Minutes

Friday, June 18, 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, M. Fusco, R. McEneaney, A. Richards, R. Dressler, E. Cummings-Young, M. Bollerman, D. Jones, S. Holden, K. Minschke, H. Biblo, P. Bornstein, J. O'Hare, L. Squires, B. Hoffman.

CALL TO ORDER:
S. Ingram called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. The April minutes were reviewed. M. Fusco made a motion to accept the minutes as written, S. Gottesman seconded. None were opposed.

TREASURER'S REPORT:
J. O'Hare read the Treasurer's report for April 2004. The report showed a fund balance of $42,254.60 as of the end of April 2004. She also read the report for May 2004, which showed a fund balance of $43,702.43. There was discussion about whether or not an accountant should be hired. Janet got a few recommendations, one of which was Al Coster, who has done work for North Shore and Brookhaven Free Libraries. He said that SCLA might be liable for a penalty. He suggests that a letter be written, that SCLA should request than an average be taken of the last 4 years, in which SCLA hasn't had more than $25,000 per year in income. Mr. Coster does not think that SCLA needs a formal audit. He recommends a simple financial statement. His firm charges $1,000 for such a statement. His firm would charge $500-$1000 to file the necessary paperwork to the IRS to resolve the current issue. Hourly fees for his firm are $150 for services from a partner and $60-$125 for services from a staff member. Janet recommends using Mr. Coster's firm. S. Ingram reminded everyone that NCLA does have an accountant that also advises NCLA as to what they can do with the income they generate. F. Altemose asked why, exactly, is SCLA carrying excess income. Stephen said that Past-Presidents had worked hard to make all programs self-sufficient, membership to SCLA has increased, and other steps were taken to get SCLA out of debt. He also reminded everyone that the $25,000 figure is the amount of money that the organization takes in, not the balance that is maintained at any ne time. The financial balance at the end of the month is not what is used. The funds generated is. Stephen said that the IRS could enforce a penalty of $100 a day for not filing the necessary paperwork if they choose. Janet made a motion for SCLA to pay the one-time charge to file the necessary paperwork to the IRS, and then to approve hourly fees as necessary after clearing the financial books. J. Clemens seconded. None were opposed. C. Guzzo reminded everyone that SCLA might not always need an accountant. Janet felt that having an accountant could provide financial continuity that could benefit the organization. There were bills presented for approval. The first was a bill from SCLS for $188 for the printing of SCLA letterhead. P. Bornstein made the motion to approve the bill, S. Gottesman seconded. None were opposed. Cindy said that the letterhead would be at the Xerox machine at SCLS. Joan suggested that there be a method of keeping track as to what the letterhead was being used for, and R. Dressler suggested a sign-in sheet that indicated who took letterhead and for what purpose. Everyone agreed this method should work if everyone abided by it. Membership submitted two bills. The first was for postage and envelopes, and totaled $82.78. The second was for labels and stamps, and that totaled $75.25. R. Dressler made the motion to approve. F. Byrne seconded. None were opposed. Stephen submitted a bill for $70.14 for refreshments. S. Gottesman made the motion to approve. R. Dressler seconded. None were opposed.encouraged to contact Stephen. He said he would report more at the next meeting.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
C. Guzzo asked that everyone think about how the income SCLA has at the moment should be used. She asked that all suggestions be submitted for consideration at the Fall Budget Meeting. She reported that the Long Island Library Conference was a success, and thanked everyone for his or her part in helping to make it such a great day.

DIVISION REPORTS:
DASL:K. McCoy offered the following report. On Wednesday, May 5th, DASL sponsored a program at the Long Island Library Conference called 'As Time Goes By: Creating an oral history of your community or institution'. Elly Shodell, Director of Port Washington Public Library's Oral History Program, demonstrated how to conduct an oral history program in your institution. The program was well attended (over 65 people) and we received good feedback. DASL sponsored business meeting on Friday, June 4th at Suffolk Community College. At that meeting discussion focused on upcoming elections for DASL officers (DASL holds elections every two years), upcoming programs and organizing a 'Bring Your Legislature to Campus' day. We have a tentative date of February 28th and it will be hosted at Suffolk Community College. Upcoming programs include a DASL business meeting on Friday, September 10th at Brookhaven Labs, a program on Friday, September 24th (possibly at SUNY Farmingdale) called 'Outcomes Assessment for Middle States' which will be co-sponsored with LILRC's Continuing Education Committee and demonstrate successful assessment techniques to meet the Middle States Accreditation, and the Annual Luncheon on Friday, December 10th at the NYIT, Central Islip Campus. This will be DASL's Annual Luncheon meeting. 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 talking about the new archive at Suffolk Community College.

RASD:S. Gottesman offered the following report. The Health Concerns meeting met on June 17th at SCLS. Rona Dressler has arranged for two speakers for the Annual Health Concerns Forum held in October–Jean Lewis of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Stony Brook and Tony D'Angelo of the New York Commission for the Blind. Regarding Media, since Ellen Druda works part-time, it was suggested that someone else from that committee attend the RASD meetings. OARS had a meeting on June 9th at the Huntington Library. They will not meet again until September. Rose Marut reported for the Programming committee that thank you notes would be sent to the speakers from the Genealogy Federation of Long Island. Evaluation forms were distributed to those in attendance at the Long Island Library Conference presentation, but very few were returned. Those that were submitted were positive. Extra copies of the handouts were sent to individuals who were unable to get them at the Conference. Grace O'Connor reported for the Reader's Advisory Committee that their next meeting will be held on September 23, 2004 at the West Islip Public Library. The focus of that discussion will be 'first' novels. A small portion of the committee is still working to update John Patton's 1993 publication 'Fiction in a Long Island Setting'. Regarding Ramblings, Rona has asked if the committee members would write an article regarding their committees and what they are planning. Grace O'Connor suggested an ongoing column 'What Are You Doing At Your Library' where members can share any new or different programs being offered at their library. Diane Eidelman reported that the Long Island Reads Committee met on May 17th. She hopes that more librarians will become actively involved in the committee in the following year. The next meeting was held on June 17th at the Farmingdale Public Library. RASD's Annual Dinner was held on June 10th at Painter's Restaurant in Bellport. There were 30 members in attendance, and everyone seemed to enjoy the food and the company of their peers. RASD held a silent auction and a 50-50 raffle. The next RASD meeting will be held on September 7th at The Smithtown Library.

CATS:E.R. Capitanio offered the following report. The CATS Executive Board met on Wednesday, June 16th. CATS sponsored two programs–the Fred Pryor workshop on Managing Deadlines in which 27 people attended (CATS lost $1100), and the Annual Library Tour that included 3 libraries in the Huntington area. Finances were discussed at their executive board meeting. CATS is requesting funds to offset costs for their Fred Pryor workshop and for a future program on blogging (scheduled to be offered on September 29th). A motion was made to provide $350 for the blogging program. M.Fusco made the motion, R. Dressler seconded. None were opposed. L. Squires asked that the meeting be cross promoted to the Young Adult librarians. Renee said that the program would be promoted to all library staff, and advertised as an SCLA program as well as a CATS program. F. Altemose made to give CATS $500 to cover approximately half of the loss CATS sustained from their Fred Pryor workshop. C. Gray seconded. None were opposed.

SSD:F. Byrne offered the following report. The Support Staff Division met on June 9th. Approximately 180 people attended SSD's program at the Long Island Library Conference called 'Communicating With People Who Have Disabilities'. Thanks to Valerie Lewis for an outstanding job presenting ideas to help make public libraries more comfortable and useful to everyone. SSD's Annual Roundtable Discussion program was offered on Wednesday, April 28th at the West Babylon Public Library. There were 80 people in attendance representing Circulation, Technical Processing, Administration, Children's, Young Adult, and Custodial Departments. The program also included a tour of the newly renovated facility. SSD thanks West Babylon for their hospitality. On Wednesday, September 22nd, SSD will hold their Annual General meeting and breakfast. This year's meeting will include a presentation by Jean Maloney of the Employee Assistance Program on Developing Awareness of Personal Safety. SSD has found that the issue of employee safety is often mentioned on survey forms for suggested topics. This program will show attendees ways to raise awareness of each person's experiences as well as review some techniques and strategies to keep one personally safe. Registration information will be forthcoming. SSD's Board Members and NCLA's Clerical Division Board Members met on May 19th at the East Meadow Public Library to discuss topics of mutual interest and importance. An all Long Island Heads of Circulation meeting is already in the works for October. They plan to meet again to discuss co-sponsorship of a program at the 2005 Long Island Library Conference. At that meeting, it was discovered that NCLA has not sponsored a dental program in several years, but are presently in negotiations to reinstate that program, Chris Penna has been forwarding information to Fran regarding this. If SCLS is interested in investigating such a program, members of SSD would be happy to be involved. The SSD Board discussed ways to increase interest in the Continuing Education Award and is beginning to think about candidates for the 2005 slate of officers. Regarding the dental program, it was reported that Tom Taranowicz set up the SCLA dental program initially. K. McCoy said that people responded to the e-mail that, in part, advertised a dental plan available to SCLA members. Sunrise is the program that was used in the past, and M. Bollerman suggested that the company be contacted to see if the program is still in place. E. Cummings-Young reported that NCLA has their members deal with the company directly. NCLA does not want the responsibility of acting as the administrator of the program for a variety of reasons. C. Guzzo said she would call Tom to find out more about the dental program.

YASD:L. Squires offered the following report. At the Long Island Library Conference on May 5th, YASD awarded the BEST award to 2 Long Island teens, had a YASD association table, and held a very profitable candy bar sale to support Battle of the Books. They will be donating $1000 for this year's Battle. On June 11, 8 people went to the Book Revue in Huntington for the Teen Librarian Chat and Chow. Attendees discussed new and notable YA literature, possible award winners for this year, and recent talks by YA authors Alex Flinn and Carolyn Mackler. Upcoming program or activities include roundtable discussions. The first will be on July 8 at the Hauppauge Library to discuss teen summer reading clubs and the second will be held on August 19 or 20, the location to be announced, to discuss the promotion of libraries to teens. YASD continues to sell candy bars, and will promote this sale on the SCLA listserv.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:
ARCHIVES:No report. S. Johnson asked if any of the paperwork from the archives helped address the issue with the IRS. S. Ingram said he was still working on it, but that he was also advised that there may be additional paperwork in the SCLA drawer that may help. Stephen asked if archival boxes were ordered. Suzanne has a catalog, but has not placed an order yet. E. Cichanowicz made a motion for boxes to be ordered, but that no more than $50 is spent. B. Hoffman seconded. None were opposed.

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS: No report.

CONTINUING EDUCATION:C. Gray read the following report. The committee met on May 25. They discussed their successful program at the Long Island Library Conference. Twenty people are needed for the follow-up meeting, which is scheduled for June 22nd. They have enough people already registered. The date for the fall trip has been set for Friday, October 1st. A workshop called 'Many Cultures: How Can The Library Be a More Welcoming Place' was being considered, but it was determined that it was too similar to a workshop that Diane Eidelman offered. They are working on a new topic for a future meeting. Their next meeting is scheduled for July 13th.

ELSA:P. Thomson read the following report. The ELSA packets have been sent out to the membership, public, school, academic and special libraries. The complete brochure is posted on the SCLA page and a reminder message was recently posted to the listserv. The deadline for submission of nominations is June 29. We ask that you all encourage the staff (and public) in your libraries to participate in recognizing your most dedicated colleagues. Brochures were handed out to everyone at the meeting, and everyone was encouraged to nominate someone. Anyone needing more time can contact Gail to request the deadline be extended.

FALL DINNER: M. Fusco reported that this year's Fall Dinner will be at Captain Bill's in Bay Shore. The dinner is November 12th from 6-10p.m. Della Bucher gave a $100 deposit to secure the date and now needs to be reimbursed. F. Altemose made a motion for $100 to reimburse Della. S. Gottesman seconded. None were opposed. C. Guzzo suggested posting the date, time and location on the SCLA listserv so people can mark their calendars early.

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM: K. McCoy reported that the committee met the first week of May. They drafted a resolution concerning the Patriot Act, which we would like the SCLA board to discuss and vote on. Along with the Intellectual Freedom resolution, the committee would like the SCLA Board to discuss and vote on the 'Suffolk County Bill of Rights Defense Campaign resolution. The committee is meeting on June 29th and we are working on an Intellectual Freedom web page. We are still looking for volunteers, particularly from public libraries. We are interesting in getting feedback on the CIPA/filtering issue. K. McCoy made a motion to accept the resolution as written. R. McEneaney seconded. None were opposed. B. Hoffman requested a copy of the resolution for the newsletter. Kevin also mentioned that the ACLU is asking associations to support their efforts, and have information on their web page regarding their position. Kevin had some copies, but said he would forward the web page address to P. Thomson to distribute. Everyone is asked to review their web page before the next meeting so it can be discussed further at the July meeting.

LDA AWARD:P. Bornstein reported that members of the LDA Award Committees from both Nassau and Suffolk Counties selected Mamie Eng as the recipient of the 2004 LDA Award. Ms. Eng, the Assistant Director of the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library in Valley Stream, has been an active member of NCLA for several years. She has served as President in 1993, and is currently President of the Young Adult Division, Editor-In-Chief of the NCLA newsletter, and a member of the NCLA Civil Service Committee. Ms. Eng has also been an active member of the New York State Documentary Heritage Program since 1988. Art Friedman, 1985 LDA Award recipient and current President of NYLA, presented the award and plaque to Ms. Eng during they keynote session at the Long Island Library Conference. NCLA was responsible for handling the purchase of this year's plaque and submitting the bill to Andy Ippolito for reimbursement, which is not to exceed $100. Paula mentioned that LDA Award nominees could be resubmitted from one year to the next. P. Thomson suggested that a similar policy be used for the ELSA Award. The suggestion will be forwarded to members of the ELSA committee. E. Cichanowicz made a motion to reimburse Paula $70.30 for postage used for the LDA Award. E.R. Capitanio seconded. None were opposed

LEGISLATIVE: S. Johnson reported that she attended the LILRC Legislative Committee meeting on June 10th. There were 5 people in attendance, which is not enough for a quorum. However, there was lively discussion. Art Friedman has done a good job keeping everyone informed. There is still no state budget. Suzanne submitted a picture from Library Legislation Day for the SCLA newsletter. It features Assemblymember Pat Eddington and many who lobbied that day on behalf of libraries. Regarding the new PAC called New Yorkers for Better Libraries Political Action Committee, Suzanne reported that Myron Roochvarg, a former library director, has joined and has agreed to keep SCLA informed regarding the committee's activities. M. Bollerman asked that, in light of the failure to pass a New York State budget, if libraries should consider reviving the letter writing campaign to local legislators. Suzanne said that legislators reported that they got the message about the importance of libraries when we were in Albany, so she feels it was effective. Matthew asked if it's still needed. Suzanne said that Art did not, specifically suggest a new letter writing campaign. H. Biblo reported that Jackie Thresher, Director of the Nassau Library System, has encouraged letters to be sent and that he feels that sending letters is never a waste of time. Herb also said that the LILRC Legislative Committee will be re-organized and that he hopes that this will make for improvements in the future.

LIST-SERV:K. McCoy reported that SCLA currently has 927 people subscribed to the listserv after purging obsolete accounts. A message went out on the list urging non-SCLA listserv subscribers to join SCLA.

LONG ISLAND LIBRARY CONFERENCE: P. Thomson read the following report. The next meeting will be on June 28th at the Sachem Public Library. At that time, there will be a wrap up of the year's activities, and the responsibilities of Chairperson will be handed over. Those who sponsored programs and have not submitted a request for reimbursement must do so before July 1, 2004. A complete summary of the conference, revenues, attendance, meals served, and vendor/exhibit participation will be sent when completed. Both the SCLA and NCLA Presidents will be attending the final meeting. Suzanne asked if the 2005 Conference is going to be at the Huntington Town House. C. Guzzo said that it is. Suzanne asked if it is a one-year contract that was signed. S. Ingram said he was not sure, but that he would ask at the meeting. B. Hoffman thanked LILRC for all of their help with data entry and the computers that were used for the Jobs Table at the Conference. S. Ingram said he felt it was a good conference, and many agreed. J. Clemens suggested to everyone that we encourage the vendors that we do business with throughout the year to attend and support the Conference.

LONG RANGE PLANNING:S. Holden reported that K. McCoy and S. Ingram represented SCLA at Queens College's Career Day on May 1st. They reported that they handed out materials and spoke to students. However, it was not as well attended as previous years. The only systems represented were SCLA, NCLA, and Queens Borough. The Long Range Planning Committee met with the Public Relations Committee and the Professional Concerns meeting on June 15th. There were 6 people who met to discuss upcoming events for 2004-2005. Future meetings include a meeting scheduled for October 21st at SCLS called 'Navigating Civil Service for the Professional'. Various librarians and representatives from Suffolk County Department of Civil Service will speak. F. Byrne reported that she had difficulties dealing with the county department, and that Jerry Nichols did all of the contacting for SSD.

MEMBERSHIP:R. McEneaney reported that SCLA currently has 656 members as of June 9, 2004. All of the Divisions are well represented and Regina expects a few renewals during the summer.Those joining or renewing after October will be entered as 2005 members. Regina has sent membership cards and 2 raffle books to all regular members. S. Ingram asked if there was still an interest in redesigning the membership form, and Regina said yes, there was still an interest in doing that. Regina also had lists for all committees of interested volunteers, which she distributed.

NEWSLETTER:B. Hoffman handed out the June/July/August newsletter. She reported that this is the second issue featuring advertisements, and this issue generated $1650 from ads. She asked that everyone let those advertisers know that they saw their ad in the Suffolk Libraries newsletter, and she thanked Laurene Tesoriero, the advertising manager, for all her work. Barbara reported that the printing of pictures is somewhat problematic, but that the newsletters are in the mail. It was suggested that some new features be added, including a new jobs corner, a new column featuring publications by local authors, and a section in the newsletter for performers to advertise for a fee. Performers could briefly describe who they are and what they do. It would cost them $10 to advertise. Paula made the motion to amend the current advertising policy to include performers for a $10 fee, C. Gray seconded. None were opposed. A disclaimer will be added to protect SCLA as well. Barbara asked if SCLA was going to do something to recognize Jerry Nichols's retirement. There was a feature in the current newsletter, and a number of other ideas were also mentioned. C. Guzzo asked that everyone think of ideas to share at the next meeting.

NOMINATING:S. Ingram reported that a request for nominations was posted on the listserv, and that there were responses. He will also be asking some people to consider positions. He will have more to report at the next meeting. C. Guzzo asked that people think of colleagues who would make good candidates and to bring names to the next meeting as well.

PROFESSIONAL CONCERNS:. Minschke reported that there are 11 people now on the committee, and that they are working closely with the Long Range Planning and Public Awareness committees on the Fall Program about Civil Service for Professionals.

PUBLIC AWARENESS/PUBLICITY:No report.

SCHOLARSHIP:A. Richards reported that, from February 2004 to present, she received six requests for the SCLA Scholarship application from prospective candidates from Cold Spring Harbor, Deer Park, Huntington, Commack, Babylon and Riverhead. Several students didn't realize that the classes taken toward the 12 credit minimum requirement could be completed during the Spring 2004 semester. She extended the deadline from June 1st to June 15th to accommodate the receipt of their transcripts. Next year, she thinks it best to extend the deadline to June 15th to eliminate this confusion. Of the two candidates who completed the requirements, a reference rating form is missing. Angela will follow up on that. Regarding the Continuing Education Support Staff Award, Angela received two requests for applications in April. The deadline for completed this application is September 1st. Flyers describing the award have been distributed to libraries with a request that the information be posted. SSD is also aware of the need to promote the award. As a reminder, Angela will also post the Continuing Education Support Staff Award flyer on the SCLA list serve. C. Guzzo suggested that the deadlines for the scholarships be reversed so that the Support Staff Award deadline is in June and the Scholarship for a MLS candidate is in September. It was agreed that this would be a good idea for 2005. F. Byrne also highlights the Continuing Education Support Staff Award in her newsletter article.

STATISTICAL SURVEY:D. Jones reported that surveys will be sent next week. Dave will be asking for help when the surveys are returned.

SUFFOLK COUNTY JAILS LIBRARY SERVICE:M. Fusco asked that people continue to send non-violent paperback books through the system bags and designate if they should be sent to the Riverhead or Yaphank jail. She thanks everyone for their past participation.

WEB PAGE:No report. C. Guzzo asked that everyone indicate on their web page that they are a division or committee of SCLA. There is an effort being made to standardize the pages so that there is consistency from one page to another. Danielle will be attending the meetings as of July. In the upcoming months, everyone is asked to write down the dates of all future events and give them to Danielle. K. McCoy mentioned that an online submission form is used at his place of work, and that it is very effective. R. McEneaney agreed. S. Ingram said he would look into that for the future.

LIAISONS:
CLASC:No report.

Eastern Suffolk BOCES: No report.

LILRC:H. Biblo discussed a variety of group purchase options currently available, including CheckPoint security and Long Island Union List of Serials. He reminded everyone that the LILRC newsletter is now available online, often earlier than the print version is made available. There are many continuing education opportunities, including LILRC's Annual Conference, which a variety of excellent speakers have agreed to speak, and the LILRC Annual Business Meeting. All are encouraged to attend. J. Clemens recently attended a LILRC workshop on wireless networking and that it was a great program.

LVA:No report.

NCLA:E. Cummings-Young reported that the last meeting was on June 11th. Current activities include, but are not limited to a Blood Drive on July 13th, a Ducks game which is sold out and a waiting list has been formed, a censorship program their Media Division is coordinating with the Palmer School on September 30th (Nancy Crane, former ALA President and current NYU Librarian will speak), a meeting between the PR/Public Relations committee and the coordinator of the Nassau Grants for the Arts for the Long Island Arts Council, a program on how to improve your memory, a Young Adult Luncheon in which 39 people attended, two Civil Service committee meetings in which the issue of the need to increase the pool of potential directors candidates is being addressed, and a school essay contest sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom committee titled 'What Freedom to Read Means to Me', a Legislative Breakfast on October 1st at the Hempstead Library. A workshop is scheduled for October 10th, location to be announced, called 'Collect, Save & Preserve Organizational Historic Material'. NCLA and LILRC are co-sponsoring this event. A committee is being formed to promote libraries via Public Service Announcements, and research into the dental plan is taking place. NCLA's membership is at 921, and they are shooting for a membership of 1000 this year. There was also discussion about a workshop about how libraries can promote services in light of so many library budgets failing this year.

PLDA: No report.

SCLS:No report.

SLA:No report.

Members-At-Large:
E. Cichanowicz reported that there are still tickets available for purchase for the Writers on the Vine Series. The cost is $15 a ticket. Edana has already sold $525 in tickets. F. Altemose has arranged for Ducks tickets for the August 10th game. Tickets are $10 and the last day tickets can be purchased is June 28th. R. Dressler made a motion for Fran to get a check from the Treasurer for the amount needed to purchase the tickets on June 28th, S. Gottesman seconded. None were opposed.

OLD BUSINESS:
A lively discussion was had regarding what can be done with some of SCLA's income. Ideas included conferences, author appearances, sponsorship of existing programs, and more. It was suggested that each Division send one representative to work with Continuing Education on developing programming of this nature. All names are to be submitted to C. Guzzo as soon as possible. A call for more ideas was made and will be discussed at the next meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:
No report.

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