Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Maine State Library Studio, Yarmouth High School (ATM), Bangor Public Library (ATM), Noble High School, North Berwick (ATM)

Meeting called to order at 10:08

Attendance: The list of attendees is not available.

The minutes from the December 13, 2006, meeting were reviewed. A motion was made, and seconded, to approve the minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously.

 

Reports

I. Maine InfoNet (Karl Beiser)

On June 1, 2007, Barbara McDade (Bangor Public Library) takes over K. Beiser’s position temporarily. The position will be advertised in July, and perhaps the position can be filled in the fall.

Work continues on pilot programs, on universal access, and on a better interface.

 

II. Minerva (Jon Forest and Deb Hensler)

 

J. Forest and D. Hensler went to the III conference and attended several useful sessions.

The upgrade to the new server is scheduled for July, 2007. They are looking at a virtual machine environment, which allows for easier recovery from system issues.

III plans improvements to web management reports, and improved printing features.

In July, J. Forest will be taking time off because his wife is expecting their second child.

 

III. Delivery (Dean Corner)

 

A new contract takes effect in June, 2007. There should not be any cost increases.

 

IV. Borrowing and Lending (Kevin Davis)

 

This committee is working on minimum data field requirements for patron records. The committee is also working on a “good neighbor” policy, and expects to present position papers to the Executive Committee.

 

V. Finance (Cora Damon)

 

Copies of her report will be mailed to all Minerva contacts and filed with the minutes of the meeting.

There is one new expense proposed, an additional Syndetics module that reviews audio-visual titles. The cost is $3,300 annually. A motion was made, and second, to approve the additional module. After some discussion concerning costs and redundancy with catalog records the motion was tabled until later in the meeting.

 

VI. Education (Jane Babbitt for Natalie Hutchinson)

 

This committee is reviewing navigational issues and content changes to the Minerva web site. The committee is gathering “how to” documents. Please forward any Minerva-related instructional documents to N. Hutchinson at St. Joseph’s College.

 

VII. Cataloging Standards (Katherine Morgan)

 

The committee adopted standards regarding kits, large prints, board books, series, multivolume sets, and DVDs.

After some discussion, the consensus was that recommendations by this committee should be approved by the Executive Committee and not by the Full Users’ Council.

 

VIII. Maine InfoNet Board (Judith Frost)

 

Let J. Frost know what issues this Board should look at.

Two committees seek representatives from Minerva libraries: the e-resource committee; and the resource sharing committee. J. Frost has sign-up sheets.

 

IX. Maine State Library (Gary Nichols)

 

G. Nichols is reviewing the Memorandum of Understanding.

He recommends considering an investment account in order to have Minerva money earning interest, and he recommends keeping up to $10,000 on hand for easy access.

He reiterates the need for visible support for LD793 at the appropriations committee meetings.

 

X. Planning (Betsy Pohl)

 

B. Pohl gave a recapitulation of the planning process. This committee still needs to revisit the bylaws and the agreement to participate. Everyone needs to recognize the Users’ Council is the governing body for major issues.

The motion was made, and seconded, that the Users’ Council approve the Memorandum of Understanding. The motion passed unanimously.

The motion was made, and seconded, to lift the moratorium on additional members after the Memorandum of Understanding is signed by all three parties. When asked how many new libraries will be admitted, B. Pohl explained there is a procedure in place for adding libraries. K. Beiser recommends adding no more than six new libraries per year. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Other Business

 

The tabled motion to purchase the audio-visual module from Syndetics was considered again. The motion passed with twenty-three votes for, four votes against, and one abstention.

 

The Council was asked to contribute money towards the legislation lobbying effort. The motion was made, and seconded, to approve $5,000 for legislation lobbying. The motion passed unanimously.

 

The Executive Committee was asked to consider extending the subsidy for courier service for two days per week.

 

Adjournment

 

The meeting adjourned at 12:30.

 

Respectfully submitted by Karen LaForgia.