WRLSWEB Network Advisory Committee Meeting
October 4, 2007
Sparta Free Library
Minutes
Members present: Patti Berglund, Karen Bernau, Jill Bjornstad,
Cindy Brown, Karen Carr, Laurie Erickson, Meredith Hauge, Kelly
Krieg-Sigman, Carol Krett, Mary Lent, Chris McArdle Rojo, David
Polodna, Jeanne Rice, Lisa Solverson, Mary Waarvik, Pamela Westby
Guests: Deb Dagnon, Randy Dagnon, David Goldfein, Myrna Paulson
Meeting was convened by Polodna at 10:06 am.
I. Greetings and Introductions/Roll Call: Polodna welcomed all,
particularly first time participants Jill Bjornstad, Kelly Krieg-
Sigman, and Randy Dagnon. Roll call was taken as indicated above.
II. Approval of minutes from August 2 Meeting: Motion by Lent,
seconded by Bernau, to approve the minutes of the August 2, 2007
meeting as presented. Carried.
III. Collective Purchasing of Equipment: The discussion was framed
by suggesting three types of equipment which had been requested in
the past: a DVD cleaner, a digital projector, and a laptop for
inventory. Questions were raised about where funds might come from
for the purchases and if it was actually practical to route this
type of equipment from place to place. From there the discussion
moved around from different types of equipment, various ways
that the equipment might get used, and the kinds of needs which
this equipment might address well or poorly. The conclusion was
that the DVD cleaner was not practical as a moving facility, but
rather would be beneficial as a service where the media would be
sent to a central location. Sparta Library now offers such a
service as do some local video stores, and no strong interest was
expressed for developing a regional service now. Similarly, the
group decided that the digital projector might be too temperamental
to travel well, too expensive to maintain, and not effective for
borrowing if a library had regular programing needs requiring it.
The type of equipment viewed most practical and beneficial was a
laptop with Horizon on it to be used for inventory. This was
viewed as a tool directly connected to WRLSWEB. Motion by
Solverson, seconded by Brown, to recommend that three laptop
computers and three barcode scanners be purchased with WRLSWEB
capital reserve funds. Carried.
IV. LSTA Grant for Wireless: Polodna reported that he had applied
for a grant to help libraries experiment with wireless Internet
access. The grant is non-competitive but the funds available were
somewhat limited, so there was no certainty that each system would
receive the requested funding. If WRLS is awarded the grant, it
will cover the wireless fees for all WRLSWEB members for 2008.
V. Timing Software Costs, 2008: Goldfein reported that the costs of
timing software that was developed by LPL, though not yet approved
by the LPL board, will likely be $5 per station per month, and a
one time $25 per station set-up fee. Those fees will cover support
and upgrades. Goldfein will prepare a summary sheet describing the
capabilities and costs once the LPL board has given final approval.
The software currently does not include a reservation component,
but it does respect blocks on borrower records, so patrons with
fines can be prevented from using the Internet if that is the
library's policy.
VI. Update on Bandwidth Issues: Goldfein explained that the DOA
strategy, if additional funding is authorized for BadgerNet
bandwidth, will be to provide support first to those libraries
which have spent some of their local dollars to add bandwidth. In
order to place the WRLSWEB libraries in a good position in regard
to this strategy, WRLSWEB administration decided to use some of the
WRLSWEB operating reserve to bring all libraries back up to a full
T1 level (1.5Mbps) for the remainder of the year. The head end
bandwidth will also be expanded via this same approach. This
should provide improved performance within the next few weeks. If
the budget provides additional funding, WRLS libraries should be
able to keep their T1 level bandwidth without additional cost after
January 1; if the funding is not provided, libraries will have to
decide if they wish to fund that additional bandwidth using local
dollars. Goldfein will send out a list showing what bandwidth each
library currently has. He also spoke about the benefits of
obtaining a DSL line for Internet if a T1 line did not provide
enough improvement in performance. McCardle-Rojo noted that
Charter Cable provides free high speed lines to libraries.
VII. Options for When "Lost" Converts to "Missing": Dagnon
distributed a guide packet that explained the situation and the
options. She explained the three options and recommended that
option 2, Extending the number of days before your item converts
from "lost" to "Missing", was perhaps the most practical. She
noted, however, that the caution related to option 2 was that
libraries should be careful to not let the database fill up with
"Lost" items which are still listed but unlikely to ever be
available again. She asked that if a library wished to change its
approach to these items, that it contact her.
VIII. Cooperative Purchases of Databases: While this topic has been
addressed by NAC in the past, Polodna noted that there seems to be
a growing emphasis on subscription databases throughout Wisconsin
and the preferred way to obtain access seems to be through regional
cooperative purchasing arrangements. He proceeded to share a quote
he received from Proquest for two genealogical databases, and then
reported that at least one system raises revenues for databases by
adding a charge onto the shared system fees that participating
libraries pay. Discussion followed about various databases and the
method for funding. The possibility of using a portion of resource
grant dollars for databases was suggested, but some members
indicated they needed the resource dollars for collection
development. The group consensus was that the most reasonable way
to approach database access was on a regional basis, with all
libraries having access, but the group also felt that it couldn't
practically determine what was possible without having a better
idea of what costs might be. Polodna will survey other library
systems to see what their costs are and pursue a regional quote
from some vendors.
IX. Fines Issues: Polodna introduced the topic by saying he had
received questions or comments from a couple libraries on two
issues related to fines: 1) Should the limit for returning fines to
the assessing library be lowered from $10 to perhaps $5, and 2)
Can the level of fines be determined by the parameters of the
library checking the item out rather than the owning library. Each
issue was discussed separately. The first issue was raised because
at least one library is apparently directing its patrons to not pay
fines at any other library because it will lose the fine revenue.
NAC members in attendance did not feel that changing the level was
an appropriate response and that this would create a lot of
administrative work for everyone. Polodna will contact the library
in question to address the concern. For the second issue, Dagnon
indicated that while WRLSWEB could select what factor would
determine fine level, this was one of the fundamental decisions
that gets made when the ILS parameters are first established. It
would be a large project to change it now. There was discussion
about making fines more uniform, and an acknowledgment that fines
for videos are the most troubling, but no proposal was offered.
Berglund suggested that we reconsider this issue when we are
changing platforms and parameters will have to be re-established
anyway. Dagnon also pointed out that patrons can, when placing a
reserve, request a specific copy from a library with lower fines.
That does not create significant problems for the network or other
libraries.
X. Flood Damage: Solverson asked how libraries wished to handle
charges to people who lost materials to the flood. The group
agreed to waive those charges.
XI. Additional Issues and Concerns: Krieg-Sigman announced that she
is encouraging her staff to attend the Public Library Association
conference in 2008, even if just for one day, because it will be
held in the Twin Cities and will never be closer. LPL will almost
certainly be contracting for transportation to the conference and
could well have room for others to ride with them. She asked that
those who are interested in riding on the LPL bus let her know
before Thanksgiving. Deb Dagnon informed everyone that she has
begun the process of working with WRLSWEB members to change Horizon
passwords, and that on her schedule she will be contacting each
member.
Randy Dagnon asked if WRLSWEB was tracking which sites a person
visits when using the Internet. Goldfein said that sites were not
tracked in any manner. Solverson announced that COLAND would be
having a conference in the spring of 2008 on the future of
libraries in Wisconsin. She emphasized the importance of the
concerns of smaller libraries being included in the discussions.
She is currently a member of COLAND.
XII. Next Meeting: December 6, 2007.
XIII. Adjournment: Motion by Brown, seconded by Carr to adjourn.
Meeting was adjourned at 11:53 am.
Respectfully submitted,
David Polodna
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