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New Business | Future Meetings

Members Present:
Chair Mark McKenney, Peter Deekle, Tovah Reis, Donna Good, Deborah Barchi

Members Absent:
Joan Ankner, Jay Litman, Joshua Teverow, Donald Deignan, William Allen, Alice Barrows, Rose Ellen Reynolds, Leslie McDonough, Phyllis Harnick, Cristina Amedeo, Mary Cummings

Present from the Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS):
Anne Parent, Beth Perry, and Donna DiMichele

Observers:
Joan Ress Reeves; Dale Thompson, Providence Public Library

Reporting:
Laurie Scialabba

Materials Distributed:

1. WebJunction pamphlets
2. Facts about Rhode Island Libraries

The meeting was convened at 4:30 p.m.

I. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the September 13, 2004 meeting were moved, seconded and unanimously approved.

II. REPORT OF ADMINISTRATION

Ms. Parent stated that Congress passed a Continuing Resolution on September 29, which included continued LSTA funding for libraries at current FY2004 levels until November 20, 2004.

The American Library Association (ALA) continues to urge its members to contact their Senators in support of the funding levels approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee for LSTA and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program. ALA is also urging increased funding for the Title V education program, the Government Printing Office, the National Agriculture Library, and other library-related programs.

Ms. Parent reported on the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) meeting. There has been a proposal in Congress to deduct $3 million from the museum side of LSTA in favor of library programs. As the smaller of the two programs, museums would be ill-served by the deduction. COSLA decided to write a letter of support for the Senate level of increased funding for libraries and support for restoration of the funding level for museums. COSLA is also concerned that the National Library Service is not moving quickly enough to support digital talking books. Content may be available only in digital format during the transition to the new program scheduled to begin in 2008, which could exclude those who have not yet received a digital player. The timetable for full implementation of the Digital Talking Book program is 2008-2012. A presentation by Doug Robinson, Executive Director of NASCIO, centered on how state librarians can get involved with activities of the CIO. A presentation by the National Endowment for the Arts reported on the decline of literary reading in the U.S. State librarians countered that nonfiction reading should be counted and argued that failure to read literary or fiction materials does not mean that literacy is in decline. A Gates Foundation representative cited Rhode Island’s plan to train staff on working with Spanish speaking patrons, as an exemplary program. Ms. Perry stated that over 100 individuals have been trained. Rhode Island intends to expand the program, and has applied for another “Staying Connected” grant. A video on WebJunction, an online community where library staff meet to share ideas, solve problems and take online courses, was shown. WebJunction, funded by the Gates Foundation for three years and hosted by OCLC, is now free of charge but may not be so in the future.

Groundbreaking for the new Riverside Branch of the East Providence Public Library took place on Sept. 21. It is anticipated that the project will be completed in June 2005. Library construction referenda are on the ballot in Burrillville and Smithfield. Both communities seek voter approval for municipal bonds for the construction of new library buildings. Both libraries have also submitted construction reimbursement applications to the state. Burrillville plans a 24,000 square foot building at a cost of $5 million; Greenville Public Library is planning a 37,000 square foot building at a cost of $11.2 million.

Ms Parent commended OLIS staff members Ann Piascik and Karen Mellor for their hard work with data gathering from the annual reports of the public libraries, and commented that they had received high praise at a recent Public Library Directors meeting. Complicating the situation this year was the need for all libraries that qualify for endowment-based grants to supply documentation on their endowments’ values and the amounts used for operating costs. Ms. Mellor deserves special recognition for designing the necessary forms, as well as for performing the actual spreadsheet calculations to determine FY2006 grant requests. OLIS submitted its budget requests for grant-in-aid and construction reimbursement late last Friday. FY 2006 will be the second year of the phase out of “hold harmless,” and by FY 2007 “hold harmless” will be phased out completely. In FY2006, only five libraries will be “held harmless.” This is an indication that municipalities are increasing local aid, even in smaller communities.

With the creation of the new Division of Information Technology (DoIT) headed by CIO Tom Collins, some have asked where this leaves OLIS. OLIS will continue to be the name by which the Library Services unit has been known to the library community all along. Statewide Planning and the Office of Municipal Affairs are no longer under the umbrella of OLIS, but report to The Director of Administration and the State Budget Office respectively. Ms. Perry will work with others on making recommendations for library laws that need to be changed accordingly, which will become part of the Department of Administration’s legislative agenda.

Ms. DiMichele reported that new members of the LORI Committee include two at-large members -Shirley Long, Director of South Kingstown Public Library and Susan McMullen, Roger Williams University; as well as Elaine Shanley, representing RILINK. The HELIN representative remains vacant. Letters for the second round of certification for the LORI Network Standards will be mailed on November 1. The RI Center for the Book in conjunction with the R.I. Council for the Humanities and the R.I. State Council for the Arts will sponsor Between Now & Then – a Collaboration of Writiers/Artists/Designers on October 26. In collaboration with the URI Special Collections Library and the Redwood Library in Newport, the program The Art of the Book/The Three ‘R’s for the 21st Century – Reading, Rights, and Raising our Voices will be held on October 12 at URI and on October 17 at Redwood Library.

A meeting of the Steering Committee of LibFutures is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at the Cranston Public Library. The committee to select a consultant for the study will meet following the LibFutures meeting. Efforts to secure additional funding for the consultant have reached a stalemate; no new funding has been forthcoming.

III. CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT

Chair McKenney thanked Library Board member, Donna Good, for hosting and providing refreshments for the meeting at Narragansett High School Library. All agreed the facility was attractive and welcoming.

IV. COMMITTEE REPORTS

Committee on Legislation
No report.

Committee on Planning and Budget
No report.

Committee on Public Relations
A draft Facts about Rhode Island Libraries was distributed. Library Board members were encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions to Ms. Reis. Ms. Reis will forward an electronic copy to Ms. Scialabba for distribution to Library Board members.

Ms. Reis stated that future projects include public relations for OLIS, and perhaps a bus tour of Rhode Island libraries with the media. Ms. Reis will develop a budget proposal for upcoming public relations ventures.

V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

None.

VI. NEW BUSINESS

Chair McKenney reported that in order for the agenda to include action items for consideration, these should be submitted at least two weeks prior to Board meetings. It was suggested that there be a central file of policy decisions that have been approved by the Library Board. Ms. Parent would like to consider electronic approval of the draft minutes in future Bylaws revisions, given that they must be filed with the Secretary of State within 35 days of the meeting.

VII. PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

VIII. AGENDA FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

The meeting schedule for the 2005 calendar year was established.
January 24
February 28
March 21
April 25
May 23
June 20
Sept 19
October 17
November 21
December 19

The meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m.