December 2009 Executive Committee Meeting

December 9, 2009

Southwest Chatham Branch Library; Savannah GA

I.    Call to Order - Lecia Eubanks, Chair

The meeting was called the meeting to order at 1 p.m.

II.    Welcome - Lecia Eubanks

Lecia welcomed members and visitors in person and on the phone.  Committee members present were Lecia Eubanks, Claudia Gibson, Thomas Jones, Donna Howell, Lace Keaton, and Alan Harkness.  Members attending by phone were Marsha Christy, Nancy Tillinghast, and Sandy Hester.  Visitors present were Wendy Weinberger, Jeff Tomlinson, Jean Turn , Kathryn Ames, Steve Schaefer, Greg Heid, Joe Forsee, Gary Swint, Teresa Cole, Charles Gee, Carrie Zeiger, Jim Cooper, Jennifer Durham, Chuck Gibson, Adrian Mixon, Alan Kaye, Dusty Gres, and Richard Sanders.  GPLS/PINES staff attending: Lamar Veatch, Julie Walker, Lyn Hopper, Elizabeth McKinney, Chris Sharp, and Tim Daniels.

III.    Approval of September 2009 Meeting Minutes - Lecia Eubanks                

The minutes were available on the website before the meeting and distributed at the meeting.  Alan made and Claudia seconded a motion to approve them as distributed.  Motion carried.

III.    PINES Staff Reports - Elizabeth McKinney

1.    Elizabeth

• Evergreen Development Freeze
  The PINES version of Evergreen has been in a development freeze since early December 2009 because of an inability to reconcile the invoice we received from ESI for work done in November of 2009. The end of the freeze will result in an updated service level agreement with which we should be able to leverage more control and accuracy in terms of future development.
• Overdue Notices
  The change to one ten-day notice has reduced overdue notice printing and mailing costs over $18,000 so far.
• Courier
  The Universities are now piggy-backing on our contract with STAT.  This has created a few issues.  Brian Klingen with STAT identified a problem at a hub in Atlanta and the manager of that facility has been replaced.  Please continue to report issues with courier service – long delays in delivery, damaged items, etc. to Elizabeth.  All public library system headquarters will be added to courier service early in 2010.
• Cataloging Update
  Bin Lin is doing a lot of training in original cataloging and cataloging a lot of unique items for PINES libraries.
• Statistical Reports
  Spreadsheets showing the number of PINES loans by library system were distributed.  There were some questions about how the reports are generated.  After checking, Kat reported that these statistics are created when an item is trapped for a hold.
• Training
  PINES staff is working on developing some training on PINES policies.
• Upgrade Update
  The Evergreen client upgrade was mostly uneventful.  More information about the upgrade is on the PINES website.  There are a couple of outstanding issues.  Patrons are unable to login to their accounts and their PINs are not sticking – both are happening on an intermittent basis and it is not clear why.  PINES and Equinox staff are looking for reasons.
• Software Development
  The PINES Executive Committee approved four action items at their last meeting.  Three are on hold pending development.  One is in production as of 12/8/09.  This item means that patrons with $10 in fines or 10 items overdue cannot renew their items without contacting their library.  Circ 1 staff was supposed to be able to override this and renew items, but it is not functioning that way.  This is creating a hardship.  PINES staff indicated this glitch had caught them by surprise and there was an active helpdesk ticket on this issue.  Greg Heid thanked PINES staff for improved response to reported issues.

2. Chris Sharp

• PINES and Evergreen Documentation
  PINES and Evergreen policies and procedures have been skeletal.  PINES staff is working to trace each policy item back to the Executive Committee minutes so that these decisions and policies have context.  There are plans to work through each process and procedure to catch inconsistencies or incorrect information.  It is a time-consuming process.
• The database clean-up RFP
  The RFP for the database cleanup project has been published; details are already recorded from the last meeting.
• ACQ Working Group
  The acquisitions working group are pleased with Equinox development on the module and are waiting for the product to test.
• The Inventory and Cataloging Requirements Documents
  The inventory requirements document is almost complete and the cataloging requirements document is in process.
• New Helpdesk Software
  The Help Desk is getting an overhaul.  The software product currently used by OIIT, Numara Footprints, is being installed for GPLS/PINES.  Data will be moved on January 10, 2010 and the soft rollout is set for February 10, 2010.  Dusty Gres commented on the improvement in providing information to library staff on the status of help desk tickets,
• Group Order
  The recent group order of cards and barcodes for PINES libraries is due to be delivered in January 2010.

3.    PINES Anniversary
PINES is now 10 years old!  A banner was displayed showing the PINES 10th anniversary logo made by David Baker.  PINES libraries will be getting new door decals with the new, more easily reproduced logo in large and small sizes.  There will a celebration at the PINES Annual Meeting in Warner Robins in May 2010.

IV.    Executive Committee Action Items        

• AI1 Proposal to Allow Holds on All Audio-books and Videos within PINES
  Revisiting this policy was prompted by a letter from a visually impaired library patron.  After discussion of how frequently this was revisited and the potential issues involved, Donna made and Claudia seconded a motion to accept the subcommittee recommendation to vote no on AI1. Motion carried with one no vote.
  AI2 Proposal to Allow Renewal of a PINES Patron Card Only if all Fines are Paid
• Discussion was prompted by letters from funding agencies and trustees from a PINES system.  There were suggestions from members that the fine balance be printed on the bottom of check out receipts so patrons are more aware that they owed fines and that library staff should make it a habit to remind patrons each time they check out when fines are owed.  There was also a suggestion that reminder be sent to patrons with cards near expiration via e-mail that included information that they would need to pay any outstanding fine or fees before renewal.  After much discussion, Donna made and Thomas seconded a motion to accept the subcommittee recommendation and approve AI2.  A request was made for a roll call vote on this item.  Members voting yes were Marsha, Nancy, Sandy, Thomas, Alan, Lace, and Donna.  Voting no was Claudia.  Motion carried.
• AI3 PINES Bags Purchased by Borrowing System Ratio
  As more and more PINES materials are sent via the courier and as shipping bags get worn and damaged, there is a need to replace and add to the available supply.  A spreadsheet compiled by George Tuttle showing the lending and borrowing activity of all PINES library systems was distributed and a possible formula for purchasing bags based on the borrowing totals of each system was proposed.  There was lots of discussion on how to make these purchases fair.  Claudia made a motion to adopt the formula of purchasing one bag per 1,500 borrows for FY2011 and to revisit the activity and need for additional bags each year.  Alan seconded.  Motion carried.  Greg Heid suggested that sponsorship for bags be investigated.  Claudia, Alan, and Donna will help Greg with looking for sponsorship.
• AI4 Claims Returned Policy Review
  After brief discussion, the EC recommended sending this item to the appropriate subcommittee for discussion and recommendations.
• New Library Policy Name - ARL-CAR for Carnesville Resource Center located in Carnesville.
  Claudia made and Donna seconded a motion to approve the new policy name.  Motion carried.

V.    Executive Committee Discussion Items    

• Circulating Handheld Devices (such as Kindles)
  As libraries move into circulating e-books and other materials held on library-owned reading devices, there is a need to consider policies on holds, count of circulation, stat cats, circ modifiers, legal issues, and how they will be cataloged.  After discussion on some of the issues, the EC recommended that this item be sent to the appropriate subcommittees for discussion and recommendations.
• Handheld Devices Used by Patrons to Checkout Items (such as iPhones and Blackberries)
  As patrons carry more and more information on their devices, there are requests for being able to provide library card information and barcode for checkout on them in lieu of carrying a separate library card.  After brief discussion the EC recommended sending this item to the appropriate subcommittees for discussion and recommendations.

VI.    Old Business

Adrian Mixon asked if the development item for making it possible for patrons to renew and pay fines via RFID were still on the development list.  Elizabeth said she would check on the status of it.

VII.    New Business

PINES staff is working on holding a two-day PINES Executive Committee Boot Camp February 17 and 18, 2010, probably in north Decatur area

VIII.    Next Meeting

The PINES Executive Committee Meeting will be on the second day of the boot camp, February 18, 2010.  Location is to be determined.

IX.    Adjournment

As there was no further business, Alan made and Thomas seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Motion carried.

Signed,
Donna W. Howell, PINES EC Secretary