Nebraska Library Commission - Minutes
Nebraska Library Commission
November 2, 2000
MINUTES
The Nebraska Library Commission held its
regular meeting Friday, November 12, 2004, beginning at 9:30 a.m., at the
Nebraska Library Commission. Notice of the meeting was submitted to local newspapers (Lincoln
Journal-Star, Omaha World Herald), and posted on the Nebraska
Library Commission Homepage.
Chair Kristen Rogge called the meeting to
order at 9:30 a.m. Members present: Jean Ahrens, Patrick Gross, Mary Nelson,
Kristen Rogge, and Velma Sims-Shipley. Staff present: Rod Wagner, Maria
Medrano-Nehls, and Richard Miller. Guest: Kathy Tooker.
Approval of Agenda:
A motion was made
to approve the agenda. Motion carried on roll call vote: Jean Ahrens - aye;
Patrick Gross - aye; Kristen Rogge - aye; Mary Nelson - aye; and Velma
Sims-Shipley - aye; Motion approved.
Approval of the Minutes (September 12, 2004):
A motion was made to approve the September 2004 meeting minutes. Motion
carried on roll call vote: Patrick Gross - aye; Mary Nelson - aye; Kristen
Rogge - aye; Velma Sims-Shipley - aye; and Jean Ahrens - aye. Motion approved.
PUBLIC FORUM
Kathy Tooker stated that Legislative Day will
be February 23, 2005. John Seyfarth and Kathy Tooker have been meeting with
state senators and plan to meet with many more to discuss including regional
library system employees in the state employee insurance benefits plan.
Kathy Tooker stated that the Eastern and
Southeast library systems recently held their 10th Annual Youth
Services retreat and had their largest attendance. The regional systems, with a
grant from the Commission, chartered a bus and took people to the MPLA
conference in Denver. There were 16 people who shared the bus ride to the
conference. Many said they would not have been able to attend without the bus
ride. The regional library systems plan to do this again next year when the
conference will be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Correspondence and Communication
Rod Wagner stated that he included in the
packets a letter from Chuck Peek, President of the Nebraska Center for the
Book, expressing his appreciation for the Library Commission's support of the
NCB's activities.
Chair's Report and Commissioners' Comments
Kristen Rogge reported that Richard Booth,
the founder of the Booktown concept, recently visited Brownville.
Velma Sims-Shipley reported that for years,
in Fremont, they have tried to get library cards for all the school students.
Many students do not live within the city limits and so were not eligible for
library cards. This year the local newspaper and the radio station got together
and raised funds to provide every student with a library card. Tonight the
Library Friends group will host dessert in the stacks.
Pat Gross reported that Wayne has never had a
Library Friends group but will be starting one. Pat reported that he visits
home daycare to read for the Grandma/pa program sponsored by the library. The
Lewis and Clark program is still very active. Hal Stearns, a Lewis & Clark
scholar, conducted the last session at the Wayne public library.
Jean Ahrens reported that the Scottsbluff
public library started a Prime Time program. Prime Times is a family reading
program sponsored and funded by the Nebraska Humanities Council. The books are
bilingual. The program encourages families to read together. This is a 6 week
program and the first session included 39 people. The second had 54 people in
attendance. Parents must attend with their children. Jean stated that Nancy
Escamilla, Scottsbluff PL library assistant, organized a youth program this
summer which had great attendance and ended with a battle of the bands. The
program was a huge success and the kids are still talking about the battle of
the bands.
Mary Nelson reported that she attended a
Republican Valley Library System board meeting. At the meeting, Susan Franklin,
RVLS Administrative Assistant, thanked Pam Scott and Richard Miller for their
assistance while the office is without an Administrator. The board is still
searching for an Administrator. Hastings Public Library has purchased baskets,
similar to shopping baskets used in stores. The baskets can be checked out so
that patrons can carry their books home in them.
Director's Report
Rod Wagner passed around a photo book with
pictures from the National Book Festival held in Washington D.C, in which Mary
Jo Ryan, Devra Dragos and Chuck Peek represented Nebraska and photos from the
Smartest Card event with Governor Johanns.
IMLS Librarians for the 21st
Century Grant - Rod Wagner stated that the grant award was received and the
grant period begins November 1.
Music CD Distribution to Schools and
Libraries - Some libraries have reported that they received music CDs from the
lawsuit settlement. Each Nebraska public library should receive about 40 music
CDs. The distribution was arranged by the Nebraska Attorney General's office.
Chief Officers of State Library Agencies &
Western Council of State Libraries Meetings - Rod Wagner reported that he
recently attended these meetings in Rapid City, SD. For many state librarians,
this was the first time they had been in South Dakota. Rod stated that he was
the co-chair for an all day continuing education program on state libraries and
digital government. Also discussed at the meeting was the status of LSTA
funding. The Western Council meeting was devoted mostly to the grant that the
Western Council received a year ago from the IMLS. The grant is for a
multi-state educational project for librarian practitioners.
NEBASE Annual Meeting - Rod Wagner stated
that 80 people attended the NEBASE meeting on November 5. The meeting was held
at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln. The meeting was devoted to presentations on
Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) products and services.
Nebraska Center for the Book - Rod Wagner
stated that the Nebraska Center for the Book held its annual meeting last
Sunday. New members were elected to the board at the annual meeting. The 2005
Nebraska Book Festival will be held at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln.
Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate, has been invited to participate in the
festival.
The Jane Geske award was presented to the
Nebraska Writing Project at the Nebraska Center for the Book annual meeting.
The Nebraska Writing Project involves teachers and authors working with
students from elementary to high school age to improve writing skills. Also,
Jackson Fischer, a Lincoln, Nebraska youth, was among the winners in the
National Letters about Literature contest. Jackson read his award winning
letter at the annual meeting.
Nebraska Library Association/Nebraska
Educational Media Association Conference - Rod Wagner stated that the
conference included many good presentations, and the conference was well
attended. Rod said the Hispanic Voices @ your library preconference was one of
the best programs he has ever attended. The Library Commission was honored to
sponsor Mary Pipher as the Friday keynote speaker. Next year the conference
will be held in Lincoln.
2005 One Book One State Project - Rod Wagner
stated that the Cather Foundation had taken initiative for a statewide book
discussion project in 2005. The statewide project is part of the Cather
Foundation's 50th anniversary celebration. The Foundation selected
Willa Cather's My Antoniá as the book chosen for the project.
Information about the project was included in the Commissioners' meeting
packets. Libraries will be asked to participate in the project by making books
available and hosting book discussions. The Library Commission is among the
project partners and will be helping with dissemination of information and
project promotion - including mailings of promotional materials to libraries.
NCLIS Consumer Health Information Award
Ceremony - Rod Wagner stated that the award ceremony for the McGoogan Library
of Medicine was held October 22 in Omaha. The UNMC representatives were very
appreciative of the well deserved award.
Gates Foundation Grant Applications - Richard
Miller stated that at the end of October he sent some rewrites of the original
applications for four Gates Foundation grant applications. If the Commission is
awarded the full amount, the grants will total over $250,000.
Youth Grants - Richard Miller stated that 47
grant applications were received from 42 libraries. The total amount requested
is $98,000. The Commission has $49,000 available for grants. Of the 47 grants,
28 were for Teen Space projects and 11 for Every Child Ready to Read projects.
Solinet Training - Richard Miller stated the
training grant from the Gates Foundation was used to contract with Solinet to
conduct 10 training sessions across the state. Sessions were on basic PC
troubleshooting, FrontPage basics, advance Frontpage, how to create PowerPoint
presentations and how to teach adult patrons to use the Internet. Richard said
he has seen a real change in librarians resulting from the training provided
through the Gates Foundation. Librarians are demonstrating technical knowledge
and confidence.
Library Technology Support Taskforce - Rod
Wagner said that a library technology support taskforce was formed and met on
September 28. The taskforce was formed in response to a State Advisory Council
on Libraries recommendation. The group had lots of good ideas and discussion.
At the meeting, Richard Miller reviewed his conversations with representatives
of several other state library agencies. Richard had sought out information
from other states and their approach to library technology support issues. Task
force representation includes individuals who have information technology
experience and job responsibilities, and representatives of the regional
library systems, Nebraska Library Association, and Library Commission.
2005 State and Federal Legislative Issues -
Rod Wagner stated that legislation is expected again to seek inclusion of
regional library system employees in the state of Nebraska insurance programs.
EndowNebraska legislation will be re-introduced this year to seek incentives
for contributions to Nebraska non-profit organizations. Legislation to
authorize joint technology and other capital purchases by local government
entities will be re-introduced. This bill includes a provision for public
libraries that will permit debt financing for major technology purchases. As
always, the state budget will be the biggest issue during the legislative
session. The state's economic situation has improved and the revenue forecast
has been updated to show an improving economy. While revenue increases have
improved the budget outlook, budget decisions will continue to be difficult.
Rod stated that federal funds are still
uncertain and dependent on what action Congress may take before the end of the
year. The hope is that Congress will enact an appropriations bill at either the
House or Senate level. If an appropriation bill is not passed, funding will
continue under a continuing resolution at last fiscal year levels.
Financial Report
Rod Wagner stated that September and October
reports were included in the meeting packets. Rod stated that there was a high
expenditure in the computer hardware line item due to the purchase of a new
mobile computer laptop network. The purchase of the computer network also
applied as the Commission's match for one of the Gates Foundation grants. There
was a question at the last meeting about the accounting and auditing expense.
State agencies are charged fees by the Dept. of Administrative Services
Accounting Division for transactions. The Commission is also charged for
auditing services by the State Auditors office for audit of federal funds.
Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business.
New Business
2005 Nebraska Legislative Day - Rod Wagner
stated that Nebraska Library Legislative Day is scheduled for February 23.
National Legislative Day - Rod Wagner stated
that National Library Legislative Day activities will be held in early May in
Washington D.C. It would be good to have one or two Commissioners participate.
The American Library Association annual
conference will be held in Chicago in June, 2005. The conference is a good
opportunity to catch up on and learn about many library related issues, trends
and services.
2005 Library Commission Meeting Schedule -
The Commission's pattern has been to meet the second Friday of every other
month, unless another event requires a change in the meeting date. Rod Wagner
asked that the January meeting date be changed from the 14th to the
7th. It was agreed that the January meeting be held on the 7th.
The Commissioners expressed a desire to hold a meeting or two somewhere other
then Lincoln. It was suggested that when the SACL group meets in the western
part of the state that the Commissioners meet at the same place and date.
Out-of-State Travel Request - Rod Wagner
requested approval to attend the COSLA meeting and ALA Mid-Winter meeting in
Boston, MA, from January 14-18, 2005. A motion was made to approve the
request. Motion carried on roll call vote: Jean Ahrens - aye; Patrick Gross -
aye; Kristen Rogge - aye; Mary Nelson - aye; and Velma Sims-Shipley - aye;
Motion approved.
Adjourn
Chair Rogge adjourned the meeting at 11:45
a.m.
Maria Medrano-Nehls, Secretary
All attachments are available upon request. If you would like a copy,
please contact Sue Biltoft at the Nebraska Library Commission,
800-307-2665 or 402-471-2045.