Suffolk County Library Association
Minutes of the Executive Board Meeting
Friday, December 17, 2004
Location: SCLS Blue Room

Present: D. Bucher, S. Holden, R. Dressler, D. Eidelman, P. Bornstein, S. Siegel, V. Rodgers, C. Gray, S. Johnson, F. Altemose, J. Nichols, R. McEneaney, H. Biblo, K. McCoy, V. Antonucci, M. Fusco, M. Aloi, R. Capitanio, A. Richards, B. Hoffman, M. Bollerman, L. Squires, D. Jones, W. Salas, S. Gottesman, J. O’Hare, S. Ingram, C. Guzzo, P. Thomson.

S. Ingram called the meeting to order at 10:15AM. The October minutes were reviewed. M. Fusco made a motion to accept the minutes as written. R. Capitanio seconded. None were opposed.

TREASURER’S REPORT: J. O’Hare offered the Treasurer’s report for December 2004. The report showed a fund balance of $47,767.77 as of the end of December 2004. F. Altemose made a motion to accept as written. D. Bucher seconded. None were opposed. Janet offered everyone in attendance reimbursement forms and tax-exempt forms. Janet then presented the following bills to be reimbursed: $100 to S. Ingram for a tip for the Captain Bill’s wait staff, $2,598 to Captain Bill’s to pay the balance of the invoice for the Fall Dinner (we had already paid a $100 deposit), $82.14 to Patchogue-Medford Library for newsletter postage, $50 to K. Baudouin for the tip for the bus driver from their Fall Trip to NYC, $120 to E. Hayes for ELSA, which was for the $100 Savings Bond award and $20 to add the winner’s name to the ELSA plaque, $499.72 to D. Bucher for supplies for the SCLA Fall Dinner, $350 to reimburse CATS for an honorarium to Steven Cohen for a program offered in the Fall, $87 to Carolyn Hassler for flowers for the ELSA Award, $20.17 to Camera Connection for developing film from the Fall Dinner, $212 to Patchogue-Medford for SCLA Handbook postage, $32.50 to A. Richards for corsages for the Scholarship and Continuing Education award winners, $27.46 to G. Pepa for mailing expenses for mailing ELSA certificates to nominees, $32.36 to Jo-Ann Carhart for refreshments for the Civil Service workshop, $11.34 to S. Holden for refreshments for the Civil Service workshop, $31.96 to Harborfields Library for folders for Student Orientation presentations, $60.16 to S. Ingram for refreshments for SCLA meetings, $121.36 to S. Ingram for postage for SCLA ballots, $13.03 to C. Guzzo for refreshments for Fall bus trip, $85.10 to R. McEneaney for stamps for membership applications. S. Gottesman made a motion to accept all bills as presented, R. Dressler seconded. None were opposed. Janet then updated everyone with the status of SCLA’s issue with the IRS. The IRS has fined SCLA $1,529.90 for the 2002 tax year and $1,967.80 for the 2003 tax year. Al Coster has responded to the IRS, pleading SCLA’s case. Janet will update the board again when the IRS responds to Mr. Coster’s letter. Janet also reported that the Long Island Library Conference Committee sent a check to SCLA for $7,249.12, which reflects SCLA’s share of the profits generated from the successful conference in May. Janet also reported that the Long Island Library Conference dissolved their checking account, and SCLA and NCLA will rotate the responsibility of maintaining the checking accounts for the Long Island Library Conference Committee each year. As R. Dressler is the Treasurer for the 2005 Conference, SCLA anticipates working closely with the LILC and doesn’t anticipate any problems with this arrangement.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT: C. Guzzo thanked everyone for a very successful year. She specifically thanked S. Ingram for all his hard work and input and J. O’Hare for all of the work she did to correct the financial issues that arose this year. Stephen presented Cindy with a small token of the board’s appreciation for all of her hard work: a painting that he painted for her. Also, thanks were offered to J. Nichols for all of his support, and the support of SCLS through the years. In recognition of his retirement from SCLS, Jerry was awarded a lifetime membership to SCLA. Jerry thanked everyone, and recognized the great relationship between both organizations through the years. Cindy also thanked D. Bucher and M. Fusco for a wonderful Fall Dinner and for all of their hard work that made the evening such a success.

DIVISION REPORTS
DASL: V. Antonucci offered the following report. DASL has arranged for their Legislative Breakfast to be held at the Wang Center at Stony Brook. DASL hosted a very successful Annual Luncheon at NYIT, Central Islip Campus. A program is scheduled for April 15th, and will be co-sponsored with the Intellectual Freedom committee. Also, DASL has submitted a program for the Long Island Library Conference that deals with Special Collections.

RASD: S. Gottesman offered the following report. The CARE Committee co-sponsored a trip to the Brooklyn Public Library with the Multicultural Committee on Tuesday, November 16th. They had approximately 30 librarians who took the tour. The Health Concerns Committee had a very successful meeting on October 27th, with approximately 60 people attending. Jean Lewis, Head of the Ophthalmology Department at SUNY Stony Brook and Tony DeAngelo of the New York Commission for the Blind both spoke. The next meeting will be in January 2005 to pick the next topic. The Long Island History Committee had no report. On behalf of the Long Island Reads Committee, Deb Cunningham has reported that she and Elizabeth Olish are meeting with a representative from Astoria Federal to discuss the bank’s continued financial support for the coming year’s event. The Programs list has now been distributed. OARS met on December 8th and have arranged for Barbara Hoffman to speak at the Long Island Library Conference about the importance of multi-generational oral and written stories (Your Story Begins at Home). Rose Marut has arranged for Mary Kay Chelton and Rosalind Reizner to do a Reader’s Advisory program at the Long Island Library Conference. The Reader’s Advisory Committee will hold their next meeting on January 20th at Comsewogue where they will discuss ‘cozy mysteries’. When the committee has finalized their subject headings, they will complete the annotations for the update of John Patton’s Fiction in a Long Island Setting. Grace O’Connor is writing a bibliographic essay for Library Journal’s ‘The Reader’s Shelf’ about Long Island authors and settings. Articles are needed for the Spring issue of Ramblings. All committee dates will be put on the web page to help avoid conflicts. Susan thanked R. Dressler for her help with the RASD web page. The RASD Annual Dinner will be held in March 2005. The next RASD meeting will be held on January 11th at SCLS.

CATS: R. Capitanio reported that CATS met twice since the last SCLS meeting. November’s meeting took place just prior to their very successful meeting on F.R.B.R., given by John Richardson, and approximately 75 people attended. December’s meeting was their Annual Meeting, which was held on December 7th. Another successful program followed, which was arranged by incoming CATS president Ted Guttman on ‘In-House Solutions’ to computer service problems. The CATS newsletter for the second half of 2004 has been sent out to their membership and was available at their annual meeting. The slate of officers for 2005 was approved at the CATS Annual Meeting on December 7th. The 2005 Officers are: Ted Guttman, President, Michael Aloi, VP/President-Elect, June Zinsley, Treasurer, Melanie Weiss, Secretary, Members-at-Large: Joyce Bogin, Tom Cohn, Melissa Hinton, Sue Ketcham, Min Liu, Cynthia Guzzo, & Laura Hawrey, Renee Capitanio, Past President, John Richardson, SCLS Liaison. CATS has submitted the following two workshops to the Long Island Library Conference Committee for inclusion on the program: Geek Speak, to be presented by Angela and Ron Richards and Scanning for Digitization Projects to be presented by Stephen Ingram. That program will be co-sponsored with NCLA Technical Services and Computer Divisions. Future program ideas include LC for Dewey Users, to be presented by Sue Ketcham form LIU, and a Sharper Training Solutions program on Composing Resumes. The AACR2 Study Group should get off the ground in early Spring.

SSD: S. Siegel offered the following report. The Support Staff Division met on December 14th. Regarding programming, SSD has received many positive responses regarding their October program ‘The All-Island East Meets West Heads of Circulation Meeting’ which was co-sponsored with NCLA. There were close to 90 people in attendance. The program was held at the Farmingdale Public Library. It began with a presentation entitled ‘Circulation and It’s Role in Good Customer Service, given by Fran Byrne and Sue Siegel of SCLA, and Chris Penna of NCLA. The audience was then broken down into smaller groups for a roundtable discussion. It was a great experience for all involved. Regarding the Long Island Library Conference, SSD is looking forward to providing more informative programming at the 2005 Long Island Library Conference, and once again will co-sponsor with NCLA’s Clerical Division. The relationship between the two divisions is proving to be both positive and beneficial. The incoming Executive Board is anxious to begin the New Year. They are pleased to represent the Support Staff Division and look forward to a successful year.

YASD: L. Squires reported that on Wednesday, November 3rd, the members of YASD met to discuss future planning for 2005. Plans for next year, including a speaker for the Long Island Library Conference, publicity for BEST Awards and Teen Read Week, fundraising ideas, the Fran Romer Memorial Booktalk Workshop, the Teens Talk Books project, and officers and committees for 2005, were discussed. On Thursday, November 18, Nassau and Suffolk YASDs met to hear Pnina Moed Kass, the author of Real Time, speak. On Friday, December 3rd, YASD had their Chat ‘n’ Chow, which was moved to Sage Café due to low attendance. The next Chat ‘n’ Chow will be on Friday, February 18 at the Milk and Sugar Café in Bayport. On Thursday, December 16th, the YASD Committee on Teens Talk Books and Booktalk Workshop met. They now have a keynote speaker: Jennifer Hubert, librarian at the Little Red Schoolhouse in NYC, multiple year member of ALA YALSA’s Best Books for YA committee and host of Reading Rants website. She will speak on Friday, April 15 at MCPL Centereach. The next YASD meeting will be in February. The date will be announced. The 2005 YASD Officers are: David Jones, President, Beth Whalen, Vice President/President Elect, Catherine LaStella, Secretary, and Laura Panter, Treasurer.

C. Guzzo thanked all the Division Presidents for the fine work they did throughout the year. She acknowledged their efforts, and the efforts of the membership in each Division.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
ARCHIVES: S. Johnson reported that she recently received a scrapbook from 1944 that will be added to the Archives.

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS: No report.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: C. Gray reported that the meeting scheduled for November 16th was cancelled, due to MCPL Selden becoming a site for flu shot distribution that day. They have received approval from the Long Island Library Conference for their program. Larry Davidson, who hosts a cable show and hosts the ‘Writer’s on the Vine’ series will speak. The next Continuing Education meeting is scheduled for January 11th. A program called ‘Displays on a Dime’ is scheduled for February 3rd, more details to follow.

ELSA: P. Thomson read the following report. ELSA’s year ended on a positive note with the presentation of the annual award to Eleanor Koller of the Riverhad Free Library at SCLA’s Annual Dinner meeting. They would like to note that Eleanor is the second award winner from Riverhead; the first was Frances Johanneman. Those in Riverhead are as pleased as SCLA members are to have the plaque on display in their library for the year. Joanne Genovese of Smithtown has graciously volunteered to serve as chairperson for ELSA in 2005. Elyse Hayes and Gail Pepa will step down knowing the committee is in very capable hands. Both Elyse and Gail have truly enjoyed the experience of working with a great committee on a very worthwhile project and with a very enthusiastic and supportive SCLA Board.

FALL DINNER: D. Bucher and M. Fusco reported that the Fall Dinner was a success. Everyone reported having a great time. The music, provided by Bruce Aronson, was wonderful, and it was a beautiful venue. The staff at Captain Bill’s was pleasant to work with. Both Della and Marjorie thanked everyone who attended. Many people commented on what a great time they had. Della and Marjorie thanked everyone for their support.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM: K. McCoy reported that he attended a meeting of the Suffolk Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union. He was surprised to find that advocacy groups have had a hard time using community rooms in some Suffolk public libraries. The Kings Park school district on Long Island has banned a book that was used in a high school class and has taken it out of the high school library. We are investigating the details of this case. An Intellectual Freedom conference is being planned for April 15th. The focus will be on intellectual freedom issues on Long Island. It will include a presentation by Don Gilzingher, author of Wicked Times: Selected Poems by Aaron Kramer. Aaron Kramer was a blacklisted poet that taught at Dowling College and lived in Sayville. The conference will also have a speaker that was involved in the Pico v. Island Trees case. This case dealt with book banning by the Island Trees school district in the 1970s. Jared Feuer, Director, of the Suffolk NYCLU will talk about the Patriot Act and how it impacts libraries. Members of the committee are working with the Suffolk Bill of Rights Defense Campaign to get the Suffolk County Legislature to pass a resolution defending the Bill of Rights. We are looking for volunteers to visit legislator’s offices. Please contact Kevin if interested in working with this committee. A. Richards also noted that the Northport Public Library has a comprehensive of Kramer’s works as part of their collection.

LDA AWARD: P. Bornstein reported that Ken Bellafiore was chosen as the NCLA LDA Award Committee co-chairperson for 2005. Paula made a motion to award Mamie Eng, the 2004 LDA Award winner, one year’s membership to SCLA as part of her prize. J. Nichols made the motion, P. Bornstein seconded. None were opposed.

LEGISLATIVE: S. Johsnon reported that there still is no library aid from Albany. Governor Pataki’s veto of the library aid package still stands because the legislature has not called for a vote. Some member items have been received from individual libraries. Everyone is encouraged to write letters and visit their local legislators. The annual trip to Albany to meet with local legislators is set for March 15th. SCLA will arrange for 2 buses and work with NCLA again this year. Hopefully, there will be no snow this year.

LISTSERV: K. McCoy reported that there are currently 958 subscribers. The problems that AOL members experienced in the past appear to be resolved. Kevin asked if we should consider offering a token gift for the 1000th subscriber. A motion was made to offer a year’s membership to SCLA to the 1000th subscriber. K. McCoy made the motion and J. Nichols seconded. None were opposed.

L.I. LIBRARY CONFERENCE: S. Ingram reported that there were 9 programs confirmed thus far. Also, 4 new vendors committed to attending, and 18 vendor tables have been sold right now. There is no keynote speaker yet. The conference is scheduled for May 4th. Stephen asked if DASL submitted a program proposal yet, and K. McCoy reported that they had. Stephen asked if YASD submitted a program proposal yet, and L. Squires said they were going to submit the proposal today. Stephen also announced that Marina Sullivan has stepped down as Treasurer, and that R. Dressler will be the Treasurer for the 2005 Conference. There are still program slots and tables available for vendors. Any questions can be directed to Nancy Sherwood, Chairperson or to Sue Ketcham if they relate to programming. Overall, Stephen is happy with the way the committee has decided to resolve their finances to avoid any problems.

LONG RANGE PLANNING: S. Holden reported that 85 people attended the ‘Navigating the Civil Service Maze’ workshop offered on November 30th. Helene Miller, Rona Dressler, and Diane Eidelman presented information, and it was very successful. On January 21st, various librarians will attend CW Post’s Spring Student Orientation. Sue asked that if anyone is interested in speaking to contact her. A meeting will be scheduled for early 2005 to set goals for the year.

MEMBERSHIP: R. McEneaney reported that SCLA currently has 694 members for 2004, 649 of whom are paid members and 45 members are honorary members. There are 55 members who have paid for 2005, so there are already 100 members for 2005 (including honorary members), and 10 are students. Angela asked for the names of the students so she could send them information about the Scholarship. Regina also indicated that she was going to need to have the membership flyer updated and printed. She thinks she may have enough for the March mailing. She will send copies to S. Holden for her Student Orientation in January. S. Ingram said that he would create the new membership form.

NEWSLETTER: B. Hoffman reported that all is well with the newsletter. She reminded everyone that the deadline for the newsletter is always one month before publication. The next deadline is February 1st, and the newsletter will be the March/April/May edition. She will include information about the trip to Albany and the Long Island Library Conference. She asked anyone with information to contribute.

NOMINATING: No report. S. Gottesman will be handling nominations for 2005.

PROFESSIONAL CONCERNS: No report.

PUBLIC AWARENESS/PUBLICITY: W. Salas reported that the committee is looking for new members. He reported that he spoke to S. Gottesman’s graduate class of 15 about the benefits of membership in SCLA and handed out applications on December 8th. Will has plans to do the same at a date to be announced at CW Post. Also, PR will be trying to promote the Scholarship awards given each year. One idea that will be implemented is to take a picture of all past winners. The Ethics program has been delayed indefinitely.

SCHOLARSHIP: A. Richards reported that she received a thank you note from Mary Lee Gaynor. Angela will include an article in the next newsletter about the Continuing Education Award winner. Angela clarified the change in the due dates for the two awards under her jurisdiction: the Continuing Education applications will now be due on August 1st, as no transcripts are needed, and the Scholarship applications will now be due on September 1st.

STATISTICAL SURVEY: D. Jones reported that he has received 34 responses so far. He has had some difficulties with responses from East End libraries. Dave will delegate some of the work still needing to be done, and he thanked Stephen for working on the Excel file. Stephen said that the survey is behind schedule, and that January should be the date that the survey should be completed.

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.

WEB PAGE: Stephen reported that he hopes to unveil the new web page in January.

LIAISONS
CLASC: No report.

EASTERN SUFFOLK BOCES: No report.

LILRC: H. Biblo reported that LILRC is working with OCLC to create a dynamic Union List of Serials, which would be updated daily. Herb remarked that LILRC is co-sponsoring the legislative event that Kevin spoke of in February, and that everyone is invited to attend. Herb announced that there are some new officers on the LILRC Board. A digitization workshop is being scheduled for the near future, as is subject-oriented NOVEL training, which will be funded with grant money. Lastly, Herb reported that LILRC was happy to host a very successful reception in Rochester during the NYLA conference. LILRC is actively looking for a sponsor for the 2005 event in Buffalo.

LVA-SC: No report.

NCLA: Rona reported that NCLA will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary and that they have almost 1000 members. The Children’s Division had Laura Vaccaro speak at their December meeting. The Media Division sponsored a workshop called ‘How to License Movies’. RASD had a December meeting with a lecture called ‘Review Journals Review’ with speakers from LJ, Kirkus, and PW. YA had their Annual Lunch in December at the Garden City Public Library. The Computers and Technology division have a workshop scheduled for January called ‘Computers with Confidence’ and are interested in co-sponsoring a program entitled ‘Digitization Made Simple’ with SCLA’s CATS Division at the Long Island Library Conference. Tear out sheets for NCLA’s directory will go out shortly. Directors will be asked to list all staff members. NCLA’s budget was adopted. NCLA’s Legislative Breakfast was a success. NCLA’s Annual Dinner will be on December 1st at Sand Castle. Comedians for Hire will be the entertainment. The Technical Services Division had a program in November called ‘Meet the Vendors’ and 30 people attended. NLS applied for 2 LSTA grants, one for YA and the other for serving people with disabilities. They also hope to receive the NOVEL grant for public training of databases. NYLA is looking for nominees for Vice President and 4 Members-at-Large. There has been discussion about creating a videotape to send to legislators demonstrating what public and academic libraries do.

PLDA: M. Bollerman reported that many directors met in December to wish Jerry well in his new ventures.

SCLS: J. Nichols reported that the digitization of newspapers project is moving along nicely. Bruce Massis, the new Director of SCLS will begin in January.

SLA: No report.

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE: F. Altemose reported that she has been in touch with King Kullen about the possibility of having shopping bags printed celebrating National Library Card Sign Up month in September. She submitted her proposal and is waiting to hear if it has been approved. D. Eidelman asked if there was a possibility of having publicity in April for the Long Island Reads program. Fran is concerned about the possibility that we might be competing against ourselves, and said she would like to wait to hear of their response for September’s publicity before requesting publicity in April as well.

OLD BUSINESS: None.

NEW BUSINESS: Barbara Hoffman suggested that perhaps a committee be created for retired librarians. Regina said that there are approximately 50 people who are retired currently as members of SCLA. There was discussion that having retired librarians’ expertise and knowledge would be useful, and that there would be discussion at a later date as to how SCLA may be able to use their talents.

S. Ingram adjourned the meeting at 11:50AM.

Respectfully submitted,
Patricia Thomson