The Steering Committee met on 4/29/99 at the Warwick Public Library. In attendance were: Judith Bell, JAM; Peter Bennett, CLAN and PRO; Carol Brouwer, NSM; John Carney, EPL; Frances Farrell-Bergeron, WWA; Dorothy Frechette, OLIS; Sharon Fredette, WAR; Mattie Gustafson, NPT; Paul Holliday, CRA; Leslie McDonough, SCI; Rick Payette, CLAN; Doug Pearce, WAR; Susan Reed, PAW; Tom Shannahan, CFA; Ginny Taken, CLAN; Anne Toll, NPT.

The meeting was convened at 9:45 by Chair Tom Shannahan.

The previous minutes were approved with one change. Peter noted that in his report the annual cost for a 56 K line is $4500, not $7200.

Ginny Taken reported:

The catalogers have completed about 5K 9999 records since February.

59 pc’s have been ordered through Rick and delivery is expected next week.

The final cost is $1488 per pc.

There will be a workshop on 5/3 at WAR to help libraries decide what to ask for from Champlin.

Rick will address pc’s and printers and talk about instituting a 3-year replacement cycle.

Peter will talk about switches and cabling,

Ginny will emphasize the need to continue requesting things if you are turned down and to trying to and prioritize requests.

Ginny contacted Leslie Burger about the RI Library study she did for COLA, to discuss correcting inaccuracies.

Dave Macksam has contacted Ginny regarding serving on a Blue Ribbon Committee of librarians representing different types of libraries to discuss the report.

CLAN representatives have been asked to meet with RILINK to discuss future possibilities.

There is a survey that CLAN has sent to each library to find out who buys what material and which supplies from whom at what discounts. We are trying to get a starting point for investigating cooperative purchasing. Due at CLAN 4/30.

Thanks to a grant through OLIS the Health Reference Center will continue to be available for all libraries for another year. Ginny will talk with an IAC representative about getting refunds for libraries that have paid individually for it.

Peter has prepared a memo concerning CLAN’s Y2K compliance that will be sent to all libraries

Ginny received a letter from a PRO patron who does not like the acronym CLAN. She responded to the letter. Copies of both the letter and reply are available at the CLAN office.

It has been requested that CLAN have an 800 number for in-state calls. The cost of installation is free, there is a $10 monthly fee and a $.15 per minute charge, rounded to the nearest second.

• The Steering Committee voted to recommend to the membership that we get one.

Rick is now carrying a pager during working hours. If a library has a need to contact Rick and he is on the road or otherwise unable to answer the phone, CLAN staff will be able to contact him and refer him to the library needing his assistance.

The CLAN webpage is averaging 1200 hits/week, with many coming from non-library addresses.

Several patrons have emailed us with compliments about our webpage.

CLAN representatives are to visit the Willett Library on 5/19 to help them in their plans to join CLAN.

Exeter library committee chair Mary Walsh has contacted CLAN for info on joining. Once they are a member all 39 cities and towns in RI will have CLAN libraries.

Peter, Rick and Ginny went to Hope Library to answer questions and do an orientation for Holly Albanese.

A CLAN rep will attend Hope’s annual meeting to help answer questions about CLAN’s role in the future building plans at Hope.

Hope had some problems with a network/computer vendor called Cubix that did some equipment installation for them. Holly does not recommend them, based on her own experience.

Doug Swiczsz has some questions/concerns about certain circ procedures, specifically regarding teacher cards issued at PRO and local loan periods being honored at other libraries.

After some discussion of the specifics the Steering Committee decided to recommend that the Circ Heads Committee take up the issues, as specified by Doug, at their next meeting.

Ginny requested that she be authorized to sign checks for CLAN, since it is difficult to find an authorized signer when needed.

The Committee voted unanimously to grant her request and recommended that she be bonded.

Peter Bennett reported:

Telxons—Y2K compliant or not?

DYNIX and Ameritech say that model 701 is not compliant and cannot be made to be. Option will be discussed at the grants workshop.

Terminal servers are Y2K compliant—Peter thinks. The manufacturer refuses to say.

DataComm’s Bay Networks equipment is Y2K compliant.

****Libraries should look at their small local equipment to check for Y2K compliance.

All CLAN’s telecommunication equipment has been replaced to make it Y2K compliant.

The HP is like new, and has gone from being an HP4000 to being an HP 4080.

Peter has ordered an upgrade on NetConnect (it will be scheduled soon) to make it Y2K compliant.

We’ll be down for half to a whole day for the upgrade, and Peter will try to schedule it, as much as possible, during off-hours.

Peter says he is never satisfied with our own stuff—always wants more—but finds that this year he is "less unhappy than ever before" with the system as it stands.

BUT—bandwidth is still an issue.

Peter thinks IDS will continue in business despite their problems but he has talked with other ISP’s just in case.

In the Northeast bandwidth is terribly costly—and worse in RI than other areas.

It is hard for us to act since we are uncertain about the tariff (free lines expire 12/31/00).

If the tariff isn’t renewed we will owe a lot of money--$100K?

RINet has lots of money and libraries should get 13%. Peter is working with Howard B. of OLIS to see about the possibilities for new lines.

2 to 3 years from now bandwidth will get much cheaper, but we need to get over the hump. Peter is planning to ask the Champlin Foundations to fund the bandwidth for the first year. He thinks they may be interested since bandwidth is all that is holding back our future success.

• FRAN ASKED: How will we pay after the 1^st year?

• PETER: We are gambling on options:

that bandwidth costs will be going down a lot.

tariff money will continue.

there will be additional state funds available.

That e-rate money will come through.

E-rate money that CLAN has received will be going back to the libraries, either in cash or a reduction of CLAN fees.

E-rate refunds are small this year, will probably be bigger next year.

Peter has filed many Form 471’s.

How does the SLC decide who gets what refund when? Who knows?

• FRAN ASKED: What is the cost for 1 year to increase bandwidth?
• PETER: For all libraries that need 384K line to have them, and for all the others to get 56K lines, would cost CLAN about $500K. 2 vendors say they’ll be doing DSL within 6 months at lower prices.

Peter is certain that once the lines are in they will NOT becoming out.

• FRAN: Current legislation still says that CLAN costs will be covered…
• PETER: There are initiatives at Brown discussing options for ways to connect to the internet, but nothing is coming soon enough for our needs.

Peter has a neat new toy—network management software with a 21" monitir. It shows him all the CLAN routers, he can see all router activities, packets in and out, full buffers, memory problems.

Sync ports make things slow because they use up 80 to 90% of the available bandwidth.

Broadcast storms can cause problems, throwing millions of packets.

Peter would like to buy more equipment so he can identify specific pc’s causing the problems.

He would also be able to get into the switches and do rate limits to prevent or mitigate the broadcast storms.

• DOROTHY: If the tariff goes up and other factors work we’d have $340K or so towards the needed $500K.
• FRAN: We need this upgrade, right?
• PETER: Yes. We have to have it. I think I can get the money from Champlin.
• ANNE: Dave King likes the successes of CLAN.

Dorothy Frechette reported:

Economic Development is trying to get Internet II to move its offices here.

Dorothy has been spending a lot of her time on library building projects. OLIS is signing 6 agreements next week: 4 are for completed projects, 1 is a project in progress, and 1 is about to be.

OILS wants to hire 2 new people. Howard B. is transferring to the Information Technology Dept. and OLIS needs to replace him.

• ANNE ASKED: Who are they hiring and what will he/she be doing?
• DOROTHY: Whoever it is will spend time on building committees, networking and development.

Frank Iacono is back at work.

When estimating state contribution for 2001, calculate it as 25% of the 1999 figure form the local tax base.

• FRAN ASKED: Both resource sharing and grant-in-aid?
• DOROTHY: Only grant-in-aid.

The RILA Government Relations Committee says the governor’s budget for libraries is looking good.

FRAN: It looks like we’ll get the 25%, $500K in resource sharing and construction money. Individual libraries –they don’t know. We won’t know anything for certain until June.

Fran Farrell-Bergeron reported (for David Macksam ):

A handout from RILA regarding a Blue Ribbon Committee "for the purpose of drafting recommendations for the implementation of the report, New Possibilities: Rhode Island Libraries for the Millennium" was presented. Ginny Taken will represent CLAN on the Committee.

The final report was received this week.

DOROTHY: typos are being corrected before distribution.

GINNY: I am concerned that CLAN is not properly represented in this report.

DOROTHY: I was not aware that Leslie Burger hadn’t talked with a CLAN representative.

FRAN: The section about libraries all being municipal is gone.

ANNE: Should this committee be referred to as "blue ribbon?"

David Macksam had told Fran there should be 2 committees: a working committee to do the work and another to take credit and get the funding.

ANNE: Kathy Ellen Bullard did a good job of stressing including all library groups.

Ginny is to send needed corrections to Leslie Burger when Dorothy sends her the most current version.

Meeting adjourned at 11:50 A M.