Noble Executive Board Meeting

Minutes of August 1, 2000

Present: Marjorie Hill-Devine, Deborah Abraham, Ron Gagnon, Doug Rendell, Pat Cloherty, Tom Scully, Diane Smith, Bonnie Strong, Mary Rose Quinn

Marjorie called the meeting to order at 2:10 pm. She welcomed the new members and reviewed the progress of the new working group looking at cataloging electronic resources. Members of the Electronic Resources Working Group include representatives from NOBLE academic and public libraries, directors, reference and technical services librarians, Ron Gagnon, and Elizabeth Thomsen.

Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes of the June Executive Board Meeting. The minutes were approved unanimously.

Treasurer's Report: Tom Scully reported that to date expenditures were on track. Adjustments would be made as the year progressed. Pat had a question regarding the system maintenance budget line and asked that the name be changed to remove CLSI. There was some discussion about the reserve for additional software and databases. There was also general discussion concerning new membership and the impact on the budget.

Executive Director's Report: Ron noted that the bid opening awarding the contract for the year would be Thursday. The first invoices to the public libraries would be sent in August. The invoices had already been sent to the academic libraries.

Ron reported that he and Elizabeth met with III at ALA to discuss consortia issues. He reviewed the "open calls" NOBLE has with III to address our continuing problems and concerns with system functionality. The Board discussed the problems with the new release including issues with holds and fines.

The Bell Atlantic upgrade is progressing. Ron attended the Network Administrators’ Meeting and distributed draft copies of the legislative agenda. The MBLC is looking to regain momentum. There was some discussion about the "Big Dig" and other competing interests for funding.

There was a lengthy discussion concerning statistics available through III. The Board was particularly concerned with the annual statistics as they related to the upcoming ARIS Report. Ron assured the group that they would be compiled and available in time to report on the ARIS forms.

The Personnel Manual was presented for final approval. Pat Cloherty moved to adopt the manual and Tom Scully seconded. The vote to acceptthe new NOBLE Personnel Manual was unanimous. Marjorie thanked Doug for all of his work on the completed document.

Ron presented a draft of his Objectives for FY 2001. The group asked questions regarding consortia enhancements, continuing education, training, documentation, and system upgrades and enhancements. Ron identified items that needed to be addressed this year, which included the HVAC system, the phone system, and the web and mail servers. The Serials module was also discussed. Other system related topics discussed included new the key word search engine in the Webcat, electronic resources in the online catalog, database cleanup projects, and "My Millennium" for the patrons. Other issues addressed were the possibility of an online newsletter and an e-mail list to notify interested patrons of NOBLE updates. The group also discussed the EBSCO contract andrenewal issues. There was a lengthy discussion concerning services and support to member libraries with an emphasis toward improved

customer service and response to staff in the field. Also mentioned was a need to review and update the strategic plan.

The group adopted the meeting calendar for the year and set 3 meetings to discuss the budget for the next fiscal year.

Doug reviewed the recommendations of the NMRLS ILL Task Force. The group had evaluated the two sites on quality of service and delivery. They suggested that the region maintain two locations and enter into long term contracts.

The meeting adjourned at 4:50 pm.

Respectfully Submitted

Mary Rose Quinn, Secretary

NOBLE Executive Board