MARINet Governing Board

Minutes (Approved)

Thursday, August 20, 1998

9:30 a.m.

Marin County Civic Center, Board of Supervisors' Chambers

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To: MARINet Board and Interested Parties

From: MARINet Staff

CC: Val Morehouse; Glade Van Loan

Date: 09/28/98

Re: 08/20/1998 Meeting at Marin County Civic Center, Board of Supervisors' Chambers, 9:30 a.m. (Approved).

Attending:

Board Members--- Mary Richardson, Board President (Sausalito Public Library); Debbie Mazzolini, MARINet Board Secretary (Belvedere-Tiburon Public Library); Anne Montgomery (Mill Valley Public Library); Vaughn Stratford (San Rafael Public Library); Carol Starr (Marin County Free Library); Sara Loyster (San Anselmo Public Library). Staff---Val Morehouse (MARINet Systems Administrator). Guests--Libby Flynn, Marin County Library Technical Services, and Andrea Charles, MARIN4Kids..

Copies of the latest MARINet Automation Update were provided to the Board. Minutes of the July meeting were approved as presented. There were no additions to the agenda. Guests were introduced, and Ms. Charles passed out business cards for MARIN4Kids. The Board altered the agenda to allow Libby Flynn to speak.

SCAT Table Corrections and Inventory Module

Ms. Flynn discussed the problem of the SCAT table and one proposed solution, purchase of the Innovative Inventory Module. Val Morehouse provided a description of the Inventory Module functions and costs. There was no interest in the Inventory Module, as functions didn't address the weeding problem very well. It requires additional equipment, plus expense for the module itself and training. Discussion moved to possibilities for fixing the SCAT table so that pockets of sub-filed call numbers do not occur. In a consortium where cataloging practices differ slightly from library to library, fixing the SCAT table is problematic. In MARINet, input stamps (location) have been used frequently and do not match letter-for-letter. Val reported on her discussion with our Innovative Team Leader concerning SCAT table difficulties. Some benefit can be gained by correcting the dewey ranges to add decimals up to .999. The SCAT table can never be perfect due to differences in practices. The Board consensus was to use two hours of MARINet's contract with Phil Youngholm for SCAT table corrections.

Announcements

Returning to agenda order, Anne Montgomery announced that Mill Valley Public Library would host a private sneak preview of the building renovations on September 1st, 4-6 p.m. The official Grand Opening will be September 6th, 1-5 p.m. Mill Valley will open for regular business the day after the Labor Day holiday. Mary Richardson announced that Sausalito will not open Sundays due to a budget cut. Debbie Mazzolini announced that Belvedere-Tiburon will be open Sundays. Staff exchange days off to facilititate this. San Rafael is opening Sundays beginning on the 13th.

Technical Support Agreement

Val Morehouse reported that the Technical Support Agreement has been signed. Beeper coverage for the weekend open library hours is in place for wide area network emergencies and/or major system failures on weekends when Val and Glade Van Loan are off. Also, Innovative coverage continues to be available through the weekend under MARINet's maintenance contract. Val will prepare a scenario/guideline sheet to help staff decide how to proceed during an emergency. Since funding for "incidents" is limited under the Technical Support Agreement, the sheet will offer examples of what is and what is not an emergency.

Budget and Bills: Payment Approved

Two of the largest bills for the fiscal year arrived: the annual subscription for INN-View databases (less the credit for services lost due to problems with frozen terminals); and the semi-annual Innovative maintenance bill (which includes credit from equipment removed from MARINet's 56K network, plus a $455 credit for cessation of the EBSCO local database tapeload). Both are budgeted items. The Board approved payment of Innovative invoices for $32,391.65 and $30,431.00.

Voted: Capitalization Policy ; & Remote Sites Equipment Ownership

The MARINet 4-year back audit is not complete. The Auditor has advised that MARINet should institute a capitalization policy since it does not have one. The policy would provide a capitalization threshold and clarify what assets must be added to the inventory. After discussion, it was moved, seconded, and voted unanimously that MARINet purchases over $1550 be added to the fixed assets inventory. The Board discussed the historical disposition of terminal and telecommunications equipment at the remote library end of the network. Original JPA members recalled that the MARINet Board had decided to transfer ownership of the remote terminals and telecommunications equipment from the initial system purchase to each library where it was installed. None of these individual components cost more than the capitalization threshold voted above. Thus, each independent library is responsible for maintaining the asset inventory of its remote terminals, Micoms, and dsu/csu's.

Insurance Coverage for MARINet Staff

The Auditor recommended that MARINet clarify whether Morehouse and Van Loan are insured for liability and for errors and omissions. MARINet maintains a property loss insurance policy, and there is a self-insurance clause in the JPA under which members share costs according to the cost formula, but staff are not mentioned specifically. Val Morehouse will check with County Counsel to determine if MARINet staff are covered under the County liability and errors and omissions insurance, since Morehouse and Van Loan technically are County employees.

Central Computer Upgrade and Re-Indexing Update

Not all components for the central computer upgrade arrived in time to do prep for the first install date. The new install date is September 22nd. Tuesday was picked to assure that Innovative will be full-staffed with technicians should any problem arise. A problem did arise during the previous move of the equipment, which delayed uptime for some libraries because the same technician had to travel, retrieve, and program replacement equipment. The intent is to avoid this scenario on the new install. Libraries will be warned of the new install date (with estimated downtime), which will be posted on every public and staff terminal, as well as on the WEBPAC.

MARINet will also bring up WEBPAC rel.11 in the week preceding the install. The install would force migration from WEBPAC 10 to WEBPAC 11. Bringing WEBPAC 11 up in advance will allow Val Morehouse to adjust the HTML to display two frames on the WEBPAC screen instead of three. Morehouse examined the default three frames display and found it confusing. Also MARINet library staffers had requested the adjustment to two frames. (At this point, a note was handed to Val reporting that all components for the install and hardware upgrade had been received at Innovative). The install date is now firm: Sept. 22, 1998.

The aftermath of the strike delayed the order for the WORD re-indexing previously approved by the Board, but MARINet will place the reindexing order before the next Board meeting.

BOOKS In Print

Although the Board packets contained pricing for Books in Print from two sources, the Board delayed consideration for acquisition until certain points about the INN-View quote could be clarified. What the Board wants is cost for concurrent users, not library by library license pricing. "Users" could shift back and forth between institutions because this is a consortium sharing one computer/gateway. One library could use 10 "users", and the next minute usage could shift to another library, etc. MARINet will seek better definitions for next month's meeting and give staff more opportunity to use Books in Print during the month.

Patron Record: Library Mailings Code Added

MARINet checked with various circulation staff to determine where to create a co de for "mailings ok", since libraries must have permission to mail Friends of the Library and other information to patrons beyond the usual holds and overdue notices. Val Morehouse added a code "z" to the PCODE1 field to be used for that purpose. Libraries already having check-offs on patron registration forms can begin inputting the code immediately. The Board urged Morehouse to pursue a generic form (1/2 sheet) for patron registration and get feedback from the next meeting of the Circulation Committee.

MARINet Training Contract Active

After some delays, the MARINet training contract with Phil Youngholm has been signed. A copy is on file at the MARINet office. How to handle the contract became an issue, so Val Morehouse will visit with County Counsel about a less cumbersome procedure in the future. Under the contract, MARINet will arrange additional training on WEBPAC, the Innovative CD-ROM manual and other topics after the new CPU install is secure.

Labor Negotiation Status

Val Morehouse referred members to memos from Laura Armor summarizing the settlement of the MAPE and MCMEA contracts. Morehouse noted that both contracts contained equity increases for library staff (see related "Equity Request" in new business below).

System Security Review: Overrides Report 

Morehouse detailed some system security issues found in her preliminary survey. In particular, authorization checks-and-balances are partially in place. Carol Starr and Val shared the system overrides report, which showed certain financial and other functions not passworded. Also, in certain staff classes, passwords have too much clearance. This will be put on next month's agenda.

Barcode Changes…

Val checked with Board Members about proceeding on barcodes research for adding library name and enlarging the size to 10 mil with a better plasticized surface. Some members want this, but others said that they will help MARINet use up the generic supply. Glade will be working on the order. 

NEW BUSINESS: Voted: Election of Officers

Val Morehouse reminded the Board that they were a month overdue for election of officers. By popular and unanimous acclaim, the Board voted to re-elect Mary Richardson of Sausalito Public Library as Chair; and Debbie Mazzolini of Belvedere-Tiburon Public Library as Vice-Chair/Secretary.

MARINet Committees

Some committees did not meet due to the strike. Circulation did not, and Val would have been unable to attend anyway, because she covered MARINet. This caused consideration of a generic patron form to be delayed. A plea by email produced no responses, however there is an upcoming meeting in September. The Board urged Val to prepare a generic form that Circulation Committee members could critique. This item will be tabled until the next meeting.

Val informed Board members that questions had come to MARINet about the use of patron barcodes on the overdue mailings. This is a privacy issue. Innovative says it can be removed, but not relocated on the mailer. The Board asked Val to consult with the Circulation Supervisors to see if they use the barcode for any purpose. If not, then delete it.Debbie Mazzolini requested that Val convey the Board's interest in the use of the 856 in the MARC record, which allows input of URL's into the online catalog record. The Board would like the Bib Standards Committee to develop recommendations on how to begin using the 856 in the Innopac for stable URL's that would not require continuous maintenance by catalogers.

VOTED More Serials Checkin Records

MARINet received a request to add the next increment of serials checkin records as the County and San Anselmo will be using more in the immediate future. Members discussed how some titles had had more than one record created with only a few issues under each. Board Members will make sure that staff understand about the handling of open entries. The Board approved the purchase of the next increment of serials checkin records.

Equity Request: Voted, & Administrator Evaluation to Begin

Val reported that MCMEA, the middle management group containing both the Administrative Librarian and MARINet Administrator classifications pursued equity increases for the Administrative Librarian classification. The increases were granted by Human Resources. The MARINet Administrator position, previously classified at the same pay range, did not receive an equity increase. Val referred Board Members to the spreadsheet with ranges for library staff positions, showing where the system administrator range falls after other library positions' equity adjustments. Morehouse's queries to Human Resources on how to rectify the situation were not received positively. As a result, Val approached County Librarian Carol Starr about the matter. Carol Starr reviewed for Board members the background of the Administrative Librarian equity increases and ramifications for both MARINet and the County Library Administrator positions in terms of "equity" in comparison to other classified county positions.

Various Board Members reiterated that the Systems Administrator position had been tied intentionally to the Administrative Librarian Class and should not fall below it. Additionally, the Administrator position was not intended to report to an Administrative Librarians, but to be a peer. Members felt that allowing the MARINet classification to lose ground would exacerbate recruiting problems, because the position requires both technical and administrative skills. The Board voted to support an equity increase for the Systems Administrator to return it to par with the Administrative Librarian class. Chairperson Mary Richardson and County Librarian Carol Starr will prepare a Board letter to Marin County Human Resources, detailing the Board action and requesting information on the next step.

Val Morehouse reminded Board Members that they needed to evaluate her performance as her annual anniversary would be coming up on October 20^th. Carol Starr added that Val Morehouse could not receive a step increase until the evaluation was complete. The Board formed a sub-committee to prepare a format for the evaluation.

PARTNERS Request from Richmond Public Library VOTED

MARINet received a formal PARTNERS request via email from Lynnea Kleinschmidt, the Richmond Public Library Administrative Librarian. Richmond would like to activate the Innovative Partners software between Richmond and MARINet. Board Members who are NBC members informed the group that Richmond will be joining the NBC Delivery in July 1999, which would make the partnership practical. The Board voted:unanimously to initiate a Partners software link with Richmond Public Library to become active in July 1999 when delivery is in place. The decision will be conveyed to Ms. Kleinschmidt.

Order Records: Please Close Properly so MARINet can Purge

Val reminded Board Members about the problem of improperly closed order records. MARINet is unable to purge these to create new slots for new orders. All were urged to police the order records situation to help MARINet regain additional records for use.

Tabled for Consideration at Next Meeting

Tabled for consideration at the next meeting: Books in Print acquisition and security authorizations. Also, barcodes on notices and the generic patron registration form.

The next meeting will be Sep. 24^th, 1998 at the Mill Valley Public Library, 9 Am.

Attachments:

August Meeting Minutes and Current Automation Update

Inventory Control Module Functions.

Preliminary INN-View quote for Books in Print.

EBSCOhost quote for Books in Print.

Laura Armor MAPE Agreement Summary

Laura Armor MCMEA Agreement Summary

Statistic Group Maintenance Terminal Number Key to Circulation Overrides.

Equity Comparison: Hourly Wages including MARINet.