Minutes of the Executive Board Meeting

Friday, August 20, 2004

Location: SCLS Blue Room

Present: S. Holden, E. R. Capitanio, P. Bornstein, D. Jones, G. Pepa, K. Baudouin, M. Fusco, K. Minschke, C. Gray, V. Antonucci, F. Altemose, R. Dressler, L. Squires, S. Gottesman, M. Bollerman, S. Ingram, C. Guzzo, P. Thomson.

S. Ingram called the meeting to order at 10:05M. The July minutes were reviewed. K. Baudouin made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected, M. Fusco seconded. None were opposed. 

TREASURER’S REPORT: P. Thomson read the Treasurer’s report for July 2004. The report showed a fund balance of $48,796.02 as of the end of July 2004. S. Gottesman made a motion to accept as written, R. Dressler seconded. None were opposed. The following bills were approved with no opposition: $625 for Continuing Ed. for Sunrise Coach for a bus for the Fall Trip (R. Dressler made the motion, F. Altemose seconded), $2400 for Treasurer for Baldessari & Coster for a 2003 financial statement and prepared tax returns for the 2003 and 2002 tax years (S. Gottesman made the motion, S. Holden seconded), $525 for Newsletter for SCLS printing of SCLA Newsletter (P. Bornstein made the motion, F. Altemose seconded), $25 for SCLA for Membership Organization dues for Long Island Coalition Against Censorship (K. Minschke made the motion, E. R. Capitanio seconded). When the bill for CATS for $250 was presented, it was stated that it was approved at a prior meeting. There was no further discussion.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT: C. Guzzo reported that SCLA appeared to be in excellent standing in every way, and thanked everyone for his or her contributions throughout the year.

DIVISION REPORTS

DASL: V. Antonucci offered the following report. DASL has a business meeting planned for Friday, September 10 th at the Brookhaven Labs. A program called ‘Outcomes Assessment for Middle States’ is scheduled for Friday, September 24 th at SUNY Farmingdale. It will be co-sponsored with LILRC’s Continuing Education Committee and ACRL. At this workshop, successful assessment techniques to meet the Middle States Accreditation will be demonstrated. DASL’s Annual Luncheon will be on Friday, December 10 th at NYIT, Central Islip Campus, when new officers will be installed and the luncheon will take place in NYIT’s Culinary Art’s Institute. There will a speaker from the Suffolk Center on the Holocaust, Diversity and Human Understanding who will discuss the new archive at Suffolk Community College. DASL’s Nominating Committee has also actively been seeking nominations to fill their slate for their upcoming election. They have candidates for all positions except for the Vice President / President Elect position. All suggestions for possible candidates are welcome.

RASD: S. Gottesman submitted a Treasurer’s report. She also reported that there has been no activity for RASD for the month of August.

CATS: E. R. Capitanio offered the following report. The CATS Executive Board met on July 27 th at SCLS. Plans were finalized for the Blogging Workshop. The flyer has been distributed, and approximately 40 people have already expressed an interest in attending. The program will be posted to the listserv next week. A workshop on FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) has been scheduled for November 10 th at SCLS. John Richards will give this workshop. FRBR is a cataloging tool that will change the way items appear in the public catalog. The flyer for this workshop will go out to all members since this is a public service issue. A call for nominations has gone out to members. The Executive Board is eagerly anticipating responses from all those anxious to run for office in the CATS Division.

SSD: P. Thomson read the following report. The last meeting of the S upport Staff Division met on August 10 th at Citibank Stadium. Under the circumstances, the agenda was tabled until the next meeting, which is scheduled for September 14. Flyers for the SSD annual meeting and breakfast, which will be held on September 22, were mailed this week. A copy of the flyer was submitted and SSD has requested the information be included on the SCLA web page. Fran Byrne will be meeting with Chris Penna of NCLA in the near future to work on the All-Island Heads of Circulation meeting, which is scheduled for October 26 th at the Farmingdale Library. A Treasurer’s report was also submitted.

YASD: L. Squires offered the following report. Members of YASD are looking forward to their annual luncheon at NYIT's Culinary Arts Center Restaurant on Thursday, Sept. 23 at noon. A YASD meeting at Central Islip Public Library from 9:30am - 11:30am will precede the luncheon. YASD is proud to support Battle of the Books and continues to work on fundraising for the event. The Division is going to start looking at our postage costs and will discuss them with the SCLA board at a future date. YASD is considering running a teen version of "One Book, One County" or a similar program. Any program would be dedicated to the memory of Fran Rohmer, a leading light in YA services here in Suffolk.

Note: It was suggested by F. Byrne that the Agenda be reversed on occasion so all representatives eventually be given equal time at meetings. It was agreed upon by those in attendance to reverse the agenda for this meeting.

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE: F. Altemose reported a successful fundraiser with tickets being sold for a Ducks game. There were 90 tickets sold for an evening game that, fortunately, had beautiful weather. Ticket sales generated $180 for SCLA. Checks totaling $827 were submitted to the Treasurer on August 20 th. Fran said that 90 tickets reflected decent attendance. Next year, Fran will look for a night with an appealing promotion or a night that fireworks will be displayed, even though those tickets are generally a little more expensive. Everyone seemed to think that people would pay an extra dollar or two to see the fireworks, and that it might increase attendance.

LIAISONS

SLA : No report.

SCLS: No report.

PLDA: M. Bollerman reported much of the members’ energies have been directed towards the need to replace SCLS’s Director, as they have been afforded some opportunities to meet with the candidates and discuss their opinions and concerns with SCLS’s Board of Trustees. There are two candidates being considered. J. Nichols is scheduled to retire at the end of the year, and the successful candidate will begin in 2005. Regarding PLDA’s legislative forum, they are not continuing with the October date originally suggested. They are now looking at a date in January, which will work into a 3-month process to encourage the passing of the NY State budget. In January, PLDA would sponsor an event for legislators, in which Directors will attend, and members of each library’s Board of Trustees and the Executive Board of SCLA are likely to be invited to attend as well. In February, members of PLDA would visit their legislators’ local offices. In March, PLDA members would travel to Albany to speak to their legislators. Matthew also reported that LIA is conducting an ROI study to measure the value of libraries to their community. SCLS is managing the flow of information requested. The results are due to be published before the legislative event. It is the hope that this study can be used to reinforce the importance and the value libraries have in the community for all people.

NCLA: No report. (NCLA does not meet in July or August)

LVA-SC: No report.

LILRC: V. Antonucci reported that LILRC is coordinating a program called ‘Outcomes Assessment for Middle States’ is scheduled for Friday, September 24 th at SUNY Farmingdale. It will be co-sponsored with DASL and ACRL. At this workshop, successful assessment techniques to meet the Middle States Accreditation will be demonstrated. The NCLA Legislative Breakfast will be held on October 1. A Grant Writing Session, part of the Documentary Heritage Program, is scheduled for October 6 th at 9:30 at Sachem Public Library. LILRC’s Archives Week Leadership Conference is scheduled for October 8 th at the Charles B. Wang Center for Asian and American Cultures at SUNY Stony Brook. Arrangements have been made for parking for those attending. Virginia also reported that the Digitization Symposium workshops in June were very well attended, and two more libraries have signed on: Freeport and Hempstead Public Libraries in Nassau County. Numerous historical societies have also expressed an interest in participating. S. Ingram asked if any digitization projects are available online. Virginia said they are, through LILRC’s website at www.lilrc.org. S. Gottesman made a motion to contribute $300 towards LILRC’s Archives Conference, L. Squires seconded. None were opposed. LILRC submitted a request for a contribution to sponsor part of their Annual Conference. The discussion and vote were tabled until the next meeting, when we can determine how much was donated last year.

EASTERN SUFFOLK BOCES: No report.

CLASC: No report. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

WEB PAGE: No report. P. Thomson reported that the Monthly Report form has been updated to include information to be posted to SCLA’s web page, and encouraged that the form be e-mailed for ease of use. S. Ingram asked if anyone has been checking the scla@suffolk.lib.ny.us e-mail account. Nobody has been. Stephen said he would arrange for the password to be reset, and delegate the task of checking the account. Stephen also reported that there have been some technical difficulties with the web page, but that the problems were corrected and that the page is now up and running. A letter of thanks was sent to Mastic-Moriches-Shirley Community Library for hosting the web page until recently. A suggestion was made to create a forms page, where commonly used forms could be made available. Stephen has asked that the SCLA logo appear on every Division’s web page.

SUFFOLK COUNTY JAILS LIBRARY SERVICE: M. Fusco has thanked everyone for their donations, and she encouraged future donations of non-violent paperback books to be sent to either the Riverhead or Yaphank Jails.

STATISTICAL SURVEY: D. Jones reported that he had hoped to have sent the questionnaire out by now, but it needs updating. He has done what updating he can for this year, and the questionnaires will be sent out next week. Dave reported that the computer file used in the past also needs to be redesigned, but that someone with expertise in Excel would be needed. Dave also reported that he has had a few requests for the computer file used, and a few Directors have asked for the ability to submit the information online. There was some discussion about the possibility of collecting information online, posting information online (while continuing to use the survey as a fundraiser), and the need to redesign the format. All these issues will be reviewed and ideas for improvement considered in the upcoming months.

SCHOLARSHIP: P. Thomson read the following report. The SCLA Scholarship recipient has been selected by a unanimous vote of the committee. Angela is just beginning to receive completed references for the Continuing Education Award.

PUBLIC AWARENESS/PUBLICITY: P. Thomson reported that the Public Relations Committee has been in contact with Queens College and will be looking into speaking at future MLS student orientation sessions. The earliest anticipated SCLA visit to Queens College is projected for their Spring Semester orientation.

PROFESSIONAL CONCERNS: No report.

NOMINATING: S. Ingram reported that the Executive Board met earlier that morning to come up with names as possible candidates for the 2005 slate. Steven reported that he would have a complete slate at the September Board Meeting. He has encouraged all suggestions to be submitted as soon as possible, and thanked those who volunteered or made suggestions.

NEWSLETTER: No report. Barbara has asked all Division Presidents to submit articles as soon as possible. Information about the Fall Dinner will also be submitted.

MEMBERSHIP: P. Thomson read the following report. SCLA currently has 668 members for 2004. Patty distributed membership lists to each Division President for Regina.

LONG RANGE PLANNING: S. Holden reported that representatives from various divisions of SCLA will attend the Palmer School’s Student Orientation on September 10 th at 9:30am.

L.I. LIBRARY CONFERENCE: No report. It was noted that having a representative from the Conference Committee is extremely important to SCLA to facilitate communication.

LISTSERV: No report.

LEGISLATIVE: P. Thomson read the following report. The New York State budget did finally pass, with included the restoration of library aid, but no additional funds. There will be an additional $750 million in school aid, but no resolution of the New York City school aid (CFE) judgement. All were thanked for their hard work and efforts in encouraging legislators to pass the budget and support public libraries.

LDA AWARD: No report.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM: No report.

FALL DINNER: No report.

ELSA: G. Pepa reported that the ELSA committee members are currently evaluating the 11 candidates. Gail is in the process of scheduling a meeting for September when members will meet to make their final decision. Gail also reported that neither she nor Elyse will be continuing as Chair of the committee, and thanked everyone for his or her support. They have enjoyed their service, but neither can continue for 2005. Both will be available to advise the new Chair if needed.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: K. Baudouin reported that, so far, 15 people have signed up for the Fall bus trip. They can take a maximum of 27 people, due to space limitations of the museum libraries. An issue came up with a member of CLASC, asking if they were eligible to pay the SCLA member price. That person was told that they are not, as CLASC is not a division of SCLA. A few people have asked if they can attend the tour but not take the bus. This option is being considered if there are still openings close to the date of the trip. A price for the tour without the bus would be calculated, if necessary. Regarding the cost of admission to the museum, the standard admission charge was used when drafting the proposal for anticipated cost. Karen was happy to learn that the museum will not be charging those taking the tour any admission charge, so costs will be lower than originally expected. The committee will be meeting with the Nassau County Continuing Education Committee meeting in September.

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS: No report.

ARCHIVES: No report. S. Ingram reported that he would be asking permission to add some file cabinets to the storage area. V. Antonucci recommended that shelving and acid free boxes be used to make the collection a true archive, and has volunteered both her expertise and the possibility of an intern to help index and preserve SCLA’s records.

OLD BUSINESS: No report.

NEW BUSINESS: No report.

S. Ingram adjourned the meeting at 11:40AM.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia Thomson