Director reports on programs, telescope lending and frustrations with e-book licensing

Director January Adams delivered the library’s operations report and highlighted recent outreach and programming successes, new equipment testing, and ongoing challenges with digital collections.

Adams said the library recently connected with a veterans group that visited Lyons on June 2, and the May 30 community cookbook swap attracted about 100 people. She said adult services ran 60 programs with roughly 845 attendees, and youth services ran 42 programs with about 1,221 participants. Adams described a successful set of first-grade class visits at Hillcrest (three classes, six teachers/aides and about 20 parent chaperones).

The library acquired a new Epson scanner described as a fast, high-resolution photo scanner; staff are testing it and drafting user instructions but Adams said it was not yet available to the public. The president announced that the Franklin Township Astronomy Club donated a telescope that the club will manage for lending; the club will staff a table at the township’s July 2 Independence Day celebration and trustees volunteered to help at the event.

Trustees spent an extended period discussing e-book acquisition and licensing. Adams described licensing models that restrict libraries’ control of digital titles: "You are limited to maybe 20 or so checkouts and that just goes away," she said, summarizing common publisher license terms. She added that some licenses expire after a set time (for example, two years) and that platforms such as Hoopla operate on a per-checkout or per-title cost basis, which the discussion cited as roughly $21.22 for some titles. "Some publishers have been screwing around with libraries since the beginning," Adams said, characterizing the frustration staff feel about digital licensing.

Trustees asked whether e-book purchases could be treated like owned physical copies and whether technology limitations or publisher policy create the constraints. Adams and trustees noted two purchasing approaches: short-term license windows (time-limited or checkout-limited) or platform-driven per-checkout charges; the latter can allow simultaneous checkouts but increases ongoing costs. No policy change was adopted at the meeting; trustees were informed and discussed budgeting and patron access implications.

The board’s discussion did not produce a formal vote on acquisition policy. Adams said she would follow up on scanner public availability and provide additional details on licensing costs and budget implications at a future meeting.