COSLA
2005 Summer Meeting
Friday, June 24, 2005
Sears Tower
Chicago, Illinois
General Meeting Minutes
1
Members Present:
Blake, Norma (NJ)Boughton, Lesley (WY)
Buckley, Francis (DC)
Budler, Jo (OH)
Craig, Anne (IL)
Hainer, Gene (CO)
Hildreth, Susan (CA)
Jones, Sara (NV)
Joslin, Ann (ID)
Liegl, Dorothy (SD)
Maier, Rob (MA)
McVey, Susan (OK)
Miller, Suzanne (MN)
Mitchell, Rebecca (AL)
Morris, Donna Jones (UT)
Mulkey, Jack (AR)
Nelson, Jim (KY)
Nichols, Gary (ME)
Norman, Annie (DE)
Ott, Doris (ND)
Padilla, Irene (MD)
Parker, Sara (MO)
Ring, Judi (FL)
Robertson, Nancy (MI)
Rudd, Peggy (TX)
Schindler, JoAnn (HI)
Smith, Sharman (MS)
Staffeldt, Darlene (MT)
Walsh, Jan (WA)
Waggoner, JD (WV)
Wells, GladysAnn (AZ)
Wiggin, Ken (CT)
York, Michael (NH)
Zales, Clare (PA)
Member Designates:
Crisp, Jeanne for NC
Cross, Michael for Grobschmidt, Rich (WI)
Desch, Carol for Janet Welch (NY)
Galbraith, Marc for Christie Brandau (KS)
Pinkston, Jane for Ed Gleaves (TN)
Guests Present:
Bertot, John (FSU)
Choe, Martha (Gates Foundation)
Chute, Mary (IMLS)
Danvers, Rebecca (IMLS)
Hahn, Trudi Bellardo (NCLIS)
Hannigan, Kara (Gates Foundation)
Jowaisas, Chris (Gates Foundation)
Lord, Linda (ME)
Martin, Bob (IMLS)
Mason, Marilyn (WebJunction)
Sheketoff, Emily (ALA-Washington Office)
Smith, George (IMLS)
Todd, Mary Linda (NY)
Staff Present:
Hermann, Amanda (AMR)
1
Call to Order/Welcome
President Wells called the meeting to order at 1:05pm DST.
President’s Report – GladysAnn Wells
Wells reported she attended the IMLS Board of Directors meeting on June 23. At the meeting, she thanked IMLS on behalf of COSLA for the grants they provide and cited examples from Arizona to demonstrate the importance of the grants. Keith Fiels discussed ALA’s new strategic plan. Hermann will distribute the strategic plan on the listserve. Mary Dempsey from the Chicago Public Library described how libraries have been used as a cornerstone for economic development in the city. The Chicago Public Library story ran on public radio and on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.
Wells reported the Board approved a workplan agreement with AMR for the 2005 National Book Festival. AMR will be providing the financial management for the grant. Wells asked the membership to include information on librarianship as a career in their Festival materials. Blake will submit the Super Librarian information to the listserve. Anyone having materials that promote becoming a librarian should send it to the listserve or to Hermann for distribution.
Wells reported she attended the ALA hosted leadership meeting for library organizations. The meeting offers a forum for the organizations to discuss highlights of the past year. A representative from AALL was unable to attend this meeting. Duane Webster reported on ARL’s strategic planning process. ARL will be narrowing its focus to a few core issues. Keith Fiels reported on ALA’s strategic plan. Michael Gorman, ALA’s President, discussed his focus which is library education. The leadership listserve that includes the Executive Directors for the associations has been created. Because COSLA doesn’t have an Executive Director, the COSLA Board is on the list.
Wells reported NCLIS contacted her to co-sign a letter to the Secretary of Education regarding No Child Left Behind. Wells declined the invitation because there was a short turn around and she wouldn’t have been able to get it out to the Board or to the membership for comment. Also, the letter didn’t address the definition of School Library Media Specialists. Wells noted the Board instructed her to write a letter on behalf of COSLA to the U.S. Secretary of Education requesting the Department of Education re-visit the definition of School Library Media Specialists in the No Child Left Behind Act. Members that want to review the letter should contact Wells.
Recognition of Retiring Members – GladysAnn Wells
Wells recognized Jack Mulkey and presented him with a gift. Mulkey shared some thoughts about his time with COSLA. He will be present at the 2006 Annual Meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas. He will be working with AMR to choose the hotel.
Report from Bob Martin
Martin thanked COSLA for the opportunity to speak at the meeting. He thanked Wells for attending the IMLS Board meeting. Five former Chiefs and one active Chief were in attendance. Martin reported that his term as Director of IMLS will end on the 4th Anniversary of his confirmation on July 12th. The position must be filled by a person with a background in museum services. Martin will return as professor at the Texas Women’s University. Mary Chute will serve as the Interim Director until a permanent replacement is named. The membership should contact Martin for information on how to recommend a candidate. Wells presented Martin with a gift.
Secretary’s Report – Michael York
York moved to approve the minutes from the May 2, 2005 Meeting. Mitchell seconded the motion. Rudd made corrections to the minutes. The minutes were approved as corrected.
Treasurer’s Report – Peggy Rudd
Rudd reported the Board approved the March and April 2005 finance reports in their meeting.
Legislative Committee – Sharman Smith
S. Smith reported the committee discussed state issues that have national implications. The first issue was Alabama, Oklahoma and Louisiana had legislation introduced that prohibited the use of public funds to purchase materials that referenced an alternative lifestyle. In Alabama, the legislation never made it out of committee hearings. In Oklahoma, a resolution was passed but never progressed any further. North Carolina had similar legislation introduced requiring schools to have parent advisory counsels to assist in choosing materials for the library. ALA expressed interest in adopting a resolution censuring the legislatures in Oklahoma, Alabama and Louisiana. The issue is moot in the states but a resolution from ALA could bring the issue to the forefront again. Mitchell reported she was never contacted by ALA to discuss the issue. McVey noted that the Oklahoma legislature sent a copy of its resolution to ALA and it would not be helpful for ALA to retaliate by passing their resolution. S. Smith noted the issue of a resolution was discussed in the ALA Chapter Relations Committee and they decided not to take any action. Blake noted she saw on a Philadelphia television station that there is Congressional interest in requiring that a public advisory committee guide materials that are included in libraries; libraries that didn’t have advisory committees would loose federal funding.
The second issue that was discussed is Leslie Berger has stated a cornerstone of her Presidency would be to get LSTA grants back on the local level. Through a general consensus the membership decided to have Wells and Nichols discuss the issue with Berger.
The third issue discussed is that as it stands, the appropriations for the LSTA are not enough to trigger the formula for states to get the base allocation of $680,000.
The fourth issue the committee discussed is E-Rate. There appears to be a great deal of interest in opening the bill and removing libraries from being eligible for the discount. Members should prepare their E-Rate Coordinators so if they are contacted by legislators they are able to provide examples of the importance of E-Rate. Nichols noted the ALA E-Rate Task Force will be submitting comments to the FCC regarding E-Rate. Ring and Nichols will make comments on behalf of COSLA. The Task Force will also review comments submitted by individual COSLA members. The E-Rate Task Force meets almost every other week via telephone. Linda Lord noted she and several others were able to meet with FCC Chairman Martin and the assistants to some of the Commissioners. They discussed the importance of E-Rate and brainstormed ideas on how to strengthen the program. Senator Olympia Snowe has been a champion for E-Rate. Waggoner noted Senator Rockefeller’s office contacted him regarding E-Rate. Members should contact the FCC, their Congressional delegations and Senator Rockefeller to discuss the importance of E-Rate to libraries. Rudd referenced Alaska’s E-Rate handout and noted that Texas is doing a similar study. S. Smith noted Mississippi is also doing a study. Both Rudd and S. Smith will distribute the results of their study to the COSLA listserve when available. Ring noted the next meeting of the ALA E-Rate Task Force is open to everyone and will take place on June 26 from 2:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. at the Palmer House.
The fifth topic discussed by the legislative committee was the PATRIOT Act. ALA conducted a study and found that most libraries are ignorant about the provisions in the PATRIOT Act that effect libraries. ALA is creating a task force to evaluate the results of the study and determine what can be done to solve the problem. S. Smith and Wells will work together to find someone to sit on the task force.
The membership discussed the issues brought forth from the legislative committee. Parker noted that Keith Fiels discussed ALA’s intention to become more involved at the state level. Wiggin referred to the ALA strategic plan which states ALA’s desire to have a stronger voice at the state level. Rudd noted that typically the only librarians involved in legislative issues on the state level are the State Librarians. Sheketoff noted COSLA members that have a relationship with Council members should discuss this issue with them. The ALA leadership is open to hearing from COSLA. Through a general consensus the membership decided to have Wells and Nichols talk to Fiels about ALA’s role on the state level.
Sheketoff noted the appropriations for IMLS, which has passed in the House, does not provide enough funding to trigger the formula grants to states. Another $5 million is needed for grants to the states to initiate this formula. In regards to the PATRIOT Act Sheketoff reported law enforcement officials are going to libraries in record numbers. The House approved Representative Sanders's amendment barring the Department of Justice from using appropriated funds to search for library and bookstore records under the PATRIOT Act. The Safe Act has been introduced in the House and Senate and it modifies some of the provisions of the PATRIOT Act that are problematic. Three hundred and eight six local resolutions have been passed against the PATRIOT Act. The FCC has released a notice of proposed rule making on E-Rate. The E-Rate Task Force is meeting during the ALA Annual Conference and will meet again August 24-25 to develop an overall strategy. Linda Shatz is consulting on the project and will write the committee’s response. The main points in the response are the need to simplify the process and keep the program open to libraries.
IMLS – Mary Chute
Chute reminded members to ask their Senators for $170 million for state programs in IMLS appropriations. On June 20th, IMLS and the Library of Congress (LOC) signed a memorandum of understanding for the NDIIP program. The MOU notes that IMLS will administer the grants and LOC will provide the funding. Chute invited the membership to attend a goodbye party for Bob Martin on July 6, 2005 from 3:30p.m. to 5:30p.m. The partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on the Nation of Learners has been a success. About 130 applications for grants were received but only approximately eight will receive funding. The fall conference at IMLS will focus on the Five-year evaluation. There will be a new Chief orientation and a pre-conference on LSTA.
G. Smith noted the guidelines for the Five-year evaluation should be released by mid-July. An outcome-based evaluation training will take place in November and will use summer reading programs are the example to be evaluated. The training will consist of 5 to 7 states with teams of three people participating. Nelson reported he serves on an advisory panel at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to create an on-line version of outcome based evaluations. The form would include both library and museum tracks. G. Smith noted that the COSLA Five-year evaluation committee developed 6 measures that each state could compile. Once the measures are finalized, a tool like the one referenced by Nelson will be needed to collect the information.
Danvers reported an RFP has been issued for a study on how individuals with limited access to the Internet access government information and whether such users that access the information via public libraries and public access computing centers are satisfied with the access. Proposals are due July 20th.
Research and Statistics – JD Waggoner
Waggoner reported NCES is improving on the timeliness of their data; part of the 2003 data is now available on their website. The State Library Agencies survey is currently being reviewed. Members should let Rudd or Miller know if there are questions that should be addressed in the survey. The committee will work with IMLS to make other states’ data from the LSTA evaluation available to other State Library Agencies.
ALA – Ken Wiggin
Wiggin reported a Liaison to the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee is needed. The committee drafted a resolution on biometric technology. A subcommittee is working on drafting RFID implementation guidelines. Mason reported a WebJunction reception will take place at the Hilton in Continental C from 6:00p.m. to 7:30p.m. on June 24.
Continuing Education – Susan McVey
McVey reported the membership was surveyed for continuing education topics and Implications of Brain Research on Public Libraries will be the topic for the program at the fall meeting. The committee is discussing the schedule of the fall meeting to allow for enough time to discuss the topic. McVey invited the membership to attend the committee’s meetings which are typically held at a separate time from the other committees.