OHIO PUBLIC LIBRARY INFORMATION NETWORK (OPLIN)
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINTH REGULAR MEETING of the BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Minutes — April 10, 2020

1. WELCOME and CALL TO ORDER

The one hundred seventy-ninth meeting of the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) Board of Trustees was called to order at 10:03 a.m. on Friday, April 10, 2020 by Board Chair Travis McAfee online at https://www.gotomeet.me/OPLIN/april-oplin-board-meeting.

Present were Board members: Angela Baldree, Travis Bautz, Jamie Black, Justin Bumbico, Roger Donaldson, Chris May, Travis McAfee, Hilary Prisbylla, Tara Sidwell, Garalynn Tomas, and Holly Varley. 

Also present were: Karl Jendretzky, Laura Solomon, and Don Yarman (OPLIN); Stephanie Herriott and Jamie Pardee (State Library); and Michelle Francis and Jay Smith (Ohio Library Council).

ACTION ITEMS

2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Justin Bumbico motioned to approve the agenda as presented; Jamie Black seconded. There was no discussion, so the chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

The Chair called for public participation.

Jay Smith reviewed current legislative activity of particular interest to public libraries, focusing on measures within emergency legislation HB 197 concerning absentee voting, flexibility extended to local boards for open meetings, and resetting the deadline for state tax filing to match federal deadlines. Michelle Francis directed members to the website for information about events that have been rescheduled or cancelled. She outlined the current status of the PLF, noting that May’s distribution is expected to be dramatically below original estimates due to the pandemic’s effect on the economy. OLC is making sure legislators know the important roles public libraries are playing during the Covid crisis, and was successful in getting libraries added to Broadband Ohio’s list of public WiFi locations. 

Stephanie Herriot reported that Bill Morris has been appointed interim executive director of the State Library, and that the State Library Board will begin interviewing the finalist candidates for State Librarian in the coming weeks.

4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of February 14 meeting

Chris May motioned to approve the minutes of the February 14, 2020, meeting as presented; Holly Varley seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

5. ACCEPTANCE OF THE FINANCIAL REPORTS

Jamie Pardee reviewed the financial reports, noting that few expenses were recorded in March due to the timing of payments. Agencies are being restricted in purchases unless those can be shown to be essential, mission-critical expenses. OPLIN has not received the annual bill from OIT for internet service; when it arrives, we will seek Controlling Board approval to increase spending authority to pay it. Pardee was required to submit to OBM a budget revision showing 20% cut across all funds, about $200,000 falling to OPLIN. The proposed cuts were accompanied with a justification why cuts shouldn’t be made; for OPLIN, the cuts would prevent OPLIN from paying OIT charges for internet service, which would stop internet access for public libraries.
 
Jamie Black motioned to accept the financial reports; Tara Sidwell seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

6. OLD BUSINESS — none

7. NEW BUSINESS

7.1. Set date for OPLIN Board Planning Meeting

The calendar for Board meetings has not been set for FY2021. The plan is to hold the Board’s strategic planning meeting at the August Board meeting, tentatively set for August 14.

REPORTS

8. OPLIN DIRECTOR'S REPORT

Yarman outlined what effects the stay-at-home order are evident in OPLIN services: 572% increase in Ancestry sessions between February and March, fewer calls into the office, a bit more support email. With librarians working from home, the office saw an uptick in problems reported with remote database authentication, mostly due to new library card number patterns that hadn’t been updated in the system.

The deadline to file form 471 for E-rate was extended to April 29, giving OPLIN more time to finalize the contract with AT&T.

iSchool intern Hannah Simpson is finishing up her work creating Marketing Kits for each of the Ohio Web Library databases. Yarman showed samples, which include product logos, graphics sized specifically for fliers, bookmarks, in-library TV screens, and social media campaigns.

8.1. Library Services Manager report

Laura Solomon reported the migration of sites to Drupal 8 has officially passed the halfway point. To assist libraries that have been closed, Solomon has been busy helping Webkit clients make changes to their operating hours and emergency messages, and preparing websites to convey new sources of information and managing information they already have. She has installed PureChat on a few websites, giving libraries a live chat client to interact remotely with patrons. Later today, Solomon will present “Toto, We're Not in the Library Any More: Working Effectively Beyond Your Building's Borders,” advising librarians on best practices with working from home.

Solomon is finalizing a new design for the Ohio Web Library portal: updating its look and colors, and more importantly fixing some accessibility issues with the current site, which is not usable with screen reader tools.

8.2. Technology Projects Manager report

Karl Jendretzky reported that the maintenance service on OPLIN’s Juniper devices expired unceremoniously in January, but Juniper continues to support the equipment while we process the renewal. Jendretzky has verified the inventory of 239 devices statewide and awaits list-price quotes from Juniper to seek discount pricing from vendors. Jendretzky worked with OIT to push out a bulk reconfiguration on all Juniper devices to disable on-device logging; this is Juniper’s recommendation to avoid excess wear on a device’s flash storage. As the Juniper SRX300s are firewall devices, Jendretzky has created a prototype firewall configuration that OPLIN might be able to offer to libraries; he is piloting the possible new service at two libraries.

All CLEVNET circuits that were connected to the AT&T head-end at Cleveland Public Library have been moved to the new head-end at the SOCC, and the old infrastructure has been ordered disconnected to stop billing. 

There is a server load issue that affects response time on the Webkit sites: as web crawlers request old files, the server has to work to generate and serve up these pages, causing spikes in server performance. Jessica Dooley is working on configuring a border cache to lessen the server load, along with internal scripts to feed those old pages into the cache at a managed rate; the goal is to lessen server loads while increasing stability and speeding page loads.

Other network happenings:

  • OPLIN leveraged existing infrastructure to bring up the new CLC offices inside the State Library without additional monthly cost.
  • SEO and CLC hardware in NR3 were swung to redundant circuits, providing increased reliability, while reducing hardware usage in OPLIN’s racks.
  • The CBTS VOIP path was migrated onto OPLIN’s primary OARNET LAG to increase redundancy for those libraries using the state’s VOIP service.
  • Jendretzky worked with SEO to identify high sensitivity network targets, and use OPLIN’s monitoring capabilities to try and track vendor issues.
  • Libraries have stopped sending SMS notices to patrons during the pandemic closure, but the SMS Gateway Service operates on message credits; it costs OPLIN nothing for the service to sit idle.

9. CHAIR'S REPORT

The three members of the Nominations Committee—Jamie Black, Justin Bumbico, and Tara Sidwell—wished to be reappointed to second terms, and Yarman will ask the State Library Board to approve.

9.1. Recognition

The Chair asked the Board to consider the following resolution:

WHEREAS BEVERLY CAIN has served as State Librarian of Ohio since June 2010; and 

WHEREAS she kept the Board of the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) updated on State Library activities and offered her valuable perspective on OPLIN’s services to libraries; and 

WHEREAS she advanced equity of access to digital information by championing the use of LSTA funds on key projects which support OPLIN’s mission, including: grants to create Ohio’s four digitization hubs; a special grant program that encouraged public libraries to join resource-sharing consortia; funding for the innovative Guiding Ohio Online program to provide rural libraries with a dedicated technology trainer for computer instruction and community outreach; and most especially, the annual grant to the Libraries Connect Ohio partnership which funds the statewide Ohio Web Library collection of subscription databases; and 

WHEREAS she directed that State Library staff positions be assigned to Ohio Digital Network project support, ensuring that Ohio’s digital collections are given a path to inclusion in the Digital Public Library of America and an expanded audience of educators, researchers, genealogists, and general users; and 

WHEREAS her commitment to Library Leadership Ohio, ILEAD, and countless other librarian development and education programs have helped nurture the next generation of library leaders; and 

WHEREAS her exceptional perspective across library activities in the state have always been a helpful source of information for the OPLIN Board; 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Public Library Information Network recognize the significant contributions made to public libraries and library service by BEVERLY CAIN during her outstanding tenure with the State Library of Ohio; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board extends its most sincere thanks and appreciation to BEVERLY CAIN for her esteemed service.

Jamie Black motioned to approve the resolution; Tara Sidwell seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

10. ADJOURNMENT
With no other business pending, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 11:15 a.m.