FALCONS Meeting Minutes – November 18, 2022
Minutes submitted by Jen Schlossberg
Attendees
Aimee Dorward (CORT), Allen Tompkins (FAIR), Beth Bevars (LODI), Brandi Rozelle (WAT), Carla Jones (UNS), Cathy Sober (APAL), Deborah Geier (FLLS), Drew Urbanek (AUB), Eric Franks (FLLS), Erin Chapman (NEVA), Fran Miller (BERK), Gayle James (CATO), Heather Cobb (MCGR), Heidi Eckerson (FLLS), Jen Graney (CORT), Jenny Burnett (SENF), Jenny Shonk (FLLS), Laura Mielenhausen (TRU), Lisa Semenza (POP), Marcia Enright (CAN), Priscilla Berggren-Thomas (HOM), Rex Helwig (FLLS), Samantha Black (WEED), Sandra Groth (AURO), Sara Glogowski (FLLS), Sara Knobel (GRO), Theresa Mekeel (CORT)
Announcements
- Brandi Rozelle is leaving Waterloo and going to Geneva as a Children’s Librarian. Congratulations, Brandi!
- Cathy Sorber beat Rex to retirement. Congratulations, Cathy!
Approval of Minutes
Priscilla moved to approve the minutes and Sandy seconded. Minutes passed unanimously.
Old Business
- Vega – each library has a unique link – still need to hear from two libraries
- The out-of-the-box look is very basic
- White space below the search bar is there because the search bar is a widget. The upcoming release has content carousels that can be placed there.
- Rex wants to put in a universal FLLS footer on the pages and then allow the members to put their logo at the top. Branding and marketing are important to FLLS so the want their logo somewhere on the catalog.
- Please look at Vega, particularly the roll-ups.
- FLLS is planning to deploy the first of the year.
- Training is coming.
- Doesn’t pull the hours of operation from Polaris so you will need to enter it into Vega.
- No way to enter a closed time for lunch/dinner hour. Rex has reported it.
- Polaris updates Vega every two weeks.
- 2023 Library Internet Service
- Rex should have contacted you this summer if it affects you. The libraries impacted are APAL, AUR, WAV, CATO, OWE, DRY, FAIR, GRO, POP, CIN, MCG, CAN, MARA, PORT, MOR, SEN, UNS, HOM, NEW, WAT, WEED
- Currently FLLS has been paying for Internet through e-rate. There is a piece that isn’t paid for through e-rate. They get a 73% discount from Spectrum. Going into 2023 FLLS will be billing your library for the difference – $226 for a year
- Tie it into the e-rate year starting July 1, 2023
- If you want to revamp your network in 2023, please let Rex know. He needs an RFP with specifics and they will need to take the lowest bidder.
New Business
- eContent Contribution Form – FLLS pays for the Overdrive platform and kicks in a little extra. Anything you contribute is helpful. You purchase your own content, or you can kick in money for the entire system to share.
- Key difference this year is that Diana will be the point-person on this. Then she will generate invoices in January. Submit the form by December 1.
- Quarterly meetings about eContent. Need representation from Tioga county.
- Old Fines and Charges
- Duplicate cards – Some people aren’t able to get a library card because they still have an old library card with really old fines from late 90s early 2000s.
- Legally you can’t ask to collect fines 6 years or older. FLLS wants to come to some agreement amongst the library.
- Rex can export old open fines to a spreadsheet and send it to us and then ultimately delete those accounts.
- Sarah can work with boards to educate them about best practices such as wiping away old fines.
- Majority of libraries are fine free – 7 still charge fines
- Roll it into the patron purge process in January
- FLLS will put together a FAQ sheet about law regarding fine collection
- Technology 2023
- Downsizing computer usage in the library. Start thinking now what you want.
- Deepfreeze – you may not need as many licenses so plan ahead – need to know by the end of December
- 2023 dates closed calendar
- Please enter these into the Polaris calendar.
Open Discussion
Sarah G. – FLLS Board passed a one-time $2,000 collection development grant to each library. Don’t want to fund Library of Things items. You should be getting check in the delivery.