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 1,269 Total 3,965
9% 15% 32% 44% Academic Public School Special RAILS Members
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
General Duties Requirements • 11 board meetings per year • Open Meetings Act training • At least one committee • File annual Statement of • Monitor RAILS finances Economic Interest • Establish/approve policies • File annual Conflict of Interest form • Hire/evaluate Executive • Stay familiar with system laws Director • Ambassadors for RAILS • Attend orientation RAILS Board Member Job Description
Advocacy Committee • Educate board members about Executive Committee issues affecting RAILS and • Board President, Vice-President, libraries that may require advocacy Secretary, and Treasurer efforts Policy Committee Consortia Committee • Makes recommendations to RAILS • Recommend ways to Board re: all RAILS policies improve/increase consortial • 5 RAILS Board members services • 2 RAILS Board members and reps (President and Executive Director serve as ex officio members) from shared catalog consortia 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 Board Committees
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
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 RAILS Service Centers
• 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 System Funding
Overview of RAILS Finances/Budget Process • Intergovernmental entity • Approximately $26 million net assets • $12 million revenues
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 Overview
Financial Statements • Statement of Net Assets (Balance Sheet) • Statements of Revenues & Expenditures
Items include: • Cash & cash equivalents • Accounts receivable • Prepaid expenses • Deferred revenues • Fund balances Financial Statements
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 Monthly Financial Reports
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 optimize use of tax dollars and other funding and help libraries share resources to the fullest extent possible
RAILS supports 6 shared catalog consortia (LLSAPs): • Mix of financial support and in-kind • CCS services to LLSAPs • Pinnacle • Grants to increase membership in • PrairieCat LLSAPs • Rock River Library • Training/consulting for consortia and Consortium standalone libraries • RSA-NFP • SWAN Leading/Working with Consortia & Standalones
• 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
• Very reasonable pricing • 43,436 e-resources for adults & children • 31,451 e-books • 11,985 e-audiobooks Expanding Access to E-Resources
Library Type Number of Libraries Population Served/FTE Academic 20 43,345 Public 233 3,449,628 School 143 ( mix of buildings and 265,935 districts) 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
• 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 Digital Public Library of America
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.
RAILS Discounts/Group Purchases • Available for all types of libraries • Complete list available at railslibraries.info/deals Providing Greater Purchasing Power
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 Building Collaborative Relationships
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