The Library Network Newsletter

April 26, 2010

Page 2 - Minutes - Quarterly Membership Meeting - January 29th, 2010

Page 4 - Minutes - Technical Services Committee Meeting - March 17th, 2010

Page 7 - Training Opportunity - MLC Class Registration Form

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TLN Quarterly Membership Meeting Minutes

Friday, January 29, 2010 Redford Township District Library

DRAFT COPY Present: Jim Pletz (TLN), Karie Waarala (AUBN), Kim Potter (REDF), Martin Smith (REDF), Hope Siasoco (PINC), Cheryl Poch (FOWL), Joan Rogers (WATE), Laura Mancini (OAKL), Cheryl Napsha (West), Celia Morse (BERK), Kathleen Monroe (LIVN), Jude Halloran (HIGH), Tina Hatch (MILF), Ceci Marlow (CROM), Dave Ewick (STFD), Doreen Hannon (SLYN), Nancy B. Johnson (BRIT), Leslee Niethammer (SALN), Linda Sickles (ORIO), Jill Morey (YPSI), Paulette Medvecky (WAYN), Cathy P. Forst (SPRI), Mary Karshner (ROAK), Elizabeth Gulick (CLAW), Bryan Cloutier (OXFD), Paula Gautheir (BRAN), Tina Theeke (FARM), Maryanne Bartles (DEAR), Donna Rickabaugh (WALL), Julie Herrin (NORT), Larry Ostrowski (WHLK), Tina Maynard (RTWP), Janet Cashin (WYDT), John Martin (OAPK), Teresa Natzke (FRAN), Doug Koschik (BALD), Anne Hage (HTWD), Michael Mccaffery (DHTN), Heather Sturm (MANC), Paul McCan (DEXT), Bill Harmer (CHEL) I. Steering Committee Chair McCann called the meeting to order at 10:10am. II. Introductions and Announcements:

None

III. Agenda

Motion to approve the agenda as amended made by Bill Harmer, supported by Dave Ewick. Motion carried.

IV. Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the October 23, 2009 membership meeting minutes as presented made by Thomas, supported by Rogers. Motion carried.

V. Steering Committee Update (Chair McCann)

Paul McCann brought the issue of cost recovery for ILL/OCLC/Melcat up to membership. By show of hands little interest existed in developing a proposal.

The possibility of dropping the maximum number of Melcat items a patron can order was also brought up. Randy informed membership that the current number took a great deal of deliberation and was unlikely to change.

VI. TLN Update (Pletz)

Doug Koschik was lauded as the new director of Birmingham.

Director Pletz indicated that a shrinking percentage of his budget comes from state aid. 41% of budget came from state aid at its high point to a low of 15% next year. Number is getting so low that some libraries are already weighing the costs of meeting state aid requirements against the aid they receive.

There is a great need to establish what basic services are offered to member libraries and what services are “premium”. Jim is working on a four tiered structure of services and will be developing proposals to give to membership.

Bin count currently is 450 on high days and averages over 300 bins.

A survey of staff has indicated that they are willing to consider a performance based fee structure, with greater rewards based on TLN cost recovery. No staff felt state aid would exist in three years.

TLN is looking to do everything possible to save money, make money and make TLN viable for the future.

VII. Unfinished Business

None.

VIII. New Business

Bill Harmer of Chelsea presented on why he went with OCLC instead of Melcat. Melcat systems not communicating, processing times and increased packaging costs all factored in his decision to seek out an alternative.

Based on a figure of 300 items per year, OCLC gave Chelsea a price of $1,000, all costs included. No lending is required on Chelsea’s part. There was some discussion as to postage costs and whether they were included in price or not.

Chelsea says its agreement with OCLC had just started and there was no charge to patrons.

Randy Dykhuis of MCLS (Midwest Collaborative Library Services) presented on the MLC/INCOLSA merger and future opportunities for shared services.

The arduous process of setting up the merger and the details involved were explained .

Other than a new name, logo and website the services will mainly continue as they do now. Randy suggested as TLN changes the co-op should stay close to members and evolve its processes based on feedback.

The possible sharing of resources in MCLS was brought up. Randy indicated that there is some debate on the INCOLSA side of the merger as to how items are shared, but this may be an opportunity for the future.

IX. Other

X. Meeting adjourned at 12:21 pm. No motions. Next meeting is April 2010 at Caroline Kennedy Library in Dearborn Heights, exact date, and time TBD. Respectfully submitted, Michael Mccaffery Steering Committee Secretary

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TLN SHARED AUTOMATION SYSTEM TECHNICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE Meeting minutes, Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at Livonia Civic Center Library CALL TO ORDER at 10:00 by Diana Cunningham (BRIT) INTRODUCTIONS Those present introduced themselves and stated the library they represented. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Approved by unanimous consent. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 17, 2010 MINUTES Approved by unanimous consent. BDBS REPORT Jim Flury (TLN) reported that during February, BDBS cataloged a total of 4,891 items. In addition, they repaired 304 broken records, deleted 324 records, and answered 33 help desk questions. Finally, they cataloged 262 items under contract for Waterford Schools. Effective February 15

th, FirstSearch cataloging requests are processed and confirmed by e-mail

the day after they are received. This is working very well, and response has been positive. Effective February 25

th, brief records (catreq) that are entered by libraries into the shared system

are upgraded to full records the day after they are received. This one day turnaround is contingent upon the availability of a full MARC record in OCLC, as well as staffing. The need for brief records (catreq) is now almost none. The preference of BDBS is that member libraries submit FirstSearch requests for cataloging of materials. Elimination of Workflows pre-searching has enabled BDBS to keep up with incoming cataloging and provide a fast turnaround. BDBS will continue to look for incremental time savings in order to provide innovative and efficient service for member libraries. OrdRec (short records for use in the acquisitions module) can be refined after the update of the CatReq form is completed. It was suggested that a subcommittee might be formed to review the OrdRec form and procedures and report back to the committee as a whole. Jim Flury (TLN) noted that the Retrospective Conversion Project of short records is ongoing and progressing. The project is not going as quickly as expected, because the match rate of the total batch of records processed was not as high as it was on the original sample. As of February 26

th,

3,800 records have been completed by Backstage. Jim gets weekly updates from the vendor, and he notes that the straightforward part of the conversion is done. Backstage is working on the original cataloging that must be done to complete the conversion. The documentation for the Linking Class is completed and available online. Janna has taught classes using the updated documentation and gotten positive feedback. SASUG REPORT [February 25

th Meeting]

Vanessa Morris (RROU) reported that:

Lucien spell-checker was added to iBistro on February 15. The subscription runs through September 30, 2010. Password changes for the Shared System will be at the end of March. On Good Friday, April 2, the TLN building will be closed but the Helpdesk will be available. TLN will be closed and the Helpdesk will be unavailable on Easter Sunday, April 4.

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TLN may be moving at some point. Properties closer to the center of the cooperative are being sought out. Motion to cease cataloging of analog audiovisual materials passed unanimously. AquaBrowser will be demonstrated at the March meeting. At the next meeting, a decision will be made as to whether to proceed with evaluating a new ILS. The Novi Library will be closed during April and May to move into their new building.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS—PROPOSAL TO CEASE CATALOGING OF ANALOG FORMAT AUDIO AND VIDEO Everyone was pleased that the proposal passed unanimously in SASUG. Jim Flury noted that BDBS was willing to take necessary OCLC requests for cataloging of analog materials in order to prevent libraries from entering brief records in the database. UNFINISHED BUSINESS—PURCHASES BY BDBS OF ADDITIONAL VENDOR RECORDS Jim Flury (TLN) reported that BDBS has begun to purchase records from Midwest Tape. Records purchased are those for items ordered by member libraries. The first batch of 70 records was loaded into the database yesterday. Because timeliness is of the essence, records will be loaded as they are received. Jim explained that it will take a month or two for the full process to be in place. If libraries have items from Midwest Tape, they should wait a day or two before pre-linking. Full records should be available quickly (they appear to correspond to the release date of items rather than the order date). At present, brief records for Midwest Tape items are not being loaded. BDBS may resume loading brief records and overlaying them, if it proves to work well. BDBS will proceed to investigate working with additional vendors. UNFINISHED BUSINESS—NEW PROCEDURES FOR THE TLN TECHNICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT Jim Flury (TLN) presented a sample of the proposed update of the “Using the Cataloging Request Format” (CatReq) form. He explained that the goals to be achieved with the revised form are:

Ease of Use To obtain as much information about an item as possible so that a brief record can be converted to a full record quickly To have good data so that any retrospective conversion that must be done in the future can be accomplished on a small scale, and with ease, avoiding the problems of the current large retrospective conversion project

Discussion ensued. Disappointment was expressed that the problems with foreign language materials were not addressed. Jim pointed out that it is important for the committee to approve the changes in the CatReq form so that it can be implemented quickly. Also, he noted that these records are meant to be temporary (because something needs to be circulated immediately, to provide an acquisitions record for ordering, etc.). He plans to address the “bigger picture” issues in the future (BDBS editing and hit list results, for example), and feels that the problems with foreign language materials can be better addressed at that time. A question was raised as to whether the 100 field should read Personal Author (not editor). The committee decided that the form should remain as proposed, and that this question, and others, should be addressed in the CatReq documentation. Jim assured the committee that the

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documentation will be revised. Members of the committee commended BDBS on the quality and thoroughness of their documentation.

MOTION: Lucie Smith (CHEL) moved that the committee accept the proposed CatReq form revision as presented by Jim Flury (TLN). The motion was seconded by Wendy Teagan (NOVI) and passed by unanimous approval. Jim Flury and the committee are pleased that brief records are becoming the exception and not the rule in the database. Jim Flury pointed out that six months is too long for a brief record to remain in the database, especially if there is a problem with it. If a brief record is a problem (a popular title with holds, for example), then contact BDBS and they will upgrade the record as soon as possible. Contact via the Help Desk is the preferred method. NEW BUSINESS—EDITS AND HIT LIST ISSUES The amount and type of editing performed on catalog records by BDBS will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in an effort to effect time savings and improve efficiency. Hit List issues, as they relate to patron searching abilities, will also be addressed. Jim Flury wants to schedule another Technical Services Committee meeting at TLN in the near future so that all of the BDBS staff can be present to discuss these issues with the committee. We will decide at the April meeting when the committee will meet at TLN. The I-Bistro Committee will be reconvened; it appears on the SASUG agenda for next week. It is expected that we can take a “joint venture” approach to solving the searching ability questions. OTHER Lucie Smith (CHEL) noted that Class Scheme is not being changed consistently by member libraries when linking. This will adversely affect searches and reports. To address this problem, members were encouraged to e-mail other libraries when they notice such errors and let them know so they can be corrected. Also, Diana Cunningham (BRIT) will develop some canned messages that can be e-mailed every quarter to remind everyone of changes in policies and standards so that as much consistency is maintained in the database as possible. If any global changes are required, libraries should contact John Inman at TLN. Jim Flury (TLN) will contact Joan Rogers (WATE) so that a subcommittee can be formed, including Wendy Teagan (NOVI), to review the OrdRec form. Jim may be able to bring a proposed revision of the OrdRec form to the committee next month. NEXT MEETING is scheduled for Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at Livonia Civic Center Library, Michigan Room, at 10:00 a.m. ADJOURNMENT by unanimous approval. Meeting adjourned at 11:54 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Mable Doot, Livonia Civic Center Library In attendance: Diana Cunningham (BRIT), Cheryl DeCovich (AUBN), Jim Flury (TLN), Vanessa Morris (RROU), Al Smitley (NORT), Lucie Smith (CHEL), Wendy Teagan (NOVI), Kathryn Kraepel (SPRI), Mable Doot (LVCC).

Fill out this form and return to The Library Network attn: Reception via

Fax (734) 281-1817 or Delivery TLN #49. No Phone Reservations Please! Thanks!

Registration needs to be received by: Friday, August 28, 2009by Friday, April 30, 2010

MeL Database Essentials Part A

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 9:00 am -12:15 pm Location: TLN

Name Library After hours phone number (in case of inclement weather)

MeL Database Essentials Part B

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 1:15 pm -4:30 pm Location: TLN

Name Library After hours phone number (in case of inclement weather)

See:

http://www.mlcnet.org/cms/sitem.cfm/workshops__conferences/mel_workshops_/mel_class_descriptions/

for class descriptions