Executive Committee Meeting - February 2006

1. Introductions, sign-in sheet
   • Present: Kathleen Ashe, Donna Davis, Bill DeJohn, Todd Digby, Michael Fox, Sandra Fuhr, Barbara Golden, Mike Kathman, Linda Richter, Edward Swanson, Kristi Tornquist; Becky Bell, Joyce Hommel, Emily Kissane
   • Participating by telephone: Julie Benolken, Debbi Brude, Robbie LaFleur, Kendall Larson
     
     
2. Amend/Adopt Agenda
   • Approved on motion by Mike Kathman
     
     
3. Approve minutes from November meeting
   • Sandra Fuhr and Debbi Brude were present
   • In Section 9), the point "The Law library could also have all laptops with the pilot project" should indicate instead that the Law Library would host it because it has wireless access
   • Approved as amended on motion by Kristi Tornquist
     
     
4. Volunteer to attend May User Council meeting
   • Sandra Fuhr volunteered to attend
     
     
5. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (Todd Digby)
   • Happy to see things moving on schedule, including ILL
   • He met with Ex Libris people in San Antonio and had a good conversation. Relations are good between the two groups and Ex Libris is willing to work with us.
   • Ex Libris is interested in moving toward a PALS model instead of the very customized model currently using
   • Todd is talking with Maruta of Ex Libris to arrange a visit in late March, after she is trained on version 18.
     
     
6. Director's Report (Linda Richter)
   1. User Fees for fiscal year 2007
      • Sent out as estimates in November and have received no objections. With Aleph, libraries are asked not to delete expired patron records, which creates a large number for patrons. Need to make sure the system will count only "real" patrons. Mike Kathman asked that the idea of "minimum patron count" be looked at again.
      • User Fees for FY 2007 were approved.
   2. Participant Charges for fiscal year 2007
      • All the PALS-specific charges have been removed.
      • Charges for loading records were discussed. It was agreed to list "charge to be determined" for loads other than netlibrary records.
      • A task force to look at fees for training and other training issues was suggested. It is especially important that we make sure we attain the goal of all members of the consortium having all the training they need. On motion by Kristi Tornquist it was voted to appoint this task force. The list of members and the charge are attached as an addendum to these minutes.
      • Participant Charges for FY 2007 were approved.
        
        
7. Aleph Update (Becky Bell)
   1. ILL
      • Two training dates have been set up for the first group, February 10 by Web cast for systems librarians and February 17 in person in Mankato for ILL staff.
      • There are 7 libraries in the first group: Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota State Law Library, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Riverland College, St Cloud State University, St John's University/College of St Benedict, and South Central College
      • There will be a phone meeting together with MINITEX and the University of Minnesota to make sure the software is doing what it is supposed to do.
      • The next training will be in mid-March, then every other week until all have been trained
   2. ARC
      • The primary point person at Ex Libris resigned and has not yet been replaced.
      • Licensing fee is $300 per library, and each library can choose which level it wants to use; this price is permanent
      • There is no estimate on training as yet
      • The licenses purchased by the consortium can be used to run reports for some of the small libraries if wanted
   3. Migration update
      • The Episilon and Zeta groups went live on schedule without anything particularly bad happening
      • The Eta group is being worked with and it is planned they will go live the last week in April with a minimum of down time.
   4. Loading MARCIVE records
      • A report on the status of loading Marcive records was distributed. Because of problems with matching algorithms, many duplicate records being loaded was one of the major problems. At present, the Gustavus records have been completely updated on the test server and are being checked by the library staff.
      • Suggestions on how to deal with the problems were discussed, including the possibility that Marcive might not be the least expensive way of getting document records into the data base. Another possibility might be to create a separate library of document records that all of the MnPALS libraries would be pointed to.
      • It was recommended that a task force be appointed to look into the whole question. This should include representatives from the 9 depository libraries and the Legislative Reference Library.
   5. New Aleph versions
      • The goal is to move to version 17 by fall; specific dates will be announced once we have a better sense of the timeline and how to do training
      • Version 18 is being released the end of March, but the conversion for ILL won't be out until May. Nothing yet on when MnPALS might switch to version 18
        
        
8. User Council Report (Kathleen Ashe)
   1. Loading MARCIVE records
   2. User Group meetings
      • The User Groups will meet April 20 and 21 at St Cloud State University; planning is still in process for the meeting
   3. Other
      
      
9. Planning for the Annual Meeting
   • A request had been made that the date be changed because of conflict with the MLA Legislative Day
   • It was strongly felt that we need a speaker who could motivate the group
   • Michael Fox and Linda Richter will work on setting the new date and securing a speaker
     
     
10. Strategic planning for the future of the consortium
    • Some suggestions for thinking about strategic planning included the possibility of finding a different model as new things are added in; the ability of different parts of the consortium to implement different subsets according to their unique needs; trying to create the flexibility to make different and difficult decisions
    • It was suggested that the process begin in May as a follow-up to the annual meeting
      
      
11. Feedback on conference call option
    • The consensus was that it worked; however, at least the May meeting each year should be an in-person meeting because it is the first meeting with the new members
      
      
12. Other/Adjourn
    • Joyce Hommel reminded the group of the Regional Ex Libris Users' Meeting to be held at the Radisson Riverside in St Paul on March 7 and 8
    • Bill DeJohn mentioned the meeting on February 28 featuring Cathy DeRosa, OCLC Vice president of Marketing and Library Services, who will speak on the recent OCLC report Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources; the meeting will be held at the Como Park Conservatory auditorium
    • The meeting was adjourned at 3:43 pm.
      
      

1. Review the existing PALS training opportunities and recommend a plan for training member libraries in the following situations
   1. When new versions of Aleph are implemented
   2. When a library implements a new subsystem
   3. Training new library staff
   4. Ongoing refresher training for existing systems.
2. Recommend a method for funding each of these options whether through general consortium revenue, annual fixed assessments to individual libraries, or a fee-for-service basis.

1. 1:00 Introductions, sign-in sheet
   
   
2. Amend/Adopt Agenda
   
   
3. Approve minutes from November meeting
   
   
4. Volunteer to attend May User Council meeting
   
   
5. 1:10 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (Todd Digby)
   
   
6. 1:20 Director's Report (Linda Richter)
   1. User Fees for fiscal year 2007
   2. Participant Charges for fiscal year 2007
      
      
7. 1:50 Aleph Update (Becky Bell)
   1. ILL
   2. ARC
   3. Migration update
   4. Loading MARCIVE records
   5. New Aleph versions
      
      
8. 2:20 User Council Report (Kathleen Ashe)
   1. Loading MARCIVE records
   2. User Group meetings
   3. Other
      
      

• 2:30 Break
  
  

1. 2:45 Planning for the Annual Meeting
   
   
2. 3:30 Strategic planning for the future of the consortium
   
   
3. Feedback on conference call option
   
   
4. 4:00 Other/Adjourn
   
   

• May 4
  
  

• March 30
  
  

• April 20 and 21, 2006, St. Cloud State University
• October 23 and 24, 2006, Minnesota State University, Mankato