Maine Library Commission Minutes, November 5, 2007

The Maine Library Commission met at the Maine State Library on Monday, November 5, 2007 at 1:12 pm.

Members present: Karl Aromaa, Gretchen Asam, Charles Campo, Inese Gruber, Barbara Harness, Moorehead Kennedy, Barbara McDade, Elizabeth Moran, Steve Nichols, Joyce Rumery.

Members absent: Charles Cawley, Steve Podgajny, Jamie Ritter.

Also in attendance: Dean Corner, Bonnie Dwyer, Shirley Helfrich, Linda Lord, Gary Nichols, Valerie Osborne, Lee Webb.

Minutes:

A correction to the September 10 minutes was noted by Gretchen Asam. She was present at that Commission meeting. Minutes, as amended, were approved unanimously.

Legislation (Gary):

LD 793, An Act to Provide Essential Library Resources to All Maine Communities, was voted for carryover to the second legislative session. However this bill has not, so far, been on the list of bills accepted for that session. Gary will contact Senator Edmond’s office for an update.

There have been two efforts to reorganize the cultural agencies under the Secretary of State. The first was by budget amendment in the last session, the second by an introduced LR for consideration in the upcoming session. While both efforts failed, it is likely that reorganization will continue to be an issue.

Gates Grants (Linda):

The remainder of the Rural Sustainability grant has been expended. A series of statewide MARVEL training workshops was held which included overnight as well as day-long programs. Basic computer maintenance training was also given.

Applications for Gates Foundation Opportunity Online Hardware grants are forthcoming. This two-year program will be for eligible libraries that have outdated computer equipment and software and serve low income populations.

Juice Conference (Gary):

Gary introduced Lee Webb from the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. Lee described the Juice Conference, to be held on November 16-17 in Rockland and Camden, as a statewide gathering of cultural agencies, small businesses and artisans that focus on Maine’s creative economy. $110,000 of the Conference’s total budget of $125,000 has been raised. He is asking for donations for the remainder. Commission members expressed their enthusiasm and praise for the Conference.

Conference planners are offering all attendees of the Maine Library Association Summit on November 16 free admission to the Juice Conference’s Friday night opening session and reception. Scholarships will be offered to encourage library participation in all conference activities. A full day session addressing library issues are part of this.

It was recommended by Gary that the Commission consider supporting the Conference with $8,500 from LSTA and to encourage librarians to take advantage of the scholarships that a portion of this funding will make available for 35 librarians to attend all activities.

Elizabeth Moran moved and Joyce Rumery seconded a motion to pay up to $8,500 to support the Juice Conference. Passed unanimously.

Maine InfoNet (Barbara McDade):

Some highlights of the past month included the funding of additional MARVEL databases based on an additional $100,000 appropriation by the Legislature; four libraries have been added to the Minerva consortium (Maine College of Art, Unity College, Scarborough Public Library, Warren Memorial Library); Minerva is adding a children’s scope to it’s public access catalog; Minerva is exploring using LibraryThing in its opac; a SOLAR Summit will be held for those libraries at MSL on November 9; Jon Forest and Deb Hensler have received additional training; URSUS is redesigning its opac home page; Marilyn Lutz is applying for an IMLS grant for digitization and a Mellon grant for the use of open source software to tie the state’s school libraries into MaineCat.

For the uninitiated, there was a brief discussion of LibraryThing, created by a Mainer. It is a website for storing readers’ libraries or reading histories that includes graphics, blogs, and online communities of different kinds of reading habits and book lovers. LibraryThing is gaining nationwide attention and use.

Consultants:

Valerie Osborne reported that a DVD about the MARVEL databases is being produced at the Southwest Harbor Public Library with Tim Sample and Molly Larson from the Rockport Public Library. Copies will be given to every public library in Maine and to legislators. Funding for copies to public libraries has been provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Funding for copies for other libraries will be from the consultants’ budgets.

Bonnie Dwyer and Shirley Helfrich pointed out a timeline of Maine Regional Library System objectives and projects in the meeting folders. Shirley also announced the completion of the Southern Maine Library District annual report.

Maine Regional Library System and MLA Minimum Standards (Linda):

Libraries requesting membership in the MRLS after May 9, 2007 must meet the MLA minimum standards. All libraries in the System before that date were grandfathered until 2010.

The question is, what happens if libraries do no meet these minimum standards? And, who makes that decision?

Gary stated that if the Commission makes a rule to eliminate a library’s MSLN internet connection because of failure to meet the standards, it needs to go through the state’s rule-making process.

Charles Campo stated that the Commission has a fiduciary responsibility to make sure the state’s tax monies are being spent wisely. Why should libraries receive tax supported internet service if they cannot comply with the standards, such as filing an annual report, posting their hours, and how to contact staff.

He also asked if Maine statutes on the MRLS cover rule-making by the Commission. It was determined that the process and policy on rule making be researched and reported at the next meeting.

Other Business

Shirley Helfrich reported that at the fall SMLD council meeting there was a question about the New Century grant that was awarded to the Maine Regional Library System. Both Shirley and Inese Gruber responded that this New Century grant was not earmarked for individual libraries but for a statewide program or programs.

The executive boards of each of the MRLS districts were involved in the grant proposal and the consultants brought it to the Maine Library Commission for consideration. The MLC approved the grant.

Executive Session

At 2:28 pm a motion to move into executive session to discuss a personnel issue was unanimously approved.

The Commission voted to move out of executive session at 3:05 pm with no action taken. Also at that time, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Dean Corner

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