• Sparks conversation and

debate about issues affecting libraries

Addressing Issues Related to the Unserved

• Help members with issues/challenges related to the

unserved

• Work toward statewide library card
• Work with RAILS Board Universal Service Committee
• Make e-content available to anyone in Illinois via

BiblioBoard

Goal Five: Aim to be the best library system in the country

Member Communication

• RAILS Website
• Weekly RAILS E-News (over 6,000 subscribers)
• Periodic e-newsletters for academic, school, and special

libraries

• Quarterly member update sessions (over 100 attendees)
• Exhibit at library-related conferences

Member Engagement

• In person visits to all types of libraries; focus on those not

visited in past two years and nonpublics

• New Director Welcome online discussions
• School Library Tune-ups
• Engagement via social media

Evaluating Impact of RAILS Programs/Services

• Measure how RAILS is

achieving strategic plan goals/objectives

• Solicit member feedback on

regular basis

• New Data Coordinator &

Research Analyst position

Maintaining a Strong Infrastructure

• Engaged RAILS Board
• Attract and develop superb staff team
• Robust technology infrastructure
• Excellent stewardship of financial resources
• Maintain research & development role

Questions?