Collections SIG Meeting
Thursday February 10th 2011
Present : Jenny Ackroyd (Darebin), Debra Hutchinson (Greater Dandenong), Sue Henczel (Geelong), Kim Neill (Geelong), Robyn Fisher (Mornington Peninsula), Penny Reeves (Wyndham), Michelle Donelly (Maribyrnong), Jennifer Khan (Melbourne), Jenny Lawrence (Brimbank), Terry May (Melton), Anita Catoggio (Yarra Plenty), Lyn Baines (Eastern Regional), John Radford (Moreland), Sue Gray (Boroondara), Michelle Bence (Stonnington),Teresa Wight (Casey-Cardinia), Barb Donelson (Kingston)
Apologies : Kim Kearsey (Frankston), Marnie Weinrich (Yarra), Letizia Mondello (Moonee Valley), Katie Norton (Whitehorse Mannigham), Pru Menzies (Casey-Cardinia), Naomi Barr (East Gippsland)
Minutes of previous meeting : None taken.
Report from Collaborative Purchasing Steering Committee.
Jenny Ackroyd & Lyn Baines are now attending these meetings. They reported from the meeting on February 7th. The two year contract awarded to James Bennett expires in September 2011 but there’s an option of a one year extension. The feeling was that the extension would be granted but the committee wanted to talk to James Bennett reps about some of the issues reported by libraries around delivery times, processing & cataloguing issues. The committee realised that there was some resistance to the idea of having only one book supplier on the panel. In the next tender (due September 2012), there would be an expectation that more than one supplier would be appointed.
Updates/Discussion on Procurement Tenders.
Jennifer Khan, John Radford & Barb Donelson are all happy with their experience of the choice of suppliers & flexibility they have with the Procurement Australia process. Jennifer was less happy with the reporting but is working on it.
The rise of the e-book.
General discussion on e-books & how we can respond to the upsurge of interest in e-books & downloadable audio. Some libraries have jumped in & offer Overdrive, Wavesound or Bolinda. Others are in discussion with vendors. Others are having technical or funding difficulties.
At the moment, only the three main suppliers in the market but new vendors & products coming along (Blio (Baker & Taylor), NetLibrary etc). Libraries that have e-books report that they’re very popular.
Anita Catoggio shared results of a survey at Yarra Plenty. In January they achieved 2000 downloads (50/50 e-books & audio), main group of users 40-60year old women, downloading to their PCs. 25% of e-book patrons don’t borrow anything else. Has anyone looked at the possibility of a consortia for buying e-content similar to the one YP has with Brisbane?
Sue Gray said we need to be relevant in the future & offer what patrons want. NetLibrary may soon be a viable alternative as they move to providing ePub files in April. They have no platform costs so potentially much cheaper than other vendors. They’re eager to get into the public library market.
*Jenny Ackroyd will investigate the possibility of a NetLibrary demo for the next meeting.
Jennifer Khan said that it can be a challenge to get the funds for the online content. It’s a small but growing proportion of loans but as demand grows, we’ll need to find the money to keep up with the demand for content.
Most libraries are incorporating the e-book records into their catalogues. There was discussion about the pros & cons of doing this.
Major project or activity for 2011.
There’s an expectation that SIGs will host a seminar or instigate a project relevant to their area.
Some ideas included seminars on e-books; evaluating collections; core collections; opening day collections; collaborative purchasing (LOTE?); reader development.
Reader development was the area that attracted most support. Jenny Ackroyd was enthusiastic about the Frontline training project & it was felt that promoting our collections is an important way of emphasizing the importance of libraries, increasing loans & giving us some leverage when negotiating budgets.
The proposal is for a seminar (half-day? full day?) in collaboration with the Libmark & Information SIGs. More discussion at next meeting.
Feedback from other SIGs.
No other meetings had taken place. Multicultural & Information groups meeting next week.
Site reports.
Darebin
· Frontline very successful. Staff enthused.
· Summer reads successful, several author talks.
· Restructure put off until late 2011.
· RFID. All tagged. Going live next month.
Greater Dandenong
· Frontline training happening.
· Bolinda downloadable going ok.
Geelong
· New online resources – Bolinda, Overdrive, Tumblebooks, Intrepica. Looking at more promotion of these.
· Three new libraries this year so looking at start up collections.
· Review of collections in progress, especially the floating collections.
· Spending significant time managing James bennett contract.
· Kevin Hennah doing signage review.
Mornington Peninsula
· Delay in buying downloadable product. Looking at next financial year now.
Brimbank
· Deer Park has a new outdoor play area.
· The advent of more & more technology has led to a review of the layout & design of all branches. More technology areas plus an increase in programs has led to less room for collections.
· All branches now have self-checkout & return.
Wyndham
· All libraries have self-checkout.
· New libraries – Wyndham Vale in May, Tarneit in 18 months.
· Boutique collections in the smaller branches. Lots of face out & display. Needed lots of weeding but resulted in better stats.
Maribyrnong
· Had Wavesound downloadable audio for 3 months. A bit clunky to use but an easy way to start with downloadables. Simultaneous borrowing big advantage.
· Lots of Non Fiction weeding happening.
Melbourne
· Nth Melbourne branch has been refurbished.
· New branches coming to Southbank & Docklands, maybe Sth Carlton as well.
· Tender evaluation in progress for RFID returns. To be implemented May/June.
Melton
· Designing new Melton branch. Staff involved in design brief & council very consultative.
· Staff benchmarking review being undertaken.
· 8 small LOTE collections in magazines & DVDs to be bought.
Yarra Plenty
· Launch of new website & OPAC. Patrons able to add content. Mixed responses on the ease of navigating the new site.
· Diamond Valley branch has been genred. 8 genres on new shelving.
· Eltham has been refurbished. Now has self-returns
· Annual collections survey to get patron feedback.
Eastern Regional
· RFID now operational in more than half our branches. Minor refurbishments to desks, foyers & entrances needed to accommodate self-check machines & security gates. All going well. Patrons mostly happy with self-checkout.
Moreland
· New LMS – Libero. First library service in Victoria to go with them but lots of good feedback from Qld & NSW libraries. Data transfer will take place in March. Going live in May.
· Looking at downloadable products.
· New director keen to have RFID so fingers crossed.
· Brunswick branch needs structural work so a refurbishment may be on the cards.
Boroondara
· Hawthorn refurbished which included major weeding. When Hawthorn reopens, all branches will have RFID.
Stonnington
· Bolinda downloadable launched in December at Malvern.
· Weeding bee at Malvern very successful. Phoenix Park is next.
· Genreing collections to be considered.
· Successful activities including Chinese New Year at Prahran, Library Lovers Week coming up next week & the Summer Read was very successful. Trying to come up with a name for the series of literature talks.
· Looking at downloadable products.
Casey-Cardinia
· Floods last weekend affected two branches & the mobile as well as road closures affecting staff getting to work.
· RFID working well despite a few niggles.
· Pakenham branch nearly completed, opening in June.
· Council has announced new branch in Officer.
Kingston
· Clarinda multicultural library & community centre now run by library service. Library now staffing it & looking to expand.
· Looking for a new IT Manager. The search has delayed any new IT projects including downloadables.
· Warrigal Rd branch has been closed for 2 years & had become a storeroom for old stock. Brotherhood of St Laurence have taken all the stock, shelving & trolleys. Good way to recycle.
· Council now have a social networking policy so the library can move into wifi, blogs etc.
· New online resources include Mango Language Learning, Road to IELTS.
· Stocktake.
Other business.
Jenny Ackroyd was very enthusiastic about the benefits of the Frontline training. The training was practical, fun & has already enthused several of her staff. It’s an online training format that cascades so that staff train their colleagues.
Penny Reeves suggested that we discuss the Year of Reading 2012 as a future project. On the agenda for next meeting.
Anita Catoggio asked if anyone knew about the proposal for a statewide charge for ILLs. The Library Link steering committee had been talking to the State Government about this. Penny Reeves thought there had only been general discussion about this & Jenny Ackroyd will ask Elisabeth Jackson if there was any outcome from the discussions.
Meetings in 2011
14 April 2011 Level 11 Room 1103
9 June 2011Level 11Room 1103
11 August 2011 Level 11Room 1103
13 October 2011Level 11Room 1103