MARINet Governing Board
Minutes (Approved)
- Thursday, November 20, 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); Debbie Mazzolini (Belvedere-Tiburon Public Library, and incoming Board Member Sara Loyster (San Anselmo Public Library). Guests---Carl Bengston (Dominican College Library); Joyce Lattimer, (College of Marin Library); Jim Sullivan, Larkspur Public Library; Maryann Rafter, (Larkspur Public Library Board). Staff---Val Morehouse (MARINet Systems Administrator).
Recognition of Guests, Agenda, Minutes, & Automation Update:
The Board welcomed Sara Loyster of the San Anselmo Public Library to the meeting. San Anselmo has received a State grant and is preparing upgrade its MARINet membership from dial-in to full membership. Members and guests from Marin Academic Library Consortium (MALC) and the Larkspur Public Library introduced themselves. Election of officers was added to the agenda. The Minutes were approved as presented and will be distributed to interested parties and placed on the web. Val Morehouse provided members and guests with printed copies of the monthly MARINet Automation Update.
MALC-MARINet Partners Project:
Carl Bengston of Dominican College Library opened discussion of the MALC-MARINet Partners Project with copies of the Proposed MARINet/MALC Interlibrary Borrowing Policies, Aug. 8, 1997 document from the MALC Partners. The Partners Project involves sharing of online catalog information between MALC and MARINet using Innovative's PARTNERS software. To facilitate cooperation, fees previously charged MARINet borrowers for use of the academic libraries have been discontinued by MALC. If an item is found via the MALC online catalog to be on the shelf, MARINet borrowers may use either library as walk-in clients rather than place holds. It is unclear whether or not Partners software will allow the placement of holds. Reserve items will not circulate off campus: MARINet staff will need to be informed of that. A number of ideas---use of existing borrower card barcodes, and ways to facilitate delivery between MALC and MARINet were explored. Use of the Marin County Library distribution at the Civic Center as a hub received considerable attention as did use of North Bay Cooperative (NBC) delivery service. Larkspur Public Library Director Jim Sullivan also expressed interest. MARINet Systems Administrator Val Morehouse will approach NBC with a request for an add-on quotations (1) for 2 college stops 3-days/week; and (2) for 2 college stops plus Larkspur 3-days/week; and the same for 1 day per week. on delivery, which will be shared with all parties. Board Member Vaughn Stratford recommended that MARINet and MALC activate the software and work out protocols as needs developed. In that spirit, the Board moved to accept the principals in the MALC Interlibrary Borrowing Policies. MARINet staff will request and share additional information from Innovative on specific functions of the Partners software, since no one was clear on the details. Morehouse and Bengston will work jointly to bring the Partners software online during December, and carry the MALC Partnership onto the December Board agenda.
Questions for exploration:
Are cross-system "holds" possible?
What are the implications for MALC's use of current MARINet patron barcodes?
Is Partners Software a hotkey or more fully interactive package?
Is Partners and menu choice or a search alternative choice?
Can it be activated in staff mode first for training?
Larkspur Public Library Membership:
The Board invited Larkspur Library Director Jim Sullivan and the Larkspur Board Member to explore questions relating to a possible MARINet membership for Larkspur Public Library. Mr. Sullivan discussed planning underway in Larkspur which affects the library's future. MARINet Board Members urged him to consider beginning retrospective conversion of his library's paper card catalog into computer-readable MARC records soon---perhaps in the coming fiscal year, since data conversion can proceed independently of architectural and other automation considerations. And, San Rafael Librarian Vaughn Stratford suggested that Larkspur approach the Marin Community Foundation as a possible funding source for retrospective conversion of the collection. MARINet Board members offered to share their experience in converting catalog records; and San Anselmo Librarian Sara Loyster suggested that a dial-in membership like San Anselmo's could benefit Larkspur, and be achieved more quickly, even while library staff prepared for additional automation steps. Marin County Librarian Carol Starr assured the Larkspur delegation that MARINet strongly supported their entry into MARINet. Both Larkspur and San Anselmo are interested in training for the system. Val Morehouse shared her copy of the November County training schedule. The next available schedule will be out in January, since Phil Youngholm is taking December for prep time and for some vacation.
TALX Database Upgrade Project:
Between Board meetings, Systems Administrator Morehouse queried TALX concerning a completion schedule for the records upgrade. Tom Karn, TALX's new Operations Manager responded with the following scenario:
The original raw record count was 89,327, of these 73,469 were "hits" on the OCLC database.
Finish eliminating "false hits" caused by the attenuation in OCLC search keys.
The no matching records (no hits) isolation to be finished by 11/19/97.
Merging and elimination of duplicate records (deduping) to be finished by 11/21/97.
Begin sending first set of 5,000 finished records by the end of the month.
Val Morehouse will continue to track TALX progress on this project.
Micom Swap:
On Nov. 14th, Innovative removed the ailing MICOM #3 containing Fairfax, Inverness, and Marin City, which had been implicated in numerous downtime episodes, including a system-wide cascade. Since the swap, uptime has been much improved.
EMAIL Proposal & Spanish OPAC Screens:
Last month's email proposal (Part 2) returned for consideration. MARINet staff removed unused and duplicate email boxes from the list, and added boxes previously requested. Only two unused boxes remained, which were immediately requested for new staff. The Board approved the addition of 10 more email boxes. The Spanish OPAC Screens have been ordered. Val Morehouse queried the purchasing Board Members about whether or not the Spanish menu item should be displayed at all MARINet terminals or at just those purchasing libraries. The consensus was that the screens should be displayed MARINet-wide.
Web Page Links:
Blind links in the MARINet WEBPAC to Sausalito and Mill Valley web pages have been returned to working status by Val Morehouse; and notification of upcoming MARINet Board Meetings has been and will continue to be placed into the appropriate MARINet catalog HTML file for public notification each month.
INN-VIEW Progress:
The Board approved Morehouse's request to overspend the EBSCO periodicals index budget line to pay for the switch to INN-VIEW. Glade Van Loan is working with Innovative to implement INN-VIEW. A printing glitch, which has been called to Innovative, is holding back Public access, although staff continue to have access to the indexes.
Employee Recognition:
Through the good offices of Board Members and County Library accounting staff, the recognition dinner certificate and card acknowledging Glade Van Loan's extraordinary work on the MARINet system in the interim between System Administrators, was ready for Board signatures. Val Morehouse will present it to Glade on the Board's behalf.
Bills, Etc.:
Other than INN-VIEW there were no exceptional bills. Val Morehouse will present a first budget draft to the Board at the December meeting. Jerry Banique is the auditor for the MARINet audit. Audit testing is scheduled for Dec.19-31, 1997. Projected finish date is June 30, 1998. Costs for completion is still uncertain.
Personnel Update:
Following up the Board's directive concerning Glade Van Loan's salary step, Val Morehouse discovered that not only had Glade already had been returned to a previous step, but also that that step was the top for that job description. The next available library job description was a poor task fit. After investigation of information services job descriptions, a job description more closely aligned to Glade's tasks has been found. County Librarian Carol Starr then suggested methods of handling this job description, and the Board directed Val Morehouse to pursue.
County Library Administration, Technical Services, & MARINet Move:
MARINet central site will be impacted by the move of the Marin County Library Administration and the County Library Technical Services unit. MARINet will need to relocate its computer room, storage, operations, and administrative functions. Morehouse stated that her objective is to have as little downtime as possible due to the move. County Library Director Starr briefly discussed the December-January timeline for a series of moves which are interrelated with MARINet. Morehouse will provide an update at the December meeting.
Printer Networking:
A different printer hardware configuration is being proposed for the Point Reyes branch. This setup utilizes networked printers, which may be used as a model for future upgrades to MARINet remote library sites.
Elections:
Mary Richardson succeeded Anne Montgomery as MARINet Chair, and Debbie Mazzolini succeeded Vaughn Stratford as MARINet Secretary.
Information Sharing:
Library Records and Mailings
County Librarian Carol Starr shared contents of a legal memo she had received concerning confidentiality of library records and the use of patron names and addresses for library mailings.
Telecommunications
County Librarian Carol Starr reported on State Librarian Kevin Starr's California Library Association talk on the upcoming telecommunications grants. The grants will require submission of an automation/telecommunications networking plan.
Board Retreat
The Board discussed several dates and locations for the annual retreat. Board members will pursue bookings and report to the next regular meeting. The Board decided to focus on the Technology Plan required for telecommunications grants and on a Training Plan for MARINet staff. Val Morehouse promised to bring a mission statement draft to the next Board Meeting, so the Board could get a running start on the technology plan.
Next Meeting Dates:
Dec. 18, 1997 - 9 AM, Marin County Civic Center, Rm. 410B.
Jan. 15, 1997 - 9 AM, Belvedere-Tiburon Library.
Attachments:
Proposed MARINet/MALC Interlibrary Borrowing Policies.