March 12 – 13, 2007
The State Library Board met at Old Worthington Library, 820 High Street, Worthington, Ohio on March 12-13 for its annual retreat.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 10:35 a.m., Monday, March 12, 2007. State Library Board members present were: Mr. David Miller, President; Dr. George W. Paulson, Vice President; Ms. Lucille Hastings, Ms. Mary Vesper Schwetschenau, and Ms. Jo Budler, Secretary. Ms. Jacquelyn O'Brien was excused.
Visitors present were: Paul Pormen, NEO-RLS, Bob Carterette and Holly Carroll, Cleveland Public Library; Mackenzie Betts, Ohio Library Council, Stephen Hedges, OPLIN, Terri Fredericka, INFOhio; Tom Sanville, OhioLINK; Michael Butler, Carol Verny, Carol Ritzenthaler, and Christine Morris, OHIONET.
State Library staff members present were: Ashlee Clark, Bill Morris, Roger Verny, Diane Fink, Cate Kolbash, David Namiotka, Marsha McDevitt-Stredney, Missy Lodge, Chris Tucker, and Angela Thomas.
Mr. Miller announced that Jackie O’Brien will be resigning her position on the State Library Board. He noted that the Board will be discussing the nomination process later in the retreat.
RESOLUTIONS
Dr. Paulson moved (M-01-07) that the following resolution be adopted by the State Library Board:
WHEREAS, Mary Gillispie-Haynes has provided the State Library of Ohio with over sixteen years of exemplary service; and
WHEREAS, Mary Gillispie-Haynes has held three different positions in Fiscal Services that has included the performance of payroll, inventory, travel, library materials, accounts payable, revenue, financial reporting and accounting ledgers/reconciliations; and
WHEREAS, Mary Gillispie-Haynes has graciously provided assistance and excellent service to library staff, co-workers and customers through positions she has held at the State Library; and
WHEREAS, Mary Gillispie-Haynes has shown incredible dedication to the State Library of Ohio, state agencies and libraries across Ohio during her time here;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that upon her retirement, the State Library Board, on behalf of the State Library of Ohio and Ohio’s library community, hereby thanks Mary Gillispie-Haynes for her tireless and exemplary efforts, gratefully appreciates her many significant contributions to the services and programs of the State Library of Ohio and wishes her the best in the future.
Ms. Hastings seconded the motion. The motion passed with all members voting “yes”.
Ms. Hastings moved (M-02-07) that the following resolution be adopted by the State Library Board:
WHEREAS, our public, academic, school and special libraries transform their communities;
WHEREAS, libraries play a vital role in supporting the quality of life in their communities;
WHEREAS, librarians are trained professionals, helping people of all ages and backgrounds find and interpret the information they need to live, learn and work in the 21st century;
WHEREAS, libraries are part of the American Dream – places for opportunity, education, self-help and lifelong learning;
WHEREAS, libraries bring customers a world of knowledge both in person and online;
WHEREAS, libraries are a key player in the national discourse on intellectual freedom, equity of access, and narrowing the “digital divide;”
WHEREAS, libraries, librarians, library workers and supporters across America are celebrating National Library Week with The Campaign for America’s Libraries.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the State Library Board of Ohio proclaims National Library Week, April 15-21, 2007 and encourages all residents to visit the library this week to take advantage of the wonderful library resources available and thank their librarians and library workers for making information accessible to all who walk through the library’s doors or visit the library virtually.
Dr. Paulson seconded the motion. The motion passed with all members voting “yes”.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The December 12, 2006 minutes were approved by common consent.
NEW EMPLOYEE INTRODUCTION
Jo Budler, State Librarian, introduced David Namiotka, the new Director of Information Systems & Technology at the State Library. Mr. Miller asked that the minutes reflect his suggestion that the Board meet with Mr. Namiotka and his staff within the next several months.
GENEALOGY UPDATE
Ms. Budler explained to the Board that the genealogy service and collection will be moving to Columbus Metropolitan Main Library at the pace that staff had hoped. Ms. Budler stated that a task force has been created to determine what State Library services will look like after the genealogy service and collection have moved.
OATH OF OFFICE
Mr. Miller administered the oath of office to Ms. Mary Vesper Schwetschenau. Ms. Schwetschenau was appointed to a five-year term on the State Library Board by the State Board of Education at their December meeting.
LSTA 5 YEAR PLAN DISCUSSION
Roger Verny, Deputy State Librarian, began a discussion of the development of the next Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) five year plan. He noted the objective of the Board discussion was to receive advice on the creation of the plan, funding decisions on current projects like Libraries Connect Ohio databases and KnowItNow, and guidance on new projects from information presented over the next two days.
Mr. Verny explained that the State Library receives approximately $5.5 million each year from the LSTA program, funded through the independent federal agency Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The State Library must submit a new five year plan to IMLS by June 30th, 2007.
Mr. Verny then gave the Board an overview of the LSTA funding history. He noted that the State Library spends LSTA monies on internal operations, statewide projects, and a competitive grant program, all of which directly tie to the LSTA purposes.
KNOW IT NOW
Holly Carroll, Deputy Director, Cleveland Public Library, on behalf of Director Andrew Venable and the Cleveland Public Library Board of Trustees, expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to administer a statewide service. Ms. Carroll stated that Cleveland Public Library has created a cost-effective plan for
the KnowItNow service to continue with LSTA funding.
Bob Carterette, Head of Automation Services, Cleveland Public Library, explained to the Board that when the project started, the Virtual Reference Advisory Committee intended the use of LSTA funding for only the first three years. However, due to the political environment and economic uncertainty, he is back for additional funding of KnowItNow for the next biennium. Mr. Carterette did note that they are still looking to find a way to sustain funding.
Mr. Carterette then presented the Board with a proposal that focused on reducing the cost of the service. There was discussion regarding the changes to the proposal and the two different scenarios of service time.
Dr. Paulson moved (M-03-07) that the State Library Board approve funding for years 4 and 5 of KnowItNow at the 24/7 service coverage level.
Ms. Schwetschenau seconded the motion. After discussion, the motion was tabled pending further information to be presented at the retreat.
LCO DATABASES
Terri Fredericka, Executive Director, INFOhio, outlined the collaboration of the three networks: OPLIN, INFOhio, and OhioLINK under the leadership of the State Library in the creation of a core electronic database collection. The Request for Proposal (RFP) process brought all bids received to a committee consisting of five school library representatives, five academic library representatives, and five public library representatives. This committee evaluated the proposals and determined the current core database collection.
Discussion about the databases in the current core collection ensued.
DIGITIZATION
Tom Sanville, Executive Director, OhioLINK, presented the Board with an overview of the Digital Resource Commons (DRC). The DRC is a place to store, distribute, publish, and preserve either born digital or made digital materials in a variety of formats. It is currently used by higher education institutions but has the capability to host multi-type libraries.
Ms. Budler then explained CONTENTdm, a collection of tools for all aspects of digital collection management. Discussion followed on how a statewide project could be developed with CONTENTdm and hosted on DRC.
OCLC is offering a preliminary statewide rate of approximately $50,000 for CONTENTdm. This does not include the equipment or labor costs that each library would incur. Discussion followed regarding how to help with the extra costs.
OPEN SOURCE
Ms. Budler began a discussion on the feasibility of open source as an alternative to traditional Integrated Library Systems (ILS). She stated that the State Library could possibly partner with Georgia, who created the PINES system and the open source software Evergreen, and other states (e.g. Oregon). She indicated that the software is not free, as it requires development and maintenance resources, but it does allow one to control the functionality oneself rather than being at the mercy of vendors regarding upgrades.
The Board wanted to know the amount of LSTA money that would be attached to open source. Ms. Budler indicated that it is not known yet. Currently the discussion is centered on the feasibility of open source as an alternative to traditional ILS. Discussion included various models for sustainability and development.
STATEWIDE RESOURCE SHARING
Ms. Budler then updated the Board on the current state of resource sharing in Ohio. She explained that two years after the inception of the Statewide Resource Sharing Commission, not enough progress is being made and that the Board may need to rethink Statewide Resource Sharing to move it forward. She presented the Board with a map of Ohio library consortia for public and academic libraries. Ms. Budler also mentioned the report the Board received outlining the two methods used to implement statewide resource sharing: union catalogs or a system which allows communication between disparate ILS.
Ms. Budler began the morning explaining how users can access library holdings through Google if the library has their holdings in OCLC’s WorldCat.
Angela Thomas, Statewide Resource Sharing Project Manager, presented the Board with the enhancements that have been made to the software for Ohio Libraries Share: MORE. Ohio Libraries Share: MORE is the current Statewide Resource Sharing system in place to allow disparate ILS to communicate. Ms. Budler pointed out that the Ohio Libraries Share: MORE software was purchased with one-time LSTA funds and is sustained in LSTA funding.
Carol Ritzenthaler, Member Services Representative, OHIONET, presented the Board with an overview of OCLC WorldCat Resource Sharing.
Christine Morris, Member Services Representative, OHIONET, presented the Board with an overview of worldcat.org.
BOARD CONSTITUTION
Bill Morris, Executive Assistant to the State Librarian, provided a brief history of the State Library Board. He stated that there is a convention to how the State Library Board accepts nominations for Board members. A call for nominations is sent out to the library community. Nominations are reviewed by the Board and two to three names are sent to the Office of Board Relations at the Department of Education. A State Board of Education appointments subcommittee then selects one name that is generally approved by the State Board of Education.
Discussion followed regarding the optimal number of Board members. The Board will solicit nominations for Board members, especially from the southeast portion of the state, once the letter of resignation has been received from Ms. O’Brien.
UPDATES
Michael Butler, Executive Director, OHIONET, provided the Board with an overview of the reorganization of OHIONET and the services it offers to libraries.
Diane Fink, Head, Fiscal Services, updated the Board on the status of the Kent State University – School of Library and Information Science project. She indicated that a meeting was held in October 2006 with DAS Real Estate and lawyers from all parties. Currently the project requires the architect to sign off on the plans. Once that has been completed, the Memorandum of Understanding can be signed and construction can begin.
Ms. Budler updated the Board on the current business plan. She indicated that goals from recent public services staff meetings will be added to the current plan.
Marsha McDevitt-Stredney, Director of Marketing and Communications, updated the Board on the State Library’s web site. Since joining the State Library staff in December, Ms. McDevitt-Stredney has been
attending to the more immediate need of updating information on the current web site and in printed material for staff. She is also in the process of working with Mr. Namiotka in the redesign of the web site.
Ms. Budler updated the Board on the status of the Regional Library Systems after the reorganization. She said that the general consensus is that the end result was worth the effort. The Regional Library Systems are meeting quarterly at the State Library of Ohio in continued efforts to work collaboratively.
WRAP-UP
The earlier motion that was tabled regarding KnowItNow was withdrawn by Dr. Paulson.
Discussion regarding possible changes to the KnowItNow and LCO databases budgets followed. State Library staff will contact Cleveland Public Library staff regarding the suggested KnowItNow changes. The Board agreed to approve funding for year four at the May meeting when the revised proposal is submitted.
The Board also agreed to approve funding for year five of the LCO databases in May 2007, as well as year six in May 2008 contingent upon an RFP being released to ensure the appropriate databases are being purchased.
Mr. Miller asked that the minutes reflect his suggestion that $150,000 be designated to marketing each year for statewide databases and services funded by LSTA money, including the literature database. He further suggested that a total of $32,000 could come out of the KnowItNow budget proposal that had been allotted for the Hispanic service and marketing, as well as $70,000 from dropping AMICO Art in the LCO databases and $48,000 from the grant program.
Mr. Miller asked that the minutes reflect his suggestion that the State Library Board should consider asking the General Assembly for $200,000 to fund LCO databases and KnowItNow and if it is not funded, use the money that the Board has committed to automation grants for school libraries for funding the two services.
Mr. Miller asked that the minutes reflect that he would like to see an evaluation on videoconferencing from the user’s perspective. He also suggested purchasing a 2nd mobile lab due to the popularity of the current one and indicated that scheduling could be done so that the labs would drive shorter distances and be scheduled for more dates.
Mr. Miller asked that the minutes reflect his suggestion that Ms. Schwetschenau work with State Library staff on the creation of the next LSTA five year plan.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned by common consent at 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 13, 2007.