Meeting Minutes
STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON
LIBRARIES
Raymond A. Whitwer Tilden Public Library, Tilden, Nebraska
September 20, 2002
State Advisory
Council members present: John Dale; Steve Davis; Karen Drevo; Nancy Escamilla;
Stan Gardner; Jeff Gilderson-Duwe; Maggie Harding; Mo Khamouna; Kay Schmid;
Tom Schmitz; Ruth Seward; John Seyfarth; and Jane Wall.
Commission members present: Velma Sims-Shipley and
Kristen Rogge. Commission staff members present: Rod Wagner, Nancy Busch,
Richard Miller, and Maria Medrano-Nehls.
Welcome and Introductions
Chair Karen Drevo called the meeting to order at 9:34
a.m.
Dixie Kucera, Director of the Tilden Public Library,
welcomed the group. Introductions were made around the room.
Agenda
A motion to approve the agenda was made by Ruth Seward,
seconded by Mo Khamouna. Motion approved.
Minutes
John Seyfarth moved approval of the June 21, 2002,
meeting minutes. Motion seconded by Ruth Seward. Motion approved.
Reports
State Budget
- Rod
Wagner reported that the Nebraska Library Commission survived the special
session with a modest state funds reduction. The Library Commission's budget
reduction for the special session was limited to $31,000 in "carry over" funds
from the prior fiscal year. The reduction does not reduce the Commission's
base budget. When the Legislature convenes next January, the understanding is
that further cuts will be made in the state's budget.
Tom Schmitz reported that HHSS
library services were not cut. Mo Khamouna stated that the College of
Technical Agriculture lost the Mechanic Department, and had some layoffs. Stan
Gardner stated that Wayne State did not suffer much this time due to cash
reserves, but expects significant reductions in the next budget. Steve Davis
stated that Kearney schools were not significantly affected this year.
Nancy Escamilla said that
Gering schools were not hurt, but the Alliance school district had to give
back $4 million, then received a further cut of $1.9 million. State money is
now being distributed quarterly rather than in one lump sum, forcing some
smaller school districts to borrow. Issues related to school fees are causing
difficulty in some schools as well (the result of a court case out of Omaha).
2003 - 2005 Biennium Budget
Request
- Information on the biennium budget request was mailed in the
packet. Nancy Busch stated that due to budget concerns 3 FTE positions have
not been filled. The Library Commission reduced its library materials budget,
and reduced state aid to libraries by 8% in all categories. Nancy also
reviewed the 90% budget scenario that state agencies are required to submit
with the budget requests. In past years, this was a 95% budget exercise. To
reduce state general funds by 10 percent, the Commission will need to
eliminate several staff positions as well as reduce state aid to libraries.
Many factors could affect this, and affect the priority order of the specified
cuts.
Gates Foundation Library Project
- Richard Miller
stated that Pam Scott is currently involved in "Before Your Computer Arrives"
training across the state. There are 3and 1/2 tiers to the Gates project. Tier
1 is "Before Your Computer Arrives", Tier 2 will be held 4-6 weeks later and
is "How to Order Computers", Tier 3 is "How to Use the Software", and Tier
3and 1/2 is for content servers, training for this will only be held in
Lincoln. There are several other grants available, Connectivity to Internet
grant, Upgrade grant, Training Sustainability, and Tech Support Sustainability
grant. The Nebraska Library Commission has applied for all four grants.
Federal Library Programs
and Issues
-- Rod Wagner reported that LSTA is down to about its last 10
days of life. While there is some concern, Congress has processes in place to
allow for continuing the program. Both the House and Senate have LSTA funding
in their budgets. An additional $14 million in the program would allow an
increase in the base funding level for each state. This action would be of
greatest benefit to smaller states, but this increase is unlikely. Congress
will likely allow continued funding to carry through to the November
elections. On December 11, 2002, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (CST) a
teleconference on the USA PATRIOT Act will be aired; Pam Scott is looking into
possible sites in Nebraska for this teleconference.
Nebraska Library Commission
Grant Programs and Schedules
- Richard Miller distributed handouts listing
grants available, date due and date of grant awards.
Nebraska Plan for Library &
Information Services (2003 - 2007)
- Nancy Busch reviewed the new 5-year
long-range plan submitted to IMLS. Input came from meetings around the state,
the Making a Difference visits, etc. It was decided to reduce the goals from
five to four (as in the previous long-range plan). The first goal relates to
personnel; Goal 2 is a catch all for development activities; Goal 3 includes
technology enhancements; and Goal 4 is for Talking Book and Braille Services.
Lead staff will be designated for each of the sub-goals. Strategic action
plans will be developed for each activity. Record keeping for these
activities will be automated.
Lunch & Discussions
Council Roundtable
Steve Davis - Steve mentioned
the article in the latest NITA newsletter on "No Child Left Behind,"
specifically the innovative resources that Steve has used for library
resources. He mentioned that NEMA put on its first ever leadership training
workshop in Aurora. Kearney Public Schools now has a union catalog up on the
web; not promoted yet. The website address is
http://204.234.4.11.
John Seyfarth - John mentioned
that he has been waiting for a new browser for some time; he recently received
Netscape 7.0, John provided information about Mozilla (which allows
eliminating automatic pop-up windows), Open Office Org is a Windows version;
and they will soon have a Mac version available. John distributed disks with
a free CD and slides from a recent presentation on a productivity suite.
Follett recently handed out modification of the Apache software although it is
not supported by Follett.
Ruth Seward - Ruth Seward
stated that the Lexington Public Library recently received a Kiewit grant and
was able to purchase young adult "butterfly" chairs, and software, as part of
their challenge grant. Local children raised about $10,000 to match the Kiewit
grant. The library also received a KM for Kids grant; KM is a regional energy
company. A new children's librarian was recently hired and they are expanding
their YA students in English class from one night per week. The Lexington
Public Library is also adding a science and math night. No report on building
project pending some property purchase.
Tom Schmitz - Tom reported on
the HHSS LSTA grant. All materials have been received and bar-coded. The
Lincoln Health Sciences Library Group is planning a discussion joint meeting
with ICON. A NLA/NEMA pre-conference event with ICON (speaker from National
Library of Medicine) will be held in October.
Mo Khamouna - Mo stated the
college is having budget problems; they are expecting more cuts in January.
Due to budget cuts the college lost their Mechanics Department. Some
professors have resigned. According to the Dean, the library budget is too
double. The budget increase for the library is in response to the
Accreditation team that indicated the need to significantly increase the
collection size.
Jeff Gilderson-Duwe - Jeff
reported that the color copying service is doing well; they also added a
leased B&W machine. The copiers have helped the cash flow from $600 to $900
per month. Holdrege is losing a lot of their small businesses like the
Hallmark store, copy store, etc., because of a downturn in the economy. The
Library received a significant budget increase from the city; however, one
County Commissioner questioned the need for a library at all, and it was
reported in the newspaper. There was a good response from supporters.
The library is currently
having a used book sale. The Library Board passed a 3-year strategic plan this
last July; Jeff stated the Making a Difference @ your library visit fed into
the process. The strategic plan is available to view on the web site. Jeff is
going to review progress on the goals of this plan every six months rather
than waiting three years. A stripped-down public web browser is available
(called Public Web Browser) for those who don't want all the "bells and
whistles".
John Dale - John reported that
the Gates computer lab will be on second floor of Bennet Martin Library, and
Internet services will be moved up to second floor as well. Lincoln City
Libraries (LCL) recently received phone calls from Mayor Heckman of Hickman
and the City of Waverly with interest in forming libraries in these
communities. These communities have contracted with Lincoln City libraries
since 1974. Lincoln City is anxious to work with them, and for them to work
with the Commission. A feasibility study for the main library has begun and
will decide whether to renovate or build a new library but it will probably be
another 10 to 12 years before any work will begin. John stated that he
recently completed his second term on the State Records Board. Laureen
Riedesel will be appointed to serve as a library representative on the State
Records Board. The LCL Board has passed a policy on Internet access stating
no one under 18 will be allowed to use library computers for Internet access
without parent approval. The One City- One Book survey chose Kent Haruf's
Plainsong.
Karen Drevo - Karen reported
that Norfolk Public Library now has a complete 1930 Census for all of
Nebraska. The Summer Reading program had 2,000 kids participating, more than
300 over last highest number. Interest from the Carson endowment was used to
purchase really great materials for the program. The 2003 Summer Reading theme
will be "Laugh It Up @ Your Library". During Teen Read Week the library
received many requests to speak to various groups. The Literature Festival
went really well. More staff will be attending the NLA/NEMA conference this
year. Karen recently challenged local students to hula hoop and read aloud at
the same time; one girl did this over three hours. The winner received an
autographed picture of Eric Crouch with the Heisman Trophy.
Maggie Harding - Maggie
reported that there will be a new Senator to replace George Coordsen, who is
retiring. The NLA Membership Committee has been working hard developing a new
corporate category for membership. Membership dues increased this year. A new
brochure with the "10 reasons to join NLA," is now on the NLA website. The
Membership Committee has also been working on benefits for its members; more
information can be found on the NLA website.
Nancy Escamilla - Nancy
reported that the Panhandle Board voted to partner with NLC and make the
System Administrator position a state position. The job announcement will be
advertised by the end of September. The Library "job alike" program has 25 -
30 librarians signed up for this program of speakers, visits, etc. PLS group
received $5,000 to sponsor a traveling theater group to 20 locations.
Scottsbluff no longer serves
as the Juvenile Resource Center for the PLS. The Scottsbluff Summer Reading
program had 1,231 children, and 154 young adults and adults; a total of 29,000
items were checked out during the program. Scottsbluff rejuvenated its
Hispanic collection. Nancy recently provided a program at Roosevelt School,
which is about 90% Hispanic, in which programming was provided for Hispanic
parents. The library is now putting their literature in Spanish.
Nancy stated that she would
like to see a program that would bring someone in to teach basic Spanish, such
as the program in Wyoming. A local group offered to replace signage in the
library, the current signage is dated. CyberPatrol has been placed on two new
Internet terminals.
Marybeth Sancomb-Moran is the
new Director at the Sidney Public Library. The Sidney library is also working
with architects to plan a building addition. Gering Public Library began
their toddler library program last week. A new logo for the library was
designed by a local student. WNCC student numbers are up; and the library is
very busy, especially for Internet access. Gering Public Schools had to add
four new modular buildings to three elementary schools; they also added
technology centers with 24 computers in each center in every elementary
school.
Morrill Public Schools
exceeded state writing skills standards; they were the highest in the
Panhandle. The teachers said they could not have done it without the presence
of the local public library. This is a good example of collaboration between
the schools and the library.
Jane Wall - Jane reported that
she retired from teaching last spring. Having recently moved to Lincoln, she
is touring the public library branches. Jane will be teaching one English
class at Southeast Community College.
Stan Gardner -Stan reported
that enrollment is down this year, but freshman enrollment is up. Stan
reported that the State College Board approved an incentive program to entice
out-of-state students with better grades to the state college system by
offering in-state tuition. Wayne State is offering research skill courses; two
of them are on-line which were made available by funding from Nebraska Library
Commission. Stan has made efforts to get faculty into the library to use
databases and to realize how things have changed. The younger faculty is
especially interested in the databases and encourages their classes to use the
library. Reference statistics have grown rapidly. The average number of
students in the library has jumped from 900 to 1400 per day. Because ESU's
have set up filters and firewalls, teachers cannot get to Wayne State's OPAC.
Stan has asked the ESU's to allow access to OPAC as one of allowed sites. Bulk
loans to schools and public libraries have increased.
Wayne State has received two
grants one is a traveling exhibit from Smithsonian "Yesterday's Tomorrows"
showing March 25 - April 19, 2002; it shows how people viewed the 20th
century years ago; and the second is "Research Revolution: From the Lab to the
Home" from ALA. Wayne State also received a series of 6 videotapes that
discuss the importance of science over the last few centuries that have
developed to the lifestyle we have come to expect. The library now has 20
laptop computers in the library; waiting for antennae's to allow their use.
There will be readings during
"Banned Books Week," it is sure to offend somebody. Classes have volunteered
to do the readings. There is a shuttle bus from the college to the community
and back, on the hour.
The library replaced all their
public terminals with Linux workstations; this prevents students from messing
around with the settings, screen savers, etc. A rock sculpture garden behind
the library replaced a former parking lot; unfortunately the design allowed
flooding in the basement of the library this last spring. The Library is
working on developing a copyright booklet; they are copying excerpts (with
permission) of University of Texas' handbook. The copyright booklet will
explain the copyright liability issue as it relates to informing the staff and
public about copyright; this is part of why they are doing the booklet. Stan
has finally, after years, received permission to form Friends of the Library.
Each fall the library published a copy of the entire periodical they hold or
have access to (whether paper, microfilm, on-line); but they found out that
LEXIS-NEXUS changes their list of titles online daily. They have cancelled
about 50 titles of periodicals in paper, based on use statistics; faculty
asked that 3 titles be reconsidered, and they were retained. They have
redesigned the library web pages offering pull-down menus to allow faster
access. Library staff recently had an all-staff meeting with academic
counterparts in Vermillion, SD. The library received $24,000 worth of shelving
free from Bellevue University.
Library Personnel
Recruitment, Retention, Re-Training
Task Force Formation and
Charge - Rod Wagner offered an update on the work of this task force,
reflective of a motion made by the Advisory Council. Recently NLC staff,
representatives of NLA, NEMA, and SACL met on this topic, it was agreed to
move forward to identify specific people to serve on a task force; it was also
agreed to continue to meet together and act as a steering group. The task
force will present their recommendations to the Advisory Council at the 2003
June or September Council meeting. Rod invited anyone interested in staying
following adjournment to watch the 10-minute video from the Ohio Library
Council, Me! A Librarian.
Adoption of Resolutions,
Action Items (if any)*
Jeff Gilderson-Duwe requested
that a courtesy resolution be approved and given to Dixie Kucera for hosting
the meeting and congratulating Tilden on their wonderful new library. The
motion was approved by consensus.
Adjournment
A motion was made by Mo
Khamouna to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Steve Davis. Motion approved.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be
Friday, December 13, 2002 at the Lexington Public Library.