FALCONS Meeting Minutes – November 2015
Date: November 19, 2015
Present: Apalachin, Auburn, Aurora, Candor, Cato, Cortland, Dryden, FLLS, Groton, Lansing, Newark Valley, Newfield, Nichols, Ovid, Poplar Ridge, Seneca Falls, Spencer, TCPL, Trumansburg, Waterloo.
Absent: Alternatives, Berkshire, Cincinnatus, Fair Haven, Homer, Interlaken, Lodi, Marathon, McGraw, Moravia, Owego, Port Byron, Union Springs, Waverly, Weedsport.
Announcements:
Linda Beins (FLLS) –
1. The DIY databases have been discontinued.
2. A link to drivingtest.org is now available to give resources for passing the driver’s test.
3. FLLS is looking into “Lincoln Live Local”. Each library would set up their own account and be able to stream videos of performances from Lincoln Center. Media kits are available for discussion and promotion of events. This is a free service.
Jen Schlossberg (TCPL) –
1. The library is getting ready to launch their new app “TCPL To Go” – this will make key pieces of the website available to mobile devices. They set it up through “Boopsie”
2. The library worked with the “Family Reading Partnership” to check out books using Polaris LEAP at the Ithaca “Kids’ Book Fest”. They used iPads and Bluetooth scanners. It is reported that the registration process goes slowly when used remotely on LEAP.
Annette Birdsall (TRU) – The library will be holding a fundraiser at the Buffalo Street Bookstore on Sat 11/21.
Shannon O’Connor (OVID) – reported they will be doing the same fundraiser on Sat 12/12 from 10am-5pm. (updated date & time RRH)
Lisa Carr (AUB) – They have boxes of bookends that are free to any library that would like them.
Jacalyn Spoon (CORT) –
1. 12/4 – “First Friday” – They will have an art show with the artist present at the library. They will start their Book Sale that evening.
2. 12/5 – They will hold their Book Sale and roll out the “Dolly Parton Imagination Library” – They have changed their Mission Statement to include this program. At this time only children living in the City of Cortland will be able to benefit from receiving free books through the program as administered by the library.
Sara Knobel (GRO) –
1. They will be celebrating International Game Day on Sat 11/21. On Fri. 11/20 they will show the movie “The Hunger Games”.
2. At a future date they will hold a Minecraft Training which will be open to all libraries.
Diane Pamel (DRY) – She used a PS3 for a gaming day at the library and gave kudos to Amanda Schiavulli for her assistance.
Approval of Minutes: Annette Birdsall (TRU) made a motion to accept the August 2015 minutes. Libbie Messina (CATO) seconded this motion. The minutes were unanimously approved as presented.
OLD BUSINESS
Credit Card Fine Payments (Elaine Knapp)
1. Graphs of usage by libraries were distributed.
2. There was also a handout of “Frequently Asked Questions” regarding the process.
3. FLLS has paid for the set-up fees. Other fees are divided among the libraries who received payments in any given month so this can vary.
4. Payments are made through a secure site and the money received is self-contained. Payments made to a particular library are kept in separate FLLS account and paid to the libraries on a monthly basis.
5. Fines that are due to libraries differing from the home library of the patron are separated out as well. The reports have been adjusted to reflect how much money each library is due regardless of where it has been collected. Libraries can subscribe to receive this report as a “Custom Report”
6. Window XP is becoming unable to support the newer encryption ciphers which will affect the ability to pay online at libraries whose PAC is running on Windows XP.
7. If a lost book is returned after it has been paid for by a patron, Polaris will list that the money has having been “refunded” however the system is unable to refund money to a credit card. Libraries will need to physically refund the money to the patron. They are working to change this status to a “credit” rather than “refund” in a patron’s account. Any book listed as “lost” gets deleted from Polaris after 1 year.
System-wide Common Card Circulation Policies – Lisa Carr (AUB) is chairing the committee. A meeting is planned to be held at FLLS on Friday 12/4 at 11:30 AM. At this time Annette Birdsall (TRU), Shannon O’Connor (OVID) and Jen Schlossberg (TCPL) have agreed to serve on the committee. More members are being requested. They will work to be able to provide conference calling if someone is unable to attend in person. This meeting will be followed by a Power PAC Committee meeting on the same day. This committee is being headed by Jen Schlossberg (TCPL).
Zinio Update (Linda Beins)
1. FLLS is currently featuring 110 magazine titles. 7 new ones have recently been added. None of the titles are near their maximum for checkouts.
2. There are 452 separate users with over 3200 titles having been checked out. 8-9 users are logging in each day (although it is hoped this will increase).
3. Rex Helwig reported that titles downloaded to Kindle are unable to be read offline. Linda will work with Recorded Books to ensure better access across platforms.
4. Sara Knobel (GRO) will be offering a class in Zinio usage for Senior Citizens in January.
5. Susie Gutenberger (LAN) reported she sent home promotional materials through the School District.
6. Cathy Sorber (APAL) asked about “checking in” magazine titles and Linda reported that you can delete a title if you wish but once you have downloaded one, it will remain on your device.
Interlibrary Loan/Lender Trial (Linda Beins) – As of the end of October there have been 976 requests made from outside of the FLLS and 340 of them have been filled. Those unable to be filled included videos, items that were released within the past year and items that were either checked out at libraries or listed as “missing”. ILL items do not automatically renew.
Auto-renew – Books will auto-renew based on where the books are assigned. Libraries that have opted to have their items auto-renew will auto-renew anywhere in the System even if your library has opted not to turn on this feature for your items. It is reported that most patrons “love it”. It does cause some confusion for the patrons and they question why all their books did not renew.
Network Upgrades and how to pay for them (Rex Helwig)
1. Rex would like all the libraries to upgrade their routers to “enterprise grade”. These would be more rugged and include advanced security and a full-blown firewall. Rex would be able to manage them remotely and will be able to see if a connection is down and alert the library being affected. They would also track wireless usage at the library.
2. He is proposing use of the CISCO “Meraki” router. This router allows for multiple WAN/Internet ports. The total cost would be $1195 for purchase with 5 years of licensing. Using e-rate discounts the cost could be brought down to approximately $585 for each library.
3. There is a CIPA requirement that internet needs to be filtered to qualify for e-rate discounts. There was discussion that ALA says libraries should not filter. Rex reported that FLLS has been filtering pornography, “parked” and “malware” sites since the passing of the CIPA legislation.
4. Rex would be able to include all libraries in the consortium when applying for e-rate funding. He needs a response from each library within the next month as to whether they want to apply for the funding and therefore agree to filter. A public hearing needs to be held to discuss filtering at each library before the next eRate program year starting July 1st, 2016.
5. At this time e-rate is targeting infrastructure and internet and phasing out funding for phone service. If a library is currently receiving free internet service from Time Warner and move to a new building, they will lose that free service.
NEW BUSINESS
FALCONS Meetings – What do we want and need? (Lisa Carr – AUB) – Ideas were brainstormed
1. Things have changed over time. There are no longer monthly system meetings. There are a lot of positives for meeting as a group and seeing each other in person but some people are unable to attend. Could we use conference calling or Skype to include them as well? Rex reported that he is looking to have “Adobe Connect” available in 2016 for remote access to meetings.
2. Would changing the schedule of meetings help? The by-laws would need to be changed to change the meeting schedule.
3. Lisa Carr (AUB) suggested that part of each meeting should focus on “training” (specifically related to Polaris). She would like to give input as to whether the software is meeting our patrons’ needs as well as gain information from each other (eg. How did TCPL decide to use Boopsie for their app?) Rex reported he had gotten negative feedback the year there was less “information” and more “training” at meetings.
4. Could we try to have committee meetings on the same days as FALCONS meetings since everyone will already be at FLLS? Jacalyn Spoon (CORT) suggested having lunch if meetings were to be held on the same days.
5. Cathy Sorber (APAL) – suggested that there should be Board member representation at meetings since it can be difficult to explain the information to them.
6. Annette Birdsall (TRU) – suggested having a more member-driven time after 11:30.
7. Sarah Glogowski (FLLS Director) – reported that there will be monthly trainings and guest speakers in 2016 in addition to Jenny’s trainings.
Training Opportunities (Jenny Clark)
1. The e-reader training is full but will be offered again in the future.
2. Jenny was not going to offer trainings in the winter however Sandy Groth (AURO) asked her to consider it with the understanding that weather may cause cancellations.
3. Once the “Adobe Connect” software is in place, Jenny will offer webinars and videos on how to use LEAP, Overdrive, Polaris, Simply Reports, etc. Rex suggested that it is beneficial to have a laptop available so that you can watch the webinar and access Polaris on the circulation computer at the same time.
4. Jenny asked for any suggestions for trainings.
Polaris Upgrade (Rex Helwig)
1. The newest upgrade will be installed on Wednesday, 1/20/16. Wednesday morning is the time that the least number of libraries are open.
2. He will be installing Service Packs 2 & 3 at the same time. He will e-mail the “what’s new” document for SP2 at this time and for SP3 when it becomes available.
3. New features include:
a. New icons for Blu-Ray vs DVD
b. New circulation statistics including external loans of e-content
c. Findaway World will be added to the Acquisitions feature.
d. There will be enhancements to LEAP workforms including the ability to change the status of items.
e. Tighter integration for Overdrive to include the ability to initiate the download without leaving PowerPAC.
Delivery (Linda Beins)
1. She asked for feedback regarding how well the delivery service is working.
2. Rex reminded all libraries to input their closed dates for 2016 on Polaris. Only one library can access the calendar at a time so please remember to close it when finished.
eContent Contribution Proposal (Amanda Schiavulli) – see attached handouts
1. 85% of the libraries contributed to the purchase of eContent in some way in 2015.
2. Each library should be contributing based on the usage by their patrons (at least 5% of their book budget).
3. Patron access to eContent will be shut off in 2017 for any patrons of libraries that do not contribute funds.
4. Checkouts of eContent have increased by approximately 24%.
5. If a library chooses to purchase their own eContent they must follow the FLLS Collection Development Policy.
6. Circulation statistics for eContent are included in the libraries’ monthly Circulation Statistic report.
PUG Enhancements (Rex Helwig)
1. Rex reminded the libraries that the survey must be completed by midnight on 11/21.
2. He will collate the information and then vote for the system. If there is not enough input he will make the decisions independently.
3. These enhancements may not be seen for the next year.
4. PUG will be phased out after this year and transition into IUG.
Meeting adjourned: The meeting adjourned at 11:40.
Next meeting: February 18, 2016 (9:30 -11:30) at FLLS.