December 10, 2021

Minutes —December 10, 2021

The one hundred eighty-eighth meeting of the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) Board of Trustees was called to order at 10:01 a.m. on Friday, December, 2021 by Board Vice-Chair Justin Bumbico at the OPLIN office in Columbus, Ohio.

Present were Board members: Angela Baldree, Jamie Black, Ben Bolbach, Justin Bumbico, Roger Donaldson, Bill Lane, Holly Richards, and Garalynn Tomas. 

Also present were: Karl Jendretzky, Christine Morris, and Don Yarman (OPLIN).

Attending virtually at https://oplin.ohio.gov/board/december-10-2021/: OPLIN Board members Travis Bautz,  Hilary Prisbylla, and Tara Sidwell; Laura Solomon (OPLIN); Stephanie Herriott, Wendy Knapp, and Jamie Pardee (State Library);  and Jay Smith (Ohio Library Council).

Roger Donaldson moved to approve the agenda as presented; Angela Baldree seconded. There was no discussion, so the chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

The Chair called for public participation.

Jamie Pardee reported that the State Library plans to open their meeting rooms for state agencies use in January, which might increase foot traffic in the building. Wendy Knapp reported that the State Library’s LSTA Plan Evaluation would begin the following week.

Jamie Black moved to approve the minutes of the August 13, 2021 meeting as presented; Holly Richards seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

Jamie Pardee noted the $490,000 drop in the cash balance, explaining it was due to the timing of internet access invoices from OIT; that large a drop is not expected every fiscal year. The salary budget is larger than the previous fiscal year due to the addition of a staff member, as well as some cash incentives the state offered for employees to get Covid-19 vaccinations. Yarman added that the travel budget is also larger due to planned attendance at some conferences in 2022.

Garalynn Tomas moved to accept the financial reports; Jamie Black seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

 Reports on the Status of OPLIN Services — OPLIN Staff

Don Yarman, Laura Solomon, and Karl Jendretzky delivered for the Board a presentation of OPLIN’s activities from the previous fiscal year, covering revenues, expenditures, usage of subscription databases, bandwidth utilization, authentication and network tools, webinars delivered, and the host of services OPLIN provides. Solomon reviewed the large project to migrate websites from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8, and then on to Drupal 9. Yarman followed up by connecting the various elements of the presentation to the OPLIN Services Plan.

Questions for PLDS

Don Yarman asked the Board, for their planning purposes, what information should OPLIN seek to gather from libraries as part of the annual data survey the State Library administers. Currently asks “type of internet connection” and monthly cost. Yarman suggested asking for bandwidth rather than type of connection, which would be more helpful. Explained libraries interpret “monthly cost” differently. Black said “bandwidth and undiscounted cost (i.e. before E-rate discounts).

Yarman, Solomon, and Jendretzky had nothing to add to their written reports.

Christine Morris, OPLIN’s new Digital Resources Manager, introduced herself. Yarman directed the Board’s attention to Morris’s project plan for implementing Northstar Digital Literacy resources across Ohio libraries, and Morris reviewed the recent webinars offered to inform libraries about Northstar.

Travis Bautz expressed concern about the reporting requirements for the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which ask libraries to keep detailed circulation and inventory data beyond what their integrated library systems are designed to collect and store. Yarman said he would meet directly with Bautz and his staff to discuss their concerns and to clarify the ways that the state coordinators for library E-rate and the American Library Association are interpreting the FCC’s guidelines, as state privacy laws preempt libraries from providing the level of data that the FCC expects from school districts.

Justin Bumbico welcomed Board members Ben Bolbach and Bill Lane to their first in-person Board meeting. 

With no other business pending, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 12:07 p.m.