Minutes Of
May 8, 2002
In
Attendance: Deborah Abraham,
Tom Cesarz, Doug Rendell, Ron Gagnon, Tom Scully, Sue Koronowski, Camilla Glynn
Healey, Mary Rose Quinn.
Call to order: Deborah Abraham called the meeting to order at 2:20 pm.
Minutes: Minutes of the March meeting were moved by Tom Scully, seconded by Tom Cesarz, and approved unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report: Tom Scully distributed the Treasurer’s Report. A motion was made by Tom Cesarz and seconded by Camilla Glynn Healey to accept the Treasurer’s Report. The vote to accept the report was unanimous.
Executive
Director’s Report
IUG: ET and Ron attended the tenth annual Innovative Users Group meeting in Houston Saturday through Tuesday last week.
They met with our sales rep. and the product manager of Millennium Media Management to resolve our position between acquiring the “old” product through the Imaging grant and being able to access it through familiar Millennium interface. We will access the equivalent of the old product functionality through Millennium Media Management, and it has already been set up since Houston.
They also met with the product manager of Millennium Cataloging to discuss our beta test and encourage III to work with EBSCO to expedite the automatic harvesting/transfer of changed MARC records from EBSCO to III systems.
Elizabeth did three well-attended sessions of Millennium Create Lists in one of the larger rooms. Even the President of III, Jerry Kline, attended one of her sessions. She received acclaim from attendees all through the meeting.
MLA: Martha and Ron attended the Mass. Library Association Meeting in Falmouth last Thursday. Martha, Deb, Mary Rose and Diane Young of Reading spoke on the wireless project in NOBLE libraries. Martha’s focus was security issues. It was a well-attended session and Michael Colford of Reading, conference co-chair, said the reviews were very good.
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MBLC Long-Range Plan: Ron attended the local Comment Session for the MBLC’s LSTA Long-Range Plan at Wakefield Monday afternoon. It was conducted by Rob Maier with Grants Manager Beth Wade. Ron was half the audience, and the only librarian. The other attendee was an unemployed software engineer who has been doing much scanning of historic maps in his spare time, and he is looking for a web outlet for these, so Ron offered that we were interested in ones in our service area, and we’ll be in touch.
Nothing too new or controversial in the MBLC plan. Network support is still there, support formalized at a 6o% ceiling for system upgrades. There’s a new focus on the creation of a digital library, greater support for children’s services and a goal for public awareness of library services.
Atrion: NOBLE is continuing to work on our Atrion changeover. Martha, Michele and Ron attended a project kickoff meeting at Atrion in Warwick, RI, on April 24, that included our Verizon network manager and account manager as well as numerous Atrion reps. A project to7ldo list was developed from that meeting. Martha and NOBLE staff
members are verifying the NOBLE equipment in libraries, checking serial numbers, etc.
The Atrion engineer overseeing our project, Ken Corsetti, will be here on Monday for
additional planning and research. On May 29, we will have a large group meeting here at
NOBLE to introduce the Atrion changeover and our ISP changeover to local technology
reps. and interested directors.
ILL Center Meeting: The semi-annual ILL Center meeting was held at NOBLE on
April 24. Twenty-seven librarians attended, in addition to NMRLS reps.
Acquisitions: The rollout continues with individual library meetings. The problem with
the new release loaded on Monday is being worked on. The new release also nexpectedly
affected patron-placed holds.
Training/Meeting Schedule: Busy May and June. Multiple sessions of Holds Training and Windows 2000 training, Collection Management meetings, Technical Services meetings, Summer Reading Lists and Library Web Sites.
Training Room: Reading PL used our training room on Monday for 24/7 reference training. Each library can use the training room once per year by policy at no charge.
Brochures: 20 libraries have received at least partial deliveries of their brochures, should be mostly wrapped up by end of the week. NOBLE also received new letterhead and business cards.
Reelected: Ron was reelected a Danvers Town Meeting Member for a two-year term.
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Personnel Committee: The personnel Committee met to review a request from Elizabeth the take 9 weeks vacation this Summer to teach English in China. The Committee approved the request, allowing ET to carry over four weeks and to take more than four weeks at one time.
The Personnel Committee will also begin looking at the current NOBLE salary schedule. The following list of Goals and Objectives was compiled by Ron Gagnon from the discussion among the Board. Ron will be drawing together the many components of the Plan to present in draft form at the Members Meeting next week.
Mission: NOBLE: The technology partner for libraries north of Boston.
1. Develop a fully integrated
library system that supports a variety of formats.
Objective 1-1 Develop and maintain high quality databases.
Objective 1-2 Assist libraries in implementing and managing the online library system and training library staff.
Objective 1-3 Recommend hardware and software that will enhance overall performance of the online library system.
2. Facilitate and support interlibrary resource sharing.
Objective 2-1 Develop policies and procedures for Interlibrary Loan within NOBLE, Point-to-Point, the NOBLE ILL Center and the Statewide Virtual Catalog.
Objective 2-2 Formulate network transfer guidelines for lending and borrowing within the network.
Objective 2-3 Compile usage statistics for all resource sharing activities.
3. Improve library collections.
Objective 3-1 Provide tools for evaluating and assisting the development of collections.
Objective 3-2 Increase participation in cooperative collection development.
Objective 3-3 Explore additional consortium pricing opportunities.
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Objective 3-4 Help libraries develop, maintain and support services for
diverse populations including, but not
limited to, age, disability, language and literacy level.
Objective 4-1 Identify and advise members on developing technologies and related services.
Objective 4-2 Provide reliable electronic service minimizing downtime and
maximizing speed.
Objective 4-3 Represent member library issues to vendors to provide feedback and request new products and upgrades.
Objective 4-4 Streamline and enhance use of electronic resources through a single-search interface.
Objective 4-5 Participate in the planning and implementation of a digital library.
5. Provide staff development opportunities for member libraries.
Objective 5-1 Facilitate and simplify public and staff use of NOBLE and member library services through staff training, documentation, mentoring and standardization.
Objective 5-2 Enhance and maintain training and meeting facilities.
Objective 5-3 Provide training on new services and upgrades by training trainers for member libraries.
Objective 5-4 Provide training and forums on areas of continued interest to member libraries.
Objective 5-5 Identify new and developing technologies and design educational programs to introduce them.
6. Support continuing education for NOBLE staff.
Objective 6-1 Provide continuing education opportunities and encourage staff attendance at conferences, workshops, courses and vendor user groups.
Objective 6-2 Use technology to advance staff education.
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7. Pursue funding opportunities which support our mission and goals.
Objective 7-1 Apply for State and Federal funds, which directly benefit libraries and library consortia.
Objective 7-2 Identify business resources which could provide additional funding for NOBLE.
Objective 7-3 Locate non-traditional grant opportunities which could benefit NOBLE financially.
Objective 7-4 Explore opportunities for revenue generation through outsourcing contracts.
8.
Develop
strategic partnerships with organizations to advance service to our members.
Objective 8-1 Work
collaboratively with state and regional agencies and organizations and other
consortia.
Objective 8-2 Partner with the private sector (profit and non-profit) to develop mutually advantageous relationships.
Objective 8-3 Develop relationships with vendors, which enhance NOBLE’s systems, services, and visibility.
9. Provide a forum for communication with and among member libraries.
Objective 9-1 Provide an appropriate schedule of training and meetings to meet members' need for information.
Objective 9-2 Foster communication through electronic discussions, roundtable meetings and other vehicles.
10. Raise awareness of NOBLE services.
Objective 10-1 Keep member libraries updated on NOBLE services and achievements through regular reports (online, in-print and at meetings) and special announcements.
Objective 10-2 Present a professional image to the public through the NOBLE Web site and print materials.
Objective 10-3 Participate in professional activities and publications.
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May 8, 2002
Objective 10-4 Maintain currency of all public relations materials.
11. Improve planning process.
Objective 11-1 Respond to changes in funding, culture, environment, etc., on a regular basis.
Objective 11-2 Analyze needs and opportunities in annual budget process.
Objective 11-3 Examine NOBLE staffing needs.
Objective 11-4 Project and monitor NOBLE capital needs.
Alternate view: Eliminate Goal 9 and wrap second objective into Goal 5 (now 5-2, old 5-2 now 5-6 for better flow).
5. Provide staff development opportunities for member libraries.
Objective 5-1 Facilitate and simplify public and staff use of NOBLE and member library services through staff training, documentation, mentoring and standardization.
Objective 5-2 Foster communication through electronic discussions, roundtable meetings and other vehicles.
Objective 5-3 Provide training on new services and upgrades by training trainers for member libraries.
Objective
5-4 Provide training and forums on
areas of continued interest to member libraries.
Objective 5-5 Identify new and developing technologies and design educational programs to introduce them.
Objective 5-6 Enhance and maintain training and meeting facilities.
Tom Scully made a motion seconded by Doug Rendell to adjourn at 4:25 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Rose Quinn,
Secretary