MINUTES MARINET BOARD MEETING (approved)
Thursday August 24, 2000

Marin County Civic Center Room 410B

Board Members Present:
  Debbie Mazzolini, Belvedere-Tiburon
Carol Starr, Marin County Free Library
Sara Loyster, San Anselmo
Mary Richardson, Sausalito
Vaughn Stratford, San Rafael
Anne Montgomery, Mill Valley
Also Present:
  Deb Moehrke, Temporary MARINet System Administrator
Phil Youngholm, Consultant

Joining the Board at 11 AM

Beverley Simons, Library Management Consulting
Joan Frye Williams, Information Technology Consultant

  1. Public Comment: no public present

  2. Introduction of guests: no guests present

  3. Minutes of August 10, 2000, MARINet Board Meeting: Approved as presented
    Board looked at minutes and items needing follow-up by the System Administrator. Vaughn agreed to talk with Deb Moehrke, our temporary System Administrator, about the budget summary sheet and how it is organized and the format. Deb was asked to prepare a resolution moving $45,000 into the Sinking Fund (last year's member contributions). She was instructed to work with Andrew Yon on the exact line item account numbers for the Auditor. Deb was asked to contact Phil Brown, Circulation Committee, about the proposed field trip to Sacramento Public Library. The Board agreed that renting a bus might be more work than it is worth and we would all be happy to pay mileage for a caravan to go. Mary Richardson and Debbie Mazzolini reported that they had followed through with sending letters to the Circulation Committee and Bib Standards Committee, respectively. Sara Loyster reported that she had a draft of the letter to go out to the Public Service Committee today. Deb Moehrke was asked to send a master copy of the MARINet stationary to each Library Director for their use.

  4. Announcements:

    1. Deb reported on the proposed September 2 shut down of the computers at the Civic Center to allow for needed electrical work on the building. The computers will be shut down for about 20 minutes sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 am, by the electricians (on their schedule). Then they will come back up on the generator. The generator will not experience power fluctuations. MARINet's plan is to have Phil in the office, and he will bring down the system and bring back up the system on the generator. Staff needs to expect some amount of down time, but we will be up by opening time. Since all down time will include no ability to dial 911, it is not expected to be a long window.

    2. Clarification of Tuesday, August 29 Executive Board Session. Previous notice needs to be revised, and indicate that the Executive Session starts at 2 PM

    3. Sara reminded us that in checking in AV materials, if we get these items too close to the big desensitizer, it could damage the materials. San Anselmo has been experiencing a lot of damaged materials being returned from other libraries. Sara will post a reminder notice on Circnet

  5. Agenda:
    • Under VI. Old Business, A. Budget, add #4 Authorization Cards
    • Under VI, Old Business, B Personnel, add #4 MARINet Office staffing

  6. Old Business:

    1. Budget Report
      1. Monthly Budget Update: postponed
      2. Letter to Richard Arrow: this letter was reviewed, as drafted by Vaughn and signed by Sara. Deb was instructed to send the letter. Andrew Yon is to be invited to attend the meeting with Richard Arrow.
      3. Larkspur Contract: Board reviewed the letter from Frances Gordon, Larkspur, formally requesting to become a fully participating member of MARINet, and wanting to start with a $5,000 preliminary/interim one year membership. Frances needs to obtain bar codes, location codes, log-ins, etc. Board discussed and agreed that the one-year $5,000 membership is paying for access and that the costs of bar codes, EM320, and license are additional. Sara will find a copy of her old contract, to pass on to Deb to pass on to our County Counsel to review. Meanwhile, Larkspur is contracting separately for consulting time from Phil. It was agreed that simple phone consulting with Deb and Phil was part of the membership, but if it became a larger issue, they would tell Frances that she needed to schedule and pay for Phil- consulting help. This will be at the discretion of Phil and Deb. Sara Loyster agreed to bring a sample contract back for our next meeting.
      4. Authorization Card: it was agreed to have Deb, Sara and Carol sign for bills and Carol sign for personnel. Card was passed around for signatures.

    2. Personnel
      1. Staffing/Task Study: The Board discussed the proposed Scope of Work and Contract received from Beverley Simmons. It was agreed that we would not ask them to study the idea of changing fiscal agents.
      2. System Administrator's Report: Deb reviewed with the Board how she is beginning to learn about MARINet and asked for clarification on the kind of report the Board wants.
      3. Computer Technician Reclassification: reviewed status with Deb to bring her up to date on the reclassification request by Glade Van Loan.

    At 10:50 the Board agreed to postpone the rest of the agenda until the Sept. 28 Board Meeting and take a break before meeting with the consultants at 11:00.

    Discussion with Beverly Simmons, Library Management Consulting, and Joan Frye Williams, Information Technology Consultant:

    Beverly and Joan described their background to the Board. There was a discussion about the purpose of the Staffing Study and the readiness, as perceived by the Library Directors, for change. The Board reviewed the Scope of Work, the Contract and the Timeline. Beverly will send a revised Scope of Work and Contract to Sara. The County Counsel boilerplate contract language (re: insurance, liability, etc.) was given to Beverly to incorporate into the contract. The work will start within 5 days of the Contract being signed and is expected to be completed by March. It was important to the Board that the alternatives and potential costs will be known by January to allow us to budget to accomplish the plan that will be chosen.

  7. Adjournment: Loyster adjourned the meeting at 1:00 PM

    Next Meeting:     September 28, 2000 9:15 Marin Civic Center, Room 410 B

    Minutes taken by Carol Starr

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