Quarterly Membership Meeting
February 10, 2000

Present were: Becky Turnbaugh, Connie Lachowicz, SKI; Joyce Brothers, NAR; Sandra Mundy, BUR; Peter Bennett, Bev Klyberg, Shirley Long, Cindy St. Amour, PRO; Ann Crawford, CHA; Joan Hackett, HAR; Eileen Socha, EPR; Frances Farrell-Bergeron, WWA; Jenny La Perriere, FOS/TYL; Beth Golembeske, LCO; Becky Boragone, LIN; Joan Prescott, BRI; Judith Bell, JAM; Debbie Barchi, Anne Bulin, Doug Swiszcz, BAR; Donna Dufault, NKI; Margaret Victoria, WES; Paul Holliday, CRA; Ginny Taken, Rick Payette, CLAN; Tom Shannahan, CFA; Andy Egan, Dorothy Frechette, OLIS; Doug Pearce, Sharon Fredette, WAR; Karen Taylor, EGR; Susan Reed, PAW; Edna Wells, Regina Slezak, NPT; Chris LaRoux, GVL; Lynn Blanchette, COV; Gayle Wolstenholme, GLO; Mary Ellen Hardiman, NPR; Lynn Thompson, CLA; Jeanne Warren, WPO; Pat DiBella, WGR; Sarah Weed, WRR.

The meeting was called to order at the Warwick Library by Tom Shannahan, President.

A motion to accept the previous meeting’s minutes was seconded and approved in a vote.

Ginny Taken reported that the Steering Committee recommended that CLAN expand the Unique Management project to include any library that would like to participate. She distributed the results of the 90 day trial, which yielded $1900 in cash, and $9000 in returned materials.

Doug Pearce spoke in favor of the service, stating recovering materials and cash was great, and zero staff time was required. Peter stated that the module from DYNIX costs the same no matter how many libraries participate. Doug Swizcz asked if patron record information is sent by day end processing: whether each library would be able to check shelves before the patron was contacted. Peter replied that a not very elegant report can be run that lists everything sent to Unique. It lists patron names and amounts, but not titles.

Ginny stated that many things were cleared up when the patron received a notice. Dave Macksam stated that CRA's main concern was public reaction, they had zero complaints, and one patron was traced all the way to New York. Connie Lachowicz asked how much of the $10 charge per item went to CLAN. Ginny replied that the trial was revenue neutral for CLAN; cash will come to CLAN and materials recovery is the primary benefit to participating libraries.

Connie asked what happens if the patron refuses to pay the $10 fee. Ginny replied that its stays on their record. Donna Dufault asked about the time frame before a notice is sent . Peter replied that a few parameters have to be universal: one is that an overdue item converts to lost after 90 days, another is that the threshold to report cash owed is $60. If the lost status was set at never a large stack of notices would be sent to Unique and Peter didn't want to send them all that "junk." Unique is good about contacting libraries if there is a problem. You do have to trust the system and set it and forget it.

Kathleen Taylor asked if the trial lasted long enough to see if the system acts as a deterrent. Peter replied that no more than 500 accounts were contacted, so probably not. Debbie Barchi asked if the most serious consequence for a patron is that the unpaid bill goes on their credit rating, and Ginny replied that was so. Debbie asked if emailing unique was possible to stop their involvement in a specific case, and this also is true.

Donna Dufault asked what the impact would be if half of the libraries don't participate. Peter replied that the patron agency determines participation, so if there is more than $60 owed and one overdue item is owned by a participating library, the case is referred to Unique. Doug Swiszcz remarked that in a sense, then, all the libraries are participating. Donna stated she presently uses the NKI police and if her library participated in Unique the patron would get a "double whammy."

Bev Klyberg stated that when the case is referred to Unique a message appears on the patron's record. Sarah Weed stated that ILL books will complicate the process. Libraries that are interested in joining the Unique program should contact Ginny.

Ginny reported that the Circulation Heads Committee had revised the Patron Registration Form fields since the last CLAN meeting. Ann Crawford asked if fields 1-7 are required and if filed #8 would be addressed with "AG," or would it go in field #6. Judy Bell asked about the birth date field vs. the date of birth field. Ginny replied that we added the date of birth and then DYNIX added birth date field. Ann Crawford moved and it was seconded and approved in a vote to accept the new form. Cynthia St. Amour stated that it will take a couple of weeks before the screen will be changed.

Ginny reported that the CLAN office now has a real photocopier courtesy of the Champlin Foundations. She and Rick are setting up a training area with at least three PCs, and are working with Andy Egan to set up more training sessions. There is a waiting list for another training session of Anzio. The group purchase of 117 PCs is complete. The next purchase will be made in April. WIL and PAS are on their way to full fledged CLAN membership, and will be included in the next budget calculations.

There will not be a Library Legislative Day; the Government Relations Committee does not feeel that it si the best way to communicate with the legislators. CLAN will seek another $25,00 grant to continue working on the 999 retrospective project.

Network Plus accounts will no longer be handled by CLAN. There were many billing and communication problems, and BRI had trouble getting repairs. Ashaway has a new director, Heather Field.

Donna Dufault asked about the status of the Exeter Library. Ginny stated that their siting committee has met and they have 3 possible sites, but they are not yet involved with CLAN. Dorothy Frechette reported that there is no Exeter town funding for the library. Donna asked if any other library charges Exeter patrons a fee. Neither EGR nor WGR require it.

Peter reported on the direct Internet access project. Network Plus negotiations broke down when they didn't respond to questions and issues. Competition helped lower NP prices, but it was still frustrating. NP submitted line installation orders without Peter's consent, and PPL's Telecirc lines were switched to NP without permission. The new DSL providers will be Digital Broadband (51 sites starting in March) and HarvardNet (20 sites starting immediately.)

Some libraries are in areas where no DSL will be available; small libraries will use a 56K frame relay; four larger libraries will install 384K frame relays. A point to point T1 line is $200 cheaper than a frame relay. If your library hasn't been contacted, you will be served by Broadband. Data Comm will install the sync card or ethernet card for routers and network address translation will take place. Subnets of 16 or 6 could hem us in. We will have 8 real network addresses and 254 for internal use. Pricing was all over the map, but our budgeted amount looks like it will work. No library will be penalized based on geography.

DYNIX was recently sold to become Epixtech. Since the switch the customer response has improved 100%. PC Reliance has come in and is up on Netconnect. Rick will burn a CD for everyone. The basic version requirements were excessive, so it will be installed on the low end. It is very nice and easy to use. We will have unlimited use of the basic, based on the number of licenses we own. Doug Swiszcz asked if the expanded version is necessary to do an inventory, and Peter responded in the negative.

A new version of JAVA WebPAC has just been released, with 184 pages of documentation. Some new features include: the ability to print, best seller lists, statistics on usage, running on NT server, restriction of the maximum number of users to connect, it works with almost any browser, and the Z3950 client can do web searching. It will be loaded early next week.

Telecirc II has been started up at PRO, WAR and NPR. CRA has its own ENS system. It would be good if all sites were on Telecirc. The only real expense involved is the phone calls, which the erate discount helps out with. We would need 10-12K of additional hardware if every library participates, but a few small libraries could come on board without changing the central hardware. If a library wants Telecirc II they should contact Peter. It should cost about $275 per library. Calls to patrons provide titles waiting and pickup location in a synthesized voice that doesn't always pronounce words correctly.

Jenny LaPerriere asked if Telecirc eliminates a lot of paper and Peter replied in the affirmative; only if a patron is unreachable does a paper notice get generated to be mailed. Karen Taylor asked if each library can pick and choose which services to involve and Peter replied that holds and patron loan types can be modified. Regina Slezak asked what happens if the call is answered by someone other than the patron, could confidentiality be broken? Peter replied that it could be, but the call asks for a specific person and then presents other options. The equipment could be set to not speak titles. Doug Swiszcz asked if email was an option, and Peter stated the contact hierarchy is email first, then phone, then mail. Donna Dufault asked if the message leaves a phone number. Peter stated it says to call the Library. Judy Bell asked if there are ten books listed will the patron get ten calls. Peter replied that a single call a day will cover that day's overdue books. Mary Ellen Hardiman stated she noticed that sometimes a pickup call gets made before the book arrives at the Library. Peter concurred, and stated that Telecirc calls on Saturday but not on Sunday, and probably does 600 new calls a day by noon.

Rick Payette reported that all of the Dell computers were delivered in good condition. He can provide installation assistance if needed. The next purchase will be made in April. All orders must be made in writing by April 7^th. The next order will be for smaller CPUs and 15" screens, and cost about $1200.

A preliminary budget and fee schedule was distributed and approved in a vote.

Database Management: Jenny LaPerriere stated the minutes of the last meeting are posted on the CLAN minutes page.

Circulation Heads: Edna Wells reported that the Patron registration Screen had been the major topic at the last meeting.

The meeting was adjourned. The next CLAN meeting will be held on May 11 at Westerly Public Library.

Respectfully submitted,