Public Services Committee Meeting: January 21, 2026

Zoom / Conference Call

Members attending: Kristen Blankenship (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Kelly Fisher (Eureka College), Beth Hultman, (Elgin Community College), Gretchen Schneider (Oakton College), Kimberly Shotick, co-chair (Northern Illinois University), Dawn Sterning (Prairie State College), Kate Tallman (Illinois State University)

Members absent: Charity Ringel (University of Illinois Springfield), Diana Sykes, co-chair (Erikson Institute)

CARLI Staff attending: Elizabeth Clarage, Amy Maroso

Decisions

• Minutes of 12/17/25 approved.
• Learning Commons visits confirmed: 
  • Northern Illinois University and Kishwaukee College: April 8, 2026
    • 10:30am-12:00pm: Kishwaukee College for tour and discussion
    • 12:00-12:15pm: Drive to Northern Illinois University
    • 12:30-1:30pm: Lunch and table talks
    • 1:30-3pm: Northern Illinois University for tour and discussion
  • Oakton College: May 27, 2026 (itinerary being confirmed)

Tasks Assigned

• Minutes taken by Kristen Blankenship.
• Learning Commons visits:
  • Kimberly is checking with Kishwaukee College regarding rules for entering space for learning commons visit (e.g., is specific id needed to enter? Are drinks allowed?). 
  • Kimberly sending Amy and Elizabeth ‘save the date’ for April 8 learning commons visits to distribute in the newsletter and email lists.
  • Gretchen exploring options for potential rooms, speakers, format for May Oakton College learning commons visit; generally confirming that visit timing will work for stakeholders at Oakton.
  • Everyone should look at questions for table talks in Learning Commons and Student Success Centers document and add comments/additions/edits to document.
  • Kimberly sending poll for title for event series.

Announcements

• Member Announcements:
  • Gretchen Schneider (Oakton College): Oakton College opened our new Learning Commons January 12th and had our open house and ribbon cutting on January 20th.
  • Kelly Fisher (Eureka College): I have been told that our Student Success Center (formerly just the library) should have construction finished in about two weeks. Furniture will still need to be moved in. Move in includes our stacks and books, so we will be in the process of shelving soon. 
  • Dawn Sterning (Prairie State College): PSC is facing a financial emergency and has currently laid off 30 people. More layoffs are expected in Jan and March. The library has lost our ILL Librarian/Archivist.
  • Beth Hultman (Elgin Community College): Reports that ECC Faculty are currently in contract negotiations. 
  • Kate Tallman (Illinois State University): Our search for a new Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Librarian (non-tenure track) failed. This critical member of our public services division serves the departments of communications, family and consumer sciences, and all of our interdisciplinary minors like Latinx, women and gender studies, and African American studies. We will be posting it again in the coming months.
• CARLI Announcements:
  • Amy shared the CARLI events calendar for upcoming events.

Discussion

• Committee discussed Library policies regarding checking out print materials to consortium members, and if institutions require an ID.
  • Committee member noted for their institutions, they must a library card that works; while another said that they do ask for school IDs.
• Learning Commons visits update/discussion:
  • There was some initial confusion about April date for visits to Kishwaukee College and Northern Illinois University. Both sites have confirmed that it will be on April 8, 2026.
  • Oakton College visit date discussed. Due to schedules, Thursday, May 27 was selected. 
    • Committee discussed potential schedule for this visit which includes plans to visit both Des Plaines and Skokie locations
      • Tentative:
        • 10am-12pm: Visit Des Plaines location
        • 12-1pm: Lunch
        • 1-2pm: Travel time to Skokie location/free time 
        • 2-3pm: Skokie location tour and wrap-up
  • Committee discussed what title we’d like to use for this series of events.
    • Suggestions included Public Services Committee Open Houses and Learning Together: A Tour of Campus Support Spaces.
    • To select the final title, Kimberly will create a poll for committee members to vote on the options.

Next Meeting Dates and Deadlines

The Public Services Committee will next meet on February 18, 2026, at 10-11 a.m.

Committee Meetings:
February 18, 2026, minutes taken by: Kelly Fisher
March 18, 2026, minutes taken by: Beth Hultman
April 15, 2026, minutes taken by: Charity Ringel Kate Tallman
May 20, 2026, minutes taken by: TBD
June 17, 2026, minutes taken by: TBD

Deadlines:
May 29, 2026: Committee Annual Report due