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Suffolk County Library Association (SCLA) Minutes
Friday, January 19, 2024
Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
In attendance:
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:04am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Robert Johnson and Charlotte Buckleman.
Announcements:
Motion to approve the December 2023 meeting minutes by Robert Johnson with no corrections. Seconded by Colleen Navins and Wonda Miller.
Presidents Report: Colleen Navins reported:
The Homelessness in Libraries program on Thursday, February 29th is almost full. The Board agreed to increase the registration from 30 attendees to 50.
Stephan Ingram can give another tutorial on how to create events. This will ensure that the proper procedure is being followed.
Colleen thanked the board members for their ideas about Advocacy Day giveaways. Tote bags will be made that will have some SCLA swag along with snacks that will be given out on the day bus.
There will be a mixer sponsored by SCLA, PLDA, and CLASC on Thursday, March 28th from 6:00-9:00pm at James Joyce in Patchogue.
Motion to approve funds not to exceed $4000. Seconded by Bob Johnson, Vicky Urbelis, Patricia Cruz.
Treasurer’s Report: Wonda Miller reported:
January annual disbursement of $500.00 to divisions.
I’ve had a couple of inquiries recently about refunds from events. I think we should consider developing a Refund policy/or procedure to maintain consistency across divisions, and situations. I’d like to do a little research to see what is done at other organizations and create a draft policy.
NOTE: Decided no refunds unless there is an extenuating circumstance, approved by the Division President, Division treasurer, SCLA President and SCLA Treasurer combined – reflected on a Disbursement form.
Recommend hiring Al Coster of Baldessari and Coster LLP accounting firm for doing our 2023 taxes and providing an end of year financial statement.
Pricing and level options are:
Tax filing form 990-ez $450.00 to $800.00 depending on how much he needs to work in our excel files.
A compiled financial statement would be $900.00 – show an overview of annual financial activity and standing. This is what he does for NCLA.
I’d like to make a motion to hire Al Coster to complete our taxes year, I’d recommend adding the compiled financial statement for this year.
Motion to approve $1500 tax audit/financial statement. Seconded by Bob Johnson and Morgan Tamburro.
Financial Reporting:
December:
SCLA began with a starting balance on December 1st of $100,274.81.
December income was $1449.63 which includes membership dues and event fees, an uptick in membership with the renewals coming out for January.
December expenses were $4622.17, including reimbursements to divisions.
The closing balance for December was $97,417.88.
With a total of $491.52 in pending disbursement checks.
Overview of the year:
Chart below shows total income and expenses, with an annual profit of $20,189.92. Please note that October is the first month that LILC funds were included in the reported bank balance so there is an increase of about $500.00 to the end of the October balance that is not from regular income and expense reporting.
| 2023 Annual Review | |||
| Income | Expense | Closing Balance | |
| January | $6,021.12 | $3,425.52 | $79,323.45 |
| February | $2,738.00 | $304.21 | $81,757.24 |
| March | $1,790.00 | $354.88 | $83,192.36 |
| April | $5,869.00 | $566.21 | $88,495.15 |
| May | $1,728.00 | $3,841.25 | $86,381.90 |
| June | $3,889.00 | $1,706.17 | $88,564.73 |
| July | $984.00 | $63.52 | $89,485.21 |
| August | $326.00 | $6,333.71 | $83,477.50 |
| September | $1,204.00 | $8.66 | $84,672.84 |
| October** | $20,202.10 | $6,443.20 | $98,931.85 |
| November | $2,451.61 | $793.04 | $100,275.42 |
| December | $1,449.63 | $4,622.17 | $97,417.88 |
| Totals | $48,652.46 | $28,462.54 | |
**Shows inclusion of LILC funds
Major income sources: $17,817.00 membership, $14,750.11 LILC, $16,085.35 from other sources (events).
Division Reports-
DASL: Bruce Seger reported: No report.
RASD: Patricia Cruz reported:
Met on January 2nd. January 9th PR and marketing and CATS- managing library website program. January 10th- outreach held a program on human trafficking. LILC program has been approved.
CATS: Robert Johnson reported: Five CATS sponsored programs have been approved for the Long Island Library Conference.
SSD: Katherine Regina reported: No report.
YASD: Ashley Sabatino reported: YASD had their first meeting in early January. They are having a joined Nassau and Suffolk meeting on Friday, February 9th on Zoom. Fran Romer will be on April 11th. More details about Fran Romer will be sent out shortly.
Committee Reports-
Annual Dinner: Michele Cayea reported: No report.
Archives: Bruce Seger reported: No report.
Civil Service: Erin Kanelos reported: No report.
Community Service: Michele McCauley reported: I would like to introduce myself. I am new to the committee and very excited to be a part of a great team. I’ll be partaking in different charity events in the Fall and in the Spring, plus the Toys for Tots. It’s a pleasure to be here and I look forward to working with everyone. If anyone ever has any ideas or thoughts that they would like to share with me on Community Service ideas I would be happy to hear them!
Continuing Education: Vicky Urbelis and Charlotte Buckleman reported: If anyone has a program that offers continuing education, please remember to send the roster to the membership email. Everyone should be keeping track of their individual continuing education.
ELSA: Katherine Regina reported: No report.
Intellectual Freedom: Bruce Seger reported: No report.
LDA Award: Noel Reich reported: The google form and brochure from last year are being updated and the call for nominations will be posted by the end of the month!
Legislative: Samantha Alberts reported:
Registration for the February 7 Advocacy Day bus is going well. We still have some space, so if you are considering going up on the bus that day, please register soon.
Advocacy Day 101 sessions are scheduled on Jan 30 and Feb 1 for all staff attending Advocacy Day please visit the SCLS calendar to register.
Gov. Hochul’s budget book has been released, and it includes an increase in Library Operating Aid to $102.1M, the same level of Construction Aid as last year, and $3M for NOVELNY. This is a great starting point for our advocacy efforts.
Long Island Library Conference: Brian Adams reported: Planning is moving along and attendee registration is open. As of today, 12 out of 68 vendor tables have been sold. There were 34 program entries and 24 were selected.
LILPA: Noel Reich reported: LILPA held its 4th Mock Stonewall Awards on January 11th with 18 participants. Pageboy by Elliot Page, Grandad’s Pride by Harry Woodgate and Dear Mothman by Robin Gow were the winning titles with Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson and The Luis Ortega Survival Guide by Sonora Reyes earning the honors spots. A full book list can be found on our website! The LILPA website has several new additions including a Queer Resources page and the LILPA Virtual Reference Desk. We have also put out the ‘save the date’ for Pride 2024- LILPA will be marching in the Long Island Pride on June 9th from 12-5 at Huntington Village, all are welcome.
Long Range Planning/Marketing: Colleen Navins reported: Colleen is updating the membership brochure and asked Stephen Ingram if information on the website can be updated. Colleen is still working on the mentorship collaboration with PLDA.
Membership: Vicky Urbelis reported. There are 402 active members to date.
Networking: Morgan Tamburro reported. Morgan is working on networking ideas for the Long Island Library Conference. She has an idea for a fall event which involved partnering with PLDA for the first annual kickball tournament. Morgan will reach out to the Town of Brookhaven to see about using a baseball field. She would like for it to be a potential fundraising event.
Nominating: Anthony Giansante reported: If anyone knows someone who is interested in running for a position, please let Anthony know. It’s never too early to begin to generate interest.
Scholarship: Brian Schwartz reported: No report.
Student Outreach: Colleen Navins reported: No report.
Website: Stephen Ingram reported:
Basic website/facebook maintenance and posting of events.
Facebook insights: 1.1k followers
Google Analytics Behavior overview using GA4 reporting
December 1222 page views
Updated SCLA, CATS, RASD, CARE Committee wordpress sites to latest security updates.
Monitor and approve listserv posts
Updated listserv members
Created Wild Apricot Events
Liaisons-
CLASC: Kim Zettwoch reported: No report.
LILRC: Sally Stieglitz reported: I would like to take a moment to highlight LILRC’s member services, in case everyone is not familiar with them. LILRC offers a wide array of services including archival services, digitization services, traveling exhibits, grants for digitization, technology assistance, and innovation projects, repository services, member discounts, Ask A Lawyer and Ask an Archivist, , repository services, and resource sharing. For more information, please visit the LILRC website, and select Membership and then Member Services.
NCLA: Syntychia Kendrick-Samuel reported: 2024 will be a milestone year for NCLA, it is our 90th Anniversary as an Association. It is our hope that our colleagues in Suffolk County will be on hand to celebrate with us as the year progresses. The majority of our Executive Board meetings will be on Zoom. The meeting dates and Registration links can be found on the calendar on our website.
We encourage you all to stop by at our future meetings.
PLDA: Shauna Scholl reported: The mentorship program is underway and we’re hoping to get a good turnout for Advocacy Day.
SCLS: Kevin Verbesey reported: No report.
NYLA: Lisa Kropp reported: No report.
Old Business: None.
New Business: None.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:17am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Robert Johnson, Patricia Cruz, and Morgan Tamburro.
Suffolk County Library Association (SCLA) Minutes
Friday, February 16, 2024
Zoom
In attendance: Colleen Navins, Stephen Ingram, Wonda Miller, Anthony Giansante, Robert Johnson, Ashley Sabatino, Carisse Mitchell, Sally Stieglitz, Victoria Urbelis, Kate Regina, Bruce Seger, Carole Lingg, Aisha Khanfri (LILRC Intern), Michael Bartolomeo, Steve Alcalde,
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:04am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Carisse Mitchell and Bob Johnson.
Announcements:
Motion to approve the January 2024 meeting minutes by with/with no corrections. Seconded by Carisse Mitchell and Anthony Giansante
Presidents Report: Colleen Navins reported:
SCLA Advocacy Day bus was a success. We had 45 people on the bus and everyone enjoyed their swag bags. Thank you to all who helped make this possible.
We have officially booked James Joyce and put down the $500 deposit for Thursday, March 28. Spread the word!
Currently the SSD Board has stepped down. We will begin sending emails to the Listserv looking for a President and Vice-President. It’s something we can promote at events, or ask Directors/ Department Heads to encourage their staff to participate in. “We will train you” is always a good promotional tool, since a lot of times people are nervous to take on a role. But if there’s no one to step up – it’s just no report going forward.
We received our Tax Exempt Certificate. Please reach out to Wonda and myself if you need this for any event.
When featuring events in Wild Apricot and sending the form to Stephen please list the address for SCLS. We had an issue where a BOCES employee did not know what SCLS meant or the address of the building.
Begin discussing purchasing promotional materials and giveaways for the LILC. We will be ordering from Davenport Marketing. Also think about creating a schedule for staffing your division table.
Treasurer’s Report: Wonda Miller reported:
January Finances:
SCLA began with a combined starting balance of all our accounts on January 1st of 97,422.88.
January income was $6483.63 which reflects quite a bit of activity in membership renewals and some final payments trickling in for YASD & RASD annual luncheons.
January expenses were $4,561.69, including the bus fee for legislative day, bank fees, and the deposit for the Spring Mixer.
The closing balance for January was $99,344.82.
With a total of $1,112.66 in pending disbursement checks for event reimbursements and Advocacy day.
Information & Updates:
Reminder: all presidents and treasurers of Divisions have access to spreadsheets that I update with monthly banking information. Please let me know if you need the links. Don’t forget that we have Reimbursement forms and Programmer contracts on the SCLA website under resources. These are required to be filled out for any funds to be distributed. If you do the program contract, we don’t need the reimbursement form.
Venmo account and virtual payment options – After 9 months of going back and forth with Venmo, Rebecca Goldstein, our former treasurer, was able to get the cash-out from the LILC transactions. It is possible to set up a business venmo account, I advise against it because Venmo tends to be difficult to deal with for organizations like ours, as they lock the account to one person and one phone account which isn’t optimal for an organization that will have changing officers.
WildApricot, has a good option for taking credit card payments on our website. This can be easily accessible on any device if we are remote locations.
I’d like to motion to approve that we use Wildapricot for remote payments. Motion seconded by Bob Johnson, Anthony Giansente, Carisse Mitchell. Motion Approved.
I spoke to Al Coster and officially hired him to do our taxes this year, with a limit of $1500.00. In our conversation about best practices for a growing organization like ours, he recommended maintaining central accounting as the parent organization for consistency and fraud prevention, and establishing that Divisions will not open any financial accounts or payment systems on their own. The divisions are not separate 501c3 organizations, they are all part of SCLA as one organization responsible to the IRS and State and must comply with the NYS nonprofit revitalisation act. Since we have newly received our 501c3 paperwork from the State, the State Comptroller may have us on their radar. We also discussed tracking income, such as donations and raffle income. Everything we take in needs a paper trail, so we ideally will only take payments through Wildapricot, and or check. It can get dicey with cash.
I’d like to make a motion that we move to cashless operations and only accept checks or remote payment through Wildapricot at our events, including raffles. Seconded Anthony Giansante, Carisse Mitchell, Bob Johnson. Motion Passed.
Division Reports-
DASL: Bruce Seger reported: The annual luncheon will be held on February 28th.
RASD: Patricia Cruz reported: Working on staffing RASD table & giveaways for the conference. Our Programs person, Amber Gagliardi reports that for the Long Island Library Conference 2 more workshops were accepted: “Serving New Americans in Your Library” and “Starting a Seed Library.”
Some upcoming committee meetings – Outreach Committee – March 11th — more information to come. The Health Concerns Committee will meet on March 14th at 2:30 pm at SCLS to discuss a topic for the annual fall workshop and Topic Guide, they will send out an invite for newcomers through listserv.
The Long Island Reads committee reports that plans for the April 21st event are proceeding appropriately. The coordinated order books should be getting sent out soon, and the Reader’s Guide should be coming out soon as well.
Lastly, we are looking for people interested in becoming committee chairs for the Outreach Committee and New Adults Committee. The current chairs for these positions are looking to step down – so if anyone happens to know anyone interested in joining the committee & being trained on what each committee does, please have them email me (pcruz@pmlib.org)
CATS: Robert Johnson reported: East End Technology Coalition meeting was a huge success. 30 people showed up to the Rogers Memorial Library. Nick Tanzi led a wonderful discussion on The Possibilities and Peril of AI in Libraries. CATS Board meeting was held on 2/1 at SCLS. We discussed the ongoing need for a donation program for our division and of course future programming ideas. James Hutter will be presenting at the next EETC meeting on March 5th @ 10 am in the SCLS auditorium. The topic of discussion will focus around preparing and training staff for change, introducing new technologies and deploying tech for public and staff use. Our Technology Information Forum (TIF) committee met
SSD: No report.
YASD: Ashley Sabatino reported: We held our joint Nassau/Suffolk YASD meeting on Zoom on February 9th, Summer Boismier from Brooklyn Public Library spoke about their teen intellectual freedom council. We had about 40 participants.
Registration for the Fran Romer Workshop is open! It will take place on April 11th at the Carnegie Building in Patchogue. Our theme is romance and author Kat Cho will be joining us.
We worked with Derek at SCLS to arrange a craft for Authors Unlimited in April.
Committee Reports-
Annual Dinner: Michele Cayea reported: No report
Archives: Bruce Seger reported: Ongoing project with digitizing fragile materials old photos etc.
Civil Service: Erin Kanelos reported: No report
Community Service: Michele McCauley reported: I have been working on setting up a community event for the upcoming months. Agape Meals for Kids will be taking place for the SCLA Sponsored program on Thursday, 2/29 (Homelessness and Libraries) along with at the Spring Mixer in Patchogue on Thursday, 3/28. All of the information on the organization and food lists were included in the promotional materials.
Agape Meals for Kids is a fundraiser and collects non-perishable food donations throughout the week. Their volunteers meet to pack backpacks with enough food to feed each child with meals, snacks, milk, and juice for the weekend. Then, they deliver these backpacks to schools where they are distributed at the end of the school day.
If you anyone has any further questions please let me know!
Continuing Education: Vicky Urbelis and Charlotte Buckleman reported: Template in google sheets for downloading registration information from Wild Apricot. Receiving continuing education credits, in a variety of formats. Takes about an hour per person to update their credits. Request to add a 3rd co-chair to help with CE credits, hold until find out more information regarding requirements of record keeping.
ELSA: Katherine Regina reported: If anyone is interested or knows anyone interested in joining the committee please email me at elsacommittee@gmail.com. We need at least one more person.
Intellectual Freedom: Bruce Seger reported: Working on a couple of potential events. Will have more updates next month.
LDA Award: Noel Reich reported: I am waiting on my Nassau cohort to send the finalized call for nominations, but I am expecting to send out an email next week with the nomination form. Like last year it will be via a google form!
Legislative: Samantha Alberts reported: no report. Advocacy Day was a huge hit! PLDA sponsored all the snacks.
Long Island Library Conference: Brian Adams reported:
LILPA: Noel Reich reported:
- LILPA will be holding a virtual program on March 21st from 10-11am, Pride & Programming, register with this link. This workshop will include a discussion of Pride month programs, resources for programming, and a review of LILPA’s Queer Programming Database. All are welcome!
- Our next book club date is tentatively scheduled for 4/18
- We rolled out four different committee options to membership, and will be posting more on our website shortly
- LILPA will be marching in LI Pride on June 9th, all are welcome and interested people should fill out this form!
Long Range Planning/Marketing: Carisse Mitchell reported: in the process of researching ideas for marketing materials/ giveaways for the Long Island Library Conference with Davenport Marketing.
Membership: Vicky Urbelis reported. 386 active members, 38 renewal overdue, 7 lapsed, 10 new, 62 pending renewal. Use membership email.
Networking: Morgan Tamburro reported. No report
Nominating: Anthony Giansante reported: No nominations yet, are helping SSD with their board.
Scholarship: Brian Schwartz reported: No report
Student Outreach: Colleen Navins reported:
Website: Stephen Ingram reported: Everything is running fine, update hosted sites weekly. Update new members on list-serv. Discrepancy between numbers on list-serv and members.
Basic website/facebook maintenance and posting of events.
Facebook insights: 1.1k followers
Google Analytics Behavior overview using GA4 reporting
January 1270 page views
Updated SCLA, CATS, RASD, CARE Committee wordpress sites to latest security updates.
Monitor and approve listserv posts
Updated listserv members
Created and monitored Wild Apricot Events
Liaisons-
CLASC: Kim Zettwoch reported: No report
LILRC: Sally Stieglitz reported:
LILRC’s Annual Membership meeting will be held on June 18, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, at
Farmingdale State College, Campus Center Ballroom. The keynote speaker is Patrick Sweeney. Registration is open.
LILRC’s Spring Conference is STEAM Heat: Libraries Bringing Arts to Teaching and Learning, co-sponsored by SCLA DASL and NCLA ASLD. The program is open to all in the profession and features three dynamic presenters:
-Keynote: Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres, Assistant Chief, Music Division, Library of Congress
-Musicians/Filmmakers: Galileo’s Daughters
Screening of Perpetual Motion, Talk Back, Musical Performance
-Presenter: Joanne V. Loewy DA, LCAT, MT-BC, Director, The Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System
PLDA: Shauna Scholl reported: The PLDA golf outing is scheduled for September 30, 2024. PLDA would love to have many SCLA members there!
SCLS: Kevin Verbesey reported: No report
NYLA: Lisa Kropp reported: No report
Old Business: None.
New Business: None.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:29am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Bruce Seger and Carisse Mitchell.
Suffolk County Library Association (SCLA) Minutes
Friday, March 16, 2024
Zoom
In attendance: Samantha Alberts, Steve Alcalde, Charlotte Buckleman, Rachel Cecchini, Patricia Cruz, Nicole Parisi Eberle, Anthony Giansante, Stephen Ingram, Bob Johnson, Erin Kanelos, Carole Lingg, Wonda Miller, Colleen Navins, Katherine Regina, Ashley Sabatino, Sally Stieglitz, Morgan Tamburro, Vicky Urbelis
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:03am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Bob Johnson and Patricia Cruz.
Announcements:
Motion to approve the February 2024 meeting minutes by Colleen Navins with no corrections. Seconded by Kate Regina and Anthony Giansante.
Presidents Report: Colleen Navins reported:
Homelessness and Libraries took place on Thursday, February 29 with a great turn out at SCLS. 42 librarians joined The Long Island Coalition for the Homeless and we got great feedback from the presentation. We collected food for Agape for Kids and will continue to collect at our Spring Mix and Mingle.
We will be granting access to the Administration side for Division Secretaries in Wild Apricot. Please let your secretaries know and invite them to our in person meeting in April. Stephen will be doing another hands on Wild Apricot presentation and will walk through how to access Registration lists. This will help divisions retrieve their attendance lists on an as needed basis. We want to make sure our SCLA Board has access to what they need in order to be timely and successful.
Registration is going well for the Spring Mix and Mingle. We have added another 10 seats to fill. I will be working with Stephen to have an email sent to registrants to let them know we are now cashless and they are able to ‘purchase’ raffle tickets ahead of time and show us the email. We will also continue to collect for Agape Kids.
- Divisions please let me know if you are putting together a raffle basket.
- We will be splitting all raffle revenue equally like we did for the Annual Dinner.
I will be sending out a schedule for the SCLA table at the LILC. Divisions should also start creating a schedule and asking their boards to take shifts manning the tables and raffles.
One of my goals for this year is to have an event sponsored by SCLA every month (excluding the summer, unless it’s a networking event).
- I have reached out to a Ph.D. student from Syracuse University about hosting a Webinar. Leah Dudak has spent her career researching: Critical Librarianship, Social Justice, DEIA and Libraries, Public Libraries, Trauma in Libraries, LIS Education, Design Thinking, Disability Justice, and Information Seeking Behavior. I am hoping to plan something for April for our members and possibly co-sponsor with NCLA.
Treasurer’s Report: Wonda Miller reported:
February Finances:
SCLA began with a combined starting balance of all our accounts on February 1st of 99,344.82.
February income was $4811.41 which reflects quite a bit of activity in membership.
February expenses were $1284.43.
The closing balance for February was $99,376.19.
No pending disbursement of checks for February.
|
|
Income |
Expense |
Net |
Closing Balance |
|
January 2024 |
$6,483.63 |
$4561.69 |
$1,921.94 |
$99,344.82 |
|
February 2024 |
$4,811.41 |
$1,284.43 |
$3,526.98 |
$102,871.80 |
Information & Updates:
Reminder: all presidents and treasurers of Divisions have access to spreadsheets that I update with monthly banking information. Please let me know if you need the links. Don’t forget that we have Reimbursement forms and Programmer contracts on the SCLA website under resources. These are required to be filled out for any funds to be distributed. If you do the program contract, we don’t need the reimbursement form.
We have QR code on our website for Wild Apricot remote payments to help facilitate cashless transactions.
Division Reports-
DASL: Bruce Seger reported:
RASD: Patricia Cruz reported:
- The Long Island Reads committee is ramping up for the April 21st event at Plainview-Old Bethpage Library. Tickets will be available beginning April 1 for both in-person and virtual attendance. The Reader’s Guide is available at: https://longislandreads.wordpress.com/2024/03/04/reader-book-discussion-guide-2/.
- If your library is planning any Long Island Reads related programming, please use this form to let us know what you’ve got planned: https://forms.gle/GyxEUwjv4FHkHssT8.
- A change to the name of a committee from “Public Relations and Marketing Committee” to “Library Marketing Committee.” was approved by the board.
- Reader’s Advisory committee’s next meeting is Thursday, April 25 at SCLS. Topic: Folklore & Mythology.
- We started brainstorming on LILC giveaways and raffle basket.
- Thank you to Stephen Ingram for helping us out with some housekeeping items on the RASD website this month.
- Our next meeting is in person at SCLS in the Blue Room on April 2nd at 10am.
CATS: Robert Johnson reported: The Executive Board met and discussed at length ways to support the large number of programs that we are hosting throughout the year. In order to continue and indeed increase the level of programming that our division brings to the table, we look to pursue innovative ways to raise funds.
To support our colleagues from the SSD division, the board would like to extend an offer of assistance in any capacity that we can. We share many members and look forward to the success of the SSD division.
East End Technology Coalition (EETC) – A very well attended meeting of the East End Technology Coalition (EETC) was held on March 5th at the SCLS auditorium. Co-Chair of the NCLA Computers & Technology Committee and Assistant Director of the Port Washington Public Library, James Hutter, presented tips for helping library staff embrace new technologies. A number of ideas were presented by Mr. Hutter on how to prepare staff for change, train staff on new technologies, and deploy technology for the benefit of the public and staff members. Steven Alcalde and Anthony Giansante continue to do a superb job of growing this committee.
Technology Information Forum (TIF): A very successful meeting of the Technology Information Forum group was held via Zoom on March 14th. Among the topics discussed were poster printers, DTG printing in makerspaces, the use of personal devices to assist patrons, virus protection, and library-owned devices policies. Chris DeCristofaro and Alison Mirabella continue to do a wonderful job in supporting this committee.
Technical Services Roundtable: We are working on a meeting for the spring. Debbie Antolini and Roseann Mammina continue to support this group in new and innovative ways.
SSD: No report. Possible suggestion: What can SCLA do for SSD now? Library/ SCLS tours, computer classes (hire programmer) Library of Things roundtable. Lower membership rate?
YASD: Ashley Sabatino reported:
Fran Romer- April 11th. 30 people signed up as of today. Registration is still open.
Board meeting 3/14- Author’s Unlimited on April 13th. LILC prep, BEST Award submissions are open. Applications due by 4/4.
Planning for program in May. “The Teens Are Alright” program for non-teen services staff.
Committee Reports-
Annual Dinner: Michele Cayea reported: No report.
Archives: Bruce Seger reported: No report.
Civil Service: Erin Kanelos reported: The various Librarian I lists have been taken down, and should be replaced with the new lists soon.
Continuing Education: Vicky Urbelis and Charlotte Buckleman reported: The new Google Sheet is working! Please continue to use the SCLA email for membership inquiries.
Community Service: Michele McCauley reported: No report.
ELSA: Katherine Regina reported: We welcome Carolyn Brooks from Smithtown Library-Commack to our committee. Posters shall be going out next month, updated brochures will be available on the website and nomination season will begin.
Intellectual Freedom: Bruce Seger reported: No report.
LDA Award: Noel Reich reported: We are now accepting nominations for the 2024 LDA Award. Nominating packets can be submitted via Google Form, or emailed in a single PDF to ldalibraryaward@gmail.com. Please submit all nomination materials by March 22nd.
Legislative: Samantha Alberts reported: Thank you to the SCLA executive board for all the support for this year’s Advocacy Day. We had 49 library advocates make the trip on the SCLA-sponsored bus this year. The bus captains, Sophia LoCascio from the Sustainable Library’s Initiative, Miranda Brown from SCLS, and Nola Thacker from Westhampton Free Library did a great job in ensuring that the bus made it to the capitol in record time and everyone made it home safely. The cost of running a bus has increased, but we did not spend any money on hospitality this year. PLDA graciously provided the funds for hospitality.
Our Advocacy efforts are not done, the Assembly and Senate have released the one-house budget proposal. NYLA is now asking that we reach out to the governor for the final budget proposal. The proposals this year have been historic in that they have not asked for cuts in library aid and in the first proposal in nine years that has not proposed increases in both library and construction aid.
Please take action and let the governor know you support libraries:
https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=21508
The right to read bill is being presented to the legislature along with two pieces of civil service legislation. One would credit people with provisional time for promotions and the other updates civil service exams at least once every five years. The legislature is also looking at increasing the per-pupil allocation for school librarians. It is unclear if they would move it to $11/pupil due to the impact on local budgets.
Save the date for these Advocacy opportunities:
Spring on the Hill Advocacy – April 23, 2024.
PLDA Golf Fundraiser – September 30, 2024.
Library Advocacy Day 2025 – Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Long Island Library Conference: Brian Adams reported:
- As of today we have 30 tables sold and 140 attendees registered. We expect (and pray) for an increase in both as the date grows nearer. Thank you to Vicky and Charlotte for sending the SCLA Membership roster. This will be a great help in verifying members for their discounts. You will be shocked with the amount of non-members of SCLA there are.
- Remember members get a 15 dollar discount, and we are billing those who forgot they weren’t members the additional amount.
- We may want to consider a larger amount for next year…to encourage membership, especially for libraries that pay for their staff to attend.
- Our next meeting is April 9th at the Marriott – for a walk through and food tasting. It is one of our most important meetings of the year. Please encourage your colleagues to attend and as always, thank you for your support.
LILPA: Noel Reich reported:
- LILPA is excited to host Pride & Programming on March 21st at 10am, registration is still open for those who are interested.
- We will be starting 4 committees over the next several months to expand our book club, conduct a subject heading audit, organize social events and connect with queer librarians around NY State. If people are interested they can sign up here.
- The LILPA website has several resources for library staff including local and national queer resources, book lists, LGBTQIA+ Programming Database, a virtual reference desk and more! We also opened up a Book Review form for people who want to submit a queer book review to be featured on our blog. Check us out! https://scla.net/lilpa/
Long Range Planning/Marketing: Carisse Mitchell reported:
I would like to put a vote to order the following swag/ marketing materials for the LILC through Davenport Marketing. They would all be imprinted with the SCLA Logo
VG49082 – Silicone Apple Finder key tag: http://davenportmarketinginc.com/ProductDetails/?productId=555179127&imageId=303958239&tab=Tile&referrerPage=ProductResults&refPgId=523328703&referrerModule=PRDREB
250 pieces – White imprint
$2.00 each – $62.50 set-up charge
Total: $562.50
35000 – NonWoven lunch cooler: http://davenportmarketinginc.com/ProductDetails/?productId=553106412&imageId=311236539&tab=Tile&referrerPage=ProductResults&refPgId=523328703&referrerModule=PRDREB
250 pieces – white imprint
$2.99 each – $50 set-up charge
Total: $797.50
Requesting approval for: $1360
Additionally – I think we should consider purchasing Apple airtags to raffle off to go with part of the swag for our table at the LILC:
4 for $78.99
Colleen Navins made a motion to approve funds not exceeding $1500. Motion approved by Kate Regina and Morgan Tamburro.
Membership: Vicky Urbelis reported: There are 420 active members to date.
Networking: Morgan Tamburro reported: Morgan is working on getting donations for raffle baskets for SCLA events. She is continuing to work on the kickball tournament in the fall.
Newsletter: Carole Lingg reported: Please make sure to submit your April newsletter content by Wednesday, March 20th.
Nominating: Anthony Giansante reported: Elections are in June so please start to get your nomination slates in order as soon as you can. Please check your division’s website and verify that the list of officers is current. We will be hosting another Professional Development Series in September. It will be the same format as last year. Division presidents should start to think of programming ideas.
Scholarship: Brian Schwartz reported: No report.
Student Outreach: Colleen Navins reported: Colleen is continuing to reach out to her school contacts.
Website: Stephen Ingram reported:
Basic website/facebook maintenance and posting of events.
Facebook insights: 1083 followers
February webpage views for the month of 973
Updated SCLA, CATS, RASD, CARE Committee wordpress sites to latest security updates.
Monitor and approve listserv posts
Updated listserv members
Created and monitored Wild Apricot Events
Created donation page for SCLA
Created QR code for donation page
Placed QR code on SCLA homepage
3-7-24 Meeting with SCLA President/Vice President/ Membership chairs to discuss CEU tracking through SCLA.
Desire to update contact information on Website Domain to forward to SCLA.
Liaisons-
CLASC: Kim Zettwoch reported: No report.
LILRC: Sally Stieglitz reported:
Please join LILRC for our upcoming Annual Membership Meeting, Tuesday, June 18, 9:00am – 1:00pm at Farmingdale State College, Campus Center Ballroom. The keynote speaker is Patrick Sweeney, Political Director at EveryLibrary who will be talking about advocacy techniques and approaches to book ban efforts.
With NCLA ASLD and SCLA DASL, we are pleased to offer STEAM Heat: Libraries Bringing Arts to Teaching and Learning, Wednesday May 1, 9:00am-4:00pm, at the Half Hollow Hills Community Library (Dix Hills).
Keynote: Performing Arts Collections and Engagement: 100 Years of Building Community at the Nation’s Library
Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres, Assistant Chief, Music Division, Library of Congress
Musicians/Filmmakers: Galileo’s Daughters
Screening of Perpetual Motion, Talk Back, Musical Performance
Music Therapy as Integrative Medicine
Joanne V. Loewy DA, LCAT, MT-BC, Director, The Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System
PLDA: Shauna Scholl reported: No report.
SCLS: Kevin Verbesey reported: No report.
NYLA: Lisa Kropp reported: No report.
Old Business: None.
New Business: None.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:50am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Charlotte Buckleman and Wonda Miller.
Suffolk County Library Association (SCLA) Minutes
Friday, April 12, 2024
Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, New York
In attendance: Samantha Alberts, Steven Alcalde, Charlotte Buckleman, Rachel Cecchini, Emma Cesario, Patricia Cruz, Anthony Giansante, Stephen Ingram, Bob Johnson, Erin Kanelos, Carole Lingg, Rachel Lupinacci, Colleen Navins, Katherine Regina, Ashley Sabatino, Bruce Seger, Sally Stieglitz
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 10:05am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Ashley Sabatino and Patricia Cruz.
Announcements: Stephen Ingram did a presentation for the board and division secretaries about Wild Apricot. He went over how to view past attended programs, how to use the program registration form on the SCLA website, how events are created, etc. If members are looking for event information/attendance information, please email the division secretaries and Stephen.
Motion to approve the March 2024 meeting minutes by Colleen Navins with no corrections. Seconded by Bruce Seger and Anthony Giansante.
Presidents Report: Colleen Navins reported:
- Spring Mix and Mingle took place on Thursday, March 28 with over 60 professionals in attendance. Everyone had a great time and we broke Wild Apricot with raffle purchases! We donated over 70 food items for Agape Meals for Kids.
- Registration is underway for our webinar with Leah Dudak – Every Book Their Reader. We have about 15 registered so far. I will continue to share that across ListServs.
- Please make sure you have table coverage, raffles and giveaways for the LILC. We increased our Wild Apricot limit for this event.
Treasurer’s Report: Wonda Miller reported:
March Finances:
SCLA began with a combined starting balance of all our accounts on March 1st of $102,871.80.
March income was $5058.65 which reflects quite a bit of activity in membership and event registration.
March expenses were $177.62 (program reimbursement and bank fees).
The closing balance for March was $107,752.83.
No pending disbursement of checks for this month.
|
|
Income |
Expense |
Net |
Closing Balance |
|
January 2024 |
$6,483.63 |
$4561.69 |
$1,921.94 |
$99,344.82 |
|
February 2024 |
$4,811.41 |
$1,284.43 |
$3,526.98 |
$102,871.80 |
|
March 2024 |
$5,058.65 |
$177.62 |
$4,881.03 |
$107,752.83 |
Information & Updates:
Al Coster has started to work on our taxes and financial report.
- Recommend adding 2 policies- conflict of interest and whistleblower policy. This would begin for the 2025 term.
- Motion to approve these policies- Patricia and Bruce second motion.
Stephen Ingram has paid for the SCLA Zoom account for the year, it was $159.90. I’d like to recommend that we reimburse him for it.
Motion approved unanimously.
Spring Mixer overview is that we sold about $770.00 in tickets, and about $435.00 in raffles. The final tallies are showing up in April bank statements.
Wild apricot has a daily transaction limit. If any divisions plan to host a raffle, please give me a few weeks notice so I can increase the limit for the day of the event.
Division Reports-
DASL: Bruce Seger reported: The academic invitational is on May 1st at Half Hollow Hills Library. “STEAM Heat” Libraries Bringing Arts to Teaching and Learning. Please encourage your colleagues to attend.
RASD: Patricia Cruz reported:
- RASD board met at SCLS on April 2nd. Our next meeting is June 4th virtually @ 10am.
- I took the opportunity to review several procedures- how to have programs/meetings set-up on WildApricot, reporting continuing education, getting reimbursed for program expenses, process for payment for programmers, requesting a tax exempt certificate, cashless payments.
- Upcoming meetings/events:
- Long Island Reads registration went live on April 1st; there are 2 links for registering (in person or virtual) – the event will be held at Plainview-Old Bethpage Library on Sunday, April 21, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
- Reader’s Advisory – Thursday, April 25 at 10am @ SCLS. Topic: Folklore & Mythology
- Career & Business – Tuesday, June 4 at 2:30pm at Middle Country Library in Centereach.
- MOSAIC Annual Breakfast is scheduled for June 20th
- Ordered giveaway for conference & our member-at-large is putting together a raffle basket.
- After reviewing the cashless procedure questions/concerns came up during our meeting.
CATS: Robert Johnson reported: The division members would like to extend our collective thanks to the SCLA and PLDA Boards for a fun filled and entertaining evening at the James Joyce mixer event on March 28th. Our generous board members, Stephen Burg, Anthony Giansante, Steven Alcalde and myself, donated two amazing baskets for the division’s raffle. A meeting of the CATS Board was held at SCLS on April 4th. The board discussed new fundraising opportunities and programming in addition to business as usual. Stephen Ingram was kind enough to demonstrate the Wild Apricot system to the board. Consequently, the board unanimously adopted Wild Apricot as the preferred method for signing up for programs and managing members. The board also discussed Wild Apricot’s new cashless system, specifically its use at the Long Island Library Conference.
CATS Committee Reports:
East End Technology Coalition (EETC): The East End Technology Coalition Committee, chaired by our extraordinary board members, Anthony Giansante and Steven Alcalde, continues to offer amazing program opportunities for the division. The next engaging program, Connecting Communities: The Role of Libraries in Public WiFi Access, will be held over Zoom on May 7th @ 10 am. With a little under a month to go, this program has already generated well over one hundred (100) attendee signups.
Technology Information Forum (TIF): The Technology Information Forum committee, chaired by our incredibly dedicated board members, Alison Mirabella and Chris DeCristofaro, continues to do very well each month with over 25 attendees participating during the last Zoom meeting on March 14th. Topics of discussion included poster printers, virus protection, library owned device policies, staff using personal devices to assist patrons and makerspace printing formats. Due to several inquiries, the division is discussing the option of holding in person meetings a few times per year for this committee.
Technical Services Roundtable: The Technical Services Roundtable Committee, chaired by our amazingly devoted board members, Debbie Antolini and Roseanne Mammina, offers an open forum discussion meeting a few times a year and brings in big attendance numbers.These meetings allow anyone involved with technical services duties to come together and share techniques, strategies, and procedures related to ordering, processing, cataloging, and securing library materials. The next meeting of this committee will be on April 29th @ 10 am in the SCLS auditorium. Please encourage your colleagues to attend this well rounded roundtable meeting. They will surely not be disappointed.
CATS Upcoming Long Island Library Conference Programs:
Title: Teaching Tech
Title: Women and Tech AMA (Cosponsored with CLASC)
Title: Meet the Challenge – Organize, Advocate, and Overcome.
Title: Tech, Trends and Teens at the Public Library… Oh My!
Title: Maximizing Your Seed Library’s Potential
SSD: Stephen Ingram reported:
SSD Library of Things Tour: Sayville Public Library
Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM @ Sayville Library 88 Greene Ave, Sayville, NY 11782
Morgan Tamburro, Head of Patron Services of the Sayville Library, with assistance from Tory Young, Patron Services Technical Coordinator, demonstrated their Library of Things Collection. Twenty-three attendees examined the physical collection, which was followed by a presentation and Q&A session.
Slides have been sent to all registrants and an attendance list has been sent to the membership email.
- There has been interest in tutorials about using Canva- SI will set it up
- Library tours- specifically state that attendees will have a chance to speak to tech services, etc.
- Graphic designer workshop?
*Please continue to ask your colleagues if they are interested in being on the SSD Board.
YASD: Ashley Sabatino reported: There were 33 attendees at the Fran Romer workshop. It was a very successful event. Using Wild Apricot for the raffle went very smoothly. We are planning all of our details for the Long Island Library Conference. On May 23rd, we’re hosting a program on Zoom called, “The Teens Are Alright.” Registration is currently open.
Committee Reports-
Annual Dinner: Michele Cayea reported: No report.
Archives: Bruce Seger reported: Working on digitizing photos and the Flickr account.
Civil Service: Erin Kanelos reported: Information sheet for Librarian 2 is in progress. Erin discussed a possible program for those taking the upper level exams; how to prepare your info, what SCLA can provide, etc.
Continuing Education: Vicky Urbelis and Charlotte Buckleman reported: Keep sending credits to Charlotte and Vicky at the membership email.
Community Service: Michele McCauley reported: No report.
ELSA: Katherine Regina reported: No report.
Intellectual Freedom: Bruce Seger reported: Bill Burns presentation is in the works. More information about that will be shared soon.
LDA Award: Noel Reich reported: The LDA Award Committee has selected a winner! We will present the award at the LILC conference. We will be putting feelers out soon for those who may be interested in taking over this chair, a full description and timeline will be shared.
Legislative: Samantha Alberts reported:
Save the date for these Advocacy opportunities:
Spring on the Hill Advocacy – April 23, 2024.
PLDA Golf Fundraiser – September 30, 2024.
Library Advocacy Day 2025 – Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Long Island Library Conference: Brian Adams reported: No report.
LILPA: Noel Reich reported: LILPA held a virtual program, “Pride & Programming” on March 21st with 32 attendees. We discussed how to plan for Pride Month programs, and navigate any pushback from patrons, staff, or admin. LILPA’s new book club committee will be hosting a virtual meeting on April 18th to discuss Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni, all are welcome! The LILPA Board is excited to present at the LILC, and created a June program with LILRC regarding support for trans patrons and youth in light of the discriminatory athletic ban in Nassau County.
Long Range Planning/Marketing: Carisse Mitchell reported: All swag and promotional materials have been ordered and will be at the conference.
Membership: Vicky Urbelis reported: 426 active members to date. Membership numbers should be sent to the membership email.
Networking: Morgan Tamburro reported: No report.
Newsletter: Carole Lingg reported: Thanks for the submissions. Please try to keep submissions under 1 page.
Nominating: Anthony Giansante reported: Anthony reached out to divisions to get election slates ready. The deadline is May 31st. Please make sure all candidates submit a professional biography and photo.
Scholarship: Brian Schwartz reported: No report.
Student Outreach: Colleen Navins reported: Colleen attended LIU. LIU is going completely virtual with their MLS program now. This is following the path that several library schools are taking now. Colleen is looking to reach out to schools who are offering virtual programs.
Website: Stephen Ingram reported:
March Webpage views for the month: 803
Facebook insights: 1084 followers
Updated SCLA, CATS, RASD, CARE Committee wordpress sites to latest security updates.
Monitor and approve listserv posts
Updated listserv members
Created and monitored Wild Apricot Events
Liaisons-
CLASC: Kim Zettwoch reported: No report.
LILRC: Sally Stieglitz reported:
LILRC has two outstanding in-person programs coming up that should not be missed.
LILRC, NCLA ASLD, and SCLA DASL invite you to join us for a full day in person conference for all types of librarians. Called STEAM Heat: Libraries Bringing Arts to Teaching and Learning, the event will be on Wednesday May 1, 9:00am-4:00pm , Half Hollow Hills Community Library (Dix Hills), which is conveniently located for both counties. Registration is only $30 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, and snack.
The program is:
Keynote: Performing Arts Collections and Engagement: 100 Years of Building Community at the Nation’s Library
Nicholas A. Brown-Cáceres, Assistant Chief, Music Division, Library of Congress
Musicians/Filmmakers: Galileo’s Daughters
Screening of Perpetual Motion, Talk Back, Musical Performance
Music Therapy as Integrative Medicine
Joanne V. Loewy DA, LCAT, MT-BC, Director, The Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System
We also have our upcoming LILRC Annual Membership Meeting 2024, June 18, 2024
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM at Farmingdale State College, Campus Center Ballroom. The keynote is Patrick Sweeney, Political Director, EveryLibrary, who will be talking about advocacy techniques and approaches to book ban efforts. We will also hear from our 2024 Digitization & Innovation Grant Recipients about their inspiring work. The Meeting is free and includes breakfast.
PLDA: Shauna Scholl reported: No report.
SCLS: Kevin Verbesey reported: No report.
NYLA: Lisa Kropp reported: NYLA has started a limited edition bonfire campaign to raise money to support NYLA’s programs and services – plus the focus is celebrating the freedom to read! Orders need to be placed by April 28, and items will be received by May 16th. You can view and order merchandise here: https://www.bonfire.com/new-york-library-association160/?utm_source=mailgun&utm_medium=Initial%20template&utm_campaign=order_made_for_owner
Spring on the Hill is April 23, and will have some powerful professional development around advocacy and media training, including sessions led by ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom Staff, and Librarian of the Year, Director of the Virginia Library Association, Lisa Varga. Please email director@nyla.org to see if there are still spots available. The full-day event is $160.
Old Business: None.
New Business: Secretaries have access to Wild Apricot. If anyone needs a Wild Apricot refresher, please reach out to Colleen and Stephen.
Stephen Ingram discussed a program idea for a roundtable with authors. It would be in September and would be in collaboration with the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. More information will be shared.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:27am by Anthony Giansante. Seconded by Colleen Navins and Charlotte Buckleman.