RAILS Board Orientation July 2020 Library System History Pre-1965 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

RAILS Board Orientation

July 2020

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, 2020

RAILS Members

Library Type Main Agencies Buildings/Branches Academic 116 165 Public 412 487 School 558 2,910 Special 181 191 Total 1,267 3,753

RAILS Members

9% 32% 44% 14% 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, Treasurer + one additional board member 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

93 RAILS employees as of July 1, 2020 80 full-time, 13 part-time

• 45 delivery staff
• 36 administrative staff
• 12 RSA staff

RAILS Service Centers

Burr Ridge Service Center

• Administrative headquarters
• 36 administrative staff

RAILS Service Centers

Bolingbrook Service Center

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

employees)

RAILS Service Centers

Coal Valley Service Center

• 6 delivery staff
• 6 PrairieCat staff (independent

employees)

RAILS Service Centers

East Peoria Service Center

• Rental property
• 12 delivery staff
• 12 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

FY 2021 Operational Plan may change due to COVID-19 and state budget repercussions

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 What is an LLSAP?

• Local Library System Automation Program
• Defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 3030 as:

An integrated library system open to membership by full library system members of all types developed by or receiving financial or in kind support from a library system.

Leading/Working with Consortia & Standalones Benefits of LLSAP Membership

• Access to wider variety of materials in one place
• Helps make automation affordable
• LLSAP staff save libraries time by providing consulting,

training, support, and management

Leading/Working with Consortia & Standalones

RAILS supports 6 shared catalog consortia (LLSAPs):

• CCS
• Pinnacle
• PrairieCat
• Rock River Library Consortium
• RSA-NFP
• SWAN

Approximately 549 RAILS libraries participate.

Leading/Working with Consortia & Standalones

RAILS support includes:

• Mix of financial support and in-kind services to LLSAPs
• Grants to increase membership in LLSAPs
• Training/consulting for consortia and standalone libraries,

including cataloging training

• 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 1, 2020:

• 1 academic library participant
• 29 public library participants
• 3 school library participants
• 1 library pending

Expanding Access to E-Resources

• Very reasonable pricing
• Focus: popular titles, low holds ratios
• 47,340 e-resources for adults & children
• 33,604 e-books
• 13,736 e-audiobooks

Library Type Number of Libraries Population Served/FTE

Academic 22 60,374 Public 255 3,810,716 School 158 (mix of buildings and

districts)

346,295 Special 7 71,573

RAILS/BiblioBoard Library

• 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 Library includes:

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

covers

• Robust collection of content for students
• OERs (open educational resources)
• Core Collection – primary source content, teaching guides
• Much more!

• Pressbooks helps authors design, export, and self-

publish their work in a variety of formats

• Good way for libraries to support local writers
• Can be used for student writing projects
• Gives readers access to locally & independently

produced content in BiblioBoard Library

• RAILS partnership
• Makes different library 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
• 264 Illinois public libraries participate as of July 1, 2020
• 32 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 via:

• 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.

Delivery Service

Looking to the future:

Working with LASA and other partners to explore changes to current Illinois delivery structure

• Optimize number/locations of RAILS buildings and delivery hubs
• Change routes to improve efficiency
• More cost-effective ILDS service
• Automation

Providing Greater Purchasing Power

RAILS Discounts/Group Purchases

• Available for all types of libraries
• Advantageous, transparent, consistent pricing
• Members saved over $500,000 through deals/discounts in FY

2020

• Complete list available at railslibraries.info/deals

Building Collaborative Relationships

Multitype Networking Opportunities

• Opportunities for staff from all types of libraries to share best

practices and discuss common challenges

• RAILS Board welcome to attend!
• Virtual opportunities:
• Online roundtables
• RAILS Water Coolers

All networking events are virtual during COVID-19.

Building Collaborative Relationships

RAILS Mailing Lists

• Type of library lists (academic, public, school, and special)
• 21 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
• Zoom licenses for member networking groups

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

• MyLibraryIs.org website
• Highly interactive
• Info for all library types
• Stories & blog most popular features
• CE
• Grants
• Talking Points

• Video to help libraries show

their value in internet age

• Starring Nick Offerman!
• Social media posts reached
• ver 81,000 users
• Almost 6,000 pageviews on

MLI website

• National/international

feedback

FY 2021 Plans to Grow Campaign

• Survey to gather feedback on campaign thus far and additional

needs

• Include more practical applications that all staff at all types of

libraries can use on a regular basis

• Reintroduce Elders of the Internet video
• Work with partners to get more contributions for Sharing

Showcase, blog, etc.

• Promote talking points widely

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
• Grants available to fund member CE events

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

RAILS Consulting Services

FOIA/OMA Hotline

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

HR Source

Discounted membership/ training program

Helping Libraries Provide the Best Service System Membership Standards & Certification

• New standards = pathway to excellence for libraries
• Working with ISL on incremental implementation
• Focusing on education, collection expenditures, hours
• pen, and bibliographic access
• Anticipate that new standards will be incorporated into

2021 certification process

Helping Libraries Provide the Best Service

• “New” L2 debuts August 2020
• Statewide library directory (including library staff and

trustees) and CE calendar

• 2021 certification will take place on L2

Strategic Plan Goal Four: Prepare libraries for the future

Providing Leadership on Current Issues The Library Pulse

• COVID-19
• E-Content Publisher & Pricing

Issues

• Libraries & Census 2020
• Universal Library Service
• New Illinois Minimum Wage
• Future issues affecting libraries of all types/sizes

Providing Leadership on Current Issues

• COVID-19 Library Pulse Page
• RAILS Minute
• Regular “special” member update sessions
• Special session for Illinois trustees
• Participation on REALM Project steering committee
• Guidelines on curbside service/phased reopening
• Special surveys to gather and share member plans
• CE workshops
• Discounts on PPE and curbside delivery products

Providing Leadership on Current Issues

Census Grant

• October 2019 - Pritzker Administration and IDHS awards RAILS

$750,000 to work with subrecipients in collar counties region

• March 2020 - IDHS grants RAILS additional $75,000
• June 2020 - RAILS receives FY 2021 award for $258,242

Census 2020 Library Pulse Page

• Includes toolkit of promotional materials

Providing Leadership on Current Issues

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

RAILS Staff Initiative

• Develop Climate Team
• EDI training for all staff

Provide Leadership for Member Initiatives

• Library Pulse Page
• CE
• Opportunities to share best practices

Addressing Issues Related to the Unserved

• Help members with issues related to the unserved
• Work toward statewide library card
• Work with RAILS Board Universal Service Committee
• “Cards for Kids” legislation
• Make e-content available to anyone in Illinois via

BiblioBoard

Making Libraries Aware of Current Trends

Sparks Podcast

• Interviews with members and other library leaders
• “Sparks” conversation and debate about issues affecting

libraries

• Moving to video during

COVID-19

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

Member Communication

• RAILS Website
• Weekly RAILS E-News (over 6,000 subscribers)
• Quarterly member update sessions
• Exhibit at library-related conferences (virtually during

COVID-19)

Member Engagement

• Virtual library visits during COVID-19
• Orientation meetings for new directors
• Libraries can request an online site visit
• Follow RAILS on social media (@railslibraries) and

subscribe:

Evaluating Impact of RAILS Programs/Services

• Develop and foster a data

culture at RAILS

• Measure how RAILS is

achieving strategic plan goals/objectives

• Gather survey info to share with

members and guide RAILS’ decision-making

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?