VLAC Minutes

Present: Larry Besant, Michael Binder, Kathleen Bryson, Becky Croft, Diane Culbertson, Barby Hardy, Kathy Hamperian, James Nelson, Norma Northern, Miko Pattie, Larry Rees, Janet Stith, Dennis Taulbee, Paul Willis.

Absent: Bill Hansen, Hannelore Rader

Also Present: Susan Brown, Charlene Davis, Paul Fuller, Terri Keller

The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. Jim Nelson reported that KLN was discussing changing its mission. He asked the members of VLAC what role KLN should serve. Discussion centered on its role as a membership forum which KYVL does not provide. Miko feels KLN could have annual or semi-annual meetings which could provide input to the KYVL administration. These meetings could also be used for training and marketing services. Some unresolved issues are dues – should there be dues or not, and how much? Should membership be institutional or individual? Bryson supported institutional membership because staff changes are hard to keep up with. Binder pointed out a discussion at the last meeting about lobbying and fund raising. The group agreed these were valid roles too.

The next big issue is the RFP for databases The RFP is not yet out so KYVL will most likely be looking at an extension of our current contracts. Both will go up in price if there is no new contract by June 30, 2001. EBSCO will go up by the Consumer Price Index; OCLC’s FirstSearch is uncertain but could be as much as 10%. The State Purchasing department has had position cuts which is holding up the RFP. Since increases are inevitable, and an earlier decision was made to keep contributions the same, it appears cutting some databases will be likely.

Mary Beth Susman called attention to the newly produced annual (progress) report and fact sheet. A pocket sized information card is also in the works. Susman is going to Beijing, China in June to be a keynote speaker at the Fifth Annual China-U.S. Conference on Education. Pattie has been approached by other countries about using KYVL – Ecuador is an example. Willis interjected how helpful the courier service has been, saving staff time and materials. Susman also reported that Adult Education is being added to the KYVL/KYVU/KYHS trio. The KYVL is going to "house" the adult education resources.

Besant then addressed his concern about the RFP to Susman and stated it is necessary to know if the contract will go through or not. If not, discussions need to begin now about what might be cut. Pattie interjected that we know central funding will not be increased. Besant asked should something highly visible be eliminated or not? Susman suggested partnering with "sister" virtual libraries as that would spread the costs further. Willis stated we should at least explore this idea with SOLINET because they have some infrastructure in place. ASERL takes in 12 or 15 states. Pattie stated databases could be swapped out and if one is dropped NetLibrary could be picked up.

Northern stated that Purchasing says they will have RFP out next week, but she feels end of the month is more likely. Susman asked should we charge patrons? Willis stated small increases in contributions should be considered because the worst thing you can do is move backwards. He stated UK has NetLibrary and it should be investigated to see if KYVL can use it for an extra fee. Taulbee asked if there was any chance a new bargaining agreement will come in lower than the existing agreement. Pattie responded she feels we are in a position to bargain well. Susman stated that vendors are interested in partnerships, not just being a vendor and we have more leverage now. Nelson stated we are still not a competitive group. Culbertson asked about using SREB as an agent. Pattie is in it as is SOLINET. Taulbee stated that Purchasing is still an impediment. The best leverage the states have is in their size.

Davis stated it has been hard to get Collections Workgroup together; responses of end users and focus groups still have to be compiled. So far there has been no evaluation or prioritization of the databases.

Taulbee asked if it would be better to extend the contracts for a short time or let the RFP process run its course. What would give KYVL more leverage with vendors? He seemed to be hearing from the group that a new bid will result in a better price. Pattie stated she would talk to EBSCO and FirstSearch about a short extension to allow us to complete the RFP process. Nelson summed up discussion by stating KYVL would move ahead with the bid process but we will have evaluations if we come up short. There is a potential for cuts. KYVL should pursue the multi-state idea.

Culbertson pointed out that changing databases creates a training problem. Many expressed a desire for consistency. Binder asked who competed with EBSCO last time. It was Gale, Wilson, IAC; UMI did not make the deadline.

Pattie discussed the newly produced KYVL Progress Report 2000 and Fact Sheet. Besant said the Marketing Committee needs to educate the legislators as to what a good deal KYVL is. Nelson added legislators need to be educated as to the value of libraries in general too. Binder asked how the figure of a 20 million dollar savings was derived. Pattie responded it is probably more like 35 million but she scaled it down. Binder pointed out that the figure assumes the libraries had the money to spend, which they did not. Pattie responded it is cost avoidance. The report shows where KYVL is today. Each member library will be receiving a packet through the courier service consisting of 2 books donated by James Ausenbaugh, one annual (progress) report, 50 bookmarks, 50 fact sheets and 50 KYVL/KYVU/KYHS brochures. A KYVL and KYVU annual report is in process and will cover the true fiscal year.

Pattie called attention to the feature and photo of KYVL in the OCLC annual report. She also announced 2 staff changes: Terri Weil’s last day is Thursday, Feb. 15. Tammie Clements, is transferring to the Finance Office for opportunities more related to her career goals. Both positions are being advertised. The Help Desk Librarian position will be in charge of training. Beth Kramer is now working for KYVU on a full-time basis.

Adult Education is a new initiative being added to the KYVU umbrella. A new work group has been formed – Adult Education Resource Database Workgroup. Adult Education will be getting their resources over the web and their site will be like KYVL and KYVU; Cheryl King is in charge. Besant added that information literacy is an important component of adult literacy.

Pattie stated that KYVL is contracting for a tutorial for the general public, and existing tutorials will be revamped. The Information Literacy workgroup will be very important. KYVL is thinking of offering an online course in how to use KYVL. Hardy reported a lot has been done to KYVL for kids. They want it to be very graphic and are collecting fun web sites. Culbertson announced the Kentucky Teaching and Learning Conference coming up March 8-1-, and passed out brochures. KYVL for Teachers pages have been revamped.

Keller reported for the Endeavor Workgroup saying the new software will soon be up for people to practice on.

Resourced Sharing Workgroup is working on patron-initiated ILL. Pattie has expressed her concern with WebZ to OCLC because it does not facilitate patrons’ ability to place ILL’s. Pattie is still hoping to have the pilot libraries using patron-initiated ILL in April. Pattie is designing a poster and asks that all libraries display it prominently.

The next meeting was set for Friday, March 30, 2001 at 1:00 in CPE Conference Room A.

The meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.

Last Updated: 2/26/01