You can read the minutes of the 6/23/2010 SRG meeting below, or download a Word doc at http://blog.gcls.org/login/minutes/srg/SRG Meeting Minutes - 2010-06-23.doc

Meeting Minutes

June 23, 2010

Attendance: Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS), Flo Rosenberg (GCLS/MHB), Margaret Ware (PIT), Carol Baughman (GCLS/EAS), Carolyn Oldt (GCLS/LGB), Lynn Harpool (MON), Susan Mroz (FRA), Sue Mounier (NEW), Pat Hirsekorn (GCCL), Carol Atkinson (GCCL), Jean McGowan (DPL), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Pat Collins (GCLS/GRE), Marge Dombrosky (GCLS/SWE), Karen Shiles (GCLS), Ralph Bingham (GCLS), Debra Rosner (HEG)

The minutes were read and approved with no corrections.

Staff changes:  Gerri Schwebel from West Deptford has retired. Judy Ballard will be retiring on July 2nd; Brenda Muhlbaier will be taking replacing her.

Slow response time update: SirsiDynix recommended that we remove old data from the server. Karen removed data older than December 2005 (over 4 million items). Not may are finding improvements. The main problems are loading, switching screens, and in case of GCLS - a new virus scanner seems to be slowing things down. Karen asked that we keep a log of issues and forward them to Karen or Ralph at it@gcls.org.

Separating names in customer records: Karen ran a refactoring report which separated last and first names in. She warned that if a computer is not using the most current version of Workflows, this will cause problems. The most current version begins with ‘3.3.1’; if you do not have it, getting the update will not take much time.
Note: Suffixes are alphabetized a part of the last name.

Notify Via field in customer records:  Ralph runs a report to clean up the Notify Via field once a month. This field should be filled in (all caps) EMAIL, PHONE, or MAIL. If the field is blank our automated SVA notice system will send a mail notice (for holds, overdues, and bills). The report checks for a valid email address; if the Notify Via field is blank, it will then fill it with ‘EMAIL’. If there is no email, it will look for a phone number and fill in ‘PHONE’. Please note that if there is something in front of the phone number, Ralph will get an error report. All notes regarding a phone number should be placed after the actual phone number.

There are a few libraries other than GCLS that uses the SVA system for notification. Having the Notify Via field filled in properly is important even if you do not use SVA, as sometimes your items are checked out by a library that does use it, and notices will be sent via SVA.
Possible overdue items processing procedure:  Pitman has a set of procedures that works for them. Karen wrote them up and passed them around. Email Karen or Ralph at it@gcls.org if you want to use the procedures; you will need to specify a time frame for the reports mentioned in the procedures.

BookMyne:  This is an iPhone app that will find the nearest local library (coming soon). Margaret Heggan asked GCLS about this around the same time they themselves started looking at it. BookMyne can access the library’s catalog, holds, and review patron’s account. Ralph has had some difficulty getting it to work for GCLS, but will continue to work at it. Update: it is now up and running.

Questions/Comments:
Debra asked about purging inactive patrons. Karen can do this for each library that wants it. You can do it yourself, but it is rather tricky -- you can easily accidentally purge your user login instead of patron records. Please contact Karen or Ralph at it@gcls.org if you want her to run the purge with details (last date used, fines to eliminate).
Marge brought up a new email alert that the state budget restores $4.299 million to library services. The state library budget is now $6.3 million.

The next meeting will be on September 15^th at the Mullica Hill Branch.

Meeting Minutes

April 7, 2010

Attendees: Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS), Judy Ballard (GCLS/MHB), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Margaret Ware (PIT), Ann Kohn (GCIT), Lynn Harpool (MON), Flo Rosenberg (GCLS/MHB), Carol Wolf (GCLS/GLA), Carolyn Oldt (MHB/LGB), Violet Valentin (PAU), Pat Collins (GCLS/GRE), Jean McGowan (DPL), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Carol Baughman (GCLS/EAS), Marge Dombrosky (GCLS/SWE), Jacki Moore (NEW), Karen Shiles (GCLS0, Susan Mroz (FRA), Ralph Bingham (GCLS)

The minutes were read and approved with one correction. On the 2^nd page it had been mentioned that Margaret Heggan had attempted to locate a previous patron for an item. It was actually the McCowan library that had had the difficulty.

Update on Workflows slowness: Sirsi had been looking into the issue and made some suggestions that we followed. They also recommended that we use a process called ‘Trace Route’ that traces the route information follows from one server to another. Since information travels through different routers on its way through the internet, there could be instances of information being ‘dropped’ on route. Ralph tried with his PC and found some instances of minor slowness, but nothing glaring enough to be a problem. He feels quite strongly that the issue is on Sirsi’s end. Particularly as we are not also having problems with the internet connection for other functions. Karen had spoken with a Sirsi rep at PLA and they had been very eager to resolve the problem; however, they have not contacted her.

Approximately 2 weeks ago, we had an issue of extreme slowness – most functions simply were not working. This was caused by our internet connection via the State Library. They had been having some issues with Verizon, and Verizon had elected to fix the problem by shutting down the main circuit and routing all the internet connections over a ‘slow’ circuit while they worked on the problem.

Please send a record of slowness problems to Karen. We need a record of what you are doing, approximately how long the slowness lasts, and what computer station you are using. IBistro has separate problems, so please track them separately. We need to be able to go to Sirsi with specific problems so they can identify the problem and fix it.

Long Overdue Items with Bills: Kathy spoke on behalf of Gerrie S. West Deptford had a patron with a bill from 2005 on their record titled ‘Long Overdue’ with a charge, but no information about what the charge was for. West Deptford does not use this bill and could not identify where the charge came from. Woodbury has a bill titled ‘WODLongOverdue’ but they add a note about the charge. Mccowan also uses the LongOverdue bill, but adds a comment. They use the function when they want to delete an item from their collection but that still has a bill attached to the record. Mccowan deletes any item that has been overdue by 3 months or longer. Please make sure to add a note to miscellaneous charges, such at Long Overdue so others can at least tell the patron what the charge is for. It was also suggested that since the bill is from 2005, it could have been from the migration to Sirsi.

It was asked about items never going to bill. Karen stated that the report for this function is rather complicated and cannot be run for items that have no prices in their records. GCLS is correcting this by manually adding prices to each record without a price. What other libraries wish to do is not known.

Another issue raised was about old notes left in patron’s records. Kathy had a patron becomes extremely agitated when asked about her phone number. There was a note that the correct phone number needed to be obtained. Apparently, this patron had been asked several times for her phone number and no one had taken the note out after it was no longer needed. Kathy took the note out, but wondered about this problem. Notes need to be meaningful and removed when resolved. If you date the note, it may be used to determine if a note is still valid. Also, staff need to read the notes and resolve them as soon as possible. It was mentioned that this could be brought up at the Director’s Meeting to determine a policy, although, perhaps this is best decided individually for each library. They may be a report that could be run on the Notes field in a patron’s record, Karen was not sure. Most present felt that notes should not be older than 2-3 years old, and if still needed, could be kept relevant by updating the date of the note.

Expired Holds: how to handle items that are placed on hold, but are not actually available? Items that are long overdue, or missing, can have holds placed on them, but staff are not aware of this unless a patron keeps track of their holds and asks about a hold not being filled. Could there be a default expiration of holds to clear holds on items that are not actually available? This will need to be discussed at the Director’s meeting.

Removing users with charge histories: you cannot remove a patron who has a charge history. Let Karen know; she can remove the charge history.

Change in Circ Rules for GCLS DVDs: The DVDs that had been 7-Day loans are now 3-Day loans. They are not holdable (for anyone), and cannot be renewed. We try to make sure that there is at least 1 holdable copy for all nonholdable 3-Day loan DVDs.

Swedesboro Update: The tentative schedule for Swedesboro’s addition and closure is:

April 19^th – items will no longer be holdable

May 1^st - Swedesboro will be closed

May 3^rd - the satellite office in the Borough Hall will open

Hours: Mon-Thur 3-8

Sat 10-2

Marge is hoping they will not be closed longer than 6 months.

Questions/Comments:

Pat C. asked if serial (magazine) deletions could be a topic for the next meeting.

Brenda mentioned that GCLS has a homebound services program for patrons unable to get to the library and that these patrons all have ‘(HB)’ after their names. Please do not contact these patrons directly if there are overdue materials or other problems with their records. Call Brenda at 223-6020 and she will alert the staff assigned to the patron to clear up the matter.

Kathy mentioned a problem of items being checked out to a Franklinville patron with a note on their record ‘4 week checkout’. Apparently, the patron was an invalid, and the note was for the husband to check out materials for his wife for 4 weeks at a time. Since it could not be determined that the Franklinville patron had ever checked out the materials, West Deptford set the items to Missing. Sometime later, another staff member mentioned to Kathy that a group of items were being checked in with a status of Missing. Kathy recognized the name and after speaking to the patron, determined that she had the same name as the Franklinville patron but was checking materials out with her driver’s license instead of her card, and the staff member had checked the items out to the wrong record. Oddly enough, she then caught another staff member about to make the same mistake and was able to correct them. Franklinville mentioned that they will not check materials out without a library card for this reason. Most other libraries will use id in place of a library card – but PLEASE, verify that you have the correct record by matching address, phone number, or even birth date for patrons before checking materials out to a patron’s record that you have looked up manually.

Reminder: GCIT is NOT a walk-in building. They will fill holds, but because they are dealing strictly with minors, cannot allow physical access to the public.

Judy commented on the email sent out earlier regarding not using boxes for Velocity, and asked if anyone else was abiding by this request. It seems that the issue regarding the use of boxes had been resolved and it was actually ok to use boxes, as long as we do not over fill them. Items have been known to fall out the bottom of boxes that had been filled too heavy.

The next meeting will be June 23 at Mullica Hill in Meeting Room A at 9:30.

SRG

February 3, 2010

Meeting Minutes

Attendees: Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS), Flo Rosenberg (GCLS/MHB), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Judy Ballard (GCLS/MHB), Margaret Ware (PIT), Jacki Moore (NEW), Lynn Harpool (MON), Carolyn Green (GCLS/LGB), Carol Wolf (GCLS/GLA), Carol Atkcinson (GCCL), Pat Hirsekorn (GCCL), Ann Kohn (GCIT), Jean McGowan (DPL), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Patricia Collins (GCSL/GRE), Marge Dombrosky (GCLS/SWE), Karen Shiles (GCLS)

The minutes were read and a few corrections were made.

In the last meeting’s minutes a note had been added that Margaret Heggan’s patron cards were blocked at $5.00. This is not what the director had set up with Karen. They are still blocked at $.01. The new director might revisit this policy, but Karen asked them not to change anything until their new director can make that decision.

In the section on OPAC Timeouts, it was mentioned to contact Karen or Ralph about this issue. Please use the email address it@gcls.org to contact them. This way, even if one of them is out, all the GCLS IT staff will see the email and can respond.

Workflows Upgrade: We are now upgraded to version 3.3.1 – the first one since we switched over to Sirsi’s server hosting. There was no downtime, as the Sirsi it person started it earlier than scheduled (3am rather than 7am). It went well; everything seems stable, although slower.

Other Library’s Policies: West Deptford has been cleaning up temporary Paulsboro cards and speaking to the patrons about their not being able to use the temporary cards anymore. Most has been going well. One patron who used their West Deptford resident only computers was accepting, if disappointed, when told she would not be able to use those 4 computers anymore. However, when she spoke to another library’s staff about it, the staff person informed her that West Deptford was not allowed to do this, that they were being discriminatory. The patron then came back to West Deptford to complain about their discrimination against non-West Deptford residents. She also called their director to complain. The patron, when complaining, did not mention speaking to Paulsboro staff, so it is unknown which library’s staff person had offered their opinion about West Deptford’s policy. PLEASE Do Not discuss other library’s policies with patrons!!! If you have a question about a particular library’s policies, please feel free to contact that library for more information; but Do Not offer your opinion to the patron about library’s policies.

Workflows Speed Problems: Sirsi has sent Karen some suggestions to improve the slowness, which she forwarded to all libraries. The suggestions help, but do not alleviate the problem. Karen suggested that we begin tracking slowness on Workflows; she will come up with a form so we are all tracking the same way. That way Karen can share the documentation with Sirsi.

Paulsboro Update: They are circulating on Workflows, but do not yet have a delivery schedule set up with SJRLC, so please do not override the holds block on Paulsboro items. They hope to have deliveries set up soon. Also, Karen is not sure if they have had cataloging training, and asked if anyone from Paulsboro has contacted any of the other LOGIN libraries present; no one had. Judy mentioned that she has been suggesting the Greenwich branch as a pickup location to Paulsboro residents, as they are the closest library to Paulsboro. Carol W. has also been making that suggestion.

Pat C. asked if they had any checkout limits; Karen replied that they limited to 5 for adults, and 3 for children. Brenda asked if this was for total checkout on the record, or at a time. Karen was not sure.

New User Name Fields: With the last upgrade, we now have multiple name fields in patron records: first name, preferred name, middle name, and last name. Right now, everything is in the last name field. Karen will run a report to move everything after the comma (ex: Smith, John) and put in the first name field. You may update these fields when renewing patron records, but it is not necessary to make a point of updating, as Karen will be running this report sometime in the spring.

Using the preferred name field: If the patron wants to use their preferred name, you must check the box ‘use preferred name’ in the User Registration or Modify User screens. This will then cause the preferred name to be the name displayed in the patron name line. Workflows name lookup will search both first or preferred name fields.

Duplicate User Records: It was recommended to use this feature to check if a patron already has a card at another library. Enter their last name and then search for duplicate records. You can then modify the existing record instead of issuing a new card.

Brenda asked about how to activate a college barcode for patron of GCLS so that they could access the college’s databases. Karen demonstrated how to add a secondary barcode to a patron’s record. In the Modify User screen, click on the ID Manager gadget; you can then add a barcode to the Active ID screen.

Pat H. then mentioned that students access their databases with a User ID and Password – not their barcodes, so it not necessary to add college barcodes to their records. However, they do need their barcodes to access the Overdrive database. If you do add the college barcode to a patron’s record, please keep in mind that the college cards expire every semester, and they should not have access to the college’s databases when they are not currently enrolled at the college.

Checkout History: Margaret Heggan staff attempted to locate the patron previous to the last patron to check out an item and were unable to do so. It was recommended that staff check items before checking them in. That way, if there is a problem with an item you can hold off checking the item in, in case the patron returning the item states the problem existed when they checked out the item. You will still have the previous patron’s barcode in the record to enable you to contact them about the problem with the item.

Charge History: No circ rules have been set up, so the only choice that works is the ALLCHARGES choice in the drop down box. If you use this option, all circulation is saved; patrons needs to ‘opt in’ for this due to the privacy issues of setting this up as a default – anything saved can be accessed. Circ Rules need to be decided upon by the library director. To set the defaults, you must do so on each PC; it cannot be done globally, as not everyone in LOGIN will want the same defaults.

It was reported that some patrons are complaining about not being informed of shortened loan periods and/or higher fines associated with items from other libraries; particularly when the item is not labeled as such. Newfield loans their DVDs for 2 days, but do not label them, as their patrons know about their loan periods. They do not have a problem with other libraries loaning their materials for longer periods.

Please make sure to review loan periods with patrons at checkout. If one or two items have shortened loan periods, identify them to the patron. The information is also listed on checkout receipts.

Pat C. also recommended using the Fine Free Discharge wizard when you are checking an item out and get the message ‘item not discharged’.

Pat H. brought an example of an item with a strange holding code. The title was ‘The help’; next to the GCCL barcode was the code DPL. It was determined that this is Sirsi’s way to identify an item being held at another library to fill a patron request.

Pat C. mentioned that when an item is sent to a patron via GCLs MailLit program, it shows up on a patron’s record as checked out, but the patron does not remember checking the item out. There is nothing in the record specifying that an item was mailed. Items mailed out have to be checked out to the patron first; they get an extended due date of 3 weeks, you can use that information to determine if an item might have been mailed.

Pat C. mentioned items being returned damaged. If there is no note on the item, she calls the patron who last had the item – or library, if the item was returned ‘in transit’.

The next meeting will be on April 7^th at 9:30 at the Greenwich Branch.

Meeting Minutes

November 4, 2009

Attendance: Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS), Flo Rosenberg (GCLS/MHB), Judy Ballard (GCLS/MHB), Karen Boucher (WDL), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Margaret Ware (PIT), Susan Mroz (FRA), Marge Dombrosky (GCLS/SWE), Anne Wodnick (GCLS/LGB), Carol Atkins (GCCL), Pat Hirsekorn (GCCL) Pat Collins (GCLS/GRE), Carol Baugman (GCLS/EAS), Lynn Harpool (MON), Ann Kohn (GCIT), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Jean McGowan (DPL), Gwen Carotenuto (WES), Laurie Cranston (WOD), Karen Shiles (GCLS), Ralph Bingham (GCLS), Jacki Moore (NEW), Debra Rosner (HEG)

The minutes were read and approved.

(Note: late correction to last meeting’s minutes; Heggan library will circulate for patrons with bills up to $5, not block at $.01 as stated, they do require that all patrons renewing cards to pay all fees on their records first.)

SaaS migration and Offline Circ: The migration went well, even though it took longer than expected. The Offline Circ went very well, everyone was satisfied. It was commented that it saved a lot of time, overall, than hand-recording checkouts and then keying everything in later.

Karen noted the Offline Circ is available at all times, and can be used anytime you are down. Let Karen know that you are using it so she knows to run the Offline report when you come back online. This report loads all checkouts performed when your library was not connecting to the server.

OPAC Timeouts: Ralph had made adjustments to the OPACs to lengthen time for the OPAC to timeout. This was done on our server and did not transfer with the server migration. Sirsi actually had another fix that works better; we should no longer be seeing the OPACs timing out. Logan and Woodbury have still been seeing this happen; in the case of Logan, every 15 minutes, the screen was defaulting to the LOGIN login screen. The OPACs should be refreshing back to your catalog screen after 15 minutes. Laurie could not verify the timeouts as a fellow staff member had mentioned it to her recently, and she has not seen in herself. She will check back and contact Karen or Ralph with specifics. Please let Ralph or Karen know anytime something is not working correctly; include specifics (error message, time of occurrence, which PC, etc.)

Transit List/ Missing items: Margaret reported that someone from Glassboro called Pitman during the evening about an item on the Transit List, and the staff who answered the phone did not know what they were talking about. She did manage to find a transit list, and went on to find over 70 items on the shelf with a status of ‘In Transit’.

Pat H. mentioned that she will call a library if they have the only copy of an item with a hold that either she cannot find, or cannot send (on reserve for a class). GCC does not change the status of these items as what is ‘on reserve’ changes frequently. Monroe also does not use ‘Missing’ right away for items that cannot be located, as these items have a habit of showing up within a short amount of time. However, upon discussion of items showing as ‘available’ that actually are not, not changing the status will prevent the hold from moving to the next available copy. Pat will investigate changing the status of items that are on reserve. Karen mentioned that there is a method to allow double-check outs on items that are on reserve. This will keep the item on ‘reserve’ even if temporarily checked out to a student from the class. When the student returns the reserved item, it will still be reserved and not available in the catalog.

Margaret wanted to point out that not all staff know about transits, or what to do about unavailable holds (when a library calls about an item they own the only copy of that is missing from the shelf). It was mentioned that directors make sure that all staff are aware of procedures, even if they do not work with transit or hold lists.

Long Overdue items: a problem was identified with items that are on hold that have been checked out for the past 2 years (and are obviously not coming back). A ‘Long Overdue Report’ had been mentioned at a previous meeting. Could this be used to identify these items so that action can be taken on the holds that will not be filled? Karen said yes, this is a good use for the report.

A question about how holds are filled: GCLS items will go to any other GCLS patron on the list (in order of placement on the list); all other LOGIN library items will go first to their own patrons, then fill other holds on the list.

Margaret Heggan brought up a complaint about their call numbers being changed. This is an issue for catalogers and will be discussed at the Cataloging Committee meeting (tomorrow, 11-5).

GCC has been finding some records have an odd holding field (GCC/WDL for example). Pat H. did not remember to write down examples for Karen to look out. Deptford has also seen this on some of their records; it is not something they are able to fix. They will send specific examples to Karen for her to look at and identify the problem.

Monroe has been seeing holds placed on new items that they download records for, but have not yet had time to update to ‘new’ (not holdable). Please be aware that they do not allow holds on new items for the first 6 months. They will call the patron’s library to let you know that a hold will not be filled if they own the only copy.

Logan has also seen this happen to their DVDs that are ‘on order’ (holdable) and then changed to a 7-day Express loan (not holdable). These holds to not go away automatically and have to be canceled after alerting the patron of the unavailability of the item for hold.

NOTE: Please remind your staff NOT to OVERRIDE HOLD BLOCKS. The holds will not be filled by the library that owns an item that is not holdable.

Reminder: Margaret Heggan requires their patrons to use a PIN on their OPACs and from home to place holds. The PIN field will not appear on other libraries OPACs and will generate an error message when a Washington Twp resident attempts to place a hold at a library other than Margaret Heggan. Here is the note from the February minutes that discussed the problem:

Karen wanted to remind everyone about Margaret Heggan’s patrons being required to use a PIN when accessing iBistro (OPAC) either from inside Heggan or from home. This causes a problem when their patron visits another LOGIN library and wants to place a hold or access their account in iBistro. Sirsi is not able to recognize that other libraries do not require a PIN; so even though the PIN field does not show, Sirsi is requiring the patron’s PIN to access their account. The only work-around for this is to either assist the patron in accessing the catalog through Heggan’s library link, or to place holds or access patron records ourselves through Workflows.

To access the catalog through Heggan’s library link, you can click on the ‘LOGIN Library Websites’ link at the top of the page and select ‘Margaret E Heggan Free Public Library’ and then select the catalog link from their library page. You can also go directly to the LOGIN page at: www.login-libraries.org and select the Heggan catalog link from the list.

If a Margaret Heggan patron comes to your library and cannot remember their PIN, you can look the number up in their record by looking them up in the Modify User wizard and looking in the Privilege Tab. The PIN is listed on that page.

Reports During Busy Times: It has been noticed that there are reports that run for extended amounts of times during the middle of the day, when several others are attempting to run reports that normally take a few minutes to run. Since Sirsi can only run one report at a time, this causes a problem for others attempting to run reports.

The most recent example was a custom label report that ran for 2 days (Oct. 30^th 10:05 – Nov. 1^st 10:17). Ralph noted that this is an extreme example, but the custom label reports do tend to be the reports that run for longer than an hour. It is also possible to accidentally run this report without making any changes (selections) to the basic report. Karen stated that the next ‘increment’ will fix this problem.

If you notice that a report does not appear in the Finished Reports screen within a reasonable amount of time, email it@gcls.org to report a problem with the report. We cannot stop a report that is running; we have to notify Sirsi to stop the report. Karen asked that we 1) pay attention to reports that are not getting run, 2) please schedule reports that take a while to run for evenings or overnight, 3) set up a template with limits you can change when each time you run the report – this will prevent the system from running a report against the entire catalog if you forget to make changes to the template.

Margaret Heggan received a box with their address label but had materials for another library inside. They then noticed that on another side of the box was a label for the library the materials belonged to. PLEASE make sure your REMOVE OLD SHIPPING LABELS from boxes that you reuse for shipping.

GCC was asked to verify that it was ok to make modify the record of a patron that was once, but is no longer a student at GCC. Pat H. said, yes, that was correct.

Woodbury noticed that one of their materials had been set to Lost-Claimed by another library that had set the item to lost and collected the money without notifying Woodbury or sending the money on to them. DO NOT set another library’s materials to Lost, Missing, Claims Return, unless you have called the owning library and they have given you permission.

A question was asked about a policy for patrons with multiple overdue items. It was noted that each library would have their own policies for this; it is not a consortium policy.

Holds cancelled without patron knowledge. While we should not be cancelling holds without notifying the patron; Ralph suggested recommending to the patron that they sign up for Library Elf. They can get an email that lists what’s on hold; a cancelled hold will disappear from the list.

Mystery Items: Judy brought a book with blue tape around the bottom of the spine that she could not identify who it belonged to. Someone recognized it and claimed the book. GCC mentioned they had disc 2 of a Beatles CD; Pat H. had not thought to bring it with her. Deptford also has a DVD of Eragon (no case, and no label). Karen recommend that everyone bring mystery items to future SRG meetings to be identified and claimed.

The next meeting will be February 3^rd.

The next meeting will be on January 22, 2010 at the Monroe Township Free Public Library.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Attendance: Anne Zuber, Linda Snyder, Beth Lillie, Pat Collins, Gwen Carotenuto, Bob Wetherall, Sharon Furgason, Arn Winter, Marie Downes, Carol Baughman, Sue Mounier, Ann Kohn, Jean Wipf, Denise Saia, Anne Wodnick, and Carol Wolf.

The meeting was called to order at the Woodbury Public Library by President Marie at 10:03.

Secretary’s Report

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed. Beth motioned that they be approved. Bob seconded it and all approved.

Treasurer’s Report

The report that Jane had prepared was distributed by President Marie. The current balance is $133,940.67. The Sirsi/Dynix bill for $640.50 was for Library Thing. Last year’s collection of membership fees totaled $93,223. A correction was made to Paulsboro’s discounted membership fee. It was corrected to $1,875, not $ 18,750. It was motioned by Bob that the membership fees for 2010 be the same discounted rate as 2009, with the Monroe Township Free Public Library and Gill Memorial (Paulsboro) Library paying the rate for the full year; that the two bills, $83,920 for the Sirsi/Dynix migration and $25 for the annual report for the State of New Jersey, be paid; and that the treasurer’s report be accepted. Jean seconded it and all approved. After payment of these bills, the balance will be $49,995.67. Bob will be replaced on the budget committee by Anne Wodnick. Pat Collins will also serve on the committee.

OLD BUSINESS

Update on New LOGIN Libraries

Bob reported that all the libraries in the county belong to LOGIN. Monroe is now open in their new facility. Paulsboro is making progress to be operational in LOGIN and is close to finishing. On Thursday, Bob spoke to the mayor of Paulsboro at the groundbreaking for the addition to Swedesboro Branch. Swedesboro will be adding 3,000 square feet on the back of the current structure. It will include an elevator. The whole project will be around $900,000 with GCLS paying a rental of $40,000 per year for 10 years.

We congratulated ourselves on providing our customers with county-wide library services, the first county in New Jersey to accomplish it.

Public Relations Committee

The report was provided by President Marie in Jane’s absence. Jane will not be able to chair this committee next year but will stay on the committee. Denise will stay on and could co-chair. The committee needs to work on the 20^th anniversary of GOLD/LOGIN. Another commercial is possible. The brochure should be reviewed for accuracy. Denise is compiling a media list for future publicity.

Jean will work on the magnets. Also, she hasn’t heard from the Gloucester County Historical Society. No money is available for migration of their records because they are a non-profit. It will be brought up at the next meeting.

LOGIN Bylaws

Beth incorporated all the additions and corrections from the previous meetings. We will review the final version for vote at the next meeting.

SIRSI Reports Training

Linda reported that a 30 minute session is available at https://sirsidynix.webex.com. Then search for ‘Hands on Lab.” Linda said to check page 42 of the current catalog. There are free demos available on certain dates. Linda will probably pursue the “canned” class for $200. President Marie asked that Karen Shiles be thanked for her help.

Saas Migration

Bob reported that GCLS used the offline product satisfactorily. Jean asked that Bob tell Karen and Ralph how appreciative she and other directors are for their service.

Inter-Library Loans (incorporated into policies)

LOGIN policies

Anne W. motioned that the LOGIN policy be amended in the first paragraph by deleting the phrase “receive in person services” and replace it with “borrow materials.” Bob seconded it and all approved it. It will be revised for the next meeting. Anne is still waiting for circ policies from a couple of the libraries.

Restricted Collections

Jean asked who had restricted collections. Heggan Library restricts one copy of its summer reading list from the high school.

NEW BUSINESS

Budget Committee Meeting

Jane requested that the committee meet either Wednesday, November 18^th or Thursday, November 19^th.

SRG Meeting

At the last SRG meeting, the migration was discussed as was the handling of the County College patron records.

Cataloging Meeting

The last meeting was August 6^th. Bob distributed minutes from that meeting. The committee will meet again next week at the new Monroe Township Free Public Library.

Other concerns – none

Announcements

Bob announced that he will retire at the end of the year and his successor will start on January 1^st. He will continue attending the SJRLC Toastmasters and as president of Literacy Volunteers of Gloucester County. Arn complimented Bob as a generous and kind individual and on his amazing achievements during his tenure as GCLS Director.

Linda Snyder will retire at the end of the year after 42 years as a librarian. She may continue as a consultant to facilitate the transition into the EIRC building that the Heggan Library recently agreed to purchase.

Next LOGIN Meeting

The next meeting will be Friday, January 22^nd (snow date January 29^th), at the new Monroe Township Free Public Library. Coffee will be served at 9:30 and the meeting will begin at 10:00.

Arn moved that we adjourn. It was seconded by Denise and President Marie adjourned the meeting at 11:15.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Wolf

Secretary

September, 16, 2009

Attendees: Ralph Bingham (GCLS), Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS), Ann Kohn (GCIT), Carol Wolf (GCLS/GLA), Flo Rosenberg (GCLS/MHB), Judy Ballard (GCLS/MHB), Anne Wodnick (GCLS/LGB), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Karen Boucher (WDPL), Carol Baughman (GCLS/EAS), Gwen Carotenuto (WES), Violet Valentin (PAU), Marie Flaherty (PIT), Jean McGowan (DPL), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Carol Atkinson (GCC), Pat Hirsekorn (GCC), Lynn Harpool (MON), Marge Dombrosky (GCLS/SWE), Karen Shiles (GCLS)

The minutes were read and approved.

Karen opened the discussion about the October downtime. Sirsi will be going down on the 6^th and will be back up no later than the 9^th; it will come back up whenever they are done transferring to the hosted server. GCLS will put into their circ calendar for no due dates for those days. West Deptford has already done so. Karen asked for everyone to share what their libraries are going to do. Please let Karen know ASAP if you want her to put in ‘closed’ days for the downtime.

There is a Sirsi created manual for ‘Offline (Workflows)’ in the login blog under the ‘training’ heading. It is approximately 80 pages long; keep in mind that this was created for anybody using Sirsi and covers more than what we do. Karen has also created her own version of an offline help guide that is approximately 20 pages long. Sirsi has always had a version of an offline mode – is was not really reliable. Sirsi promises that this version is much better (even going to the trouble of renaming it); GCLS will be giving it a try and will use it while we are down. If anyone else wants to try it, please let Karen know. The downside is that we will not be able to look anyone up; they must have a card to check out. Offline will also not know if there are overdues, expired holds, etc. The URL for the blog is: http://blog.gcls.org/login/

There is a dialog box that will offer the opportunity to work in Offline Mode; you need to check the box ‘show this window on start-up’. To bring up the dialog box, go Preference (in the top toolbar) and then select Configuration. Check the box for ‘show this window on start-up’ the night before we go down. Carol W. asked Karen to remind the directors and SRG members on the Monday before.

Karen will call around when Sirsi is finished transferring to their server, so that we are not all trying to upload information at the same time. There is an Error Report that everyone can run when a PC connects to Workflows that will list any problem from the downtime. The list will be long as Workflows will make 2 copies of each error. PLEASE do not check anything in until the records from the downtime have been loaded.

A portion of the server will remain active during the server transfer in order for Remote Patron Authentication to work. Please contact Ralph about any vendors you use. They will need to have the correct server information for authentication to work after the server switch.

Snapshot Day: we will be doing on October 1^st, since we will be down on the original date.

GCCL customers: do we modify a GCC record or issue new? (If a patron comes in that lives in your community and has a GCC card.)

--if the card is current – use that for borrowing

--if the card is expired – you can modify the record to match your own agency profiles

-- if there any problems with the record – call the college about getting them fixed.

OPAC message ‘estimated wait time undetermined’ – why does this appear sometimes, but not always?

The estimated wait time feature is actually turned off, but if there is only one copy of an item and it is in transit, iBistro will still show this message. The feature is actually based on the check out date; if the item is in transit, there is no due date and the system defaults to the message.

Monroe Update: Most of the move has been successful, but the technology has been a hold-up. Verizon had issued a work order in July for the internet, and they just came out this week. The data lines have not been set up yet, and some of the cabinets are in fact covering the data lines. They will have to get holes cut into the cabinets to allow for access to the data lines. As a result, they do not yet have a date for when they will be open to the public.

As they are not open, holds are blocked on their materials. Lynn has discovered that some libraries have overridden the holds block. These holds will not be filled until Monroe is up and running.

Paulsboro Update: One staff person has been out for surgery, and another has been out sick; so Violet has been handling the rebarcoding herself.

Open Discussion:

All GCLS branches will be closed on October 2^nd. We are having our Staff Development Day.

Marie asked about material on the Long Overdue Report that is not theirs – who is responsible for sending out the overdue notice? It was discussed that the checkout library is responsible, and since the reports are set up for the checkout library, they can assume the material had been checked out at their location.

Pat H. asked about the limit for amount due (delinquency). GCLS has a limit of 10 items overdue or $10.00, Margaret Heggan has a limit of $.01. Karen said to look at the circ rule used for the checkout and then look at the billing structure for that circ rule.

Next meeting: November 4^th at 9:30 at Mullica Hill in Meeting Room A.

The next meeting will be on October 30^th at the Woodbury Public Library.

August 21, 2009

Attendance: Marie Downes, Pat Collins, Linda Snyder, Sharon Furgason, Anne Zuber, Susan Mounier, Carol Baughman, Gwen Carotenuto, Jane Crocker, Denise Saia, Jean Wipf, Anne Wodnick, Bob Wetherall, and Carol Wolf.

President Marie called the meeting to order at 10:00 at the Greenwich Branch of GCLS.

Secretary’s Report

Carol presented the minutes which were reviewed. Jane moved that the minutes be approved. Pat seconded it and all agreed.

Treasurer’s Report

Jane presented the statements for June 30^th and August 20^th and highlighted the activity. The current balance is $141,346.48. A check for $481 was sent to Woodbury Public Library for LOGIN labels for user cards. Bob asked Jane about the SIP invoice. She will check on it. An invoice of $3,960 was received from Library Thing for the catalog and reviews. Bob motioned that the bills be paid and the treasurer’s report be accepted. Anne seconded it and all agreed.

Old Business

Update on New LOGIN Libraries

Bob reported that Monroe is set to open in their new facility. The addition of Paulsboro library’s records to the catalogs is on-going. Most of the non-fiction is loaded but needs to have new barcodes. He reminded all that we should not put holds on material from Paulsboro.

Public Relations

Jane reported that the committee hasn’t met but will soon, probably the end of September. Jean displayed two mock-ups of magnets that Laurie made and would be available from JanWay. For 5,000 full color magnets (around 260 for each library), it would cost around $650 for the smaller magnets (The choice is yours) and $1000 for the larger magnets (listing of all libraries with their telephone numbers.) The consensus was to use the listing of all LOGIN libraries with their telephone numbers and to get the magnets with one color. Jean will email the mock-up to us to review.

Jean also reported that she had contacted Barbara Price from the Gloucester County Historical Society about joining LOGIN. She was receptive but concerned about the cost since she is a private non-profit agency. Three-fourths of the collection is on the website. However, it is not barcoded because they do not check items out. Jean will ask about linking to LOGIN.

SIRSI Reports Training

Linda reported that the training was $700 per person for four and a half hours. SIRSI also has canned training, much like pay per view, for $100 for a full day. That would allow a group of 20 to go through the two to three hour training like a webinar. The group rejected the $700 option. There were also a couple of other more expensive options, such as $600 for a hands-on session and $1800 for private instruction. It was decided that each library could try it for themselves. Linda will forward the link for information.

Remote Hosting

Bob reminded everyone that the migration would be the first full week of October, the 6^th, 7^th, 8^th and 9^th. Each library may want to change due dates to decrease the amount of items returned during that time. Bob will discuss it with Karen. He will also put a message on the website that the online catalog won’t be available during that time. Jane will send the information to the Gloucester County Times. The information will also be put on the receipts. Each library will decide whether to accept deliveries from SJRLC. Heggan Library will not be open during that time. Franklin may close on that Saturday to allow staff to catch-up with check-ins.

Library Thing Reviews

Bob reported that Library Thing allows users to rate and tag items in the catalog. Reviews are also included. He said that similar books aren’t always similar. Jean may encourage her Young Adult groups to participate. It was suggested that book groups may want to participate. Ralph will monitor for hate speech, etc.

New Business

SRG Meeting (Ill’s)

The use of Ill’s for each library and whether they accept requests for users from other libraries was discussed. It will be put on the agenda for next time to allow for further investigation.

It was proposed that the first sentence of the LOGIN Policies should be restricted to materials in order to exclude equipment. “and borrow materials the same as if they were a resident card holder.”

Jean asked everyone to send her a list of collections that are restricted to local residents. We will review the list at the next meeting.

Anne passed out the latest version of the LOGIN Libraries’ circulation policies.

Cataloging Meeting

Bob reported that he and Flo Rosenberg (GCLS), TR (Heggan), and Lynn (Monroe) met to discuss what rules to follow. Bob and Flo favored the Anglo-American catalog. He encouraged uniformity but can’t mandate it. He encouraged each library to send someone to the cataloging meeting or offer to host it in order to participate. Directors should be sent all minutes of cataloging meetings. Authority control is done every three months for new records. Deduping could be done again after Paulsboro is active. The committee is working on descriptive terms for media that TR had developed.

Other Concerns

Peggy Cadigan has informed us that the State Library is sponsoring another Snapshot Day on October 7^th. Since we will be in the midst of the migration to remote hosting that day, we will celebrate it on Thursday, October 1^st. The State will request pictures, detailed statistics, and surveys.

Jean asked about Tumble Books. Bob will supply the cost.

Announcements

Bob announced that he will be retiring December 31^st.

The next meeting will be Friday, October 30^th at the Woodbury Public Library. Coffee will be served at 9:30 and the meeting will begin at 10:00.

Jane motioned that we adjourn. Bob seconded it and President Marie adjourned us at 11:34.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Wolf

Secretary

The next meeting will be on August 21^st at Greenwich Branch of GCLS.

May 29, 2009

Attendance: Marie Downes, Arn Winter, Anne Wodnick, Linda Snyder, Sharon Furgason, Anne Zuber, Ann Kohn, Denise Saia, Matt DiBella, Sue Mounier, Jane Crocker, Marge Dombrosky, Jean Wipf, Patricia Collins, Carol Baughman, Beth Lillie (late), Carol Wolf and Bob Wetherall.

President Marie called the meeting to order at 10:00 at the Deptford Public Library.

Secretary’s Report

The minutes from March 13^th were reviewed. Jean motioned that they be accepted. Marge seconded it and they were approved.

Treasurer’s Report

Jane reported that the GCIT check of $2,495 was deposited. It was made out to the College instead of to LOGIN. It is not reflected in today’s report. The bill to Network Solutions of $114.95 was the only one paid. Jane doesn’t have any other bills right now. Bob recommended that she not pay the incoming SIRSI bill due to some possible changes. Jane’s reimbursement $25 from the State fee that she paid on her credit card doesn’t show yet. Monroe and Paulsboro Public Libraries need to be sent their pro-rated bills. Monroe will be billed $8,447.50 and Paulsboro will be billed $937.50. This will add $9,385 to our LOGIN account. Jane moved that the bills be sent out and Anne seconded it. It was approved.

OLD BUSINESS

Policy Committee Report

Anne Wodnick distributed the draft of the circulation policies she had collected for each library in LOGIN. Four libraries had not yet responded. This document can be updated or changed at any time by notifying Anne.

Anne also distributed the LOGIN Policies that she had found in reviewing the previous minutes. Those policies listed had dates of the minutes where she found their approval. In reviewing the document, changes were made: #3 Staff at all LOGIN libraries are fine free except staff at Heggan (Washington Township) Library; #8 Salem Community College cards cannot be used at GCLS Libraries; and #1 SCC only had two not three C’s. Jean moved to accept the LOGIN policy statement as a group with changes. Bob seconded it and all approved. Anne will send policies to Marie to send out to all Directors and SRG members.

Update on New LOGIN Libraries

Bob reported that Monroe Public Library is now fully functional. Karen Shiles is adding the records from Paulsboro Public Library. They will be migrated as is but their director Violet Valentin will edit them. It is anticipated that they will be loaded by the end of June.

Public Relations Committee

Jane and Denise reported that they are working on a master list. They discussed creating hand-outs to profile different libraries. Jane suggested that we do another commercial. In 2010, it will be the 20^th anniversary of creation of this organization and there are now 20 libraries participating. Matt is working on a contact list for each location for different services such as ILL, holds, circulation, reference, etc. Jane will get copies of library listings. Jean will look into magnets for LOGIN. Pat suggested lawn signs for LOGIN.

LOGIN stickers for library cards

Jean had the LOGIN stickers to distribute to all. She had purchased 5,000 stickers in rolls of 250 for $480.

SIRSI Reports training

Linda will arrange training for the next available time, Thursday, June 18^th from 11-2. Each site can send one representative. Jane will coordinate the use of a room at the College. She reminded us that the College is closed on Fridays during the summer. Karen will arrange the training with SIRSI through Linda. Each library should send the name of the person who will attend training to Linda. This training session will be “Introduction to Reports.”

Remote Hosting

In 2003 GCLS and West Deptford Public Library joined “GOLD” to form “LOGIN.” As part of that agreement, GCLS purchased a new server from IBM for $38,884 and three years of service for $6,607.89. An additional $14,139.47 purchased three more years of service. We now need to evaluate the situation. A new service contract would be expensive. We could purchase an IBM Unix directly from SIRSI plus three years of service for $21,930. Or, SIRSI could host our system and taking care of everything such as back-ups and updates. Of course, they would set the schedule for updates. It would require 3-4 days down time to change over. Bob distributed two papers from SIRSI; the SaaS Overview, and the Software as Service Total Cost of Ownership Calculator. They offered contracts for various years with larger discounts for longer contracts. The seven year contract would be around $76,130 plus a 3% increase yearly. We currently spend around $56,000, so it would be an additional $20,000 for SIRSI to host. Several questions were asked. Karen and Ralph will do the same job except the equipment will be located elsewhere and SIRSI would do the updates and backups. Anne Wodnick asked whether they would support the earlier client. Linda asked about differences in reliability. Arn had questions about the ownership of records. Marie asked if we wanted to decide today and all did. Marie called the vote. Seventeen approved. Arn abstained.

It was passed and we will move forward with SIRSI’s completely hosted server.

Library Thing

Ralph worked with Jade from Bowker. She was helpful and cooperative and worked with him to correct the software bug that had the holds default to the Mullica Hill record. It no longer does that. Library Thing applies library 2.0 features such as tagging and adding own review. The reviews will be filtered. It is $3,960 for both features, tagging and reviews. Bob motioned that we move forward and purchase the product. Jean seconded it. Anne Wodnick said to make sure the term is the actual date. Seventeen voted yes and Arn voted no. It passed.

LOGIN Bylaws

Beth had questions about Section III regarding officers. It was decided that committees will not be listed in the bylaws but that the president will have the authority to create committees as needed.

New Business

Other Concerns

Beth asked about an attorney of record for LOGIN. Beth and Linda will investigate.

Bob received information about ARRA and computer centers from Tina Keresztury at the State Library. Beth, Ann Kohn, and Jean will work with Bob to try to work on establishing computers centers. Beth has 18 computers in her computer center, Ann has 25 at GCIT, and Greenwich has 10. Bob will complete the survey by June 17^th.

There was a question about someone putting out material before the street date. However, the problem was resolved.

Cataloging

Debra at Heggan Library said that the customer history can be done on an individual basis. The customer can be asked at the time of sign-up. Ask Karen to set it up.

Beth volunteered Lynn for the cataloging committee. Bob and T.R. and Flo are also on the committee

Announcements

Beth announced that Monroe Pubic Library may be closed for the month of August. Bob told her to talk to Karen who will help her set things up on SIRSI.

Bob announced that on Saturday, June 6^th at 11:00, the courtyard at Mullica Hill Branch of GCLS will be dedicated to Everitt and Jean Williams. The Friends of GCLS and the Library provided new landscaping. Everitt and Jean were charter member of the friends group. Everitt is retiring from the library after 30 years of service. His wife, Jean, passed away last year. Everyone is invited.

Bob announced that the Gloucester County Times is being picked up by News Bank. It will cost around $4,400 per year. GCLS will subscribe. They own microfilm copies from 1988 through 2004.

Bob announced that Pimsler titles will be deleted from the catalog.

Marge announced that Swedesboro approved building her library’s addition.

Beth announced that they will start selling bricks for $50 with 13 characters per line and 3 lines for fundraising for the new building.

Arn announced the Deptford Public Library will have “Bring your Dog to the Library” program on June 6^th.

Sharon announced that Pitman Library will celebrate its 90^th anniversary on June 3^rd, serving cake all day.

Marie announced that Gwen fractured her hip and had surgery. She will be off for 5 weeks. Her address is 341 Highland Ave., Westfield NJ 08093.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be on August 21^st at Greenwich Branch of GCLS.

Marge motioned that we adjourn. Jane seconded it and President Marie adjourned the meeting at 12:07.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Wolf

Secretary

Meeting Minutes

June 17, 2009

Attendance: Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Margaret Ware (PIT), Carol Atkinson (GCC), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Jean McGowan (DPL), Diane McCormick (GCLS/MHB), Debra Rosner (HEG), Susan Mroz (FRA), Carol Wolf (GCLS/GLA), Lynn Harpool (MON), Ann Kohn (GCIT), Carol Baughman (GCLS/EAS), Marge Dombroski (GCLS/SWE), Anne Wodnick (GCLS/LGB), Karen Shiles (GCLS), Ralph Bingham (GCLS), Jacki Moore (NEW)

The minutes were read over and approved.

Monroe Update: Unofficially, they will be closing for the move on the 1^st Monday of August and will likely be closed for the entire month. They are hoping to reopen sometime around Labor Day. There is currently some major road work being done, so they may be delayed by the trucks being unable to travel between the old and new building. They expect to have rolling due dates throughout September.

Workflows Defaults: In order to change the defaults in Workflows, you need to log in as either Administrator or Supervisor. For example: to change the search default in Item Search and Display, right click on the Item and Search Display wizard and select Properties, you can then change the search default from Keyword to Browse. Exact searching is difficult unless you are searching for an Item ID or other number search. If you want the new search default to be permanent, remember to save ‘changes to parameters’ when you close Workflows.

GCLSDBONLY: This is a Database Only library card that was issued to a GCLS patron who filed an application online. Since it was not issued in person, GCLS has not verified residency, and limits use of the card to their online resources. If a patron comes in with a GCLSDBONLY card and attempts to check out materials, a message will appear that the patron has exceeded their checkouts. Please do not override and check out to the patron. You may verify residency by checking their ID and updating the Patron Profile to GCLSPATRON and renew their record. They can then check out materials.

ILLs: Margaret asked if other libraries restrict ILLs to their own patrons. GCLS stated that they will acquire ILLs for any walk-in patron; West Deptford and Franklin stated that they will only request ILLs for their own patrons. Anne W. mentioned that the directors approved a policies page that states each LOGIN library will treat all walk-in patrons the same, regardless of their home library.

Anne then passed around the LOGIN Policies approved by the LOGIN Board of Directors. Ralph will post the page to the blog. Everyone looked them over; Kathy asked if ILLs had been discussed in particular. Anne said no, not specifically, but that the introductory paragraph is clear that any patron can use any library and receive the same services and treatment as if they were cardholders of that library. If anyone has any questions about the contents of the LOGIN policies, please discuss them with your director so that these concerns can be discussed at the Director’s meeting.

Each library is also permitted to renew cards of another LOGIN library, provided that the patron’s ID is correct. Patrons still need to visit their home library to acquire their library card. One concern is that Heggan and Deptford require their patrons to clear any fines on their card prior to renewing. They ask that we honor that policy.

Anne also passed around a spreadsheet of each library’s circulation policies. Not all libraries have submitted information, so it is still a draft document. Ralph will post the circulation policies to the blog. If your library has any changes, please forward them to the Policy Committee.

Reports to Excel: Karen has created a procedure to export Workflows reports to Excel and passed copies around. This procedure works best with list reports. Normally in a Workflows report, there is a header, data that is out of alignment, and often extra data. The instructions Karen created will make the report neater and easier to read.

Report Naming Conventions: PLEASE use the first 3 letters of your library when naming your reports. Karen demonstrated the problem by bringing up the list of Finished Reports, as viewed with the Administrator login. The list was quite lengthy and it is difficult to see at a glance which reports belonged to which library. This makes it difficult when someone calls Karen or Ralph with a question about a report, and they need to be able to identify the report. Also, Newfield has a problem with reports beginning with ‘new’, as that is their library’s 3-letter identification. These reports end up in the middle of their own reports and they are concerned about whose they are, and possibly deleting someone else’s reports by mistake. Newfield deletes their reports regularly. Karen agreed that each library should delete reports that are no longer needed, as this will keep the list more manageable.

Questions/Comments:

Margaret mentioned that they have been getting notes on materials returned by other libraries saying that the barcodes are confusing, and to please remove the old barcode. They are unable to do so without damaging the material.

Kathy asked about a new feature in patron records, ‘Charge History’ and asked what that is. Karen replied that some libraries had asked about this, and when she asked Sirsi for more information, they turned on the feature and told her to try it out. This feature is not active, so please ignore it for now. There is a lot of back-end work that will have to be done before it can be used. Karen will not have time to review the feature and how to set up circ rules until after Paulsboro is online. Karen was asked about the possibility of an ‘Item History’; she will look into whether something like that exists.

Kathy mentioned that she has an overabundance of paper clips and wondered why so many were being used on transit items. Logan and Swedesboro admitted to be some of the culprits, as they do not have space for sorting bins and have to use the paperclips to keep the transit slips with the material until they can pack their deliveries. Kathy was told that she is welcome to bag up some of the paper clips and send them back in the deliveries.

Deptford asked if anyone else has experience holds disappearing off patron records. Heggan has noticed this as well; the patrons in question still wanted the holds and had not canceled them. Karen asked for specific examples so she can look into it. Diane mentioned that staff at Mullica Hill have noticed that sometimes holds do not display; she has opened and closed the Display Holds wizard several times before a patron’s holds shows up on the list. Karen then mentioned that Sirsi is aware of a display glitch and is desperately tracking the problem. Please send any examples to Karen so she can forward them.

Paulsboro status: there was a problem getting the records. Karen has a work-around and hopes to start next week. Her goal is to finish by the end of July. Karen has also recommended to Violet to have staff start visiting other libraries to learn Sirsi before they go live. She volunteered all LOGIN libraries, so please do not be surprised if Violet calls to schedule staff to come observe.

Someone asked when Sirsi would begin operating our server. Karen thought maybe in the fall; the director’s have not signed off on the switch over yet. GCLS will continue to administer the software, but Sirsi will be responsible for the hardware. It will be a full migration to the new server; there will be a 3-4 day down-time.

The next meeting will be at 9:30 on September 16^th at the Mullica Hill Branch, Meeting Room B.

This file can be downloaded as a PDF from the Files page.

The goal of the LOGIN consortium is to share resources and provide the best possible library service to all library patrons/customers in Gloucester County who hold a valid library card from a LOGIN library. Any LOGIN cardholder can go to any LOGIN library and receive in-person service the same as if they were a resident card holder.

Fines and Fees

1. The individual patron/customer will be billed for lost or missing items, not the home library.

2. Fines up to $5.00 can be collected and kept by any LOGIN library. If fines are over $5.00, the money collected will be sent to the home library in the form of cash or check.

3. Staff at all LOGIN libraries are fine-free, except staff at the Margaret E. Heggan Library.

Holds

4. Each LOGIN library can determine which of their items are holdable. The availability of system-wide holds with priority to their own patrons is encouraged.

5. Staff at individual libraries are not authorized to over-ride Holds unless the material belongs to their library.

Renewals

6. Staff at individual libraries are not authorized to over-ride a Renewal block unless the material belongs to their library and there are no Holds on the item.

Item Records

7. Staff are not authorized to mark items owned by other libraries as Lost, Missing or Claims Returned unless the owning library is notified by phone and permission is given to alter the record.

Patron Records

8. Salem Community College cards cannot be used at GCLS libraries.

9. There should be only one patron record in the database for each registered individual. New patrons/customers need to register at their home library. Staff should use valid, current ID to check for duplicate patron records before registering a new patron/customer.

10. Staff at any LOGIN library may renew any LOGIN library card (with the exception of GCCL, GCIT and SCC cards) when presented with valid current ID. Staff may modify the patron record to make it current.

11. Duplicate patron records may be deleted if the card has expired and there are no fines or fees associated with the patron record, with the exception of GCCL. Staff should call GCCL before deleting or modifying GCCL patron records.

12. Paid Bills records will be removed from the database after three years.

In-Transit Procedures

13. In order to discourage theft, DVDs, CDs, and other non-print material is to be packaged in brown bags, envelopes or boxes when put in delivery.

14. Each LOGIN library is responsible for checking the “What’s In-Transit” report on a weekly basis. An item that has been in-transit for three weeks or longer should be marked Missing. (See #7 above). If the item was in-transit to fill a Hold and there are no other copies in the system, staff will check with the patron/customer to see if the item is still needed. If the patron/customer still needs the item, staff will remove the Hold in Sirsi and, if possible, acquire the item through ILL.

April 22, 2009

Meeting Minutes

Attendees: Karen Shiles (GCLS), Carol Baughman (GCLS-EAS), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Carolyn Green (GCL/LGB), Flo Rosenberg (GCL/MHB), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Jean McGowan (DPL), Marge Dombrosky (GCL/SWE), Debra Rosner (HEG), Jacki Moore (NEW), Margaret Ware (MCC), Mary Ward (WVL), Carol Atkinson (GCCL), Pat Hirsekorn (GCCL), Lynn Harpool (MON), Laurie Cranston (Wod), Susan Mroz (FRA)

Review of minutes from last meeting: Marge Dombrosky made a correction to the minutes of February 11, 2009. The incorrect information read, “Margaret asked about lost, damaged, never returned items; who is responsible for the cost of these items. For example, a patron at McCowan wants to pay for a lost Woodbury book. This has been discussed by the directors: the borrowing library must reimburse the owning library for the lost or damaged item. Margaret asked about items that are never returned; when do we call the owning library about the long overdue item. This issue has not been discussed by the directors.” This paragraph was corrected to read, “The agreed policy is that the bill stays with the patron.”

Monroe Migration: Karen Shiles stated that Monroe’s migration is now complete. The Database has been loaded and they went live on Thursday, March 26, 2009. The call information for Monroe Library is Monroe and the beginning ID will be 4201.

The database indexing for Monroe is complete. Lynn Harpool stated that initially they had 30 pages of holds.

Mary Ward stated that Westville is open, but they are still busy shelving books and adding new items.

Monroe is due to close May or June for 4-6 weeks for the move to their new facility.

Blank lines in patron address fields: Karen stated that there could be a problem with User’s records having blank lines in address fields. If you accidentally put information in the extra address line and backspace the information out, instead of deleting the line with the delete icon, it will create a blank line. If you’re having trouble with the way things display, you may need to remove information using the delete icon.

How to handle missing material: Margaret Ware stated that McCowan marks the item missing the same day it is not found. If it’s missing three times in 3 consecutive monthly reports, then they delete the item.

Kathy Capobianco reminded everyone that it was important to check database to see if you were the only library with that item. If so, you would need to call the library waiting for the material, so they can inform their customer that there is no other copy. If there are other copies, do nothing, it will automatically place a hold on the next available copy. Laurie Cranston stated that if only one or two other libraries have it, make sure they are holdable copies and not lost. Pat Hirsekorn said that the Gloucester County College Library looks for the item for a week and then will mark the item missing.

Marge asked Karen about customers who call about items that say “no holds allowed” when they’re placing holds online at home. Karen said she would look into adding “no holds allowed – call library for assistance”.

Nonholdable items: Kathy reported that West Deptford now has a limited selection of two-day book express and DVD’s. These items are not holdable. Pat Hirsekorn asked where in the record does it show a non-holdable item. Karen said it may need a new item type and that would have to create a new item type, if necessary. Pat needs to look into that. Laurie suggested running a report every month to change item types – i.e., taking books out of the new item field. Woodbury runs a report every month to change their item types. Karen stated that if you want to make an item-type change, just select cataloging, go to tasks – and select Call number, then scan the item or type in the barcode. Then go to Item Type and select the change you want to make.

Questions:

Kathy had questions concerning new DVD’s and McNaughton items. West Deptford is noticing that items are showing in the catalog before the allowable distribution date. Margaret stated that McCowen puts the disc in the catalog when the disc is received from distributor, but the item show up as not available until the allowable distribution date. Kathy thought that some libraries were checking out these items before the street date. Karen stated that these items at GCLS may show up in the database, but would be checked out to tech services for processing – and are not out to customers. It was suggested that this concern should be addressed at the LOGIN Director’s Meeting.

Kathy stated that they had a problem recently when the circulation desk missed trapping a hold and put the book on the shelf. When a customer found the book on the shelf, and Kathy tried to override the hold and check it out to that customer, the system would not let her override it. She wanted to know why she wasn’t able to override the hold. No one else noticed this problem, so Karen said she would check into it and get back to Kathy. Also, the customer waiting for the hold noticed that she had lost her place in line in the hold queue, In order to correct this; Kathy cancelled the hold, checked the item out to the customer, and put it back on hold for the customer who was on hold. Karen will check to see if it’s West Deptford’s property settings. Others have not seen this happen.

Mary wanted to know the proper procedure for trapping holds. She wanted to know if there is a difference in scanning an item under discharge or Trap-a-Hold. Is there a difference between the two?

Debra noticed that Heggan Library is receiving a lot of locked DVD cases, and they do not have the hardware to unlock the cases. She wanted to remind libraries to unlock their cases before they send them out. Marge said she would remind all the GCLS library branches.

Debra wanted to know if there is a way to reuse a customer barcode. For example when you scan it into a customer’s record accidentally, can you retrieve that barcode? Karen said you just delete the old barcode and put a new barcode in. Kathy said if you reuse a customer barcode for a different customer, won’t it still show up on a customer’s record as a previous ID? Karen will check into this and get back to Debra.

Debra asked if there is a way to manipulate the holds list. Karen stated that with the current version of Work Flows, the hold can only be moved to the top of the list. So, you need to delete the hold, go into place a hold, and make a checkmark where it says make first in queue. In the next release of Work Flows, you may be able to change a person’s place in the hold queue.

Margaret asked if there is any way to find the borrowing history of an item, other than being able to view only the previous customer. Karen said no.

Karen stated that the directors are discussing having a Reports Training Class that may be held at the college.

Kathy asked if Paulsboro was still slated for migration by the end of May. She wanted to know what to use for the expiration date for the courtesy cards? Karen doesn’t think they will be ready in May. She will be meeting with the Director of Paulsboro tomorrow. Kathy stated that West Deptford will move the expiration date for courtesy cards for Paulsboro to December.

Lynn asked how much lead time Karen needed to stop holds for Monroe Library due to their moving. Karen said, “As soon as possible.” Westville closed without problems with only one week’s notice.”

The next meeting will be Wednesday, June 17^th at 9:30 a.m., at MHB.

Minutes taken by Marge Dombrosky.

The next meeting will be held on Friday, May 29, 2009 at the Deptford Public Library.

March 13, 2009

Attendance: Marie Downes, Jean Wipf, Denise Saia, Linda Snyder, Sharon Furgason, Anne Kohn, Gwen Carotenuto, Anne Wodnick, Jane Crocker, Arn Winter, Matt DiBella, Marge Dombrosky, Sue Mounier, Carol Baughman, Carol Wolf, and Bob Wetherall.

President Marie called the meeting to order at 10:06 at the Mullica Hill Branch of the Gloucester County Library System.

Secretary’s Report

The minutes from January 16^th were reviewed. Jean motioned that they be accepted. Linda seconded it and they were approved.

Treasurer’s Report

Jane distributed her report. We have received payments for all members but two and they are pro-rated. The balance is $141,941.43. Jane paid SIRSI. However, with their change in address, the check got lost in the mail and had to be stopped and reissued. A second SIRSI bill was paid as was a bill for IBM. Jane paid the State registration fee using her charge account. Bob motioned and Marge seconded that we reimburse Jane for the fee. Bob said that later this year he expects the bill from SIRSI for authority control to be around $2500. Also, the server is around six years old and the reserve funds are planned for a new one. Anne Wodnick motioned that the treasurer’s report be accepted. Bob seconded it and it was approved.

OLD BUSINESS

Policy Committee

Jean reported that the committee had two purposes; to list the policies that we all have agreed to, and to list everyone’s circ policies. Anne Wodnick made a list of agreed policies based on past minutes. She distributed them and asked that all review them for accuracy and completeness. Anne asked to be emailed with any additions or corrections. Anne also made list of everyone’s circ policies. Although not every library had submitted the information, Anne distributed the list she had and asked for feedback. President Marie thanked the committee for all their work.

Update on New LOGIN Libraries

Bob reported that Monroe Township Free Public Library is on track to go live later in March. GCLS staff will be sent to Monroe to provide support the first two days. Gill Memorial Library in Paulsboro has applied and been accepted to membership in South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative (SJRLC). Karen Shiles is working with them on barcoding. LOGIN will provide county-wide service when Paulsboro joins. Arn asked if the Gloucester County Historical Society Library could join. All agreed that the Historical Society would be a great addition to the consortium. Jean will discuss it with their director. Bob informed the group that the Gloucester County Times is no longer being microfilmed.

LOGIN Directory

Jane reported that she has completed the tri-fold brochure. She will send the pdf file to each library. She will also do an internal directory for contacts for each location, for example, ILL, circ, children’s reference, and cataloging. Jane will email the form to each location to fill out and return.

Public Relations Committee

Jane reported that she needed some volunteers to participate on the committee. Denise and Matt will serve with Jane. Carol’s coupon idea was discussed. It was suggested that an article on LOGIN be submitted for the Gloucester County Times. Denise said that we need a consistent message, perhaps a slogan. Jane did an article for NJLA newsletter to be published soon.

Review of LOGIN Bylaws

Beth Lillie reviewed the bylaws and made notations of questions, problems and suggestions. Since Beth was unable to make the meeting, President Marie went over those items and obtained consensus on the following items:

LOGIN – need to add statement “aka LOGIN” so it doesn’t need to be repeated. Membership Section 1a. Automated Services Agreement - copy will be sent to each library to be signed by Denise and copy will be included with the appendix. Section 2 d. Should be “attached policies.” Section 10 Annual schedule could be created but not in bylaws. Article V. Officers Section 2 Eliminate May as annual meeting. Section 3 Arn suggested that in the minutes, committee members should be listed for information purposes. Section 5 Add that electronic notification is acceptable. Section 6 Eliminate apostrophe (Board of Director’s) The treasurer shall be responsible for providing reports to the LOGIN Board of Directors at their meetings. Change examine to “authorize” and vouchers to “purchase orders.” Section 3 Eliminate May. The appendix should include the Service Level Agreement, the Automated Service Agreement, and the List of Common Policies. Page numbers should be added and the document should include the date revised. The revised bylaws will be sent out to be voted on the next meeting. President Marie thanked Beth for her work.

Review of Service Level Agreement

Bob sent a copy to everyone. We will review it at the next meeting.

LOGIN Stickers for Library Cards

Jean obtained an estimate of $80 for 1500 LOGIN stickers that can be attached to library cards. Carol Wolf moved that Jean be authorized to order the stickers. Bob seconded it and it was approved. It anticipated that the stickers will help get the word out about LOGIN.

SIRSI Reports Training

Linda reported that training was available from SIRSI for $300 for three hours. Karen Shiles proposed a couple of other options and joined the meeting. After discussion of all the options, Anne Wodnick motioned that we purchase six sessions for $1500, using three for report training. Anne Kohn seconded it and it was approved. Jane offered the use of the college with its mike for the speaker phone. Linda and Karen will coordinate the scheduling with Jane, probably after May when the college is not as busy.

Library Thing

Karen Shiles reported that there is a “glitch” concerning the tags in using the Library Thing. A tag allows the customer to use layman’s language instead of library vocabulary to describe material. When a customer selects a tag, the catalog defaults to one library. This could be a problem with holds. The consensus was that we should wait and consider it again in the fall. Library Thing was recently taken over by Bowker. It was priced at $1600 but is now $2200.

NEW BUSINESS

Renewal of Materials

Jean discussed the problem of other library staff renewing material by overriding limits. She said that staff need to be more respectful of material belonging to other libraries. Lori runs a report weekly that lists items borrowed by other libraries that are out more than eight weeks. She will be happy to share the template. Anne Wodnick suggested that a statement needs to be added to the policy list regarding the extension of holds. Bob has sent an email to all GCLS staff and will ask branch managers to review this problem with staff.

SRG Meeting

The minutes for the SRG meeting were distributed. There was a correction for the comment listed on page two. Contrary to what was said at the SRG meeting, the agreed policy is that the bill stays with the patron. The lending library isn’t sent a bill. Jean also had a correction. Woodbury does use “claims returned.” However, only her staff is authorized to use it for Woodbury’s material. Linda said the Heggan Library uses Unique Management Collection to collect outstanding patron accounts. Problems that need the intervention of the collection agency may be reflected on a person’s credit report.

Cataloging Meeting

Bob reported that they met in January and it may be difficult to reach complete agreement. However, they encourage as much consensus as possible. They are working on guidelines.

Announcements

Bob reported that East Greenwich will celebrate becoming a branch on April 14^th. They will have an open house from 5:00 to 9:00 with a ceremony at 6:00. Invitations will be sent later.

Linda distributed posters for the Author Event sponsored by Logical. It will be held on Thursday, April 16^th from 6:30 to 9:30 at the Washington Township Senior Center. Twenty authors will participate, including local authors, the Steen sisters.

Next LOGIN Meeting

The next LOGIN meeting is tentatively scheduled on Friday, May 29^th at Deptford Public Library. Coffee will be at 9:30 and the meeting will start at 10:00.

Jane motioned that we adjourn. Denise seconded it and President Marie adjourned the meeting at 12:15.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Wolf