June 20, 2008

M I N U T E S - DRAFT
IOWA COMMISSION OF LIBRARIES
June 20, 2008
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
State Library of Iowa
1112 E. Grand Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50319
Room 300

Present:  Monica Gohlinghorst, Dan Boice, Frank Sposeto, Rita Martens, Janet Mohs, Tom Martin, Jann Freed, David Boyd

Guests:  Bonnie McKeown, Karen Burns, Barbara Shultz, Lily Lau, Katherine Von Wald

Staff:  Mary Wegner, Annette Wetteland, Carol Simmons, Marie Harms, Steve Cox, Beth Henning, Sandy Dixon, Tim Skeers, Gerry Rowland

Gohlinghorst called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

1.0   Set Agenda
Agenda set as presented.

2.0   Approve Minutes
Boice moved to accept the minutes as presented.  Sposeto seconded, motion carried unanimously.

3.0   Financial Report
Cox reported that both federal and state budgets are on target.  The new fiscal year begins July 1 and he will report on the final 2008 financials at the August meeting.  CBS news sent a donation of $8,000 for the use of the Law Library while they were in Iowa reporting on the Iowa caucuses.  The financial report was accepted as presented.

4.0   Communications

A.  Special Reports         
    1.  Introduce new staff member Tim Skeers   
Corson introduced Tim Skeers, the State Library’s new Cataloger, to the Commission.  Tim gave a short overview of his work experience.
    2.  Then and now at the State Library – Gerry Rowland
        Dixon introduced Gerry Rowland. who has been a consultant with the State Library since 1987.  He talked about his Iowa library career which began in 1979 as director of the Shenandoah Public Library.  Rowland focused his report on three topics that he has been heavily involved in and that have changed significantly since he began working at the State Library:  statistics, interlibrary loans, and library standards.  Rowland will retire June 27, 2008.

B.  Commission Reports
Sposeto:  The Collins Public Library director resigned a replacement has not yet been hired.  

Martens: Martens reported that the Governor signed the Core Curriculum legislation into law this year. It is to be completely implemented by 2014-15.  She also reported that the August meeting will be her last, due to other job responsibilities.  Department of Education Director Judy Jeffrey has appointed Kevin Fangman to replace Martens as the Department of Education representative.  He will be invited to attend the August meeting with Martens.

Gohlinghorst:  The All Iowa Reads Committee has narrowed its 2009 title search to six books.  They will announce the 2009 book at the Iowa Library Association Conference in October.  The Council Bluffs Public Library’s summer reading program is going very well.  The library started a teen advisory board and the kids are very excited.  The library is celebrating its 10th anniversary in its new building from September 5-7, 2008.

Mohs:  Mohs said she has been talking with people in the health field to get information on what is happening with medical libraries.  The University of Iowa Medical Library will be closed until June 25 because of flood issues.  There is a mandate from the National Library of Medicine for states to have a disaster plan.  In Iowa, it’s coordinated by the University of Iowa.  The Polk County Biomedical Consortium coordinates this for Polk County.   It formalizes who covers for whom when disasters occur.  There is an exciting program being formed between the University of Iowa and Des Moines University that will create area health education centers for the underserved using money from a $3.8 million dollar grant.  They will provide education and support, and an incentive for health professionals to stay in underserved areas.  Corson added that the State Library is working on the same project.  The State Library will provide people with library cards and they will have access to our online collection.  The Public Library Forum and the Health Services Division of the Iowa Library Association are partnering on a program about consumer resources for appropriate health care.  It will take place at the ILA fall conference.
Mohs said health care literacy is a passion of hers.  She described the Reach Out and Read program, led by Mary Ann Abrams, a pediatrician.  Nurses and physicians are trained to advise parents about the importance of reading aloud to children.  They give books to children and parents at the kids’ 6 month and 5 year checkups.  They can also assess parent literacy.  If parents can’t read, they won’t encourage reading with their children and they may not be able to follow medical directions.  There are 52 Reach Out and Read active clinical locations in Iowa that reach nearly 41,000 kids annually.  Blank Children’s Hospital gets donations for books to give to children at the clinics. 
Mohs also talked about a health care literacy program called “A Shared Vision for Improving Health Care Literacy in Iowa and Iowa Center for Health Literacy.”  There is a high correlation between achieving better health outcomes and lowering health care costs with the improvement of health care literacy.   Every person who comes in for health care should be able to ask “what is my problem” “what do I need to do about it” and “why is it important?”

Boice:  In spite of the floods and tornadoes, Boice said the libraries in his area are doing well.  His library board is talking about what they can do to help.  Boice said they appreciated Wetteland’s daily reports on flood damages; he hopes the State Library can find ways for libraries and others to help libraries affected by the floods.  Boice also noted that he is serving on the State Library’s Shared Automation System Advisory Group.

Martin:  Martin said that on June 7, he and Wegner attended the dedication ceremony of the new Conrad Public Library.     He said the Iowa City Public Library’s Build the Collection fundraiser netted about $40,000.  The Iowa City Public Library’s Summer Reading Program has about 1,500 participants.  Martin passed around a bookmark the library will use for its “Thinkin’ Lincoln” program to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday in February 2009.  They are holding a series of special programs, including a penny drive where they hope to collect 10 pennies for each item in the collection, or $24,000.  They will have a penny coin stamp machine in the library as well.  Martin also talked about participating in ALA Legislative day in Washington, DC.  He said it was a great program and encouraged others to be a part of it in the future. 
   
Boyd:  No report. 

C.  State Librarian’s Report
Henning:  The initial RFP for the State Data Center Web site was cancelled because none of the cost bids met the state's procurement requirements. A new RFP was issued June 11; vendor proposals are due July 22, 2008.  On June 13, Henning attended the Census 2010 kickoff meeting of Governors Liaisons in Washington, D.C. The Census Bureau's current priority is recruiting staff for local census offices. Offices in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids are expected to open this fall; offices in other Iowa cities will open in 2009.

Corson:  Commissioners received charts showing results from a survey conducted among state employees as part of the State Library’s strategic planning process.  She also distributed a packet of materials that were given to state employees at this year’s “door-to-door” promotion of State Library services.  The State Library has done this for four years, rotating among the different state buildings.  About 900 packets were handed out this year.

Dixon:  Dixon said the State Library has begun the process of hiring a replacement for consultant Gerry Rowland. She is advertising now and will conduct interviews in July.  The person’s duties will change; adult services will be part the consultant’s responsibilities.  Dixon said the Staying Connected Grant is winding up.  State Library staff is offering additional work days for librarians to work on their PLOW Web sites.  Library Development is also offering a new six-hour class on “Teaching Computers to the Public” developed by Dreama Deskins and Michele Leininger, as well as a class in Advanced Troubleshooting that will be offered this fall.  The Gates Hardware Grant has approximately 70 participating libraries that will get checks to purchase computers.
Von Wald:  A handout was distributed regarding the Iowa Author List on the Iowa Center for the Book Web site.  The list gives Iowans a source of authors who are currently living and writing in Iowa.  Authors state whether they are willing to do programs in schools and libraries.  The authors provide a short description of their work, along with contact information.

Wegner:  Wegner said that because of the floods, state agencies will likely be asked to submit status quo budget requests for the next fiscal year.  Wegner said three libraries – the public libraries in  New Hartford and Cedar Rapids, and the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids -  were seriously damaged by the floods.  Also, two buildings at the University of Iowa that house the music and art libraries have been flooded, but the extent of damage to their library collections is not yet known.  Wegner said Wetteland is contacting affected libraries and is frequently updating information about flood-damaged libraries on the State Library’s Web site.  Wegner is sharing the information with the Governor’s Office, ILA, the national library press, and others. Wegner said the August agenda may include an item regarding an issue with the State Library’s standards program for public libraries. 

D.  Library Service Areas Report - Bonnie McKewon, Northwest Iowa Library Services
McKewon shared a PowerPoint presentation regarding the WILBOR project.  Central, Northwest, Southwest and Southeast Iowa LSAs have formed a second consortium to provide downloadable audio books to their customers.  WILBOR stands for West/Central Iowa Libraries Building Online Resources.  As of mid-April, 85 libraries are participating.  After signing a Letter of Agreement, libraries can join the consortium for a base fee of $300, plus ten cents times their total audio book circulation per year for four years.

5.0   Public Comment
None

6.0   Action Items

A.    Appointments to Library Service Area boards of trustees
    Dixon provided a handout of elected LSA trustee members.  The Commission is responsible for the appointment of library patron representatives and certifying appointments of public library trustees to the LSA boards.   Martens moved for appointment of library patrons, Sposeto seconded.  Motion carried unanimously.  Martin moved to certify public library trustees, Freed seconded.  Motion carried unanimously.

B.   Confirm meeting dates for remainder of 2008
Wegner said the August 14 retreat will be held at the Royal Amsterdam Hotel in Pella.  The Commission meeting will be held the morning of August 15.  The October 24 and December 15 meetings stand as scheduled.

7.0   Discussion Items

A.    State Librarian evaluation
    Gohlinghorst reported that she and Boice, members of the evaluation subcommittee, gave Wegner a positive evaluation and thanked her for her work.

B.    State Library strategic plan
A copy of the June 17 draft of the State Library’s strategic plan was shared with the Commission. Discussion followed.  Commissioners would like to see additional information about how to measure the objectives, who is responsible/accountable, and what the cost will be.  Wegner, Corson, Dixon and Henning will continue to work on the plan and will bring it back to the Commission at the August meeting.  

C.    Plans for shared library automation system and feedback from recent meetings
    Boice talked about his involvement with the Shared Automation Advisory Group.  He felt there was good representation from a diverse group of libraries across the state and that the meeting was productive.  He agrees with State Library staff and advisory group members that there is a need for the system in Iowa. 
    Harms distributed a handout of her PowerPoint presentation about a shared library automation system that she provided to 200 people over the ICN on June 18. 

8.0   Adjournment 
Meeting adjourned at 1:50 p.m.
NEXT MEETING:  August 14-15, Royal Amsterdam, Pella