April 9, 2026 - Board Minutes
Bethalto Public Library District
Board Meeting
April 9, 2026
The meeting was called to order by Andrea Kramer.
Present: Stephanie Allshouse, Pamela Collman, Andrea Kramer, Elijah Pettit, Patricia Stemmley, Ryan Tite, Kristy Walker
Absent: none
Also present: Mary Brewster – Library Director, Paula Tretter – Assistant Director
Motion 1: It was moved by Walker and seconded by Collman that the minutes of the meeting of March 12, 2026 be approved as written.
Ayes: Allshouse, Collman, Kramer, Pettit, Stemmley, Tite, Walker
Nays: none
Absent: none
Motion 2: It was moved by Collman and seconded by Stemmley that bills in the amount of $50,929.98 be paid.
Ayes: Allshouse, Collman, Kramer, Pettit, Stemmley, Tite, Walker
Nays: none
Absent: none
REPORTS
The Financial report was presented by Pam Collman, Treasurer.
The Librarian’s report was presented by Mary Brewster, Director. (See File)
COMMUNICATIONS
COMMITTEES
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
NEW BUSINESS
$150,000.00 will be moved from the Illinois Funds account to the Associated Bank checking account.
Strategic plan discussed – will work on a three year plan
Motion 3: It was moved by Kramer to adjourn the meeting at 8:55pm.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT – for April 9, 2026 Board Meeting
Communications (see enclosed pages)
§ Letter from Homefield Energy regarding rate increase.
§ Letters (2) from Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co. regarding rate increase at renewal and coverage changes.
Director’s Report
1. Reminder – file your Statement of Economic Interest by the end of April.
2. Disposal of property – (7) wooden display stands and a metal rotating pocket literature rack – these items have not been used for years. I would like to offer them free to other libraries in the Illinois Heartland Library System.
3. The final AARP Tax Preparation day is April 8th. Once again approximately 200 families benefited from this free service.
4. Eight staff members will attend the Reaching Forward South conference on April 10th. We will share what we learn next month.
5. Sixteen Library of Things items are currently at the Illinois Heartland Library System for original cataloging. Our next step will be to tag and barcode them, decide on loan rules, and then they will be ready for checkout. As part of the loan rules, should items valued over a certain amount be for Bethalto Library cardholders only?
6. I would like to consider paying these additional monthly bills online via the Associated Bank account. (We are currently paying the Ameren, Johnson Controls Security Solutions, and Republic System bills online.)
§ Village of Bethalto – monthly water bills
§ Local government Health Plan (Central Management Services) – monthly health insurance bill
§ Charter – monthly phone and internet bills
§ City Wide Services – monthly janitorial services bill
7. A patch is needed for the Little House roof. There was a leak following a rain storm on March 26th in the main front room. Easter Egg hunt preparations meant that baskets of prizes were on tables in this room; luckily, the water dripped into a basket filled with pens that could easily be cleaned up and still handed out during the egg hunts. We have had a leak in this room in previous years.
Programming Report (for March 2026)
Book Clubs
The OG Book Club - 11 attendees
Thrills and Chills Book Club – 6 attendees
Just Another Book Club – 15 attendees
Preschool Storytimes
3/3- 10 am-2 kids, 2 adults; 1 pm- 5 kids, 5 adults
3/10- 10 am- 1 kid, 1 adult; 1 pm- 6 kids, 5 adults
3/17- 10 am- 0 attendees; 1 pm- 6 kids, 5 adults
3/24- 10 am- 0 attendees; 1 pm- 6 kids, 5 adults
3/31- 10 am- 1 kid, 1 adult; 1 pm- 12 kids, 7 adults
Baby/Toddler Playtime
3/5- 2 kids, 2 adults
3/12- 6 kids, 7 adults
3/19- 1 kid, 1 adult
3/26- 1 kid, 1 adult
Family Fun Thursdays
3/5- Painting in the Great Room- 9 attendees
3/12- Movie and crafts in the Kid’s Area- 5 attendees
3/19- International Snacks Taste Test- 12 attendees
3/26- The Floor is Lava- 16 attendees
Other Events
Special Sensory Story time and Play Day- 6 kids and their adults enjoyed a special storytime designed to teach kids self-regulation exercises. Afterward, the families headed upstairs for sensory playtime.
Read with Maui- 3 attendees
Adult Bingo- 17 attendees
Drop in Craft day- Book Bedazzling- 16 attendees
AARP Tax Preparation Services
3/4- 24 people
3/11- 25 people
3/18- 22 people
3/25- 23 people
Easter Egg Hunts- a total of 134 happy egg hunters J
Friday, March 27th-
§ First session, 5:30 pm- 17 kids attended.
§ Second session, 6:30 pm, 21 kids attended.
Saturday, March 28th-
§ First session, 4:30 pm- 20 kids.
§ Second session, 5:30 pm- 21 kids
Sunday, March 29th-
§ First session, 4:30 pm. This one got a little crazy! We had 2 families show up with no registration. We ended up with approximately 40 kids participating in this session. It was busy, but everyone had a good time.
§ Second session @ 5:30- 15 kids participated.
Virtual Event
Illinois Libraries Present: Beyond the Page with Percival Everett – 1 attendee
Outreach
Villa Rose library day – 5
Self Directed Activities
St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt- I ended up with 32 answer sheets turned in for this hunt. I would say closer to 40 kids participated.
Patron poll: Would you rather have a good luck charm that works OR have the ability to read minds? – 27+15=42 votes with Good Luck Charm as the winner.
Spring Basket drawings- 205 entries (100 for the green basket and 105 for the purple basket). To be entered to win one of these gift baskets, patrons were asked to rate the library and given space to provide comments.
Reading Challenge
National Reading Month challenge- 32 registrations, 29 active readers, 179 books read