Board Meeting Minutes, March 5, 2003: Wisconsin Public Library Consortium

WPLC Board Meeting Minutes: March 5, 2003
Location: South Central Library System

Present: David Weinhold (ESLS), Stef Morrill (SCLS), Inese Christman (WVLS), Peter Hamon (SCLS), Phyllis Davis (SCLS), Mark Merrifield (NFLS), David Polodna (WRLS), Mellanie Mercier (WCFLS), Linda Miller, Project Manager, and Kathy Schneider (WiLS).

The meeting came to order at 10:00 a.m.

1. Partner Reports

WCFLS reported that there are two netLibrary training sessions scheduled. There has been a good response. Several from the Menomonee Falls High School will be attending.

ESLS reported that the handheld readers with the upgraded operating system were tested on a book discussion group. Some commented that the new operating system is less convenient since some features were removed. Some did like certain new features, such as pagination. They are not yet sure how the readers will be used in the libraries. They added OCLC records for the publicly accessible netLibrary titles.

WVLS reported that their handheld readers are still very popular. The comments made on surveys distributed with the readers have been very encouraging.

SCLS reported that there has been a surge of interest in the handheld readers since titles for the Dane County "Read It Share It" program were available on the readers.

WRLS reported that they have been providing some one-on-one training for library staff. Some have especially benefited from having the comfort level that comes with receiving the training at their own library. Eight to ten libraries have requested such training.

Nicolet/OWLS reported that new training is planned for library staff. There are some new staff members that they are introducing to netLibrary. They have purchased some streaming video software that will be used to provide remote training. They will focus on library staff that are not yet using netLibrary. The software cost of $6,000 for this system has been covered by TEACH.

David Weinhold submitted an article on WPLC for the WAPL newsletter.

2. Current Project Reports

Mellanie Mercier reported on the "Listen Up" project. Posters and bookmarks have been developed. Different materials were made for each of the six participating libraries. Two libraries are not yet circulating the players. There are some issues with the target audiences. Young people have their own players already, and senior citizens are having difficulty with the small buttons on the players. There is another player that is being considered that can function like a normal cassette tape. There is still a lot of money left to spend on titles.

There may have been a problem with the electronic list on which messages had been posted reminding libraries to purchase titles. These messages were not being received.

There has been a problem with library staff forgetting to notify Mellanie that titles have been checked in. A list of overdue titles is sent out each month.

Comments were made regarding the project evaluation and final report. Enough data should be collected and included in the report to allow others considering such a project to see the benefits and problems that were involved. The report will be due mid-summer.

David Weinhold reported on the survey project. About 2500 calls were made and 612 surveys were completed. Josh Morrill is working on cleaning up the data now. The report should be completed by the end of March. A draft will be submitted to the project steering committee for feedback. All five callers who conducted the surveys have some association with libraries. Call backs were made on some respondents for quality control purposes. All of the callers received high marks.

The WLA Foundation and WAPL have expressed interest in co-sponsoring the survey results for the Fall conference. Contributions still need to be collected from all sponsors.

One interesting thing that is shown in the survey responses is that a large number of people are interested in home delivery of materials, even at additional cost.

David commented that it will be difficult to limit the sharing of the survey results. WLS has asked if they can use the survey on its own. David is waiting until this project is complete before giving an answer. David suggested that other organizations and libraries will want to use the survey and add their own locally related questions. David recommends that Josh continue to be involved in assisting with other organizations' use of the survey. Phyllis Davis suggested that a business model be created after the project is completed. Linda Miller added that one option could be for WPLC to sell the survey as a product. Linda asked if the results could be broken down by geographical area. David said that this will probably only work for the southeastern area of the state. Most likely that kind of analysis will not be possible. David also said that the call center approach may not work in some areas.

Another option could be for WPLC to offer this as a service. David Polodna asked if WPLC would create an alternate approach to the call center since this may not work effectively for some areas. David said that this would need to be addressed.

3. netLibrary

There have been a lot of special offers advertised by netLibrary. But many of these are not available for shared collections. An example of this is the special searching service for reference titles. netLibrary is adding a lot of content. There is no shortage of input from members on new titles to purchase. If the current list was ordered, all funds would be spent for 2003. Feedback is being requested on titles to remove from the list so that funds can be spread out over the rest of the year.

The merge with the academic libraries collection is moving forward. A consensus has been reached that the shared collection will consist of new titles purchased. The primary obstacle to including current titles in the shared collection comes from the publishers

The addition of the shared collection should be transparent to the end user. The management of the collections, including gathering statistics, will be more difficult. The merged collection should be available to users by the end of March. There is a small amount of credit that will be given for weeding the collection.

Schools are being contacted but most do not want to discuss participation in the collection until the fall. The group confirmed that if a school decides not to renew their membership, they will lose all access to the collection. One of the biggest issues with the schools is that they do not want their students to have to set up netLibrary accounts themselves, but netLibrary is not able to do any batch loading of accounts.

WiLS has spoken with Tumblebooks.com. Their titles are not available through netLibrary. They are willing to negotiate for a group rate. Information was sent out very recently asking libraries if they would be interested. So far, only IFLS has responded with interest. The titles are all animated children's books. There are 36 titles so far. The annual fee for a library is $300.

David Weinhold suggested that if enough partners are interested that this could be a test project. The group agreed to wait until more responses are received on this.

Web-based training for netLibrary is continuing. The first set has been completed. There seems to be a core of people that are very involved. The PR Committee will work to promote netLibrary.

4. Bylaws

Peter Hamon reviewed the content of the bylaws. There was one question about the affiliate members. Is there a separate startup fee versus an ongoing fee for affiliate members? The group agreed that the affiliate's ongoing fee will be an amount equal to the startup fee plus a possible annual increase.

David Polodna made a motion to adopt the bylaws as presented. Mark Merrifield seconded the motion. The motion was carried.

5. New Project Proposals

Mellanie showed the group a Toshiba tablet PC. It is smaller and lighter than most laptop at about 4 lbs. It can be used as a laptop or a tablet. It has a modem, an Ethernet card, and a wireless card. It uses a stylus, and text can be entered using a keyboard interface or using handwriting recognition. The cost is $2400.

One possible use in a library would be to allow the reference staff to have wireless Internet access for searching online resources such as the library catalog away from a desk. It could also be used to provide catalog access in areas of a library where no physical network connection exists. MS Ebook Reader is included so it can also be used to contain ebooks.

David Polodna mentioned that many libraries are having difficulties with reference staff spending too much time managing access to public computers. Perhaps there is a project that could assist libraries with finding a solution. SCLS and Milwaukee both have projects underway.

No new project proposals were introduced.

6. Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, 2003 at 1:00 p.m.

The meeting adjourned.

Linda Miller


		Home > Meetings > Minutes > Board Meeting, March 5, 2003

Members Bylaws Committees Meetings Discussion List Statistics Current Projects Proposals for Future Services Reports Links Home Contact Us		WPLC Board Meeting Minutes: March 5, 2003 Location: South Central Library System Present: David Weinhold (ESLS), Stef Morrill (SCLS), Inese Christman (WVLS), Peter Hamon (SCLS), Phyllis Davis (SCLS), Mark Merrifield (NFLS), David Polodna (WRLS), Mellanie Mercier (WCFLS), Linda Miller, Project Manager, and Kathy Schneider (WiLS). The meeting came to order at 10:00 a.m. 1. Partner Reports WCFLS reported that there are two netLibrary training sessions scheduled. There has been a good response. Several from the Menomonee Falls High School will be attending. ESLS reported that the handheld readers with the upgraded operating system were tested on a book discussion group. Some commented that the new operating system is less convenient since some features were removed. Some did like certain new features, such as pagination. They are not yet sure how the readers will be used in the libraries. They added OCLC records for the publicly accessible netLibrary titles. WVLS reported that their handheld readers are still very popular. The comments made on surveys distributed with the readers have been very encouraging. SCLS reported that there has been a surge of interest in the handheld readers since titles for the Dane County "Read It Share It" program were available on the readers. WRLS reported that they have been providing some one-on-one training for library staff. Some have especially benefited from having the comfort level that comes with receiving the training at their own library. Eight to ten libraries have requested such training. Nicolet/OWLS reported that new training is planned for library staff. There are some new staff members that they are introducing to netLibrary. They have purchased some streaming video software that will be used to provide remote training. They will focus on library staff that are not yet using netLibrary. The software cost of $6,000 for this system has been covered by TEACH. David Weinhold submitted an article on WPLC for the WAPL newsletter. 2. Current Project Reports Mellanie Mercier reported on the "Listen Up" project. Posters and bookmarks have been developed. Different materials were made for each of the six participating libraries. Two libraries are not yet circulating the players. There are some issues with the target audiences. Young people have their own players already, and senior citizens are having difficulty with the small buttons on the players. There is another player that is being considered that can function like a normal cassette tape. There is still a lot of money left to spend on titles. There may have been a problem with the electronic list on which messages had been posted reminding libraries to purchase titles. These messages were not being received. There has been a problem with library staff forgetting to notify Mellanie that titles have been checked in. A list of overdue titles is sent out each month. Comments were made regarding the project evaluation and final report. Enough data should be collected and included in the report to allow others considering such a project to see the benefits and problems that were involved. The report will be due mid-summer. David Weinhold reported on the survey project. About 2500 calls were made and 612 surveys were completed. Josh Morrill is working on cleaning up the data now. The report should be completed by the end of March. A draft will be submitted to the project steering committee for feedback. All five callers who conducted the surveys have some association with libraries. Call backs were made on some respondents for quality control purposes. All of the callers received high marks. The WLA Foundation and WAPL have expressed interest in co-sponsoring the survey results for the Fall conference. Contributions still need to be collected from all sponsors. One interesting thing that is shown in the survey responses is that a large number of people are interested in home delivery of materials, even at additional cost. David commented that it will be difficult to limit the sharing of the survey results. WLS has asked if they can use the survey on its own. David is waiting until this project is complete before giving an answer. David suggested that other organizations and libraries will want to use the survey and add their own locally related questions. David recommends that Josh continue to be involved in assisting with other organizations' use of the survey. Phyllis Davis suggested that a business model be created after the project is completed. Linda Miller added that one option could be for WPLC to sell the survey as a product. Linda asked if the results could be broken down by geographical area. David said that this will probably only work for the southeastern area of the state. Most likely that kind of analysis will not be possible. David also said that the call center approach may not work in some areas. Another option could be for WPLC to offer this as a service. David Polodna asked if WPLC would create an alternate approach to the call center since this may not work effectively for some areas. David said that this would need to be addressed. 3. netLibrary There have been a lot of special offers advertised by netLibrary. But many of these are not available for shared collections. An example of this is the special searching service for reference titles. netLibrary is adding a lot of content. There is no shortage of input from members on new titles to purchase. If the current list was ordered, all funds would be spent for 2003. Feedback is being requested on titles to remove from the list so that funds can be spread out over the rest of the year. The merge with the academic libraries collection is moving forward. A consensus has been reached that the shared collection will consist of new titles purchased. The primary obstacle to including current titles in the shared collection comes from the publishers The addition of the shared collection should be transparent to the end user. The management of the collections, including gathering statistics, will be more difficult. The merged collection should be available to users by the end of March. There is a small amount of credit that will be given for weeding the collection. Schools are being contacted but most do not want to discuss participation in the collection until the fall. The group confirmed that if a school decides not to renew their membership, they will lose all access to the collection. One of the biggest issues with the schools is that they do not want their students to have to set up netLibrary accounts themselves, but netLibrary is not able to do any batch loading of accounts. WiLS has spoken with Tumblebooks.com. Their titles are not available through netLibrary. They are willing to negotiate for a group rate. Information was sent out very recently asking libraries if they would be interested. So far, only IFLS has responded with interest. The titles are all animated children's books. There are 36 titles so far. The annual fee for a library is $300. David Weinhold suggested that if enough partners are interested that this could be a test project. The group agreed to wait until more responses are received on this. Web-based training for netLibrary is continuing. The first set has been completed. There seems to be a core of people that are very involved. The PR Committee will work to promote netLibrary. 4. Bylaws Peter Hamon reviewed the content of the bylaws. There was one question about the affiliate members. Is there a separate startup fee versus an ongoing fee for affiliate members? The group agreed that the affiliate's ongoing fee will be an amount equal to the startup fee plus a possible annual increase. David Polodna made a motion to adopt the bylaws as presented. Mark Merrifield seconded the motion. The motion was carried. 5. New Project Proposals Mellanie showed the group a Toshiba tablet PC. It is smaller and lighter than most laptop at about 4 lbs. It can be used as a laptop or a tablet. It has a modem, an Ethernet card, and a wireless card. It uses a stylus, and text can be entered using a keyboard interface or using handwriting recognition. The cost is $2400. One possible use in a library would be to allow the reference staff to have wireless Internet access for searching online resources such as the library catalog away from a desk. It could also be used to provide catalog access in areas of a library where no physical network connection exists. MS Ebook Reader is included so it can also be used to contain ebooks. David Polodna mentioned that many libraries are having difficulties with reference staff spending too much time managing access to public computers. Perhaps there is a project that could assist libraries with finding a solution. SCLS and Milwaukee both have projects underway. No new project proposals were introduced. 6. Next Meeting The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, 2003 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting adjourned. Linda Miller

		Updated October 22, 2004