MARINet Governing Board
Minutes (Approved)
- Thursday, October 30, 1997
- 2:00-4:30 p.m.
Marin Civic Center, Conference Rm. #304
Attending:
Board Members---Anne Montgomery, MARINet Chair (Mill Valley Public Library); Vaughn Stratford, MARINet Board Secretary (San Rafael Public Library); Carol Starr, Marin County Free Library; Mary Richardson (Sausalito Public Library); and Debbie Mazzolini (Belvedere-Tiburon Public Library). Staff---Val Morehouse (MARINet Systems Administrator).
Board Orientation
The Board greeted the new Systems Administrator Val Morehouse, who has been working at MARINet since Oct. 20th. Members then outlined tasks they would like her to do to assist with MARINet Board meetings and agendas. They discussed the MARINet committee structure and suggested that she pursue contact with the MARINet Children's Committee, which is the only one not yet on Val's calendar. Val handed out copies of the MARINet Automation Update.
The Board set two future meeting dates, and decided to set a January Retreat date at the next meeting.
Budget, Audit, and Financial Reports
The Board discussed annual budget, including the funding of enhancements from reserve funds. A tentative schedule for budget development beginning with the November meeting and continuing in January/February was explored. Val will provide information as it is gathered.
Val presented the only unpaid invoice, the Innovative invoice for Inn-View. The Board directed her to pay the invoice, and to discontinue and remove the EBSCO database from the system. Maintenance credits to reapply to the Inn-View should result. Concerning evaluation of the databases contained, the consensus was to turn Inn-View on for the public and staff, and then ask the Adult Services Committee to evaluate the databases formally during this year's subscription.
Carol Starr announced that an Annual Report of Financial Transactions of Special Districts has been done for MARINet at a cost of $420. This needs to be added to next year's MARINet budget and should be filed every year. Val mentioned that a payment voucher for this has been received. The 4-year audit is in progress, and is divided into bi-ennial audits. The cost estimate for auditing four years was $35/hour for approximately 300 hours.
TALX
TALX is still doing cleanup. The sense of the Board is that TALX needs to finish the database upgrade project. Val Morehouse will call TALX and pursue a projected finish date and statistics on "records remaining" in order to report to the Board.
MALC and Marin Community Foundation
Members discussed Marin Community Foundation's need for a report on the Partners Cooperative project between MARINet and the community colleges in Marin County. Vaughn Stratford was deputized to contact, the College of Marin and at Dominican College to set a meeting to finalize policies necessary to "flip the switch" on the Partners software. Possible dates of Nov. 10th or 20th were suggested.
Systems Administrator Update
Email Proposal
Val reported that the Circulation Standards Committee had requested creation of a shared CIRCNET email account where members could view agendas, minutes, etc. When MARINet attempted to create the CIRCNET mailbox, the system indicated that all of the 150 email accounts have been used. Val presented a two-part proposal to the Board:
Part #1 - Some MARINet members have active non-MARINet email boxes. Recommendation: free up some MARINet email boxes by removing MARINet mailboxes which are duplicates for persons who have another mailbox on a local system.
The Board discussed that and decided this should be done and that the current MARINet list of accounts by name should be perused by each library director to identify any departed staff who could be removed. The complete list is located under LOCAL on the email menu. Extra non-MARINet addresses can be added using the "edit addresses" function.
Part #2 - Innovative will sell MARINet 10 additional email accounts for $850. Recommendation: Acquire 10 additional email accounts..
The Board tabled this until the November meeting in order to see how many email accounts are recovered under Part #1.
Realignment of Contention Groups to Eliminate Logon Denials
Val Morehouse reported that the Staff contention group logons for Innopac had been realigned with the Internet contention group of logons, since staff have experienced repeated logon denials. Since then, no logon denials had been experienced by either group. In order to prevent phantom sessions resulting from improper logouts or from inactive terminals, Carol Starr recommended that a staff "netiquette" memo from MARINet explain the "pooled" logons and caution staff how to free up logon slots, "When using your personal logon with Innopac, please be sure to logoff using Innopac 'Disconnect' when your task is finished."
Date Due Printing
The Circulation Standards Committee requested that MARINet turn on printing of the Date Due slips for a trial and evaluation period. The trial is scheduled to start Nov. 4th. The Board requested that Val issue a reminder about the trial to circulation staff before turning on this function.
Group Purchasing
Deb Mazzolini discussed possibilities for MARINet joint purchases of database products such as Moody's and Britannica on CD-ROM and/or via Internet. She said these could be linked to Innopac. Mary Richardson mentioned Galenet databases as a possibility. A discussion of pros and cons of CD-ROM vs. Internet access to online databases ensued
. Since NBC is also looking at databases, MARINet should not duplicate any database NBC acquires, but coordinate purchase decisions.Web Page(s)
The Board discussed various possibilities for adding visual and content improvements to the MARINet Web Page under construction. Logos, links to special collections, photographs, and a map with the library locations were some ideas. The group decided to look over and note URL's from other library web pages to get ideas. A planned design can then be developed utilizing successful HTML structures from other library sites, rather than starting from scratch.
San Anselmo Grant
Circumstances surrounding the San Anselmo grant for joining MARINet were discussed. Val mentioned that she had received a request for formula information for planning and fund development from the San Anselmo Library Director. Anne Montgomery noted that she has the formula for the San Anselmo addition, which was done after Phil Youngholm left. The Board wishes to invite the San Anselmo Librarian to attend Board meetings.
Information Sharing
Carol Starr reported that she is working on a strategic plan for the county library. A new staff member will be joining the staff---Andrew Yon, currently of the Auditor's Office will be on board in mid-November. Concerning the county library Innopac training being given by Phil Youngholm, if there is room in his workshops, non-county staff can attend for $10 per hour. A list of future training dates can be forwarded. She announced that Point Reyes is scheduled to open in January, and that she hopes to move Technical Services out of the Civic Center. She mentioned two problems needing attention: a patron report that dial-in menu does not have a warning about the charge for holds; and the issue of the bad 10K Micom affecting Fairfax.
The Board discussed personnel recognition issues. Mary Richardson, Val Morehouse, and Debbie Mazzolini will pursue.
*FUTURE MEETING DATES:
Nov. 20, 1997 - 2PM, Marin County Civic Center, Rm. 324.
Dec. 18, 1997 - 9AM, Marin County Civic Center, Rm. 410B.