The Meeting of the Eisenhower Public Library District Board of Trustees Island Within A City Committee May 19, 2022
CALL TO ORDER
President Braun called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Ringelstein, Braun, Magnelli, Magnuson, Parent, Ross, Krebs.
Absent:
Also Present: Bacarella. Committee members Stacy Wittmann, Dawn Parent, and Penny Blubaugh.
Absent: Rich Massaro, Dan McPhillips, Julie Stam.
COVID DECLARATION
Declaration by the Board President that a fully in-person meeting is not Practical or Prudent because of COVID.
RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
There were no visitors present.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public comments.
ISLAND WITHIN A CITY BOOK COMMITTEE
Island Within A City Book
Trustee Ringelstein refreshed the committee’s memories on the ideas they previously discussed about having the community offer up essays, memories, and anecdotes and do a compilation that way eliminating the need for an independent author. She said everyone seemed to like that idea at that time. She asked the committee if they still liked that idea. Trustee Braun responded that he thought that was a great idea. Penny advised that her only concern was that they would not get anyone to participate. Trustee Ringelstein responded that she thought they would get participation from the high school. She also mentioned that the Book Club, Garden Club, the Friends of the Library, and the Pen and Ink Writer’s Group could participate. Trustee Krebs mentioned that they could reach out to the Seniors Assistance Center. The committee discussed that they were open to receiving participation from Chicago residents also. Trustee Parent mentioned that they could reach out to area Historical Societies and the Chicago Historical Society. Trustee Ringelstein advised that they could reach out to groups, write prompts for them, and see what they get. There are so many subgroups and ages that could do something for the book. She would be happy to go with staff members to present this to different groups. Dawn Parent had an idea about engaging with people. She also mentioned that she was concerned about not receiving submissions and she thought people might not feel comfortable or have the knowledge to put something together. She advised that in the interest of encouraging as many people as possible to submit something for the book; she proposed that they have an avenue of first person narrative essays to allow people to write about their own personal stories as to why they chose to settle in the community. She said they could put together a writing prompt that would be put out there and she advised that the clearer they make it the better material they should hope to get back. Some examples of the writing prompts could be the following: if you settled in the community in the last thirty years why and what brought you here, if you lived in the community for the past thirty plus years, why did you stay?, if you were raised here and stayed as opposed to moving somewhere else, why? The committee agreed that this was a good idea. Trustee Ringelstein wants this book to be well written and easy to read. Dawn said it would be generational as to why people settled in this area. Trustee Magnuson said this could be available on the website and made available to other groups like the Village Hall, the Seniors Assistance center, and the schools. Trustee Magnelli advised that people could submit photos also. Trustee Braun said they could maybe send a flyer or special mailer with a questionnaire out to all the households in the community. Trustee Parent found online that there were 9,223 households in the community. Director Wittmann advised that Julie Stam should have more information about the number of households. Trustee Ringelstein recommended that they meet again in about two weeks. Director Wittmann advised that they should come up with different groupings of questionnaires. Dawn mentioned that they could take a list of events and write a group of prompts that would allow a person to pick an event and write about it. The committee could help scale it down for them. The length should be 500-750 words max. Trustee Braun asked if there was software to do oral interviews to transcribe voice to text, Director Wittmann advised that Google voice does that. Trustee Parent mentioned that they could use an online forum, something like a Slack channel for everyone to add their comments. Director Wittmann advised that she would have to check with the attorney to make sure this would not violate the open meetings act. The committee discussed when they should hold their next meeting. They all agreed to have it on June 2 at 6:30 P.M. and they should aim to be finished by 7:30 P.M. If more time is needed they could decide at the June 2 meeting if they want to meet again before the June 16 Board meeting. Director Wittmann advised that the committee members should come to the next meeting with an estimated timeline, a list of topics, suggested writing prompts, how to format a questionnaire, and a list of organizations and groups.
Next Meeting Date
The committee will meet on June 2, 2022 at 6:30 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT
Trustee Ross moved, seconded by Trustee Magnuson, THAT THE MEETING BE ADJOURNED. A roll call vote was taken and the results were as follows: AYES Magnuson, Ross, Magnelli, Ringelstein, Parent, Krebs, Braun. NAYS None. ABSENT None. The motion carried. The Committee Meeting was adjourned at 7:06 P.M.