SRG

Meeting Minutes

June 15, 2011

Attendees: Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS/MHB), Carolyn Oldt (GCLS/LGB), Margaret Ware (PIT), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Carol Baughman (GCLS/EAS), Jacki Moore (NEW), Pat Hirsekorn (GCCL), Carol Atkinson (GCCL), Pat Collins (GCLS/GRE), Debra Rosner (HEG), Carol Wolf (GCLS/MHB), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Jean McGowan (DPL), Karen Shiles (GCLS), Ralph Bingham (GCLS)

Some typos were pointed out in the last meeting’s minutes.

Sirsi down time on June 8^th: there were problems with the server; we were in the last wave of libraries brought back up. Sirsi did a good job of keeping us informed; Karen sent their IT a thank you.

Claim return procedure: When GCLS uses this feature, they select the date the item was due (unless the patron states a specific date they remembered returning, so as not to charge the patron a fine. If you do not select a date, fines are added, but not available to be paid. You will see an amount owed in the patron’s record, but when you go into Pay Bills, there is no fine to pay. You can change the date of the claim return to erase the phantom fine. Under the Special group of wizards, select Claim Return and then click on the date gadget for that item. You can then select the date an item was due.

GCLS will call the owning library for the customer claiming to have already returned an item on their record. Margaret Heggan does the same.

Upcoming features: BookMyne (Apple products) is available now. Sirsi will make available for Android devices soon (fall?).

Ebsco also has an app for Apple products that grants access to all Ebsco databases.

Library Thing for Libraries: This is a service that we are paying for that uses the catalog to add customer reviews, tags, read-alikes, and other editions available. Sirsi adds a code to our records allows the service to search Library Thing for reviews and similar titles in the catalog. This is a seemless product that appears to simply be part of the library record when patrons are viewing through iBistro. Ralph demonstrated with a few titles.

Ralph has asked them to add series information and a shelf browse feature. Someone asked about adding awards, but we already have this feature on the front page of the iBistro catalog search screen.

General discussion:

Pat H. asked about a few occasions when a title does not appear in Workflows, but will appear in iBistro. Karen asked for examples so that she could check the records to see if there is something hidden in the record causing this. Pat did not have any specific titles in mind, but will pass them along when she or her staff notice it again.

The next meeting will be on September 21^st at 9:30 at the Mullica Hill Branch in their Meeting Room A.

March 23, 2011

Meeting Minutes

Attendees: Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS/MHB), Laurie Cranston (WOD), Ann Kohn (GCIT), Flo Rosenberg (GCLS/MHB), Patricia Collins (GCLS/GRE), Carolyn Oldt (GCLS/LGB), Carol Baughman (GCLS/EAS), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Jean McGowan (DPL), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Margaret Ware (PIT), Susan Mroz (FRA), Carol Atkinson, (GCCL), Pat Hirsekorn (GCCL), Ralph Bingham (GCLS/MHB), Lynn Harpool (MON), Karen Shiles (GCLS/MHB)

There were some corrections to the minutes.

Brenda mentioned that it was patrons who could not place hold on the GCLS Book Club in a Bag kits, through iBistro. Staff can override the hold block and select a GCLS branch for a pick up location. Because of the packaging for the kits, Mullica Hill is not able to send them out through Velocity delivery.

Margaret asked for a spelling correction to ‘McCowan’ (not McGowan), and Jean mentioned that she is from Deptford, not West Deptford.

Kathy asked if the report for Requests had been sent out, as she did not remember getting any. Karen had not sent them out yet, but will get them out soon.

Status of next Symphony upgrade:

Karen said we are behind on the interim release as there are problems that have not been resolved. The mostly have to do with the Acquisitions module, but since there are libraries that use it, she is waiting for some patches to be put in place before she schedules the upgrade. There will probably not be much of a down time, but she will let everyone know when it will occur.

Margaret E. Heggen move:

They are preparing for their move (sometime in April) and are not currently allowing holds on their materials. If patrons want to, they can drive down there (until they close for the move) and pick items up. They expect to be closed for about a month, but we do not have exact dates.

Reminder: Heggen patrons need to access their accounts and place holds using the Margaret E Heggen catalog screen, as they have pin numbers in their accounts and no other library uses pins or has a place to enter pin #s.

In Transit reports:

Just a reminder – there are 3 transit listings. The 1^st is in the Circulation module, called Pending Transits – these are items your library is waiting to receive. The 2^nd is the [library] In Transits From [library] – these are items your library has sent out. The 3^rd report is [library] Old Intransits – these are items your library owns but may have been sent between other libraries. It is the owning library’s responsibility to change the status of missing In Transit items. These lists should be reviewed weekly.

Brenda asked if each library could identify the contact person for In Transit items. Carolyn started a list, which will be attached with these minutes.

Carol B. asked about DVD and music CDs coming in the deliveries without discs inside. She is unable to determine if the patron returned them that way, or if the discs are being lost in delivery. Please remind your staff to make a note on cases with missing discs – although, it would be helpful if you would contact the patron directly if the item is returned missing a disc. It is more difficult to match up pieces if the case is sent on and then the disc returned to your library later.

Laurie mentioned that they enter a number in the ‘# of pieces’ field in item records. That way, staff know how many pieces an item should have, instead of trying to look at the packaging to figure it out.

Open Discussion:

Pat H. asked for clarification about process for inventory. Karen will look up Sirsi procedures and send them to her. Brenda asked if they could be added to the LOGIN blog procedures/training page.

Jean said that they talked to their board about lifting ban on sending DVDs in deliveries and it was turned down. Patrons will still need to go to Deptford to pick up DVDs.

Woodbury has had a problem of the liner notes from their music CDs being stolen, so they now count those as a piece (when you scan their music CDs and the message box says there are 2 pieces, but there is only one CD – that’s why).

The next meeting will be June 15^th at 9:30 at the Mullica Hill Branch.

December 1, 2010

Mullica Hill

Attendence:

Karen Shiles (GCLS/Mullica Hill), Ralph Bingham (GCLS/Mullica Hill), Pat Collins (GCLS/Greenwich), Marge Dombrosky (GCLS/Swedesboro), Jackie Moore (GCLS/Newfield), Lynn Harpool (Monroe Twp.), Susan Mroz (Franklin Twp.), Carol Atkinson (GCCL), Margaret Ware (McGowan), Kathy Capobianco (West Deptford),

Jean Mc Gowan (West Deptford), Ruth Stankiewicz (Deptford), Carol Wolf (GCLS/Mullica Hill), Violet Valentin (Gill), and Debra Rosner (Margaret Heggan).

The Minutes from the September 15 meeting were distributed. Ralph noted a typo on the last paragraph: “We off” should be “We offer.”

Brenda is on vacation, so Carol Wolf introduced the new GCLS Book Club in a Bag service. Mullica Hill has 21 bags that each contain 12 copies of one title, a discussion question sheet, and a log sheet. A leader will scan one book to receive all twelve for 8 weeks. The other 11 books are shadowed and the items cannot be put on hold. The leader will be responsible for distributing and collecting the books. Books may be returned individually if necessary. (Other copies of the chosen titles are available in LOGIN, too.) Some of the discussion questions are from www.readinggroups.com. Contact Brenda for book information and Karen if you are interested in setting up book bags for your library.

Ralph demonstrated the BookMyne app for iphones and ipads. A second version is now available and can be downloaded for free from the Apple store or GCLS website. A keyword search will give library, ISBN, and title results. A scanner function will allow a customer to use the ISBN from a book in a bookstore and check if that book is available in a local library. BookMyne also allows a customer to manage an account from the device. A map function gives a map of the library locations. Popular title lists are also available. Debra asked if the usage can be determined. Ralph will check on it.

Kathy had asked about the “Requests” function on SIRSI. They can see that there are requests, but they don’t know how to access or delete them. Karen demonstrated that one type of request is an address update. GCLS had opted out of that function, but the directors will be asked if they would like to have it available. In January, she will also send a report of requests to each library.

Karen reported there will probably be a SIRSI software upgrade in mid-January. One new feature will be a dynamic Hold function. Holds will be updated on the list as they are added or removed. This will permit staff to pull holds during the day.

The database only card (GCLSDBONLY) is now available for educators who are members of non- GCLS LOGIN libraries. This will permit educators to have a GCLS card for access to the databases while using their home library card as usual.

Marge noted that the transit list has been shorter lately, so everyone is doing a better job of checking these reports regularly.

Kathy reiterated that West Deptford expects ILL items that they order to be picked up at their library. Other libraries also follow this policy.

Meeting Minutes

September 15, 2010

Attendance: Pat Hirsekorn (GCCL), Carol Atkinson (GCCL), Kathy Capobianco (WDL), Margaret Ware (PIT), Jean McGowan (DPL), Sunny Minorics (MON), Pat Collins (GCLS/GRE), Debra Rosner (HEG), Carolyn Oldt (GCLS/LGB), Bunny Jacobsen (DPL), Flo Rosenberg (GCLS/MHB), Violet Valentin (GILL), Carol Baughman (GCLS/EAS), Carol Wolf (GCLS/GLA), Jacki Moore (NEW), Brenda Muhlbaier (GCLS/MHB), Ann Kohn (GCIT), Karen Shiles (GCLS/MHB), Marge Dombrosky (GCLS/SWE)

The minutes from the last meeting were read with no corrections to be made.

Everyone introduced themselves as we had a new attendee from Monroe.

High Risk Customers:

Margaret wanted to know if anyone had a policy/procedure for high risk customers. They have a patron that habitually checks out materials and does not return them for up to a year after checked out. They do pay the late fees, but it is a problem that they continue to do this.

Everyone commiserated and shared stories, but no one has a set policy in place.

ILLs for LOGIN customers:

A question was asked about permitting patrons of other libraries to request an Inter Library Loan to be picked up at your library. West Deptford and Margaret Heggan have not been permitting outside residents to request ILLs and have been sending the patron back to their home library. The GCLS libraries have been allowing patrons to request and receive ILLs at their branches, as this had been discussed and agreed upon by the directors that any walk-in patron is to be treated the same as a resident patron and receive the same services.

Karen had found a mention in the director’s minutes from 2009 that this had been discussed. It was also included in the minutes of the June 2009 SRG minutes as follows:

“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.”

The paragraph mentioned by Anne in the above minutes is below:

“Approved by the LOGIN Board of Directors 05/29/09

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.”

This issue will be brought up again at the LOGIN Director’s meeting and clarified.

Attaching Transit Slips to Items:

Margaret requested that libraries not use paperclips or tape to attach transit slips to items being shipped back and forth. Pitman is concerned that the paperclips are damaging materials when they are pulled out – they sometimes rip a cover; tape can also cause damage when removed.

Other libraries added that they are displeased with the damage caused by paper clips and tape and wonder why libraries use them.

Kathy commented that at West Deptford, they either stick a printed slip sticking out of the pages of books or use the plastic cover of audio materials to slide the slip into the sleeve. In the case that a nonprint item does not have a plastic cover to use, they use rubber bands to hold the slip in place.

Reports:

Karen passed around a copy of SirsiDynix’s Reports Training Manual, as well as copies of a document she created called ‘Report Tips’. She then went through the tips and demonstrated particular report functions. Karen also demonstrated a few canned weeding reports that SirsiDynix has available.

Karen asked that we keep in mind that only one report can run at a time, and if you have run a report before that you know takes a while to run, please do not run that report during busy times in the middle of the day. Try to run them early or late in the day, when there are fewer reports being run.

Also, if you want to schedule a report to run daily, weekly, etc. please contact it@gcls.org and either Karen or Ralph will set that up for you.

Another note; when you create a report or save a template, please remember to add your library name to the front of the report name so that if there is a problem and you need Karen or Ralph’s assistance, it will be easier for them to find the report in question.

Questions/Comments/Discussion:

A question about the Salem Community Cards; Gloucester County Library does not accept them as the college will give any resident in Salem County a card. As there is no county library in Salem County, this would make the Gloucester County Library their default county library without benefit of contributing funds to the library. Any of the other LOGIN libraries may make the individual decision to accept, or not, the Salem Community College library cards. Most of the other libraries will accept them.

Debra discussed Unique, a collection agency they have been using for approximately 3 years. They have had a high success rate with getting materials back and fines collected. Most patrons take care of problems now before they get passed on to Unique. If, however, you find a Margaret Heggan library card that has been barred with no fines or checkouts, there is a note in the Extended tab that the charges were sent on to Unique. The patron must return to Margaret Heggan to take care of the charges.

Brenda discussed a new procedure that GCLS will now be using for patrons with overdue materials that the notice was returned to the library by the post office as ‘undeliverable’. They will now be moving the old, incorrect address to the second address and entering ‘check address’ in the first address. A note is also added to the notes field in the Extended tab stating that an overdue notice was returned by the post office. Please feel free to add the correct address if you see ‘check address’ in the patron’s record.

Karen brought up one of the records with this message so that everyone could see how it displays.

Brenda also brought up, per her director’s request, an issue that came up at the Mullica Hill Branch. GCLS has had a policy in place that allows educators within the county to obtain an Educator card. There are no special privileges for these cards. We off these cards as GCLS has subscription databases that are useful for education purposes. A Clearview teacher came in after a staff person at Margaret Heggan had taken her educator card away from her and deleted the record, as the policy is to only have one record. Staff at GCLS were upset on behalf of the patron and re-issued the educator card. Anne Wodnick asked Brenda to bring this issue up at the meeting and request that libraries not delete our cards.

However, this is in direct contrast to the LOGIN Policy approved by the directors on May 29, 2009, and will need to be brought up at the director’s meeting to be resolved.

The next meeting will at Mullica Hill Branch on December 1^st at 9:30.

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.