Minutes

Friday, April 23, 2004
SCLS Blue Room

IN ATTENDANCE:
C. Guzzo, S. Ingram, P. Thomson, F. Altemose, E. Cichanowicz, J. Clemens, K. McCoy, S. Gottesman, E. R. Capitanio, F. Byrne, S. Johnson, C. Gray, K. Baudouin, G. Pepa, D. Bucher, M. Fusco, R. McEneaney, W. Salas, A. Richards, V. Antonucci, R. Dressler, E. Cummings-Young, M. Bollerman.

CALL TO ORDER:
S. Ingram called the meeting to order at 10:08AM. The March minutes were reviewed. D. Bucher made a motion to accept the minutes as written, R. Dressler seconded. None were opposed.

TREASURER'S REPORT:
P. Thomson read the Treasurer's report. The report showed a fund balance of  $45,181.10 as of the end of March 2004. R. McEneaney moved to accept the report as written. S. Johnson seconded. None were opposed. A financial statement for March 2004 was distributed to everyone in attendance, as was a list of outstanding transactions. The following expenses were approved: for ELSA-$216 for printing costs for flyers and brochures. D. Bucher made the motion, F. Altemose seconded. None were opposed.  For Continuing Education-$10.10 for out of pocket refreshment expenses for workshop entitled "How to Run an Effective Meeting" held February 26, 2004. K. McCoy made the motion, D. Bucher seconded. None were opposed. For Long Range Planning: $63.92 was approved for 8 boxes of folders for Student Orientation publicity. S. Gottesman made the motion, and R. McEneaney seconded.  None were opposed. S. Ingram reported that he was working on addressing the issue with the IRS about our tax-exempt status and our fund balance exceeding $25,000.  Anyone who had suggestions or recommendations for professional advice was encouraged to contact Stephen. He said he would report more at the next meeting.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
C. Guzzo reported that all appears to be going smoothly on all fronts. She thanked everyone for his or her hard work and efforts thus far.

DIVISION REPORTS:
PLDA (out of order): M. Bollerman reported that SCLS is working hard on their digitization program. Bill Cicola is to meet with Civil Service to discuss a variety of issues. PLDA is pursuing its own legislative event, which is tentatively scheduled for October 8th at the Brentwood Library. On April 22, PLDA and SCLS hosted a meeting on RFID technology. It was well attended and received positive feedback. Staff members from SCLS and the Patchogue-Medford Library are reviewing the VRC as a package for the county. Discussion has begun regarding the replacement of Jerry Nichols, who will be retiring December 2004. There will be a special meeting, advertisements of the vacancy in such publications as Hotline, Library Journal, and other professional publications. They will take the search for candidates nationwide in order to find an acceptable replacement. A. Richards asked if the RFID meeting was open to anyone interested. Matthew said that it was the Directors who made the decision about who was to attend. K. McCoy voiced his concern about PLDA having its own legislative event. Kevin is concerned that not all voices will be heard regarding library issues. Matthew said that, although he couldn't say for certain, as he is not on the committee planning the event, he agreed that the PLDA meeting would likely focus on concerns Directors of public libraries have for their legislators. He thinks this meeting will be modeled after the Huntington Zone Director's event held recently. F. Byrne asked that there be more representation of issues relating to Support Staff members at the Civil Service meetings. For example, Support Staff members don't have the opportunity to apply CEU's towards their exams. Matthew said he would bring those concerns back to Bill Cicola. S. Johnson said she would like to discuss more what DASL would like regarding a legislative event. S. Ingram suggested that the issue be discussed when we got to Legislative's report.

DASL:K. McCoy offered the following report. DASL offered two web-publishing programs at Suffolk Community College-Selden campus. The first was on Friday, March 26th and it addressed Dreamweaver (taught by Kim Owens) and the other was on Friday. April 2nd and it dealt with FrontPage (taught by Scott Mandia). DASL will be sponsoring a program at the Long Island Library Conference on May 5th. The program is called "As Time Goes By: Creating an Oral History of Your Community or Institution" and will be presented by Elly Shodell, Director of the Port Washington Public Library's 15-year-old oral history program and author and editor of many local history books. The program will address how to preserve your institutional or community memory with an oral history project. DASL is also scheduling a business meeting for Friday, June 4th, which is likely to be held at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Other upcoming activities include a plan to co-sponsor a workshop on Outcomes Assessment for Middle States with LILRC's Continuing Education Committee in September. Also, DASL is investigating the possibility of conducting its own legislative activity now that SCLA has decided not to host an event for 2004. Many DASL members were upset at the last meeting that PLDA has 'taken over' legislative activities. They feel that special and academic libraries are excluded. Another concern is that many events may have us appear as though we are not united. S. Ingram said that SCLA is also concerned, but that some focus needs to be paid to the Library Legislation Day. J. Clemens said that she felt this annual bus trip to Albany is an excellent avenue to communicate with local legislators, and is open to anyone interested in attending. K. McCoy questioned what is discussed at those meetings with legislators, and expressed concern about some libraries desire for member items that help one library specifically, without benefit to libraries in Suffolk County as a whole. M. Bollerman said that member items were a direct benefit from meeting with legislators last year, and that those items are important to many public libraries. S. Johnson mentioned that she just learned of the existence of a new political action group forming and that she has some literature to be shared. E. R. Capitanio expressed concern that SCLA is losing power by not hosting a legislative breakfast. J. Clemens said that she felt that a breakfast is not the only way to get in touch with legislators; there are other venues as well that can be explored. Renee said that she was concerned about the appearance of losing power by not hosting the breakfast as has been done in the past. There was discussion regarding the cost and nature of past breakfasts, and many people felt that the event became more effective in past years with changes that were made. Matthew reported that one thing that he felt has been very successful this year has been coordinating visits to legislators in their local offices. V. Antonucci said she felt that the Legislative Breakfast, in her opinion, has lost momentum, and that the time of year in which it is typically held could be tough for legislators to attend. M. Fusco is the representative for DASL on LILRC's Legislative Committee.  Marjorie reported that there will be a meeting next week that she will be attending, that she will bring all the concerns expressed to the meeting, and will report back to SCLA the discussion that results at June's SCLA Board Meeting.

RASD:S. Gottesman offered the following report. RASD last met on April 16th at the Smithtown Library. C.A.R.E met at the One-Step Career Center and approximately 18 people attended. They were impressed with the depth of resources available. The committee is planning a trip to the New York State Department of Labor in Patchogue on June 17th.   Rona Dressler is still trying to locate a speaker on Macular Degeneration for the Health Concerns committee for their October meeting. It was suggested that she contact the Lighthouse on Long Island. From the Historian, Diane Eidelman asked about including Long Island Reads material in the RASD archive. It was the consensus that she should make a separate folder for this purpose. Cathy Ball reported that there is a trip planned by the Long Island History committee to tour Hempstead House at the Sands Point Preserve on Tuesday, May 18th. Mary Soergel of the Membership committee met with the division membership chairs at East Northport on March 23rd and they agreed that RASD needs to promote SCLA to all librarians. Cindy Miller reported for OARS that their next meeting will be held at the Sachem Library on April 28th. The speaker will be from Abilities Incorporated, an agency that helps people with disabilities who are unemployed or underemployed. Final arrangements are being made by the Programming committee for the 'Digging Up Roots' program to be offered at the Long Island Library Conference. The Reader's Advisory committee held a workshop that was attended by over 60 people at SCLS.  The RASD Annual Dinner will be held on June 10, 2004 at Painter's Restaurant in Bellport. Flyers will be distributed, and the announcement will be posted on the RASD webpage. There was nothing to report for Electronic Resources, Media, or Multicultural/Multilingual committees. The next RASD meeting will be held on April 2 at Central Islip.

CATS: E.R. Capitanio offered the following report. The CATS Executive Board met on Thursday, April 15th at Sachem Public Library. Plans for the Long Island Library Conference were discussed. Dewey De-Mystified has about 40 people signed up and the second part of the PowerPoint workshop is scheduled for April 30th. The Fred Pryor workshop on Managing Deadlines has been posted to the listserv. Plans are underway for the Annual Library Tour in June. Libraries in the Huntington area will be contacted. Preliminary plans for Fall programs are in the works. The excess SCLA t-shirts came up, and there was discussion as to what to do with those extra shirts. It was agreed upon that each local legislator would be sent a t-shirt and a note of thanks for support once the state budget supporting libraries is passed. The additional t-shirts will be given away, with a request for a $1 donation.

SSD:F. Byrne offered the following report. The Support Staff Division met on April 13.  Regarding membership, Anne McCaffrey's reported that the Support Staff Division has 152 members. Table coverage was arranged and all assignments have been distributed for the day of the Long Island Library Conference. Approximately 40 people have already registered for SSD's Annual Round Table Discussion to be held on Wednesday, April 28th at the West Babylon Pubic Library. At the last SCLA meeting, NCLA mentioned something about a Dental program. One of SSD's board members recalled something of this nature being discussed many years ago with SCLA, but they believe that nothing came of the discussion. Board members of SSD have volunteered to serve on a committee if SCLA was interested in looking into this again. According to last year's Statistical Survey Report, 27 of the 55 libraries in Suffolk County did not have any dental programs in place. SSD made $14 in interest last year. Anything over $10 has to be reported to the IRS, but because all of SSD's accounts are under SCLA's identification number, F. Byrne has given the interest statement to S. Ingram to be included in SCLA's tax return. However, SSD was wondering if keeping the money in the savings account is work the extra paperwork it will make for SCLA at income tax time. They request SCLA's input on this issue. Also, as was asked of them this month, Fran spoke to SSD's Board about ways that could utilize SCLA funds. Suggestions included having SCLA either give each division paper, stamps, and labels for program advertising or reimburse each division for these expenses. It was also suggested that funds could be allotted to pay for quality programming that would normally not be affordable with existing budgets. Fran had the opportunity to speak with Connie Stanga, President of the NCLA Clerical Division. She invited Sue Siegel and Fran to their next Board meeting on May 19th. She is looking forward to this opportunity to discuss many topics of common interest to both divisions. S. Ingram reported that he called NCLA and asked how they manage their fund balance. They have an accountant. R. Dressler spoke to Nancy Sherwood, Treasurer of NCLA about this as well. They pay $800 to have their books audited and to have their return filed. J. Clemens suggested posting a request to the listserv asking people for volunteer services. Stephen reported that SCLA had used an auditor each year until the 1980's, and he felt having an accountant was a very good idea. He also spoke to Joe Loughren, asking if SCLA needs to file each year. M. Bollerman suggested the accountant that he uses at his library, and others recommended people as well. Stephen asked that all suggestions be forwarded to him. Stephen also reported that NCLA also puts some of their money into CDs and money market accounts. D. Bucher suggested that SCLA find one accountant who understands the history of SCLA and what we attempt to do. A. Richards mentioned that, in the past, when SCLA wasn't as strong fiscally, the scholarship that is awarded each year was reduced from $2000 to $1500, and she suggested that the amount be increased. C. Guzzo said that a motion would have to be made in 2004, but, if passed, wouldn't be available until the following fiscal year. It was suggested that all suggestions of that nature be forwarded to her for consideration at the budget planning meeting later in the year.

YASD:P. Thomson read the following report. YASD had a discussion meeting on April 8 at Riverhead Public Library. It included a tour of the library and a free-ranging discussion of some Young Adult Services issues including challenges to collections and teen advisory boards. S. Ingram visited them, and approximately 10 people attended. YASD is very happy that the BEST Award will be presented during the Keynote session at the Long Island Library Conference. They feel it's a great thing to give recognition to teens that work to make their libraries better places. They ask that everyone visit the Nassau and Suffolk YASD tables at the Long Island Library Conference. Suffolk will be selling candy bars to raise money for the BEST Awards and Battle of the Books, and Nassau will have a raffle of the YA book "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things" to promote their June speaker, Carolyn Mackler.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:
ARCHIVES:No report.

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS: No report.

CONTINUING EDUCATION:C. Gray read the following report. The committee met at the Middle Country Public Library on March 23. There were 4 people in attendance. They discussed the success of the February 26th workshop "How To Run an Effective Meeting" with Walter Matthews. The meeting with NCLA's Continuing Education committee was also discussed.  Laura Goodket is handling all of the details of the Long Island Library Conference workshop 'Personality Types: What's Yours’. A follow-up meeting is scheduled for June 22nd at the Farmingdale Library. Information will be posted to the SCLA web page. A fall trip based on last year's trip to Manhattan is being planned. The Cooper Hewitt Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish Museum, Schomberg Center, the Frick Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Morgan are all being considered. A tentative date for the trip has been set for Friday, October 1st. A possible workshop called 'Many Cultures: How Can The Library Be a More Welcoming Place' is being scheduled for the Fall. Diane Eidelman mentioned that there is already a similar workshop scheduled. Members of the Continuing Education committee will attend and decide if a follow-up program is necessary.  Carol also mentioned how, in the past, Continuing Education used to have a budget of $1000. It was then reduced to $500, and at present, they do not have a budget. They have requested having their own budget line. J. Clemens mentioned that there is $500 designated for 'seed money' allocated to the Continuing Education committee.

ELSA:G. Pepa reported that the ELSA committee has been busy assembling the packets for this year's nominations. A letter was sent to each library director informing him or her of the May arrival of the ELSA packet.  Included was a prepared library newsletter article for their use. K. McCoy took the packets for the academic libraries, and Gail will send the packets for special libraries to James Olney. All other packets will be sent on May 6th, the day after the Long Island Library Conference. In preparing the brochures for members, Gail discovered that she had to mail 191 brochures to home addresses. This required postage that amounted to $70.67, which brings the committee close to its budget allocation for 2004. She requested that the committee is reimbursed for the purchase of 200 stamps at a cost of $74. S. Johnson made the motion, K. Baudouin seconded. None were opposed. Gail also requested that the committee be allocated sufficient funds for the 2005 fiscal year, as well as all future years to cover this additional expense. S. Ingram said this would have to be brought up again at budget time. J. Clemens said that an annual report from each committee is required, and in that report should include suggestions for funding and other needs that would help.

FALL DINNER: D. Bucher and M. Fusco reported that they continue to visit possible locations for this year's dinner, including the Irish Coffee Pub, Captain Bill's, Dowling College (which is not available), and the Brentwood Country Club. The date of the dinner is November 12th. They asked if SCLA pays for printing costs. C. Guzzo said that the cost of the dinner should include printing, any free dinners, postage, and other expenses. There is $250 budgeted for seed money. Dell and Marjorie will have more to report at the next meeting.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM: K. McCoy reported that the committee is planning to meet the first week of May. The first order of business is to draft a resolution concerning the Patriot Act to bring to the June SCLA Board Meeting. Suffolk Community College had a representative from the Suffolk Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union. They are trying to get the Suffolk County legislature to pass a resolution against the Patriot Act. It would be useful if SCLA could support this initiative. The committee will also focus on the issues that were raised in the 'SCLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee Interest Survey'. NLS and SCLS will conduct a CIPA workshop at the Long Island Library Conference. And 15 people have expressed interest in participating in this committee.

LDA AWARD:P. Thomson read the following report. Two individuals have been nominated as candidates for the 2004 LDA Award. One candidate is from Suffolk County and the other is from Nassau County. LDA Award Committee chairperson Tom Bazzicalupo received all nominating materials and distributed copies of the materials to LDA Award Committee members. These members are, fro Nassau County Ken Bellafiore, Christine Kulakis, and Frank McKenna. From Suffolk County Eileen Feynman, Mary Koferl, and Bruce Silverstein. Each committee member is requested to return his or her decision in writing by Monday, April 26th to Tom. Votes are tallied and the winner is notified. The winner will be presented with a plaque at the Long Island Library Conference during the Keynote session.

LEGISLATIVE: S. Johnson distributed flyers from New Yorkers for Better Libraries Political Action Committee. Suzanne asked if SCLA would consider sending a contribution to this organization. J. Clemens asked who they are and what they do. Suzanne wasn't sure, as they are a new organization. Suzanne made a motion to contribute $50 to the organization. K. McCoy said he wasn't sure that SCLA could contribute, due to the nature of our organization. Suzanne said she would look into the matter for the next meeting. Meanwhile, the motion was tabled. Suzanne is also scheduled to attend LILRC's legislative meeting next week, and will report at the June meeting what was discussed.

LIST-SERV:K. McCoy reported that SCLA currently has 932 people subscribed to the listserv (which is more than the current number of members to SCLA). F. Byrne asked if there was a message posted on the listserv encouraging membership to SCLA. Kevin reported that he would post a message this month of that nature.

LONG ISLAND LIBRARY CONFERENCE: P. Thomson read the following report. The committee met on April 14th, with 13 people in attendance at the Sachem Public Library. Plans were finalized for the 2004 conference, and all is progressing well. A total of 2,500 conference flyers were distributed via system bags and US Mail. Among the first of the flyers to be delivered were packets of several flyers sent to library directors with a request to distribute them among staff. Association flyers and those to be mailed were sent next. Some of the mailing lists in electronic format were delayed in being sent to the committee, but the response was generally good. The use of electronic member lists allowed for some reduction in the number of duplicate recipients. The electronic format should be continued for future conferences. Although the revised flyers indicate April 21 as the registration deadline, a reasonable accommodation will be made for those received after that date. The next meeting is scheduled for May 4th at the Crest Hollow Country Club. The committee meets at 7:30am for the full-day set-up meeting when a final walk through of the facilities will occur. Directional signs and registration tables will be put into place, members will compile conference handouts and giveaways, and associations, committees and vendors are welcome to come on that day to setup their exhibits. Overnight security is provided. P. Thomson reminded all Division presidents to be sure that they have requested a table if they were interested in having one at the conference. Patty also distributed a copy of the conference schedule and asked everyone to sign up for a time slot to cover the SCLA table in the Association hall. D. Bucher reported that Alan Schelp called her asking for past minutes for the Long Island Library Conference committee meetings. She looked for the minutes in the archives, and could only find minutes through 1991. S. Johnson reported that she had Exhibit information from her involvement on the committee in past years. Suzanne also said that she thought that past Chairs may have passed minutes to the next Chair from one year to the next, and that they may never have made it to the archives. She suggested that past Secretaries and Chairpeople be contacted to ask if they have copies of minutes from 1991 to the present. Della suggested that a second copy of the minutes be made, and that Nassau County also should store a set, as a preventative measure. Everyone agreed. F. Altemose reported that she arranged for the giveaways for the SCLA table, and that the bookmark pens are done and ready to be distributed. Fran said she would bring information about the Ducks game to the June board meeting.

LONG RANGE PLANNING:No report (to be included with Public Relations).

MEMBERSHIP:R. McEneaney reported that SCLA currently has 789 members, 565 of which have renewed for 2004. There were an additional 20 renewals waiting this morning as well. Reminders went out in March, and renewals come in each day. Regina did report that they did get 5 old members back, as well as 10 new students, which she was pleased about.  Membership cards will be sent within the next two weeks, rather than waiting for raffle tickets as has been done in the past. Regina also indicated that she would need postage, as some people request having materials sent to their home. Fran also had committee volunteer lists, which she distributed to the appropriate people.

NEWSLETTER:No report.

NOMINATING:No report.

PROFESSIONAL CONCERNS:No report.

PUBLIC AWARENESS/RELATIONS:W. Salas reported that the SCLA visit to St. John's University, Oakdale Campus on April 6th was a success. He thanked the following people for their help:Stephen Ingram, Tracey Firestone, Toni Dean of CLASC, Dave Jones, Edana Cichanowicz, Sue Holden, and James Olney. Will Salas was also in attendance. There were a total of 23 students and recent alumni in attendance. The recent alumni literally received their diplomas at the colloquium.  Dr. Pollicino was very pleased with the speakers, and has invited SCLA back to speak next year. Queens College has expressed an interest in having SCLA represent Suffolk County libraries at its Career Day. Unfortunately, Will did not receive much notice; their career day is May 1st from 12-3. Will cannot attend, but S. Ingram and K. McCoy will both attend. F. Byrne will see if she can attend. A. Richards asked if they need scholarship flyers for the event. It was agreed that having them would be a good idea. Will said any additional questions and suggestions could be directed to him, and he would answer them to the best of his ability.

SCHOLARSHIP:A. Richards has finalized the prizes for the scholarship raffle. Prizes for the 2004 raffle include a Polaroid digital camera, a $100 gift certificate from Midwest Tape (which will likely be converted to a mall gift certificate), 2 tickets to an event at the Tilles Center, 2 tickets to an event at the Wang Center, and an Avon basket. Angela also submitted a request for reimbursement for $175.95 for 1,500 raffle booklets to be printed, numbered, and perforated. R. McEneaney made the motion, W. Salas seconded. None were opposed. These raffle booklets will be sent separate from the membership cards, although she will continue to send two booklets, as many more tickets were sold last year. R. McEneaney asked if raffle booklets should be available at SCLA's table at the Long Island Library Conference. Everyone seemed to think that was a good idea. Angela will also have flyers available announcing the Support Staff Award at the table. The criterion for eligibility has been reduced from 5 years of service down to 3 years to allow more people to apply. Angela also said she needed scholarship raffle booklets for the night of the SCLA Fall Dinner, as she sells many tickets the night of the raffle.

STATISTICAL SURVEY: No report. It was agreed upon that the price of the additional surveys could be reduced to $10 and sold at the SCLA table at the Long Island Library Conference.

SUFFOLK COUNTY JAILS LIBRARY SERVICE:No report.

WEB PAGE:No report. S. Ingram asked that everyone use the web page more to advertise upcoming programs.

LIAISONS:
CLASC:No report.

Eastern Suffolk BOCES: No report.

LILRC:V. Antonucci reported that LILRC has redesigned their web page. There is a lot of information available there, including a calendar of events. Some programs worth noting include the Regional Digitization Symposium in June, Archives Week in October, and the Annual Dinner and Conference and LILRC's Business Meeting, both to be held in November.

LVA:No report.

NCLA:E. Cummings-Young reported that YASD has finalized arrangements to have Carolyn Mackler, 2004 Printz Award Honoree for Young Adult Literature, speak at the June YA Luncheon. The lunch is on June 10th from 12-3pm at the Milleridge Inn, and the cost is $25 for NCLA members, SCLA members, and students. Flyers will be sent to all YASD members and YA librarians in both Nassau and Suffolk by the end of April.  RASD, in conjunction with Clerical Services, had a very successful seminar called 'Dealing With Difficult People in the Library'. It was hosted by Arthur Seltzer Human Resources Consulting. They used actual experiences submitted by both Reference and Clerical staff to develop scenarios for role-playing and other exercises. Media Services held a program called 'Changing Media Formats'. The speaker was Shelley Matthews, Assistant Division Head for Literature and Media of the Rochester-Monroe County Central Library, who spoke on this topic at NYLA this past Fall. On May 19th, there will be a panel discussion on 'How To Build a Music Collection' at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library. As of April 16th, NCLA has 787 members. Arthur Friedman, membership chair, extends congratulations and compliments on SCLA's membership totals, and is thinking of incorporating some of SCLA's ideas, such as the welcome packet used. NCLA's Annual Dinner will be held on December 1st at the Sand Castle. Public Relations reports that they have difficulties at high school career days justifying low salaries to interested students. There will be Customer Service Training for all interested library staff at NLS in May.

SCLS:No report.

SLA:No report. S. Ingram attended the program "Getting Your Message Across" and said the speaker was great.

Members-At-Large:
E. Cichanowicz reported that 100 tickets for the Writers on the Vine Series will be available for sale at the Long Island Library Conference for $15 a ticket. S. Ingram suggested that the dates for this series be posted on the SCLA web page.

OLD BUSINESS:
J. Clemens asked about the SCLA stationery. S. Ingram reported that he had templates available to show C. Guzzo.

NEW BUSINESS:
No report.

S. Ingram adjourned the meeting at 12:10PM.