CARLI Board Meeting Minutes - March 6, 2026

In-person and Via Zoom

Attendance:  Laurie Blandino (CARLI ), Stefanie Bluemle (Augustana College), Michelle Boule-Smith (North Central College), Carolyn Ciesla (Elmhurst University), Marlee Graser (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville), Brian Keith (Eastern Illinois University), Dennis Krieb (Lewis and Clark Community College), Greg McCormick (Illinois State Library), Geoff Pettys (Southern Illinois University School of Medicine), Pattie Piotrowski (University of Illinois Springfield), Amanda Pippitt (Millikin University), and Morgann Quilty (Parkland Community College. 

Guests: Sarah Zehr Gantz (University of Illinois System) and Ken DiFiore, CELUS

Staff Attending: Margaret Chambers, Elizabeth Clarage, Diane Day, Jessica Gibson, Michele Leigh, Jennifer Masciadrelli, Nicole Swanson, and Jenny Taylor.

Absent: Jan Figa (Governors State University), Terra Jacobson (Moraine Valley Community College) and Rachelle Stivers (Heartland Community College).

Decisions

• Minutes of the December 5, 2025, Governance Board meeting were approved prior to the meeting.
• The Board approved the timeline for the 2026 Governance Board election. Current Board members Stefanie Bluemle (Augustana College), Brian Keith (Eastern Illinois University) and Rachelle Stivers (Heartland Community College) will serve on the Nominating Committee. CARLI staff will coordinate the process. 
• The Board approved the formation of an I-Share Metadata Task Force to evaluate, recommend, and develop strategies, policies, and workflows that strengthen metadata quality, interoperability, and cooperation across the consortium. 
• The Board approved the purchase of ebooks with up to $300,000 from CARLI reserve funds in August 2026 and August 2027.
• The Board approved the proposal to supplement the CARLI Scholarship in FY 27 and FY 28 with up to $30,000 from CARLI reserve funds if sponsorships do not meet the monetary needs of the program.
• The Board approved the purchase of a subscription to CELUS for a period of 5 years beginning in FY27.
• The meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m.

Announcements

• The Field Museum Library and Chicago History Museum are on-track to be added to I-Share on June 17, 2026.
• CARLI Staff have received commitments from 60 members for the FY27 Ebook Program.
• CARLI Staff plan to open ConsortiaManager from early April to May 15 for the FY27 selection cycle. 
• CARLI staff, Carl Lehnen (UIC) and Ann Johnston (Olivet Nazarene) are reviewing the responses to the RFI for the database package CARLI provides to libraries.
• Effective Monday, June 29, 2026, some ILDS items will have a 48-hour turnaround time.
• The CARLI OER Team, with input from the OER Committee developed a protocol, application, and rubric for the funding that the CARLI Governance Board approved for OER support to maintain the momentum of member libraries. The Call for Proposals has officially been shared with CARLI members and an information session was held on February 24, 2026.
• CARLI will open the call for committee volunteers the week of March 9. The call will be open through early May. 
• CARLI will accept applications for the 2025 CARLI Scholarship starting the week of March 9. Applications are due by June 1. The scholarship is funded by donations and sponsorship fees from the CARLI Annual Meeting. Board members Carolyn Ciesla, Geoff Pettys, and Morgan Quilty will serve on the 2026 Scholarship Committee.
• CARLI Staff will present “Stronger Together: Designing Professional Development That Crosses Consortial Boundaries” at the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) Conference on March 16, 2026.
• CARLI and 15 Professional Development Alliance partners have shared 99 free, continuing education webinars among CARLI members thus far in FY26 (August 2025 – March 2026).
• CARLI Staff are developing an Illinois Course Materials Survey for CARLI member library faculty that is planned for an August 2026 launch.
• CARLI Staff are developing an Interlibrary Loan Survey to determine current processes, costs and needs of the membership.

Tasks Assigned:

• CARLI Staff will prepare and issue the Call for Nominations for the Governance Board Election.
• CARLI Staff will prepare and issue the Call for Volunteers for CARLI committees. 
• CARLI Saff will update the CARLI Membership OCLC survey based on the Board’s input and email to the Board for their suggestions and approval. 
• The CARLI Advocacy Task Force will prepare their report for the June 2026 board meeting.
• CARLI Staff will prepare and issue a survey to gather feedback on Ebook proposals.

Upcoming Meetings

• 2025–2026 Board meetings (CARLI Office, Champaign)
  • Friday, June 12, 2026

• 2025–2026 Executive Committee meetings (via Zoom): 
  • Wednesday, June 3, 2026

• 2026 Governing Directors Meeting, I Hotel, Champaign
  • Tuesday, November 10

• 2026 CARLI Annual Meeting, I Hotel, Champaign
  • Tuesday, November 10