July 26, 2007
Members Present: Kathy Boguszewski, Marc Boucher, Carol Brill, Mary Clark (for Sally Drew), Karen Grothe, Peter Hamon, Leanne Hansen, Lisa Jewell, Rita Magno, David Weinhold, Janet White
Excused: Carla Burmeister, Leslie Christensen, Ed Van Gemert
Others Present: Patrick Wilkinson, Kathy Schneider
Past Chair Peter Hamon called the meeting to order at 1:20pm.
Minutes and Introductions: Introductions of the board members were made. Approval of minutes from April 10, 2007 was moved by Brill, seconded by Grothe and passed by voice vote.
Scenario Planning: The Board reviewed the focus group report on the “what if” strategic scenarios developed by the WiLS staff and Board earlier in the year. With the assistance of a facilitator, the focus group had discussed the detailed scenarios, looking for gaps and overlap in the coverage. They recommended that the scenario on Google be folded into another scenario. The focus group also read the conclusions of a SOLINET Focus Group and agreed with it regarding directions for the next 3-5 years. Board members suggested several ways to proceed with both the scenario report and the recent membership survey conducted this spring by Morrill Research Associates. It was finally agreed to initially handle the two planning documents separately. The WiLS staff will merge the detailed scenarios with the report from the focus group. A link to the full focus group report will be included. The merged document will then be sent to the WiLS membership for further comment. At an early fall meeting the Board will review the membership survey. As a final step, the scenario report and the survey results will be pulled together into planning. Focus group members will be thanked privately with represented constituencies named on the report. The remaining two scenarios (online education and shifts to expanded community roles) will be completed online by WiLS staff and selected board members.
Budget FY08: Schneider reviewed the budget noting that there’s not much new or different. A motion was made by Weinhold and seconded by Jewell to accept the budget. After questions and discussion, a friendly amendment was added and the motion was approved to accept the budget with a caveat that Schneider will provide more information on the dollar amount for WHO after the meeting.
OCLC Members Council: A motion was made by Boucher, seconded by Jewell, and passed to confirm the appointment of Phyllis Christiansen (Marathon County Public Library) as the new alternate to Members Council. Wilkinson reported on the following highlights from the May meeting of the Members Council: OCLC getting libraries to webscale; a mass digitization project coming soon; governance, internal relationships, and member expectations.
WiLS Director’s Report: The new accounting software proved to be a large project, but it should now be in place. July bills will be sent using both the new online system and in print. Membership training for the new system will be coming soon. The membership survey, conducted by Morrill Research Associates, also kept staff busy. For the next board meeting, Schneider will develop discussion options for the increased availability of BadgerCat.
Other business: The fall meeting will be held at the Wisconsin Library Association Office on October 5th.
There being no further business, Hamon adjourned the meeting at 3:00pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Leanne Hansen, Secretary