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Minutes Maine Library Commission Minutes, January 24, 2011

The Maine Library Commission met at the Maine State Library on Monday, January 24, 2011 at 2:02 pm.

Members present: Charlie Campo, Liz Doucett, Beth Edmonds, Molly Larson, Barbara McDade, Jamie Ritter, Joyce Rumery, Dick Thompson, Art Turley

Members absent: Debe Averill, Kathy Brunjes, Inese Gruber, Mike Kennedy, Steve Nichols, Steve Podgajny

Also present: Chris Boynton, Dean Corner, Pam Goucher, Linda Lord, Janet McKenney, Susan Preece, Stephanie Zurinski

Minutes

The minutes of December 8, 2010 were amended to reflect that Turley was present and the name Doucett was misspelled.
On a motion by Doucett with a second by Ritter, the minutes of the November 3, 2010 and December 8, 2010 were approved unanimously.

Rulemaking

The State Library Rule #1 affecting public libraries had been approved in December 2010. For several reasons the Commission was asked to cast another vote on this rule so, on a motion by Turley and a second by Doucett, State Library Rule #1 was reapproved unanimously.

Legislative Update

Linda reported on two State Library bills that have been submitted.

LD 1485: An income tax check-off to benefit statewide library programs and services, sponsored by Rep. Phil Curtis, House Majority Leader
LD 1816: An act to support resource sharing among Maine libraries, sponsored by Rep. Peggy Rotundo. We are seeking $100,000 to pay for one days delivery to 121 public, academic, school, and medical libraries currently paying for van delivery service.

Linda testified before the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on January 24, 2011 and described how recent budget cuts and vacant positions have affected the State Library's ability to provide services to the public and libraries. She has also spoke at hearings and work sessions before the Appropriations Committee and the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee regarding the Maine State Library's budget cuts for FY11.

Advocacy Committee

Beth Edmonds reported that the committee has been discussing how to market libraries to their local constituencies. Members have also been reviewing ways to present the State Library, as the support organization for libraries, to the Legislature. This led to discussion among Commission members about the impact of Marvel databases and how these save individual libraries money. Linda will provide usage statistics by type of library. There was also interest from the Commission on the use of business databases and how to market them to businesses in the state.

Friends of the Maine State Library

Linda reported that Jean Gulliver of Falmouth has agreed to join the board of directors. Jean is a past chair of the State Board of Education.

Consultants

Stephanie presented the 2010 Snapshot Day report. This has been distributed to all libraries in the state and the Legislature. Online features include a PowerPoint presentation, a slide show of photographs taken in libraries, a PR handout that can be tailored for individual libraries, and how to use the Snapshot publication with local officials.

Outreach Services

Chris reported that this is the second year of a five year effort to transition all talking books from tapes to digital format. MSL has a supply of digital readers to offer to institutions and libraries who would like to provide services to the visually impaired.

Reader & Information Services

Dean reported that Peggy OKane and Reference staff offered an E-book reader demonstration with plans for future demos.
A new lunch time program, Books Sandwiched In, was initiated this month. This program is an open-ended discussion of what the participants are reading. It also will include book reviews and talks about reading genres. It is advertised to state employees and legislators.

Our computer lab has been booked for a February program on college financial aid and the FAFSA forms. It is being presented by the Gardiner Area Adult Education department.

Strategic Plan

Beth asked for final revisions and edits. All agreed that the current edition will be the final version. However, there was a sense of the Commission that Goal 2, Action Step 5 should be revised to explicitly state that school and public libraries must be on an equal footing to ensure equal access to electronic resources.

The preamble will be included in the final document. This will be sent to all members by the end of January. The entire strategic plan will be published as a document and also placed on the MSL web site.

BTOP Grant

Linda reported that TGS, South Portland, has been awarded the contract to act as project manager for BTOP. Janet is working on an RFP for all the equipment that must be ordered. She is also working on the requirements and qualifications necessary to act as a trainer for this program.