Updated: 06/25/04
This site maintained by:
Rick Krumwiede
Terry Dawson
This site maintained
by:
Rick Krumwiede
Terry Dawson
Minutes
of the System and Resource Library Administrators Association of Wisconsin
June 18, 2004
WLA Offices - Madison, Wisconsin
Upon determining a quorum, the meeting was called to order by President, Jessica MacPhail at 10:10 a.m.
Present: Jessica MacPhail, Racine PL; Peter Hamon, South Central; Kathy Schneider, WILS; Barb Dimick, Madison PL; Sandy Robbers, IFLS; Jim Trojanowski, NWLS; Mary Bethke, MCPL; Rick Grobschmidt, DLTCL; Lisa Strand, WLA; Larry Nix, WLA; Peg Branson, DLTCL; Ruth Ann Montgomery, ALS; Rhonda Putney, LLS; David Polodna, WRLS; Sally Drew, DLTCL; Rick Krumwiede, OWLS; Alan Zimmerman, DLTCL; Mike Cross, DLTCL; Jim Gingery, MCFLS; Alan Engelbert, MPL/MCLS; David Weinhold, ESLS; Heather Eldred, WVLS; Mark Arend, Winnefox; John Nichols, OPL/Winnefox; Bob Bocher, DLTCL, Kate Huston, MPL; Michael Tyree, West Bend PL.
This meeting's proxies are: Sandy Robbers for Mark Morse; Rick Krumwiede for Mark Merrifield; Ruth Ann Montgomery for Karen Krueger; Jim Trojanowski for Mike Sheehan; Rick Krumwiede for Terry Dawson; Jessica MacPhail for Bernie Bellin; Michael Tyree for Walter Burkhalter.
Members and guests introduced themselves.
The revised agenda was accepted with the addition of the Digital Exploratory Committee Conference (to be included with extra topics for discussion at the end of the meeting).
It was moved by Polodna, seconded by Nichols, to approve the minutes of the March 19, 2004 meeting as printed. Motion carried.
David Polodna, SRLAAW Treasurer, reported a balance of $1,026.78 in the account. The report was accepted.
It was moved by Nichols and seconded by Eldred to nominate Sandy Robbers for the Vice-President for SRLAAW. Motion carried. Members voted on nomination and Robbers became Vice-President.
LD&L
Larry Nix reported on behalf of Tom Hennen. Nix discussed priorities for state library funding. Copies of a handout were circulated which addressed priorities for state library funding. A draft copy of one of the primary recommendations for this funding initiative, "Little Kids and Libraries," was discussed at length. This proposal includes direct state aid to public libraries that is based upon service population. This funding will not be in competition with library system aid. Research shows that every dollar spent on the education of children prior to the age of four translates to at least seven dollars of later expenditures. It's thought that this program will be a way for libraries to have an impact upon children, parents and child care providers.
Mike Cross mentioned that while the Governor and the State Superintendent for Public Instruction are supportive of early learning initiatives, budget constraints and cuts will make fitting in a new program to be quite a challenge. Nix agreed that the budget focus is up to the Governor. Lisa Strand agreed that prioritization of the budget is important.
Nix mentioned the need for a coordinated effort between the federal government, state governments and libraries in determining who will play the lead role in early education. Libraries have frequently been left out of this dialogue in the past. John Nichols expressed concern that this funding might well end up in the schools rather than in the public libraries. Sally Drew stated that even though federal funding has been focused upon workforce development, more support than that of just libraries and the DPI is needed. Strand said that the main focus thus far has been upon special needs and special education.
Barb Dimick brought up how this initiative seemed a natural fit for the Madison PL because it would assist libraries by changing our roles from circulating items to building community through education. Nichols mentioned that this would be the first ever direct aid to public libraries. Nichols then raised two questions: Could this then open the flood gates for a funding focus change? Will libraries be forced to make even more difficult choices? Systems will need to remain proactive in order to continue.
Nix said that the program is envisioned to last two bienniums with an evaluation of the program occurring after one biennium. This would be a pilot program, not a permanent program. Other questions were brought up such as would this be like Rep. Wieckert's (District 57) proposal for an unfunded mandate? Is this to be funded through new or additional money? Could systems become a pass through agency for this program?
It was moved by Hamon, seconded by Nichols, to support this funding initiative. Motion carried.
Jim Trojanowski acknowledged that library systems might be part of the perception problem. Nix spoke of how the CCBC has been very proactive in stating its case for funding for the 2005-2007 biennium. They had twenty supporting letters to bolster their request. Public libraries and library systems might well wish to emulate this approach. Nix further stated that LD&L recommended no longer linking the four state contracts. This relationship has created a loss of visibility in the legislature during the budget cuts. In addition, the availability of continuing access for the taxpayers to the collection of the UW System is currently at risk.
An excellent strategy during the next five months is to continue getting the ear of the legislators by having each county in the state host legislative listening sessions. Lists were distributed that named the most critical Wisconsin policymakers to contact to request that they advance the WLA legislative agenda for 2005. LD&L suggests that WLA have a funding conduit that would be a way of maintaining visibility on both sides of the aisle at the Capitol.
Subcommittee on Public Library System Delivery Service Costs
Dave Weinhold discussed factors affecting costs over the past several years. The LSTA subsidy is not available for 2005. There is, however, still $60,000 in extra LSTA funding left to help partially offset 2005 delivery costs. South Central anticipates there will be a 5% increase in service costs for 2005. A cooperative effort is needed since courier service is much more efficient than postal service. According to most recent figures (1997 data), the average mailing cost per item is $2.40.
DPI Reports
2005 LSTA categories- Peg Branson informed the group that the federal monies are not in yet. Therefore, the actual budget is not ready yet.
BadgerNet report- Bob Bocher spoke of the Wisconsin Collaborative Network Initiative, of which John Nichols is the library representative. The WCNI has dual aspects. The first will serve state agencies, PK-12s, libraries, technical colleges, private colleges, and local units of government. The second will serve the research and education mission of the University of Wisconsin. The DOA had a RFI in mid-April; it's been in review since May. A decision is to be made by August, with a contract to be signed by October or November. A plus for public libraries is that there will be faster connectivity time. The routers might need to be upgraded; however, LSTA funds may be used for network upgrades.
These WCNI components are termed red (which is for UW) and blue (for the DOA). It is unclear at this time the outcome of the decisions that need to be made. The volume of usage decides the prices with the vendors. The issue is also tied up with WiscNet. Other questions include who pays for this, who fixes it, video transmissions and capacity concerns. The state telephone contract will come up in 2005 after the video and video network contracts.
Gates grant update- Bocher distributed a sheet that gave an overview of the grant. Information was received on Monday, June 14 about $192,000 coming in (it has a matching component). That's about double the amount of the previous grant. The grant is due August 2, 2004. Training support and technical support will be of interest to most people. The money currently on hand must be spent by the end of this year. The next grant is good until June 30, 2007. This will then be the end of the Gates grant cycle.
Library service record changes- Al Zimmerman announced that the changes that have been made are posted to the web site. He also informed the group that in the future the web will be the main source of information; there will only be a limited amount of print copies available. Polodna mentioned that reading the statistics in a print format was the best option. Zimmerman said that they will be available in a .pdf format.
Library system study- Mike Cross said that $7500 had been spent on the library system study. The focus of this survey was comparing services with population size. The study was done by UW-SLIS in Madison; its draft product was reviewed by Polodna, Berger, Weinhold and Krueger. The group was told that perhaps there would be more to report at the August SRLAAW meeting.
System annual meeting- Cross told the group that the date for the annual System directors meeting is July 22, 2004. He asked that people contact him with agenda items.
Extra topics for discussion-
The 13% index level for system funding was again suggested for inclusion in the budget for the next biennium. The question was raised whether delivery services should be rolled into this request. Weinhold mentioned that if this strategy would actually work, it would be fine particularly if additional funding would free up existing money for other services. Drew articulated concerns about the language of the request, that being treating money as a separate entity. Polodna mentioned that the 13% request has become a liability for us; a more realistic approach would be to have a real dollar amount attached to the request. Nix agreed that this might be the best position for SRLAAW to support.
The compact disc settlement is a classic take on the good news vs. bad news scenario. The good news is that many libraries have already received their shipments; the bad news is that poor allocation techniques were used and many libraries ended up with cut outs and duplicate copies of cd's. The Attorney Generals for the states will be meeting on June 21, 2004 to discuss these difficulties.
Update from SRLAAW ILL Committee- Engelbert spoke about what the SRLAAW ILL committee's trip to Illinois. The next visit for the group will be with DPI. The committee will then draft a report with an eye toward a release date of October 2004.
Rick Grobschmidt said that Libby Burmaster is in the preliminary stages of putting the departmental budget together. At this time there will no increases in general program areas. Agencies and their staffs can anticipate a 10% reduction. Once the budget is completed it will be passed along to Governor Doyle. It will be handed on to the legislature by February 2005.
Schneider informed the members that the WorldCat group did not achieve the number of participating libraries originally hoped for. A revised quote was given by OCLC. Thus far, South Central, Winnefox, Lakeshores and eleven or twelve PL's are on board. This will all begin on July1, 2004.
The Digital Exploratory Committee met on June 9, 2004. Members of this group are Paula Kiely, MPL; Jan Dibble, Oshkosh PL; and Phyllis Christianson, Marathon County Public Library. They will identify the next steps to take regarding structural and technological issues. There are three statewide models to consider: Colorado with its centralized structure, Utah with its regional focus and Missouri with its loose structure. Our state's approach will probably be based upon the Utah or Missouri models. The committee will have twenty data gathering points to use. UW will be used as a focal base. There will be an inventory of already existing digitization projects in Wisconsin. This work should not negatively effect the LSTA funding for digitization. The group will also meet with museums and local history groups. The committee's goal is to have something to present on Friday morning, November 5, 2004 at the WLA conference at Lake Geneva.
The next SRLAAW meeting will be August 20, 2004 in Wausau at the Marathon County Public Library.
Meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Tyree
Secretary of the Day
