Rock Island Today

Rock Island County Community & Planning Committee met Nov. 4.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 4:02pm by Library Director Campbell.

In Attendance: Jenni Swanson, Elizabeth Russell, Aleatha Quarles, Dr. Yolanda Grandberry Pugh (4:34pm arrival); Angela Campbell, Library Director; Lisa Lockheart, Publicity/Outreach Liaison; Kayla Steffen, Business & Facilities Director

Public Comment: None.

Old Business - Strategic Planning Content:

● The committee reviewed the Strategic Plan draft by goal (Transformative, Relevant, Equitable, Engaged, and Sustainable) with notable discussions below.

● Lockheart suggested listing the strategic planning committee members to the methodology section of the plan.

● Transformative:

○ The committee discussed having a social worker in-house like the Davenport Public Library. The person in this position would take appointments and help train staff. The position would likely be grant-funded due to the limited budget. President Swanson suggested recruiting an intern from one of the local colleges.

○ Create a “Teacher Portal” on the library’s website

○ Promote resources that encourage the growth of Rock Island microbusinesses and small businesses by reaching out to city departments and organizations who would benefit from our resources.

● Relevant:

○ The upcoming Master Plan would be centered around increasing accessibility and visual appeal.

○ The library does well with collection development, but more can be done to retain its relevancy.

○ The e-card and database objectives may be merged into one objective ○ Lockheart is already working on outreach to the underserved by using marketing research and census data. The committee is curious if the West End Revitalization group already has a plan implemented.

○ Reports on staff impact is an important objective to Director Campbell. Data will be collected to show staff the importance of their work.

○ Teen Advisory Board - Emily Tobin has begun working on this.

○ Artificial Intelligence is advancing quickly - a library policy is needed.

○ The committee would like to see the Ad-hoc Technology Committee included in the strategic plan or the master plan. The library’s technology needs to be up to the state library standards. Grants are available, but to be eligible, the library’s internet speeds must pass the BEAD speed test.

● Equitable:

○ The library’s website is required by law to be ADA accessible.

○ Renovating the bathrooms to be ADA accessible is a priority and the library will submit another CDBG application for next year.

○ Comfort Carts were rolled-out this year, but will be evaluated annually to meet the community’s needs.

○ Create on-site event kits for assistive technology

○ The committee is pleased with the equitable objectives. They suggested being more intentional about city announcements, and suggested sending library updates to Sarah Hayden for the “Rock Island Updates” section of city council meetings.

● Engaged:

○ The library plans to host meetups for new Rock Island residents, and will encourage council and city officials to attend and greet people.

○ “Library 101” open house series to “Library 101” open house series of programs to provide in-depth information about the library as an essential city service.

○ Digital signage would promote library programs and would benefit the city.

○ President Swanson reported that a local resident plans to start a Rock Island podcast, and that could be an opportunity to engage with the community.

● Sustainable:

○ The library plans on increasing PALS participation. The committee notes that it is hard to find and retain volunteers.

○ The library will evaluate its hours of operation at a regular board meeting.

○ Dr. Grandberry-Pugh plans to send Director Campbell information about the high school’s work program, in which students are released early and could potentially volunteer or work part-time at the library.

○ Trustee Russell suggested exploring a partnership with Eagle Scouts or Augustana to recruit volunteers for sustainable objectives.

○ The Environmental Action Club at the high school may also have interest, Dr. Grandberry-Pugh reported.

● The committee briefly discussed increasing literacy, and discussed the library’s pre-Covid plan with the school district, in which the school libraries would be satellite libraries with a Rock Island Public Library librarian onsite.

New Business:

● The committee reviewed the design concept and gave their approval.

● The committee discussed communicating the plan to the City Council and the Community, with an estimated timeline of February.

Other Business: None.

Closed Session: None.

Information Sharing: None.

Announcements: None.

Adjournment: Director Campbell adjourned the meeting at 5:04pm.

https://www.rigov.org/301/Agenda-Minutes