Nebraska Library Commission - Minutes
Nebraska Library Commission
November 13, 2009
MINUTES
The Nebraska Library Commission met Friday, November
13, 2009, at the Nebraska Library Commission offices, Lincoln, Nebraska. The
meeting notice was submitted to local newspapers (Lincoln
Journal-Star, Omaha World Herald), and posted on the Nebraska
Library Commission Homepage.
Members present: Jean
Ahrens, Steve Batty, Diane Boyd, John Dale, and Carol Spencer. Member
absent: Charles Gordon. Staff present: Lisa Kelly, Maria Medrano-Nehls, and
Rod Wagner. Public present: Kathy Tooker, Eastern Library System
Administrator; Brenda Ealey, Southeast Library System Administrator; Barbra
Hegr, Southeast Library System Board Member; Robin Bernstein, Eastern
Library System Board Member; and Jessie Herton, UNL journalism student.
Chair Jean Ahrens called the meeting to order at 9:32
a.m. This meeting is in compliance with the Nebraska Open Meetings Act.
Introductions were made.
Approval of
Agenda:
A motion was made
and seconded to approve the agenda. Motion carried on roll call vote:
Jean Ahrens
-aye; Steve Batty - aye; Diane Boyd - aye; John
Dale
- aye; Carol Spencer - aye. Motion approved.
Approval of the
Minutes(July 17, 2009):
A motion was made and seconded to approve the
July 2009 meeting minutes. Motion carried on roll call vote: Steve Batty -
aye; Diane Boyd - aye; John Dale - aye; Carol Spencer - aye; and Jean Ahrens
- aye. Motion approved.
There were no official September meeting minutes due to
lack of a quorum for the meeting. There is a report of items discussed in
September. John Dale stated that a correction was needed on the last
paragraph of the first page. The sentence should say 35,000 K-12 students
not 35,000 grade school students.
PUBLIC FORUM
Brenda Ealey stated that Southeast Library System
(SELS) in collaboration with Eastern Library System (ELS) held a colloquium
last evening (November 12). Brenda stated that the SELS recently began
posting the SELS newsletter online in an effort to cut expenses. Brenda
announced that her assistant, Jenni Puchalla, has resigned to take a
position with the UNL Athletic Department. The SELS board will meet in
December. One of their new board members, who works for Harding & Schultz
law firm, will speak on policies and other important topics of interest to
libraries. He is hosting the meeting and has invited area state senators to
attend the meeting in an effort to promote communications between libraries
and members of the legislature.
Kathy Tooker stated that the Omaha Public Library is in
the process of hiring a new director and hopes to have a director hired by
January 1, 2010. Fremont's Keene Memorial Library is involved in a one
million dollar heating and air conditioning system renovation project. The
library must move out of the building in order for the work to be completed.
The original move date was January but it has been moved back to March.
Regional library systems held a preconference program on
How Librarians Can Help Their Patrons
during Their Time of Grief at the NLA/NEMA annual conference. Kathy
stated that ELS has a new group starting this week for new librarians, or
new to their position. The librarians will get together to share information
about their positions and provide each other with encouragement. Kathy
stated the ELS has invited area state senators to their December board
meeting at the Early Development Training Center, a Nebraska Department of
Education facility. The board invited senators to attend for a tour and
conversation. Kathy stated the ELS will hold an open-house in December 11
from 2-5.
Chair's Report and Commissioners'
Comments
Jean Ahrens reported that she attended the Alliance
public library's 100th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of
their current facility shared with Western Nebraska Community College. The
Scottsbluff public library recently held its annual book sale and made over
$3,000. The Scottsbluff library recently received a donation with an
emphasis to encourage deaf / hard of hearing people in the community to come
to the library. The donor lived in the community some years ago. Jean stated
that she was a member of the award selection committee for the children and
young adult books submitted for the annual Nebraska Book Awards competition.
John Dale reported that he visited the Nebraska College
of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. Mo Khamouna, the college's library
director (information curator) provided a campus tour. John stated that the
college is preparing for a major building project to accommodate the student
body which has doubled in recent years. John attended the NLA/NEMA
conference and attended Richard Miller's session on public library
accreditation. He also attended sessions on open source software. Both
sessions were excellent and informative. John reported that the Dan Williams
library (Lincoln City Libraries) is now open. This is the first library in a
long time to be built in cooperation with Lincoln public schools. The school
and library are located in the northwest part of the city and an isolated
part of the city. The idea of the joint project is to have the building
serve as a kind of community center. The library changed to mostly weekend
hours for security reasons so that there would not be a lot of people on the
school grounds while school is in session. John and Rod Wagner attended the
library's grand opening.
Diane Boyd reported that she attended the NLA/NEMA
conference and remarked that she thought the conference was excellent. Diane
stated that the planners of the conference should be complimented for a job
well done.
Carol Spencer reported that she attended the colloquium
(November 12) sponsored by the SELS and ELS and expressed that the speaker,
Tracy Hall, gave an excellent presentation and provided a lot of information
and ideas with possibilities that libraries will face in the future. The
Broken Bow public library is actively involved in the community "Share the
Joy of Reading" book drive. People in the community donate new or gently
used books for children which are distributed before Christmas with food
baskets delivered to the homes of underprivileged children. The Friends of
the Art are selling calendars with profits going to the library to support
children's programs.
Steve Batty reported that he attended the NLA/NEMA
conference and attended the preconference program on policies and the
session on planning. Steve observed that the conference and preconference
were very good. Steve said that he also attended the colloquium and got some
great information on customer service. Steve stated that the McCook public
library is losing its library director, Patty Hall. Patty has retired and
will be moving from McCook.
Personnel
Personnel - Rod Wagner stated that Gabe Kramer is the
Commission's newest employee and has joined the NLC's Talking Book and
Braille Service. Gabe has a broadcasting background and has worked in
Lincoln radio stations. His radio experience is an asset for NLC/TBBS
recording work.
NLC Reference and Information Services - Lisa Kelly,
NLC Information Services Director, described her area as the quiet service
that keeps ticking. Every
library has a reference and interlibrary loan function. It is the service
that is easiest to understand but at the Library Commission it poses a
unique service presentation because we are quite virtual. Lisa stated that
most contacts are with public librarians, school librarians and state
government employees. They can contact NLC staff by telephone, e-mail, and
chat. An intent is to make sure that everybody no matter where they live has
great library service. If librarians call they will be assisted by answering
questions and providing interlibrary loan services. Lisa stated they are
married to the other services. Libraries and schools use this service a lot
and now their students are using the Commission's resources for reports. The
NLC has books in multiple for book clubs. Lisa's unit also maintains the
library job line (Now hiring @ your library.
Lisa said the Commission's staff expertise for those who work at the
reference desk is widespread. Lisa stated that she and most of her
co-workers have been together for approximately 16 years.
Rod Wagner asked Lisa to describe the budget reductions
that will be made in the reference and information services unit. Lisa
stated that periodicals and items not indexed in Library Literature (the
gold standard for librarians) were cut. All acquisitions are being closely
considered.
Nebraska Library Association - Nebraska Educational
Media Association -
Rod Wagner reported that he was ill during the
conference and not able to attend. He mentioned that he had heard from other
Commission staff that the conference was well attended with many excellent
programs. It was also reported that the facility worked out well for the
conference.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 - Rod
stated that economic stimulus funding has been discussed at prior Commission
meetings in regard to programs that libraries are eligible recipients. A
current initiative involves the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The
foundation invited state library agencies to notify the foundation of their
interest in receiving the foundation's support for applications for
broadband service improvement. State library agencies were asked to submit a
letter detailing public library needs and how funding would be used to
improve library broadband services. Commission staff has participated in
numerous conference calls and meetings concerning broadband funding. Staff
prepared and sent a letter to the Gates Foundation requesting support in
preparing an application for federal broadband service grant funding. The
Gates Foundation notified the Commission that Nebraska was chosen along with
thirteen other states to receive foundation support.
The foundation has contracted with two consulting
organizations that have considerable expertise in telecommunications and
working with clients on large scale broadband projects. These organizations
were actively involved in working with applicants in the first round of
broadband grant applications. State library agencies were asked to hold
conference calls with both organizations to discuss project proposals and
how the organizations would work with the state libraries in preparing
applications. Both organizations were impressive in their expertise and
capabilities and how they would work with the Commission. Commission staff
indicated to the Gates Foundation preference for Cambridge Strategic
Management Group (CSMG), based in Boston.
The Gates Foundation will convene a meeting in mid-December in Seattle and
has asked representatives from each of the participating state library
agencies to attend the meeting. The thinking at this time is that the
federal agencies that are administrating the broadband funds will issue a
notice in late January or early February for the next round of project
grants. Grant applications will likely be due within six weeks to two months
following the grant notice. The consulting organization, CSMG, will work
with Commission staff to prepare the grant application. CSMG has staff
expertise, legal, technical, and proprietary information that will have
significant value in the application process. If the Commission's project is
funded the Gates Foundation will provide project matching funds and other
support for a successful project.
Rod Wagner stated that the Commission's current project with the Gates
Foundation provides for updating and replacing computers in 40 Nebraska
public libraries. The project started out with a larger number of libraries
that were identified as possibly meeting the foundation's criteria for
eligibility. Some of these did not meet participation requirements and
others chose not to participate. Rod stated that the Commission's proposal
to the foundation for the broadband grant program identified this group of
libraries because the criteria should be comparable to federal program
requirements.
State Advisory Council on Libraries - Rod Wagner stated that a Council
meeting will be held on November 20. The meeting had been planned to be held
at the Lexington public library but due to the Governor's message to state
agencies in October asking and expecting state agencies to use considerable
restraint in spending the meeting will be held by using the state's
video-conferencing system. This will allow council members to participate
closer to home and save on travel expenses.
Nebraska Book Festival - Rod Wagner gave an update on
plans for the Nebraska Book Festival to be held on November 14. The Nebraska
Center for the Book annual meeting will be held prior to the start of the
festival.
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) FY 2010
Appropriation and LSTA Re-authorization Status - Wagner reported that
Congress has not appropriated funds for the current federal year that began
October 1. The LSTA funds are currently distributed under a congressional
continuing resolution which provides interim funding pending congressional
action on appropriations for the full fiscal year. The expectation is that
LSTA funding will be about the same as the previous year. Wagner stated that
the current LSTA reauthorization period is coming to an end and there is
expectation that legislation to reauthorize LSTA will be introduced early in
2010. This will depend on whether there is major legislation that will
displace action on the LSTA legislation.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Rod Wagner referred to the September and October
financial reports. Rod stated that overall the Commission's budget is in
line with budgeted expenditures. Rod pointed out that the office supplies
expense item is considerably larger this year because funds were allocated
for purchase of flash memory cartridges and mailers for the new digital
talking books and magazines. These funds were allocated by taking a portion
of the LSTA allotment.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS
There was no unfinished business presented.
NEW BUSINESS
2009-2011 Biennium Budget - Rod Wagner stated that as
of today he has no request or recommended budget actions but wanted to
discuss issues and considerations for future budget actions.
In October, Governor Heineman sent a message to state
agencies asking agencies to avoid discretionary expenditures and the
Commission has followed that expectation. The Governor asked agencies to
leave vacant positions unfilled. However, the Commission does not have any
current budgeted position vacancies. In line with discretionary spending the
Commission will discontinue out-of-state travel for the immediate future,
except for travel funded by outside sources. In-state travel will also be
reduced. As previously mentioned, the Commission's purchases for its library
science and reference collection will be reduced, along with reductions for
postage and publishing.
Wagner stated that the Governor, in his special
legislative session biennium budget recommendations, recommended an over
$80,000 state funds reduction in the Library Commission's operating budget
for this current fiscal. These reductions are part of the proposed
across-the-board budget cuts for most state agencies with 2.5% this fiscal
year and 5% next fiscal year. This amount also includes over $20,000 in
state funds that had been carried over from last fiscal year. There has been
regular reporting from the Lincoln and Omaha newspapers with such ideas as
employee furloughs and layoffs. Rod stated that it is likely that both the
furloughs and layoffs will happen for state agencies. Maintaining Commission
staff positions has been the Commission's budget priority and Wagner said he
hopes to avoid staff furloughs and layoffs in the short term but next year
is another matter. Rod stated that the Commission has time before decisions
need to be made about next fiscal year's budget. Rod stated that the
Legislature is expected to make appropriation reductions next week.
Wagner stated that the Nebraska Library Commission
recently had its budget hearing before the appropriations committee, as did
all state agencies. The hearings were quick and agency representatives were
asked to specifically address the Governor's recommendations. The senators
were most interested in budget reductions involving personnel. The Governor
appears to favor reducing state jobs rather than using furloughs to reduce
costs. Both the Governor and Legislature are looking at future state tax
revenue projections. Permanent reductions in state jobs would aid in
reducing future state expenditures.
Wagner stated the reduction for state-aid this fiscal
year is over $30,000. There is no immediate need to decide what is going to
be reduced. Rod stated there are some discretionary grants coming up
including Children and Youth Services grants. There is $40,000 budgeted for
these grants. There are funds budgeted for the Nebraska Center for the Book
but the NCB may have sufficient funds for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Jean Ahrens asked Wagner if his preference is staff
furloughs or layoffs. Rod stated that he favors furloughs. Rod stated that
if the Commission eliminates positions those positions will be lost and not
restored. Rod said furloughs are usually shorter term and employees retain
the jobs and positions are not lost. Furloughs are being used in a number of
other states as part of budget reduction actions. Nebraska state government
has furlough policies that allow employees placed on furlough to retain
their insurance. Rod stated that he believes the Commission can get through
the remainder of this fiscal year with no staff furloughs but the 5%
reduction next year will leave the Commission with fewer alternatives and
furloughs may need to be implemented. If the Commission must institute staff
furloughs it will be need to be done on a rotation base since state law
requires state agencies to be open the public from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday.
Jean Ahrens stated that she felt furloughs made the
most sense because we don't want to be picking people for layoff. Rod Wagner
suggested that the Commission introduce a statement stating a preference for
instituting furloughs, if needed, due to budget cuts instead of employee
layoffs.
John Dale made a motion that if it becomes necessary to
reduce Commission staff hours that the work hours be reduced through
furloughs as opposed to employee layoffs. John said he understands that this
is a painful situation and places strain on the staff but he believes Rod
will make the right decision.
A motion was made that if it is deemed necessary to
reduce work hours for Library Commission staff that the Commission will
furlough rather than lay off staff. Motion carried on roll call vote: Diane
Boyd - aye; John Dale - aye; Carol Spencer - aye; Jean Ahrens -aye; and Steve Batty - aye; Motion
approved.
Next Meeting - The next Library Commission meeting is
scheduled for January 8, 2010.
Adjournment
Chair Jean Ahrens adjourned the meeting at 11:33 a.m.
Sincerely,
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.