Library Committee

Rock Island Public Library Board Personnel & Policy Committee Meeting Agenda Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 4:00pm Rock Island Public Library – Downtown 401 19th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201 Meeting Facilitator: Deborah Freiburg Invitees: RIPL Board Members: Nick Hammond, Jacki Nelson, Jo Noon, Jenni Swanson; Daniel Cuneo, Business & Facilities Director; Angela Campbell, Library Director I. Call to order – Facilitator Debbie Freiburg called the meeting to order at 4:01 P.M. II. In Attendance – Trustee Noon was absent. III. Public Comment – None. IV. New Business - Policy Review: Director Campbell made some opening remarks about how RIPL values transparency and therefore includes some Library procedure in each independent policy document. Not only does this serve as a visual reference that Library staff can point to during patron interactions, but it also public demonstrates the Library’s commitment to be “open to all”. Changes made during this CY26 policy cycle reflect that by ensuring clarifying any language that may have previously led to inconsistencies.  Behavior: Director Cuneo detailed extensive changes to the Library’s behavior policy in accordance with the Library-wide rollout of Trauma-Informed Care. Trustee Nelson asked about Rule 7 regarding proper attire, specifically what had changed. Director Cuneo explained that the Library routinely saw patrons removing their shows while sitting down in the Library, and it became necessary to call out that behavior in the policy on its own line. Facilitator Freiburg asked whether vaping was an issue in the Library given that, like smoking, it was prohibited by State law. Directors Cuneo and Campbell explained that many patrons don’t consider vaping to be smoking and can be defensive about the behavior. Staff often see vapes sitting out on tabletops or being charged in wall sockets.  Bylaws of the Library Board of Trustees: Committee members discussed whether Board appointments were constrained by RIPL bylaw or CORI ordinance. Director Campbell clarified that it’s actually by State law in Illinois.  Continuing Education: No changes recommended.  Disposal of Surplus Property: No changes recommended.  Electronic Access: Trustee Nelson asked if the strikeout text was for the Library no longer has or circulates. Director Campbell confirmed.   Emergency Closure: Director Cuneo explained that current changes were necessitated by the Library’s agreement to serve as an Emergency Pick-up location for the Ridgeway School in the event of an emergency. More explicit directions will be included once the school forwards their own Emergency Closure Policy for Fire Chief Graff to review.  Grant Application: No changes recommended.  Incident Reporting: Director Cuneo explained that the Library was seeing broad inconsistencies and associated confusion with staff incident reporting. He decided to define the use case for incidents and to include a language guide in the policy to both safeguard the Library against possible legal challenges and educate staff.  Interlibrary Loan: Director Campbell explained that RIPL had to limit the number of inter- library loan requests per patron because of the high cost of the mailings themselves.  Library Card Registration: Continued issues with bad actors has forced the Library to put a temporary restriction on new library cards. Previously, patrons would sign up for a new card, often with unverified information, check-out multiple high-value Library-of-Things items (e.g. cordless drills, golf clubs, portable DVD players) and never return them. Changes made to the policy prevent that implementing a 2-week materials restriction on new library cards.  Lost or Abandoned Property: There was no discussion on changes made.  Meeting Room: Director Cuneo said he edited the policy document for clarity, mainly. Otherwise, he increased punitive fees to correctly compensate for associated staff labor costs.  Mobile Hot Spot: Director Campbell explained that constant issues with return violations and replacement costs on mobile hot spots have pushed the associated policy to the proposed, more-punitive version. This latest policy change is the Library’s final attempt to support mobile hot spots. Should the problems continue, hot spots will no longer be a responsible financial cost for the Library to maintain  Public Relations: No discussion on changes made.  Telecommuting for Non-Affiliated Staff: No changes recommended.  Work Regulations: Director Campbell said that Rule 10 was added after a staff incident. Although well-intentioned, the staff member in question left Library grounds to support a disabled patron, which constituted a security risk for the staff member. She added Rule 10 to avoid similar risks in the future. A recent temporary loss of the Downtown Library’s [VoIP] phones and internet necessitated the addition of Rule 11. V. *Closed Session – Not needed. VI. Information Sharing – All RIPL policy documents. VII. Announcements – None. VIII. Adjournment – Facilitator Freiburg adjourned the meeting at 4:45 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Daniel Cuneo Business & Facilities Director