Minutes of the 9-2-2010 MHLS Directors Association Meeting
Meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Julie Kelsall-Dempsey
Present
Columbia County: Luisa Sabin-Kildiss Chatham, Sally Alderdice Claverack, Lynn Place Germantown, Carol Briggs Hillsdale, Corey Fleming Hudson, Julie Hamrah Johnson Kinderhook, Sue Critchell Livingston, Vicki Kurashige, North Chatham, Karen Garafalo Philmont, Elizabeth Powhida, Valatie
Dutchess County: Phyllis Keaton Beacon, Carol Rodriguez, Beekman, Terry SennettClinton Corners, Susan Totter Dover Plains, Gloria Goverman East Fishkill, Julie Spann Fishkill, Gregory Callahan Hyde Park, Lisa Karim LaGrange, Nancy Rogers Millbrook, Roger Cohn North East Millerton Acting, Robert P. Reilly Pawling, Marguerite Hill Pine Plains, Daniela Pulice Pleasant Valley, Tom Lawrence Poughkeepsie, Erica Freudenberger Red Hook, Steven Cook Rhinebeck, Joanne Meyer Rhinecliff, Arlene Christiansen Stanford, Bonny Corrado Tivoli, Matthew Pfisterer Wappingers Falls
Greene County: Linda Deubert Coxsackie
Putnam County: Maria Steinbert Brewster, Jeanne Buck Carmel, Gillian Thorpe Cold Spring, Carol Donick Garrison, Frank Rees Kent, Patti Haar Patterson, Kathleen McLaughlin Putnam Valley
Ulster County: Julie Kelsall-Dempsey Highland Clintondale Branch, Tracey Pause Hurley, Margie Menard Kingston, James Cosgrove Highland, Laurie Coccio Milton, John Giralico New Paltz, Tracy Priest Phoenicia, John Georghiu Plattekill, Wendy Alexander Rosendale, Jessica Gonzalez Saugerties, Jody Ford Stone Ridge, Faith Johnson Town of Ulster, Kara Lustiber West Hurley, Ruth Anne Muller West Shokan-Olive
Mid-Hudson Library System: Merribeth Advocate, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Laurie Shedrick , Christina Lindner
Action Items
Minutes Moved by Tom Lawrence, seconded by John Giralco
Minutes passed
Reports: Merribeth. Additions: re: technology continuity. Tech support line still covered on Saturday. Full list of hours TK. Re: NYS Budget update. MHLS has not received funding for 2010. NYS Librarian promises partial funds at end of Sept 2010. Full funding is not clarified, so spending freeze at MHLS continues. Advisory committee info: each comm. has a DA Director taking minutes. How do members want reports to be provided to DA? Please let Merribeth know. Print vs. posting to listserv. Full text vs. last ten minutes summary. Also, should Board Meeting packet be printed at all? Should DA members print own?
Consultant Reports
Rebekkah: ELFA (Education Labor Family Assistance Article VII) bill affects funding to schools and libraries. Funding will be released, $150,000 hangs in balance. Advocacy efforts being made to retain this system/libraries money. Use NYLA online advocacy tool, which helps greatly. Lobby Day 2011 planning has begun (3-1-2011). It matters to fill up the legislator’s office. Help, b/c it makes a difference in competition. Reminder: if going for a 414 vote, don’t forget to print notice in newspaper. Gates Broadband meeting time has shifted to morning. Friends group issue utilizing library’s 501 (c) (3). Be aware. Adult programmers meeting has been postponed to date after NYLA in November. Question: does Leg. Day work? Should Sheldon Silver’s office be staked out, vs. party members, who may not have budget authority?
Christina: Battle of Books in Hudson upcoming.
Laurie: Karen / Kit’s behind the scenes report upcoming. OPAC update still a work in progress, should be implemented before 2011. Search functionality different, rather than splash screen. New features present. SAM users group to be canceled. New upgrades coming, then meeting will be held. iii system patch installed- designed to correct process that was faulty. Cataloguing dept. tracks how many records edited in six weeks. (edits- 26,258) adding subject heading, changing material types, subject headings (like cookery to cooking). Should authority control be done regularly? (5 yrs since last update)
MHLS Board Liaison: Tom L. no August meeting. Erica Freudenberger to be liaison in future.
Announcements: Lisa Prentiss now acting Director in Staatsburg. Erica Freudenberger in Director in Red Hook. Midge Quick remembered. Make donations in her name directly to North East Millerton.
Margie Menard: Central Library/ Collection Dev.: See Report Overdrive/ ebook. No consensus reached in committee. To be discussed in new business. Age of collection discussion came up. Widening concern about areas such as health, items in collection are dangerous (erroneous) Greater urgency to look at age of material – are you doing more damage than good?
Continuing Ed meets 9/16
Marketing meets 9/21
Resource Sharing- Daniela. No hold pickup- any charges? Most libraries say no. Can’t be done through Millennium. System will not charge. 10% of all holds not picked up. If this reduced, delivery costs might be reduced. Laurie can run report to show each library’s percentage of holds not picked up. Perhaps it is one or several patrons who are the problem. Discussion of copy for freeze holds and cost for holding items: There is a cost to your library associated with your requesting items. You now have the option to freeze holds on some requests. Hyperlink for more information.
Standards not being followed. Ex: DVD holds. Local holds are applied, but doesn’t solve all problems. If you have more than seven holds, you SHOULD order another copy. Should that wording be changed. Libraries look at holds list over time, not just a snapshot. Might half of the next Resource Sharing meeting be devoted to this issue? County meetings first, then report to RS.
System Task Force: No report. T. Lawrence discussed formula about new fee proposal is developed. In April DA packet, chart provided, those numbers are not moving/changing much. To be expected for 2012. Committee looking at how it might be tweaked. Loss of supplemental aid to fund balance- how will this affect us? Outside number: 2010 double commitment for delivery and automation charges. Does not include databases. For some libraries this may be a large number. Hope, though, that numbers may come down. Supplemental aid may be lost, and if it is, the numbers will be worse. Fee structure is to retain services as we know them now. Should we look at how the system should be cut back. Increasing questions as to how some libraries may be able to afford these costs. We are not funding system, we fund plan of service. MHLS P-of-S expires in 2011. Should zero sum examination be done for 2012. How to scale back organization. For 2012, Fund services, or fund “the building.” Cap on fees, cap on something else, or pay for all?
Merribeth- P-o-S 5 years starts in Jan 2011. Focus groups. Plan developed, then sent to NYS DLD, then begins in Jan 2012. 4 Criteria to decide what makes service important.
1. Increases local community support for services.
2. It saves you money
3. Services that save you time or give you expertise.
4. Services that the system can offer that keep you out of (legal) trouble.
MHLS provides services that enable your library to grow. And be affordable. State aid may be further eroded. Next step: Meeting on 9/23 in Rhinebeck. Formulae to be worked on by members. April chart is TOTAL FEES, not an increase in what is being paid now. Automation charges: find agreement for charges between MHLS and individual libraries. Innovative’s charges may change in 2012. MHLS will have to negotiate with Innovative.
Ebooks: survey: If we want to add ebooks to Overdrive, it could be added as new format to the interface without additional charge. Only cost is to add materials. Materials run 1/2 to ¼ of price of audiobook. Top 10 Overdrive titles vs. 10 ebook- prices lower for ebooks. Could be started before holidays. Should be a hot gift. Kindle vs. iPad, vs. Sony reader. Availability of funds to pay for audio. Money flow makes it difficult. Central library aid comes from State. $18,000 has not arrived from State. If individual libraries purchase ebooks, how could holds be placed. RCLS uses Overdrive. Ebooks outpacing audiobooks. Non-fiction does not work well with graphics on Kindle. Opens up iPad market, which plays graphic content well.
Overdrive Advantage shows content individual libraries may offer. $40,000 budget for audio. Question: is this the time to spend more money on a new format? If added without a new charge, some libraries may wish to add own collection.
Costs: Amount available to spend in 2011. Whether libraries can purchase and keep for own use, without being in catalog. Local preference may/may not work. Depends on Overdrive Advantage account. May be a charge for Advantage in future. Own content shows up to own patrons. Send to Resource Sharing/Central library for joint meeting. Ulster County libraries are willing to share items it purchases with county funds. Funding won’t be known until November 2010. Politics may affect this decision between County Exec. and legislature. What is to be voted on? Reapportion money apportioned to Overdrive money to ebooks. Not a vote on new procedures. Can each library provide some money? What is left is the $18,000 not yet received.
Move to adjourn by T. Lawrence.
Respectfully submitted by Steven Cook, Acting Secretary