Maine Library Commission Minutes, March 9, 2009

The Maine Library Commission met at the Maine State Library on Monday, March 9, 2009 at 1:05 pm.

Members present: Charles Campo, Barbara Harness, Molly Larson, Barbara McDade, Jamie Ritter, Joyce Rumery.

Also present: Melanie Taylor Coombs, Dean Corner, Linda Lord, Sylvia Norton, Valerie Osborne, James Jackson Sanborn, Gail Waddell, Stephanie Zurinski.

Members absent: Karl Aromaa, Debe Averill, Beth Edmonds, Inese Gruber, Mike Kennedy, Elizabeth Moran, Steve Nichols, Steve Podgajny.

Minutes:

A quorum not being present, approval of the minutes of February 2, 2009 was not taken up.

Committee Vacancies:

Linda reported that Debe Averill has been appointed by Governor Baldacci and will fill the seat vacated by Gretchen Asam. There are currently five other vacant Commission seats: two at-large, one CMLD, one public library, and one handicapped.

Stimulus Package:

There is no construction money for public libraries unless it’s for energy conservation. However, there is funding to increase broadband coverage. ALA has a link to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on its web site.

LD 2:

The Legislature has passed this bill which gives the Commission rule making authority.

MSLN:

A new contract is being developed. The goal of the new contract is to provide the needed bandwidth for schools and libraries. All libraries have a T1 line and many have two. Presently, there are some libraries that need a third T1.

State Librarian Position:

Gail Waddell reported that the Budget Office will not okay advertising for the State Librarian position until the end of June.

Status of ATM:

With the demise of the ATM technology, the equipment housed at the State Library must be returned to the Department of Education. Sylvia Norton will investigate what DOE will or will not allow to be done with the equipment.

Cultural Affairs Council:

The report from the CAC to meet the terms of Resolve 182 has been completed and is to be voted upon today. It will be presented to the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on March 16. Jamie Ritter stated that the report is a very full picture of what the agencies are charged with doing.

Linda mentioned that the state audit of the cultural agencies, which brought about the request for a combined CAC report to the Legislature, required that three objectives must be met: creation of a list of regional and national organizations that the State Library interacts with; that the State Librarian not be the treasurer of the Council of State Library Agencies in the Northeast (COSLINE); time sheets must reflect whether MSL employees are paid for by state or federal funds. These have been met.

Consultants:

CMLD: Stephanie Zurinski reported that the webinars about completing the public library annual reports have gone very well. So far, 60 libraries have completed the report; 80 have started; 132 have not started.

NMLD: Valerie Osborne reported on the status of the trustee forums throughout the state that feature board self-assessments and define the roles of the trustees. These forums also have the objective of revitalizing the Maine Trustees Association.

SMLD: Shirley Helfrich could not attend the Commission meeting but her report was distributed in the packets.

Maine InfoNet:

James Jackson Sanborn reported that the Maine InfoNet Board drafted new mission and vision statements at the Board retreat. The finalized statements will be approved at the Board’s next meeting.

The downloadable audio library went live today at 10:00 am. There have already been 32 checkouts in the past four hours. There are currently 1,100 unique titles in this collection.

The frozen Library Automation Manager position was released and the two candidates formerly interested in the position were re-interviewed on March 6.

There has been a request to release the frozen Library Systems Specialist position formerly held by Deb Hensler. This position will primarily be devoted to training and education.

Delivery RFP:

Dean Corner has knowledge of at least five companies that have expressed interest in the contract. Final submissions are due on March 31.

Commission Committees:

Jamie Ritter outlined the committees’ review of MSL’s mission and activities with an eye to strategic planning for the organization.

Charlie Campo distributed informational reports, compiled with the assistance of MSL staff, detailing the different ways that the State Library serves other state agencies. The reports also included the Maine statutes that directly effect MSL’s mission.

Other Business:

Joyce Rumery announced that there will be a statewide collection development summit, co-developed by herself and Clem Guthro from Colby, tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 15.

Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 pm.

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