Public Services Committee Meeting: April 15, 2026

Zoom / Conference Call

Members attending: Kelly Fisher (Eureka College), Charity Ringel (University of Illinois Springfield), Gretchen Schneider (Oakton College), Kimberly Shotick, co-chair (Northern Illinois University), Dawn Sterning (Prairie State College), Diana Sykes, co-chair (Erikson Institute), Kate Tallman (Illinois State University)

Members absent: Kristen Blankenship (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Beth Hultman (Elgin Community College)

CARLI Staff attending: Elizabeth Clarage, Amy Maroso

Decisions

• Minutes of March 16, 2026 approved.

Tasks Assigned

• Minutes taken by Charity Ringel.
• Gretchen will confirm that her presenters are registered for the Oakton College open house.
• Elizabeth will update parking information for the Oakton College event page.
• Diana will send the CARLI introductory slide to the Sauk Valley Community College presenters.
• Charity will introduce and moderate for the Sauk Valley Community College virtual open house.

Announcements

• Member Announcements:
  • No announcements
• CARLI Announcements:
  • Call for Committee Volunteers for FY27 (July 2026-June 2027) is available until May 1. Beth, Gretchen, and Kimberly will be leaving which will leave 3, 3-year slots available, and Charity’s slot will be open for a 1-year slot on the Public Services Committee.
  • Continuing Education:
    • April 16, 1-2:30 p.m.: Free Speech Needs Free Libraries: Censorship in Libraries and Academic Spaces 
    • April 24, 10am-2:30 p.m., in-person at Elmhurst University. Instruction Committee’s program: CARLI Community Building 2026: Sharing Strategies for Instruction
    • May 13, 10-11 a.m.: Supporting Student Well-Being: De-Stress Programming in Academic Libraries

Discussion

• Oakton College Open House
  • To be held May 27, 2026. There are 10 total registrants with 6 non-committee, non-Oakton individuals. Discussion was held about whether there was minimum participant requirement.
  • Gretchen will make sure to get presenters registered so that they can get their lunches. Short discussion was held about dining options, with Pita Inn recommended. Elizabeth will update parking information on event page.
• Kishwaukee College and NIU Open House 
  • This event was held on April 8th from 10:30-3 p.m.. There were 22 attendees. Committee participants enjoyed the event. Some notable interests were the dungeons and dragons-style orientation activity, electric power solutions, and library of things. The evaluation links have been sent out, and we are awaiting results. The email with the evaluation link mentioned the follow-up sessions with Oakton College and Sauk Valley Community College. 
• Sauk Valley Community College Open House
  • To be held April 21, 2026. There are currently 56 registrants. Presenters plan to do their own introductions. One of the presenters has had to drop out, but this should not pose a problem. Presenters have been informed of the slide accessibility requirements. Diana will send the CARLI introductory slide to the presenters. Charity has volunteered to moderate as needed including reading the introductory slide provided from CARLI. 
• Annual report is due on May 29th. It will consist of presenting our completed programming and their outcomes (attendance, evaluations). Details about the Oakton College open house will need to be plugged in at the last minute, due to its proximity to the report due date. Kimberly will draft the report. Diana will complete the section for Sauk Valley Community College because Kimberly cannot attend. 
• Minute takers selected for next 2 meetings: next meeting will be Beth with Kimberly as a back-up, and final meeting will be Dawn.

Next Meeting Dates and Deadlines

The Public Services Committee will next meet on May 13th, 2026, at 10-11 a.m.

Committee Meetings:
May 13, 2026, minutes taken by: Beth, Kimberly as backup.
June 17, 2026, minutes taken by: Dawn
July TBD

Deadlines:
May 29, 2026: Committee Annual Report due