VALE Executive Committee

 

Minutes of the December 8, 2004 Meeting

 

Present:  J.Cohn, J. Crocker, M. Gaunt, J.Getaz, J.Jeney, J.Marcum, D. Pinto, A.Scrimgeour, R. Sweeney

 

  1. Judy Cohn convened the meeting via conference call and the minutes from the November 10, 2004 meeting were approved.

 

  1. Judy Cohn gave the budget report for Anne Ciliberti. All invoices to vendors have been paid with one vendor invoice remaining and due in January.  Vendors have been generous in their support of the Users’ Conference.  A question arose about having sufficient funds to cover staffing this year, and Judy agreed to consult Anne about the data in the budget report.  Judy C. also asked which budget category was preferable to charge the VALE portion of costs associated with the reception for the Knowledge Initiative.  A recommendation was made to take the $600 from Public Relations.

 

  1. Judy C. gave an update on the Knowledge Initiative (KI).  The funds remain frozen but the State Library is optimistic.  Both Norma Blake and the Planning Group will be involved in meeting with legislators and their staff to gain support for releasing the funds, including Senator Greenwald and the minority and majority leaders.  It is unclear if the frozen KI funds are part of a larger package of frozen funds or if other funds have been released.  In addition, we are uncertain if Governor Codey plans to make any statement regarding this at his budget message address in January.  Judy C. will follow up with Norma and also ask how VALE may assist in advocacy for the funds to be released.

 

The Planning Group continues to work with vendors on their pricing and most have been very good at making a reasonable offer.  Judy C. noted that the trials end at the end of the month and is hopeful that we will have more concrete information at that time. 

 

  1. Joan Getaz gave a report on the Users’ Conference and noted that 110 individuals have registered already.  In order to allow for the maximum number of participants, an alternate room for the keynote presentation was considered. The conference will be open 15 minutes earlier than normal to allow for a brief Knowledge Initiative update. There are many interesting breakouts and poster sessions planned.

 

  1. Committee Reports:

 

Judy Cohn announced new committee chairs on the VALE listserv.

 

·        The Assessment Committee has not met, so there is no report.

 

·        David Pinto reported that the Bibliographic Control and Metadata Committee met on October 28 and their minutes have been posted to their website, which has been updated with new information

 

·        Judy Cohn reported that the E-Resources Committee met November 30 and analyzed the survey results regarding interest in new databases.  The group is currently considering 5-6 new databases, but would like to expand the list so that a reasonable number of databases remain once discussions of pricing are completed. There was interest in considering a new platform for MLA that has recently changed. Judy Avrin will investigate all the vendor platform possibilities, arrange for a trial to review interfaces and make recommendations on an offering.  The committee will be hosting a breakout session at the Users’ Conference on types of databases of interest.  Richard Kearney is chairing a new subcommittee on history resources and seeking volunteers.  This may be the beginning of subject/discipline groups within VALE.

 

·        Judy reported that an Executive Committee member needs to be a liaison to the Interface Committee, and she will consult with Ann and Judy Avrin.

 

·        Judy C. reported on a recent meeting of the Last Copy Committee and that their report is now called a working draft.  The committee wants to distribute it widely for comment and will hold a breakout session at the Users’ Conference for feedback before finalizing the report.

 

·        Jane Crocker reported that the Reference Services is having a session at the Users’ Conference on the academic queue and how it’s working.

 

·        Andrew Scrimgeour reported that the Resource Sharing Committee is planning educational sessions in January on customizing Jersey Clicks.

 

·        Rich Sweeney reported that the Shared Information Literacy Committee is starting up again and held a meeting recently.  They plan to work closely with the ACRL User Education Groups and get VALE to actively participate.

 

·        The Website Committee is polling members for a date to meet.

 

 

7.  Judy C. will poll members on meeting dates for 2005.  While the phone conference is useful, members want to meet face to face when possible.  Teleconferencing locations will also be explored.

 

 

Prepared by M. Gaunt