Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

A brief description of our public body, per 5 ILCS 140/4, opens a new window, is as follows:

• The mission of the Niles-Maine District Library (NMDL) is to engage, inform, enrich, and educate its community. As such, our purpose is to provide access to materials and services for the recreational, social, informational, and education needs of the community.
• An organizational chart is linked
• The total amount of our operating budget for FY2024-2025 is $9,940,314. This total includes both income levied for the current fiscal year via the tax levy funds listed below, and planned use of unallocated income which was collected in previous years (a special reserve fund). Funding sources are property and personal property replacement taxes, state and federal grants, fines, charges, and donations. 
  • Tax levies are for:
    • General Operations
    • Building & Maintenance
    • Audit
    • Liability Insurance
    • Social Security
    • Illinois Unemployment Taxes 
    • Worker’s Compensation 
• We have approximately the following number of persons employed: 
  • Full-time: 43 
  • Part-time: 40 
• The following organization exercises control over our policies and procedures: The Niles-Maine District Library Board of Trustees. This elected, seven-member board meets monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, 7:00 p.m., at the library, unless otherwise noted. 
  • Its members are:
    • Becky Keane, President (term expires 2029) Email | 847-663-6651
    • Patti Rozanski, Vice President (term expires 2027) Email | 847-663-6653
    • Roberto Botello, Treasurer (term expires 2025) Email | 847-663-6655
    • Kathy Toy, Secretary (term expires 2031) Email | 847-663-6654
    • Umair A. Qadeer (term expires 2029) Email | 847-663-6652
    • Suzanne Schoenfeldt (term expires 2027) Email | 847-663-6657
• We are required to report and be answerable for our operations to: Illinois State Library, Springfield, Illinois.
  • Its members are:
    • State Librarian, Alexi Giannoulias (Secretary of State/State Librarian)
    • Director of State Library and various other staff 
• NMDL is a member of the Reaching Across Illinois Library Systems (RAILS), the Cooperative Computer Services (CCS) consortium, and professional organizations such as the Illinois Library Association and the American Library Association.  

Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), opens a new window, you may request the information and records available to the public in the following manner:

• Submit a written FOIA request in person at the library, by mail, or via email.You may, but are not required to, download and use the FOIA request form. NMDL does not accept verbal FOIA requests.  
  • You must indicate whether you have a “commercial purpose” in your request. * 
  • You must specify the records requested to be disclosed for inspection or to be copied. If you desire that any records be certified, you must specify which ones. 
• The library’s FOIA Officers are: Assistant Director Victoria Pichla Luz (primary), Executive Director Valerie Marshall (secondary) 
• To reimburse us our actual costs for reproducing and certifying (if requested) the records, you will be charged the following fees: 
  • The first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies: Free 
  • $.15 per page for each page in excess of fifty (50) pages copied by a Library District employee in house. 
  • The actual cost per page for each color copy or size other than letter or legal. 
  • The actual cost per page for each page copied by a third party when the Library District is unable to copy the records in house. 
  • $1.00 per certificate if the copies are to be certified. This cost is waived if certification via email from a FOIA officer is accepted.  
  • Reproduction on disc, diskette, tape, or other media: actual cost of recording media. 
• If the records are kept in electronic format, you may request a specific format and if feasible, they will be so provided, but if not, they will be provided either in the electronic format in which they are kept (and you would be required to pay the actual cost of the medium only, i.e. disc, diskette, tape, etc.) or in paper as you select. 
• The office will respond to a written request within five (5) working days or sooner if possible. An extension of an additional five (5) working days may be necessary to properly respond. 
• Records may be inspected or copied. If inspected, an employee must be present throughout the inspection. 
• The place and times where the records will be available are as follows:

Niles-Maine District Library, Administration 
6960 Oakton Street
Niles, Illinois 60714
Monday – Friday
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Certain types of information maintained by us are exempt from inspection and copying. However, the following types or categories of records are maintained under our control: 
  • Monthly Financial Statements 
  • Annual Receipts and Disbursement Reports 
  • Operating Budgets 
  • Annual Audits 
  • Minutes of the Board of Library Trustees 
  • Library Policies, including Materials Selection 
  • Adopted Resolutions of the Board 
  • Annual Report to the Illinois State Library 

* “Commercial purpose” is defined in the Act as “the use of any part of a public record or records, or information derived from public records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services.” However, there are exceptions for news media, non-profits, scientific and academic organizations for disseminating news, articles or opinions of public interest, or research or education. 

In the event a “commercial interest” is involved, additional questions can be asked of the requestor by the public body FOIA officer in order to determine the classification, then the public body has up to 21 days to respond and either deny the request based on exemptions or undue burden; or estimate the time and cost of the copying from prepayment; or provide the documents requested.