PLUM CREEK LIBRARY SYSTEM ADVISORY COUNCIL OF LIBRARY DIRECTORS Regional Development Center, Slayton

Approved Sept 11 2012 TIME & PLACE: The Advisory Council of Library Directors met at the Regional Development Center on June 20th, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. Chairperson Clint Wolthuizen presided. PRESENT: Clint Wolthuizen, Rock County Community Library Beth Cuperus, Fulda Memorial Library Marilyn Daub, Wabasso Public Library Tam Erickson Jackson County Library Lisa Schardin, Lake Benton Public Library Sue Vizecky, Ivanhoe Public Library Kari Ourada, Westbrook Public Library Carla Skjong, Tyler Public Library Julie Wellnitz, Nobles County Library Carol Lehman, Mt. Lake Public Library Holly Martin-Huffman, Marshall-Lyon County Library Sharyl Larson, Slayton Public Library Jamie Verdeck, Tracy Public Library Margie Salentiny, Bookmobile Stephanie Hall, Meinders Community Library (Pipestone) Mary Buysse, Minneota Public Library Robin Osland, Redwood Falls Public Library Joan Hunter, Windom Public Library Mark Ranum and Chris Lang were PCLS staff in attendance. Reagan Thalacker, SAMMIE Executive Director observed. ABSENT: Karen Beranek, Lamberton Public Library Elberta DeJager, Edgerton Public Library Jean Broekemeier, Morgan Public Library Kelly Hoognedoorn, Bookmobile 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Clint Wolthuizen called the May 16th, 2012 meeting of the Advisory Council of Library Directors to order at 9:30 AM 2. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA th M/S S. Hall/J. Hunter to approve the Agenda of the June 20 meeting of the Advisory Council of Library Directors as presented. Motion Carried unanimously 3. MINUTES 3A. Advisory Council May 16, 2012 th The Minutes of the May 16 meeting of the Advisory Council were distributed prior to the meeting. There were no questions, concerns or revisions. th

M/S T. Erickson/J. Wellnitz to approve the Minutes of the May 16 meeting of the Advisory Council as presented. There was not discussion. Motion carried unanimously. 4. REPORTS

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4A. Reports from the Library Directors Reports from the Directors were heard. All libraries are gearing up for summer reading program activities. Several libraries shared information about their successful Legacy programs and other library sponsored programs. Lang recommended that libraries consult with local presenters and if they are willing to do programs at other libraries, that the librarians add program and contact information to the PCLS Legacy database. 4B. Winter Reading program Lang reported that 1,225 people read 21,336 books during the three-month winter reading program. Of the 1,225 people participating, 417 reported that they were new to the program. Jackson, Lakefield and Rock County libraries accounted for the majority of the new participants, however each library reported new people to the program. Program information from the bookmobile, Marshall-Lyon, or Edgerton Library had not been received as of this report; therefore their numbers are not reflected. 4C. Other There were no other reports. 5. OLD BUSINESS 5A. Koha / Automation 5A1. Upgrade issues Ranum made the library directors aware that the overdue function has been tested and is now working. Patches will be install on Friday or Saturday of this week to correct problems that occurred during the Koha upgrade. Ranum apologized for the inconveniences the upgrade caused and made the library directors aware that the Koha Community is working to establish new testing procedures to ensure that future upgrades do not have similar problems. Martin-Hoffman asked if it would be possible to have the Koha Committee meeting to review some of the issues with Koha. Ranum noted that it was an excellent idea not only to review current issues, but also to plan for and identify new programmable options. A meeting of the Koha Committee will be scheduled for late summer. Ranum distributed the doodle poll survey results of the Koha Evaluation 90 Days. 5A2. Reports training An informal general consensus of the library directors was that the reports training went very well and was beneficial. Hall reported and explained that she learned how to run a report that would provide a list of books in a particular collection (fiction for example) and then batch modify them to change their shelving location. Hall noted that she batch modified up to 2000 items at a time. Sasse had previously sent the instructions for doing the batch transfer via e-mail to the library directors. Ranum made the library directors aware that not all the “canned” Koha reports work for PCLS libraries. Sasse has been testing the reports and identifying those at work properly. 5A3. Maximum Fine Ranum clarified that the system wide maximum fine had been set at $50.00. That number could be set at any amount. But whatever the amount, library directors would need to sell that amount to their local boards. Erickson asked if it would be possible to set the max fine at $5.00. In Jackson, with the fine maximum fine set so high, staff end up waiving everything except $5.00 because of local policy. Hall noted that the Meinders Community library policy is that the max fine is the cost of the item. No decision was made.

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Ranum noted that the maximum fine issue may be revisited after PCLS sees how max fines are affected by the upgrade. 5A4. Number of holds limit Ranum noted that the holds limit is one of the issues the Board wanted him to investigate, but he has not had a chance to do that at this time. In response to Erickson’s question for clarification, Ranum stated that the current hold limit (which has to be a system wide setting) is set at 50. The hold limit was an issue brought up by Commissioner Goodenow during the May Governing Board meeting and one he wanted Ranum to discuss with Holly. The meeting with Holly has yet to be held. This issue as well as others may come back to the library directors for discussion and recommendations. There was no further discussion. 5A5. Loan period follows the check out library or follows the owning library Ranum noted that the loan period follows the check out library as per the PCLS Agency Agreement and Circulation Policy. There was no further discussion. 5A6. Resource sharing Ranum explained that resource sharing is what libraries do together in the regional system. There are several criteria for belonging to a regional system as set by MN Statute. One criteria is that cities and counties have to fund libraries at a set level. Another criteria is that libraries must agree to share materials. Reciprocal borrowing is another statutory requirement in that libraries must honor library cards from other regional system libraries. The system is also required by Statute to provide delivery, communication among libraries (AC meeting) and back up reference service which is now provided statewide through the Ask MN website.

5A7. Ongoing issues Discussion ensued regarding running the holds list more often. Ranum noted that running the holds list only removes holds that have been filled. Holds will remain on the holds list until something is done with the hold (mark missing, mark lost, etc). Several libraries commented that they had experienced holds on items that have NOT appeared on a hold list. Ranum asked the libraries to notify Joel immediately when incidents like that happen so it can be investigated. With the transaction log, Joel can see everything that is attached to the item record, patron records, and the hold. That allows PCLS to determine what part of the system has failed or not working properly. Martin-Huffman noted a message on a patron record that is contradictory and confusing - the message is: “waiting at Marshall-Lyon, hasn’t yet been transferred from Jackson County Library”. Ranum asked that a screen shot of that message be sent to Joel for him to investigate. Ranum understands the idiosyncrasies of the system, but because of the complexities of all the options that are available to libraries – how items are listed; what the status are, etc, as well as the patron complexities, each idiosyncrasy needs to be investigated individually. Hopefully an investigation will result in determining a systemic problem that can be changed for everyone. Schardin sought clarification about clearing holds. Ranum responded that the goal is to clear holds as a function of system wide resource sharing. Koha or any other resource sharing ILS works best when libraries manage their work flow around how an ILS system works, rather than the ILS system adapting to multiple libraries’ workflow patterns. Schardin expressed concern that since Lake Benton is closed two days a week and not pulling holds on those days, that that may be complicating the flow of holds. Ranum noted that he was not sure if Lake Benton’s workflow with holds was causing complications or not. Ranum reiterated the importance of libraries sending in issues immediately when they appear so that transaction logs can be investigated and issues resolved.

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Hall asked if other libraries restrict the number of items in a series that they send out. It was suggested that in most cases, sending the whole series is usually the best for patrons so that the series can be read in order. 5B. E-books 5B1. Implementation Update Ranum noted that the e-book collection has been installed and that he’s waiting for st confirmation from OverDrive that the soft launch will take place on Thursday June 21 at 9:00. PR materials will be distributed materials in the next couple of days. A link to the Overdrive site will be added to individual library websites (those developed by PCLS). Ranum noted that all the purchased titles will be on the OverDrive site, but not all have been added to the PCLS catalog at this point. New titles will be purchased every month or two. Kruse will set up lists with a timeline for when titles should be added for purchase. Wellnitz asked if other Friends groups have made funding commitments to the project besides Jackson ($900.00) and Nobles County ($900.00). Hall noted that Meinders’ Friends at this point are committing $300. Erickson explained that she would send out a letter to all directors to share with their Friends groups asking their participation in the e-book funding challenge. Ranum explained the OverDrive WIN program. Patrons will be able to participate in the WIN program if they wish. If individuals participate in the WIN program, a percentage of all purchases (regardless of type of item) will be credited to the PCLS OverDrive account. Information about the program will be made available on the PCLS and individual library websites. 5B2. Training Online tutorials are available. PCLS will also provide instructional materials that libraries can duplicate for patrons. 5B3. Publicity/PR Posters, bookmarks and instructional sheets will be distributed to libraries for duplication in the very near future. 5C. FY 2012/2013 Final Budget/library fees Ranum called the librarians attention to the library fee document that identifies the 2013 library fee structure. Automation database maintenance and license fees remain the same as previous years. Delivery expense to libraries increased $100.00 per library (from $1,000 to $1,100. The PCLS FY 2012/13 Budget reflects that increase. Ranum reported that each member library’s delivery expense is subsidized with state RLBSS dollars at a rate of $2,686 and $834.00 per library for automation. Ranum noted that there have been a few governing board members and library directors who have asked to have the fee structure reevaluation. If the library directors want to have that discussion, there would be several options or variables that could be used to restructure fees, e.g., circulation, service area, number of patrons registered, number of items in the database, etc. If library directors want to have that discussion, they are encouraged to contact him. Ranum pointed out the income generated from the schools and the service coop. Daub asked if there are any other schools interested in adding their holdings to the database. Ranum noted that PCLS had begun work with the Jackson school district but SIRSI was cost prohibitive. An LSTA grant has been written to add MCC (Murray County Central School). He explained that he felt it would be less complicated to add a smaller school collection and fewer school buildings to Koha first before undertaking a multi building project like Jackson. Erickson asked when the Jackson schools would be added. Ranum noted that the next round of LSTA grant applications would be available in the fall of 2012 for FY 2014 (starting July 1, 2013). . SAMMIE funds were would not cover the cost to add Jackson schools to SIRSI and Jackson Schools, with the shift in education dollars, could not afford to contribute the balance of dollars need to add their collection. Therefore, the SAMMIE dollars were transferred to the Koha project.

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Ranum noted that the goal of bringing on the MCC school is to ensure a successful implementation before working with larger school districts. Larson noted that this is not the first time MCC school has reached out to PCLS and the library about this project. 6. NEW BUSINESS 6A. Annual Meeting – Location, Location, Location and date Ranum asked where the library directors would like to have the annual meeting. Osland suggested Marshall – perhaps at the Bistro. The date was noted as September 19 (the third Wednesday). Martin-Huffman noted that she would have to get back to the group. Ranum asked if there other suggestions… Larson suggested that Juniper Restaurant (formerly the Royal Loon) in Slayton which is under new management and renovation. Erickson commented that a central location may be better. Ranum asked if there were any other suggestion? Hearing none, Chair Wolthuizen asked if Martin-Huffman wanted more time and she responded that she could not volunteer to host the annual meeting. M/S J. Wellnitz/L. Schardin to hold the annual meeting at the Juniper Restaurant in Slayton th on September 19 . Motion carried unanimously. Larson will make the initial contact with the Restaurant to see if the date can be reserved. 6B. Other There was no other New Business brought to the table. 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS 7A. Multi-regional Legacy Programs 7A1. Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant tour Lang distributed the Laura Ingalls Wilder tickets to the bus monitor (or the person in charge of checking people in at the first stop). Bus monitors received enough tickets for a “full” bus, even if at the time the bus isn’t full. Lang asked that the bus monitors call their bus company and confirm all the arrangements, such as pickup times and locations, etc. Lang made the library directors aware that she would send participant evaluation form out in the near future. 7A2. MN Sinfonia Update Ranum made the library directors aware that the Sinfonia Concerts went very well in Pioneerland and are now planning for the Plum Creek sites. Ranum noted that the most successful locations in PLS were those who advertised in the schools and in church bulletins. Involving local Chamber offices for PR was also very helpful as well as advertising in surrounding communities Ranum made the library directors aware that they could apply for Legacy funds if they wanted to sponsor a bus to take people from their community to one of the Sinfonia Concerts in PCLS. Posters for the upcoming PCLS programs will be distributed in the near future. News releases will also be available. Ranum explained that a remittance fee cannot be charged. However, if for example the venue has concessions and want to contribute proceeds to the library, that is ok. However it can not be announced as a library fundraiser. The intention of Legacy programs is that people should not be made to feel like they have to contribute money for attending a program. Ranum announced that 10% of PCLS Legacy fund allocation will support a statewide initiative, 30% will be allocated for multi regional programming (partnering with PLS) and the balance will be allocated for library sponsorship grants. Ranum noted that at this point, libraries could

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plan for $750 per library location but not to be afraid to ask for more if a spectacular program is planned or cooperating with neighboring libraries. Ranum explained that the 10% state funding for FY 2013 (beginning July 2012) would focus on arts related programs through the State Arts Board. However programs through the Historical Society will still be available. More information will be available after the Regional System Directors meeting the end of July. 7A3. Camp Read-A-Lot Lang reported that the book discussion titles have been ordered and will be distributed to camp counselors to ensure they have sufficient time to review the materials and prepare for the group discussions. More camp counselors are still needed and folks interested, are encouraged to contact her. 7A4. Blue Ribbon Reader The statewide summer reading program cooperative and CRPLSA are sponsoring the State Fair Blue Ribbon Reader program. If libraries have outstanding summer reading program participants and want to nominate their reader or readers for a chance to win four tickets to the state fair trip and the blue ribbon should complete the entry form and submit to Plum th Creek by August 6 . A drawing will be held from the entries. Libraries were encouraged to make sure they consult with parents before entering the children. 7B. Legislative update The upcoming election is most important. Libraries and library friends groups were encouraged to attend election forums and ask candidates about their support for libraries. 7C. SAMMIE Teen Kits Reagan Thalacker, SAMMIE Executive Director provided the library directors with an overview of the SAMMIE sponsored Teen Kits. A couple of kits have multiple containers. Item records for the kits have been added to the PCLS and PLS databases. The kits are for library programming and not, at this time, for public check out. Lang noted that the Teen Kits are at the PCLS office and due to the space limitation, asked if a library would want to house them. Marshall-Lyon volunteered. Discussion about placing holds on the kits took place. Concern was expressed regarding the timing of programs and placing holds and how that would all work together. Ranum suggested that a master google shared booking calendar may need to be developed so libraries could see when a kit is booked and when it is available for hold. Librarians agreed that being able to see a booking schedule would be beneficial. Schools will also be able to use the kits for programming but will have to contact the public library for pickup and delivery – except for the schools that have direct access to the database and delivery. The details about whether all eight kits should be in both the PCLS and PLS catalog and how to circulate kits between the systems will be a work in process. More information will be forthcoming. 7D. Other There were no other topics brought up for discussion. 8. DEMONSTRATION - none 9. PENDING AGENDA ITEMS A. 11. CALENDAR OF EVENTS A. LIW Pageant Tour B. August 9 Camp Read-A-Lot

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12. NEXT MEETING A. Date: September 11 2012 B. Location: To be announced. C. Time: 10:00 13. ADJOURNMENT th M/S J. Wellnitz/J. Hunter to adjourn the June 20 meeting of the Advisory Council of Library Directors having completed the agenda. Motion carried unanimously.

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