24 October Rural Directors Meeting

 

The Rural Director meeting was held at the Brimfield Public Library in Brimfield IL. The meeting had 18 in person directors and 2 online. The meeting is held monthly at different library locations. The first item on the agenda was the ILA Conference attendance and what programs those that attended enjoyed. The Chat GPT program was brought up. The attendees thought it was a great opportunity to look at some of the features. With the slides available for attendees through the conference website. The group talked about the ability to turn an activity into separate steps was a real hit with the group. One librarian talked about using it for different book discussions. Another uses it for inspiration when they have writers block. Another uses it to fine tune their grant process.

One of the programs discussed was the Graphic novel popularity. Many were not aware of all the hype of the media. The presenters at the conference talked about engaging graphic novels to span the age gaps in the library. At the meeting many directors are buying more and more graphic novels. They are especially interested in the getting the older books that YA and teens do not read. Examples included, Hamlet, Grapes of Wrath, and To Kill a Mockingbird. All have been used in teen book clubs with great success.

Another popular one was the site design of the Barrington Library session. With its multiple garden areas, trails, story walks and outdoor children’s area. Several of the attendees were going to consult a landscape planner to see what might be available for their area. Several other sessions were discussed.

There were several Carnegie libraries in attendance. They shared some ideas of what they were going to do with the grant of $10,000.00 from the Carnegie Foundation to Commemorate the 250 year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Most of the discussion was on trying to get the buildings compliant with the Americans Disability Act.

The new online Standards for Illinois Libraries were discussed. Also the new legislation for trustee training that was passed in the veto session. Encourages Trustee training. In Yesterday’s Illinois State Library Advisory Council meeting. Greg McCormick, Director of the Illinois State Library mentioned that they were looking at amendments to make the training mandatory.

Other items discussed included consultants and architects to deal with the needs of the libraries. Many of the libraries have talked with architects and get a big dog and pony show. That does not meet the needs of the library. It was suggested that getting a sense from a consultant to discuss with board and staff to get an idea of what the library actual needs are before getting architect firms involved.

There was a network opportunity to further discuss the items brought forward.

Work total 3 hours                  Semester total 75