TexShare Advisory Board Meeting
July 27, 2000
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Location:Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Minutes
In the absence of Robert Seal, TexShare Advisory Board Chair,
Eva Poole, Vice Chair presided. Ms. Poole announced she would need
to leave by 1 p.m. and that Gilda Ortego would preside following
her departure.
1. Review/Revise Agenda
Eva Poole added the following to the agenda:
- Discussion of the letter from the Phoenix Group, a consortium
of academic libraries primarily in north Texas, concerning issues
related to the expansion of the Card Program to public libraries.
- Determination of future Advisory Board meeting dates. The Board
decided the next meeting will be Thursday, September 21, 2000
in Austin, and the final meeting of the year will be December
7, 2000 in Austin.
- Reports from board members at the end of the meeting.
2. TexShare Mission Statement
Darryl Tocker introduced the discussion of the draft TexShare
mission statement that he and Marty Adamson prepared:
TexShare, a statewide consortium of academic and public libraries
administered by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission,
employs traditional and innovative strategies to facilitate
resource sharing. Texshare is founded on the belief of Texas
State officials and librarians that citizen well being is furthered
by efficient information exchange in all communities and institutions
where quality teaching, research excellence, and lifelong learning
are valued.
TexShare maximizes the effectiveness of library expenditures
by enabling libraries to:
- share staff expertise.
- share library resources in print and electronic formats, including
books, journals, technical reports, and databases.
- pursue joint purchasing agreements for information services.
- encourage cooperative development and deployment of information
resources and technologies.
TexShare programs contribute to the intellectual productivity
of Texans at the participating institutions by emphasizing access
to information rather than ownership of documents and other
information sources.
Paul Dumont moved to accept the mission statement as written, and
the Board approved the motion.
The TexShare mission statement will be posted on the TexShare web
site.
3. Working Group reports
Card Program
Jay Clark reported on the status of the public library implementation
process and the current numbers of institutions that have
signed the card program agreement. He reported that the Card Program
working group recommends collecting data on the card program for
another year before making a recommendation about instituting
a lost book fund or net lender reimbursement program.
Eva Poole opened discussion of the letter from the Phoenix Group
to State Librarian Peggy Rudd. TexShare public library members
became eligible to participate in the Card Program beginning August
1, 2000. The letter expressed concern about the impact of public
library participation in the Card Program on current program members.
Board members expressed their concern with the sentiments expressed
in the letter. Board members stated that TexShare was always meant
to include different types of libraries and any problems with
the card program as currently designed are unknown.
Paul Dumont made a motion to refer the letter to the Card Program
working group and ask the group to bring an evaluation of the
card program as it is currently designed to the Advisory Board
in one year. The Board approved the motion.
Joe McCord moved that the Advisory Board write a letter to the
Phoenix Group responding to their concerns. The Board approved
the motion and Joe McCord will write the letter, incorporating
suggestions from Advisory Board members.
Courier Program
Jo Anne Hawkins reviewed the current courier service statistics,
and reported on the June and July conference call meetings of
the working group. The working group recommends that any lost
book fund be governed by interlibrary loan and card program protocols,
and not be part of the courier program because loss in the courier
program is very small. The working group will be promoting correct
use of the service through a monthly email newsletter and using
the TexShare web site to highlight information. The group has
started an informal mentoring program for new institutions/personnel
in the courier program. The group is also discussing methods for
evaluating the service.
Education Program
Bonnie Juergens summarized results of the survey the Education
working group conducted. Preliminary analysis of the survey shows
that training needs to be targeted to specific information and
groups within TexShare. The working group has established liaisons
with other working groups to become better informed on training
needs identified by TexShare programs. Ms. Juergens also reported
on the number and location of Ovid and Ariel training sessions
currently being conducted around the state.
Electronic Information
Sue Phillips reported that the working group met in March after
the Fees Task Force recommendations were approved. The group endorsed
netLibrary and discussed database priorities such as literature,
newspapers, and consumer health. Ms. Phillips also reported on
the June meeting with netLibrary.
Deborah Littrell then reviewed the database contracts that were
awarded as a result of the working groupâs recommendations. A
question was raised about working group involvement in the netLibrary
selection process. Ms. Littrell reported that the initial FY00
acquisition had to be done quickly and a sub-group of the working
group is involved in that selection. The full working group will
be involved in future netLibrary acquisitions.
ILL Program
Sara Lowman reported on several initiatives of the ILL working
group. The working group is asking for funding for a cooperative
collection development project. The Advisory Board requested that
the working group look at OCLC reports to determine the need for
the project before a decision is made on funding. Ms. Lowman replied
that the group would bring the cost of the OCLC report to the
next Board meeting.
The working group looked at the issue of establishing a lost
book fund for ILL and the working group recommended against instituting
such a fund and instead retaining the existing ILL protocol. The
group feels that if a fund is made available, a net lender subsidy
should be considered.
The working group also presented a preliminary budget for the
next ILL workshop to be held in May or June 2001. The working
group will bring additional information on the workshop and the
comments of the Education working group to the next Advisory Board
meeting. The preliminary budget of $7,300 was approved.
The group has also started a mentoring program for new ILL staff
at TexShare libraries, and is considering ways to promote more
liberal lending policies. The Board suggested sending out a proposed
model ILL policy reflecting such lending policies for libraries
to consider.
TexTreasures
Kathy Hoffman reported the program received nine grant proposals,
with three public libraries applying. The Commission approved
the groupâs recommendations. The next round is coming up and the
group recommends keeping the funding for the program level unless
we receive a larger number of applicants. The working group is
preparing a survey for all TexShare members on current needs regarding
special collections and Ms. Hoffman has compiled a history of
the TexTreasures grants. The working group will contact earlier
recipients and ask about the outcomes of their projects. Eventually
the TexShare web site will contain links to earlier projects when
available, along with brief descriptions of earlier projects.
Recipients of FY01 TexTreasures grants:
University of Texas at Austin
Third Geological Survey of Texas - $19,279
University of North Texas
Nineteenth Century Texas Law Online - $16,162
Austin Public Library
Austin History Center Exhibit Web Page Project - $17,727
San Jacinto College Central
Pasadena: Its History and Life in Photographs - $18,007
Texas Christian University -
Amon G. Carter Papers - $20,000
Amarillo Public Library
Amarillo Public Library Digital History Project - $ 8,825
4. Strategic Partner reports
Amigos Library Services
In a written report, Bonnie Juergens discussed the TExpress usage
levels for January ö June 2000, the development of a monthly electronic
newsletter for the courier service, the Trans-Amigos Express Guidelines,
and pricing for calendar year 2001.
Board members asked if the strategic partner concept was working
well. Michael Piper stated that the annual report shows high satisfaction
with the courier service and that the State Libraryâs relations
with Amigos are fine. The courier contract is being re-bid in
order to align the courier service period with the Stateâs fiscal
year.
Ms. Juergens stated that the strategic partner relationship is
critically important because of the overlap of Amigos and Texshare
members. Amigos staff are involved in the ILL and Education working
groups, and Amigos staff also provide training for TexShare programs.
As needs/resources change over time, the partnership will continue
to benefit the members of both organizations.
In response to a question about fully subsidizing the courier
service, Mr. Piper responded that while Texshare could ask for
more funding, it would be difficult to convince the Legislature
to pick up the full costs for what is now a successful state-local
partnership. While all TexShare programs are open to review, Mr.
Piper recommended retention of the current arrangement, which
is working well.
University of Texas at Austin
Sue Phillips reported that the TexShare servers continue
to operate well. There have been a few crashes but there is redundancy
in the system and there have been no problems for members. The
FY01 interagency contract between the University of Texas and
the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is almost completed.
Under terms of this contract, UT will host the Ovid databases
and the TexShare web site during FY2001.
5. Administrative report
Library of Texas update ö
Michael Piper outlined the four components of the Library of
Texas proposal, an interagency partnership between the State Library
and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board (TIF). The
databases are the key component. The proposal will provide funding
for databases at 50 cents per capita as opposed to the current
15 cents per capita. The funding will allow libraries to prove
the value of extended services in order to gain legislative support
at end of the grant period. TIF has agreed to fund ($7,368,887)
phase one databases for academic and public libraries. This database
funding from TIF will be in the TexShare budget. Mr. Piper stated
the State Library would work with the Electronic Information working
group to select the expanded range of databases. These new databases
will be deployed by June 2001.
Marketing plan update ö
Michael Piper reviewed the marketing ideas discussed during the
March 2000 Board meeting and reported that the State Library decided
to defer implementation until the Library of Texas proposal was
completed and the budget settled. The staff is now ready to proceed
as outlined. Board members emphasized the need to show small public
libraries what TexShare does for them, and also to target smaller
academic libraries. Mr. Piper noted that we need to complement
printed materials with "Welcome to TexShare" training
and partner with the regional systems. Marketing will be an ongoing
effort. Two additional Board suggestions were to include a video
clip from the State Librarian on the TexShare web site and to
make marketing materials bilingual.
FY 2001 budget
Michael Piper reviewed the budget sheets distributed to Board
members. The total amount of the FY01 budget is $9,656, 966, including
$7.3 million from TIF. This permits a five-fold increase in database
funding and an increase in the number of databases provided to
TexShare members, while permitting a reduction in the information
access fee assessed to TexShare academic libraries. Fees will
be cut in half in FY2001. The fees are:
Tier 1 ö FY2000 $5,500 FY2001 $2,750
Tier 2 ö FY2000 $1,600 FY2001 $800
Tier 3 ö FY2000 $450 FY2001 $225
This reduction in fees incorporates the recommendations of the
Fees Task Force. The Board approved the fee reduction.
Paul Dumont moved to accept the budget as presented and the Board
approved the motion.
FY 2002-2003 Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR)
Michael Piper reviewed the material distributed to the Board.
Major assumptions included in the LAR are continued courier expansion,
and the elimination of fees for core databases. However, the Board
needs to review the elimination of database fees after the legislative
session to see if TexShare gets its exceptional item request.
The exceptional item request of $560,500 would provide funds to
keep the database funding at 50 cents per capita with projected
state population growth. Mr. Piper noted that the budget may get
tighter in the future and TexShare may need a future exceptional
items request for databases and continued courier expansion.
Paul Dumont moved to endorse the LAR as presented and the Board
approved the motion.
Strategic partner contracts FY01
Michael Piper reported that the University of Texas contract
is almost completed. The courier service contract with Amigos
Library Services has been extended until December 31, 2000 and
the State Library is engaged in the process of rebidding the courier
contract.
Administrative rules update
Michael Piper reported that the State Library and Archives Commission
has approved posting the revised TexShare administrative rules
for public comment. These revisions are primarily conforming changes
to align the rules with new TexShare legislation, which integrates
public libraries into the consortium.
Web site update
Deborah Littrell updated the Board on the status of the TexShare
web site, which is being continually upgraded. The Board felt
that putting contact names for Texshare programs on the web site
was appropriate.
TexShare program at TLA
Deborah Littrell outlined the proposed Library of Texas and TexShare
programs. The Board approved the outline and recommended an 80-minute
session for the TexShare program.
After inviting announcements from Board members, Gilda Ortego
adjourned the meeting.
Present:
TexShare board members:
Paul Dumont
Rhoda Goldberg
Marsha Harper
George Huffman
J. Grant Jones
Joe McCord
Gilda Ortego
Eva Poole
Darryl Tocker
State Library:
Deborah Littrell
Michael Piper
Working Group liaisons:
Jay Clark
Jo Anne Hawkins
Kathy Hoffman
Bonnie Juergens
Sara Lowman
Sue Phillips
Visitors:
Norman Hood, Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas (ICUT)
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