Friends of the Oak Park Public Library

Attending

Russ Glidden, Beth Streit, Chet Taranowski, Eric Bryning, Robert Becker, Diane Cranford, Nancy Hartman, Kat Bell, Anne Polaski, Jennie Stevens, Leila Massouh Alexandra Skinner, and Isabelle Campos 

Call to Order

Russ called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

Welcome and Introductions

Russ introduced Alexandra Skinner, the Director of Communications for the Library.  Kat introduced Isabelle Campos, a student artist.   

Special Art Presentation

Isabelle presented a mixed-media art piece titled “Will You Tell Me a Bedtime Story” made from recycled books and materials. She explained her creative process and expressed interest in participating in the Friends’ fall social event, which Russ suggested could include a hands-on crafting experience using recycled books. The art piece will be displayed in the library’s Idea Box during the month of April, with an open reception on April 9th from 9:30 to 11am.

Review of Annual Meeting Minutes:

March 10, 2025

Beth noted that her, Jennie’s and Eric’s names were misspelled in the minutes.  Jennie moved, Diane seconded and all approved the minutes with the noted corrections.  

Treasurer’s Report

Leila reported that the Friends had $43,816.36 in income and $6,140.31 in expenses for the year resulting in profit of $37,658.05.

Election of Board Members

Jennie moved, Robert seconded and all approved the election of Bob Becker, Diane Cranford, Russ Glidden, Nancy Hartman, Leila Massouh, Anne Polaski and Denise Roser to two-year terms for 2026-2028.  

Election of Board President and Treasurer

Jennie nominated, and Diane seconded the nomination of Russ as Board President.  All approved his election.  Jennie nominated and Nancy seconded Diane’s nomination of Diane as Treasurer, replacing Leila.  All approved Diane’s election.  

FOPPL Goals 2025-2026 Outcomes

Chet reported on the progress of our goals.  

Review and Adoption of 2026/27 FOPPL Board Goals

The Board discussed goals for the coming year,including increasing public awareness, operating within budget, continuing the book fair, and recruiting new board members. They also planned to assess and develop membership perks and support various library programs.      Jennie moved, Diane seconded and all approved the goals.      

2026 Book Fair

Russ presented an information sheet on the fair. There are no major changes and the format will be the same as last year.  The Board also addressed issues with shift cancellations and agreed to schedule fewer shifts at the beginning to avoid cancellations. The group also discussed the need for volunteers to check their emails before shifts in case their shift is canceled.

Adjournment

Jennie moved, Bob seconded and all approved adjourning the annual meeting at 7:26 p.m.

Call to order & roll call

• Present in Person: Russ Glidden, Beth Streit, Chet Taranowski, Eric Bryning, Robert Becker, Diane Cranford, Nancy Hartman, Kat Bell, Anne Polaski, Jennie Stevens, Leila Massouh and Alexandra Skinner 
• Present on Zoom: Denise Roser 
• Call to Order: Russ called the meeting to order at 7:26 p.m. 

Approval of minutes

Review of January 12, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes

Anne moved, Jennie seconded, and all approved the January 12, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes.  

Reports

Library Board Report

No report this meeting. 

Standing reports

• Membership: Kat showed the Board the FOPPL page on the OPPL website and demonstrated a new online membership payment system using Square that will allow donations and membership sign-ups through a website button. The Friends will send an email to past members with the new payment link, and the system will automatically collect survey responses.
• Finance & Budget: Leila reported that the Friends’ checking account has a balance of $24,645.91 and the money market has a balance of $40,821.59.  
• Folk Music Series: Nancy emailed Russ with the information that the next Folk Group playing is Mustard’s Retreat on 4/8.  

Merchandise

• Permanent t-shirt for year-long sales update: Russ showed the group a new logo design created by library staff member Gabriella for the Friends’ permanent T-shirt.  It was well received.  In addition to a raglan style T-shirt, the group discussed buying polo shirts or quarter zip pullovers with the logo for a more upscale option. The group decided to start with a smaller order of 100 for the new design to test the market before potentially increasing the quantity.  Russ will explore the different options the group discussed for type of shirt and report back.  
• Baseball caps update: Russ presented a cap that was purchased for the Friends at a cost of $5.90 a cap.  He purchased 150 of them. The Friends will sell them for $12 to members and $15 for non-members.  
• 2026 T-shirt: Eric presented three color schemes to the group- one black and two purple ones.  The consensus was to purchase the third one, which is purple.  Last year, the Friends purchased 75 shirts and sold out.  This year, the group will order 100.  
• Magnets: Jennie reported on the different options for magnets, which are cheaper than stickers.  The group decided to stick with the current magnet design of rectangular and navy blue.  The Board approved the purchase of 500.
• Vinyl stickers: Jennie reported that vinyl stickers are more expensive than magnets.  The group discussed putting the new permanent logo on the stickers.  Jennie will research our options and email the Board with her proposal about what to buy.  

Permanent name badges for board members 

Beth moved, Anne seconded and all approved purchasing permanent name badges for the Board with each person’s first and last name and position.  

Volunteer training meeting: set date and agenda

The training will be May 19 from 7- 8:30 and will feature an agenda similar to last year’s.  

Spring social:  set date and concept

Anne and Nancy will organize it.  It will be on April 23, which is Shakespeare’s birthday, at 7 p.m. and will have a Shakespearean theme.   

Between the Lines, ideas for next issue, target date to send out  

The Friends have three articles for the newsletter:  a profile of Eric, a history of friends’ groups and an interview of Nancy Clark.  The committee needs to add graphics and photos.  The newsletter will be sent out 10 days before the spring social.  

Day in Our Village:  Sunday June 7, 2026  

The Friends will have a table as usual.  The library has already requested one for the group.  

Adjournment

Jennie moved, Nancy seconded and all approved.  

Meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m. 

Next Board Meeting:  May 18, 2026   

Respectfully submitted,

Beth Streit  

Call to order & roll call

• Present in Person: Russ Glidden, Beth Streit, Chet Taranowski, Eric Bryning, Robert Becker, Diane Cranford, Nancy Hartman, Kat Bell, Anne Polaski, Mika Yamamoto and Suzy Antell
• Present on Zoom: Nancy Clark and Leila Massouh
• Call to Order: Russ called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.

Approval of minutes

Review of October 20, 2025 Board Meeting Minutes

Nancy moved, Diane seconded and all approved the October 20 Board Meeting Minutes. 

Reports

Library Board Report

Suzy reported that the Library has hired a new Director of Communications, Alexandra Skinner who transitioned on January 5. The Library has also concluded interviews for a Director of Anti-Racism and Equity. The position of Director of Adult Services is also open. Twenty-two thousand of the $23,000 gifted by the Friends in 2025 has been spent so far.  Some of those funds were spent on a successful Kwanzaa program which was well attended. 

Standing reports

• Membership: Chet presented a draft letter and survey to be sent to members and potential members amongst our volunteers. The Board gave feedback on the letter and survey. Chet will revise both based on the feedback. The Board also discussed membership management and donation processes. We agreed that membership renewals would follow a calendar year schedule, with new members who join after the annual Book Fair receiving an 18-month membership. Kat receives emails from Square when someone pays for membership and that information is tracked in a spreadsheet. Kat will share this spreadsheet with Beth and Eric who will track new memberships and give that information to Chet. The Board also discussed adding a survey link to the donation page, but determined this wasn’t feasible with the current Square payment system.
• Finance & Budget: Leila reported that the Friends’ checking account has a balance of $50,212.50 and the money market has a balance of $40,814.99. Kat raised concerns that the Square account does not accept any money right now. Denise’s name is still on the account and she will need to change that. Leila should be on the account. The Board agreed to follow up with Denise regarding this issue. 
• 2026 Disbursement to the library: Beth moved, Diane seconded and all approved a $25,000 annual disbursement to the Library. 
• Folk Music Series: Nancy Clark provided an update on upcoming concerts, including one on January 29th and negotiations for March and fall events.

Between the Lines, ideas for next issue, target date to send out

Diane has had a hard time finding a volunteer willing to be profiled for the newsletter. The Board decided to profile a Board member instead. Eric will be profiled for the next newsletter. Chet will interview Nancy Clark and Russ will contribute an article on the history of friends of the library groups. We will target the release of the newsletter to about a week before the spring social. 

Permanent name badges for board members

These will cost $15 each. The Board has already approved the design. We will postpone ordering them until after the election in March. 

Raising prices on any/all categories for 2026:  final decision

The Board has decided not to raise prices on children’s books, CDs or DVDs. However, we will raise prices on mass market paperbacks (from 50 cents to a dollar), trade paperbacks (from one dollar to two dollars) and hardback books (from two dollars to three dollars). Bob moved, Diane seconded and all approved this new pricing structure. Russ and Anne will work on a press release on the new pricing structure. 

Merchandise

• Permanent t-shirt for year-long sales: update – Russ had a meeting with Suzy and Gabriela about our permanent t-shirt. Gabriela has volunteered to design the permanent t-shirt and will have a prototype ready for the next meeting. 
• Baseball caps: update – Russ showed the Board four designs. Diane moved, Nancy seconded and all approved ordering 150 of the Front Runner design in navy blue. 
• 2026 T-shirt: Eric showed the Board 14 different designs (labeled A, B, B2, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, J2, K and L). The consensus was that we should order design G, which was a dark purple. Eric will finalize the design soon.
• Replenishing stock of other items for sales:  Russ suggested we postpone ordering totes until after the Book Fair. Diane suggested we order slightly bigger magnets. Jennie is working on magnets. Diane also suggested ordering vinyl stickers.  Eric will look into this.

Annual Planning

The annual meeting is on March 16. At the annual meeting we set yearly goals. The Board reviewed last year’s goals, noting accomplishments such as increased public awareness, formalizing relationships with the Library’s CEO, and establishing rules for conduct at the Book Fair. We agreed to continue several initiatives, including recruiting new board members, evaluating committee needs, and developing membership perks.  Chet will send out notices of the annual meeting to members not more than 60 days or less than 5 days before the meeting. 

Board Members whose terms expire at the 2026 annual meeting

• Bob Becker
• Diane Cranford
• Russ Glidden
• Nancy Hartman
• Leila Massouh
• Anne Polaski
• Denise Roser

Bob, Diane, Russ, Anne, Leila and Denise have expressed interest in running for another term. Nancy will let the group know before the next meeting if she will run again. Officer positions will be determined after Board members are elected.

Adjournment

Kat moved, Anne seconded and all approved. 

Meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m.

Next Board Meeting:  March 16, 2026  

Respectfully submitted,

Beth Streit